In the clear!

I hope I didn't make you guys all worried about me all week over a couple bad days, but I just want to say THANK YOU SO much for all the kind thoughts and support! Your sweet comments have definitely brightened my days!

I love you GALS!

- Lucia

To: All my gal pals

I.O.U.
This blog post is redeemable for one item of your pick to cheer you up on a bad day.

- Babysitting so you can get out (go to the temple, take a nap, etc)

-A shoulder to cry on

-A chick flick, to borrow, or watch together

-A play date for some "mom" company

WHATEVER you need, I am at your service!

EXP. DATE: never

TMI * warning: if you are a GUY, you SOOO do not what to read this!*

* So, I'm giving you fair warning that this post is GIRL stuff, and by "stuff" I mean ... you know... stuff! Not very many guys read this, but if you are a guy, seriously, just stop here because this is more than you EVER wanted to know about me *











Okay, now that the guys are gone, I am just venting about being a girl. So, since I got married almost 6 years ago, I have had a grand total of 4 monthly visits from you know who. I should write a thank you note to Pregnancy and Nursing for staving off "the curse" for so long! You would think that by my age, I would be used to it, but it is still totally traumatizing! Granted, the whole messyness is irritating and uncomfortable, but when combined with the hormonal rebalancing, well, "irritating" is a gross understatement. Do you know that I almost burst into tears in the produce section of the grocery store today? What for? That's an excellent question. For which I have no answer and I can't even remember what I was thinking other than that my house was messy, and appearently the fruits and veggies seemed like something to cry over? Or maybe, it was empathy for the produce since I was feeling like a FRUIT today, and it was not pleasant.

Well, I obviously can't get out of this since we don't have any babies in our immediate future so I'll just have to rebuild my "How to deal" arsinal of tricks for conquering this little emotional hurdle. *sigh* Oh well.
So here's what I've done so far:
- reading scriptures
- visiting teaching (always nice, but I was definitly more harm than good with my toddlers running a muck!)
- do something productive (went to the store- hence the produce drama)
- treats (this didn't help, actually I think the high sugars and fats made it worse since my only clean pants are already too snug, and I do not need more mood altering chemicals in my system!!- mental note: AVOID brownies! Plus, they were not even very delicious.)
- took the kids to a quiet park


Will you PLEASE tell me what you do to feel better when you're overwhelmed, or feeling *blah* about life in general! I'd love some more ideas!

sunday slacker

I wish there was a way to skype in to church on the Sundays that my kids are sick! I think I have only averaged church like twice a month this winter. :oP I can't stand missing church- it throws the whole week off. Ah well, to everything there is the season, and with little kids, it is the season off drippy, germy noses.

I my gosh, you guys....

For the past week I have been LIVING in the world of twilight, and "holy crow" it has been so much fun! <--- Okay, isn't there punctuation stronger than an exclamation point here, because it has been ridiculously fun to read this series/saga/whatever you call it! (<-- oh, that's much better)
When I woke up in the middle of the night, I debated whether I should go back to sleep, or turn on the light and keep reading.
My shampoo just wouldn't rinse out fast enough, and the towel has got to be the SLOWEST way to dry off.
The water would not boil quick enough for the mac and cheese we had for lunch every day.
Snacking between meals was OUT of the question (not for the kids of course) because it was uneccesary time away from the book, what with the preparation and excessive hand washing to avoid the possibility of getting the book dirty. (but would you believe I lost 6 lbs this week from the Twighlight enduced dieting! funny huh?)
Meanwhile, the kids have loved having free rein of the toys all day, and my permanent presence on the toy room floor as their personal jungle gym/snuggle station.

*sigh* What a fun week!


Kudos to:
Tina for inviting me to see the movie, and then locating a copy of the book for me since I couldn't make it.
Christie for lending me twilight...
Amanda for letting me run over and borrow New Moon in the middle of the night, and...
Jessica for making a house call with the last two books!
and of course..
Stephanie Meyer for writing the awesome books, and ....

JASON for making me confused at all the "why can't all men be like edward?" comments I have heard/read. Isn't everybody's sweetheart that sweet?

Athen's favorite game to play while I am blogging!

On a sober note...

The follwing is an excerpt from the LDS Gospel Art Kit:

"Mary Fielding Smith was left a widow when her husband, Hyrum, was killed with his brother the Prophet Joseph. She had to care for not only her own large family but also several other helpless or ill people. Hyrum and Mary’s son, Joseph F. Smith, who would later become the sixth President of the Church, was only five years old at the time.

Mary and her family left Nauvoo in 1846. Joseph, then seven, drove “one of the ox teams from Montrose [across the river from Nauvoo] to Winter Quarters,” which was about 200 miles (see Joseph Fielding Smith, comp., Life of Joseph F. Smith [1969], 131).

In the spring of 1848 most of the Saints were leaving Winter Quarters to travel to the Salt Lake Valley. Mary determined to go with them. She had no money, no oxen, and no provisions, but she relied on the Lord and managed to reach the starting point with seven “almost ready” wagons in her care. When the captain of the group to which Mary was assigned saw Mary’s situation, he told her she was foolish to attempt the journey. He said she would be a burden to the company the whole way. Mary calmly replied that not only would she not ask for his help but “that she would beat him to the Valley”! (Don Cecil Corbett, Mary Fielding Smith: Daughter of Britain [1966], 228).

And so the long journey began. Nine-year-old Joseph and his 15-year-old half brother John cared for the cattle and helped guide the huge oxen along the trail.

Despite hardships, it seemed Mary’s group would make it to the valley. Then one hot day, one of Mary’s best oxen collapsed. The wagons behind Mary’s were forced to stop. It looked as though the ox would die. The captain came and declared that the ox was dead. He said he would have to find a way to take that wagonload the rest of the way and that he had known all along Mary would be a burden.

But Mary’s faith never faltered; she “went to her wagon and returned with a bottle of consecrated oil. She asked her brother Joseph and James Lawson to administer to her fallen ox” (Corbett, Mary Fielding Smith, 237). So Joseph Fielding “knelt, laid his hands on the head of the ox … , and prayed over it.” When the prayer was finished, a moment passed; then, to the astonishment of the onlookers, the stiffened ox stirred, gathered his legs beneath him, stood, and “started off [pulling again] as if nothing had happened” (Corbett, Mary Fielding Smith, 237).

Not far from the end of the journey, some of Mary’s cows were lost. While her stepson John went to find the cattle, the captain ordered the rest of the company to move on. Mary waited for John and prayed he would be able to find their cows. Then a sudden rainstorm came, and the company that had moved ahead was thrown into confusion. The cattle scattered, and it took all day to round them up. Meanwhile, John had returned with the lost cows. The Smith party moved forward, past the rest of the company, and on into the valley.

Mary had kept her word. Her courage and faith had led her family across the plains and finally into the Salt Lake Valley, 20 hours in advance of the captain who had tried to discourage her."

I couldn't help but think of this story this weekend as we prayed over a washing machine. I'll spare the details of why this was such a big deal for us, but suffice it to say, it was the veritable straw to the camel's back. And when the washing machine came back to life- so to speak- yesterday, error codes gone and working great, I couldn't help but drop to my knees and pray.

I am thankful for this tender mercy.

"And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies."
1 Nephi 8:8

Yummy!

Bugga sent the kids a box of Chocolate lollipops, which they loved, of course!



Even Athen decided he needed one too, when I wasn't sneaking him a lick, the other kids were.

The funniest thing was that Athen was sure that anyone else eating one, meant they must have taken his away, so even when he had his own to hold, he would CRY and cry if I was eating one too. He has one in this picture, but is still sure I took his.

What? The zoo is free today?

Yes that's right, the zoo was free last Wednesday so we HAD to go! Here are some of the highlights!

Love that $1 train!

It was so much fun, and we got to see and play with everything we wanted before the rain started sprinkling down. The rain was perfect too, seeing as it gave me an easy explanation for why it was time to go home, even though it was time anyways. The fact that I did not have to be the villain that ruined the fun by saying its time to go was a definite plus!