The 3 in Nevada.....

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President Gordon B. Hinckley

This would not be my blog, if I didn't post about President Hinckley today....
Yesterday when I picked Myshel up from seminary she told me that President Hinckley had passed away. My heart and mind have been filled with so many thoughts and emotions since. What a wonderful man he was. I would think that he has touched every heart of everyone one who has heard him speak. Even his gaze through the TV screen could bring peace and love. He was a kind, humble, inspired man of God. We will miss him so much here and I'm sure that he continues his wonderful work and mission still.
Without a doubt, he returned with honor.

Mary Engelbreit Monday

The most wasted day of all is that on which we have not laughed.

--Nicholas de Chamfort

The Daily Dose

I told you that I love awards, and I really do. This one is especially nice because it means someone, Maine Mom, reads my blog regularly. I love that and I love her, too! Thank You!

Xandra from Heart of Service has created this fun award. Here is what she says: "It's for blogs that I must read every day without fail . . . They make you laugh, cry, think and feel connected every time you read a post..."



So, I'm going to pass this on to my daily doses......
Mom2My6Kids
Katy
Life Ticks On
Marie
2 Kids and Tired

Honorable Mentions
Maine Mom--I read her blog everyday, but she gave the award to me
Wild Daisies--I also read her blgo everyday, but she gave the award to Maine Mom

Just 2 Things...

#1--I got a phone call yesterday from my mother-in-law. I haven't talked to her for awhile and it was really nice just to chat. (which reminds me, I need to email her) I really miss being closer to all my family and just having them around to talk to. I can always talk to them on the phone, which is great, but it's just not the same, is it!? Sometimes you just crave those conversations with your family, but everyone has such being lives, it's hard to make/take the time. I really appreciated her call and her time that she took to visit with me. When Chad came home I told him that she called. He asked if she had much to say. "I told him about 50 minutes worth." He looked at me a little surprised and said, "she doesn't even talk to me that long (which isn't true)." My answer, "I guess we know who she loves best!" Ha Ha

2--It's been brought to my attention that I haven't posted any pictures for awhile. That's true, but the fact is, I don't have any new pictures to post. So I figured I'd dig back in my files (before I take them off my computer) and post something for all of you picture-hungry-people. Here's what I found:

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Myshel's 8th grade graduation

4th of July sparklers

Vance and one of his many frog friends

My kids can roll their tongues--can yours???

Mckaylie swimming in the pool

Awww-the beach, we miss you!

Noah-a boy and his dog.....

Now that's a good shot!

And Nutmeg, the reindeer-dog

----That's it! Now they're off to the flash drive----

A thought from Gordon B. Hinckley...

Each day I try and add to my other blog, in the hopes that eventually I will get everything I've collected on it. I just grab a few out of my folder and don't pay attention to what I get. This morning this is one of the things I grabbed. I thought it was extremely fitting today, so I thought I'd add it to this blog, too.

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"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey...delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas, and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride. "
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Gordon B. Hinckley

Maybe Everyday Should Be A School Day.....

Normally I like my kids having their days off from school. It's a break from all the running around and especially from the crazy mornings we seem to have. However.........this last long weekend is about to do me in. They not only had yesterday off, but they have today off, too, teacher's work day or something (except Noah, he's in school today). They're making me nuts!

It actually started last week. Myshel had her mid-terms last week and so the high school decided that they would let the kids go home after taking their tests. Which means, she was home by 10:45 on Thursday and Friday. Myshel was thrilled, Vance not so much. He was grumpy about it on Thursday, but it turned ugly by Friday.

We had a storm come through Friday morning that was a snowy/icy/rainy mix. Myshel was praying that it wouldn't cancel school (she wanted to be done with her mid-terms), Vance was praying that it would. Myshel's prayers won out. They had school. Vance was livid about it. It wasn't fair that Myshel didn't even have to go for 1/2 a day and he had to go all day. The whole thing totally set him off. To top it off, being the mean mother that I am, I made him wear his heavy coat and because of the weather I wouldn't let him walk. He jumped out of the car, slammed the door and didn't even say good-bye. His attitude was better when he got home from school and he did apologize. Although, through the weekend there's been a whole lot of acting up, maybe some pent up anger, I don't know.

McKaylie had a playdate on Saturday. She's been looking forward to it for a long time. I think she was just a little too excited about it, because Friday night into Saturday morning she was extremely hyper. She almost lost her playdate because of it. Her hyperness let to Noah's hyperness and it all was making me nuts and it lasted all weekend for both of them.

Myshel was sick all weekend with a bad cold, a little whiny, but all in all she wasn't too bad to handle. I did hear her say that she was dying a few times, but since I was pretty sure that wasn't true, I ignored it for the most part.

Chad also had a long weekend, which may have been my kids saving Grace. He was the buffer between them and me. Last night I finally told him that I didn't know why, but I was just so grumpy and that it wasn't taking much to set me off and begged him to just "deal" with them for awhile. He was very nice and distracted them for me. Personally I think he was just trying to keep me happy so that I wouldn't get grumpy with him, but whatever his reasons he helped me out and I'm grateful.

Today before I took Noah to school, I told the others that when I got back we'd have to pick up/clean for awhile. They didn't say much and I knew that it was not going to be fun. And it wasn't, at least not with Vance. The girls got to work without complaining, but Vance was mad. Apparently the chores he was given to do were not equal to the chores Myshel was given to do. So, now it's only 10AM and I'm extremely grumpy. On the bright side, Vance was given more chores because of his fit and so I've manged to get even more done around the house that I had originally planned! Kudos!

Looking back at this post I am realizing that this weekend's frustration has come a lot from Vance. There are other things I haven't added that the other kids did over the last 3 days, but I think that Vance has managed to infest our house with grumpiness. I guess I'll have to try and remedy that today.

I know my stress level the last couple weeks has been a little high and my tolerance and patience a little low. Maybe I've been infesting our house with grumpiness, too. You know the old saying, "when mom's not happy, nobody's happy". Maybe it's a combination of everything. I don't know but please tell me that I'm not the only one who has weekends like these!

Mary Engelbreit Monday

Happiness is a form of courage.

---Holbrook Jackson