Distracted

Today I seem to be distracted....maybe it's avoidance of this never-ending mountain of laundry.  

Maybe it's because I can't stop thinking about the month of May.  The end-of-school year stuff is fun.  My super-duper talented kids shining and showing me what they are made of---awards, accolades for the record-breakers, band and strings concerts, the leadership team campaign, all in glorious prelude to the excitement and anticipation of summer break....I love it all.  

But here's what ESPECIALLY comes to mind in thinking about May 2012....

Jacob's participation in the Cultural Celebration with the Lenexa Stake, and over 3,000 other teenagers!

Attending the Temple Dedication with my three oldest children!

Going on an unbelievable vacation with my best friend!!!

What amazing memories.  A truly blessed time in my life.  

And I foresee more on the horizon....stay tuned.

Just gotta say it...

Friday morning, October 28, 2011, Joe received the news that he passed the last of his national board exams. He is finally able to receive a license to practice. What wonderful, long-awaited news! Way to go JOE!!!

You may know that I posted this on Facebook: “Dear National Board of Chiropractic Examiners, Joe kicked your can, now you can kiss ours!” (For the record, I don't care to EVER have to deal with Cleveland Chiropractic College OR the NBCE again in this life...just sayin'...)

I know you can imagine the happiness and relief we feel in our family. All the trials, tears, heartache and heaviness of these past years suddenly became history. It was not unlike the feeling one has after the birth of a long-awaited child. The correlations are so similar!

We’ve been truly overwhelmed at the outpouring of love, tears, cheers and all-out support from so many. Thanking you all seems so inadequate! Your love and support has become a part of who we are, and we are better in countless ways because of it...

Surprisingly, I have noticed how tempting it is to want to bury the difficulty of our trial when we are rejoicing in the triumph. It would be nice to forget the feelings of relentless frustration, and disappointment. But, as with other painful trials in my life, I cannot deny as sure as I live that the experience is EMBLAZONED on the soul! Our wise and loving Heavenly Father needed us to learn and learn and learn some more, and that is why I cannot make light of this. We could’ve taken any path and still would have had to learn the many valuable lessons of life that we did through chiro school and boards. Putting one foot in front of the other day after day; seeking solutions to mind-boggling dilemmas; seeking employment in a disastrous economy...I could go on and on elaborating on the challenges. But our blessings completely sweetened the pot this entire time. Not once have we ever been without immense blessings---Where we live, our church, our children, etc--- We're so richly blessed. We have learned that when He says He will provide our needs according to His riches, He does. When He says to draw nigh to Him and He will draw nigh to us, He does. He has needed for us to become more humble (ugh-pride!). More reliant and trusting that He does what He has promised. His will and His plan of happiness will be accomplished. It's too easy to become blinded by what WE want in this life. He needs us to be fit for His use, and to do our part and be the strength that He needs us to be in troubled times, so His work continues.

Experience is a miraculous thing. I pray my children learn and apply something wonderful from this experience as well. We don’t need a lot to be joyful and content. We only need:

To love our God with all our hearts, mind and strength...

To love our neighbors as ourselves...

To learn to follow the commandments diligently...

and to take notice of the important lessons He has for us.

Then we apply them. And grow.

I am deeply grateful for the experience.

Painful, yes. But, that is progression.

He loves us and blesses us.

After such a long, hard-fought trial---shame on me if I ever forget…

"Fashion Fiesta"...from someone who knows...

In case you are in need of some Fashion advice....

"Fashion Fiesta

What To Wear?

Are you coming to a point in your life were you think that your close seem so yesterday?

Well if you are don’t fell bad about it , just go to your closet and see what you have ….

Lay it out on your bed and just look at it ,be grateful for what you have because some people

don’t have close at all . So look at your close and think …. What am I going to wear tomorrow?

Well here is a news flash for you - to much pattern is weird and to much solid is to bland .If you want my opinion you would want a pair of black skinny jeans, a purple blouse and some black open toed 3inched high heals that would be a going out to eat out fit but that’s just my opinion . For a regular day I would wear a yellow blouse with ruffles on the chest with white or black skinny jeans. For school I would wear a black& white checked mini skirt with knee sock for the top I would have a black blouse.

Well that’s it for today for fashion fiesta read next week!

Chow"

I found a copy of this on my printer last week, and just about DIED from loving it so much!

It was written by the 10 year old "fashonista" in my house...

Just thought I'd share it in it's original form...

Checklists-Schedules-Organized Chaos-Oh MY!

...And then all of the sudden, the summer was GONE.

Enroll 2 in elementary school.
Enroll 1 in first year of Middle school.
Enroll 1 in college sciences and algebra.
Piano lessons for three.
Band for two.
Gymnastics-Musical Theater-Football.
Don't forget Boys Scouts/Young Men's/Mutual.
And Activity Days....

All recently were added to my "to do" list...

...to broaden our horizons and enlarge our minds. Really?

Must. Not. Over-schedule.

A stack of brand-new spiral notebooks for 10 cents a piece just out-ranked my snazzy Franklin-Covey-leather-bound organizer. EVERYTHING goes in the NOTEBOOK. They will be labeled, "Thing 1", "Thing 2", etc....one will be close at hand at all times.

Gonna be a busy semester...busy with trying to MAINTAIN BALANCE. I'll keep ya posted....

The more the merrier!

The line up...
3 nieces
1 nephew
2 friends
my own 4 children...

A day of abandoned responsibilities=mandatory FUN!

When You're Having Fun...

...I have to hurry and sneak this in before the date of my last post turns into ONE YEAR...

You know what they say about how time flies...especially when you're having fun...

To the doubting among you, I WILL return to blogging.

Soon.

Like NOW, see?

Summer of the "Cousin-Swap"

This summer, one of my sisters and I thought it'd be fun to swap kids throughout
our days of summer break. Her four and my four. And for the record, it WAS fun!
It began with my family getting sweet Bridgett for a week. She's the most pleasant, helpful, tender-hearted girl! Our time with her included a fun trip to Zonkers!
Then it was Katie's turn to go to their house (2 1/2 hrs away), and her favorite part was the fantastic shopping spree at the mall!
When she came home, little Miss Catryna came with her. Cute little "Teenie" enjoys being the center of attention, and she's QUITE the fashionista! :) While here, she was able to get in on the birthday action for Maddie, and that was priceless.
Next, it was Jacob to their house, and Aerian to ours. During Aerian's stay, we especially enjoyed gourmet cooking/eating and time at the pools, where she showed off some of her graceful, athletic talent. She is also an AVID reader (I really mean AVID). So, we hit up the library and several bookshops as well. (I caught her reading her own library book when we were shopping at the charming and quaint Reading Reptile bookshop in Brookside. LOL)
Then Maddie had her turn at their house.
The big exchange ended with my nephew Brendan, prince of Pet Kingdom.
We found a beautiful tortoise (pretty sure it was an abandoned pet) at one of our area ponds, so Uncle Joe declared that Brendan was the true and perfect caretaker, and we relinquished custody to Brendan. Then, with his spending money from his mom, Brendan purchased a Robo hamster. They are lightning fast, trust me, and he was aptly named, Speedo. He could almost make his hamster wheel SMOKE when he was running on it! Three different times, the little booger escaped his box while at our house, and it is truly a miracle he was ever found!

It sure was a fast summer. Can't believe that it's over. But, we can honestly say, it was time well spent. What a privilege to care for and enjoy time together with these sweet kids. Our time together is becoming more and more sporadic as they all grow, as we all become more involved with extra-curricular activities. So, this provided a perfect opportunity to keep the precious bonds of family maintained and held close.