Deck the Moons'

This will be our first Christmas in our new home. I was looking forward to decorating for the holidays but had some challenges I didn't know how to handle. One of the sacrifices we made during the building and budgeting process was to forgo a finished fireplace, complete with a beautiful mantle. We decided we could finish that on our own. (Along with a LONG list of other projects we thought we could finish. HA!)

Anyway, the first Christmas we had Cameron, I decided to make stockings for our little family. I remember staying up very late Christmas Eve sewing them together. Every time we added a new family member, I would make a new stocking for her. I had visions of a gorgeous fireplace mantle that would one day be the perfect spot for these stockings.

When I stared at the blank wall where I knew I wanted to put the stockings, I happened to glance at the sled Tom had brought in with the rest of the Christmas bins. I decided to try something a little unusual. Before I could even finish my thought, my sweet hubby was in his car heading to Lowe's to get the stuff to make my idea a reality.

A couple of hooks, some garland I had, and some dollar store picks were all I needed to make something I really love!

A closer look at the stockings.




An even closer look at Cameron's stocking. sniff sniff

Did you know popcorn will last forever if you put it in an airtight container and store it in the attic, storage unit or garage? We realized, as we were decorating our tree this year, this popcorn string is at least fifteen years old. It was hard work! But worth it.

I LOVE Christmas!

The Number One Reason I Love the Internet!

Yes, I know, it has been awhile since I have posted. It is not like I don't have anything to post about. Our lives are crazy busy, a good crazy. It took a comment on a previous post that forced me back to my dusty, neglected blog.

Two days ago, I checked my email and read a comment from a reader that caught me completely off guard. She was from Florida and had been given my blog address from MY SON! Her kind words had me in tears. She reached out to a mommy in a way that gave me great comfort. I know he is o.k., I am so grateful to her for taking the time to connect with me. Through her facebook page, I was able to access some pictures of him at her Halloween dinner. She is so creative and fun!

Thanks Brenda!

Where's the values?

I am finding it hard to be a parent these days. It is frustrating to me to fight so hard to keep "the world" away from my little family. I am so not a perfect parent, but I don't need any help from outside forces to mess up my kids. I will do it all by myself, thank you very much.

I feel the need to rant. At dinner last night, that hubby graciously offered to cook at Jack in the Box after I had run late fitting high school band uniforms, our kids let us in on aspects of their daily lives we don't see. Courtney has been practicing with the color guard for their performance tonight at the football game. As they were working out the details for the uniforms, she realized she would, once again, be the only girl wearing a sleeve under her costume. One of the other girls didn't like that she would look different from everyone else and asked her if it was against her religion to not wear the costume the way it was "meant" to be worn. My mommy heart grew three sizes when she said. "No, I don't feel comfortable showing that much skin."

I haven't seen the color guard uniforms, I don't know what they look like. She didn't use the "My mom won't let me" and I was pleased. I am frustrated that she has to defend herself in choosing the right!

Maddy is thirteen years old. Yesterday, she brought home a paper from her science teacher asking permission to watch an unedited rated R movie. She explained in the paper, the movie taught the concept she was trying to teach. What! We don't even watch unedited PG-13 movies in our home! I was shocked this teacher was bold enough to even ask, and more disappointed in the parents who don't have a problem with their children being exposed to so much so young. If this is what is happening now, I don't want to think about what will be surrounding my grand kids.

I know we are taught to "be in the world, not of the world", but why does the world have to make it so difficult?!

First days of School

The obligatory first day of school pictures.

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School started this week, and it has been very quiet around here. It is time to start working on all the finish projects I have been putting off all summer. I have doors to paint, trim to caulk, nail holes to fill, a basement to Sheetrock, underground sprinklers to put in, seed to plant, landscaping to do....(O.K. when I say I, I mean mostly not me;)) But I will do the painting and am a bit excited to see the smudged doors with a fresh coat of shiny white paint.

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While I am working, I am sure my mind will think often on my kids. They are growing and changing so fast. I feel like I just barely took Kenna to Kindergarten last year, and here she is starting 4th grade! She has a great teacher and makes friends easily. (Perhaps she is too friendly, she admitted to me that she got in trouble for talking.)

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Maddy is in eight grade and in full volleyball mode. She loves to play, and she loves her new long socks she wears to practice. I am looking forward to her games. I wonder what they will be like compared to last year. (Maybe this year, my prayers will help get her serves over the net.)

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Chiawana High School. For months and months, I have heard from my oldest daughter what an awful place this was going to be. Courtney has a tight group of friends. They are a good group of good girls. All of them will be attending Pasco High, because of the ridiculous boundaries the district has decided on. As a junior in High School she started this new school with no close friends. She has come to accept it. She always has a smile when I pick her up. She is trying to make new friends. Seminary has been her sanctuary. There are times when I wish I had a magic wand to make things perfect. The problem is, my idea of perfect and her idea of perfect may not be what is best for her.

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So tonight, this flag-twirling, half-time performing, purple bleeding girl; will be sitting in the stadium at Edgar Brown, cheering on her best friends at their first football game of the season.

Our Summer

School starts in just a few days. I am going to miss the unscheduled laid back days. The days of sleeping in are almost over, it is time to get back into a routine for the school year.

I remember when I had to write a paper about what I did during the summer when school started. So here is a report of our summer of 2009.

:: We watched this silly girl walk the 4th of July parade with the summer band and color guard as an assistant.::

::Kenna (aka MNM) celebrated her ninth birthday complete with a yellow M&M ice cream cake::

::We played hide and seek in the dark. It is very painful when you sit on a patch of tack weed.::

::We got wet!::

::Our old college roommates came from Logan for a visit with their five kids. We had a blast! ::

::My wonderful hubby had a birthday. Courtney made a delicious lemonade pie for the occasion.::

::We shed tears!::


::I nearly gave a sweet man in our ward a heart attack when I heard a noise outside my bedroom window one Saturday morning. I thought it was Tom, and jumped out of bed to wish him good morning in my "special underwear". I was quite shocked to see that it wasn't my husband. Gratefully, I don't think he saw me. I jumped in the shower after I told Tom that someone was in our yard. As I showered, I heard the rumbling of a large piece of machinery outside. Tom came, with tears in his eyes, to tell me that their were over 100 people outside. They were pulling weeds, moving rock and leveling donated top soil. We were deeply touched. Thank you doesn't seem to cut it.::

::Last week, we literally threw our son out on the curb at the MTC. We took a couple of pictures near the temple before he was to report. I wasn't warned about how hard it would be to say good-bye for two years. I felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest and thrown on the MTC sidewalk. The hole was there as we drove away. We will miss him.::

::We LOVE you Elder Moon!::

Pants, fat, and burnt macaroni...

This week, I have started mission impossible. Trying to find pants for my soon to be missionary son. We started the week at one store hopeful that "this would be the place". We left after he tried on several pairs he could pull up without undoing the zipper. He could wear a 28 inch waist pant with no problem. The problem with that, is there is no such thing as a 28 inch waist pant. I have done everything humanly possible to put some meat on that boy, but nothing works. He can (and does) eat anything. I keep telling him that one day he is going to wake up and "BAM!" all those years of eating junk will suddenly appear on his skinny body.

I am his mother and want the best for him. I would sacrifice for him because I love and care about him. So, I offered him a true gift. My fat. I am willing to donate a part of me to make finding pants a little easier. I know, I am truly unselfish. Unfortunately, I haven't found a doctor who performs fat transplants.

Yesterday was actually productive. We found some shoes that he thought were comfortable enough to wear for several hours a day. While he was trying them on, I received a phone call from Maddy.

"Mom, Kenna put some Easy Mac in the microwave for 3 1/2 minutes and smoke is coming out, I turned it off."

"What!" I yell, calmly. "Did she put water in the bowl?"

I then hear her ask, "Kenna, did you put water in it?"

"No."

The shoe salesman heard my end of the conversation, and we all had a good laugh.



When we opened the door, after we came home, the smell was overwhelming! I went to the kitchen, and saw the bowl still sitting in the wide open microwave. I ran it outside, and opened windows and turned on fans. Hopefully, the smell will dissipate soon, the quest for the perfect pant cannot be stopped by burnt macaroni.

Cam's mission call

I spent the week last week at Girl's Camp and had a great time! Though, I have to admit, my only son's mission call was heavily on my mind. I fully expected him to get it while I was gone. Luckily for me, he had started the paperwork while we lived in the rental and it took a couple of extra days to get to us. So, on Saturday we gathered at a park with Tom's sister, her husband and her kids and families, and our good friends.