CHANGES

So yes, you may have noticed some pictures missing from my blog. Chris and I are divorcing. Never thought I would be in this place. Obviously this is a bit too painful to blog about right now and maybe forever. But if you have called and I haven't answered lately, it's because I just can't talk right now. But I know Heavenly Father is in charge and that once I am through all this hurt, I will be better off! Prayers are always appreciated! (Thanks Megan for the playlist, it's just what I needed to hear tonight!)

MY EMILY

So I still can't sleep so I will post something after all. This is my little sister Emily. Yesterday was her fifteenth birthday. She was born when I was twelve and I called her "my pretty Emmy" and even sang her her own song. I am still just as in love with her. She is the last of us five sisters (though certainly not the last child, there are three boys after her, bless your heart Mom!). She is so different from the rest of us girls. If you ever want a straight, dangerously real answer, just ask Emily. She will tell you like it is. We all laugh so hard when we get with her. For her birthday she decided to have a girls' night with us and Mom instead of a friend party so we went to dinner and a movie. Amber even drove over from the West Valley. Here is the funny part. Monday after Chris got home from work I laid down in bed because I had a killer headache. I was also PMS-ing big time and generally mad about having to have a period at all. I had spent the day cleaning and was all grubby so I just took out my contacts and laid down and cried into my pillow. Just then the doorbell rang (sixteen times in a row, thanks David) and Bonnie comes boppin into my room and says "Aren't you going tonight?" Noone had called me to tell me that we were getting together to party with Em, they just all assumed the others had told me. So Bonnie told me Em wanted to hang out with us, which made me start crying again because I love Emily. Then she said Amber was driving over and I never see Amber. So I was crying even more! Anyway, Chris got me some Excedrin and I got cleaned up in about twenty minutes. There was no way I would miss that, headache or no. It was great. I love being with my mom and my sisters. The picture above is one of her many goofy projects, probably to keep the boys entertained a few years ago. Happy Birthday Emily, I love you!

SORRY!

No I am not posting anything new. I am really sorry, but things are crazy. I have all these headaches, my kids are sick (but one is almost pottytrained!) and the universe is conspiring to keep me out of the gym. So my blog has suffered. I will eventually make up for it. Probably.

Candy Thief!

Last week Evie woke up in the morning sobbing and really heartbroken. Chris was out with her and I could hear him trying to calm her down so I stayed in bed. After about twenty minutes Chris had to get ready for work but Eve was still crying. I heard her saying "I want my candy back". Chris brought her to me and said she had a bad dream. I was cuddling her and asking her who took her candy, but I couldn't really understand her answer. Finally I realized she was saying "Uncle Knick Knocks". She meant Uncle Knit Knots from the Disney show Imagination Movers. (He's the guy in the beige suit above.) I tried to explain to her that Knit Knots was very nice and I am sure he didn't mean to take her candy. But she was too upset. She only stopped crying when I "called" Uncle Knit Knots on the phone and told him how upset she was. He promised to bring her candy back. I guess her dreams are pretty vivid, I just never thought poor old Uncle Knit Knots would be the villain! She is so funny!

Ochos

Eighth Folder, Eighth picture: The most romantic thing my husband ever said to me was "I miss you like the desert misses rain" while he was at Basic Training. So of course I went online to find pictures that would remind me of that while he was gone.

Eight things I am passionate about: the gospel, Chris, Eve, Satchel, the whole rest of my family, babies in general, the potato soup that Amber gave me the recipe for (it's delicious), and music.

Eight words or phrases I use the most: Satchel get your hands out of your pants!,

Eve no climbing!, What the?, Aye aye aye!, What am I gonna make for dinner?, Wanna go to Wal-mart?, Quick, run to the potty!, and I have a headache.

Eight things I want to do before I die: Buy a house, have some more babies, serve a mission with Chris, do a triathlon (teehee), be trilingual, get a degree, be a good cook, and learn to sew.

Eight things I need right now:a bigger room to hold all the laundry that I never fold, a potty-training fairy, moolah, way more desire to get up and go to the gym, time to just sit and read, to get my food and water storage, to declutter my house, and, I don't know, a Suburu Outback.

Eight places I want to visit: New England in all the places where my husband grew up, the whole Pacific coast in a convertible, Cozumel again, Italy, the rest of the Mediterranean, England, Alaska, and Canada.

Eight favorite restaurants:On the Border, Macaroni Grill, Laspada's Italian Deli, Outback, Olive Garden, my mom's house, and I can't think of any others.

Eight TV shows I watch: The Office, Top Chef, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, House Hunters, People's Court, Judge Judy, Sportscenter (not on purpose), and America's Funniest Home Videos (only with Tom Bergeron, not that hack Bob Saget, or the not-funny guy with Daisy Fuentes.)

I Have Returned!

So here I am again. It has been awhile (I'm very sorry Megan!). Things have been a little hectic around here. Chris was laid off very unexpectedly and was unemployed for about six weeks. And I learned that when several things hit me at once, I am not very good at handling stress. But I am starting to come out of the fog that was settled around my head. Chris is now teaching, which is what he always wanted to do anyway. I just couldn't quite handle the way stressful and no money part of the job the last time we tried it. But I guess I got over that. He just started school again for his masters and now we have a real plan in place. It's better than Afghanistan, that's for darn sure.
So, what's been going on? Thanksgiving was great. We spent the day with my family and I finally saw some of Chris' skills on the guitar (thanks to Rock Band the video game, though he prefers Guitar Hero). My kids were the only little ones there which was weird because that side of the family used to be almost nothing but little kids. But Eve and Satchel had a ball, playing with the dogs and running all over.
Not much else has been going on, day-to-day wise. I have been reading a lot lately. Just today I skipped the gym because I had a headache (for real) and I spent the day on the couch reading and playing or cuddling with my kids. They played so well today that I was in a good enough mood to restart the whole potty training thing with Eve. It went ok. Everyone loves flushing the toilet, I may never have to do it myself again.
I really felt grateful today that I am able to be home with my kids. I am thankful that I live in a safe country and neighborhood and when I want to, I can just lounge around and be with my kids. I am so blessed.

Can't Sleep!

Aye aye aye! This has been a day! Actually yesterday was a day since it is well past midnight. I can't sleep after I had an actual nightmare about Obama. I am not a literal dreamer so I was surprised when I dreamed that Obama was at my home looking through my kitchen and he saw some kind of literature that was "unacceptable". He said something like "What's this?" and then there was a loud noise and the whole scene went from color to that sepia-tone. Then I woke up. I know, wierd, but I have been pretty overwhelmed at his election, mainly because of his pro-abortion agenda and socialist tendencies. On the flip side I guess I will just have to rely more heavily upon my Heavenly Father to make a stand for what is right. I have been thinking about getting more involved in the abortion fight for awhile now. So the time for hoping that others will do the dirty work is over. Also, I can honestly say I am pleased that a black man has won the election because there has been a whole portion of the people that have felt unrepresented and it must be very exciting for them to have won such a big race. I don't know that I believe all those that voted for him really are on board for the policies that he espouses, but as one who has felt disenfranchised for some time, I am glad that they have that victory to inspire them. So maybe the world isn't ending.
I also had a nightmare about fish. I was thinking about getting Eve a fish tank for Christmas, a small one. In my dream I had this gigantic tank, like the size of a small car. I was trying to introduce new fish and get the water right so they wouldn't all die. Then I realized the fish might not be compatible with each other and I had forgotten to buy food for them. It also included a giant fish getting in my mouth somehow and the usual evil intruders trying to get into my house and harm my family. So I don't want to go back to bed. It probably has something to do with the Excedrin Chris gave me before I went to bed because of my migraine.
On a really postive note, my mom was running for re-election for the school governing board here, and so far she is leading in the polls. Yay Mom! She totally deserves it since she works really hard to make sure the children of the district are protected and well-served. She spent all day at the polls talking to voters and she was wearing heels the whole time! I am really proud of her.
So maybe now that I have emptied my head for the most part I can go to sleep. Actually I could go on a little bit about Obama, but I am choosing not to be a poor loser. Heavenly Father is in charge and there must be opposition in all things. I have been reading excerpts from many women's biographies and lately many have been about women in war-torn countries under the rule of communism and fascism. I am also reading in the Book of Mormon where the Nephites are starting the cycle of pride all over again. I have a testimony that teaching the gospel will have a greater effect on men's hearts than any other method of persuasion. So everything is going to be ok. Ok, good night.