ONE HUNDRED!!!!

1-I am grateful that this is my 100th post!! I am so grateful for Desiree inspiring me to do this! It has honestly been life changing! :) So what if only 4 people read it, I mostly did it for me!

2-I am grateful for the people who are still my friends after reading last night's post. ;) It was a little soap-box-y and no one likes a soap box preacher. However, it was stuff I have been wanting to say for a while...and I'm glad I did.

3-I am grateful for Kohl's and Ryan and Taylor. The 3 of us have a lot of fun there. Tonight I had Kohl's cash, store credit AND a coupon (that's why it's my favorite store! :) ) and we had a great time together! They are so much fun to shop with! They don't cry, whine or throw tantrums....they know exactly what they want...they don't ask for much...I guess they are just boys! They are kissing up to me BIG TIME because they want Call of Duty for Christmas and they know I'm super opposed to those kinds of video games. I might just have to cave on this one, they are seriously such good boys and their extra effort lately has been so impressive. We'll see...I am just not sure if they've worn Chris down like they have me...

Gratitude Post #99

1-I am so grateful that I read Desiree's blog before I got on here! She totally inspired me to write this post! :) I am so grateful that I have recently learned to simplify! In years past I have allowed my kids to make super ginormous Christmas lists and have practically gone crazy trying to fulfill every. last. request. (Which also left little room for surprises...so Christmas morning was super boring when everyone could guess every single present based on the size and shape of the box.) On top of that I was generally the first person to mail 50-75 Christmas cards and take around 100 neighbor gifts!

Seriously, I am not exaggerating! I mailed Christmas cards to every single McCann I could find an address for, every old friend and past neighbor I had an address for (even if it was a super old address and I wasn't even sure they would get it), every distant relative of mine (which isn't a whole lot compared to 50 McCann's!), and anyone I could possibly think of. Costco sells Christmas cards in groups of 25 (or at least they did back when I actually printed them) and I would order an extra set just in case. That's a lot of money in stamps and cards...and not that I was counting, but I would get about 15 in return.

Then there was the neighbor gifts. Every home teacher, visiting teacher (both that we taught or were supposed to teach us), every primary teacher, everyone we served in a calling with (even remotely), every member of the bishopric, every person I knew that lived within walking distance of my house...you get the idea...pretty much the entire ward list PLUS old neighbors that had moved away...I was spending so many hours making and delivering 100 neighbor gifts every year! AND I was so anxious to get them done and cross it off my list that I was doing it as early as possible...days, even weeks, before anyone else started passing theirs out. It was insane.

Luckily I am married to the most patient man in the world. He humors me even when he thinks my ideas are super lame. :) However, It got to the point where I just couldn't do it anymore. It was making me grumpy. I dreaded the whole holiday season because it was just so much pressure!! My kids didn't appreciate it, my husband didn't appreciate. The 5 people who brought me a neighbor gift in return probably just did it out of guilt. And then a lightbulb went on. Sort of like the Grinch. My heart grew 3 sizes that day. I realized that Christmas was supposed to mean a whole lot more. Since I have learned to say no, to stop over-acheiving, to sit back and relax, it has opened a whole new world for me. I have been able to look for ways to do something for someone instead. When you aren't super stressed and you don't have to-do lists a mile long it's amazing how your eyes can be opened. You can actually see a need and do something about it. When you aren't maxing out your credit card to make your already spoiled children even more spoiled, you can help someone who maybe isn't going to have a Christmas at all. When you aren't doing gift exchanges with family members (which ends up being a gift card exchange anyways), you can give that money to someone and actually make a difference. When you aren't focused on yourself and what YOU need to do, it's amazing how you see others and their needs. I have never been happier than I am now.

Perhaps I should do more. I should probably buy one of those creepy elves and stay up all night trying to convince my kids that the elf did something naughty (even though the whole point of the elf is to make sure the kids are behaving). I should probably at least send cards to the people who send them to me. I should probably give gifts to my good friends and favorite neighbors. I should probably drive my kids up the mountain to cut down a fresh tree. I should probably stop comparing myself to everyone else and just keep on being happy. :) The hardest part is knowing where to draw the line. I tend to over-do pretty much everything, so for me it's an all-or-nothing sort of deal. And I'm happier with nothing. So, after all that rambling...I'm grateful for that realization in my life. I am grateful that I learned how to enjoy the holidays...which is obviously different for everyone. If the creepy elf and a fresh cut tree helps you enjoy the holidays, then by all means...do it! If not, then stop caring about what everyone else is doing and just learn to be happy to be yourself. I promise, it feels amazing! :)

2-I am grateful that I have let go of guilt. I haven't blogged for an entire week. I haven't felt the least bit guilty! I am figuring out how to let go of so many things. Listening to people complain about every little thing has made me realize how annoying of a habit it is to be negative. If something is bothering you, change it. If you don't like something, don't do it. If you have to do something even though you don't like it, don't complain about it. If you want to lose weight, go on a diet and exercise. If you want to have money, stop over-spending it or learn how to make more. If you don't like where you live, move. If you don't like your job, do something else. Life is too short to be unhappy. If you are unhappy and you can't change your situation, learn how to make the best of it. I mean, I live with my parents for crying out loud and I'm making the best of it. :) These are things I'm really trying to work on. And most importantly: don't judge. Don't worry about what anyone else is doing. Don't compare yourself to anyone else. AND DON'T GOSSIP! Talking about other people is so 1995. :) It doesn't make anything better. It makes everything worse. I have really struggled with this one. In my high school yearbook I was voted "Senior most likely to become a National Enquirer columnist". For real. That hurt. I didn't even realize I was gossiping. That's how I was raised. You talked about people as soon as they left the room. You complained about people no matter how much you like them. I honestly didn't know that it was wrong. It has taken me a long time to change that habit. I am not 100% cured. It still gets the best of me. But, not caring about what other people do is the key. I have learned to let go of all of that and it made such a huge difference for me. I have become secure with myself. I have become content with my own life and my own family and I gave myself permission to just be happy and let everything else go. I didn't realize how negative I used to be and how much it weighed me down. In fact, 15 years ago or so I got called into my supervisor's office. She wasn't sure how to explain to me that I "radiated negativity" and it was causing problems. I'm not sure I even understood it at the time. I thought I was happy and positive. I didn't hate being there and I didn't hate the people I worked with, so I didn't realize I acted like I did. I honestly didn't know that being happy was a choice and that acting happy was just as easy as acting angry. Especially if you weren't really feeling angry. That probably doesn't even make sense. At the time it really didn't make sense...but now it does. I can't stand being around negative people. You know, the ones that have nothing to say so they find something to complain about. Wow, this has turned into quite the rant. I should quit. :)

3-I am grateful for so many things. I'm not sure what my last 98 posts have really been about. I hope I have covered everything important because when I write my 100th post tomorrow I might call it quits...or at least take a break...who knows. :) I am super grateful for the progress on my house. I am super grateful for the most amazing husband who is letting me build my dreamhouse (I would say "our" dreamhouse, but it's mostly my design and he's just tolerating a lot of it). :) I am grateful for 6 awesome kids. Seriously, I don't know what I did to deserve such great kids. They have been so good to each other all weekend. We left them home alone for a real date night (dinner AND a movie...can you believe it!?) and we were gone for several hours. We came home to find out that the big boys had played the wii with the girls and the little boys and that they all got along for the entire night. Today they all played together again and built a fort. Not that they don't fight and have drama, but they are just good kids and I am so proud of them. I love watching them excel at things. It is so fun to watch the boys play sports and to watch the girls dance. I was SO proud at the dance recital on Saturday! It was Sophey's first recital and she did so great! I was nervous that she would get up there and cry (or refuse to go up at all) but she did fabulous! I also am amazed at how much Katey improves every time she performs. She was AMAZING on Saturday! It was so much fun! I am grateful to be done Christmas shopping and to have our letter to Santa officially written (NO CHANGES at this point!!) and going in the mail tomorrow. I am grateful that it is simplified and still so exciting! I am grateful for my yard sale finds and for the new friends I have made because of it. It has been a great distraction for me AND I have furnished and decorated almost my entire house and have found amazing deals on amazing stuff! I can't wait to move in and decorate my house! The painter is finishing up and the flooring guys will be there tomorrow morning getting started! By the end of the week it should look like a real house! We'll just need cabinets and then the electrician and plumber can finish up! I am still hoping for the end of the year, but at least by the beginning of January we should be able to move in! It is an amazing house with everything I dreamed of. It will be such a blessing for our family (hopefully) forever! Sorry for all of my ramblings tonight. If you made it this far you deserve a prize. :)

Gratitude Post #98

1-I am grateful that I get to have an ablasion one week from today! I am super grateful for my new insurance (even though I had to switch doctors and was not super grateful for that...) because I will only have to pay $15 to have it done! That's cheaper than a month's worth of tampons! :) (Just keepin it real...). I seriously cannot wait! After having this stupid DepoProvera shot for the last 2 months I am SOOOO ready!!

2-I am grateful for the exciting things going on in my house!! Painting this week, flooring next week, cabinets the week after that...a driveway last week...it's hard to believe that it might actually be finished some day! I am not grateful for the crazy, last minute drama that we've been experiencing. Oh. My. Goodness. Building a house is such a mess! We've never built this way and we'll never do it again!! I hope we can afford to live in our house for ever and ever because I NEVER want to move again!! Although, picking out everything is super fun and I can't wait for it to be done!

3-I am grateful for Chris. He took me to lunch today because he could tell I really needed a lunch date! The last few lunch dates I've planned haven't worked out and I was really needing one. It's amazing what a little Costa Vida, flan and caffeine can do for my mood.

Gratitude Post #97

1-I am grateful for Sundays. Even if they aren't very restful. My weeks have gotten increasingly busy lately, so I have been using Sunday to make my grocery list & menu, to get a jump on the laundry, to do some organizing and cleanup after a busy weekend, etc. Some day I will go back to actually "resting" on Sundays, but for now they are keeping me sane.

2-I am grateful that my kids are going back on track tomorrow...I think. They have been  home for 3 weeks and I have honestly loved it. It's so nice sleeping in, not worrying about homework or the lunch menu, having built in babysitters, etc. But, they need a little more structure! It will be good for them. The last 3 weeks have flown by and there are only 3 weeks of school until Christmas break! These next 3 weeks are going to be crazy! We have SO much going on with our house right now, not to mention Christmas and basketball season! It's good to be busy though, and it will help us pass the time while we're all so excited for Christmas AND our house!

3-I am grateful for basketball season! We signed all 4 boys up for it this year! It is going to be so much fun! They are all loving it so far and it will be good for all of them to have something to do besides video games. :)

Gratitude Post #96

1-I am grateful for what I saw at my house today...a line up of trucks!! Seriously, I have never seen so many people working on it at once! 2 trucks were the finish work guys, 1 truck was the electrician, 3 trucks were cement guys and 1 car was for the shutter guy! It was overwhelming to see so much work being done at once! I've got some awesome trim on my walls, lights in my basketball court, front steps and a great bid for shutters! It was an amazing feeling!!

2-I am grateful for good customer service. Chris and I have both been amazed at the different levels of customer service we have received. The shutter guy: amazing. The rock wall guys: sub-par. The other shutter companies I got bids from: awful. The finish work guys: fabulous. The cement guy: fantastic. People that won't even call you back: confusing. (Just to name a few!)

3-I am grateful for melatonin. Sophey is in such a bad sleep pattern right now. It is literally making me crazy. I felt extremely crazy today. I slipped a melatonin into her pudding tonight (after she woke up from a 3 hour afternoon nap). :/ After 3 nights in a row of her not sleeping, I am hoping for a better night tonight!

Gratitude Post #95

1-I am grateful for my builder. If you ever build a house you should use Majestic Homes. They have been so great to work with. There have been many frustrations along the way, but they have always worked hard to make things better. The painter wanted to charge $150 per color change ON TOP of the thousands of dollars we are already paying to have 3-tone paint. It was too late to get bids from other painters at that point, so my builder is donating $200 from his commission and his realtor is donating $200 from her commission so I can have my girls' rooms painted (because they felt bad about the whole situation). I am having them leave the bathrooms white so I can paint them myself, and with the "3-tone paint credit" from those spaces I'm having my laundry room painted. I figure everything else can be gray until I get around to changing it. I am so happy! The thought of having my whole house gray was a little depressing. :)

2-I am grateful for the ability to shop around. Whether it is looking online for the best price on appliances, comparing prices at Home Depot and Lowe's or being able to get multiple bids from contractors in order to make a decision...I love having options. Remember when I said how grateful I was for Chantel at Hansen Lighting? Well, I lied. She assured me several times that I was "staying within my budget" when picking out lights. Apparently she thought that meant spending DOUBLE what I was budgeted for. I about died when I got her bid that was well over $3,000! Yeah, my budget is $1800...so not even close! I am still ordering most of my lighting from her, but we had to shop around at Lowe's and HD for fans and vanity lights because they were SO expensive. I am even taking floor model chandeliers at a huge discount and I'm still way over my budget, but at least I'm closer. However, I must say I would still work with her again because she has been super awesome to work with and wasn't the least bit snotty when I said I wanted to get some of my lights at Lowe's because they were cheaper there. AND, I could not find chandeliers I liked anywhere, even online. So, she did help me tremendously...so I shouldn't say I lied about being grateful for her. :) Also ,we are going to get some amazing appliances thanks to a friend with connections and I'm hoping to get some shutters for a good deal too. My yard sale mentality has made it hard to pay full price for anything!

3-I am grateful for McDonald's and Maverik. I probably owe 10 pounds to each of them...but for as often as I'm in my car these days, and for as often as I forget to eat breakfast and/or have days that must be fueled by caffeine, they make me happy. I have got to wean myself off of caffeine and gas station donuts soon, but for now they keep me going. :)

Gratitude Post #94

1-I am grateful for Stacie. She is the realtor that works for our builder...sort of our "go-to-gal" for everything. She doesn't always have answers for me and my least favorite thing to hear is, "Let me ask Dave." (Which means I may never hear the answer...) However, she is great at calming me down when I feel super overwhelmed! I thought I was going to have a full on anxiety attack tonight and she talked me off a ledge. :)

2-I am grateful for Amazon! Where else can you find practically anything AND get free shipping (and generally for a good price)? My Amazon packages are trickling in and it makes me so happy! Happy to see them come, happy to know I'm done shopping and happy to know that Christmas is only 29 days away!!

3-I am grateful for paint! I love picking paint colors, even if I do get a little carried away! I am grateful that I get to paint some of the rooms in my house crazy colors...even if I can't paint ALL of the rooms I want to paint. I'll take what I can get at this point! :)

Gratitude Post #93

1- I am grateful that Chris taught our Primary lesson today. He is a great teacher and kids love him! I love when he teaches and I just sit back and relax. :)

2-I am grateful that I got a nap today! I hardly ever take naps. Today I was tired, freezing and feeling pretty blah. I was just going to lay down for a minute, but 2 hours later I woke up to Soph in bed and asleep next to me and Chris making dinner! It was so great! He also offered to drive Ry to school in the morning (even though I usually drive on Mondays) because with Sophey's late nap he knows she won't be sleeping great tonight. What a guy. :)

3-I am grateful that none of my kids are too old and/or busy to hang out with me! We went to a movie on Friday, to the BYU basketball game on Saturday and tonight we all curled up together to watch a couple of Christmas movies. I am totally feeling the Christmas love! Yay for ABC Family and the Christmas movies they play every night AND for dvr! We only brought one Christmas movie to my parents' house (Elf, of course...since we watch it year round) and I was feeling like I should go buy new movies...but we have been taping them and watching them for free on tv. Even better. :) I am also grateful that my parents' fireplace works! The fireplace in our last house stunk and didn't have a blower, so we hardly used it. Today I even tried to find my Mom's Christmas tree to put it up so I wouldn't feel so "blah", but alas...I couldn't find it. She comes home from St. George on Tuesday, so hopefully we can put it up then.

Gratitude Post #92

1-I am grateful for sleep! I got a lot of it last night and it was wonderful! I missed my chance to go grocery shopping (which I need to do pretty badly) and it made the rest of my day crazy, but getting out of bed at 10 a.m. was worth it!

2-I am grateful for nice, normal children. We took our kids to the BYU basketball game tonight and they were SO good. It was so much fun and SO nice to just have the kids sit and behave. Now, the family in front of us, on the other hand made me want to karate chop them each in the neck. They had older kids too, not little kids that you would expect to be annoying. It took a while to realize the one in the middle was the mother and not a teenager. That made it even more irritating. They took turns kissing each other on the cheek, strangling each other, biting each other, holding hands and screaming in each others faces. It was the most bizarre, bipolar family I've ever seen. Then they were squishing each other and trying to push each other off the bench. All while we were trying to watch the game. AND they had to stand up every 5 minutes to jump around, dance or cheer. Chris and I just kept looking at each other like, "Is this for real?" I guess that level of annoying made my kids be on their best behavior, so I shouldn't complain.

3-I am grateful for a handy husband. I said I wanted board and batten walls in my girls' rooms and that's exactly what I got. Chris also got a late start today so we were scrambling to get it finished in time, but we made it! They look awesome and the painter is scheduled for next week! I can hardly wait to see how it all turns out! :)

Gratitude Post #91

1-I am grateful for Black Friday! I have not been to a crazy Black Friday sale in 10 years. Last time I went Katey was a baby and I swore I'd never do it again! The last couple of years I had planned on going, but changed my mind at the last minute. This year I was debating but decided to go at the last minute. I think Walmart starting their sale at 8 p.m. made all the difference in the world to me. It's so hard to want to go in the middle of the night! I had butterflies in my tummy on the way there and kept thinking I should just go home...but I'm glad I stayed. I nearly got trampled, but I got the xbox games and blu ray movies I was after! Then I thought I'd try Target's 9 p.m. sale. It was hardly worth it. The line was a mile long just to get in and then even longer to check out. Although I did get an awesome king size blanket for $10, a blu ray player and some video games...but that was enough for me. I was home and in bed by 11 p.m. Today I dragged Chris to Costco and Sports Authority with me. He was such a good sport and we had a great time! I am happy to report that I am DONE shopping!! Now I get to wrap...

2-I am grateful for this fun, long, family-filled weekend! This afternoon we took the kids to Wreck It Ralph, came home and had dinner and then baked some cupcakes and rented Santa Paws (Katey's persistent request). I love when we just hang out and everyone enjoys each other. :) Half way through the movie Ryan leaned over and said, "Will you make me a cake when we get home? This movie is making me hungry." So, being the awesome mom that I am, I made cupcakes right after dinner. I am grateful to be the best mom ever. *)

3-I am grateful for the new Our Best Bites cookbook! It has 2 whole pages of frosting recipes. In general I am grateful for good recipes! I am super grateful for Jamiecooksitup also! Between the 2 of them I can find any recipe I need and/or inspiration to make something. I get so many compliments when I use their recipes and it's always easy and satisfying. Nothing is worse than slaving over something in the kitchen to have it be gross. That doesn't happen with OBB and Jamie! They are my idols. :)

Gratitude Post #90

1-I am grateful that it's Thanksgiving!! I'm grateful that this is my 90th post!! Can't believe I made it this far!! That is 270 things I'm thankful for so far! Didn't know I had it in me! I love Thanksgiving Day! Sitting in my Jammie's with my kiddos, watching the Macy's day parade, looking at Black Friday ads, baking yummy treats for after dinner...it doesn't get much better than that!

2-I am grateful that I am almost ready for Christmas! I wondered if I would have buyer's remorse when I saw the Black Friday ads, but I haven't found a better price on anything so far! I love Christmas! My kids are so much fun to shop for!

3- I am grateful that I figured out I can blog from Chris' iPad! When I blog on my computer it doesn't have spell check! I am grateful that Desiree inspired me to do these posts! I have loved blogging about how grateful I am! In case you missed the last 89 posts, I'll do a recap: I am grateful for my faith, my family, our health, the opportunity to build my dream house, a husband that has made every one of my dreams come true, 6 great kids who make me so happy, parents who were willing to take us in for way longer than any of us planned, extended family who make our lives so fun, and all of the opportunities and blessings that I'm sure I don't deserve! I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!,

Gratitude Post #89

1- I am grateful for good news on the building front! It feels like there hasn't been a lot of good/exciting news lately...but today I got some! First, our builder told us that we can have the appliances we REALLY want. Second, the cabinet guy told me I can make my island any color I want. Third, Chris is going to let me paint my island duck egg blue! It is my favorite color and I am seriously so excited I can hardly stand it! I cannot wait to see my kitchen! (Sadly, the cabinet guy shattered the last ounce of hope I had to be in by Christmas...since that's about when the cabinets will be ready...)

2-I am grateful for basketball season. I do so love baseball season, but the nice thing about basketball season is that it's short, it's all indoors and the kids can play with anyone they want. (As in no tryouts, drafts, etc.) All 4 of my boys are playing basketball this year! Ry is doing a high school prep league (more competitive) and the 3 other  boys are playing Jr. Jazz with lots of friends. They are all super excited and it's going to be a fun few months! Ry started practice tonight and the other boys will start soon. Once games start in a couple of weeks we are going to be BUSY!! It will be a nice distraction from building though.

3-I am grateful that Chris is such a great Dad. He is coaching Ryan's team and has already put a lot of time into organizing and planning the team...and the season hasn't even started yet. He is seriously the best. I love how involved he is with the boys sports (and how supportive he is of the girls dance...and everything else). He goes to everything with me (parent teacher conferences, recitals, games, programs, etc.) and tries hard to be so involved with whatever the kids are doing. They are so lucky. He is making our new house so fun for the kids and putting a lot of thought and effort into it for us and for them. Have I mentioned before that I think he's the best? He doesn't even read this blog so I'm not just trying to impress him...just being honest. :)

Gratitude Post #87 & #88

1-I am grateful for online banking. Even though I just spent an hour trying to figure out where all of my money went (*clears throat*...yard sales, Christmas shopping...), I am so grateful I don't have to wait for a paper statement to come in the mail to figure it all out. (Or an insufficient funds letter in the mail...been there, done that...)

2-I am grateful for Christmas music on the radio 24/7, even though it isn't even Thanksgiving yet. And even though I listened to it with the a/c blasting in the car while eating ice cream (at least it was a "holiday mint" mcflurry), something about it makes me happy and totally in the mood for Christmas. Sorry Thanksgiving, I promise not to overlook you completely.

3-I am grateful for a patient, understanding husband. Seriously, I don't know why I got so lucky. He is so good to me. He could tell I was on the verge of a mental breakdown today so he took me to lunch. Panda Express never tasted so good.

4-I am grateful for Chantel at Hansen Lighting! I know I've written something similar to this before, but I met with her today and she helped me SO much! I seriously would have had a for-real meltdown without her help! She is amazing. She helped me pick out lighting that I LOVE AND stay within my budget! I honestly didn't think it could be done!

5-I am grateful to be to the fun part of building, even if it is the most stressful part. :) We are meeting with the cabinet guy tomorrow and I'm so excited to see what my kitchen is going to look like! Right now it's just sheetrock and it's hard to imagine that it will be pretty some day.

6-I am grateful for patience and coping skills. I have had to dig deep to find them lately but I'm so glad I have them deep down in there somewhere. With 4 of my kids being off track, Ry and Soph still in jr. high and preschool, the crazy building drama, trying to do my Christmas shopping, etc. I feel like I could lose it at any given moment. Today was a close call, but I managed to power through.

Gratitude Post #84 & #85 & #86

1-I am grateful that I am finally getting back on the computer. I am so completely addicted to my phone and can do almost everything on it that I used to do on the computer. I used to spend HOURS in front of my computer every day. Now I just check things on my phone from time to time. The only thing I can't do on my phone is update my blog. Sometimes by the time I get everyone to bed and finish all of my chores (a regular Cinderella story, right?) I am just too tired to turn on the computer and figure out what to write. So, there goes my hope for having 100 gratitude posts by Thanksgiving, but oh well. Sleep is important too. :)

2-I am grateful for my friends Desiree and Aimee. They are also doing gratitude posts on their blogs. I love to read their blogs every night! Sometimes I get inspiration for what to write about and they always give me the motivation to keep at it.

3-I am grateful for music. My parents ward has an AMAZING ward choir. Seriously, they are like nothing else. The choir director is VERY passionate about leading the music. He acts like he's leading the Boston Pops or something. It is actually hilarious to watch, but they sound SO good. It's hard to not bawl like a baby every time they sing. I don't even know what they sang today, but the choir director played his violin like nobody's business and it was FANTASTIC! I will miss the ward choir (who seems to perform more than most ward choirs) when we move!

4-I am grateful for the primary in my parents ward. They are some seriously nice ladies and they do such a great job. I don't know if I've mentioned our new calling as Mason's primary teachers (which is so bizarre since we'll hopefully be moving soon) but we've been doing it for 3 weeks now. Mase says he hates it and he's counting down until we won't be his teachers anymore...but I think he secretly likes it. Except when we're mean, which is a lot because he can't hold still. Anywho...teaching primary gets old really fast. However, being in sharing time...more specifically singing time...is my favorite thing ever. The primary presidency probably thinks I'm odd because they don't know me, I sit RIGHT in front of them (facing them even) and I cry every time those darn kids sing. I can't help it. I am getting emotional just thinking about how much I loved the music in sacrament and in primary today. Geez.

5-I am grateful for food. I am grateful to have more than we need of it. I can't imagine not being able to feed my family. We eat pretty well around here (too much in some cases...*clears throat* me...) and we bond as a family at meals and while eating treats. My kids are super spoiled. They have no idea what it would be like to be hungry. I'm ok with that kind of spoiled. I hope they never know what it's like to truly be hungry (even though they always think they're starving)!

6-I am grateful that my friend's family is ok. Last Sunday my friend's son turned in his mission papers and then headed out to go deer hunting with some family members. Her husband was in a truck with his dad and a family friend and her son was in the car behind them with some uncles and cousins. The truck hit a patch of ice and rolled twice down into a ravine, all while the people in the car behind them watched. Her son watched his dad roll down the hill. I'm sure he thought the worst, I know I would. The uncles and cousins (and her son) ran to help. They sent her son back to the car to call 911. He slipped on the ice and broke his leg pretty badly. Miraculously, her husband only had a few bruised ribs, a bruise on his face and a slight concussion. The grandpa was doing ok last I heard, but the family friend was not. I haven't asked her in a few days, but it didn't look good for him. Oddly enough, her son's injuries were the second worst out of anyone involved and he had to have major surgery the other day. It is going to delay his mission, but I know they are all just so thankful that they are going to be ok. (The family friend was in his 80's and had multiple internal injuries, so I don't know how well he's going to recover.) I am just so thankful that her family was spared and that things didn't turn out worse. I can't even imagine...

7-I am grateful for shingles! Not the horrible, painful disease...the ones that are on my roof!! We keep making progress and I keep getting my hopes up to be in by Christmas! (Which might not end well...) The painter is scheduled for next Monday! I am meeting the lighting lady tomorrow and the finish work guy AND cabinet guy on Tuesday. We are getting to the really exciting parts, but also the crazy, busy, stressful parts. Good timing with the holidays and all eh?

8-I am grateful for this holiday season. Everyone is so kind, thoughtful, giving, thankful, etc. It sure makes it nice when everyone is sharing what they're thankful for. Feel free to jump on the gratitude bandwagon if you haven't yet. :)

9-I am grateful that Soph is feeling better. She had such a bad cough and fever last week. She missed preschool on Tuesday and dance on Wednesday. She had a hard time sleeping and so of course I did too...for several nights. Which made me not feel so hot the last few days. I am finally feeling better, probably from getting sleep finally.

Gratitude Post #83

1-I am grateful for Home Depot...and the fact that there's one close by. When we built our first house we had to drive to the HD in Draper and it always took forever. We seem to spend a lot of time at HD these days, and tonight was fun. We had a 10% off coupon with 24 months no interest and a bunch of gift cards. We got amazing deals! I love that Chris has turned into a bargain shopper too! He has scored some gift cards from people selling them for cheap. It makes no sense to me, but I guess people would rather sell their gift card for less than what it's worth to just have cash instead.

2-I am grateful for being able to run errands alone today. I had told people I'd be out to pick up yard sale things from them when I was out that way for dance, but Soph stayed home sick. So, I went anyways and got to go all by myself! :) I even went and did some Christmas shopping alone. A little slice of heaven right there...

3-I am grateful that my kids are getting ipod touches for Christmas! They drain my phone battery every day! I can't wait to have it all to myself again. :)

Gratitude Post # 82

1-I am grateful that post #81 just a few minutes ago helped me change my attitude.

2-I am grateful for my brothers. Some of them are quite nice to me. 2 of them helped me with my painter dilemma over the phone and 1 of them told me he loves me on facebook. It was so nice!!

3-I am grateful for Thanksgiving and looking forward to it. I actually don't even like turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy or pie (they are some of my least favorite foods individually and collectively) so I don't look forward to the food at all (except for the non-pie desserts that I take every year and sweet potatoes)! I just like the thought of getting together to be thankful with people you love. I am hoping to be close to 100 posts by Thanksgiving. I might have to do 2 a day...we'll see how close I can get.

Gratitude Post #81

1-I am grateful that this has become such a habit that I do it even when I don't feel grateful. Right now I'd like to list 3 things I'm NOT grateful for. A crying sick baby in my lap, the fact that our builder told us we won't be in our new house by Christmas, a painter that wants to charge a fortune for changing paint colors in different rooms, etc...but I will try and think of 3 things I'm really grateful for...because I know those are small things compared to everything that I do have to be grateful for.

2-I am grateful that we were forced to stay in jammies and do nothing productive at all today. It was a nice break. I'm not grateful that it was because poor little Soph is sick, but whatdya do? Sometimes we have to get sick to force us to slow down!

3-I am grateful for my parents being excited to have us spend Christmas here. I know the kids will love it too. I am also grateful that we can close at the end of Dec./first of Jan. and delay our mortgage payment that much longer and get Chris' bonus first. It is just frustrating to keep getting pushed back. We honestly thought we'd be in our house before Halloween. Then we had high hopes for Thanksgiving. And we thought absolutely for certain that we'd at least be in by Christmas. Now New Year's is even looking doubtful. Maybe by our anniversary or Chris' b-day at the end of January? Perhaps by Valentine's? We have had our hopes up to spend the last several holidays in our own house, maybe we should just hope for Easter at this point...but I am grateful that things are going smoothly at this point and that we'll eventually have our own house again.

Gratitude Post #80

1-I am grateful for Hansen Lighting! They have this cute little shop on 126th and the nicest girl works there! I found a coupon in The South Valley Journal and thought, "they are probably super expensive, but it would be good to get some ideas." We have been to Home Depot and Lowe's multiple times and can't find any light fixtures we like AND we have been super disappointed with the prices of things we sort of like. It is so overwhelming when your builder says, "Here is your budget for lighting...now go count how many fixtures you need and pick them out." AAAHHH!!! It was seriously stressing me out!! So, we stopped by Hansen Lighting with pretty low expectations...and we were pleasantly surprised! For Home Depot prices we get someone with a design background who will walk thru our house with us (for free) and help us count fixtures, decide what to put where, and pick things that will work perfectly for us. She made notes of the things that we liked, I sent her a copy of our floor plan and we're going to do a little walk-thru to get started. I feel so relieved that we can stay within our budget AND get fixtures that we love!

2-I am grateful that my house is completely sheet rocked! I was about to text our builder today to ask when sheet rock was going up. I went out this afternoon and it is completely done, with a crew of about 8 guys taping and mudding like crazy! That means we passed our 4-way inspection, our furnace is running (so no more freezing our butts off out there!) and all of our exterior doors and windows are in! That also means from this point on it's going to be crazy! (In a good way!) Once sheet rock is up things happen so fast and exciting things start happening. It's easier to be super excited about paint and cabinets and flooring...more so than being super excited about rough-in plumbing and framing. :) We also had 2 guys doing our front porch cement. I'm not super excited about the color we picked, but I hope it will look ok when our rock and stucco go up!

3-I am grateful for Ryan. He has been SO happy lately. He has been SO kind to his siblings AND to his parents. :) There is a lot to be said about being happy. His stomach problems (that were most likely stress related) have been resolved and his grumpiness is no longer a major problem. It was nice having him ride the bus to South Hills, but I totally don't mind driving him to and from school just because of how happy he is! P.S. I am also super grateful that Chris does a good chunk of the driving! I think I have only gotten up early once to take him. I was supposed to this morning but Sophey was up sick all night so Chris did it for me...and he said he'll do it tomorrow morning too, just in case she has a rough night again. ;)

Gratitude Post #79

1-I am grateful for nail clippers. Can you even imagine life without them? I can't. But, I also cut 60 fingernails every week PLUS 60 toenails every other week...PLUS my own 20 nails when I get around to it. Enough said...?

2-I am grateful for appliances that make my life easy. Like a washer and dryer. For the amount of laundry I do, I'd be doing it all day and all night by hand if I didn't have a washer and dryer.

3-I am grateful for my girls. I mean, I LOVE being a Mom to boys...but I am grateful that I have girls too! I am grateful that I got two of them AND that they are 7 years apart. They simply don't have anything to fight over and for that I am extra grateful. Sophey is my sweet little snuggler...partly because she's 3, but partly because that is just how sweet her little personality is. Katey, on the other hand, is a little sassier than Soph. And she hates me 99% of the time. She was going to run away on Friday, but today she didn't hate me. She even asked me to do a bunch of tiny braids in her hair (which is funny that she actually wanted me to/let me do her hair AND that she didn't cry or get mad ONCE during the entire braiding episode...which took FOREVER!!). My back hurts, her neck hurts and she'll probably want me to undo an hours worth of braiding in the morning...but it was a nice bonding experience and I hope she remembers it the next time she says, "You don't even care about me." We'll see about that. But, I love her and I'm grateful to be her (super mean) Mom. :)

Gratitude Post #78

1-I am grateful that I was able to round up enough snow gear for my kiddos! I mostly used the yard sale and facebook, but I was able to get 2 pairs of snow boots, 4 pairs of snow pants, 2 coats and a couple of pairs of gloves for free or pretty cheap! We have all of those things in storage, but with the giant snow storm this weekend, we couldn't wait until we move in and get them out of storage! I am so grateful for friends who are willing to loan me stuff and/or sell me their old stuff for super cheap! My 3 little kids met me in the garage when I got home from picking it all up because they were dying to play in the snow! I did have to pay a ridiculous amount for boots for Mason, but he needed them more than anyone so it was worth it.

2-I am grateful for perspective in general. So many people are so distraught over the whole election outcome. I had friends who went into hiding and were mourning what could have been. I really wanted Mitt to win, but I got over it in about 5 minutes. Someone shared an intersting article and I can't remember who shared it or who wrote it...so I'll do my best to explain it. It was from a religious writer of some sort and he said that it's better that Mitt didn't win. In order for him to get the country back on track he would have had to make drastic cuts to programs like Medicare. He would have become an enemy to so many and would have gotten a bad reputation for being too drastic in his measures. The writer said that the important thing is that millions of people invited a Mormon (Mitt Romney) into their homes repeatedly, through the television and other media, and learned so much about our religion that they would have otherwise never been open to. Add that to the change in the missionary age and the flood of missionary applications at church headquarters and the way has been paved for missionary work beyond belief. He went on to say that our country will not and cannot fail, although we will go through hard times, but the important thing in an eternal perspective is missionary work. Saving souls, giving hope, helping families across the world...seems a little more important that taxes...

3-I am grateful that Chris and I were able to go to dinner tonight. Our lives are super crazy right now. It is so nice that we can make time for each other once in a while! He is my best friend and I hate feeling disconnected from him when our lives get out of control. It is certainly not going to get any better over the next 6-8 weeks, but we will continue to try to keep things normal! Our kids went off track on Friday and will be off for 3 weeks. It seems shocking that when they go back in 3 weeks it will be DECEMBER!!!! Then they go on track for 3 weeks and it's CHRISTMAS BREAK!!!! The next 6 weeks are going to be crazy-busy and exciting and will go by SO fast. Hopefully we will be moving into our house sometime in those 6 weeks also! Thanksgiving is also right in the middle of their track break, so that whole 3 week break will fly by! Then, once they go back we'll be in crazy Christmas mode and crazy house drama mode and probably completely crazy-losing-my-mind mode! Then it will be the new year out of nowhere and we'll be moving the elementary kids to a new school and starting everything all over again! AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Stop the insanity!!

P.S. I am grateful for coping skills. May I never lose them...

Gratitude Post #77

1-I am grateful for this blog. It forces me to think EVERY NIGHT about what I'm grateful for. I'm grateful that on nights (like tonight) when I'm super tired that I can still come up with 3 things I'm grateful for. Some nights (like tonight) it's a bit of a stretch. I didn't do anything particularly exciting today that I care to write about...I didn't have any earth shattering moments where I realized how grateful I am for something in particular...I honestly can't think of 3 things I haven't already written about...so I am just grateful for feeling grateful, even if it's about nothing...

2-Since this is #77 and I was born in '77 I am going to say that I'm grateful I was born. I actually do say in my prayers that I'm thankful for my life. Is that lame? Well, I am. I am grateful that I was born, that I didn't have a terribly traumatic childhood, that I have a good family, that I married an awesome guy, that I made some good choices along the way to make marrying him in the temple possible, that we decided to start our family right away, that we made some good decisions about school, careers, etc. (and some not-so-good-decisions that we learned from), and that we're just plain in a good place right now. I don't think I deserve any credit. This is certainly not about how great I think I am...some days I'd much rather be someone else...but I am grateful to be me for the most part. A few years ago I could have never written a post like this actually. But, I am grateful for where I'm at in my life as of right now. Even if I live with my parents. :)

3-I am grateful for hair appointments! It always makes me happy to see a hair appointment on my calendar. I got my hair done today and I LOVE the way it makes me feel. It is worth every penny! I love the new girl I'm going to! I miss going to Chris' cousin who just had a baby and I was sad to have to find someone new, but I loved my first appointment with my friend Holly!

Gratitude Post #76

1-I am grateful for the snow! (Never thought I'd say that in November!!) I have been listening to Christmas music with the a/c blasting all week long and wondering if it was ever going to feel like the holidays. I don't know why I feel like forcing myself to feel festive so early in November. I guess it's hard to do Christmas shopping when it's 70+ degrees outside or something. I really want to enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. Maybe because I feel stressed about so many things right now. Maybe because these gratitude posts are making me weird. Who knows.

2-I am grateful for 4 wheel drive. I almost needed it on the unplowed new roads this morning. It was a little crazy! I could have taken Chris' little car with front wheel drive that was all nice and toasty (and dry) in the garage...but I got the broom and brushed the mountain of snow off of my Yukon because it seemed like a better idea to drive that today. I'm glad I did. I would have been scared in the little car! I'm grateful for the good weather we've had this fall and now that I'm driving Ryan to school instead of just watching him get on the bus I hope we have decent winter weather too!

3-I am grateful for Fridays! I love late start jr. high on Fridays! I get to sleep in til 8! I also love that my kids have early day on Friday and they are home before dinner time! Our elementary starts at 9 and ends at 4...and they don't get off the bus until 4:30! It's nice to have them home early one day a week!

Gratitude Post #75

1-I am grateful that my children are likeable in general. I have had so many people comment (kids and parents) about how happy they are that Ryan is back at FHMS. I am glad that even though he is a quiet child, everyone loves him! It was a good experience for him to go to a new school for one quarter, but I'm glad it's over. I swear, people are crawling out of the woodwork to tell me how much they and/or their children missed him.

2-After 4 parent teacher conferences tonight I am grateful that my kids are good kids. They are generally pretty smart and likeable. Every one of their teachers said that they are sad we're moving and they'll miss my kids (and I believed them too). :) They all had good report cards and are doing well in a new school. I am so grateful that they adapt easily and in just a few short months have proved how great they really are! I love PTC's because my kids make them easy!

3-I am grateful for the amazing yard sale deals I've found for Christmas. I wasn't joking about the ghetto fabulous Christmas. I have not bought a single "new" item. I have saved a ton of money and have found some pretty awesome things! I will have to buy a few new things, but for the most part we're going "gently used" this year! I have turned into a crazy person. This is so out of character for me, it's bizarre! My husband is all of a sudden ok with me yard-sale-ing again! :)

P.S. Can you believe this is #75!?!?! I can't!

P.P.S. Everyone needs to get over the election drama. Obama won. I don't believe he was the best choice. I also don't believe one man can fix that big of a mess in 4 years. However, I think a business man would be better in The White House than a politician. That being said, I will continue to get out of bed every day to take care of my children and roll with it. So boo hoo. Get over it. Life will go on. In four years we can do this all over again. Blah. I am so looking forward to it. Not.

Gratitude Post #74

1-I am grateful that today is election day! I am not much of a voter, but I am grateful for my right to vote...and my right not to vote if I don't want to. I honestly can't wait for it to be over. No more ads on tv, no more facebook drama with obnoxious people who are obsessed with voting, no more listening to people talk about politics in general (well, on such a large scale anyways). I hope Mitt wins, and I didn't feel the need to vote because he's obviously won in Utah...but I think he would do a great job. Although, let's face it...the problems in our country are too much for one person to handle and make a difference with in 4 years...so it probably doesn't really matter at all...

2-I am grateful for the ghetto fabulous yard sale Christmas I'm planning! I never thought those words would ever come out of my mouth! I have found some amazing things and instead of my kids JUST getting one big thing, I have been able to find all of the things they want used or on sale for the price of just one thing. Ipod touches are ridiculously expensive! I don't personally see a need for them, especially for anyone under 12, but that is all they want...well, almost all they want. I was even able to score something for Katey for free from the yard sale today. Howd'ya like them apples??

3-I am grateful for bacon. Especially on donuts at the gas station. Because it doesn't take much to make me happy. Also, I am grateful for gas stations in general. Even though gas is so expensive, it's so nice to have a gas station nearby when the low fuel light comes on. And, as an added bonus...a gas station with diet dr. pepper PLUS the cherry and vanilla syrups made my day. And I am grateful. :)

Gratitude Post #73

1-I am grateful that Ryan got to go back to his school today!! He was such a good sport about going to a new jr. high for one lousy quarter. It was such a great day when he went back to FHMS today! We waited in the counseling center this morning before the bell rang to get him all registered. Several of his friends saw us through the window and came RUNNING in to hug Ry and check his schedule! He was so happy to find out that he had several friends in his classes (much better than last year)! He is so happy and so am I! He has such a great group of friends and I am glad he's back with them too! I love that my kids all have good friends who are also a good influence on them. :)

2-I am grateful for the new road, for the low speed limit and for the fact that it wasn't pitch black at 7:00 this morning! 45 mph seems a little slow for that back road, but I literally came inches away from hitting a huge deer in the dark the other night. Had I been going any faster or not paying attention I would have killed it (and damaged my car pretty badly). It was a big buck and it just came mosey-ing on out into the road. I had to brake and swerve in order to barely miss it. It was 11 p.m. on Saturday and that back road gets DARK. It made me nervous for driving Ryan out to school early in the morning on that road. Luckily it was Daylight Savings on Sunday and so it was nice and light this morning. Normally I hate Daylight Savings, but in this instance I really am grateful for it! Also, I would like to point out that I have saved several cars from getting tickets on that road. There is always a cop and a speed trap in the gully, just as you come down the hill. There is always a car riding my tail at that spot too. Honestly they could just go around me, but they like to tailgate me instead. I'm sure they are irritated with me until they see the cop and then they back off quite a bit...almost in appreciation. :) Chris was joking that I should start charging a fee for saving them from a ticket...

3-I am grateful for medicine. My poor little Hayden is sick. He came into my room wheezing and coughing at 3 a.m. I kept him  home from school and he was really fine all day long...until about 4 p.m. when it came back. He is in a "medicine bubble" bath now and he'll be getting some chest rub, cough medicine and a puff of an inhaler before bed. I wish I had my humidifier here, I may have to go buy a new one...

Gratitude Post #72

1-I am grateful for a dinner invite at the in-law's tonight. For one thing, I didn't have to cook! (YAY!) For another thing, it's so nice to see my mother-in-law doing so well after such a crazy couple of months with her health!

2-I am grateful for sleeping in today! We aren't really Stake Conference kind of people, so for us it's sort of a day off! It was heaven, even with dumb daylight savings today.

3-I am grateful for year round school! I love the little breaks during the year! It gives me something to look forward to...my kids going off track and then going back on track when they get bored. :)

Gratitude Post #71

1-I am grateful for the fact that it's November (good-bye Halloween!) and it's still super warm outside. In a strange way I'm also grateful that 106.5 is playing Christmas music all day! I mean, I hate the fact that we kind of skip over Thanksgiving in general (not me though...I've been grateful for 71 days and counting...), but I am so looking forward to Christmas! I will hopefully be moved into my new house by Christmas! Plus having 6 kids always makes Christmas super exciting. Oh, and back to the good weather portion of my gratitude...all of my winter clothes are in storage (including shoes) and I can't justify buying too much since we will be in our house mid-winter AND we are trying to save money...so wearing flip flops as long as possible is something to be extra grateful for!

2-I am grateful that Chris was willing to go to Home Goods AND Ikea with me today! Oh, the things he does for me...he also took me to lunch while we were out. And he only complained a little bit that I ordered dessert. :)

3-I am grateful that Chris took me to dinner last night in between a walk-thru inspection with our builder and looking for light fixtures at Home Depot. Oh, the romantic dates we have! I'm also grateful that my parents took us all to Chili's for dinner tonight! I have not cooked for a few days and it has been SUCH a nice break! I mean, I'm sure I've gained 5 pounds this weekend, but who cares!?

Gratitude Post #70

1-I am grateful for a great husband. I love him so much. He is so good to me. Even with all of the tension and extra hormones running rampant around here. I love a man who can say, "I'm sorry. I was stupid." (Even if it wasn't all his fault...) It makes everything better. :)

2-I am grateful for honest people. We have had such a bizarre building experience with so many crazy things out of anyone's control. It is so refreshing to have some things go our way and have people honor their word time and time again. Whether it's the central vac guy sticking to the original price, even though it was more than he thought it would be...or our builder doing things for us to make us happy (that he really didn't have to do)...or people showing up and doing what they said they would do...we are so fortunate to be having such a great experience (for the most part...) :)

3-I am grateful for my trip to New York! I can't believe what hurricane Sandy has done to my beloved city! I am so grateful I was able to go back there a few months ago!

Gratitude Post #69

1-I am grateful that Halloween is over. I did not enjoy it this year. I guess I am a Halloween scrooge or something...but it was not fun. My kids school celebrated it last Friday even though it wasn't until Wed. (today). LAME. All of our costumes are in storage, all of our Halloween games, trick or treating bags, you name it...everything is in storage. I am so tired of everything being in storage! My kids had a great time trick or treating with their cousins though. That was fun. I loved watching Sophey running around with her 14 year old cousin, Haley, by her side. It was super cute. Ry and Tay had Jake and Bridger (of course) and Katey had Addee (of course) and they were in heaven! Mase and Hayden were content to go with Chris and me...and content to just do a few streets, so it was great. I hope I like it more next year...but I don't know if I've ever really liked it...I guess I tolerate it better some years than others.

2-I am grateful for cousins. I love that my kids choose their cousins over friends. It is weird to me because I did not have cousins growing up at all. The only cousins I have are either WAY older or WAY younger than me, and not a single one lived close by. I love Chris' cousins that are my age. I feel like they are the cousins and sisters I never had!

3-I am grateful that I got Ryan registered back at Ft. Herriman today! The quarter ends tomorrow and the principal actually kept his word about letting him in for 2nd quarter. (After a little bit of drama...) Since there is no school Friday and the new quarter doesn't start til Monday, he is school-less tomorrow. He literally does not have a school to attend. I had to withdraw him from South Hills so I could transfer him and he can't go to either school tomorrow. So bizarre. He is loving it and to be honest, so am I! I could use a break from getting up early and starting Monday I'm going to be getting up even earlier to drive him to school! Man, I am really going to miss that bus stop right in front of my Mom's house! Yay for sleeping in until 8 tomorrow! That's pretty pathetic...

Gratitude Post #68

1-I am grateful for design blogs and google in general! When our builder saw what we have picked out for our house, he asked if we got all of our ideas at the home show. We are too cheap to PAY to look for ideas, so we didn't get any ideas there. :) Most of my ideas have come from Pinterest, Houzz, The House of Smith's and such. I have pretty much planned my entire house based on ideas from random websites and blogs. Hopefully it will come together nicely. If not, I will have no one to blame but my ADD. It's hard when there is so much going on in my brain.

2-I am grateful for an understanding husband. He has given me a hard time about my yard sale-ing habits, but just in passing...not like an argument or lecture or anything. Tonight we had a real conversation about how we see things of that nature differently. He would prefer to wait until we are in our house to buy any furniture. I would prefer to be completely moved in and furnished the day we get our keys. :) It's just a preference issue. He isn't mad at me *phew* but I am going to have to be REAALLLYY careful for the next 6 weeks or so...

3- I am grateful for my eyebrows, even if I do have to pay to have them tattooed on. I don't have real eyebrows of my own. It's weird, I have a few blonde eye brow hairs...but nothing worth plucking or dyeing. It is totally worth the money, it's less than I used to spend on eyebrow pencils, but they sure do hurt AND they look super scary right now!!

Gratitude Post #67

1-I am grateful for Costco. Man, I love that place. I can only go there once in a great while or I get a little carried away...but I still love it. Where else can you eat lunch for so cheap and find giant bottles of everything you need? I love buying toilet paper, paper towels, batteries, dishwasher detergent,  ketchup, frozen chicken, chicken nuggets, frozen fish, meatballs, bread, juice, milk, eggs, baking supplies, and snacks in bulk! It frees up space in my shopping cart at Smith's when I don't have to buy any of that there! (We tend to go through A TON of those things around here!)

2-I am grateful that Chris went with me to Costco and didn't put anything extra in the cart! Sometimes he's like a kid in a candy store there and costs me an extra $50. :) He was good today and only asked for one bag of tortilla chips. There was a coupon, so it was ok. Bwahahahahahaha

3- I am grateful that our builder is "throwing" things into our house to make us happy! I'm not so grateful that we are WAY over our budget because of unforseen excavating issues...and that's why they're trying to make us happy...but I'll take what I can get at this point!

Gratitude Post #66

1-I am grateful for my cute Mom. She got up in sacrament meeting today to share her testimony. She said she wanted to do it since 1/4th of her grandkids were there to hear it. :) She talked about how much she loves having us live with her and how much she'll miss us when we're gone.

2-I am grateful for my new calling in Primary. Honestly, in our last ward I was DYING to get out of Primary! I had been in there for SO long and it felt like I was trapped in a dungeon! I just started teaching Mason's class today (with Chris). It was so refreshing! The kids were well behaved, the primary ladies were so nice, the music in sharing time made me cry several times...I think I was missing Primary and I didn't even know it!

3-I am grateful for Ryan and Taylor. I love watching them pass the sacrament together! Today they went and did fast offerings together (it was Taylor's first time). Even though they REALLY did not want to go and do it, I think they secretly enjoyed it. I am so proud of them! The new missionary age honestly still freaks me out a little bit, but watching them use their priesthood makes me so proud! I hope they go on missions! Of course I will still love them and be super proud of them no matter what, I just can't imagine how proud I will be if they choose to go!

Gratitude Post #65

1-I am grateful for this blog. I am grateful that it's mine. That means I can neglect it for a couple of days and no one cares but me. It's a shame I am not accountable to anyone to keep this up, but I really am enjoying it, even after 65 posts!

2-I am grateful for windows and doors! We had some installed on our house this week and it feels great! It looks more like a house every time I see it and I am getting so excited for it!

3-I am grateful for Chris. He makes me so happy. My Dad commented tonight (as we were getting fireplace ideas online) that we must have a great marriage if we're building our 3rd house together and we still get along. :) I am sure my parents have expected to see us fight at least once in the last 5 months...especially considering the fact that we're living with them, with ALL of our kids, and building a house on top of the craziness that already exists in our lives...but we aren't fighters. We agree on most things and we're pretty good at compromising when we don't. :)

Gratitude Post #64

1-I am grateful for the fun day I had today. I needed a day like that! I think it's so funny that this online yard sale-ing has turned into such an obsession for me, but in a good way. I have met new friends, found some amazing deals on furniture for my new house and have had such a great time. So lame, I know...I have probably said "I'm grateful for the yard sale" WAAAYYY too many times. It has been a really fun distraction for me though. Today a lady was selling everything in her storage unit. So, naturally I picked up my new yard sale friend (who paints all of my awesome yard sale furniture) and took her with me to help me decide what to get. I got a bookshelf, a nightstand, 2 chairs and a "dough boy" (as my Mom informed me it's called. I was calling it a "magazine rack side table"...close enough...) for $95! And I got to have lunch with my new friend...AND another new yard sale friend walked into the restaurant and was going to eat alone, so she joined us too. It was so super fun. I love chill people who can be friends with everyone. We laughed and chatted for hours. It was so refreshing!

2-I am grateful for my builder. I know I have mentioned (probably more than once) how frustrated I am with the slow process and lack of communication...but I am grateful that he is an honest guy. He actually cares about us and our house. His comment at our meeting tonight was great. He said, "Who cares how long it takes. It's not a race. What's the hurry? Don't you want things done right?" He was speaking more hypothetically, not really saying that TO us, but I'm sure it was meant for us. :) He was really talking about builders who say, "Oh, we can build this house in 90 days..." and things like that. It really isn't a race. It really doesn't matter when it's done (within reason). However, it really DOES matter if you're unhappy with the finished product. We learned tonight that he gathered all of the unused rebar from our foundation and returned it for a refund for us. He also did some of the labor on our foundation himself to save us money. We are putting an indoor basketball court underneath our garage and it was quite the process to get it in there. That is the main reason we are so far behind on our house. We learned tonight that it was all worth it. Our builder told us that if there is ever an earthquake, that's the safest place to go...and he might join us. :) It is a secure structure AND he kept us within our budget!

3-I am grateful that Ryan gets to go back to Ft. Herriman! He only has 6 more days of school at South Hills. It made his day when I told him that! The principal actually kept his word about letting him in at the quarter break! I was shocked, to be honest. The funny thing is, he lives next door to our builder. We just learned that today. Had we known that sooner we might have been able to pull some strings. It was nice having him ride the bus to South Hills though. Now I get to drive him to and from Ft. Herriman twice a day! Lucky me. :) With the new road being finished it won't be too bad though. It's a small price to pay for his happiness!

Gratitude Post #63

1-I am grateful for Desiree's Gratitude Posts! I read them every day. She said she feels like the only person left that blogs every day. I can totally relate! At least we have each other! :) http://kenanddesfamily.blogspot.com/ if you care to read...

2-I am grateful that I didn't feel homicidal today. At all, in fact...which was surprising considering how bad yesterday was! I was happy today AND I accomplished a lot! I checked SO many things off my ever-growing list of things to do.

3-I am grateful that Ryan's labs came back normal. I had to take him to the dr. today for some chronic stomach problems. It's always a little concerning when the dr. calls you after hours, but luckily it was just to let me know it was all ok...well, we're still waiting for one more to come back...

Gratitude Post #62

1-I am grateful that I didn't kill anyone today. For real. It was a close call. I was given a hormone shot a few weeks ago and it has turned me into a crazy person. I feel pregnant, menopausal, PMS-ish and homicidal all rolled into a fun little bundle. You might want to steer clear of me until this wears off in a few months.

2-I am grateful for my fully functioning, regular hormones. I have had it pretty good as far as mental stability, fertility, hormone balance and such. I only got this shot to prepare for a procedure. One that I will be SO happy to have! Say goodbye to horrible, awful periods for me!! This has just shown me that having functioning hormones is SUCH a blessing! I can't imagine feeling like this all of the time!

3-I am grateful for forgiveness. Big and small. Like forgiveness for wanting to kill people...and forgiveness from a sweet little 3 year old who had her heart broken by an ornery mama today. For the record: I DID tell her not to touch the glass of water. Also for the record: I knew better than to have a giant glass of water on the table where I was scrapbooking. Again, for the record: my phone, pictures, papers, brand new leather binder and everything else recovered. After a long snuggle on the couch together, said 3 year old also recovered. And I scrapbooked upstairs, in my room, far away from any hazards after that.

P.S. I am also grateful for my facebook friends. I mentioned something about hating this shot and I got some of the funniest, sweetest, most sympathetic comments in return. Apparently "road rage hormonal" is a normal side effect and will hopefully wear off some day. :)

Gratitude Post #61

1-I am grateful for sleep! I got a ridiculous amount of it this weekend! It was so nice getting to sleep in for 4 days straight. Bless you UEA. Although, I'm going to have a hard time getting up at 6:40 tomorrow instead of sometime around 10 a.m...

2-I am grateful that I finally got my scrapbook stuff ready to work on! I spent the longest time trying to find the right color of binders and getting my paper organized and what not. Today I even did a few pages! My room has been a mess for weeks while I've been trying to decide which binders to keep and which ones to return. Now I have to go to 4 different stores to do those returns, but that's OK. I finally found what I was looking for (for the most part anyways). My room is clean and organized once again and I feel like a new person! I cannot function in cluttered space. I feel bad about sluffing church today to accomplish these things, but I did have intentions of going! It's hard sharing water with so many people who need to shower for 9 a.m. church. When my alarm went off at 7 I could hear someone in the shower and I fell asleep waiting for them to get out. 3 hours later it was too late to do anything about it...

3-I am grateful for my new house!! It looks more and more like a house every time I see it! It is so fun walking through and deciding where to put people and stuff. I have decided who is sleeping in which bedroom, where all of the furniture is going, etc. I have also found some cute stuff to decorate with...mostly from the yard sale, but I am loving picking out things like rugs to match the random wall hangings I bought from the yard sale. :) I can hardly wait for it to be finished...which is looking more and more like mid-December...which will suck, but I will manage. I also love taking people to see it. We took Chris' parents out to see it today and it was so much fun!

Gratitude Post #59 & 60

1-I am grateful that I was out having fun so late last night that I couldn't write a Gratitude Post. :) My cute friend Kristie invited me to a movie. We went to see Pitch Perfect and I swear I have never laughed so hard. My cute neice Madi went with us too! She texted me yesterday because she was bored. She goes to Utah State and went home to Centerville for UEA. Her family went hiking in Moab and she didn't want to go...so she hung out with us instead! It was a fun night. Ryan, Taylor and their cousin Jake went to see Here Comes the Boom while we were in our movie. It was a fun little outing!

2-I am grateful for Chris for tending not only our kids, but my other friend's kids while I was at the movie! I had totally forgotten about my movie plans with Kristie and I offered to watch my friend Katrina's kids at the same time. Oops. I was going to cancel my movie plans, but Chris let me go anyways. He is such a good guy. He genuinely likes to see me have a good time. He must really like me...

3-I am grateful for Katrina's husband Jesse! We couldn't get my parent's furnace to work and they were out of town. Jesse does HVAC and he came over to look at it. Apparently there was a dead bird INSIDE the furnace fan! Not the outside central air fan, the furnace fan in the basement. I guess it had gotten in the flue on the roof and fell 3 stories into the fan. Jesse had to take the fan home, dislodge the bird, and re-install the fan. If I had called anyone else they probably would have just made us buy a new fan and charged a fortune for it. Jesse charged $75 for his hard work. Most companies charge that much just to show up. (Talking to Jesse led to finding out that Katrina needed a babysitter which led to Chris tending our 4 younger kids and Katrina's 3 younger kids. I'm sure it made for an interesting night for him...but he didn't seem to mind.) :)

4-I am grateful that Chris not only agreed to take the whole family to see Hotel Transylvania, he also agreed to popcorn and drinks, he actually enjoyed it (laughing out loud several times) and never once said how much he hates taking the kids to movies...even though he does. Although they all sat still for the entire thing, only needing 1 potty break each (unfortunately not all at the same time), without any screaming, crying or wandering around. It was heaven. In case you haven't noticed, I really love movies. I really love taking my kids to movies...especially holiday ones. I especially love that my kids are all old enough to sit still for 1-2 hours, hold their own popcorn and drinks without spilling, and not have to be taken out in the hall for any reason other than a potty break. I feel like a whole new world has opened up. Chris even admitted to enjoying it and commented on how good the kids were. Maybe we can go see a Christmas movie too...I wish movies weren't so darn expensive!

5-I am grateful for having the chance to run some serious errands over the last few days. It's nice having a break from school and getting someone on or off the bus every few hours. It really limits my errand running abilities. (Not that I'm complaining...see my gratitude posts about loving the bus and being happy to have my kids in school close by instead of driving them back and forth all day every day...) Anyways, I finally found all of the scrapbook binders I was searching for, I got to spend my DownEast gift card that has been in my wallet since my birthday, I got to take Katey and Sophey out for a girl's day yesterday that included Wendy's, Justice, Gordman's, Old Navy, Target and such. Those didn't really count as "my errands" but it was still fun! I also found some red fabric to complete Mason's yard sale ninja costume (for 37 cents I might add), and I found some super cute rugs and towels for my guest bathroom that match some cute yard sale wall hangings. I consider that quite successful! :)

6-I am grateful for my new yard sale mentality. Chris is quite shocked that I am into buying "used" stuff. I'm sure he thinks I'm straight crazy, but I love a good bargain and it's so much fun feeling like I won something every time! It's a total addiction and my Mom keeps teasing me about going to addiction recovery meetings. I did ground myself from the yard sale when I started wanting to buy things I already have...like beds and desks for my girls amongst other things. The grounding lasted for about 5 minutes until someone posted awesome toys I snagged for Christmas. So, it's sort of a conditional grounding...I am grounded from buying things I don't need...but I can still buy things when they are practical, cheap and I just can't refuse. :) I'm sure that won't get me into trouble at all...

Gratitude Post #58

1-I am grateful for Redbox. I don't get to the actual movie theater to eat actual movie theater popcorn...I mean, watch actual movie theater movies all that often. I LOOOOVVVVEEE movies so much. I don't know why, maybe because I'm too lazy to read?? Anyways, I love that for $1.28 (BOO to Redbox for raising their prices though...) I can watch anything I missed in the theaters, just a few months later. Last night we rented Rock of Ages. It was SO disappointing after just seeing it on Broadway in August...but at least it was only $1.28, right?

2-I am grateful for UEA!! Yay for school breaks that ALL of my kids have at the same time! That only happens a few times a year! I loved sleeping in until 10 a.m.! (Yay for a husband and kids that know better than to wake me up!) :) My kids are all having sleepover marathons with cousins. They are pretty easy to please these days...

3-I am grateful for my friends. I had a great lunch date with an old friend (Tish) today! It was very therapeutic for me. I had another friend (Kristie) post on facebook, "Who wants to go to a movie tonight?" I jumped at the chance but then realized I wouldn't make it in time, so we're going tomorrow night instead! (Yay!! Popcorn!!) I had a great lunch date with another friend (Amy) earlier this week AND I ran into my oldest friend ever (a different Amy...oh and like, not that she's older than me...like, we used to walk to kindergarten together) and we're going to lunch soon too. I am sure Chris gets tired of my never-ending lunch dates, but they are much cheaper than a therapist and it's my way of staying in touch with people. (A pretty yummy way if you ask me!) It's pretty much a win/win/win!

P.S. I think I need ADD meds. There's a lot going on in my brain. It's hard to focus. :)

Gratitude Post #57

1-I am grateful that I finally got to see my scrumptious new little (I mean HUGE) nephew! :) He was born on Saturday after a very dramatic day or two. He was in a "special" nursery (but not the NICU) and only parents and grandparents could see him for the first few days. I had the chance to see him last night at the hospital, but I missed it since I was running kids around. I got to see him at home tonight which was perfect. He is SOOOO sweet. He weighs close to 10 pounds (if I'm not mistaken) and his newborn outfit was pretty tight. I bought him an outfit today and I picked 6-12 months just in case. I'm not sure he'll wear 0-3 or 3-6 for very long. :) He is going to be such a fun little addition to our family and my kids are just dying to see him...and dying for him to be big enough to play with. Well, he's almost big enough to play with now...

2-I am grateful for Old Navy Stuff-n-Save! I'm also grateful that I remembered it was today!! I scored so many amazing deals! A $15 coat for Soph, a $16 coat for me and ANOTHER coat for myself that was normally $70 but I got it for $40! I swear, I live for a good bargain!

3-I am grateful for my Gap card! Not only do I not have to pay for my bargains for another month, I also get rewards points for using it. It can be dangerous when I forget how much I spent and then get my bill or when I get a little carried away...but I always pay it off so it's ok. Seriously a bad habit, but not as bad as my Kohl's card. You would die if I told you what my balance is right now! Good thing I don't have a mortgage payment...

Gratitude Post #56

1-I am grateful for the "new road". We have been referring to the Mountain View Corridor as the "new road" for quite some time. I have loved the section between 126th and 134th for a while. I have been anxiously awaiting the new section (from Redwood to Rosecrest Road) for MONTHS! Like, ever since we moved in with my parents on May 19th. You see, my parents live right off of Redwood where the "new road" ends. AND, my new house is right off of the "new road" and Rosecrest Road. It's like a perfect little match made in heaven. It literally takes me 5 minutes to get to my new house instead of 20. You see, 134th has been under permanent construction for as long as I can remember...and that construction has taken up quite a bit of my time since May 19th...and beyond. We have been hearing rumors about how quickly we would be able to get from my parents house to our new house for months. We wondered if the "new road" would ever open. And if it was too good to be true. And if it would open JUST AFTER we moved in. But, no. It opened at 3 p.m. on Saturday. We drove on it a few hours later. It was AMAZING!! 45 mph speed limit with 1 stop light. A direct route from point A to point B. To some it may seem midly more convenient to have that road go through. For me it is life changing. A bit dramatic perhaps? Nope. Not if you take into account how often I drive from Bluffdale to Herriman. (At least once a day actually.) So go ahead and call me dramatic. I'll laugh at you as I'm cruising at 45 (+) mph and cutting my driving time in at least half. I'll laugh at you when I am saving gas money and miles on my car. That'll prove I'm not dramatic...or crazy...

2-I am grateful for a good meeting we had with our builder last night. A much needed meeting. The framing of our house is going on week #4!! It was supposed to take 1. We are so behind it's unbelievable. They told us we can expect to be in right before Christmas. Because everyone wants to move in when it's snowing outside. I mean, it will be the best Christmas present EVER...don't get me wrong...but it's kind of bad timing. Especially when our contract says Nov. 6th. They are at least communicating with us now, and "throwing things in" to make us happy. They dropped the ball and forgot to have us pick out a front door. The one we want will take too long to get here, so they're giving us a more expensive one for the same price. They are throwing some can lights into our eaves because they think it will look nice. They are actually answering our questions they have been dodging for months. AND they are forcing the framers to be completely finished by Thursday. Of this week. Not Thursday 3 weeks from now. I was so happy to see so much progress just in the last 2 days! I'm sure it has nothing to do with the nasty email we sent them 2 days ago...

3-I am grateful for my friend Amy. She is building a house down the street from us. She feels my pain. We walked through both of our houses today and went to lunch. It was so much fun. I love the excitement of building a house and I love having a friend who wants to share that excitement with me. We are probably going to be in our houses around the same time, so it will be super fun! I'm pretty sure we'll be in the same ward so that is good news, especially for our husbands who are BFF's. :)

Gratitude Post #55

1-I am grateful that I didn't die while exercising this morning. It was a close call. My heart was beating in my face. It was bizarre. That's what happens when you skip it for a few weeks and try to jump right back in. I did do a lousy 3.8 miles in 30 minutes...which really wasn't THAT lousy but it sure felt that way. :)

2-I am grateful for motivation to exercise. Even if it comes from an 84-year-old great aunt. Watching her jump up out of her chair at a family party to help other people was amazing. She even spanked her 40-something-year-old niece on the bum for trying to take a broom and dustpan away from her. She also got after me for cleaning up a broken glass with my bare hands. I couldn't stop laughing. That is totally what I want to be like when I'm 84. I don't want to need help. I want to be the funny old lady who helps other people and spanks them on the bum if they don't listen. :)

3-I am grateful for smiley faces. :) I use them WAAAYYYY too often but I just really don't care. I use them to express my joy, I use them to make sure people know I'm kidding, I use them the way I would use a "sarcasm" font if one existed...and I just use them when I'm writing to people I love. I use them in my kids' journals constantly. They will probably think it's super weird when they're older and they read them. If I ever stop using them you should be very afraid...



:)

Gratitude Post #54

1-I am grateful for church. Especially on days when it is SO hard to get there...and then you're so glad you went. :) I love that my kids are all going to their classes without crying or arguing these days. I don't know who threw the most fits lately...the 13 year old or the 3 year old. :) We are in a good place with everyone being able to get themselves dressed and ready and even be able to sit through church without having to be taken out in the hall. Sometimes I think I want another baby and then I remember what a good place I'm at. Today Hayden AND Sophey sat on Chris' lap and I actually got to just sit and listen! Amazing.

2-I am grateful for food. I love to eat good food. I love to make good food. I love the way food brings people together. I love the way that making food for other people makes me feel. I have said it before...I think my love language is food...more specifically, baking...and even more specifically, baking for other people! I don't know why, I just really love it. And I love it even more when something I make turns out amazing. It doesn't always happen, but tonight my dinner rolls with cinnamon honey butter turned out amazing. It's not bragging when it's someone else's recipe, right? I won't even admit how many rolls I ate...okay, five. Yup, five. And I enjoyed every single bite. Sometimes I wish I didn't love food so much. Although my friend has lost her sense of taste permanently and I definitely wouldn't want to trade places! I'll take the extra 30 pounds she's not carrying around...

3-I am grateful for Jamiecooksitup. Not just the blog (Jamiecooksitup.net), but the real life person too. She is practically a celebrity these days and I feel fortunate to know her. She is a friend of a friend...well, several friends in fact. After my friend insisted that I read her blog years ago, I was hooked. Then I saw her at the elementary school and like a total nerd I went and introduced myself. I believe I even said something super cheesy like, "you're famous" or something about a "celebrity sighting" or something equally lame. She is super sweet so it was ok. :) We run into each other frequently and she is always super nice. Not only is she super nice, she makes some amazing food and is so kind to share her recipes. I make quite a few of them religiously. Tonight I made her pork roast with vegetables and gravy with her blueberry jello salad and holiday crescent rolls (imagine my delight when I figured out I could half it and not make 48 rolls!). I bet at least half of what I make on any given week is from her blog. I get more compliments on her recipes than any others. She seriously saved me from a major cooking rut AND has given me great ideas for things like baptism food, baking tips, treats to share, etc. I owe all of the compliments to her. :)

Gratitude Post #52 & 53

1-I am so grateful. I don't even know where to start. Last night I couldn't even write a post. I was way too ornery. No one would have wanted to read what I would have had to say. :) I am super grateful for a husband who listened to me vent for a solid hour and threw in his own venting with me. I love that he is so patient with me and even though "conversation" is his least favorite thing on the planet, he still has one with me from time to time. Ha ha ha. Anyways, chatting with him last night before bed really helped me get over every thing that was bugging me: mostly framers that went elk hunting and never came back to finish our house and a builder who gives us 0% communication about EVERYTHING. Then add the rest of the little stresses in my life on top of that AND a hormone shot I had the other day to get prepared for a little "female procedure" and I was quite a mess. I am also grateful for kids who accept my apologies time after time. I'm sure they think I'm crazy!

2-I am so grateful for the amazing day we had today!! First we were able to go to the temple with Chris' family. His aunt and uncle were going for the first time and having their kids sealed to them. On top of that awesomeness, his 84-year-old great aunt went for the first time (well, technically she went once about 60 years ago and never went back). She also had her bishop flown up from California to go through for her husband that passed away 3 or so years ago...AND she had her son sealed to them by proxy that passed away as a teenager. It was the most emotional I have been since...well, ever. I tried so hard to control my emotions but I just couldn't. Once those kids came in to be sealed to their parents I couldn't help it. I think I even snorted a few times trying to hold in my sobs. All I could think about was how happy Chris' Great Grandma Hinkle must be with her daughter and her grandson both going to the temple on the same day and doing such amazing things for their families! Grandma Hinkle was so amazing and such a special person to me. She was really into genealogy so I am sure she was just waiting to check those things off her list. :) We also went to my niece's baptism today and the amazing feeling we had that morning just carried right over.

3-I am so grateful that my brother Cory's wife and baby are doing ok after a scary delivery today. I didn't know what was going on but when my Dad got home from the hospital tonight he said, "Well, we almost lost him, but he's going to be ok." Gee, thanks Dad for sugar coating it. :) Poor, poor Katie! It is her first time and that's a lot of drama to endure. I'm glad I felt like I should put her name on the prayer roll at the temple this morning. I believe in that 100%.

4-I also believe in miracles...big and small. Chris' Mom had another surgery on Thursday. They told her to plan on spending 4 days in the hospital, 2 of them in the ICU. Imagine our surprise when she came walking into the temple today...2 days after surgery! They released her this morning, she ran home and got dressed and drove herself to the temple. I mean, she probably shouldn't have done that, but she would have been SO sad to miss that today! I am grateful that the tumor on her pituitary gland is, in fact, NOT cancerous! She has had a rough few months and it was nice to see it come to a happy conclusion!

5-I am grateful for my family. We had a really great time today! There was no drama, no hurt feelings, almost no fighting amongst the children...it was a good day. I have 6 brothers and no sisters. It's kind of a hard place to fit in. Sometimes my family makes me crazy. However, they are always supportive. Not everyone can say that. I love that I can count on all of them for anything.

6-I am grateful for my new sister-in-law Laurie. We had some good laughs today (apparently we are both afraid of mice) and she is so much fun to be around. She married my brother Kevin in June. He lived here for a little bit before the wedding and we got to be really good friends when we were "roomies". Today he moved the last of his stuff out since they're place is finally ready (don't worry...I'm not jealous at all...) and it was kind of sad. Although, the best part was when Laurie found the box of Kevin's wedding pictures with his first wife. I wasn't sure how she was going to react, but she picked one up and joked about hanging it in their living room. It was hysterical!

7-I am REALLY grateful that blogger automatically saves everything. I got to the end of #6 and accidentally erased it all. Luckily I found the "undo" button and it was all still there!! Yay for that!!

Gratitude Post #51

1-I am grateful for lunch dates. And Corner Bakery Cafe. And running into Chris' grandma and aunt (who might as well be MY grandma and aunt).

2-I am grateful for Chris. He is so good to me. He put Hayden on the bus and watched Sophey while he was working so I could go to lunch and run a few errands alone. :) It was a nice break!

3-I am grateful that I was able to find some scrapbooks finally! I use 12X12 3 ring binders and I have a certain color for each of my kids. I have kept them the same for 13 years. When Roberts went out of business I couldn't find the binders in the right colors anymore. I have looked everywhere, even online. I found 2 of the colors I needed at a scrapbook store on 90th south, 2 at Michael's and 2 at Joann's. I am still upset that they aren't the same style or the exact colors, but it is a huge improvement from when I couldn't find ANY!

P.S. No baby today. Unless Aunt Katie goes into labor shortly there will be 6 disappointed kids around here. (Not to mention a few adults too...) How cool would it be to have your birthday be 10-11-12?

Gratitude Post #50!!!!

1-I am grateful for a roof!! I wish I could post pictures from my phone on here...but the description will have to suffice. For a week our house sat unchanged. A very frustrating week indeed. But today when I drove by there was an entire framing crew attaching the trusses!! It did my heart good after several frustrating days in a row. Apparently our framers went elk hunting all week. No one bothered to tell us that was the case. For a week we wondered why our house was making ZERO progress. Now we know. And know they are back and working hard!! Yay for hard workers!

2-I am grateful that my Dad went out of town and my Mom took us to Rock Creek Pizza for dinner! She only does that when he's out of town. :)

3-I am grateful that my brother, Cory, and his wife, Katie, came over tonight. Poor Katie is pregnant and miserable. Her due date is tomorrow and she is dying to have that baby! (Their first!) My kids really want his birthday to be 10-11-12 so they all said in their prayers, "Please bless Katie that she will have her baby tomorrow." :) There is a lot riding on the faith of little children...

Gratitude Post #49

1-I am grateful Mason was "man enough" to get the job done. He got that tooth out all by himself tonight. I am also grateful that he is still "boy enough" to want me to stay by him. Only I was allowed to watch. But not help. No one was allowed to help. :) I am also grateful that my Mom was home to loan the Tooth Fairy some money.

2-I am grateful for people that help me keep things in perspective. Especially the ones who aren't trying to.

3-I am grateful for the way things worked out so that I had to find new doctors. So far I have been having great experiences that I would not have had if I wasn't forced to change. And I have better insurance which I am also grateful for.

Gratitude Post #48

1-I am grateful for Mason. He is one of a kind. :) He has a SUPER loose tooth right now and he is just dying to pull it out all by himself. He will not let anyone touch it. Last night he said, "Tomorrow I will be man enough to pull it out." This morning he said, "At 6:41 tonight I will be man enough to pull it out." At 6:41 he got all panicky and made me run into the bathroom with him. We literally spent 30 minutes in there while he tugged, twisted, pulled and pushed. (Well, let's be honest here...probably 28 of those minutes were intervals spent agonizing over the tooth and 2 minutes were actually spent trying to get it out.) That darn tooth is still in there. It's not hanging on by much. I hope he doesn't swallow it in his sleep. That would be so devastating. I asked why he chose 6:41 p.m. and he didn't have an answer. He just needed a deadline to force himself to do it at some point and 6:41 seemed like a good time I guess. I do so love that he insisted that I go into the bathroom with him and that I wasn't allowed to leave. I love that he still needs me. Even if he is "Man enough".

2-I am grateful that I was able to help with vision screenings at the school this morning. I have tried to lay low and avoid the PTA at my kids' new school. Wouldn't you know, Katey goes and becomes best friends with the "president-elect's" daughter...so, I got roped into doing vision screenings when she found out I was the health commissioner last year. I actually loved doing it and was just glad I wasn't in charge this time. THEN, I got a phone call this afternoon from the PTA room parent coordinator telling me I was volunteered to be a 6th grade room parent. I'm sure Taylor had nothing to do with that. :) THEN, tonight I got a call from a parent in Taylor's class asking me to help with a reward party next week. I'm not sure how my name is getting around so fast. Three times in one day seems a little extreme. However, I haven't been in to help at the school very much this year so I'm grateful for the opportunity...especially to do the fun stuff. :) I signed up on all of my kids volunteer lists and have only been on 1 volunteer calendar 1 time so far. I was missing it.

3-I am grateful for sympathetic ears. I have complained more tonight than I have in a long, long time. I am beyond frustrated with the construction of my house. The framers haven't been back to finish the upstairs for a whole week. We were supposed to meet the door and window guy tonight and he didn't show up. Then, we found out afterwards that we could just meet him at his showroom to pick them out. Why we didn't know that a long time ago is beyond me. We have to "hurry" and pick out a front door so the framers can frame in the front door based on what we pick out. Interstingly enough, we had to pick out our exterior colors (rock, stucco, garage doors, gutters, etc.) MONTHS ago. Surely picking out a front door should have been more urgent that those other things we won't be ready for any time soon. Blah. I honestly thought we would be in our house by now. Or at least close. We are probably 2 months away still. I know it's normal to be behind when building a house, but this is ridiculous. I can't wait for my gratitude post when I actually have a house to move in to!