volunteer overload!

Hello everyone who follows my very interesting and exciting blog!! I wish more of you would make comments on my blog. I decided to write because it has been a while. I don't really have a lot to say although my mind seems be racing quit a bit lately. We are getting closer to doing foster care! Finally my background check came back, clean I might add!! I didn't have any worries I realized that it was taking a very long time for them to do the check...like 4 months long. We still don't have Scotts back yet but at least they are allowing us to go forward with home inspection! It has been a very long time since I had to child proof our home and this is the part I am not looking forward to. It has been kind of nice not to worry if one of my kids was going to die from ingesting some sort of cleaner! Oh well I guess it goes with the territory and I am the one asking to be a "mommy" again. I am getting really excited to do this as is everyone else in the family especially the girls. I hope it will be a great experience for us all as we learn to love those little ones that are in need of some stability, love and hope in their lives.

Tanner got another reply he was accepted into BYU Provo!! His seminary teacher was late in sending in his part of the application so it has effected his approval by pushing him back a semester he won't be allowed to attend until Winter 2010 that is just 4 months later then he would have liked to go but we will see if he even accepts their offer...we still need to hear back from 3 other schools! We should now in another two weeks for sure and then he will have to make a quick decision because some of the schools require you to reserve housing quickly.

I have felt a bit overwhelmed with all my obligations lately....I have gotten myself in over my head with something I volunteered for at Elle's school. I only have another week left of it and I will be soooooo happy when it is over. I am a team manager for her destination imagination group and it is soooo time consuming! Next week is the tournament and then it will be all over!!! I am sorry to say this but I really hope they don't win because I just don't want to continue on with doing it!

Well I need to run...I have a dinner group coming over to my house tonight and I haven't cleaned any of my bathrooms, vacuumed, dusted, or started cooking anything! Bye for now!

Pictures from January and February

Emma Kate getting her hair done
Tanner with Katie night of "Heart Throb"

Quilting Group: our stake humanitarian project

Krystine and Emma getting hair colored.

Elle and our favorite little friend Caiden taking a nap!

Catching Up!

Well it has been quite a while since I have posted anything. I have been so busy with life that I have neglected my blog. I wanted to write about a couple of things though so I have finally found some time to sit down and write.

Tanner is starting to get his responses back from the colleges that he applied to. He has been accepted into BYU Hawaii. Hopefully he will hear soon from the other 4 schools that he applied to. It seems so weird to see him prepare to leave home to strike out on his own. I hope I have prepared him for what is to come but until you actually leave and start living on your own I guess that is when he will find out if he is ready for what life has to throw at him. I keep saying this in all my blogs but I am going to miss him so much. I try not to think about it often because it really does make me sad. I know he needs to live his life but I think I am just sad because I know in my heart that he won't be very close to home anymore. I am very glad that he wants to go explore the world and do great things but I will always miss him. Maybe I am starting to understand how my parents feel about me living so far from them. It doesn't seem to bother me to much to live in Minnesota and be so far away from the happenings of my family but I am sure it bothers my mom and dad.

Emma just got over a pretty harsh bout of the flu. She is the only one in the family that asked me if she could get the flu shot last fall. I didn't think it would be a problem....I feel pretty badly about that. She is now on the mend and very far behind in school now. She ended up missing 6 days of school. We are just at the beginning of the new semester and so now it will probably be a up hill battle to recover with her grades. I will be happy when Emma finishes school! Not because I want her to leave home or anything but because she just hates school and seems to just do enough to get by and then even that isn't enough.

Elle is going up way to fast for her own good. She is just 11 but is going on 16 (with Emma). I can't believe how boy crazy she is!!! Her mood swings are just out of control!!!! I told Tanner the other day I didn't know if I could make it through the next 8 years with her!! And I am not kidding!!!! He feels very sorry for me and I am sure a bit relieved to know he won't be around to see the fall out from all the fights and power struggles that will be taking place in this house in the next few years.

Well Katie just had her baby and she is soooo cute! I think they are going to end up naming her Emmy Kate! I am not sure if it is really after Emma Kate or if they just really like the name and want it to be a little different then Emma's name, although we call our Emma Emmy all the time. Emma is thrilled with the idea that her cousin is going to have the same name as her so that is great. I really wish I could have had 5 kids like Katie!

My Sister the "COPYCAT"

Where do I start today? I am getting a bit annoyed by my younger sister who shall remain nameless (if you even know me a little you may not have a hard time figuring out who I am talking about). I starting blogging last summer and so guess what??...that's right she had to start blogging! That is not even the bad part though. She copied (or stole which ever term you want to use) my whole blog background!! She copied every last detail!!!! My whole life I had to deal with this and I am finally getting sick and tired of it. She wishes she had a little bit of creativity in her but I think I have more creativity in my pinkie than she has in her whole body! I am sorry if God blessed me with that talent and gave me her share of it too. I feel like she has been copying me her whole life. She even admitted to me this Christmas that she was a copycat after I sent her my family pictures and then her family wore the same colors as we did because she just can't think of anything better to do. I don't know what to do about it? She needs to be her own person and find her own individuality because some day I am not going to be around for her to copy! Maybe after I die she will shortly follow me to heaven because she won't know what to do for family pictures that year.

December Pictures

Elle at her school Christmas assembly.

Elle and Emma showing all that sisterly love!

I think they were just happy to have the recital over!

Elle, Bridget (piano teacher), and Emma at the piano recital.

Sisters forever! Always having fun!

Elle is always having fun with her tongue!

Christmas morning...Tanner was not ready to face the morning

but Sandy, Scott and Emma were!

Christmas Eve with the missionaries.

Beautiful Emma

New Years Eve

Growing up is hard to do...for who? Mom or Child?

Well it has been a few weeks since my last blog and I have had a couple of requests for an updated blog...so here goes!

I feel really blessed right now. I have been afforded the privilege to be a stay at home mom for the majority of my kids life. Although I know that there have been many moments in my life when I have dreamed of going off to work and leaving the child rearing to someone else to handle, probably 99.9 percent of the time I have felt it a true privilege to have had the opportunity to be a stay at home mom! With Tanner leaving soon to go off to college I feel like the time I have had with him has been a huge blessing in my life and I hope he might feel the same way about having had his mom around. When I was 28 it was weird to hear older moms give their advice about how time fly by and before you know it your kids are all grown up and you are wishing for the days when the kids were driving you up a wall and you didn't have time to even jump in the shower let alone go to the bathroom alone! Now I am beginning to understand their advice because I find myself begging my kids to come to the bathroom with me to keep me company!! Boy do I miss the good'ole days! It is so true!! I know all my kids will be gone out of the house before I can blink and I am dreading those days just as much as I am looking forward to them. I feel so excited for my kids to grow up and achieve their dreams after all I have always encouraged them to do what ever might make them happy (especially if that meant being a Dr., Tanner! just kidding, Tanner!) but at the same time it also means letting go and allowing them to spread their wings and face the wonderful joys that await them even though that means I won't be by their side. I guess I just hope they don't forget their mom and how much she would love to have them come visit!

Phones...College (Not)...Pets (dog or cat that is the question)

Where do I start today? Lets see...how about the dreaded teenage cell phone account! I can feel for you Al! Cell phones....what a racket! Emma's is confiscated right now because of slipping grades. I would lay down some conditions to go along with the phone if I were you. Emma is now getting serious about doing her homework because she is going through with drawls! What kind of job does Kayla have to support her phone habit anyway? You are getting her started on it and then expecting her to pay for it in 6 months....with what moola?? I wouldn't allow her to take it to church or YW during the week because the girls are so disrespectful with their phones during lessons and activities they have no phone manners. Good luck with navigating teenage land!!!!!! It only gets better!

Tanner is the biggest procrastinator in all this earth!!! It is college application time and the deadline is looming HUGE right now. The problem is, to get into any respectable school you can't wait until the deadline you have to get your applications in the first week or two when the schools start to accept the applications not the last two weeks before the deadlines! Tanner has got it backwards....and now I am not sure if he will even get into any of his choice of schools. Only time will tell. He always loves to save things for the very last day of the deadline no matter what it is for.

Now lets talk pets! You need to just give into it Al! Aren't we willing to do just about anything for our kids happiness?? I am mean you just gave into the pressure of teenage bugging about cell phones and those things can do much more damage then any cat or dog will ever do in your house! Have you heard about all those kids in Utah and other places for that matter that share special pictures over their cell phones?? And you are worried about a little dog poop! Lets keep things in prospective. Let Lauren nurture her love of animals in a very good way...getting a little kitty won't hurt anything and they are better then dogs when you have to go out of town they don't have to be babysat like dogs. They are much better to potty train and they are calm and peaceful like you! What is the hang up about cats???

Okay I hope I haven't brought anyone to tears today!! I love all you who read my blog and may be having spasms right now. I know you can do it!! Just take some deep breaths and know that you can survive all things! I hope you all have a great Christmas...I will be missing you all on that special night of visiting with the family that is out on parole.

I say this all in joking...I know that what ever you decide to do about pets will be right for your family!

Love you all

fall pictures

I often go with the missionaries to teach the investigators. Sister Alki is from Japan and she is the best!! I will miss her when she returns to Japan.

This is the day I highlighted Emma's hair. It is always fun to spend 2 straight hours with Emma talking while I do her hair!

Elle had a fun skating day with her school on Halloween. Instead of having class parties they take the school to the local ice skating rink and party!

Christmas Is Coming The Goose Is Getting Fat And Lots of Parties Are Coming!

Can you believe I have already done 20 posts?? It is almost Christmas...14 days and counting. I have almost got all shopping done! I love Christmas with all the decorations and smells and glad tidings! I am going to miss my family this year but we are planning on a really fun Christmas Eve with the missionaries and some families in the ward that we are close to. The great thing about living outside of Utah and away from all those Mormons is your ward really does become your family.

We are planning a huge party for next Friday...probably 30 or more teenagers will converge on my home and it will be great. I love the youth of the ward and all my kids friends. We are planning on caroling and then lots of games and food afterwards to warm up.

I just got done Christmas decorating my friends house. It was beautiful. I love to decorate and especially Christmas. We are doing an exchange...she is going to give me massages...hour for hour. I already have put in 10 hours that means that I get 10 hours of massages!! If you even know me a little you know that I think I am getting the best end of this deal! But of course Ann thinks she is getting the best end. I love massages, I am always trying to get Tanner, Scott, Emma and even Elle to give me little shoulder rubs or feet or anything! My family is tired of me asking so they are just as happy that I made this little trade out!

Blogging, Face Book, Emailing,...oh my!

Well I haven't blogged for a few weeks. Part of it is I have started my own face book account and it is kind of addicting. Someone asked me what really is the difference in all this blogging, email, and face book stuff? I look at blogging as a form of journaling and I guess my face book account is a way to keep in touch with people quickly. You get to know what they are doing in their lives in a quick snap shot but on the other hand they also get to see your life just as well. How much do I want Joe Blow from high school to know what is going on in my life? It seems a bit intimate? I am happy to share with my close friends and family but I seem to not know how I feel about people I have lost contact with for years suddenly being able to access my life. At the same time it is a great way to keep in touch with those you love and care about without picking up the phone or even sending them a personal email especially considering that I live so far away from many people that I love. I think it has wonderful pros and a few cons. I do know that Tanner is very unhappy that his mother has a face book account and is friends with some of the same friends as he is. He would like to think that face book is his own space without having to worry about his mother knowing what he is saying and doing in his social circle. I see his point and I am trying to respect his privacy but I have been enjoying being Emma's friend and it doesn't seem to bother her.

Thanksgiving is a few days away!! I love Thanksgiving. I am looking forward to putting up the tree this year with the girls. Emma made me promise her today that we would put the tree up on Thanksgiving. I think decorating reminds me of my mom. She always went way out in the decorating area and I was always her helper. It brings back many fond memories of my mom and the holidays when I put my own decorations up. I have learned a lot from my mom about decorating and I am glad that she invited me as a girl to help her.

I have just finished a really busy time in my life with R.S. I now have a bit of a break before I have to start planning for next year. I am glad to have my big enrichment meeting and craft group over with. They were a big success but a lot of work goes into the planning and executing of activities like this.

I am working on a couple of special projects for my kids for Christmas. I hope that they like them because they are going to be very time consuming. I will tell you what they are after I give them to my kids.