Hello, World! I'm Baaaaaack!

It has been almost 2 years since my last blog post.  I kind of got bored with my blog for a while there.  I keep thinking, "Oh, this would make a great blog post."  But then I never write about it... So, I am going to write about what is going on in my life right now.  You're welcome. :)

The boys left less than a week ago to go visit their mom for the summer.  I miss them already.  Yes, I miss those two stinky teenage boys.  They make me laugh and see things in ways I never would normally see things.

While I was in SLC to take them to the airport, the day before their departure, I was able to visit with some extended family I don't get to see that often.  It was an absolutely awesome evening.  I wish we all lived closer but thus is life.  I took some fun photos of the get together but I haven't gone through them yet.  But all should beware... I am sure I got some awesome not-so-flattering photos of people eating!  You will have to check those out on Facebook.

Today is the last day of this round of FGI8.  FGI8 stands for Feel Great In 8.  It is an 8 week program where you eat healthy foods, do acts of kindness, and lots of self improving.  This was my 4th round (I believe) and even though I have not lost as much weight as I would like, I am still on the better side of the scale than I was a year ago.  At my largest, I weighed 183 pounds.  That may not sound like a lot to some, but to my small 5'3" frame, it is!  Currently, I weigh 167 pounds.  I am trying so hard to get to that 163 mark, just to have lost 20 pounds total.  I am a work in progress, so it is ok. :)  My husband has been doing fabulously though.  Why is it that men lose weight faster than women? It just isn't fair! I blame Eve. Ok, so it isn't Eve's fault, but it just isn't right that men lose weight quicker.  Although I am green with envy, I am proud of my awesome husband's weight loss journey.  He started one round after I started.  All in all, in one year, he has lost 51 pounds!!!! That is a small child!  That is a sack of flour from Costco!  (Yes, I use Costco items as gauges of measurements.)  I am so happy that he is eating healthier and been able to get off of insulin! That is a HUGE bonus!!!  No insulin means his body is healing itself!  (Look away..... *awkward happy dancing*)

Another thing going on right now that makes me happy are my two girls.  They have been doing great this summer with not uttering the words that every mother dreads hearing 15 minutes after school gets out, "I'm bored!!"  They have been OUTSIDE and UNPLUGGED most days!!  I love that more than they probably love hanging out with their friends and such.  Oh, and another HUGE thing that happened this summer, Rebekah FINALLY learned how to ride a bike!!!  Yes, she is 14 years old. Yes, she just learned how to ride a bike.  And yes, I couldn't be prouder.  I wish I could take the credit for nagging nudging her in the right direction to learn, but it was her friends.  Thank heavens for great friends!!!

Tomorrow I get my permanent filling for the redoing of the root canal gone wrong, taking a left turn at hell and staying there to vacation for a month.  I will have to blog about that another time.  I am just hoping all goes well.

Rebekah leaves for the Trek on Wednesday.  I am slightly worried that she will have a difficult time, but part of me hopes she has a slightly difficult time.  Now before you think I am a nut job (which is also possible), I just want her to experience the joys/pains of the trek.  I sewed her an awesome pioneer apron without a pattern.  That's right, I rock! :)

Right now, Bill is making me breakfast and I am so excited to see what he creates!  Then it is off to church to be spiritually fed.  I love going to church.  I look forward every week to getting away from the regular hubbub of daily life and feast on spiritual things.  Sure, I need to feast every day, but let's face it, I am not there yet.  I will be, one day.  I am just happy when I read my scriptures every night for a few minutes.  Which is leaps and bounds better than I was doing a year ago, where I would read maybe once a month.  It is all in the baby steps. Next baby step: toilet training! Wait, that isn't right...

Have a happy Sabbath day!

Merry Christmas

Hello everyone! I hope your Christmas was great! We had a super-fantabulous Christmas!

Early Christmas morning (around 8ish) after having gone to bed at 4:30 AM, Bill and I could hear the girls singing. Before we went to bed, we had set a trap from the hallway into the living room so the kids wouldn't be able to see or get to their stuff so we could video tape them. We warned the kids as we put them to bed not to wake us in the morning. Well, Nate had other plans, he told the girls to sing Christmas songs loudly in the hall so it would wake us up. Well it worked. I grabbed the video camera and sneaked over to the cardboard trap and quietly lifted the camera over the box so I could video tape the girls singing. It was hilarious! They decided to sing a song then after the first few words couldn't remember how it went. So funny. Once they saw the camera, they started squealing. It was a fun morning.

I think this Christmas was one that spoiled our entire family! I am typing this from my new laptop! We had steak for Christmas dinner made on Bill's new bbq! The girls got new bikes, the boys got video rocker chairs, the kids got a Playstation 3 (yes that's right, another game system), games galore, books, etc.

Oh Christmas Eve, Bill and I put the kids to bed, finished moving the new entertainment center into place, we went across the street to get Bill's bbq. We had to hide it over at the Cook's house so the kids wouldn't see it since it was to be from Santa. Well, it was heavy, it was snowing hard and was very windy. When we got it from their porch to the street, we pushed it on the snow covered asphalt and the metal jingled and jangled. I started laughing because it sounded like what a kid would think Santa's sleigh sounds like. I hoped the kids didn't look out their windows.

Aside from the fun of getting presents, this was the first year Bill and I decided we needed the kids to learn the fun of giving. We chose a neighborhood family that we knew were struggling and we bought them all sorts of fun things. The kids had fun wrapping the presents and secretly putting it on their porch. This is going to become a new tradition. I remember doing stuff like that when I was a kid.