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!

Gratitude Post #47

1-I am grateful that we were able to take my parents to walk through our house today. It's almost done being framed! I'm sure they were relieved to know that we do, in fact, have a house being built and it's not just a ploy to live with them forever. :) I am getting so dang excited for my house to be finished! It feels like it's taking forever and it feels like my entire life revolves around it, but it is so exciting!

2-I am grateful for an amazing Conference talk today. First observe. Then serve. Oh how I love that! Sometimes I think I am great at service and sometimes I feel like my service is very selfish. I love to serve people on my terms and in a way that also benefits me. Granted, a lot of times it is truly the best I can do...but sometimes I could really do more and I just don't. I am grateful for the service I have received in my life and I am also grateful for people who have let me serve them. My Mother-In-Law and I were talking about a book she read (can't for the life of me remember the title...) about a lady who was in a terrible accident and had an out of body experience (Not Stephanie Nielsen). :)She claims to have visited heaven and was told, "You are missing the point. Life is all about service and love." SERVICE AND LOVE people. That's it in a nutshell. If you missed that talk today you should go to lds.org and look it up. It was so amazing and totally what I needed to hear! :)

3-I am grateful for Hayden. Man that kid makes me laugh. Last night he TOTALLY slept walked. He is not usually a sleep walker so it was super weird to hear him walking down the hall at midnight. I picked him up and asked where he was going. He said, "I have to find the white square animal" with totally glazed over eyes. I tried not to laugh and tried to tuck him back in. He fought it, insisting that he find the white square animal. I finally got him to lay down. Five minutes later I could hear the most bizarre sound. It sounded like a waterfall. I walked out into the hallway to see him, pants down, peeing on the wall. I said, "HAYDEN!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? YOU'RE PEEING ON GRANDMA'S WALL!!" He said, "What? I had to pee real bad." It was then that I realized there was an electrical outlet on the wall, right where he was peeing. He had peed straight into it and shorted out the power on the entire back end of the house. I had to get a flashlight to clean it up! I couldn't stop laughing as I was telling Chris the story. Hayden didn't remember a thing this morning. He got the giggles when I told him about it though. :) Mason woke up before me and went to tell my Mom that his clock, nightlight and bedroom light weren't working. I could hear her walking around, flipping switches and trying to figure out what the heck happened! I had to drag my butt out of bed to go and explain it to her. I got the giggles again. Then she got the giggles explaining it to my Dad. Luckily we all have a sense of humor. :) And luckily we just had to flip the breaker to get the power back on. AND since the computer is plugged in near where he peed, I was really happy to find out it was still working too.

Gratitude Post #46

1-I am grateful for General Conference. I am grateful that I look forward to it and make time for it. That wasn't always the case. Especially the dreaded Saturday session! :) I am grateful that I scheduled my hair appointment early this morning so it wouldn't be during Conference. Normally I wouldn't worry too much about it, but I'm so glad I made time for it...especially this morning. I swear it was totally meant for me today. I bawled my eyes out when I heard that missionaries could go at 18 if they choose. That is a big deal for me! Ryan and Taylor are 13 months apart. If they both went on a mission at 19 they would overlap for a whole year. Since Taylor missed the school deadline (by 4 hours and 52 minutes no less), they are 2 years apart in school. Now Ryan has the option to go a year earlier, right after high school, at 18 years old. Since Taylor will be older when he graduates, he would most likely go at 19 still. That means my boys wouldn't see each other for 4 whole years...but it also means I would only have to let go of one at a time. It also means I wouldn't have TWO missionary payments for a whole year. So many mixed feelings about it. It does kind of seem like it's just going to make time go faster. It will start a new chapter of our lives a whole year earlier than we planned on. But it also means that 18 year old boys who are out of high school (like Ryan and some day Mason and Hayden too) will have the option to choose if they are ready to go or if they want to spend a year going to school or working first. (Which ALSO means they have a whole year to screw off and get in trouble!!) I think it such amazing inspiration and so timely for this generation of boys! I didn't actually hear the announcement first hand. I got out of my hair appointment and turned on my car radio just in time to hear the first speaker comment on the "new missionary age." I had to wait until I could ask someone what I missed. When it sank in what this means for my boys, myself and my family I couldn't help but cry. I really felt the Spirit confirming to me that this was right and that it is going to be amazing for so many young men! Not to mention the girls that can go MUCH earlier if they choose! I think that is amazing! Then one of the next talks was about children who die before the age of 8 and I bawled so hard I could barely drive myself home. Man, I was a mess this morning. But in a good way...

2-I am grateful for Chris' family. While the men were at the Priesthood session of Conference tonight all of the ladies got together at his aunt's house. We had so much fun eating and chatting. Man, I love those ladies. I'm sure I've said it before. This is not just a duplicate post though. I am grateful for the friendships I have with Chris' Grandma, Mom, aunts and cousins. They are pretty great ladies and have always made me feel like part of the family since day 1! I love that our kids are all friends and that my kids would rather be with cousins than friends most of the time. I am grateful for Chris' cousin Katie and the friendship that we have...not only because she cuts my hair, but because I can talk to her about anything! And I love that I am getting his family hooked on facebook yardsales. :)

3-I am grateful that Chris asked me out on a date last night. :) Even if it was to eat at Costa Vida real quick before we had to pick up Katey from dance, make 2 stops to pick up yard sale crap, spend a ridiculous amount of time loading yard sale furniture into our car (that almost didn't fit...), make a quick trip out to the house so Chris could see the new framing, pick up Katey's friend and make it home in time for the BYU game. :) I don't care what we do or where we go...I just love that he asked me out. :)

Gratitude Post #45

1-I am grateful for Chris and the way he humors me. He is such a good sport to help me lift, carry and move HEAVY yard sale finds. I'm sure the whole time he thinks I'm a crazy person, but he never complains. Although he has asked me, "Now this is the last one...right?" a few times. :) He really is the best. And our house is going to be super cute...for cheap. :)

2-I am grateful that Chris let me sleep in this morning. I'm pretty sure he doesn't read these posts and had no idea I was complaining about how exhausted I was. I mean, I'm sure I complained to his face, but still. Sophey didn't sleep well last night and neither did I. Chris got up, got the kids ready for school and was going to put them on the bus...until Katey woke me up asking to use my phone and I went downstairs to make sure they were ready. Have I mentioned that I think he's the best??

3-I am grateful for Kohl's. Where else can you find something that you need for 50% off AND get to use a 30% off coupon. It's hard not to buy the entire store sometimes. :)

Gratitude Post #44

1-I am grateful for sleep. I am tired. So tired. Getting up early to get 2 batches of kids on the bus, showering quickly in between bus times, running Soph to preschool and dance (3 mornings a week), running back to get on the afternoon kindergarten bus, and all of the other things in between (you know...ridiculous amounts of laundry, making dinner, trying to get everyone to eat dinner, cleaning up dinner, homework, making lunches, cleaning, shopping, errand running, putting kids to bed, trying to get kids to stay in bed, etc.) is seriously wearing me down. I feel super organized and on top of things right now, but that comes with a price. EXHAUSTION. I am just so grateful for sleep. I am really looking forward to it tonight.

2-I am grateful for my new glasses. Even though I'd much rather be writing, "I am grateful for Lasik"...I am still grateful for my new glasses. :) I am looking forward to being able to see when I don't have my contacts in. My old glasses are probably 5 years old (and broken). My new glasses are cute, comfortable and the right prescription. And they cost about 1/10th of the price of Lasik. (Which I hope to be able to have some day...you know, after we get a basement, a yard, a fence and all of those other fun things.) I am also grateful for the eye dr. that I go to. My glasses came with a little bottle of lens cleaner (which they will refill for life at no charge), a cleaning cloth, and a mint truffle. All tied up in a cellophane bag with cute ribbon. Seriously, little things like that totally make my day! :)

3-I am grateful for my family. I am grateful to be exhausted. This is all I ever wanted to do. I didn't have big aspirations in life. I just wanted to marry someone awesome, have 6 kids (4 boys and 2 girls to be exact) and drive an SUV and live in a big house. :) For real. I wrote that down when I was a teenager. I am grateful that all of my dreams have come true. Every. Single. One. Well, I'm still working on the house part...but my parents' house is big...and I live in it...

4-I am grateful for my brother, Kevin. He lived here for a few weeks with us before he got married in June. It was fun getting to know him better. I was sad to see him go. He stopped by tonight to pick something up. He got here just in time to help Ryan with his math homework. (I am SO not qualified to do 8th grade math. That is an understatement.) It honestly takes a village...

Gratitude Post #43

1-I am grateful that the top floor of my house is somewhat framed now! It was a real treat to walk through it today! For months I have been wondering what it will feel like to walk through my house. It's weird to experience it in different stages. We have been walking through the basement for what seems like forever (because that's all that was there...). Then we got to walk through the main floor about a week ago. We have been dying to see what the whole thing will look like and it is taking forever! It was so fun to see it today and I can't wait for them to finish framing so we can move on already! :)

2-I am grateful to live in the United States of America. I have never been interested in a political debate before, but tonight I thought it was very interesting. My brother's facebook status update was something about a black man and a Mormon dude. I mean, who woulda thought? :) My facebook status update was something like, "I am grateful for the freedom of speech. I love that I live in a country where I can respect the office of The President even if the man holding that office bugs the hell out of me." Seriously, I have so much respect for Mitt Romney for not strangling Obama during that debate. I know I would have.

3-I am grateful for Chris. I know on Sunday I bragged about how perfect our relationship is. Well, it's not perfect. Just so you know. :) Living with my parents and the stress of building a house can create a little bit of tension. I'm sure it's a healthy amount...but even when we get frustrated with each other or with certain situations, I know he still loves me. I am grateful that I have never had to question whether or not he loves me. Even when I am hard to love. :)

4-Oh, and one more thing...I am grateful for Jiffy Lube. Even though they try to sell you every product and service possible (and I fall for it some of the time), they are seriously so nice. They greet you, they open doors for you, they are never busy and always get me in and out super fast. (I was going to say, "In a jiffy" but I decided against that.) They totally made my morning and made me feel so special. Lame, I know. Also, there was a cute old lady that came in after me. They were so cute to her too. Whoever is training these boys is doing an awesome job. I wonder if a woman owns Jiffy Lube? Or just a really awesome man? Or a really smart man that knows if you treat a woman well she will continue to come back?

Gratitude Post #42

1-I am grateful that I have the patience to retype this ENTIRE post that I just accidentally deleted. Even though I felt like turning off the computer and walking away. Blah.

2-I am grateful for Hayden! I got to help in his classroom today and I loved it. I love going to the school just to see my kids' faces light up when I walk into their classrooms. (Or too see their eyes roll at the sight of me in the case of a 10-year-old-girl...) I got to do some testing with the kids and I was so proud of Hayden for doing so well on his! About a month ago I got a call from his kindergarten teacher. She said they were splitting his class due to size. They were dividing the kids based on academic levels. Hayden was right on the border. He was offered a spot in the "lower" group but when the teacher found out we were moving she decided to give it to someone who could benefit from it all year long. So, Hayden got put in the "higher" group with a new teacher. His old teacher said she would make sure to tell the new teacher to work with Hayden and push him a little harder. He is smart, he just doesn't like to think if he doesn't have to. :) He has been in the new class for a few weeks and it seems to really be helping! I am loving the smaller class size and he is loving the attention he's getting from his new teacher. He has a better attitude about doing his homework and he seems to be grasping concepts better. (You know, important concepts like print, reading, math, handwriting, phonics, etc.) I appreciate their efforts so much. I also appreciate their concern in the first place. When you have that many 5 year olds in your class it's hard to give them individual attention! We are going to miss this school (IF) when we  move. :)

3-I am grateful for my parents. They took Chris and I out to a nice dinner tonight. Chris and I are pretty frugal. We don't often go to restaurants that have linen napkins, paper menus (and not the kind you color on) and wine glasses. :) (Not that we used them...) We left the kids home this time and it was such a nice break. I am stuffed from all kinds of yummy (expensive) food. And I feel relaxed and rejuvenated just from having a 2 hour break. :)

Gratitude Post #41

1-I am grateful for the chance we had to talk to the framer at our house today. He helped us figure some things out and is even going to add a window in my closet for me. :) I don't know why, but I am super excited for that! I am grateful that they were working on my house today. Framing is supposed to be super fast, but of course ours is taking forever...why wouldn't it? :)

2-I am grateful that fall baseball is over. I mean, it was a lot of fun and it wasn't all that time consuming, but the last couple of games were pretty dark and cold. I love watching my boys play baseball and I am going to miss it...but come springtime I'll be so ready for it to start again! I have loved watching Taylor's confidence increase. He is turning into such a great little player! I love hearing the other parents saying things like, "Throw it to first. You know Taylor will catch it." :) He is such a great kid and I love watching him excel! It is so much fun.

3-I am grateful for days like today...full of good things. Even things like cleaning, cooking, laundry and more cleaning. And more laundry. :) It feels so good to be productive. I am also grateful for the plethora of awesome yard sale finds today! I scored big! I am starting to lose out on deals from people who are even more pushy than me now and I don't like it. I have managed to get some awesome stuff though! I can't wait to have a house to put it in!