Be grateful for everything

I have never felt quite so tired.

I am going to eat my third bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream and then go to bed.

I am grateful for something.  My brain will not work and help me think of something different so tonight I am grateful for all the usual...my family, my testimony, my Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ, my great life!!  Oh I forgot, I am really, really grateful for ice cream. :)

Random Thoughts

I have a pain in my neck and it feels like it is on fire.  Have any of you felt this pain from moving and unpacking a bazillion boxes?

I feel a great sense of accomplishment because we are making serious progress with unpacking these stupid boxes.(when I say we, I mean the little mouse in my pocket and me!)

No really the kids have been a great help when I can get them to focus and not hide from me.  I heard Tanner tell Emma tonight that he was hiding from mom and not to tell her where he was!

I love the house!  The more things I put away the better I like the house.

I am grateful for the wireless connection we are steeling, (I mean borrowing) from some neighbor of ours until we get our service set up tomorrow!

The Move

Can you see anything wrong with this picture?

How about now?

We started our big day out on the right foot.  Got up early left the house at 8:00 to pick the moving truck up. I dropped Scott off at the truck place and left for home.  15 minutes later I looked out the back window and there I saw Scott outside of the truck.  Most of the truck was sticking out in the road blocking the south lane traffic.  What could be wrong, I asked myself.  I opened the window and yelled out to Scott.

He then told me that he had got the truck stuck on the ledge of the sidewalk.  After 2 hours of he and Tanner trying to get it unstuck,  and I mean he tried everything.  He finally called a tow truck.  (After I told Tanner to go mention it to his Dad that he might want to call a tow truck.  I knew he wouldn't take that advice from me very well, do all the wives out there know what I am talking about here?)

2 hours later the truck was free!  It only took us the next 9 hours to load and unload the truck twice.  I am so glad to have that over with.  And I wish I could have got this in writing because Scott said it was the last time he will ever move!

I am grateful for all the friends who helped us through this long, long, long day!

more moving adventures

Today has been a very busy and once again an exhausting day.  Much packing and even unpacking was done.  We moved the kitchen over to the house today and I unpacked it just as quickly.  Tomorrow the big move will take place as we have a moving truck lined up to take the beds, furniture and the rest of the boxes that hold our mini Barnes and Nobles book store in them.  It is a wonderful feeling to know this will be our last night in this house.  My three painted rooms turned out great.  I am even surprised that the black room is not as bad as I thought it would look.  I will take pictures but not until I get all the finishing touches done.

I am now going to go crash into bed and get up way super early to pack my bathrooms up and move!!!!

I am grateful for the great kids that I have, I love them soooooooo much!

Happy Thanksgiving

Traditions~

Before we moved from Utah we basically could count on the same Thanksgiving from year to year.  My sisters and brothers all gather at my mom and dads and have the traditional Thanksgiving fare and hang out for hours and play games as we go back for fourth servings by the end of the night.  One year we ate at Grandma Dee's and Scott cooked a goose instead of the traditional turkey.  It was rather delicious.  But our traditions have changed over the years since moving away from family.

We found ourselves eating at the hotel Thanksgiving buffet for our 3 years in New Mexico.  I was given the job of decorating the 2 hotels for Christmas while we lived there.  It was a huge undertaking and we (my mom and I) had to begin the process the night before Thanksgiving and also work the evening of Thanksgiving as well as the following 3-4 days after Thanksgiving in order to get 10 12ft.-15ft trees and all the trimmings up before Dec. 1st.  It was quite the undertaking and I was so busy that I didn't have the time to fix a Thanksgiving dinner or worry about the clean up.  While my mom and I would be busy working on the decorating Scott would take the kids to a movie.

Then we moved to Rochester our first Thanksgiving here the kids and I flew out to Utah for a few days.  Scott wasn't able to come with us.  And as nice as it was to see family I missed Scott so much and it was just odd to celebrate without him.  The next year we were invited over to a good friend's home and had a lovely time. The year after this we all drove out to Utah (Scott included) and had a very enjoyable time with family.  But this year we have found ourselves in a bit of a predicament.  We are in the middle of our move.  I have half the house packed up and I have been painting all week long so I have not had the time or energy  to make a big dinner for my family. So this year we found ourselves enjoying a wonderful dinner at the hotel buffet again.  I love to eat at the hotel...they offer so many yummy choices and from seafood, the traditional choices, and even breakfast foods like made to order omelets.  We also went to the movie Harry Potter after our meal.

So as for traditions....I guess we do what ever fits our life at the time.  Some times that means spending time with extended family, sometimes it means working hard and enjoying a dinner at the hotel and sometimes it means hanging out with friends.  I guess that no matter where we eat our meal the important thing is being together with the most important people in my life.

I hope that I will have many years of Thanksgiving dinner's to share with my husband and kids as our lives and circumstances change over the years.  I guess our family tradition is to never be set in our ways and just  go with the flow and whatever life throws at us for Thanksgiving.

On this day of being grateful I truly have a heart over flowing with gratitude for a kind and loving Heavenly Father who loves me and blesses my life with an abundant amount of tender mercies but most of all He blesses me with a family that brings me great joy.  I love them with all my heart!

To tired tonight

I am super tired tonight and will post something really long and sweet about Thanksgiving tomorrow.

I am grateful for a warm house.  Brrrr... it is cold outside!

School is so funny!

Best quote of the day by Tanner

Krystine to Elle,  "Elle go do your math".  Two minutes later I hear Elle laughing while doing her school work.
Krystine to Elle, " Elle what are you doing? Why are you laughing? You shouldn't be laughing, you are doing your school work".

Elle to her mom, "Mom, I am.  I am reading something funny".

Tanner to his mom and Emma in the most serious of tones, "Mom I have never heard a funny math story in my life". 

I am grateful for Scott's ability to provide for his family.

Adventures in Painting

Painting thoughts...

1. It is exhausting when painting 4 rooms.
2. When Tanner presses to hard on the extending roller and snaps it in half, it causes much annoyance to his mom.
3. Emma and Elle are not very good tapers.
4. Breathing in paint fumes for 9 hours causes headaches.
5. Elle and Emma will not be invited to join me in my painting adventures tomorrow.  They are more work to have with me then helping in getting work done.
6. Anyone painting should have a back massage lined up for when the project is done.
7. After priming Elle's room I realized that it probably did not need to be done.  Black paint covers anything!

I am sure I will have more thoughts on painting tomorrow as I try to finish the painting projects!

I am grateful for the missionaries who came over to help me paint today!

What would be hard for you to give up for two years?

Tanner wants me to mention to you all that he is a wonderful guitarist.  He practices faithfully each and every day.  He is starting to improve bit by bit.  I am afraid he will lose any skills he has gained in the next two years as he will not be allowed to practice guitar while serving his mission.  As we get closer to his departure date I have realized just how much he is giving up to serve a mission.

1.  He won't be able to watch the last movie of Harry Potter 7 (or any movie for that matter).
2.  He won't be able to keep up to date on any world affairs and current events. (this is a huge sacrifice for Tanner, it is his passion to keep up to date on world affairs)
3.  He won't be able to read any books, except the four approved by his mission president which are Our Heritage, Jesus The Christ, True to the Faith, (and another that we can't remember at the moment but Tanner is to lazy to go downstairs and check for me) (This also is a HUGE sacrifice for him.  He greatest passion and love is reading.)
4.  He won't  be able to call his mom or skype his mom any time he wants!! (This is a huge sacrifice for him because he loves his mom!)
5. He won't be able to sleep in or stay up all night writing his blog.  (His blog is his life, it is a very serious blog and he has a great following around the world, as he blogs about current affairs)
6.  He is giving up school.  (He loves to learn and is a very dedicated student)

The list could go on and on....He is giving up his next two years, to live a life, dedicated to serving our Heavenly Father as he teaches and testifies of Christ.  I hope you all think of Tanner the next time someone knocks on your door and there is a missionary standing there, please invite them in and listen to what message they have to give to you, they are far from home and give up much to bring a message to you of hope and love.  All the missionaries are sons or daughters of someone like me.  The mothers and fathers are home praying that their kids are safe, feed, and being treated kindly while they are on the Savior's errand.

I am sure Tanner feels like what he will get in return for his sacrifice far out ways what he will miss for two years, otherwise he wouldn't be doing it. I also feel like I will receive blessings as we send our oldest child on a mission.   But knowing that it is the right thing to do doesn't make it easy.

I am grateful for sacrifice.  It brings us closer to our Heavenly Father.

All's well that ends well!

I had a most terrible experience tonight.  I went to Lowe's to buy some paint with Scott and Elle.  After we were through picking out our paint (blue for my bedroom, purple for Emma's bedroom and BLACK (yes I wrote black) for Elle's bedroom, I have to choose my battles with Elle and I figure that a black bedroom is not going to be the end of the world and if it brings Elle some joy then why not, I mean after all it is just paint). 

Okay so back to my most horrible terrible night.  After trying to find my wallet to pay for my purchase and not being able to find it anywhere in my purse I gave up and Scott paid for it.  (Now let me clarify, my purse is not my mothers purse, she carries everything, I mean everything in her purse including the kitchen sink.  My mom could never find what she was looking for in her purse because it was such a mess and disorganized.  This effected me as a child, always seeing my mom get flustered about not being able to find her check book or her keys or her sunglasses or her mind....)  So tonight when I couldn't find my wallet it really bothered me.  I started to reflect back to last time I saw it. I know I had it when I went to close on the house because I had to produce my drivers license and I knew I had it later that day because I just knew.  So what happened to it between then and at Lowe's?  As I gave this some real thought I realized I left my purse unattended in the cart while I was picking out my paint colors.  No it couldn't have been stolen!  After I got home I dumped my purse out to give it one more look through (just in case) but to no avail.  After becoming distraught and searching through the house in every conceivable place I could have placed it I finally decided that yes it was in fact stolen.  I just couldn't believe that some person out there would actually steel from another person.  I was so disappointed in humanity.  I dialed up my bank and notified them what happened and had my card cancelled.  I then was about to make another call to another bank when Scott walked in the house with my wallet!  He found it in the car  I was driving yesterday.  Thank goodness, humanity is good after all!

I am grateful for Scott who found my wallet.

Good things

What to write about tonight?...

1.  We signed on our house today and it is official :)  I am going to paint my bedroom blue.
2.  Harry Potter was good.  But I think my midnight showing times are coming to an end.  I am way to tired to really enjoy a movie at midnight.
3. I usually get phone calls from Emma's teachers but today I had a surprise call from Elle's teacher.  To bad for me (or good thing for her) she had just had her teeth pulled out and she was rather loopy today.  Otherwise I am sure I would have had a rather interesting talk with Elle...we will have to save that discussion for tomorrow.

I am grateful that the stress of buying a home is over.

Harry Potter, Teeth, House

By request....here is my new hair cut and color.  Do you like Allison?

Some mornings I need to begin with a dose of ibuprofen.

Tonight the kids and I will be attending the Harry Potter opening.  Good times will be had by all!  I will get up early with Elle as she will have 4 teeth pulled and then Scott and I will be closing on the new house tomorrow!!!  I am so excited :)  I will be completely worn out by 10:00am. 

I am grateful for kids who keep my young!

Snap shot of my day

If you don't have 5 minutes to devote to the blog tonight then don't continue at this point..  you have been given a fair warning.

Nov. 16
 9:30 pm- I blogged about how my day was going to be devoted to packing.
10:30 pm- I layed in bed and watched how Harry Potter was made and washed my face during the commercial
11:30pm- I told Elle and Tanner to go to bed and  I watched more of how Harry Potter was made and Scott came to bed
Nov 17
12:30am- I found Elle laying in the hallway by my bedroom watching how Harry Potter was made when I got up to use the bathroom I told her to go to bed again and then turned the TV off (she was not happy)
1:30am - I was sleeping snuggled up to Scott
2:30am-I woke up in a cold sweat, drenched from head to toe soaking wet with sweat.  I felt sick like I was going to throw up.  I got up and went to the bathroom
3:30am- I was still hot and not feeling well.
4:30am- sometime between 3:30 and 4:30 I finally fell back asleep
5:50am- Emma walks into my room and decides that on this morning she was going to go to seminary (she hasn't gone to seminary for at least 2 months, we can't get her to go no matter what we do or say or threaten) so for some reason which I don't understand she wakes me up and says come on mom I am going to seminary today.  So of course even though I have had like 3 hours of sleep and feel like crap, I drag my tired butt out of bed and go to seminary because I will do anything to support Emma when she chooses to go to seminary!
6:30am- I read my scriptures while Emma is in class, barely keeping my eyes open.  Heavenly Father will give me points for reading my scriptures this morning even though I don't remember anything I read because I drove Emma to seminary!
7:30am- I fall back into bed and tell Scott I love him and kick him out of bed.
8:30am- I am having a really weird dream although I can not repeat it.
9:30am- I wake up and decide that if I am going to follow my plan in the blog last night I better get going.  I also call my mom and ask her at what age she started going through menopause.
10:30am- I have taken care of emails and other really important things like making pancakes for the kids.
11:00am- I finally have my kids all awake and sitting at the kitchen table.  We then move to the living room and have our scripture study and prayer.
11:30am- I start my packing job.  I am working in the storage room.
12:30pm- I am packing boxes.  I am working in the storage room.
1:30pm- I am packing boxes. I am working in the storage room.
2:30pm- I am packing boxes. I am working in the storage room.
3:30pm- I am packing boxes.  I am working in the storage room.
Do any of you have any idea how many books Scott owns??????  Remember I thought I could work in each room for an hour and pack everything up???  Well I forgot that Scott owns a Barnes and Nobles franchise in our storage room!
4:00pm Elle has a regular babysitting job.  Those cute kids come to our home every Wed. and this Wed. was no different.  Because I am her mom I always help her with her babysitting.  I like to play with Josh (he is 3 years old, my favorite age!) So my packing is coming to a halt.  I also eat for the first time since this morning...I am starving I realize!
5:00pm- I jump in the shower because I have to leave the house at 5:25 and I kind of stink.
5:25pm- I am running to the car with my wet hair.  It is freezing and as I run outside it hits me just how cold it feels with wet hair. (while I am driving I call Scott and leave a message with him I explain to him how sorry I am that I don't have dinner ready for him or the kids.  It was my intention to make dinner today, really! But my life got busy this afternoon (I don't know why?) I told him he could make what I was going to make, that would be pasta with claim sauce, this is one of the kids favorites or he could do what ever he wanted)
5:40pm- pick up friend number one who has an appointment with the Bishop.
5:50pm- pick up a second friend who has an appointment with the Bishop.
6:00pm- arrive at the church and sit through a visit with the Bishop and friend number two.
7:00pm- run friend number two home and pick up friend number three for an appointment with the Bishop.
7:15pm-run back to the church and wait for Bishop to finish appointment with friend number one while visiting with friend number three.
7:30pm- run friend number one home and then drive back to the church.
8:30pm- take friend number three home.  Take friend number 4 to work (she lives at friend number 3 house).
9:00pm- remember that I need to return movies to a friends house and get season 4 and 5 of the Office from her.
9:15pm- return home!  Give Scott a kiss.  Ask him how his day and night have been. Tell him I need to eat something and then I will come and rub his legs for him.
9:30pm- Eat left over Taco Bell (Scott decided that this was what he wanted for dinner.  He hates pasta and claim sauce)
9:45pm- I am sitting here writing my blog...thinking how I promised Scott I would give him a leg massage tonight.

now in the next two hours I will have Tanner help me finish packing the storage room, yes that is right, the storage room is still not totally packed.  (what the heck was I thinking??  I thought it would take me an hour????????????????? Boy am I dumb!)

Lets flash forward to midnight tonight.....I have to go back out and pick up friend number 4 from work (her car is sadly not working).  I am kind of hoping that Emma doesn't get up for seminary tomorrow...it would be nice to have a good night sleep without getting up at 5:50 tomorrow morning, but if she feels like she is starting to get religion then I will of course get up without complaint!

I am grateful for a car that works.... Now I must run and rub Scotts legs.  Bye.

Packing 101

Okay tomorrow will be a big push day for packing.  I need to learn to tell people "sorry, no I can't help you  because I need to get my house packed".  I will do my best tomorrow to stay at home and pack 50 boxes.  Do you think I can do that?  That means I will pack 10 boxes in 5 rooms. 

My five rooms will be:
1. Elle's room
2. Storage room
3. Emma's room
4. Closet and upstairs bathroom
5. Office

I will spend one hour in each room.  I will remain focused and driven.  I will throw lots of stuff away.  I will whistle while I work.  I will feel relief when I finish my day.  I will tell people "sorry, no I can't help you because I need to get my house packed".  Let me practice that one more time.  I will tell people "sorry, no I can't help you because I need to get my house packed".  I can say no and not feel guilty about it.  I should say no to people tomorrow when they call me to ask for my assistance.  I mean I will say no to people tomorrow when they call and ask for my assistance.   I have prepared myself for my big day tomorrow.  I know I can do it.  If I get my house packed then that means I get to move into a new house that I like much better then the house I am living in now.  Okay I have decided that tomorrow is the day that I will pack!

I am grateful for my new hair color and cut.  I really like it.

pictures of winter in MN

Can you believe that Tanner could create such a mess? 

Can you believe that I can make sure a yummy cookie?

Can you believe that I wore this hat from 9am until 10pm last Friday (it was very cold) Tanner had never seen me in my hat before and he really liked it! 

 (I think I will have to buy one for him to wear while on his mission)

I am grateful for my trials.  What doesn't kill me shall make me stronger.  

Sometimes I think Elle and Emma are going to kill me! 

We had a doozie of a scripture study and day for that matter.  If it is not one girl putting me in my grave it is the other!  All I want is one whole day without any

teenage, girl, school, sibling, clothes, drama!!! 

A Family Growing Up

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is almost here!  I love Thanksgiving dinner and this year I think we are going to be eating turkey sandwiches that I buy from the store the day before.  We are going to be right in the middle of our move and I won't have a kitchen set up in either house.  This will be a Thanksgiving to remember!  Sometimes you just have to be flexible and go with the flow and this will be one of those holidays.

I feel very blessed this year to be moving into a house that I really adore and actually I would rather be eating cold turkey sandwiches with my family then doing anything else.  This will be my last Thanksgiving with Tanner for quite some time.  He will be leaving for his mission soon and then I am sure after he returns he will be off to school and not flying home for Thanksgiving any time soon.  I bet this is the last time we have Thanksgiving together as a family (just the 5 of us) ever again.  In the near future Emma will be leaving to go explore and live her life.  Then the kids will be bringing boyfriends and girlfriends home and even husbands and a wife to  join us or the kids will be off somewhere else for this holiday. 

I am grateful for the peace I feel about my kids growing up.

Bee Hives out in the Snow

Another Saturday come and gone.  It was cold and windy, just what old man winter ordered up for our first real winter day.  It seems strange that it is already the 13th of Nov. before we had our first real blast of winter.  We are expected to get 10 inches of snow sometime in the next couple of days so I hear...in Minnesota the weather is always a hot topic (or should I say cold topic?).

Emma and I went and got our hair done today.  The hair dresser made me up to look like a girl with a beehives nest on the top of my head.  I always hate it when other people style my hair but at least it made Emma laugh. 

I was able to pack another 5 boxes today.  I figure if I keep packing at this pace I might manage to get out of this house and into the new one by the end of Dec.! 

I am grateful for warm clothes.  Elle mentioned to us tonight that she loves shopping for clothes at Gander Mountain.  Both Scott and I were surprised by this comment because you realize this was coming from our Emo daughter and Gander Mt. is a sporting goods store.  Scott then asked her why and she said because the clothes there are warm!  (It was a little cold today)

Snow Falling

I guess it was my Christmas blog that encouraged the snow to start falling today!  I love the first snow and today was no exception.  I made the kids hot chocolate and cut up some fruit for breakfast and it was so holidayish as we sat and ate as we listened to Tanner complain that he is not ready for the snow.  I had a great day of packing here and there while I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.  I listened to radio.lds.org as I packed it was such a relaxing afternoon.  A great friend of mine came over and sat on my couch while I packed some more boxes this evening.  It is the best to have someone to talk to while working!  Well now I only have 85 boxes to pack.  Every little bit helps right!  I have to start thinking about how to fix all those holes in my walls where a nail once was.

I am grateful for the end of the week. 

Boxes

I got 2 boxes packed today!  I am well on my way to packing another 100 boxes by next week! 

As you can see I spent a good amount of time playing around with my blog design.  Much to much time.  I should have been packing.  I am not sure I will stick with what I chose today but I like a little old fashioned christmas.  This reminds me of my mom and I am not sure why. 

I am grateful for nights when I get to work on my computer while Scott lays next to me working on his.

I am a follower...how about you?

So I didn't take the day off today.  I realized that if I took the day off then everything on today's list would just get pushed to tomorrow's to do list and that would only double my list for tomorrow!  I decided that it is best to just work at my today list one item, one day at a time, and not take the day off.  Besides, it was great to go visit the people I needed to visit today, what a blessing people are!

I had two people give me quotes today.  I think they felt sorry for me after my last couple of blogs.  I hope I am not to much of a complainer but rather I am just being me and letting things off my mind for the whole world to read!

One quote went like this "a good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctors book".  (I love to laugh, just ask my kids!!  I love to sleep, just ask my kids!! I wish I could get more of both, then maybe I would never be sick or feel badly about anything in the world...)

The second quote was this "As members of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we
are expected to be righteous not just appear to be righteous. What we believe, what we say, and what we do should all be the same thing. This is the definition of integrity." 

I hope to have my beliefs match up to my actions and words.  Some times it seems harder then other times  but it is a choice we all make every day.  How we (meaning me) treat our fellow mankind no matter what their religion, skin color, language, income, education, beliefs and background, really shows if we are true disciples of Christ.

I am grateful for the pure love of Christ in my life.

Helping Hands

Today was much better then yesterday.  I got up this morning and right away called the Dr.  He promptly called in a prescription (I didn't even have to go to his office!) and I am already feeling better :)  I have only sneezed 2 times today and my head didn't feel like it was swimming in snot!  Much improved, don't you think? 

I got a letter from my dad after he read my blog last night and he gave me some fatherly advice..."slow down and take care of yourself Krys" he said.  So I decided to do just that.  I am taking the day off tomorrow.  So if you are reading this blog and live near me please pass the word around that the RS Pres. is taking the day off.  (Just Joking!!  I am not taking the day off!) 

I got a good laugh from something someone told me today.  I had called them to ask for some last minute help with something and they said to me "don't you know I am in a presidency and I am always asked to do everything, so I think I will pass on this one".   I think this person was forgetting that they were talking to the RS Pres....I can't even tell you how many calls I get each day to do something for someone (I lose track by 10 am but I am sure if you asked Elle she could tell you how many calls I get because she doesn't like to relay all the messages to me when I am out doing things for other people!)

Really people I am just playing around here, I love to serve and help others, it just seemed so funny to me what this person said.  I hope I can always have a great attitude when serving those in need and do it  with a happy heart and treat others the way I want to be treated.  I don't want to feel like I am some one's hundredth phone call of the day but rather like I am the first phone call of the day.  That is my goal to be that kind of person.

If any of you need anything tomorrow please don't hesitate to call, I can't wait to hear from you even if you just want to chat!

I am grateful for all those who serve me!

The List

Ooh Yawn.  I am so tired. 

Monday list.

1.  I think (actually I know) I am feeling worse today then yesterday.

2. I am starting to get a UTI on top of fighting a head cold.  Which one is worse?  Of course the UTI.

3. I have drank 100 gallons of water today to try to get rid of my UTI but now I am having to pee like every 30 minutes and it is annoying.

4.  What is more annoying...A. having a head full of snot and having to sneeze and not having any Kleenex nearby and so you have to sneeze down your shirt and all over your boobs instead of all over the people next to you (you should thank me Valeri)...or B. having to pee suddenly and not being close to a bathroom so you just freeze in place and try to hold your pee so you don't pee your pants but you just can't hold it and so you run to the bathroom and pee your pants a little because you are not fast enough to get their in time?

5. I can't hear very well because my ears are all plugged up with fluid that is swimming around in my head.

6. I hate having to breath threw my mouth.

7. Remember last week when I was grateful for my health?  What happened?  Things can go down hill very fast!

8. I think I miss Scott more because I am sick.

9. I think I am glad Scott is gone right now because I don't have to worry about cleaning the house (the kids don't care if it is dirty) and cleaning the house is the last thing I want to do right now!

10. Nobody should come to my house right now.  It is very dirty and I will feel bad if you come over.  So DON'T!

Okay I am going to bed now.

I am grateful that I was able to accomplish so much today even though I felt yucky and Tanner says he loves me even though I am sick!

What language do Cambodian's speak?

The four hardest languages to learn (based on the State Dept list) are:
1.  Chinese
2. Japanese
3. Korean
4. Arabic

Just a tid bit of trivia that I know you are all dying to know!  But this is the kind of conversations that we have in our house on an average Sunday night.  We are always learning really interesting things about language and other really odd facts about things that Emma really doesn't care to know about.

Khmer is the language that Tanner will be learning it is a level 3 language according to the State Dept.  The State Dept. labels all languages according to its difficulty.  Only 4 languages make it onto the State Dept. hardest level 4 list and they are listed above.  Level 1 languages are Spanish, French, Italian, German (they are Latin or Germanic languages, like Western European languages).  Level 2 Swahili, Finnish, Greek, and Hindi are among the second easiest to learn.  Some other level 3 languages are Timil, Hebrew, Russian, Turkish, Mongolian, Indonesian.

Emma and I have decided that we think any language other then English is a level 4 to us and even English is a level 2 to us!

I am grateful for my family!  Like my friend Valeri tells herself when she is struggling with her children "Children are a blessing".  This is what I have been telling myself all night long!  But at least we are ending on a good note :)

Another Saturday....

Once again my Saturday was busy as can be.  I started out with helping to make 1500 cookies (I of course only helped with a small portion of that task but still I was a part of the effort) then on to a baptism where I gave a talk on baptism.  I felt like I was going to puke and pass out during my talk and I am not sure why.  I never get stage fright but this time I almost didn't make it through the talk.  I think I might have had my knees locked.  It was one of the strangest feelings I have ever experienced.  After the talk I went to watch a football game but actually had a much better time visiting with a few friends then watch the Utes get their butts kicked.  Later I worked on my lesson for tomorrow and also ran to the store store with my friend.  Now as I am sitting here blogging I am listening to my kids debate the silliest things like what song lyrics mean.  Elle is getting very angry about all of this.  Tanner is annoying her greatly!  Okay I am so tired and am fighting a cold so I must end my blog for tonight and go to bed.

I am grateful for life!  Even at its worse it is pretty wonderful!

The Office vs Devil Wears Prada

I don't have much time to write anything of interest tonight.  I just got home from making a shake run and now I must hurry to bed so I can put The Office on before Scott can put The Devil Wears Prada on.  This is our nightly ritual lately.  Who ever gets in bed first gets to choose the movie and we each are obsessing over different shows right now. 

So good night all....

I am grateful for raspberry shakes from Culver's!  The best in the world (maybe Iceberg in UT has equally great shakes).

New Craft Idea

Thanks to my friend Kathy for showing me this really cool new obsession Wordle.net and to Tanner for helping me get my creation onto my blog!  I hope you all like it.  I think I might do this for a craft for those of you that might be interested in making one let me know.  I am going to figure out how to send it to Sams and have it printed out in a poster size and then get it framed.  I used the Proclamation on the Family document but you can use anything....like for instance I could put in words like Greer, Love, Family, Emma, Elle, Tanner, Mom, Dad, Family, Crazy, Fun, Loud,  (the more words you use the better just come up with lots of adjectives to be descriptive about your family) or maybe do something like favorite movies and movie quotes the possibilities are endless...

I am grateful for my kids they make me laugh :)

My boring life

All I want to do is lay down and veg but that is just not my fate today.  I have been on the run since my eyes opened today.  This is the first time I really have had any time to myself so I thought I better use it wisely and get my blogging done for the day.  So that is all I have to give you today....I know really boring blog you are asking yourself right now why the heck did I waste these last 30 seconds of my life reading this junk??

I am grateful for my health.  I have had a couple of reminders today of when I had my hysterectomy and how sick I was. 

Which is better, to be a nag or lazy?

I miss my sweetheart.  Scott is in NY and I am here in Rochester.  I think a trip once in a while is a good thing.  It helps the heart grow fonder.  I know that every time I go to Utah without him I come back home to Scott wondering why I went in the first place because I  miss him so much when I am gone. 

Elle told me tonight I was a nag. All I asked her to do is clean her room (at 9am this morning, then I asked her if she had finished her chore at 9pm tonight, I didn't bring it up to her at any other time today).  I told her I would quit nagging if she just did it!  I mean there would be no such thing as a nag if whom ever you are asking to do something just did it, right?  I hate when people refer to others as a nag.  That only tells me that that person calling the other a nag is actually lazy.  If they don't do what they are being asked to do and enough time has gone by that the asker of the task has to remind the person that they have a job to finish (or start in Elle's case) then that person is really just a lazy butt and needs some reminding (or nagging) in the first place!  Don't call me a nag....just do what you are asked!   Is this to much to ask for????????????  HONESTLY this annoys me JS!

I am grateful for my family's imperfection...life would be so boring if we didn't have virtues to work on!

I wish I had a three year old sometimes!

A little friend of ours came over to play today.  He is 3 years old and smart (possibly smarter then Tanner was at that age, if any of you knew Tanner at that age you might agree that is amazing).  I went to the store with his mom and Tanner was left behind to watch him for a short while.  Unlucky for Tanner while we were gone our friend had to go to the bathroom.  Tanner asked him if he needed any help but he replied "no, I am a big boy".   So naturally Tanner left him to his business.  A couple of minutes later he came out of the bathroom and announced to Tanner "I have to poo now" so Tanner naturally thought that this wouldn't be a problem for him either after Tanner told him to go ahead and go back in the bathroom and use it.  Tanner then said 2 minutes passed by and he heard his little friend hollering from the bathroom "Tanner where are you?  I need you!".  Tanner walked into the bathroom and asked him what he needed that he thought he told him he could do this by himself.  The little friend then said "well this is tricky!", as he grabbed Tanner and had a death grip around Tanner's knees while leaning far over the toilet.  The little friend then said that  "sometimes this hurts, that's what makes this so tricky, you never know".  Tanner was then forced into helping clean up the behind of this little friend.

When Tanner shared with me this story it made me laugh so hard.  I thought you might all enjoy it as much as I did.

I am grateful for 3 year olds.