28 on the 28th

I had another great birthday season this year. I like having birthdays and I embrace getting older. Why fight it? I say roll with it. It is the one time of year that I can celebrate being me and make everyone else do the same. Dax took the weekend off and in turn gave me the weekend off. It was much needed, appreciated, and I think deserved.

This morning I attended our stake Relief Society Women's Conference. It really boosted my spirits and I went away with some goodies to ponder on. One being this:

Our perception becomes our reality.

If I perceive I am pretty, I am. If I perceive I am a good Mother, I am. If I perceive my husband and children are angels, then they are. On the other hand, If I perceive that I am not as good as my neighbor, then I'm not. If I perceive that my body looks wrong, then it does. If I perceive that life sucks, then it does. I love the idea of creating a vision for my life and then changing my perception to match that vision and in turn my perception starts to become my reality. Changing our lives from good to great is a matter of milimeters, not miles. All it takes is a few small changes to make ourselves who we really want to be. But first we have to figure out who that is. Once we do that, we can get to work and make it happen!

Later this afternoon, I worked with Dax in our backyard pulling up weeds and trees. Who needs candles when you have a burning pile of weeds! Woo HOO! After dinner we did some pillow fighting, wrestling, and tickling, and called it a night.

So far, 28 is great.

funny honey

My husband is a quick wit and can pull crazy humor out of no where... but only if he's comfortable around someone. Well he's comfortable around me and around 4am this morning when I got up to pee and check on the kids, this conversation went down:

Him: "Did you check on the baby?"
Me: "Yes."
Him: "There weren't any loose baby girls trying to sneek into his crib?"
Me: "... no"
Him: "Dang baby sluts...wearing their mascara and Huggies thongs."

progress

I wanted to post pics of the house when it was done, but now I realize a house is never done. There is always something to work on so here is us at this point in time. I am not going to worry about the unfinished curtains, unpacked boxes, newlywed furniture, and dirty dishes, etc. I am going to say that we really love our new house and are so comfy and love to RUN and even walk without crashing into things and people. We also love TWO bathrooms. And a garage. And a sweet range. And a basement, which I've never really posted pics of before...

The Basement:

Our Room:

Dining and Kitchen: The 50's turquoise dinette is for sale. Any reasonable offer will not be refused.
The kids' rooms:

Here are some pics of our life right now. Hunter lost his second tooth. Mack still loves the bath and continues the perma-bruised forehead. Hunter and I went to church together and left Dax home with sick Preslie and crazy Mack. We've been to our new ward twice and everyone is super nice. We walked to the park and Preslie was not feeling well that day either, so Hunter held her hand and encouraged her all the way home ("we're almost there").

I need to get on my soapbox for a minute...

IF YOUR CHILD IS SICK, please, PLEASE, KEEP THEM HOME FROM SCHOOL. Preslie will pick up ANY illness that crosses her path and has the worst cough right now. I KNOW she got it from school. She is ALWAYS the first one sick in our family and gets TICKED when she has to stay home from school but I REFUSE to do what other irresponsible parents do and send their sick child to school. If they knew how much it affected my child and our family, they MIGHT think twice about sending their coughing, boogering kid to school.

JUST KEEP THEM HOME and STOP the spread of disease. Stop the insanity, and stop making ME and my family and my baby pay the price for your laziness or selfishness or whatever it is.

Thank you.

little blessings, big messes

There are so many things to do when you move.

I didn't think cleaning a can of Comet off my new floors would be one of them. The soda spill, Comet, and sewing pins all happened before 9am.

The previous day, Mack got a hold of a bag of Cheerios (thanks Preslie) and he was not content just to dump them all on the floor; he had to stomp on them, too.

Oh, and there's more destruction... The phone company's hired idiot beat the crap out of the side of our house with his track hoe.

LIFE! I am so happy to be apart of it and I am serious about that. After thinking last week that I would lose my sister in a few short years, things just don't seem that bad. I am not saying life isn't stressful and sometimes more than I think I can take, but there are people out there with far worse problems. Dax and I go nearly insane keeping our baby from destroying everything around him, including himself. Mack's ability to cause destruction grows exponentially every day. Yet I know there are couples out there that would do anything to have a child. And I would desperately love for them to come babysit mine. It seems like there are a million little projects and jobs to do on our house still and we just can't keep up! But I am GRATEFUL for a comfortable home. There are families out there who wonder where they are going to sleep tonight and people who have lost their jobs and are stressing to make their house or rent payment. So really life isn't all too bad.

It's wonderful.

best news

My parents and Trina went to the Oncologist with Tisha today. The final reports are in and the doc said she is the LUCKIEST cancer patient in the world. Because they were able to find and remove it before it spread any more, she has a clean bill of health! My sister and the rest of my family are walking on AIR. We are so grateful.

counting blessings

This week wins the award for most crazy, most wonderful, and most scary... all at once.

Monday my oldest sister Tisha went to the doctor for a pain in her abdomen was diagnosed with renal carcinoma which is kidney cancer for which there is no cure and life expectancy is short. She was scheduled to get her kidney removed on Wednesday.

Tuesday morning we had our final inspection on the house and were thrilled. After that I called Tisha and I hardly knew what to say and we just cried as we were both so unsure about her future. My mind could not process losing her. Later, Craig, Dax and I took the boys to eat lunch with Preslie at her school to celebrate finishing the house.

Wednesday Tisha got her kidney removed and my siblings and parents and I were on edge all day awaiting news of the surgery. The doctor said that they were very optimistic that they got all the cancer. They will have to watch her closely to make sure to catch any other possible occurrences. She may have to undergo chemotherapy or radiation.

Thursday we packed and packed as I dreamed about my new house and wondered how my sister was digesting all of this news. Dax carried boxes and furniture down all the stairs, loaded the trailer, then unloaded everything at the house. I usually do this with him when we move, but Mack was SO in the middle of everything that it was all I could do to keep him out of the way and off the concrete stairs as Dax was loading. Needless to say Dax was SICK of carrying boxes up and down stairs.

Friday, Dax's work buddies came to help us move and we were so thankful. That evening, Craig and Nadine came to visit us and celebrate our first night in our house. I think it is cool that we moved in on Craig's birthday. I woke up a couple of times in the night and looked around thinking how pretty my room was and then I would fall back asleep smiling.

Saturday felt like Christmas, not Valentine's Day. We woke up to a light snow on the ground, boxes everywhere, Craig putting together the kids' little table and chairs Nadine brought them, Dax putting up curtain rods for me. It all felt like a wonderful dream. A wonderful, exhausting dream.

Sunday (today) we were a circus trying to find shoes and makeup and blow dryer and get ready without any mirrors (we still need to get those in the bathrooms). We made it to our new ward and it hit me when the Sunday school introduced us and said, "are you permanent residents?" Whoa. It is just crazy to me that I live in a house. Our furniture is so tiny in here. Our couches and kitchen table shrunk!

I called Tisha and I was brought to tears by how grateful she was for her life and how blessed she felt. I guess that is what happens when you look death in the face. It makes you realize just how neat life is and that each day is a gift from Heavenly Father. She has always been an example of someone who cherishes each day and spends her time on what is truly important. I have faith that she will live long enough to enjoy her six children and that God's blessings will continue to pour out upon her because of her faithfulness and all the good she does in the world. I love my family and am so thankful to have the chance to learn and experience this life!

WE PASSED.

I almost convinced myself this day would never come though I've dreamed about it for the past 6 months. Our final inspection was this morning.

Craig has built us a solid, beautiful, KICK BUTT house.

IT'S MOVING TIME.

Happy DAY (even though I had to dig in the dumpster)

Best smell of the day: New Carpet

Worst smell: Beer & TV dinners (in the dumpster)

YES! We got carpet today. I was so nervously excited all day. Then we went up to see it and OH. Beautious.

We got excited. So excited that Preslie took off her shoes and socks so she could walk on the carpet bare-footed. She then made history by putting her things away in her new closet. I quickly documented the occasion for it may never happen again.

In other news, I dug through our dumpster while many of our neighbors watched in wonder (disgust). The weird thing is we NEVER see our neighbors hanging out outside, but the one time I have to dig through their garbage to find some pieces of tile we needed, there they are! Awesome.

Yesterday, I had the kids make Valentines for their class because as crazy as this week is, I predict next week to be pure insanity so better to get it done early. Plus, all Valentines making supplies will be packed up by Valentine's Day.

They had a good time.

Preslie's classmate Galven is going to get a rude awakening in his Valentine's mailbox on Friday. I love my daughter.