#1's Weekly Email: Week #38

This past week's email came in a day late, and here I am a week late in getting it posted. She threw off my groove. Anyway, here it is…..

A day late :)

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Sooooo Hi :) How's everyone today? Everything's good over here. Just peachy :) There's a reason why this is late and that would be because yesterday we got to go on another Zone Activity because we achieved the Standard of Excellence again for the month of February. And we just happened to be the only zone in the whole mission to achieve. Woohoo! So we got to go to Mt. Samat. If you don't know what that is it is a really big monument from world war 2. All about the Death March in Bataan. If you are at home, feel free to look it up. It's a really cool story about how the Filipinos and the Americans worked together against the Japanese. But the monument itself is amazing. It is a giant cross on the top of a hill. And you can go inside it and ride an elevator all the way to the top. When you're at the top, there are windows on both sides and you can see from one side of the island (you can literally see the ocean) to the other (and then you can see the other ocean). It was pretty awesome. But the coolest part was the spiritual devotional thing we had afterwards. But yeah :) Yesterday was a good day. But right now I'm supposed to tell you about this last week, so I guess I should get to that.  Monday was fun. Support days are exhausting though. Support days are what you call the first p-day of the month and you go get your money. And then you shop and get everything you need to get done. And then we went out and worked. We didn't have an FHE planned to we went to our area and decided to do some finding. Brother C M worked with us. He's never worked with us before. We contacted a couple of referrals and I got to I2L a lady who wanted to talk to me because I'm white and speak English. The reason she wanted to do that is because her husband is Canadian and she needs someone to practice English on while he's gone. Works for me as long as I get to teach her.  Tuesday: We had a district meeting and that was good and President Q attended our meeting. I got to give the Spiritual Instruction at the end and yup. That was it. Then we went out and taught. We taught Sister J who is an interesting old lady and also a member of Iglesia ni Cristo. That was an interesting lesson because she just wanted to compare our church with hers. Good luck with that. Then we went and taught D who is the cousin of some members here. He's a funny kid who is 14 years old and he's shy because we're girls haha. But it was a good lesson and now he has a baptismal date and we'll see what happens with that. And then we went and taught Brother D and Brother C worked with us again and he shared the scripture with him. Brother D has been discouraged a lot because he's trying to stop smoking. It was a good lesson and we've really been trying to encourage him. We'll see what happens there too. Wednesday: Brother C M worked with us the whole day today. And we were punted. We still taught people and had a good day in that sense of the word but I haven't gone home that depressed or discouraged in a long time. Like since my training. I prayed so hard that night to figure out what I was supposed to do on Friday... And I refused to have a repeat of that day. Thursday: Thursday was a very very good day compared to Wednesday. We got to teach another referral for the first time. Brother L, who is very smart and wants to be baptized too. And then we taught some less-actives and D and Brother D again too. And Brother W worked with us. I love it when he works with us. It was like a breath of fresh air.  Friday: Brother C worked with us again. The day was good. We got to teach the lady that we contacted on Monday who only wanted to talk to me because I was white. She calls me Hess because she doesn't realize that that is my last name haha. She's a Baptist and we got to hear all about her life problems. It was very very interesting. Then we went and taught Tatay A who is one recent convert who recently suffered from a stroke. We got Brother C and Brother W to give him a priesthood blessing and the changes were dramatic. He sat up more and had more energy and we actually got to teach him. It was awesome. We also taught the S family again and Brother C taught them and he did it right this time :) And then we went and taught Brother D. He's really down on himself. We almost don't know how to help him. But we keep trying because we know that he can do it. So all-in-all the day was a really big success.  Saturday: Happy Birthday, Dad! :) We had a meeting with our BML and we planned for a Mini MTC that we're gonna hold in two weeks. It's gonna be awesome! And then our BML, Brother De worked with us. I love that guy. He's super funny. He's an RM that served in the Cebu mission and he's a really good missionary. We went and taught D again and it was a good lesson and then we went to teach Brother D. We were really hoping that Brother De could help him because they're best friends. And he did help him. Brother D was a bit more encouraged and willing to keep trying. Sunday: Brother D's birthday. He worked with us all day and didn't smoke (because he couldn't). At the end of the day we went and dropped him off at his house and he told us that if it was last year he wouldn't have been working with the missionaries for his birthday. He would have been off drinking at one of his buddies houses. He told us that this birthday was a lot happier and then he said that he wasn't going to smoke anymore because he really wanted to quit and he knew he could. YES! Success :)  So yeah. That was my week. It had it's ups and downs but that's just how missionary work is. I know that this is the only true church on earth and if we keep striving to be exactly obedient and never give up, the Lord will bless us in every aspect. I love you all and thank you so much for all the support and prayers.  Have a great week. Talk to you next time.  Mahal ko kayo! -Sister Hess :)

Just Happy

image:
juliashinklephotography.com

My second daughter is turning 16 soon--actually, the first day of school. To avoid the first of school craziness, especially in an educator's family, we decided to have her "sweet 16" party tonight.

She wanted to have a murder mystery party. This is the third one we've done. My favorite, by far, was the one we did a couple years ago for our son. There were all kinds of extra activities you could do. One of the things the kids did was make up a rap. It was just so entertaining. I wish I could remember the company that produced that party. I'd buy from them again.

image: oregon.gov

This morning, before we went and prepared the last of the things for the party, #3 and I ran out to the DMV to get her permit. She was successful. While we were there, we ran into one of her good buddies from EFY who was also getting his permit. It was fun to sit and talk to his mom. It's funny how some people you can meet and feel like you could just sit and talk for hours? Well, that's how this was.

After we finished at the DMV, we ran to the mall to return a pair of jeans #3 had purchased. It was so fun being with #3. We went and got the food for the party and returned home.

image: photos.oregonlive.com

The Warden took the younger kids to dinner and to the park with the fountain. #5 stayed and played "servant boy" for the party. He did a nice job serving everyone.

Tomorrow night, my brother and his family fly into town. I'm so excited to see them and to get to spend some time with them.


So, here's tonight's list of things I'm grateful for:

1. My kids' friends. They really do pick great people to hang out with. With some of my kids, I marvel at just how perfect their friends are for them--almost like they're hand-picked.
2. The ability to drive and to have other drivers in our home. As I've been walking more and more
   
   in preparation for the race coming up, I'm learning how much I value my car. I drove #1's car with the top off this evening to take one of the girls home from the party. The sky was super gray, and I was pretty sure I was going to get a bit wet. Sure enough....just after I dropped her off, it started. It was funny, though, as I drove I didn't get wet at all. When I'd have to stop for a light, I'd feel a few drops on my forehead. I just tilted my head back and enjoyed the rain--just like a born and raised Oregon girl, I guess.
3. My supportive husband. #3 and I were able to clean the house without little ones running around. It was great. I love that he will step up and do whatever's necessary to help all of the rest of us in our home be successful. What a great man!

Tonight, I'm wanting to write to #1 and tell her all about life. I'm so looking forward to hearing from her Sunday evening. I had a chance to chat with one of her friends who came to the party this evening. Made me not miss her quite as much.

I'm so glad my kids have such good friends, and I love having these people in my home. It was a really fun night.

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#1's Weekly Email: Week #5

It's so funny to see #1 in jeans, as you'll see in her first picture. It is only on their Preparation Day (P-day) that they can move away from the usual dresses and skirts and Elders from suits.

Needless to say, these girls are EXCITED. They are now the oldest missionaries heading to their mission in the MTC. It's funny to think that somewhere in the Olongapo Mission some sister will be called to be #1's first companion. I really wonder what she'll be like. It used to be, from what I understand, that the North American missionaries had to have native companions. I'm curious to see if that's still the case.

I now get photos from Sister T. and Sister P., so that's super great! I love that they so willingly share. #1 did, however, take her own photos this week. She was lacking a card reader. There you go, parents who are preparing to send missionaries off in the future, don't forget a card reader that they can hook into the computers there at the MTC and upload their photos. I ordered her one and had it shipped to her, and now life is hunky dory.

Okay, so I put the most important things in bold lettering so you can cruise through this email if you don't have time to peruse its intricacies. The foreign words are in italics and are translated at the very bottom of the post.

 Here you go....

Enjoy!

Kumusta mga Pamilya ko!

How are you guys? Life here is just plain awesome. Wanna know why?! I got my travel plans!

We're flying from Salt Lake to San Fran to TOKYO! :D We get to spend TWO hours in TOKYO! I'M SO EXCITED! I'm going back to Japan :) Seriously I'm overjoyed. I'm gonna go eat a bunch of jumbos and a bunch of their chocolate bars and yup. That's how it's gonna be.

So on Tuesday, all the girls in my district played the funniest prank on my kasama. It was PERPEKTO. Sister W. pulled her shirt halfway over her own head and had her super long hair hanging out of the bottom and it looked like she had a beard. She makes the funniest faces ever. So while my kasama was in the shower, she went and sat on her bed and got under the covers. She was sitting on Sister T's pillow and was hiding behind the closet door. We turned off all the lights and sat by the door at the desk with the desk light on. Sister T finally showed up and put her clothes away and then turned to her bed. She kind of looked at the head of her bed for a second and then Sister W. chuckled and Sister T. jumped back a foot and then screamed. It was the Funniest Thing I have seen in such a long time.  Oh man I'm still laughing about it and it was days ago.

The other night we wanted to talk so Sister P., Sister S., Sister T., and I went out behind the MTC and talked and stargazed. It was awesome. We almost felt normal again for a second.

We're learning so much. We've kind of started reviewing things since we only have 9 days left here. It's crazy to think that we've already been here for a month. It totally flew by.

Every day we either have gym time where we go work our butt off or we go play piano.

Oh, I'll be buying a calling card and I'm gonna call you guys in when we're at the Salt Lake airport so be sure to be home on the 29th in the morning. At like 9-ish. Our flight leaves around 11:15.

I'll be sending home stuff I don't want to take to the Philippines with me this next week, ok? So if you get a package from me, that's what it is.

Our whole district gets to host the newbies this next Wednesday and Sister P. and Sister S. and Sister T. and I were chosen to be part of this teaching experience that they do ever Wednesday night for the newbies. They put all the newbies in different rooms but in huge groups and they have an "investigator" in there (they're really just converts that have interesting stories) and then a companionship comes in and starts the discussion with the "investigators" and then the newbies take over. It's gonna be awesome. And all the companionships that are chosen are recommended by their teachers. So that means that our teachers like us a lot and think that we'd be good examples for the new missionaries. No pressure or anything. Oh and another thing. We get to do it in English... pero we've only ever taught in Tagalog so we don't know how to do it in English! hahaha we'll see what happens. It's gonna be so fun.

Earlier this week some of the sisters and I got priesthood blessings from our elders. i'm so grateful that we're surrounded by the priesthood here. it's awesome. And that all these elders are worthy to hold it is pretty incredible too.

Ummm I think that's it. I'm definitely gonna write #5 this week and I might send him a t-shirt too (don't tell him that). When the email home to you said that "[T.] pointed [#4] out" or whatever it said, I was about to go all crazy white girl on T. hahaha good thing I didn't. Um you don't need to send cookies. I've got enough food over here... But if you could send me a jar of nutella and a box of cheezits I would love that. I think that's everything.

I love you guys and I miss you and I hope everything's going good at home.

Mahal kita!

-Sister Hess

p.s. I'll send you pictures of everything. Including our classroom, the drinking fountain in our building, and the bathroom.

Top left to bottom right (in #1's own words):

TOP ROW:

• Classroom: This is the room that I've been stuck in everyday for the last MONTH.
• Mga dink: One of our zone leaders favorite words is Dink. he calls us dinks all the time...
• Desks: These are mine and Sister T.'s desks.
• Birthday!: It was Sister P.'s birthday this last week. and behind the banner is the first vision and our purpose in Tagalog.

MIDDLE ROW:

• Air con: This is the air conditioning unit in our classroom. Every single day, I stand on my chair and close the vent cuz it's so freaking cold and my chair's right next to it....
• View: This is the view from our window. the sunsets are absolutely amazing here every single night.
• Hallway: This is the hallway right outside of our bathroom.
• Stairwell: This is the stairwell right outside of our hallway. We study here all the time, and it was out this window that Sister P and I saw President Monson :)

BOTTOM ROW:

• Drinking fountain!: This is our drinking fountain :)
• Bathroom: This is the bathroom in our building :) You said you wanted pictures of everything...
• Computer: This is the computer and tv that we use everyday in class.
• Computer lab: This is the computer lab where we do TALL (our language computer program. I absolutely hate it)

Tagalog-English Translation

Kumusta mga Pamilya ko: Hello, my family

Kasama: companion

Perpekto: perfect (probably didn't need to translate this one, huh?)

Mahal kita: I love you

Okay, I HAVE to share one more thing with you.....Today, among the photos #1 sent was this:

The caption read something like this:

"Our building is named after this cutie. His name is Heber C. Kimball, and this is his picture. Hehe"

Oh, my dear girl! This is the one leader of the early Church that you are, from what I understand, related to. "Hehe" is right.

Things to Do

Today we celebrate #7's birthday. Our kids only get a big party with friends every four years, so this will be #7's first birthday party. On the off years, they get a smaller celebration with family and one friend. For this party, #3, who has aspirations of being an event planner, has it all laid out. I put it in her hands. It's going to be so fun!

image: community.thenest.com

This morning, we have a Tinkerbell cake to make. I'm using my small Pampered Chef bowl to make a doll cake. I've never done this before, so wish me luck.

We also have a baby shower to attend this afternoon, so we'll have some blanket making to do--me and #3; although, we might rope #s 4 and 5 in as well. When we all get going on it, we can be done in less than a half hour.

#1 has Preparation Pay today. It's typically called "P-Day," but we're learning at our house, it must be referred to as Preparation Day, or somebody around here can't stop giggling. Ugh! This means we should be receiving an email from her.

The great thing about this whole mission letter thing is that since we've been writing to missionaries for years, our kids are well practiced. Along with this, our kids learned the great joy of receiving letters from missionaries. #1 knows that writing back is super important. I'm really excited to hear from her.

I sent her a package yesterday. For some reason, she wanted her big fleece blanket. We also sent her some cookies. We'll see if they're any good by the time she gets them. She also wanted a few clothing items sent. #3 and I unpacked and repacked all of her boxes. I thought she'd put her blankets in one of the four boxes, so I ended up opening them all. It ended up that the blankets were in a closet. Oops. Anyway, we refolded all of her things and organized them into the boxes and marked every box with what was in it just in case we ever have to search for something for her again.

#1's guy friend (that's what we'll call him) just got his mission call this past week. He's going to the Tokyo South Mission. YAY!!! He's been studying Japanese for a few years, so this is nice. It doesn't always work out that way--I studied Spanish, but it's sure nice when it does. It ends up that his mission president was my teacher in the MTC all those years ago. The world just keeps getting smaller.

The Warden and #2 return some time this afternoon from high adventure. I've heard from the Warden twice while they've been gone. It sounds like they've had a BLAST. They've been through the Redwoods and have jet boated, just to name a few things. I can't wait to see them and hear all about the amazing things they've done. They may walk in in the middle of a four-year-old birthday party, but we shall see.

The other thing I have to do today is pick up my Bountiful Baskets. I did this a couple weeks ago too. It was great! I'm looking forward to the fruits and veggies we get for this week. I'm going to go a bit early to help unload the truck.

image:
juliashinklephotgraphy.com

Also, another twist on life....I've cut back on a number of things. Driving with #1 a few months back, I was expressing my displeasure about a few things in life right now. She shared that I was doing too much and that other things around here were paying the price for that. She encouraged me to cut some things out, so I started in that very day. It was hard to do because I believe that what I've been involved with has been very worthwhile, but for now, my focus needs to be here at home.

I have to be honest, with a grandmother that passed away at 37, I dread the idea that if I die young, I won't get to do all of these things I really feel passionate about. I feel like I have to do them now, or they may never happen. It's amazing how this grandmother affects much of what I do and don't do. I think he story is tragically sad. I figure, at this point in life, I celebrate every year I've survived since 37. There is just so much to do in life, and I want to live to do it all.

When I called to cut myself out of one responsibility that I took on a few years ago, the woman I spoke with shared with me that she totally understood. I was so surprised with her support. She said that this is one of satan's greatest tools--to keep us overly busy and distracted so that we lose focus on what's really important--our families. Wow! She couldn't have said anything better. I knew I was doing the right thing.

In the meantime, there have been three new opportunities thrown my way. I have to be honest, I only rejected one of them. Of the other two, the responsibility was filled while I was deliberating (I was at camp that week) and this most recent, I'm doing. The good thing is that it isn't a long-term commitment and doesn't require a lot of time away. The two commitments I pondered undertaking were both that way--short-term commitments with little time required to do them.

A friend called yesterday, while I was purchasing the fabric for the blanket and gave me the chance to join a walking team for the Hood-to-Coast Relay. I'm super excited about it, and it really is just what I need--something to get me moving a bit more. I also get to hang out with some FABULOUS women. Not sure what could be better than this.

So, there's life for you. Now, I'm off to make a cake with some kids and get a blanket started with another kid or two. I'm looking forward to an email and to seeing the Warden and #2 today. I don't think they could get home fast enough. I've missed them! In the meantime, though, I think I may have enough to keep me busy.

The Importance of Jelly Beans

The night of his birthday, #5 came upstairs to head to bed. I could tell by his face that something wasn't right, so I pulled him into my room. We sat on the bed and talked. It didn't take long to get to the heart of the matter...."I didn't get the jelly beans."

What?

I was clearly missing something. "What jelly beans?"

"Well, last year, everybody else got jelly beans for their birthdays. I never got mine."

HaHa! Oh, okay.

costco.com

Here's the deal with that....Last year, meaning 2011, many of the kids requested a big container of jelly beans from Costco. For those children that asked for them, I took the money required to make the purchase from their birthday budget, bought them, and gifted them to them.

Not everyone received them, but those who had put them on their list did. I guess to #5 it looked like everyone but him. I shared this with him and that I would have happily bought them had they been on his list.

I tried to explain to #5 that the budget was spent. There was no more money for his birthday, but if he wanted to wait, there would be money accumulating each month, and I'd be happy to go out and spend that money early to give him the jelly beans. That didn't make him happy. He wanted them now. He felt he had waited long enough.

image: 02varvara.wordpress.com

I need to interject here that I was totally clueless that this child ever wanted jelly beans. I was feeling like a total loser to have missed that boat. Of course, I want to be able to give my children everything they want, what mother doesn't? But, I'm also not foolish enough to give my children the false impression that there's always money for everything, and you can have whatever you want whenever you want it.

I shared with him that the money tree I had attempted to grow had failed but assured him that there are other options. Here's what he was presented:

• Bag the idea of getting jelly beans altogether.
• Wait and receive the jelly beans for your next birthday.
• Get the jelly beans for Christmas next year.
• Buy jelly beans after that much money has accumulated in the birthday budget again.
• Earn your own money to buy the jelly beans (I gave ideas of how I would assist him if he chose this).

image: everythingforyourchild.wordpress.com

He mulled these over and then came up with his own idea....Every year, he receives Christmas money from his grandparents. "I could spend my Christmas money!" Awesome idea! I reminded him that this money was being saved to be able to buy some fun things at Disneyland. "Do you want to be able to do that, or would you rather cut it by this much to have the jelly beans now and less at Disneyland?" I was totally great with this option, but I could foresee some very sad times in the Magic Kingdom for one young man.

We both mulled it over, and then I presented this final idea. "You could hold onto the money, spend as much as you want to at Disneyland, and then make sure, if the jelly beans are still that high of a priority,  that you save the money needed for them until you get home."

This was it! He was suddenly very excited. This choice would allow him to make a conscious decision and exert some self control.

Yesterday we went to Costco to purchase a few things. We found the jelly beans and made sure of the price, so he knows how much to save.

Lately, the Marshmallow Test has been on my mind. You know, the one in which little kids were put in a room with a marshmallow placed in front of them and the promise that if they can wait to eat it, there will be another one brought in. I wanted to find a video for that just now to illustrate it, but ran across this report instead.




After having seen that, I could only hope that this waiting will lead to such rewards in #5's life.

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Can I Share a Story with You?

Ten years ago today, this sweet young man entered our lives.

I have written about this experience once before, but I thought today would be a good day to revisit this amazing event in our lives. This is something I want this boy to know. He is a miracle.

Here's a funny Hess family fact....

Before this child (#5), here are the due and birth dates of each of the preceding children:
#1 (girl)  - due 11/18 - born 11/11
#2 (boy) - due 10/10 born 10/4
#3 (girl) - due 9/9 born 9/4
#4 (boy) - due 1/1 born 12/28

Okay, do you see a pattern? #5 was the most difficult child to conceive. It took a couple years. With him, I was due on 1/16, and he was a boy. He is also the first that I had an epidural with. Looking back now, I think I must have been crazy not to with the others, but I had some huge control issues prior to #5's birth. In short, this child was different. He broke all of the patterns.

So, here's the rest of the story.....

image: tualatinchamber.com

Another way the pattern was broken was when I called in to my OB's office to make the first appointment with this pregnancy. The receptionist told me that the doctor (the only LDS OB in our area at the time) would not deliver at the hospital that our insurance would cover. He had delivered three others there, but was no longer taking that drive. I would need to find another OB this time around.

I found a doctor that a friend had recommended years prior. He had performed a surgery for me in my early 20s. When I went to see him the first time, it was clear that this was going to be a different experience this go 'round. Because I already had four children, I already knew the ropes, and he didn't need to take the time with me. I was pretty much in, weighed, and sent on my way.

Each time I went and felt more and more uneasy after I left.

On one occasion, I ran into my children's pediatrician leaving his office. It was clear that she adored this doctor and thought he was wonderful, so I went along with it being sure that eventually I would come to see all of that wonderfulness too.

image: perikinder.com

When I got to month seven, I woke in the middle of the night from a terrible nightmare. In it, I woke in a dark room facing an open doorway which led out into the hallway of a hospital. I was laying on a gurney. Shortly thereafter, this doctor and his female assistant walked in very matter of factly and said, "The trouble began at about 1a.m." I interjected, "No. No trouble." He shared with me that the baby had died and walked out. That was it. I got up from the gurney, walked out into the bright hallway and spent the rest of the dream wandering the halls looking for a friendly face....I found none.

I woke, in real life, with a wet pillow. I believe I was mid-sob because I remember trying to catch my breath. I woke the Warden and told him what had just happened. He assured me that it was just a dream and that I should go back to sleep. I tried.

The next day, the dream haunted me. It was just a dream. It was just a dream. I had to figure out how I was going to let it go. It seemed so real. I dealt with these feelings for two weeks.

image: thevillagebylmichelle.com

Suddenly it occurred to me that if something did happen when it came time to deliver this baby, and I hadn't at least tried to do something, how would I feel? What a huge load of guilt to carry. I'm not one to have prophetic dreams, but what if....What if things ended up disastrously? What then?

I had to do something!

I called the Warden, shared my new insight, and asked for his input. He said that I should try my previous doctor and I could at least ask. The worst they could say is no.

I gathered my courage and called. The doctor was out, but would I like to leave a voice mail for his assistant? "Sure."

On Monday morning, first thing, I received a phone call. The doctor's assistant was flabbergasted that I'd been told that he wouldn't deliver for me. Of course, he would. Could I come in the next morning to be seen?

I went in and waited. When the doctor came in, I was SO happy to see him. I felt sudden peace. I knew things were going to be okay.

image: velociraptorattack.blogspot.com

He walked in with a big smile on his face, greeted me, and said, "I understand they weren't too nice to you over there. Let me know who it is, and I'll break his kneecaps." We had a good laugh, and I explained the details of the dream to him. He listened and then asked, "Was the baby full term in the dream?"

I told him I didn't know, but I had no reason to believe he wasn't." He examined me, and we went into his office to discuss the future. Everything was normal. He told me that the earliest a doctor could induce was just inside of two weeks, so right then and there, he set up an induction date of January 3rd--13 days prior to the due date.

I continued to see him for those weeks. The morning of January 3rd, I woke up very nervous. What if....What if....I just couldn't get the nervousness to pass. Was I being wise to follow this plan?

We arrived at the hospital very early. It was still dark outside. The induction was started. Everything went smoothly. The baby arrived just fine. I was so relieved.

After his birth, I laid there and held #5 while the doctor continued his work. After a few minutes, he asked me a few questions....Was I sure of this baby's due date? Is there any chance he was overdue? No, the ultrasounds all said January 16th. He was early.

The doctor showed me the placenta. He asked me to remember the previous childbirth experiences. Had I ever seen a placenta like this before? No. To be honest, I had never really inspected the placentas before, so I wasn't really sure what I was looking at, but this one did not look healthy.

The doctor then added that had we not delivered the baby that day, he might not have survived.

I'm so grateful to have this boy in my life!

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It's Been Awhile Since I've Just Blithered to Blither

I just need to write to write tonight.

image: principlesforlife.org

I got my bedroom all straightened up and rearranged last night. It feels so good. I've been really grumpy lately, so I think I did it mostly just to see if it would straighten me out a bit. I think it helped quite a bit. I really have no reason to be grumpy, and I'm usually not one to be that way.

image:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing

I'm thinking that I need to go back to writing everyday. Maybe it'll help me even out a bit. It's funny. When I have lessons that I'm learning or things that bug me, I have no problem writing them, and they seem important, but when I don't, like lately, I wonder why anybody would ever want to read it. It makes me hesitate to write anything. It seems that I've forgotten the whole reason to keep this blog isn't really for anybody but me. Sorry. If you're at all interested in reading, go for it, but for awhile things might be a bit boring. Nothing's bugging me right now.

image: manassascity.org

I'm working on emergency preparedness. That's hugely on my brain right now. At this point, I'm just working on clearing spaces and attempting to create a plan so that I cover all of the necessary bases. I'm still working on editing the document about this topic. Because of the guilt I've been feeling as I've been editing (am I doing enough?), I thought I'd keep a very simple blog about the steps I'm taking to prepare my family for the future. It's not much, but if you're at all interested in reading along and joining in, here's a link. It's really not a big deal, just kind of a daily log to keep me in check and accountable.

The two birthday boys

I can't believe October starts tomorrow. We'll have two birthdays in the next ten days. #2 will be 17!  Woah! That's so hard to believe. Two years until we send out our first missionary.Yay and yikes at the same time.

I've got some pretty serious birthday shopping to undertake in the next few days. I did a little bit this weekend. You won't believe what #2 wanted for his birthday. I'll have to share later.

image: jennyphillips.com

We're getting ready for our Primary presentation. We have such great kids in our ward. They did great today as we practiced for the first time. It was wonderful to see things come together. It's times like these when I come to understand why my counselors are my counselors. They are such beautiful, strong, talented women. I'm grateful to work with them.

image: groworganicmeals.com

So, I have to share a funny story....my son and one of my counselor's sons sing in a regional LDS choir. We discussed carpooling, and I told her I'd just drive. It gives me two hours of uninterrupted time to get some things done on Sunday evenings. She asked me if she could help with gas. I told her, jokingly, that I liked to be paid in chocolate. Last Sunday, her son got in the car and handed me a really AMAZING chocolate bar. Again, tonight, there was another one. These aren't like Snickers bars, these are like gourmet chocolate bars--the likes of which I've never tasted before. I tried to tell her today at church that I was just joking around with her, but she assured me that she's made it part of her routine when she goes grocery shopping on Fridays to find me some kind of yummy chocolate. Wow! Okay, so this may sound funny, but even just knowing that somebody thinks about me makes me happy inside. I told her I'd happily drive her son anywhere any time.

image: housefulofhandmade.blogspot.com

This kind of reminds me of when I was a kid....A woman in the ward brought something to our family. I can't remember why, but it was food in a 9"x13" pan. Somehow, the pan broke, so I remember my mom going out and finding the prettiest 9"x13" pan she could find to replace it. She also found the yummiest dessert recipe she could to put in the pan. She made it and gave it to the woman who originally gave us the food. The next week at church, that woman gave the pan back to my mom with something yummy in it. Prior to this, my mom hardly knew this woman, as her family was new to the ward, but this went on week after week trading delicious things back and forth. I remember being so excited about that pan coming back to our house every other week. My mom was close friends with this woman from that point on--even after they moved from our ward.

image: ksl.com

We got the missionaries written to today. It's fun that a few of them are #1's friends. It's very weird to write for #6. Today, he started his letter "'Sup dudette?" as he wrote to a sister missionary friend of ours. It's been such a fun experience for our family. I'm so glad for dearelder.com.

image: clearci.com

Sometimes it's just so good to blither. Nice to get some of the overload out of my head and heart. If you've taken the time to read this far, thanks! Hope you have a great week!

Happy Birthday #3!

Happy birthday to my compassionate, loving, strong, spunky now 15-year-old! We love you SO!

image credit: juliashinklephotography.blogspot.com

Here we go....Fifteen things that I LOVE about this girl (in no particular order):

• She's the kind of person who, no matter who you are, makes you feel like you're the most important person in her world when all you do is walk into the room.
• She's organized. Her bedroom is LOVELY!
• She is spunky and enthusiastic and stands up for herself.
• She's creative.
• She is quick to see a need and fill it.
• She is happy to be who she is.
• She's a problem solver.
• She seeks to know the truth of things and doesn't take things at face value.
• She's tough but soft-hearted at the same time.
• I don't know when I've ever seen more compassion than I do in #3.
• She doesn't do things half way.
• She's the one person who can interact with "Sweetie" when things are difficult and have things change and become calm.
• She loves a good conversation and will come in and tell me everything about what's been happening in her life.
• She shares all that she has freely.
• I love to watch her interact with #7. There is a bond there like none else. You ask #7 who her favorite is, and without a hesitation, she will say #3.

#3, thank you for being you and never bending to fit someone else's mold. Thank you for being the one who steps up and helps out when things are a bit harried around here. I don't know what I'd do without you.

So, for today, the start of a new school year at a new school. Kind of a stressful way to have a birthday. Today will be the long-awaited cell phone day, and soon, time for a driver's permit. I'm not sure I can believe that we're at this point.

Happy birthday #3! Hope it's a lovely day for you. I'm SO BLESSED to be your Mom. We love you SO MUCH!

Envelope System: Month 7

Little by little we're gathering it all back together. After taking the blow of the stolen purse in March, things are still having to be fine tuned. I think, though, as of today, it's all back in order.


We, in our previous account, had some scheduled transfers that went from one account to another to be held until we had to pay our yearly payments, but for some reason, although we were assured that everything would be restored to what it has been, our accounts weren't set up so that we could transfer between them. The crazy thing was that the credit union had somehow come up with my in-laws' account and set that up for us to transfer into. How did they even know that we were related? That was kind of an interesting reality. One that didn't make me very happy. I was shocked that they would take liberties like that. It wasn't something we asked them to do as we didn't even know what their account number was.

I had also sent a fax giving account numbers and asking that it made possible for us to transfer between all of the accounts. That was back on May 21st. Today, I tried to make a transfer, and still, there was no change made. Hmm....

I went in to the branch to get the cash today and explained to the teller what was going on. She set me up with one of their reps, and it is finally all ironed out. We'll just have to work it all out when those payments come due.

I also made a firm resolve today that I was going to remove my debit cards from my purse. I keep thinking that if I just held to that to begin with, the purse situation would have been so different. **sigh**. Not sure why cutting ties with the debit cards is so difficult. I guess I have a fear of not having enough cash on hand. It makes me feel a bit insecure. But, on the other hand, if I have my debit cards with me, there's the opposite fear of spending too impulsively and too much, so I guess I have to choose the lesser of two evils. I think I'd rather have too little cash than spend money I don't have.

The other thing I did this month was a tally the money in all of the envelopes. I put it on the same spreadsheet with the budget. It feels really good to be storing up for things for the winter and for everybody's birthdays. #7's birthday is next week.

Had to put this boys picture on cuz I'm missing him right now.

With birthday envelopes, I put the same amount in each person's envelope every month now, but when it started out, I had more in some envelopes than others because of how far away their birthday was. I had to make it proportional, so one month, I took a little extra of the budget and filled some envelopes more than others. I mean, if you're starting this right now, and you've decided you want to have $120 to spend on each birthday that comes around and one person in the family has a birthday this month and another has a birthday in December, you're going to put $120 in the June birthday person's envelope and spend it this month (it will be at zero in July) and put $60 in the December and then put $10 in each envelope each month thereafter. Anything you don't spend when the birthday comes around is a bonus for the next year.

Same reason as above

Here was my great victory for this past month....We signed three children up for fall soccer. I asked one of the kids to go over and get the sports envelope. The Warden was standing there watching while this was happening. I finished the registration, pulled the envelope out, withdrew the cash and handed to the Warden asking him to please deposit it into the bank on his way to work. I could tell by his face that he was very impressed. YAY!!!  We still had money left in the envelope, so when #3 announced that she wanted to try out for the high school soccer team, there was enough to pay for her summer training. No sweat!

Originally, I had a sports envelope for each season with some seasons having more money allocated than others. I decided that this was far too complicated, so I have since combined the funds and created a "sports" envelope. Once you get your envelopes going, don't be afraid to down-size (combine envelopes), but don't make it too simplistic. I still have an envelope for "sports and school photos" because that's something I never think of until the time arrives. I could combine those, but I'm fearful that I'd spend everything I'd need for photos on the sports themselves. Then, where would we be?

Tonight, I was able to go with #1 and a $50 gift card and get her a $200 set of luggage for $30. I also found #3 a pair of soccer shorts for less than $10. YAY! I'm also fully back on board with coupons. I've found that, although I've been using fabulesslyfrugal.com and have enjoyed it, I save more money by going back to what I started out with--theobsessiveshopper.net. I really can't figure out why one site is more comfortable for me than the other. Maybe it's just because I got so used to the obsessive shopper. I somehow feel more in control with it.

Anyway, I hope this is helping somebody. It sure has helped me. Somehow blogging about it each month keeps me on track.

Friday the 13th

Years and years ago, my dad handed me a small, simple, wire-bound black book.  It ended up being one of my mom's journals.  It just happened to be the journal she kept from the year I was born.  As I read, I found that we really had very parallel lives.  One of the first things I wanted to see was how she had spent her birthday that year.  I loved reading about all the sweet things my dad had done to make her feel special.

Someday, who knows, my children might wonder how I spent my birthday.  So, for future reference, here's how the day went....


Friday the 13th is a great day to have a birthday.  Wow!  I can't believe how much I ate.  Ugh!

I was supposed to clean the garage that day.  That was my plan.  Umm...yah right.

I really had no other plans until the day before.  My sister-by-marriage (my traveling companion to Spokane last year) contacted me about getting together the night of the 12th.  At that very moment, a wonderful friend contacted me too, so we all three made plans together and went to the Cheesecake Factory.  While my friend and I were in the car, she asked if she had met my sister-by-marriage before.  It was then that I realized that they had on another birthday:

Kind of fun, huh?

We stayed out late and talked about all kinds of things and had some amazing cheesecake.  I had the Godiva chocolate cheesecake.  YUM!  I ended up taking half of it home.

In the morning (at 6:30, believe it or not), a friend came by to get me, and we went to breakfast.  This friend is one like I think everyone should have.  If you don't have a friend like her, pray for one.  She's been a God-send.  Any time I need last minute help, she's my go-to girl.  She will sacrifice in any way she can to help.  She makes herself available to watch my kids or come over and talk or whatever.  She's kind of like how my mom would have been if she were here.  Sometimes I wonder if my mom might have had a hand in the making of this friendship.

We had a great breakfast at Biscuits Cafe.  I had the sweet potato pancakes.  They were very good.  We talked over kids and life and getting and staying on track.  Then we talked over an invention I've been mulling over in my head.  Her husband's an engineer, so we're thinking the three of us might just be able to do something with this concept.  Fun!

I got home and interacted with my family and responded to facebook birthday greetings and then ran off to the Claim Jumper for lunch with my new and wonderful friend Bobbie.

Bobbie came all the way from Sheridan (an hour and a half away) to have lunch with me.  I love this woman!  We talked and talked and created some wonderful plans for the future that I'm SUPER excited about.  This is going to be a GREAT year!

When I got home, my friend Rachel had been by.  She had made Birthday Trifle (a tradition at her home) for us.  We had had this once before (see this link).  My love for Nutella is no secret.  Rachel had also made Nutella homemade ice cream.  Wow!  I was so sad I'd missed her.  What a great sacrifice for a woman who has had sick kids and has had all kinds of health problems since the birth of her last child.  Thank you, Rachel!  I wish I'd been there to thank you in person.

Again, I responded to some facebook greetings, watched Sesame Street with #6 and #7 on my laptop (on Netflix), did some indexing and ran off with #1 to go give blood at the blood drive that was going on at the church.

The Warden and I used to go give blood on a regular basis.  We would always race to see who would bleed faster.  Yesterday's blood-letting only took five minutes.  Beat that Mr. Hess!  HeeHee.  In the past he'd also gloat about how many more times he'd given than I had.  There were times when I was pregnant that I couldn't give, so he'd go without me.  Now, though, I have him beat big time.  He can't go any more, so I'm on my own.  I'm not sure if I've passed him up yet, but I think I'm pretty close. 

Lynne, the woman who took my blood, handed me a birthday pin.  That was fun!

On the way to the church for the blood drive, #1 and I had taken the top off the car.  That's how beautiful the day was.  As we walked back out, big ol' drops of rain had just started to come down.  Ugh!  We ran to the car to put the top back on (No, I hadn't left my purse in it; although, jokingly, I had told #1 I was going to before we went in.  At least I'm getting so I can joke about it now.  I'm thinking that means I've come a long way).  We got the top on just in time, but it poured down.  The day had started out so beautifully.  Such is Portland, I guess.

We went home and hung around for a bit while #2 went to basketball practice.  #4 also had a campout to go on, so he left in the mid-afternoon.  When #2 and the Warden got home, we took off for dinner.  We went to Applebee's, which I thought I loved, but I guess not so much any more--small portions for a big price.  The food was adequate.  #1 and I shared the spinach artichoke dip, and I had shrimp and chicken.  They gave me a free dessert--a chocolate mousse with oreos in it.  I shared it around the table.

The funniest thing about dinner was just after we pulled up and parked in the parking lot.  We got out of the car and started walking on the sidewalk toward the front door, and as we looked in the windows at the diners, they were (at three different tables), literally turned around in their chairs gawking at us.  No joke.  We bought our van three years ago (on April 12th, by the way), but I have to say, in that amount of time, I've never felt like such a freak show.  I smiled and waved at everyone, but they really unabashedly continued their wide-mouthed staring.  Amazing!  Was it my driving?  Or maybe it was our breathtaking gorg-e-osity.  HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!  Yup.  That has to be it, right?

An old friend, Megan, was hostessing.  She was in #1's Girl Scout troop years ago.  We followed her to our table.  #7 danced, beebopped and lip-synced to the music in her high chair the entire time.  #5 and #6 got dancing too.

We got home, opened presents and headed to bed.

What a great day!

Thank you to everyone who made it a special day!  Thank you to those who took the time to be with me and for all of my Facebook friends who sent love and wishes .  Thank you particularly to the Warden and our children for being patient with your old mother and for partying with me and  making me feel special all day long.  I love you!