I don't understand people!

I will never understand some people. Why do people hang onto their hatred so much. Why do they let it fester so much. There is a family who we used to be good friends with, but because of dishonest and cruel things said, they no longer are our friends. But still almost two years later I still have some sort of power over this person. As most of you know I work downstairs in the basement of the Criss building at Creighton University doing graphic designing for the medical and nursing schools and also helping out in the copy center when they get too busy. Anyway the doors I work in are right across from the bank of elevators that go to the Student Lounge.

Will and I decided to go to lunch together outside and eat the free lunch paid for by Father Schlegal. What a great guy, plus who can resist free food especially when you are a student. Anyway we got done eating lunch, and we rode the elevator together. Will had to get off on the third floor for his job as a TA for parenteral lab. So I rode the rest of the way to the basement alone. I was doing fine, and thinking about all the projects I needed to complete for the day, when the elevator stopped on the first floor. In walked a rather large guy with a backpack on, not looking where he was going, just aimlessly going into an elevator as all of us do, when he looked up. Holy cow you would have though I sprouted horns and grew 50 feet tall and was snarling ready to eat him alive the way that he looked at me and turned around and RAN out of the elevator. He couldn't get out of there fast enough. Not looking where he was going, he just wanted to get out of there, ran over a girl that was also trying to get onto the elevator. She got in and wondered what in the world was his problem (she muttered this under her breath loud enuf for me to hear). I was snickering to myself the entire trip down one measly little floor, when I step out, and then I hear "ding" , and the elevator next to me opens up, and out walks this guy.

He was so afraid, and so angry that he didn't even want to ride down one stinking floor in silence to the Student Lounge with me in the same elevator. He has let his anger and hatred get this far gone. I personally think this is so sad. Why do people let their bad feelings get the better of them like this. My head wasn't spinning around. I didn't let out a hellacious fart, and I know I didn't spill my food on myself, so why couldn't they suck it up, and ride in silence down one floor, instead of embarrassing themselves, knocking over someone else, and looking totally stupid when both myself and the girl who he ran over saw him get out of the elevator next to us.

I will never understand this, but it was good for a laugh when I really needed it.

Vala's Pumpkin Patch!

Well we went on our annual family outing to Vala's Pumpkin Patch. We only go once a year because it is soooooo expensive. We spent about 100$. 90% of that was just the entry fee, the rest was three waters and a bag of popcorn. It is outrageous, but I figure it is only once a year, and it makes memories to last a lifetime, so I get the wallet out, and squeeze everything I have out of it to give my kids these memories. They had tons of fun. They rode on tricycles with us.

They raced duckies down a tube of water using the old fashioned water pumps.

They jumped on I swear the worlds largest trampoline bubble. All of the kids were a little hesitant at first, but after the first few jumps and falls they were on it like pro's. It was such a riot to watch.

They took lots of cute pictures with their faces sticking out.

We saw a pumpkin eating dragon.

We watched the pig races, and the kids each picked a pig to root for and each of their pigs won, so the kids won a pig nose. Here they are modeling them for you.

They all had lots of fun, and now we are back home, and all of us are TIRED!! And as we were on our way out we saw this massive family sized rocking chair made out of wood, and so we took our picture. Over all it was a fun and exhausting day. I would definitely do it all over again to see the smiles it put on all my kids faces. So what is one more year of wearing my old clothes, or not buying a new coat this year when I can see how happy my kids are using that money to do something like this. All my sacrifices seem so worth it on days like these. They are sweet children who deserve so much more than I can give them right now, but hopefully soon I can give them everything they need and most of what they want. I love them, and want to see them happy. Have a great Halloween from our family to yours.

Wax Maquette, Fontanelle Forest, and More Canning!

Wow, what a collection of things for this post. Well lets start with the first of the three. My Wax Marquette. This is the piece that I will now dip into high heat plaster and then will burn out the wax. I will then be left with a hollow mold of my figure, and then will pour bronze into the cast. We had to have our finished Marquette done on Thursday and present them to the class. I didn't realize just how hard it would be for me to present this to the class. We had to discuss why we did the memorial, and who it was for, and our inspiration, and talk about the memorial. It is still so hard for me to discuss this with anyone without having my feeling come to the surface. I ended up crying as I was presenting this to my class, and I made the teacher cry and four other students cry. It was touching, and I felt it has turned out quite well. We also had to put together a board with photos and quotes and things that inspired us to do this memorial, and I am so glad I am going to this school. I was able to put a picture of Christ on the board and not feel like I was going to be reprimanded. I also put the lyrics to the song that was sung at Gavin's funeral. I'd have to say it turned out rather well, and I am pleased with it. I wish I knew how to do wings a little better, but this is my very first attempt at any type of molding in clay or wax on this scale. I did the jewelry design, but its a lot different trying to mold people and things, rather than a piece of jewelry. The middle of him is cut into two pieces so that this doesn't weigh a ton, so I had to hollow him out. Thats why there is a big huge seam around his middle, and it looks like he doesn't line up well. He will when its in bronze.

The kids went to the Fontanel Forest with Will this morning to see the new exhibit Acorn Acres. They had fun playing. It was so much fun for the kids to get outside and play. They really need that. They also had a great time playing with Will. They don't get much of that lately and so they treasure it when they do. I love seeing him play with the kids.

And then also I have been canning again today. I did another 15 quart batch of homemade chili, and then I did a 15 quart batch of homemade Chicken Soup. This is all the kids ever want to eat in the winter time, and I'm so happy to oblige. Doing the canning now is easy, and helps so that when I'm cold and tired, and worn out from sledding down snow covered hills with the kids, or building snowmen, I can break out a can of homemade soup, and have dinner taste like I was cooking all day long. Now if only I can get the 100$ I need to fix my Bosh Bowl, I'd be in heaven, but that will have to wait till January when we get our student loan disbursement again. I'm still so mad at myself that my bowl broke. I am HATING life without it right now. We have to eat store bought bread and rolls, and I have to mix my cookies by hand, and my banana breads and zucchini breads by hand. How did I ever live without my Bosh. Anyway, here are the photos, and I hope you are all enjoying the cooler weather. I know I am and so are the kids!!

Very Productive Weekend

MY MESSY KITCHEN!!

Will and I have been very productive this weekend. Over the last few weeks we have been gathering all our fruit for the winter. We have now finally done something with it all.

Here is what we had:

28 lbs. of Blueberries

28 lbs. of Cherries

14 lbs. of Raspberry Puree

1 Bushel of apples (with another on its way Monday)

This is what we made this weekend:

14 lbs of Dehydrated Blueberries

12 Quarts of Fresh Canned Blueberries

14 lbs. of Dehydrated Cherries

10 Quarts of Fresh Canned Cherries

8 pints of Sugar free Raspberry Jam

12 Quarts of sliced apples

We also made 14 Quarts of Homemade Chili and Canned those as well. And I had two lbs. of Almonds to use before they went rancid, so I made Almond Brittle with them. All of that is done and I still have a good 7 hours left of my weekend.

I also had requests for a turkey dinner for Sunday Dinner, so that's what we had. Crock Pot Turkey Breast with stuffing potatoes and salad. I then made this rustic apple pie tart. I am making another one of these to give to the lady who just gave us the apples for free.

I also moved and rearranged the kids bedroom, and carpet cleaned the floors. A good friend in my Branch loaned me her carpet cleaner. What a life saver she is. SO now the room doesn't smell like funky monkeys anymore.

I am now ready to go take a big huge nap. I am tired. But my kids need me, and I know the Fontanel Forest just opened it's brand new "Shady Acres" fun area just for kids today. It's their Grand Opening and we have a family pass. SO I think we will be taking the kids to that here in a few min.

Rommel's 5 Month Pic's!

Rommel is now 5 months old, and getting HUGE! I didn't realize how large German Shepherds are. I thought they would be the same size as my childhood dog "Harley", but Rommel has surpassed him in size, and is only 5 months old. He still has another year of growing. He has finally lost all his baby teeth, and is now stopping the biting. He was chewing and biting on everything including the kids. Rommel has become a more favorite pet now that he has stopped biting the kids. Go figure!! He is an excellent dog. Very obedient. We have him trained with the hand signals as well as the voice commands, and does very well. He is also registered as a Therapy and Service dog, so he has a little vest he wears when out in public. He does very well, and is very well behaved in public as well. His favorite is the dog park where he gets to run and chase balls. I've put in some older pics so you can see how quickly a German Shepherd changes from one month to the next.

Rommel at 5 months old

Rommel at 3 months old

Rommel at 2 months old

My Project!

Well, the weather has turned cooler (thank goodness) and Will has started to advertise in his pharmacy for my services. There have been requests for something to help with delivering heat to sore muscles, joints, relieving arthritis and so on. Well I have made these "Corn Hotties" for a while now, but now I take special requests for shapes to cover severely arthritic hands. SO here is what I had done. I also have started using rice. It doesn't have that nasty stink to it, and I can add some oils to it, and so it smells better when heated. I added some lavender oil to this one. The lady who received it is very pleased with it, and it helps her tremendously. I'm glad I can help in some small way. Now if only I can get paid for these things. I've been doing them for free to try and get more out there, but it hasn't worked very well. Oh well, it's my good deeds and service I guess. But enjoy.

A Collage of Thoughts!!

Well here it is almost 2 minutes before Labor Day (and our three day weekend) is over. I should be in bed, however I am still up doing some homework, and taking a break from the boring reading. I thought art class is about doing art, not reading about it. Oh well, we start the fun stuff this week. I am taking a Bronze Sculpting class, and it sound like it will be super fun. I will be sculpting a couple of statues out of wax, and then casting them into bronze. A very exciting prospect indeed. I will keep posts of how I am doing. First off we are going to be sculpting a memorial. He wants us to sculpt a figure for this. He gave a a big long list of things we could memorialize such as 9-11, or some of the World Wars, or Homelessness and such. But one caught my eye, death. I know sort of morbid, but with the unexpected passing of my little nephew I felt very moved to use this as a tool in which to make my memorial. SO here is a quick put together photo shop rendering of what I want to try to accomplish. Wish me luck!

Anyway, so that's one of my classes. My other class is Print Design. In here I will be using the computer and many different programs to design printed materials such as wedding invitations, and brochures and such. I am excited because it will give me an even greater edge to my portfolio, and help me in my new job at Creighton. I work for the Medical Copy center doing their graphic designing and illustration work. Yes once in a while when others are busy I will have to make copies for a student, or print something off, but for the most part I am working closely with the Dean of the medical school and his staff to produce beautiful artwork on their fliers and posters and brochures. SO if you see something cool printed on paper and posted around the campus or the Hospital, chances are I had a hand in it. It truly is fun. I also get to work on some personal projects for the Dena and his family as well. This week I have been putting together a wedding invitation. It has been a ton of fun, and is using my designing skills. I enjoy the flexibility and ability to be able to take my kids to school and to be home whenever they are home. I don't even have to ask twice to have a day off if the kids are home. The school is all about Family. If I get my work done, they have no problems with me taking time off. It is such a great school.

And so we get to the fun zoo trip we had today. We rode the train for the last time this year. They open the train on Memorial day, and shut it down after Labor day. The kids had tons of fun. We fed the fish, which were all crazy and pushing each other out of the water to get to the food. Will asked the kids if they wanted to go swimming in the water with the fish, and there was a unanimous NO!! I wouldn't either kids that's NASTY!! I may end up with missing fingers or toes if I did that. The fish are HUGE!!! Anyway here are some of the pics I snapped. Other that that we had a fun and much needed relaxing weekend. And then the hectic week starts all over again come 7:30 in the morning. Which is a little over seven hours from now. I guess I better get off to bed.

Sabrina posing for the camera. She looks so cute even after we were wind blown to death all afternoon. It was reall windy outside which really helped to mask some of the humid heat. Not all of it, but it helped some.

Vanessa is my little model. She loves to work it for the camera. She is such a cutie!!!

And here is my handsome boy. Trying his best to keep his hands still for the camera. He always wants to put them up by his face and growl like an animal. SO he looks very posed here. Oh well at least he is smiling. But he is getting to be a very handsome little man.

My Turn!!

Well, I guess it was my turn to be sick today. I woke up with a stomach ache, and freezing cold. Will thought I was nuts when I asked him to turn off the A/C. I'm just glad that it didn't turn into what the kids all had last Sunday. Holy cow. Can we say PSYCHO!!

We went all the way through church last week and got to Sacrament Meeting. Sabrina told me after the opening song that her stomach hurt. I told her she would be ok, and to lean up against me and cuddle. She seemed ok with that answer, and did so. A few minutes later she turned around and said she needed to go to the bathroom. I told her ok, and she snuck out the side of the pews. All of a sudden I hear this vomit sound, and I turn around and there is Sabrina frantically trying to hold her hand over her mouth to keep it all in and from going onto the poor Missionary couple sitting there. I frantically dumped my purse out onto the pew, and raced to put my empty purse under her so she could finish throwing up in my purse as we tried to quickly go to the bathroom. While I was in the process of doing this, Vanessa had leaned forward and threw up into the pew ahead of us. She quickly got up and left to the bathroom with us. Will was obviously mortified, and came out a few minutes later, and got some paper towels. He kindly and quietly cleaned up all the vomit, and got rid of everything. I finally got them all cleaned up, and sat down to estimate all the damage, and try to get my contents that were in my purse into a plastic baggie. I then stood up, and it was apparently time for round two. After this next cleaning up, it was time to go home for sure.

All the kids stripped down, and got into their jammies. Isaac then started to complain as well, and the it was his turn. I on the other hand was getting more and more nervous that I would have to call in sick to my first day of a new job the next morning. I was praying that the kids would feel better soon. We all camped out in the front room each child with their own big round bowl next to their head, and their poor little tired bodies next to it. You could tell they were all so exhausted by all of this. I was tired just from trying to keep up with each of them. Will had to be to school early, and so I told him to just go to bed, and that I would take care of things downstairs. All through the night each one of then took turns into their bowls. Thank goodness around 4:30 in the morning they all stopped and fell asleep. I woke to the alarm I had set at 7:30 and got myself ready for the day. When I was done with my shower I came out to see two little super thirsty and super hungry girls ready to go for the day as if nothing happened. Isaac then woke up in the same hungry and thirsty mood, but feeling wonderful. I couldn't understand it, but was so very grateful they were better.

So apparently it was my turn to be really sick today, and everyone else was ok. It is now almost 11 pm and I'm starting to feel much better. SO it must be some little 24 hour flu bug. Thank goodness it is going away. I don't like the flu bug when it hits our home. So now with this holiday weekend almost over, we will try to get to the Zoo tomorrow, and do something fun with the kids.

An Empty House

As I sit here quietly, I realize that I am a little sad. All three of my children are gone to school, as well as Will is also gone to school. It is just me and Rommel, and even he knows there is something not quite right about a quiet house. I say house, because it feel like an empty shell without all the kids and Will around to put some excitement and love in it.

Anyway enuf of my sad little say. Now yesterday was the first day of this loneliness and it really didn't hit me. I was able to go through all the cupboards and totally "SPRING CLEAN" my entire kitchen. I got rid of things we didn't need or use. Funny how you end up collecting a bunch of crap and not even know it. So my kitchen looks great. Now off to the front room.

All the kids are having fun in school. Sabrina is so excited to be learning more in depth science and math. She gets this love of these subjects from Will, cause these two subjects were the most hated in my youth, except for maybe PE where you had to change into a uniform. BLAH! Vanessa is super excited about reading, and telling everyone stories that she comes up with. She has such a great imagination, and she has Sabrina's old teacher Miss Collins, and even Miss Colling told me yesterday when I picked them up from school that Vanessa is a bright little thing. Isaac had a wonderful day yesterday, and didn't even want to come home, but then again today he cried the entire time, and didn't want me to leave. Hopefully he will get better, and be happy to go to school. Ive been told that this is normal, and that's why the schools start the PreK kids on Thursday so that they have 2 days of school, and then the weekend to recover and feel safe again, and then back to school. I like their thinking. I NEED my kids for this weekend. I miss them so much.

Anyway, things are getting back to a routine now, we have the job chart going, and the rewards system in place. So far so good. I never thought I'd do a job chart when I became a parent. Mom always had job charts and I hated them. But here we are again I'm doing just what my mom did when I was little. The job chart works. It gives the kids a routine, and gives them a firm understanding of where they stand in the family as far as helping goes. And it also gives me sanity. WAY TO GO MOM!! I guess my mom knew it all. Back then I thought my mom was nuts, but who knew she was right, and knew much more than I did. That's kid mentality for ya!! I love ya mom, and thanks.

I WISH...

I wish I could express exactly what is in my heart. There are no words for the pain and sadness I have felt this week for my dear brother and his sweet wife. I have freequently stopped at random and prayed to my Heavenly father for help this entire week. I have prayed for the strength to be able to cope with this loss of such a sweet little spirit. I have prayed un behalf of my brother to be able to have the strength to deal with this tragedy. I have prayed for my sister in law to be able to have the strength to get up each day and be able to continue to love and be loved. I have prayed for help in being more loving to my own children, and not take them or their love for granted. I have prayed so many times for peace, and love.

I am the oldest of five kids, and this past week, I have really felt such hurt for my brother. I have felt so helpless. I wanted so much to take away all this pain that he and his wife have had to endure. As an older sister I felt that my ability to protect my brothers and sisters was taken away. I felt as though all I could do was watch as he hurt. I wanted to make everything better for him and Michelle make it so they didn't haveto hurt any more. I love my family so very much, and I feel a protectiveness over them that is not explained. I wish both he and Michelle could see how much I love them both. How much it hurts me to see them haveto go through this. However then I realize what we have all come to realize this past week, and that is that we all have the gospel in our lives. We will all betogether as a family once again after this life. I realized that even though this was such a great loss, this was also a great blessing. Our family is ever closer. Our family has seen that no matter what may happen, and no matter what sorrow or trial may lie ahead our FAMILY is always there for eachother.

Though the days and even months to follow will be tough, we are all there for one another and that gives me comfort. I also found comfort in a song that I have always sang to my kids before they would fall asleep for the night. Each night they would say "Mommy please tuck me into bed", and most of the time I would do it happily. It always consited of me tucking them into their blankets, kissing them, and then singing them the song "Till we Meet Again". Don't ask me why they always ask for that song, but for the last year that is the only song they ever want me to sing. Like I was saying earlier, Most of the time I would gladly do it, and then there were times when I was watching a movie or doing the bills or something where I just didn't feel like doing it that night. I did it again tonight for the first time since we came back from our trip to Utah for the funeral. I was more than happy to do this task, and atually felt privdledged to do it this evening. I sang the song "Till we meet again" and somehow tonight it had so much more meaning than it had before. To see how happy my children were after I did this, made my heart ache for Jaron and Michelle. I haveto admit I couldn't get though the song completely the first time, since I was crying. But then I got through it the second time.

My only wish is that I lived so much closer so that I am able to be there for my family and especially for my little brother and his wife right now. I hope that they will be able to know of my love for them, and feel my love. These two wonderful people showed me their strength and love for eachother and for the gospel this past week. I am truly amazed at how strong of an example and how strong of a testimony these two have. They truly understand the plan that the Lord has for them. I admire their strength, and their love and wisdom. They are truly an example to me. I love them both.

Jaron and Michelle, I hope you will continue to love eachother and strengthen eachother as the days and months progress. I have learned so much from you two in these past few days. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to meet Gavin, and see just what a giant of a spirit he truly was. Your sweet little family will be in my hear and my prayers continually. You two truly are spiritual giants, and Gavin was way too perfect for this world. How grateful I am that the Lord was merciful to him, and took him back home to avoid all this unpleasantness. May the spirit bolster you up, and may you always look to the Lord for peace. I love you both!!