Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas…..The Book of Moon 2009



CHAPTER 21


The next year in the Tom and Terri Moon Family.


AND now behold, in the twenty-first year of the Tom and Terri Moon family, they did pack up their lamps and their Rubbermaid and their not so precious things and they did travel for the space of five minutes to their house that was built upon the rocks.


2 Now, Cameron did grow in his testimony of the gospel. Yea, he did desire to teach the good word. Therefore, he was called to the land of the mouse and the mighty winds. And he did seek after those who desired to know the truth. Yea, he did rejoice in those who were converted and entered into the waters of baptism.


3 And it came to pass, Courtney's afflictions were sore, for she did depart from her old school and friends to the great and spacious building that was the new school. Yea, she did not march in the wilderness, and her sorrow was great. And yet, she delighted in her stature, for she did grow taller than her father.


4 And it came to pass, Maddy continued in her love of volleyball, yea she did increase in her power in setting and bumping. Therefore, her opponents did durst not give the ball unto her. And she being thirteen has been heard to say, "Oh, woe is me. Why must I be subjected to this, my family?"


5 And it came to pass, Kenna did heed the prophet's council, yea she did pierce her ears with one hole, and she wept not. And she delighted in serving others. Therefore, her friends were many, and her family found joy in her service.


6 And it came to pass, that Tom and Terri did strive to hold on to the rod, notwithstanding the adversities of old chariots, church callings, and unfinished basements.


7 And behold, it came to pass that we did rejoice and be merry, yea; we did give thanks unto the Lord for the many blessings that have been bestowed upon us. Yea and we did pray for his blessings to be upon you.


8 And again we make an end of writing concerning these things for a time.

Monday, December 7, 2009

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!



Thursday, November 5, 2009

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!





Friday, September 25, 2009

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?!

Friday, September 4, 2009

First days of School


The obligatory first day of school pictures.
*
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.
*
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.)
*
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.)
*
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.
*
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.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

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!::











Friday, July 10, 2009

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.

Monday, June 29, 2009

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.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Shelf Reliance giveaway

I have been drooling over this awesome food storage system for years! I found out through other blogs that they are having a give away.

In between conferences, I try to make sure Tom is in the room for the commercial, but so far, I am without this great system. I am doing everything I can in a selfish ploy to get one in my home. So if you want a chance to get one for yourself go here. (Except my sister, she already has one. Stinker)

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Houston, we have a sixteen year old.....

Last Friday, Courtney had a party to celebrate the fact that she was soon to be sixteen. (Much to her father's dismay. Not about the party, the fact that she is sixteen and there isn't a thing he can do to stop it!)

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful young lady in my life. She is a great example to me. I saw her reach out to someone who doesn't have many friends and has had a difficult time in school. I am very pleased with the kind of person she is becoming.


Because her birthday was actually on Sunday, we served cake and ice cream "sundaes".
Saturday was our stakes youth conference at a church camp an hour and a half away from here. One of the young men leaders snagged this picture and emailed it to me. Tom definitely doesn't want anyone "cutting in" any time soon. Unfortunately for him, she already has two dates this week.


If anyone in the ward needs to get a hold of the Bishop, you'll find him target shooting out back.


Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Bathroom etiquette

After spending several minutes plunging a stubbornly clogged toilet, Tom was very frustrated. This was not the first time he had been given the honored job of toilet fixer. Someone in our home has decided that if a little bit of toilet paper is good, a LOT of toilet paper must be even better. This, of course, results in a mass of toilet paper (and other stuff) refusing to flush! Tom suggested that we have a discussion on the appropriate usage of toilet paper.

This morning, as I was getting some members of the family ready for school, I decided to take the opportunity to have this discussion. I told them when they used the bathroom, they didn't need to use so much toilet paper, and if they really felt like they needed more, they would need to flush and then use more. I felt like I had gotten my point across very well. They looked like they understood what I was trying to tell them. I asked them to try not to let the toilet get clogged again. One child's eyes lit up and eagerly said, "It wasn't me, I don't use any toilet paper!"

I guess I get to have another discussion on toilet paper.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Blonde joke

Did you here the one about the teenage blonde in line to get her driver's permit at the DMV?

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Yeah, me neither, because its not FUNNY!!!!!

p.s. Let me know if you want me to warn you!



Friday, May 8, 2009

If I could turn back time....

Oh how I wish I had the power to redo yesterday! I have heard that bad things come in threes, and after what happened yesterday I believe it.

My nephew called and asked if he could show our house to someone who was interested in having him build her a house with the help of our builder. As I was quickly picking up, I took a step back and felt my laptop under my foot. I didn't know I did any damage until later when I finally had time to sit down and boot up my computer.


Yes, a big 'ole crack in the corner of the screen. I was sick!

If that wasn't enough for one day, Cam was replacing the fuel pump in his car with the help of his dad and a friend. I asked him for a phone number I knew he had saved in his phone. He pulled it out and there was nothing on his screen. His phone was in his pocket and when he leaned against something in the car, it cracked. Ugh!


I really just wanted to climb in bed to get this day over with, when, I remembered that I promised Mckenna that I would make brownies for her teacher for teacher appreciation week. I decided to be creative and bake them in a heart shape pan. I should have known with the day I was having that it wasn't meant to be. Of course, the middle stuck to the pan. Grrr!

To end this post on a positive note; my computer will be fixed Monday. (an expensive lesson I hope never to learn again) Cameron replaced his phone with a cheapo phone, and the kids got some yummy, but crumbly brownies!


Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Breaking ground and teenage girls

Last week, our stake broke ground for a new stake center. Our ward is pretty excited to have a building closer to home. I took Cam, Court and Maddy with me to the ceremony. It was fun to see lots of people that I know and love from other wards that I don't see often. Tom has been exceedingly busy with work deadlines, church meetings and broken cars; he was more than willing to stay home with Mckenna who had spent the previous night and morning rejecting the contents of her stomach, over and over.

After the official ceremony was over, anyone that wanted too, could have their own ground breaking pictures with the fancy shovels. I would have none of that! I spent one dollar on our special shovel, and I was going to make sure we used it again! (If you want to see how we used it the first time see here.)

The kids were less than enthusiastic. I don't understand why.

Through gritted teeth, "Please mom, get this over with, I am so embarrassed!"



"No, I am not going to bend down for your photo-op." Party pooper:(
____________________________________
Courtney has a fantastic group of friends. Once or twice a month they have what they call "Friday night". They get together, giggle; watch movies, giggle; make their own music videos, giggle louder; sleep a little bit in between more giggling. She had made plans to host a Friday night last Friday, when I told her that we had made arrangements to head up to Teancum timbers for the stake clean-up day, I thought it would be fun to invite them to camp with us. She willingly agreed, and Tom, unwittingly, stuffed seven HUGE overnight bags in the back of our Suburban and put up with over an hour of estrogen overload. I am sure he had no idea what he was getting into.

The girls



They had fun! They even managed to do a little service. Not much, but some. Where we camped was near a creek that seemed to be stuffed to the brim with noisy croaking frogs. When I looked, I couldn't see anything, but they were LOUD. I thought they would keep me up all night. Then, I remembered, if anything was going to keep me up, it would most likely be the group of giggling gals. The little girls, and Tom and I slept in our tent trailer, and the big girls slept on cots in our tent next to the trailer. I did fall asleep, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the sound of teenage girls.




Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Cam's heart

I know I said I would post about birthdays. Cameron turned nineteen in March and Maddy turned thirteen three weeks later. Whew! There! I did it!



Now onto what I really wanted to post.



Cameron has slowly been getting all the things he needs to get done before he submits his mission papers. He had his wisdom teeth out, his general doctor appointment, dentist appointment, blood drawn and Four expensive shots.

At his doctor's appointment, the doctor asked about his heart murmur. I again recounted how he had had a coarctation (narrowing) of the aorta, and had it repaired at 4 days old. See here for more details. He also has a couple of valves that aren't "normal" that cause a murmur. I like to tease Cameron that we should name his heart Laman. He He. I am so FUNNY! He wouldn't completely sign him off as ready for a mission until we got the o.k. from Cam's cardiologist on the level of activity he can do.

He had his appointment with the pediatric cardiologist on Monday. Interesting note-- because Cam has a congenital heart defect, he will always go to a pediatric cardiologist. Even when he is eighty-three, he will be sitting on the little table with the space theme room and the latest Disney movie on the t.v. screen to pass the time.

Cam has been going to these appointments every year or two his entire life. I am pretty familiar with the process, and nothing has changed much over the years. Cam has two valves that are not normal. His aortic valve is bicuspid, it is supposed to be tricuspid, and his mitral valve doesn't open and close like it is designed to do. I like his doctor he is very thorough and has a great memory. He can remember subtle changes from previous years. There was nothing new or different at this appointment, other than he gave his approval for him having no restrictions as a missionary. He also told me that his heart is different than normal, but it works well.

After he signed the papers, and gave him the o.k. to walk eight hours a day, I looked over the forms again. I was desperately trying to find the box where he could check that said Cam's heart was strong enough to handle the door slams and rejections he was sure to get. Sniff sniff.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

The move

I have been a very delinquent blogger. I have so much to post, I don't even know where to begin! There is the move, of course, the unpacking, (which is far from done) two birthdays, missionary preparations, Easter, and discovering that we have been using our septic tank for weeks without it being "ON"! Who knew???!!!

I will start with the move. Tom is not one to ask for help. He likes to brag that he and I moved our piano by ourselves in one of our moves many Moon's ago ( literally and figuratively). Our backs were younger and stronger back then, and our brains were younger and dumber too. I was most grateful when I saw SEVERAL strapping young men show up with large trucks and even larger trailers. They made quick work of loading and unloading all of our stuff from one place to another.


Let the unloading begin!
Even with the heavy lifting, he can still smile for the camera!



Without the help of this guy, and a couple of other handy men, Tom would still be working on the wood floor. One night, at midnight, Tom tried to get these men to go home to their families. Scott finally agreed to leave.

Jory, (another wonderful man who went without sleep for us) looked at Tom and said, "He'll be back. He got hungry and ran to Taco Bell."

Sure enough, he came back and stayed until 2:30 AM cutting and gluing. Every time my foot steps on the beautiful warm wood, my heart is filled with gratitude for their kindness and sacrifice.



Some of the "strapping young men!"

This man, the father of this girl , brought my husband to tears. He saw what needed to be done, and did it. He saw some construction garbage and loaded it up and hauled it to the dump. He discovered a pitchfork that Tom had been meaning to fix for years. He bought a new handle for it, but it didn't fit. This wonderful man took the pitchfork and handle to his shop, cut the hole to fit and made it better than new! He also wrote Tom's name in the metal of the handle. Tom was moved by his generosity and thoughtfulness. So was I.
Next: Birthdays!



Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Home

We are HOME! Of course, right now, it doesn't feel very homey. The boxes and stuff waiting to find a permanent home are getting in the way of sitting by the fire and enjoying my new surroundings. Little by little, we are slowly unpacking. The kitchen is functioning, except for the gas range that has yet to be installed. Our builder has confidence that Tom could convert it to propane. The instructions are unclear, so we are waiting for more parts, or a professional. Either way, it looks like about a week before I will have a cook top. Luckily, I have an electric frying pan that has been getting plenty of use the last few days.

___________________
~
Tom called me this morning to tell me Cam's car died, he had taken it to work so I could use his truck. He said it was making a horrible knocking sound and then quit, he had to walk a block-and a half back to work. He asked me to come get him to tow the car with the Suburban. I wasn't that surprised. We belong to the "how many miles can we squeeze out of our cars" club. I drove out to work, picked him up and went in the direction he told me to go.
~
After more than a couple of blocks, I said, "Wow, you walked really far!"
~
He grinned, and said, "I thought this was a great way to get you to go out to lunch with me."
~
He was very pleased with himself for pulling off a great prank. He gloated all the way to Wendy's and back. I fell for it because it is so unlike him to do anything like this.
~
Next year sweetie.....next year;)

Thursday, March 19, 2009

True or False


A simple little test:

::True or False::




  • I have had ample sleep for several weeks.


  • The prospect of scrubbing down this rental at the same time as cleaning all the construction mess at our new home has me excited beyond belief.


  • I feel great! Bronchitis is awesome!


  • I LOVE tiling floors, back splashes, bathtubs and around fireplaces!


  • Grouting is the best!


  • I see my sweetie way too much.


  • My kids have been fed the most nutritious, well-balanced meals while we have been working at the house.


  • I am completely relaxed.


  • I will miss renting. I could stay here forever!


  • This building process has been so much fun, I can't wait to do it again!


Obviously, the answer to all of the above is False!



I don't want to seem ungrateful. I am. Our family is getting excited for next week when we officially get the keys. We are all just a little tired of the process. I actually heard a teenage girl near me, murmur under her breath, "I hate this house." Tom has been working until midnight or later almost every night, on top of work and bishop stuff, he is exhausted. We can't wait to be together as a family.


We have also been blessed, a post I will do another time. Right now, I need to keep my lung from trying to come up;)

Friday, March 13, 2009

Sooooo tired....

I am so glad I don't have surveillance cameras mounted in my house. This morning, I caught myself with my head in my hand, the wetness of my own saliva waking me from an unexpected drift off. The reason for my sleepy state was to take Court to school at 4:30 this morning to promote Jungle Book, the high school play she has been rehearsing for months as a dancer and colorguard member. Courtney was also very tired and had me come and pick her up early from school to catch a little nap before opening night tonight.

This is the very short clip of the local morning news show she was on. She is the first flag on screen and the center flag for a few seconds toward the end of the scene.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

This past week---a photo essay








Tom spent this week in a great deal of pain. He did get some enjoyment out of playing with this big boy toy.












Howard the incredible, came over to help Tom get started with measuring and cutting. Howard is Tom's brother-in-law. He is very smart, and a hard worker! We are so grateful for his help.










This is the place Tom should have been most of the week. He finally went to the doctor on Tuesday because of severe shoulder pain. The doctor diagnosed him with this.







He was prescribed meds for pain and inflammation, but his main recommendation was REST!!!









Yes, that's right, the water is back! The septic pipe was not sealed properly. The builder sent someone to fix it. I so hope this is the last time I see water on the floor of the basement.






The "hero", Cameron. He willingly did anything and everything that we asked of him. He ran me home one night at eleven completely exhausted. As he was leaving to go back and help his dad, I told him he was my hero. They worked until two-thirty in the morning. Throughout the week, he cut tile, cut and glued pipe, measured, and grouted. He was always so pleasant and a bit silly. Even though, I was turning into a grouch, working with him was a pleasure.








The cabinets were delivered and partially installed.





Our "Cinderella". She made a mouse helper out of masking tape and wanted to wear an old raggedy dress. We got a good laugh when her dad asked her for something, she grabbed a roll of paper towels, shoved them up her back, and hobbled to him. With her best Igor voice, she said, "Yes, Master".










Setting the last few tiles in the master bath. This week has been hard. One I hope not to repeat. My kids have shown me they can handle tough situations with a great attitude. They are a wonderful example to me.