Winning the Lottery!

Lottery you say? Yes the Educational lottery! Josh got word today that he has been accepted to BYU in Provo, Utah. Now to top that news we just need to hear that the Track and Field Coach wants him to join the team up there! :) However, in light of receiving this news, my heart is tugged in another direction as I realize he will have to live in Provo to attend school there. Which means he has to LEAVE me behind! Not only that, Tessa is looking into moving in with one of her teammates. So there is quite the possibility that I will have two children moving out within 6 months. :( That is cutting our family down by a third and cutting the amount of children in half! AAAGGGHHH! I am going to have to stew over this for awhile. I am not sure I am liking this situation which is strange for me.

I have always celebrated the new experiences my children are going to have i.e.. kindergarten, first day of school every year, junior high, etc. But this graduating and leaving my home has got me mourning the whole situation. What am I going to do without their humor and their hugs? And the many other things they do that make up my life as a mother? I will always have in the back of my mind that there is someone missing! and Two someones! I guess letting them go is the whole reason you teach them to tie their own shoes and make their beds. To iron their shirts and do their own laundry. I just can't help but thinking, have I taught them enough to DO on their own what they will have to DO to DO IT! The time for teaching is nearly over and the days of keeping my mouth shut as they make their own decisions about their lives is about to begin. I pray I have done ENOUGH teaching for them to DO IT!

Marvel Morp

Josh was asked to go to MORP. The theme was Marvel MORP. Dressing up as a Marvel comic was the objective. Some of the kids next door just put on matching tee-shirts with Superman, Batman, or Captain Marvel logos on them. Josh wanted to do something even better than that. Josh can grow facial hair at quite a rapid rate. So he decided to grow out his wiskers and hair and become Wolverine! Here is what he looked like.




This one is my favorite! I put it on facebook and one of the comments from my nephew was "Hugh Jackman, is that you?" I love the way this photo turned out. After taking this photo we colored his "chops" with some black spray and you can see them in the next photo.



This is his date Courtney. She went as storm. My flash takes away the intensity of her eyes. I wish you could have seen them yourself.



I am amazed at what creative children I have. And pretty daring at that. I am sure he would have gotten the most look alike award had they given any out.

Today after church, Josh asked if I would give him a hair cut and buzz his "chops" off. He looks so much cleaner without all that red hair on his face. :)

Sushi

Okay, I know I am a little strange. Call me sheltered or underprivileged or something, but I had never had Sushi until I met Alan and not until we had been married 10 years! Now 20 years into this marriage, I can honestly say that I finally will go with him and have Sushi. It really is an acquired taste. it has taken me awhile to like it and now there are some days I crave it. So...why is it that there are some things in your life that take you so long to "get it" or "like it". What are some of the things that you have grown to like? Or something that you have been introduced to that now you love?

New Year Family Fun!

Yesterday (January 4 2012) Alan decided that we needed to get out of the house and do something together instead of sitting around all day or going to a movie. He suggested a family hike! Tessa wasn't feeling very well so she stayed home. But the rest of us got into the car and took off to Usery Pass to hike up the Wind Caves trail. Josh decided to run up them. It is about a mile up and it was breezy up at the top. It is a gorgeous view. I highly recommend it. I was glad we went.

Christmas Decorations

There is something about decorating my house for Christmas that brings the holiday cheer. I love the lights and the garlands and the ornaments (as you have seen in a previous post). I remember staring at the lights on our tree when i was a little girl. They were colored and I use to sit in the dark and watch them on the tree and their reflection in the glass windows we had in the room. You could say I was fascinated. I still am. There is something special about the lights. I also love the smells at Christmas time. The pine smell from a newly cut tree or wreath, and the cinnamons and the berries. And the music singing reminders of home and family. And it doesn't hurt to hear those yummy voices we all love to hear singing those favorite songs either.



I love the little reminders around the house that bring to me the spirit of Christmas. I have over 15 little standing Nativities that I put up in different locations through the house and I have a complete tree dedicated to anything important to the Christ Child's birth. Baby, Mother, Father, Wise men, Shepards, and the star. I even have special lights that I place on the Nativity tree. They are called "Rice Lights" Very small and they do all sorts of different lighting variations. They stay on, or twinkle, or fade in and out, and several other lighting tricks. I love to sit and watch them fade gently in an out. I can sit for a very long time just looking and thinking, especially if the house is quiet.



It is a little crazy to get it all out and put it up, but I love the way it looks when I am all done. Christmas is my favorite time of year!

My Dad

(Not great quality on this photo but it shows the complete joy he had. It was taken just a little over a week before he died.)

I lost my Father on Thursday November 17, 2011. It has only been ten years and a couple of weeks since I lost my Mother. Both we knew were dying although Dad's passing was a little more of a surprise to us than Mom's. I wish I could be a fly on the wall as they embraced on the other side. Oh what reunions there must have been. My Uncle (Dad's just younger brother) died just over two months ago which left my father as the only brother left. I am thinking that my Dad got lonely for his brothers. Either that or they had a project to do that my Dad's abilities were need for.

I have seen such tender mercies to me because of the loss of my father. My family had planned to make the trip to Utah for Thanksgiving to spend time with him. As it is, he died a couple of days before that, but we will still be in Utah for Thanksgiving. So in a way, Dad is still getting us all together. I decided to come to Utah the day I found out about his death. I bought me a one way ticket and because my computer doesn't connect to the printer, I asked Alan to print it off for me. Before he did so, he typed in his frequent flier number and it bumped me up to first class. I was able to get through security faster and off the plane quickly.

Another tender mercy is that I left in such a hurry from my home, and the shock of his death, that I hadn't thought that I would need photos for my Dad's viewing. I left them all behind. However, they were not all on my computer at home, I would have to go searching through negatives to find some of them because they were taken before I had my digital camera. I was devastated. I had to put it out of my mind because I just knew that I would fuss over it and make myself sick so I dropped it and concentrated on what I could find here in Utah. I mentioned to Ken, my brother, that I wanted a few of Dad's things for the display and so we decided to go down to my Dad's farm and look around. In a box of my Father's things were a stack of photos. The ones that I had agonized over were there in the pile, plus a few that I hadn't thought of. What a blessing!

I look forward to seeing many people that I knew as a child growing up at the viewing and the funeral. And being with my siblings has been a joy. I have the best siblings anyone could ask for. We are all supportive and kind to each other and that is such a blessing. I can't imagine going through all of this by myself. I am grateful to have them around me at times like these. I love them all so much.

Christmas Ornaments

There is something about the weather finally turning a little cooler that makes me ansy to get shopping for Christmas Ornaments. I love looking for unique and fun Christmas Ornaments more than I love shopping for gifts. I know, I know.... I am crazy! I have a few favorite places I love to go looking for that one or several ornaments that will grace my tree or the tree of someone I love. Sometimes I find the perfect ornament for someone without really looking for one for that person. Those are the ornaments I love finding the most. Now I am not going to share those favorite places I love to shop at during this holiday season, but let me put it this way... don't be surprised where you might find some of those little treasures. Tomorrow is one of those days I have set aside to go ornament hunting in North Phoenix. And I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas! Hurry and come! :)