Write your senators and representatives!

Seriously.... Can I just tell you how much I HATE daylight savings time?? This week has been miserable and and it's all DST's fault. I am tired, the kids are tired, and when we are tired we are cranky, super cranky. HATE IT. Why can't Montana go be like Arizona and decide to ignore it? The end.

In other news, Porter is hilarious. Anyone who knows him knows that. Yesterday was our bi-weekly grocery shopping trip so we went and had lunch with Adam like we usually do. We were sitting around the table eating pizza when Porter started talking about our family. He showed us his index finger and said "This is Sarah...", the middle finger "This is me....", the ring finger "This is Paigey...", the pinkie finger "This is you, mom... You're little." and finally the thumb, "This is you, dad. You're fat!" Adam and I laughed. Hard. I had a serious case of the giggle. He looked up at us innocently and said "Sorry! We ran out of big ones!!" It was so funny.

Porter has also taken to snuggling up to me and singing "You are my sunshine" while he wraps his arms around my neck and looks lovingly at me. Adorable. No question that that boy is a lover. He's going to make some girl very happy someday. (And if I was a betting type of gal, I would put money on the fact that his daddy was just like that as a little boy.)

Physically, I am doing fine, incase anyone is wondering. I can do anything I want to really and have no remaining pain or issues other than being tired. Hormones are another question. YIKES. They are super out of whack right now and it is messing me up big time. I am hoping that they will start to settle down by next week and then things can get back to normal.

So does anybody else read Nie?? (nieniedialogues.blogspot.com) I just discovered her and I love what she has to say. I can't say my trials compare to hers at all but everything she says about trials relates to me. She is giving me a lot of inspiration right now.

The snow geese are about. They are everywhere by the thousands. They are super loud to boot. They have flown around/over the house twice this morning. It is so hard to describe the noise. They are all flying and honking but it sounds nothing like what you usually hear when the Canada geese honk overhead. Unbelievable. My mom in law says it's a sign that spring really is here. Crossing my fingers!!!

Also, WE GOT OUR CONSTRUCTION LOAN!!!! Woo hooo!!! By this time next week, there should be a very large hole in our awesome little hilltop. I am so excited!!!

Lessons from Little House on the Prairie

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately. See, one of my favorite blogs was nominated for an award and I was curious to check out the competition. They are all "Mormon Mommy" blogs so I figured they would have something interesting to say. And they do. For me, they just don't compare to my favorite but still good. While I was reading, one of the moms was talking about her homeschooling practices. She had some suggestions for books at different reading levels. One of those suggested was the "Little House on the Prairie" series. It actually got me thinking because a lady at church had asked me a while ago if I had ever read them to my kids because she thought Paige would love them. Yesterday when I made my weekly stop at the local library I grabbed the first book on a whim. Paige and Porter were soooo mad at me because "they only like picture books!!" I told them it had some pictures and I that I thought they would like it. We got all ready for bed and curled up on the couch for story time and started "Little House in the Big Woods" despite the groans and protests. As we read, the kids crowded in closer and closer and closer until they were sitting on top of each other to sit right next to me. They made lots of comments as we read too, like "we have to keep our stove going all the time in the winter too" and "our daddy hunts". When we finished the first chapter, I told them it was time to read scriptures and they whined "Oh Mom!! Pleeeeeasseee... just one more chapter!!" We read a few more pages and then had to quit so we could read scriptures and get to bed on time but they made me promise that we would read it again the next night. I was really surprised but very happy that they loved it so much. I had hesitated to read big books to them because they're so young but they certainly proved me wrong. It also occurred to me as we read how differently we live than probably 90% of people in this country. We heat our house with a wood stove and cut & gather our own firewood, we believe in planting a garden and storing for the winter, we spend lots of time outside, our daddy hunts and uses lots of outdoor skills, my kids understand that the meat we eat comes from animals and that they usually have known the cow that we are eating for dinner. It makes me glad to know that we are not so removed from our past, in fact, I think it's a really great blessing!

Can we get some Spring, please??

We just got home from California. It is a bit of reality check to go from wearing capris and flip-flops in the 70 degree sunshine to bundling up next to the wood stove again. This has been the longest. Winter. Ever. Seriously. Disneyland was awesome. LA traffic, not so much. We hated LA itself. Dirty, littered, polluted & yucky. Once you cross the line into Orange county there is an immediate change. I wish I'd have taken a picture. LA county - dirty... cross invisible line to Orange County - clean. So crazy. My kids had a blast. Paige told me it was 'the funnest vacation ever!!' Sarah hated all rides basically. She liked the carousel at Knott's cause her horse didn't go up and down, It's a Small World because of all the singing 'babies', and the Tiki Room because of the music. And she loved meeting Tinkerbell. I'll have to post the video. It's great. Porter's favorite was the beach. I guess having a giant sandbox would be most little boy's dream. He was sliding down the hill, picking seashells, running through it, etc. He just kept screaming 'This place is AWESOME!!' Paige says her favorite ride was 'the Pony Express' at Knott's Berry Farm. It was a rollercoaster but it had horses that you straddled instead of seats. I thought she was insane when she wanted to ride cause she is not daring at all. I think she was lured in by the horses. But she did it and says she loved it. She rode the Thunder Mountain Railroad coaster at Disney with me too. That one I know she loved cause she kept screaming 'I love rollercoasters!' during the whole ride. Pretty cute. We saw tons of characters. TONS. More than I have ever seen on a Disney trip. We could have met Rapunzel and Flynn Rider but the line was over 45 minutes (at one point 1.5 hours!!) and when I told Paige that she said "Nevermind." My favorites were meeting Belle & the Aladdin musical at California Adventure. Belle was miraculous for me because we got to Disneyland, walked down Main St, did our pictures in front of the castle, walked through the gate, and turned left to go to Frontierland and there she was. We saw other princesses but it was at the Princess Faire where you're guaranteed to meet at least two so not quite as amazing. The Aladdin musical was fantastic. Really, really, really good. The funniest thing was that my mom, Adam, & I went with all 9 of the kids, including the two babies. The babies were sleeping so it was fine and then the other adults could go ride the huge coaster. About half way through, Jordyn (3) came over and said she had to go potty so my mom took her. Then baby Kinley woke up and started to scream. She is a very picky kid and mostly only likes her mama so I ran to the back of the theater, turned her around so she faced the stage and not me, and bounced. As long as I didn't talk, she didn't realize I wasn't her mom. (Thank goodness for those sister similarities!) A minute or two later, Sarah crawled out of the row and came back to me. I told her to stay there and be quiet. Next thing I knew, she was walking down the steps to the stage. I ran down to get her and ran past baby Cruz's carseat, who was also now screaming. I whispered to Adam to take Sarah, grabbed Cruz, carried him to the back, put his carseat on my foot and did my best to bounce Kinley and rock Cruz with my foot. Luckily Mom & Jordyn came back a couple of minutes later and saved the day. It was hilarious and I'm sure, since I was wearing my BYU sweatshirt that day, the annoyed audience members thought I was some dumb Mormon woman with too many kids. I still loved the musical and think it was a super funny moment. And now I know that I couldn't do twins...lol.

I can do hard things

It's been a rough month around here. I've been having some health problems that we now know started about Christmas. I didn't have a clue what was wrong. I've just felt "off". There's been some other small issues along with the "off-ness" but nothing life threatening. I was just tired of not feeling well. When I talked to the doctor, they didn't seem overly concerned so I didn't get overly concerned. Insert last week. Certain things took place and suddenly people were concerned. They needed some blood tests. Then they needed an ultrasound. Suddenly we were being moved from room to room and doctor to doctor. Finally we were instructed to get ourselves to the hospital right away because I needed emergency surgery. (Not exactly how I had foreseen my Thursday evening.) We cried. A lot. We made arrangements, stopped at Target for some supplies and went to the hospital. Everything went fine. I should recover just fine. This experience has changed me though. In a way that I will never be able to explain to anyone else. I am okay, don't misunderstand me, just changed. Sometimes we just don't know what the Lord has intended for us and now I understand that sometimes we don't get a lot of time to struggle through the trial itself. Sometimes what is happening happens so fast that we find ourselves inexplicably altered and find the struggle in the aftermath. Maybe I'm crazy but I love when I fall on my knees and have to be reminded to rely on more than my own strength. There's something so exquisite and so profound in that kind of pain. I think those moments are when we really discover who God is because the rest of the time we aren't vulnerable enough to pay attention like we should. I have been constantly reminded that His pain is my pain too and I am not alone, ever. For me, that is truly something beautiful.

It's a Brand New Year

I don't know that I'm all about New Year's Resolutions really. I like trying to re-start and be better or set new goals but I do that all the time so the New Year doesn't automatically mean a total reboot on my life. I am just in general trying to be better. Good enough, right?

I was trying to think of things that we learned in the last year so here they are, in no particular order:

1 - Selling a house is fun and super stressful. BUT we were super blessed through the whole process. My wonderful mother-in-law gave us a place to be when we had nowhere else to go and within a week we found a rental in Fairfield. We've moved on from that rental now but it was what we needed at the time.

2 - My children are generally good and kind. They are listening and taking in way more than I think they are. Paige especially. She went to a birthday party last month and she told them no when they offered her tea. (Although she told them it was because it has alcohol in it =o) During Christmas at my parents house, Paige told my Grandma that Christmas is the most special day of the year because it is Jesus' birthday.

3 - Subdividing land is way more complicated and time consuming than we thought. When we first talked to the surveyor at the end of July/ beginning of August, we truly thought we could get everything done and submitted by the end of August then we could break ground in November. It took until the beginning of October to submit. Then we got a response in mid-November but we had deficiences that had to be corrected. So once I got through my life and re-submitted it was December and we heard back right before Christmas. We just went to the lawyer and got all the documents signed and filed everything at the courthouse this week. The land is finally ours so now we can work on the financing and getting ready to break ground which will hopefully happen in March. They are always going to be hoops to jump through with this I guess but with luck, we'll be living in our house by next Christmas.

4 - Adam is a master at the wood stove and I only qualify as the bumbling apprentice. Our current house has an awesome wood stove. Adam has it down to a science. He can get a blazing fire in no time flat and bake us out of the house. I can get it warm in here eventually but it might take a while and we all might end up smelling like smoke in the end =o) I think we may have to look into a pellet stove for the new house rather than a wood stove.

5 - We have amazing friends and family. I cannot tell you how many times someone has saved the day for us. They have babysat, driven cars home, helped us move TWICE, changed flat tires in the snow, written sweet notes, called when we're having a bad day, been just as disgusted at certain people's crappy decisions, brought cookies, loaned books, folded laundry, cleaned when we were moving, and much more. The goodness of people never ceases to amaze me. I very much appreciate the people who love us unconditionally. Especially the ones who we don't see often and even if it's been forever, we seem to pick up right where we left off. THANK YOU to all of you. You know who you are.

2011 is gonna be great!!

Maybe it's time for an update?

Yikes! Two months since my last post. A LOT has happened in the meantime. I tried to post a while ago but my stupid computer shut down in the middle and I was too ticked to start all over again. I HATE the windows automatic update!!! I never know it's even there until suddenly everything shuts down on me to restart... ugg.

So we went to fabulous LAS VEGAS!! Just Adam and I for four days the weeek of our anniversary. It was beautiful to be in that heat! (For me anyway - Adam thought he was going to die.) We did a lot of walking the first day, which I enjoyed immensely until some time that evening when I was having a TON of pain in my left foot. It felt like my ankle and leg were grinding together. We stopped at some crazy little Hawaiian shop in the mall at Planet Hollywood so I could buy some padded flip flops in hopes that it would help. They did help, a little. I spent the rest of the trip icing and popping ibuprofen. (Went to the doctor a week later and it turns out I managed to injure some ligament that wraps around the ankle - by walking. How stupid is that??) We walked through most of the casinos. Hated Circus Circus. LOVED the Mandalay Bay. That is totally my kind of place. We went to the Shark Reef there. It was a little spendy, as were all things on the strip($3 Mountain Dew!!) but pretty cool. I think Sea World or the Oregon Coast Aquarium is cooler and probably a bigger bang for your buck but it was still worth seeing. The fine art gallery at the Bellagio is totally a waste of money. WE HATED IT! There were some beautiful Renoir's on display but there was also a pair of pants made out of window screen and a plastic globe hanging from the ceiling on which they were projecting a human eyeball - all in a room the size of my stupid rental house living room. The absolute highlight for me was the last night we were there when we went to see Cirque du Soleil's KA. I had been told it was incredible and it totally delivered. It was beautiful and artistic and captivating. An hour and a half show with no spoken words and yet you're still mesmerized! The stage is a prop for the entire show. It is on hydraulics and can be raised, lowered, horizontal, vertical and more. They also project images on it for a lot of the scenes. It was just magical. I can't do it justice. Search it on YouTube - you'll see! =o)

Miss Paige started school August 25th. Yes, I cried. It has been a bit of an adjustment to not have her here all the time but honestly, it's pretty peaceful without her and now that I'm a couple months into I'm really glad for the time I get to spend with Porter one on one when Sarah is asleep in the afternoon. Most days he wants me to come snuggle him while we watch a movie and it's pretty sweet. Paige is absolutely loving school, which I knew she would. She is just academically minded. She is already spelling some simple words like the, one and two. She loves to just put random letters together and try to sound them out. It's very cute. I'm sure she'll be reading before we know it. Her favorite thing is to come home from school and do 'homework', which means coloring in a coloring book. =o) It's fun to see her learn, grow, and make new friends.

Our progress on our house is moving along. I think we have bids in for everything but the propane, as I realized last night as I was falling asleep. We still feel like we are going to be close to our estimates, which is really nice. We are learning a few things - like concrete and wells are REALLY expensive. I feel like an expert on septic systems after doing our DEQ submittal, in fact the Teton County Sanitarian told me I should become a consultant for other people doing their own. I can think of more fun things to do with my time but Adam says it'd be worth it for $1000-1500. Maybe. Our paperwork for our subdivision approval is in the DEQ in Helena. We drove down and hande-delivered it last Tuesday which means the clock is ticking and we will have back in 60 days or less from then. We are hoping and praying for more like the end of October though. We'll see. And if you want to add us to your prayers, we'd be grateful.

I finally got a calling at church - 2nd counselor in the Young Women's Presidency. It is a super busy job. I love the girls. They are sweet and good and trying their best. I love that. Adam's calling is Elder's Quorum secretary. It's totally Adam's speed and very low-key. I think he really likes it.

Lots of people have been asking when baby #4 is going to come. Let's just say that we're not even thinking about trying to add another one until the house is built and we're moved in so talk to us in a year. Right now I am really enjoying having an almost 2 year old and no baby. We've never done this before and I am a much better mama this way. I am a miserable pregnant woman and I don't do well without sleep so the newborn stage is a mixed bag. Sarah is a pretty lucky girl to still have me all to herself. She is the sweetest little girl. She has a ginormous smile almost all the time, even when she first wakes up. (She does NOT get that from me...) She is very maternal and adores her brother and sister and daddy. She waits all day for Paige and Adam to come home. She can't wait to see her grandma and uncles and aunts and always wants to know where her cousins are - which is actually a funny thing because for the longest time she was calling Jerob "annie" (auntie) and it was making him furious. She started calling him Jer-by on Sunday. We'll see if he likes that any better. I guess it's probably better than being called Wade like Porter did. =o) All cousins are "Kaylie" to Sarah. Also funny because she has a TON of cousins whose names end with an 'ee' sound (Haleigh, Kamrey, Kinley, Kaylie, Rylee, Cydnee, Madi...) Guess it was too confusing so now they're all just "Kaylie" but when she sees them she screams "Kaylie!!!!" and has to run to give them a hug, even in the hallway of the school each morning when we drop Paige off. It kinda tugs at my heart. I just love that sweet little girl.

We have all been sick here the last two weeks. Some kind of weird sore throat-coughy-runny nosey thing. I finally went to the doctor today and got on antibiotics because I have been sick for almost 10 days. I have fluid in my inner ear and swollen tonsils but no sinusy weirdness. It's very strange. Poor Porter kept saying "Mom, my throat is up in my mouth!" The only one who hasn't been severely affected is Paige. She is just the carrier who brought it home from school apparently. Super fun.

I got to teach a lesson recapping General Conference this last Sunday. It has been an interesting experience because I listened to all of Sunday and took notes. I loved Elder Packer's talk. Interestingly enough, there has been an uproar about that very talk by the homosexual community. I have witnessed some of this backlash on Facebook and it really has been a little difficult for me. I don't know how to lovingly respond to someone who I think is wrong in their opinion. I was really grateful for the statement released by the church in response to the 800 page petition that was delivered to church headquarters today by a large homosexual group. It said things better than I ever could have. I do feel that it's a sin to engage in such activity. My heart grieves for any person who has large struggles in their life. I don't think they're any less of a person or think they should be discriminated against. I have my own personal demons that I deal with all the time. It's painful to have someone say or imply that you are somehow unworthy of love because of who you are or how you are. I don't have all the answers but I do pray for more understanding on all sides. I think we have to agree to disagree and be friends anyway. Practice more kindness and compassion. Actively live the Golden Rule. Love one another.

Summer?

I am freezing today and it's mid August. YUCK. I am also exhausted. Could be lack of sleep, could be carb overload, or it could be that the turn in the weather is prompting me into early hibernation. =o) I am having a terrible time getting anything done today. I have spent a good chunk of this week on the internet but mostly doing useful things - like reading all 103 pages of Montana DEQ septic regulations. I am trying to save a $2,000 by doing the DEQ submittal for our lot division myself. We are exempt from tons of things because it is a family transfer but unfortunately not from having to prove to the state of Montana that we will not contaminate anyone's drinking water, including our own, with septic drainfield yuckiness. We also have to prove that we will figure out a way to get rid of storm water in a way that will be practical and not wash away the entire hillside. Did you know that you have to prove such a thing?? Me either. It really is amazing the things that you dig up once you start investigating real estate. For example, we found out that Teton county owns a 30 foot strip of land on either side of the section line from a road that used to be there in 1930. So we actually will be surrounded on two sides by my mother in law's land, one side by the BLM, and the other by Teton County. Turns out that the neighbors house and garage are built on Teton County's land. Don't know who screwed that one up.

We are approaching our 7th anniversary next weekend. I don't know how that happened. I swear it's been like 2 years and I'm still in my mid-20's. And how'd I get three kids?? (Don't answer that literally...lol) I still am so happy that I got so lucky. I don't know if all people really have soul-mates but I know the Lord definitely worked it out for us. I am super grateful for answered prayers. We were joking about our anniversary the other night. Adam says he wasn't thinking. He should've had Mike throw a bunch of stuff in the vows. Good thing for me that it's too late now. =o) I will post more anniversary goodness later but now the dryer is calling and I have more laundry to fold. ::yawn::