Callaway Gardens

Callaway Gardens is one of the reasons I decided I could live in Georgia and be happy doing it.  I was able to visit briefly in June when Bob and I were househunting.  It was absolutely gorgeous!!

Today, while I laid around at home nursing a fever, headache, and sore throat (surprise, surprise!), Bob took the kids to see Callaway Gardens.  Apparently, they had quite an adventure.  Because they came back with so many amazing photographs, I will need to break this into two posts.  Hannah took some fantastic pics of butterflies and flowers with her photog skilz--I'm going to put them in their own post.

In the mean time, peruse these pics and see what they did all day long.

 Exotic butterfly gardens.

 Cute babies!

 Life for Sariah is, as always, a musical.  And meanwhile, check out Rex's gangsta look.

 Apparently, this bird wasn't in a terribly fantastic mood.  Not too long afterwards he tried to take a bite out of his trainer's finger.

 Check out Sam's new sneakers--his very first pair.

I just want to eat him up, he's so flippin' cute!

 I think this is when Sam decided he was done walking.

 Caleb took this one.  I'm jealous I wasn't there.

 And of course, there's the obligatory snake on their nature hike.  I think it's an Eastern kingsnake, cuz you know I'm a snake identification expert (eyeroll).

 I like this one for two reasons: first, brotherly love; and second, Sam's curly curls in the back.

In Which I Reverse My Position

So after I vented all that hot air here on my blog yesterday, I sent myself off to complete the unfinished shopping.  Well.  Actually Bob sent me off.  And before that I walked the dogs.  A nice long walk that really did make me feel better.  But only slightly.  I took a nap somewhere in there, too.  That helped.  Sleep is always good.  I was still a really big, tearful grump.

One of the problems with having a chronic mental condition, like depression, is that it can be hard to determine if you are having a really bad day, or if you are hormonally ...erm... compromised, or if you really are heading into a downward slide.  Or maybe it's a combination of all three.  Which is the pits.  And which is probably what happened to me yesterday.

However, somewhere in my miserable Saturday, I recalled these words from President Gordon B. Hinckley, prophet and leader of our church for many years:

The most effective medicine for the sickness of self-pity is to lose ourselves in the service of others.  (From “Whosoever Will Save His Life,” Ensign, Aug. 1982, 5.)

Okay, so really I didn't recall those exact words.  I kinda remembered the gist of it.  And honestly, I remembered it with a little bit of a mental groan.  I mean, I really love that quote, but I really don't.  It requires so much of you.  And imagine!--when I go hunting for the quote, it comes worded like that.  (You can find the article here.)  At that point, I felt it fair to assume that this might be a little nudge from the still, small voice, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost.  Oh dear.  Probably shouldn't be avoiding those types of promptings.

Especially since President Hinckley also acknowledges that this was really the Savior Jesus Christ's message first and foremost:

My plea is—if we want joy in our hearts, if we want the Spirit of the Lord in our lives, let us forget ourselves and reach out. Let us put in the background our own personal, selfish interests and reach out in service to others. In so doing, we will find the truth of the Master’s great promise of glad tidings:

“Whosoever will save his life, shall lose it; or whosoever will save his life, shall be willing to lay it down for my sake; and if he is not willing to lay it down for my sake, he shall lose it.

“But whosoever shall be willing to lose his life for my sake, and the gospel, the same shall save it”....  (From “Whosoever Will Save His Life,” 6.)

I mentioned that I don't always like this quote.  Sometimes, when I am in the depths of my serotonin-starved despair, the thought of reaching out in service to others is a painful, insurmountable non-option.  Seriously, it's the nature of depression to devolve inward on oneself and not know how to snap out of that.

But yesterday, those words happened to be like a life preserver for a drowning person: me.

Which is how, today, I ended up making dinner for a woman who was recently released from the hospital after a bout of pneumonia.  And how I ended up having the missionaries over for dinner somewhat unexpectedly, since their dinner calendar had been empty for some time.  I spent a bunch of time in the kitchen, using up all those nice, shiny, new ingredients from my grocery trip, attacking them with knives and fire...oh wait, oh yeah, I was doing acts of service for others.  Yeah, yeah.

You know what, though?  I really do feel better.  It could be because I cleaned up the hazardous kitchen counters along with the rest of the Home Cave, so that I could have a house that would pass inspection for cooking for others, as well as guests in my home sweet home.

But I'm leaning more toward the idea that following that prompting was the way that the Lord could help me out this time.  He's like that, and that's why I love Him.

In Which I Seek Answers to Life's Great Questions

So, when I got up this morning at the happy late-Saturday-morning hour of before 7 a.m., the dogs met me in my doorway because they were ready to be walked, the baby was crying in his room to get out of his crib, poor Rex was on the bathroom floor because he felt like throwing up (did I mention 4 of the 6 are sick with relatively high fevers?), Sariah was in my bed where she'd arrived at 5, and Bob was sound asleep after conducting a job interview with somebody on the other side of the world at some ridiculous hour in the middle of the night here.  I walked past the kitchen, and saw all the dishes out--not a single one put away, including the bowl of absolutely scrumptious honeydew melon, which I don't even like but I'm telling you this stuff was YUMMY and 0 WW points, which had sat out all night and not been returned to the fridge (is it even safe to eat now?).  I strolled (OK, at this point, I was most likely dangerously close to stomping) past my living room and spied dirty clothes everywhere, stinky shoes all over, books, toys, pencils, you name it, scattered EVERYWHERE.  And my desk, my office workspace, looks like it's buried under mounds of paper--mind you, I cleaned it off earlier this week, like 2 days ago.  I went to check on Rex, and the bathroom door wouldn't open easily, because there were so many dirty clothes piled behind the door.  I went to get Sam, and stepped on a duplo lego on my way--can we say pain?  I closed the girls' bedroom door so they could rest, since they are tired and sick.  I had closed my bedroom door, so my husband and The Diva could rest.  Meanwhile, the dogs were following me around, Jonah pushing his cold nose into the crook of my elbow; for some reason, this gives me the heebie jeebies.  Oh, and Sariah woke up after all.  And Sam demanded breakfast.  And Caleb wanted to know if he could make pancakes.  In the kitchen whose countertops you can't see.  And Sariah wanted cereal.  And the dogs still needed to be walked.

All this after the day where I dealt with a very cranky and sick Sam.  And a very cranky Diva.  A Wal-mart run for supplies, which I didn't get to finish because Sam got feverish again in the middle (YES, I took a sick kid to Wal-mart, so sue me), and which I had put off all week because Sam and Sariah has been sick all week long.  A trip to the Health Department (oh what joy is mine, I absolutely ADORE the way they treat you there...not!) to obtain "official" shot records for my school-age children, only to be told that Lizzi is, naturally, missing some shots that she needs to have by next Tuesday (AND did I mention we just got health insurance on Thursday, and the health department can no longer give us shots BECAUSE we have health insurance, and there's no way a doctor in town will get us in by Tuesday since we are new patients, and the Minute Clinic at CVS administers practically every vaccine BUT the chicken pox booster Lizzi needs for school?).  And a trip to the grocery store because we have been massively out of anything that I can throw a WW-worthy meal together with for several days since I was waiting for the beginning of September (has to do with something inconvenient called pay day) and for the littles to get well enough for me to go to the store.  And when I got home, Sam and Sariah were screaming bloody murder, and some of the older kids (including Hannah, otherwise known as my right hand, blessed girl!) were running fevers, and I had all these groceries to put away (in a clean kitchen, thank you, family! oh yeah, it's not clean anymore), and Sariah needed seriously to be put in bed, and Bob wanted to go on a date (which, ordinarily, would be a fabulous idea), and the girls were fighting.  And.  And.  And.

It's a day in the life of this wonderful, crazy, exhausting adventure I'm on, called My Very Own Family.

Don't get me wrong.  I really love them, and I chose this life because it's what I wanted.  And it's what I still want.

But some days, I long for some Calgon (do they even sell that anymore?) and a big garden tub that doesn't regularly grow mildew because everything in Georgia apparently grows mildew rapidly if they are covered in water 24/7 because everyone wants to use your tub to bathe in.  I find myself asking repeatedly, and more grumpily with each incantation, "Must I do everything around here?"

What's the deal?  Am I too much of a control freak?  Am I not patient enough?  Are my kids really lazy bums, or it is that I'm too freakin' tired to fight with them to make them do things they don't want to do?  How is it that in Norman, I was the PTA president, had a calling in church, and had a social life, and still managed to survive days like the last 24 hours without flipping out like I feel like doing this morning?

How do I shake myself out of this pity party?

Discuss.

Grumpy that I'm Grumpy

There are days.  And then there are days.  Today is one of those days.

Not that that makes any sense to anyone else.

Feeling kinda low and overwhelmed.  I have so much to do and can't seem to get any of it tackled. 

Ordinarily I would console myself with peanut butter.  Or chocolate.  Or peanut butter AND chocolate.  But these days, that's really not so much the thing.  One, my Weight Watchers adventure is going quite well.  And two, well, I appear to have lost my taste for both.  Crazy, I know, right?  Peanut butter just hasn't tasted the same since I gave it up.  And chocolate has been losing its appeal for some time now.  Bummer.  But probably really good for my health and my WW goals.

I'm really tired of being cooped up in this apartment with 2 dogs, one of who follows me more than my Momma's-boy-toddler does, and the two little ones who don't self-entertain terribly well.  I'm really tired of cleaning a kitchen the size of my former laundry room 60 times a day.  I'm really tired of my babies being sick.  I'm really tired of not having a yard and a neighborhood.

Man, I'm whiny.  How will I ever conquer this without chocolate or peanut butter?  I guess I will start in with the chores (again) and work myself out of bum mood.  :)

Celebrate Family 2011

I am thinking that I will participate in this blog event this month.  Looks like a lot of fun, and it will give me time to focus on what matters most.  Now that I have time to keep up with my blogging (buh-bye PTA commitments), I'm super excited to try something like this out.  We'll see how it goes, and then maybe I'll participate in this in October.

What I'm Working On

Mine won't be so "primitive" --that's a quilting term I've picked up; I guess it means dark and/or country-looking.  I picked brighter colors.  We'll see how it turns out.  I'm very excited.

Beach Babies

Crazy Beautiful

Hannah is so amazing!  And since she actually submitted to pictures, I had to give her her very own post.  I'm still in shock at how fast she is growing up.

My Handsome (Onery) Little Men

Weekend Fun

On Saturday, we went to a BBQ with some of Bob's co-workers down in Opelika, AL.  The weather was warm enough for swimming, but cool enough that we could sit out on the porch comfortably.  There was eating, canoeing, swimming, and shooting.  Needless to say, my kids had fun ... largely because we got out of the apartment, which is big enough but confining.

Because I got so many pictures I really like, I will break them up into several posts. I'm not terribly good at recognizing in the moment how awesome and beautiful and amazingly talented my kids are, but these pictures help me to remember it.

 One of the daughters made this "chain mail" vest.  Yes, those are the tabs from soda cans.

I love this picture with the weapon and the purse.  Awesome!

Seen on a Church Billboard

What on earth are you doing for Heaven's sake?

(It's one of my little quirks: I like looking at church signs, looking for the creative ones.  I have a whole new pool of signs these days.  Rock on!)

And There's More ... or Less?

Even though I really didn't want to leave the house yesterday, I also managed to drag myself, with Sam in tow, over to Weight Watchers at 8 (flippin') o'clock in the morning.  My first meeting.

There was less of me to report in.  That's a good thing.

Sam cried the entire time.  Until I bought him snacks.  Then he stopped crying, but wouldn't let me put him down.

I ran into a new friend from church (and quilting) there.  That made me smile.

I am really glad I went.  I got several good ideas (write the points value on all the food you have in the house, because sometimes looking it up in the moment doesn't sound like such a good idea).  I met a man who'd lost 155 lbs!  Clearly, he has far more self-control than I do.  I have 50 lbs to go, and some days it feels like an insurmountable mountain.  But I'm super committed!  I have been so good since last Friday.  I have counted every point, and shunned the worst of the worst.  Although.  I did buy a box of frozen Reese's Peanut Butter Cup treats at Sam's two days ago that remain unopened because I'm saving them.  For Family Home Evening.  They're new; it's good to try new things.  Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, and as a reward!  After all, even WW tells you not to make yourself feel deprived.  (And, no, I have absolutely NOT gotten around to calculating the points for those; don't be ridiculous!)  Anyway, I got a little distracted there...the point is I'm strong, I'm committed, I'm still excited. That's a good thing, too.

It's good to know I'm doing some of the right things to keep me functioning.  :)

Swimming Time, the Text

Well, I thought I attached my post to the pictures, but apparently not.  So here goes again.

Yesterday, the littles and I went to some new friends' house to swim.  They are folks from our ward who invited us over for dinner our 2nd Sunday here.  Had a very nice dinner, and Sariah and their little granddaughter hit it right off.  I hadn't really wanted to leave the house much yesterday...I've really been missing everyone...but we dragged ourselves out anyway--there really was no keeping The Diva from her play date.  I ended up being so glad we went.  It was such a comfort and a blessing to see Sariah and Sam taken in and mothered by this grandmother and her mother (the great-grandmother).  It's hard being so far from our Grammy and our Nanna.  But it's nice knowing there are people here who will cherish and love my little ones, too.

Swimming Time

Swimming Time

Waxing Eloquent ... on Middle School?

Lizzi's Open House at her school took place this evening.  I'm just going to say, in my excitement, that I could not be more pleased on a variety of levels.

Loved the structure--parents were escorted by their students through their bell schedule.  The teachers were friendly, open, and professional; didn't meet a single staff or teacher whom I didn't like.  The school was clean and functional and well-organized.  There wasn't the feeling of The Dread & Dreary Middle School.

Oddly, and Bob agreed when I mentioned it, the students at this school seem much younger than the middle schoolers where we were coming from.  I don't think I saw any inappropriate dress, and I noticed very little make up on the girls.  They seemed so fresh and clean instead of somewhat jaded.

It was just a really pleasing and pleasant experience overall.  I'm super excited to be a part of it, and especially happy for my kiddos.  Not so nervous about sending my boys to middle school after all.

It's the tender mercy of my day, I think.  And helps me to get over those what-have-we-done moments that still happen now and again. Lol!

Boring ... but then again ...

My days here have taken on a boring predictability that includes walking the dogs, changing diapers, cleaning up the apartment (again), grocery shopping, and making ourselves residents of Georgia.

I surrendered my Oklahoma driver's license on Friday.  It made me sad.  Especially after I saw the picture on my new license.  Lol!  On the up side, I was only in the department of driver services about 30 minutes with 2 small children.  Sam was apparently the entertainment of the day, running back and forth and creating mayhem, but he was too cute for anyone to get mad at.  Thankfully.

I joined Weight Watchers on Friday.  Again.  I am seriously committed this time, since I am having to take out of my grocery budget to pay for this.  I am excited to try the new program--I think it's more nutritionally accurate, in light of all the information that's come out in the last several years.  And after 5 days, I am now aware that I have been eating terribly in regards to quality and quantity.  Unfortunately, only 4 year olds have slimmed off trudging up and down the hill to the bus stop daily.  Oh to be younger!  I had a friend once tell me that once you hit about 30, it became much harder to keep weight off.  She was right.  I'm sure giving birth to 5 kids doesn't help much either.

We had a really great Family Home Evening last night about how during Christ's ministry, He not only went about preaching and teaching, but healing those around Him.  We are focusing in our FHEs more on the Savior's ministry.  We frequently tell our children to be like Jesus Christ, but I want to make sure we are teaching them what He was like.  We talked a lot about how to be like Christ in this aspect of healing--how our words and are actions should soothe and comfort others.  I used an article from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  You can find the article here.

My favorite part came from the end of the article where the Atonement of Christ was addressed.  As much as we help and serve others, we are only to be instruments in His hands, and we are still ever-dependent on Jesus Christ for all that we are and have.  For someone who has been through some dark times in her life--both those caused by sin & error as well as those caused by a physical & emotional affliction of the mind--Elder Holland's words really found a place in my heart:

In spite of life’s tribulations, there is help for all of us on this journey. When Christ bids us to yield, to submit, to obey the Father, He knows how to help us do that. He has walked that way, asking us to do what He has done, but He has made it very much easier for our travel. He knows where the sharp stones and the stumbling blocks lie and where the thorns and the thistles are the most severe. He knows where the path is perilous, and He knows which way to go when the road forks and nightfall comes. He knows that because He has suffered “pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind … that he may know … how to succor his people according to their infirmities” (Alma 7:11–12). To succor means “to run to.” I testify that Christ will run to us, and is running even now, if we will but receive the extended arm of His mercy.

When we stagger or stumble, He is there to steady and strengthen us. In the end He is there to save us, and for all this He gave His life. However dim our days may seem, they have been a lot darker for the Savior of the world. As a reminder of those days, Jesus has chosen, even in a resurrected, otherwise perfected body, to retain for the benefit of His disciples the wounds in His hands and in His feet and in His side—signs, if you will, that painful things happen even to the pure and the perfect; signs, if you will, that pain in this world is not evidence that God doesn’t love you; signs, if you will, that problems pass and happiness can be ours. Remind others that it is the wounded Christ who is the Captain of our souls, He who yet bears the scars of our forgiveness, the lesions of His love and humility, the torn flesh of obedience and sacrifice.

There really isn't anything that needs to be added to that.  :)

Observations at Random

1. It's much more humid here.  I sweat all the flippin' time.
2. It's much cooler here.  And quite frankly, I'll take the cooler and humid to the Easy Bake Oven experience.
3. The library here isn't as kid-friendly as the one we came from.
4. The library here isn't as busy as the one we came from (that's a bonus when you have a toddler who takes off places whenever he feels like it).
5. AT&T is less. than. ideal. here.  They really made Bob mad.  They probably shouldn't have done that.
6. I hope that Verizon does us a little better.  And that we like our new toys.  Coming today.  I'm excited.  We picked Droids instead of iPhones.  Who knows!
7. The boys' open house at school was last night.  It was a little long and boring.
8. Back to school night wasn't nearly as cost intensive as where we came from.  Made me happy!
9. I'm really glad that I'm not a Pooper Scooper by trade.  Although.  Maybe getting paid for cleaning up multiple kinds of poop all day long might make it more worth it.
10. I can't wait for a yard for my dogs and my kids.
11. But the complex pool is nice.  Nice and cool.  Nice and fun.  Nice leverage against my kids' poor behavior.  Just sayin'....
12. I started a quilting class at church last night.  It's to make a nativity wall hanging.  It's going to be super cute.  Except that I picked the fabrics.  And everyone knows my color combos leave something to be desired.  Still, what fun.
13. Life is back to be a musical for Sariah.  It wasn't for awhile there, but she has started randomly bursting into song to narrate her life again.  It's all good.

All I'm saying is that there are ups and downs.  Today's going to be an up day.  I made my bed.  That makes everything better.  Oh yeah, and I'll probably get some chocolate.  Nevermind the beds; chocolate is what makes the world go round.  Hugs to all!

A Brief Essay on Drawling

So, "everyone" said that my kids would pick up a Georgia drawl out here, especially the two little ones.  I just didn't know how fast it would come on.  Caleb's started in.  The babies actually haven't, but that's because the only person they talk to is me.  And Lizzi!  Thank you, Georgia D., for teaching Lizzi to mimic accents.  She can talk like a true Georgia peach now.  It's fascinating to me how well she can do it.

Birthday Blues

I turned 36 on Saturday.  We spent from about 8 in the morning to 8 in the evening unloading our truck, dividing its contents between our apartment and our storage unit.  I don't think I've put in a full day's work like that ... um ... ever.  I was doing pretty good not remembering that it was my birthday and focusing on the task at hand, until about 5 o'clock, when I decided I was ready to be clean and have a sit down family dinner at Texas Roadhouse.  The problem with this was that the truck wasn't finished.

I settled for pick up from Five Guys.  Some new friends from church showed up to help, and we went back to work.  Finally got it all unloaded.  Now the mess was in the apartment.  The kids were cranky and feeling neglected (or put out that they had to babysit little ones all day long).

As we were trying to get everyone cleaned up and in bed, there was knockety-knock on our door.  It was late, about 9:30, and our complex is gated, so I figured it was a neighbor.  It was our Oklahoma church friends with cake and ice cream!  They'd jumped the freight fence and walked up to our apartment to make my day special (shh! don't tell anyone).  It made me cry.  Again.  It was just what I needed.

We are so thankful for the help that we had throughout the day.  Now we'll tackle more unpacking.  Yippee-skippee. 

This and That

I am feeling even more random than usual today, which is why I haven't gotten around to posting anything.  It's been more of a Facebook day than a blogger day.  You know what I mean?  The random snippets of thought that you can't really string together into a coherent order.  Does that mean I have some sort of attention deficit disorder?  Probably.  I've suspected it for awhile anyway--it's how I clean my house.  I try to get my chores done, but I end up doing them here and there and not finishing any one thing in order.  ADD, I guess.  No one would ever accuse me of ADHD (anymore).

My truck came!  I have plates and chairs.  Yeehaw!  The Scentsy box came in today, and I've already had one going.  Perfectly Pomegranate, yum!  Sam's high chair came in today, too.  He was so thrilled to see it.  It was dang cute.  He sat in it for an hour or so, just hanging out.  Then we ate dinner.  It's the first decent food we've gotten into him since we arrived here.  He gets too distracted when he's not tied down.  Wonder where he gets that from...?

Checked more stuff off my list today.  Renter's insurance.  Car insurance.  Guess I need to get me a driver's license soon.  Maybe some car tags, even.  And I absolutely cannot put off investigating the library any longer.  After all, I've almost finished reading the last book I bought (The Help, by Kathryn Stockett).  Time to run up some more fines.  Except I think I'm going to have to be good here, since the late charge for books is 25 cents a day.  Yikes!

Time for bed.  I can't even catch any of my random thoughts anymore.  Night, all.

A Very Happy Girl Am I!!

First Day Trauma Is for Babies ... and a Topic Hop

Apparently, I am the only one traumatized by the first day of school in a new place.  That's good news, right?

Well, emotional trauma anyway.  Rex came home from the 3rd grade with a real blue ribbon of a black eye.  He says someone ran into him.  Time to email the teacher?  I think so.  They supposedly tried to call me, which is probably true, but--oh my heavens, are we back to my phone service again?!?!

Everybody made it where they were supposed to and back again.  Everybody made it home with homework and more papers for me to fill out with information that I don't have...you know, like a local phone number or emergency contacts that don't live 5 states away.  Details!

If only I can find a preK for The Diva.

And in other news, you know what really fascinates me here?  After it rains on a day that's been hot, it's generally nice and cool (so far).  But the asphalt in the parking lot steams.  Dorky me, I kept looking for the source of the smoke at first.  It took me a little while, but I finally figured it out, and now it fascinates me.  I'd never seen that before.  Crazy!

Hannah started seminary today. An hour of scripture study in the morning, kinda like another high school course, before school starts with a bunch of other LDS teens.  They are digging right in with the Old Testament.  I should probably brush up...guess I have time on my hands right now.  :)

Yes, today is a better day.  Some days are harder than others, especially when your brain can't seem to produce the right amounts of the right chemicals.  And I heard moving was 3rd on the list of traumatic things to do with your life (preceding were the death of a loved one and divorce).  Anyhow, I've got my smile on again (the real deal, not a pasted on one), so all is well.

Hugs to all!

First Day

I'm still wondering from time to time what the freak I've done to my poor children by moving out here.

Today was the first day of school for the four oldest.  As with most places and situations, some things are better here and some things are worse.

For example, I am really struggling with how the schools communicate here ... or don't.  The bus stop for all the schools was at the same place at the same time.  But the buses didn't show up at the same time, and I'm sure I completely humiliated my middle schooler with my lack of info.  I was also the only mom out there because I had the boys and they are too young to find the bus stop themselves on the first day of school.  Lizzi's bus also involves some sort of switch somewhere along the way.  Gee, I sure hope she made it to the right school today.  Poor baby.

Meanwhile, it was Hannah's first day of high school.  She was a nervous wreck.  And I sent her in all by her lonesome.  At the wrong door.  The 9th graders here have their own building, but apparently (and again, I didn't get the memo) you still drop them off at the "big" building.

Oh my heck, my poor children!

And how am I supposed to be excited for Hannah's first day of high school when I'm worried sick about her?

I'm pretty sure this day is going to involve some chocolate.  Is it really only 10 am?

A Good Sabbath

So today's the day I have friends again. At least ones that I can reach out and touch (if not call--see my previous post) A bunch of people in this ward knew we were coming. Um...is that good or bad?

Sometimes you want new or philosophical things to think about from church. And other times, it means so much to walk in to a new ward in a different state and still know all the words to every hymn they sing. Or to go to testimony meaning and hear the testimonies borne and know that you still share so much with complete strangers because the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and good and His servants and angels are still on the earth today, here among us wherever we are, doing His work.

I miss my ward and friends and family back in the Midwest (not a term I've actually used until recently). A lot. But it was a comfort and a promise to go to church today. And I'm so grateful for it.

In fact, there were 2 standouts in my day to really reassure me that these moments of What-were-we-thinking?! will pass.

First, there is another new family here. They are from--get this--a different area of OKC. And if-we-get-the-house-we-want (we kind of say that all in one hopeful sort of breath), they will live right next door to us. That's kind of wicked crazy. (In a good sort of way.)

And second, there was a sister here who used to live in this ward and who moved away a few years ago because she knew that was what Heavenly Father wanted her to do. She said she felt kind of like she'd gone off the deep end but she knew she was supposed to do it. And in the end it truly was what she needed to do. It was the right thing for her and her family.

The jury's still out on our own deep end experience. But now my hope and faith are strengthened a bit. I guess Moses and Lehi wandered around in the wilderness for awhile, too.

Meanwhile, Sariah entertained her primary teacher today with the information that we have come to Georgia-Land (as she calls it) from our home in Norman, Kansas. Quite frankly, that's far less...um...revealing than I expected from my most honest and outspoken child. Ever.

And did I mention that the "little angel" went to primary without argument or tears for the first time...in months? What's that about anyway? I know a blessing when I see one!

So, if I babbled for a little while longer, Bob might be spared from a flood of words later tonight. But he's SUCH a good listener so I'll save some up for him. Because I am that thoughtful of a wife. :)

Georgia

So, at last we have internet.  I love my little iPhone, but I'm a full keyboard kinda girl, I guess.

Plus, my beloved little iPhone doesn't work so well out this way.  Apparently, AT&T is NOT the wireless carrier of choice, and for good reason, too.  Oh dear, I might have to get me a new, bigger, badder, more beloved little iPhone at a different carrier.  I am aghast at the possibility, I assure you.

Meanwhile, Georgia is treating us well.  On the day we left Oklahoma, the thermometer in my car read 113F.  What the heck!!  It was dryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy and hooooooooooooooot.  My OK friends will probably wish to flay me for saying this, but when we pulled into our new area on Thursday at 3 in the afternoon, my car read 74F, and it was pouring down buckets of rain.  People here keep asking me how I feel about the heat, but I think we shouldn't have packed our sweaters on the moving van.  But for my OK friends, the day after it poured, it was 97F, and like about a million percent humidity.  Hot is hot, but there is something to be said for dry heat ... except when it causes fires which I hear have been pretty terrible, but I digress, I think....

And getting back to the moving van.  It was supposed to be here on Friday.  And I was supposed to have furniture in my snug little apartment today.  But alas, as of this morning, the truck was still in Little Rock.  Little Rock?!  So, we are still sleeping on air mattresses and sitting on the floor.

But what I miss most of all is my washer and dryer.  They were supposed to be here today, remember.  I've had to do laundry at the laundromat.  Haven't had to do that in about 12 years.  Ugh, ugh, ugh.  Haven't had to climb stairs with all my groceries in about that long either ... fortunately, we are actually climbing down the stairs so it doesn't seem nearly so horrible.  And maybe I'll lose a few pounds (hahahahahaha).

Church tomorrow.  I am so looking forward to having friends again.  I must confess I have been a little lonely.  I had hoped to be able to call all my favorite people when I was feeling blue, but alas, my wireless carrier is flaky.  Must remedy that soon.

Post comments if you love me.  Because I seriously miss all you guys.  :(

Is this how you get a title?

Just curious.

Sent from my iPhone

And posting by text. Isn't it amazing what new options can do for your outlook? :)

I decided it's time to update my blog. But I've gotten distracted by experimenting with the settings, like posting by email. Fun stuff.

Sent from my iPhone

Notes and Some Conclusions

I took some notes at Time Out for Women.  These aren't direct quotes, and some of my notes are quotations from other people that I simply paraphrased.  So, truly, these are my impressions and my impressions alone.  Sometimes I take accurate, perfect notes ... and sometimes I try to write what the Holy Ghost is whispering to me in my head.  These notes are something of a cross of those two ends.

• Get down on your children's level--physically--cradle their cheeks as the Savior would--love them as the Savior would.
• Remember who your children really are.  Remember who you really are.  Remember who the Savior really is.
• Make holiness more of a part of your life...even when it's crazy.  Pick one thing to be more holy in--one mom picked being more holy in buckling her 4 small children into their carseats, something that really stressed her out.  Find little moments of holiness--Choose to be holy.
• What can I do to feel more holiness with my children?  How would a holy woman do this?  How can I take the Savior with me in my daily routines?
• Don't focus on your weaknesses.  People are happier when they pursue their strengths.  You are happy when you are doing what you love.Search for your opportunities, strengths, and gifts.  Focus on positive things.  Find new and creative ways to use your strengths.
• Motivation follows action!  A proven life experience for me.  When I was younger and my kids were babies, sometimes the only way I could get up and moving was to force myself to fold one basket of laundry.  Until I did it, I couldn't function, but once I did it, my day and I improved rapidly.  Still true today--and easier to implement now that I know this about myself.
• Celebrate both successes and failures!  If a thing is worth doing, it's worth doing badly because that's better than not doing it at all.  We need to teach our children that failure is not the end of the world.
• Don't endure to the end.  Life is not just to be endured.  Life is to be enjoyed.

There was so, so much more that sank deep into my soul where there are no words.  I want to give them room to grow.  

Time Out

I took a time out this weekend.  It was Time Out for Women in Oklahoma City.  It is not an event sponsored by my church.  But it is put on by Deseret Book, which produces all sorts of books and other media for LDS people.  TOFWs bring popular artists, authors and musicians, to us in a weekend conference form.

Honestly, I didn't want to go.  I didn't want to take the time.  I have like a bagazillion things to do in a relatively short amount of time.  But Bob insisted.  And so I went, and stayed overnight at the Renaissance with some of my dearest friends.

I am so glad I went.

When my older children were younger, time out for me often resulted in a greater longing for the peace and quiet which are never yours when you choose to become a parent.  Which led to a greater unhappiness deep within myself.  Which made me unhappy with everything around me.  Probably not such a happy cycle.  And no wonder my husband was frustrated with my time outs (and the consequences).

This weekend was not of that sort.  I went to the conference, relaxed, hung out with my friends, laughed and loved, and I really did feel like I got a recharge.  I came back home loving my life, grateful for what I have, and anxious to sink my teeth into it again.  What a difference!

Sam Turned One (a few weeks ago)

...but I didn't have a camera. So here are the party pics from my phone, followed by what we did on his birthday (ate hot dogs at Sam's Club).

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOklahoma!

...where the wind comes sweeping down the plains....

As I was preparing to run errands this morning, I decided to wear a baseball cap to keep my hair under control. The wind has been blowing nonstop for the last day.  Ha!  I couldn't even keep the hat on my head, the wind is so ferocious.

Fun times!

My Little Man

When Little Man isn't busy staring forlornly at the big kids, this is what he does with his time.  He loves balls just the right size for his hands, and he growls at you if you take them away.  And he loves chasing things around the floor--the latest obsession is these little Chevron cars.  He's funny with them because they roll a lot better than the rubber blocks he was chasing around, so gets mad at the cars when they get away from him, and growls at them, too.  Super cute!  (Sorry about the picture quality--my phone doesn't do motion very well, and Sam is constantly in constant motion.)