This Year at Christmas Time

This Year for Christmas

I skipped the sales after Thanksgiving.

Thrill just wasn't there.

No pictures taken with Santa Clause,

my decorating has no flair.

His presents are shoes, shirts, and ties,

two suits and socks...no fun.

I've bought him all white clothes because...

This year I'm giving Christ my son.

I've spent more time in the temple,

Felt strength come from His words.

I've reread November's Ensign,

and my testimony stirred.

Our family prays more frequently

My tears are quick to run.

Abraham seems closer because

This year I'm giving Christ my son.

I wonder how those Lamanite mothers,

gave their sons to war?

Or how the pioneers chose Zion ,

their sacrifice was so much more.

My loss will be his presence,

I'll miss his smile a ton

For two years we will pray for him,

I'm giving Christ my son.

I stare at his face when he's not looking.

I memorize his eyes, their shine.

He's always hungered for the part of him,

that makes his soul divine.

The stories and lessons he always heard,

His choice and mine are one.

I'll put my faith in God's hand,

This year, I'm giving Him my son.

Past gifts have lost their glitter,

I think I finally understand

Christ's birth should be celebrated

by giving Him a hand.

It's because I know Christ lives and reigns

that all his packing's done.

My gift has taken years to make,

This year... I'm giving Christ my son

This is just a little of how I am feeling this year and I know many of you don't understand this but maybe when you send out your first missionary you will. Merry Christmas!!!

How could I really say NO?

As this year gets closer and closer to Christmas, it is hard for me to focus on what I need to get for Christmas gifts etc. I have all of my attention focused on my wonderful son, AJ. He leaves on his mission for the LDS church on Wednesday for two years.

I keep asking myself this question, How can I let him go?? Can I really do this??? As I look around my heart is so fun because of all of my blessings that I have been blessed with. I have great kids, a wonderful husband, good health, enough money to live on, wonderful friends and family and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I have been blessed with AJ for 19 1/2 years and I think I would be so ungrateful if I wasn't willing to let him go out and serve the Lord for two years. This is going to be a very hard thing for me, but as I have said "How can I not?" AJ is such a blessing in my life and always has been. He always cares about me and making me happy. I will really miss his hugs, smile, laugh and humor. I am also so excited for AJ, because he will be a great missionary. He loves people and he has a great way of showing people. I know he will make many great friends and touch many people's lives.

Good luck AJ!!! You will do awesome.

SO Thankful

I know I have been much of a slacker as far as blogging, but my life is so busy with so many things right now. I do miss my wonderful blogging friends that always make my day and have great things to encourage me.

I would feel so ungrateful if I didn't post something about the many things in my life that warm my heart and that I am so thankful for.

We had a great Thanksgiving. It was at our house, which is a first in a long time. It turned out great. Wonderful food, great family and fun.

I am so blessed with so many things. Especially this year, I am focusing so much on the things that mean the most, which aren't things.

I am grateful for

great kids that are always trying to be great examples in their every day lives

great husband that has put up with a wife gone every day all day long for 12 wks

Warm and comfortable home

Great friends that have helped to make me who I am

Great family that are so loving and caring

Health and strength to continue on

An end to my dream of wanting to be a teacher, I can't believe it.

A testimony of the gospel and all the joy it brings to me.

A son with a desire to serve the Lord in a full time mission in a couple of weeks.

I am so thankful for all I have and just hope that I can continue to be strong in all that I do.

I AM SO THANKFUL

A dream come true

I have not been sleeping lately at all. I have so many things on my mind and I just can't clear them at all. It is so scary to think that my life is at another turning point.

My whole life I have dreamt of becoming a teacher and when I started having kids of my own, I just figured I would never get my degree or become a teacher. This Friday is my last day of student teaching and I can't believe it. I can't believe that I will have a batchelors degree and that I can actually be a teacher. I guess dreams do come true, now the hardest part will be to find a job. I am so excited to be finally done with school, but I am also sad because I just love these kids and know that this chapter in my life will be over with soon.

Along with many other chapters in my life, it is changing. AJ will be leaving on his mission on Dec 16, I will be graduating, and Mike has retired from his job in the military. We have so many questions about our future. We have always dreamt of when our boys would serve a mission and now that AJ is ready, it is so scary for me. Will he be ok?? We won't be there if he has problems and will I be ok??? I have a very closeness to AJ and it is going to be quite emotional for me. This teaches me a lot about sacrifice. I hope that I can be strengthened through this hard time, because it will be tough.

During times like this, when I feel so excited but scared, is when I miss my very close friends, especially those that live miles away. They have always been such a strength to me and I miss their love. What an exciting time in life!!!!

Do you have a green spoon??

I know it has been forever since I have posted and I really don't have any excuse except that I am in the middle of student teaching and my son is getting ready to go on an LDS mission among Thanksgiving going to be here, graduating from school and many other things. I am truly sorry and I have missed all of my blogging friends and family.

How many of you have a green spoon??? This story will be a story that is handed down in our family from generation to generation I am sure of it. Ever since I can remember, my husband and I have had a green tablespoon to measure ingredients with. Through the years when he was baking or helping me make something I would just tell him I need one of the green spoon because it was just easier that way. We didn't ever call it a tablespoon, or at least he didn't.

Well, something awful happened about a month ago. Our green spoon was eaten up in the garbage disposal. I thought my husband was going to want a funeral for it. He actually has put it in a drawer in my curio cabinet for safe keeping even though it can not be used any more because it is so beat up. Now when we are making something and I have to tell him a tablespoon he says " Is that the green spoon?" " I guess we can't make it because we don't have a green spoon. This is still continuing to go on, it has been quite a joke in our family.

So, if you see a green tablespoon any where, let me know I would love to get another one just for him. Do you have any stories that have become legends in your family??? I would love to hear.

Already October

Yes, I know it is already October and I can't believe it. That means I am almost half way through with student teaching. Halloween is around the corner, with the holidays right after that. It is also General Conference weekend, which I can't believe but has been such a blessing to me in my life this year, already and it is just the first day.

I felt like General Conference was incredibly great, which I always say it is but there was so much that I needed to hear and my family also. I felt like there was a lot of focus on love and don't we all need to be a little more loving and tolerable to everyone that we are around in our every day. I can't wait for tomorrow.

I just love this time of the year. Fall, I don't know what it is but it is great and I just enjoy. This year, however has been quite different with me doing student teaching every day until 4 and Mike being at home. Our life has been turned upside down and we are still wondering what side is up. This Wednesday I will be shifting to fourth grade and I am excited but I will definitely miss all of my little kids in first grade. What will they do without me??? I know they will be fine but will I. It is so unbelievable to me that I really will be graduated by Thanksgiving. I haven't experienced being gone so much for years. I have been able to stay at home and take care of the kids so now I am experiencing not wanting to go anywhere on the weekend. I just want to stay home. This isn't always easy because I do have other obligations and commitments. I just need to get over it and get used to it.

Thanksgiving, I can't believe it is really in sight. We are actually going to be having Thanksgiving at our house this year. That makes for a little more preparation with family coming down to stay and having it with us.

I know this has been a lot of rambling on and on but there is so much going on in our home at this time. My kids are so busy and have so much going on in their own lives. I will definitely have to blog about them soon.

Nothing to Describe

There is nothing that can quite describe the feelings of joy when your children make great choices and turn out to be good people.

Last night was one of those memorable moments for me. I guess you could call it payback. It seems like just yesterday I was brought this very darling baby boy with beautiful red hair and I immediately fell in love with him and I just can't believe that he is as old as he is. Last night he was ordained to be an Elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints by his father. I just can't express the great joy that was in my heart. What a night and what a great spiritual experience for all that were there. All of our kids were there, our bishop, the single's ward bishop, a member of the bishopric and Mike's parents. I have been waiting for this day for a long time and it was wonderful. AJ you are great and you will make a great missionary.

This day will always be great for me

Today, to a lot of people is a reminder of the tragedy that happened eight years ago and for me it is a reminder of that too but the thing I remember the most about this day is that MANY years ago I was married to my sweetheart.

That day becomes more and more vague, but I can't help but always to remember how great I felt that morning when I was seated across the altar in the SLC temple from my soon to be husband. There is nothing to compare with that great joy and peace. Mike complains that I was a little late that morning and yes I was but nothing like throwing in a little stress on a marriage day just to make sure you can handle anything.

My wedding was a beautiful September day. I remember having all of the people that I love the most there to help me celebrate my day. Little did I know that there were four more important people in the heavens that were partying and celebrating that we were getting married.
We had an outside wedding reception and I have to say it was perfect. Mike had to wear a pink shirt with his white tux and at first I didn't like the idea but I love it now.

Our honeymoon was wonderful too. We headed to Jackson Hole, Lava Hot Springs and Yellowstone, which is one of my favorite places in the world. There is nothing quite like getting the last room in the park and then to find out it was a room with two single beds with the bathroom down the hall and all on your honeymoon. I remember going out to watch Old Faithful at midnight with Mike and thinking how romantic it was.

Oh and YES, YES, YES, I would do it again and again. We have been through so much together and things aren't always a bliss but they are DEFINITELY worth the ride. I love every minute that I spend with him and I can say that I am still in love. I came home yesterday from school and he had bought me roses for my anniversary. They are beautiful. I just wish I knew something great that I could give him.

I bet now every year when you see all of the flags out for 9-11 you will also remember the great celebration of our anniversary on that day.

No Job, What Do We Do Now

Well, it has been real crazy around our house as I have noted in prior posts, but the craziest part is the adjustment we have all made to our new maid, stay at home dad. Mike has retired from the military and is on leave until January when he will actually be fully retired so until then we have an income coming in and we have Mike at home.
It is quite interesting for me to come home from school and the house is completely cleaned, he has fixed dinner and he also does the laundry. My kids are feeling real spoiled. He has been taking them to school and also fixing their lunches and I think their lunches are a lot better than they used to be.
I never thought that Mike would be without a job and be at home while I was gone. It is just crazy but definitely very nice to come home to a clean house and dinner fixed. One thing he doesn't do is the SHOPPING. I sure wish he would but I guess I can't ask for everything. I am so thankful for a great maid, sweetheart and he does it all for FREE.

I will have to post a picture of the new Mike. You won't recognize him.

Why do they do that???

Each day as I look around at my wonderful, beautiful children, they continue to keep growing up. This is hard for me, because I love my babies. I think I will be baby hungry for the rest of my life.

Don't get me wrong, I adore my kids. They truly are the best, and I just love who they have become. They are so fun and we have so much fun together. What will I ever do when they move away??? I remember the day, which was yesterday, or so it seems when I had four under the age of six. Life was so crazy and hectic and today it is not any less hectic but life is SO different. It is wonderful to be able to go places with my husband and not have a babysitter or have to take them with me everywhere that I go, but I miss it too.

Karrilyn is dating someone, ok talking to someone but long distance and it has been going on for over a month. He lives in California so it is easy to not get into too much trouble when you live away from each other. I don't think I remember ever seeing her SO HAPPY. Thanks John, you are the best. Karrilyn is so wonderful and very much deserves the very best. She is also going to college and working. Yuck.

AJ is also going to college and working at Smith's. He is very busy because he has become so social since he started college that he is always heading to some dance or game. He just loves people and especially girls, girls, girls. He knows a girl everywhere that we go. AJ is my big bear and always has been. He is SO adorable and loving.

Todd is my charming, wonderful seventeen year old. He is awesome in every way. He and I disagree about his hair, but I guess if that is my worst battle I will just need to keep my mouth shut. Todd is a senior in high school and taking mostly college classes. He is very social. He has a group of great kids that he hangs around and he is also on the Cross Country team. He also plays the piano and is very talented with it. Todd is awesome.

Angela is such a ham. She is so loving and so cheerful. She makes everyone laugh, most of the time. She is my baby and I don't want to tell you how old she is because in my book she is still my eight year old. She is also taking some intense classes and plays the flute, and piano and is on the Cross Country team. She makes us all laugh and we have so much fun together. She is pretty much a lot of fun for an eight year old.( just kidding) Ang you ROCK...

You see, in my eyes they will or should never grow up but they will and I just hope that I can handle it. I love my kids. They are my WORLD!!!

I Never Knew

This week has been hard but it is definitely better than last. The hard thing about this week is that I have a funeral to go to on Thursday. You probably are wondering who is it for??? I would have to say it is for one of my favorite people in the world. My husband's Uncle Roy passed away on Saturday morning. Why should I care??? I care because from the very second that I met him he has always treated me like a queen and as if I walk on water or something. I just can't explain it.

Mike and I, when we were just starting out with Karrilyn and AJ lived in Draper in a tiny little house behind Uncle Roy's and Aunt Mary's house. They rented it to us for $105 a month. It was small but what do you need when you are such a small family. I remember we had only a shower, no tub and the kids bedroom was also the laundry room. Oh well it was great for us.

Back then, I used to get up every morning and take my little kids to another person's house and babysit to make money so I wouldn't have to work. I would have to get up early and take my little kids out into the weather. I remember every morning that the weather was bad I would go out to my car and Uncle Roy had already scraped my windows in my car for me. He was an angel. Uncle Roy and Aunt Mary also told us not to pay rent two times a year for Christmas and during the Summer so we could have money for vacations and Christmas. They spoiled us. I just adored him and his wife. I always felt like I belonged and Aunt Mary had red hair which made me feel like I was truly family. They were both there in the temple the day we were married too. Even though I haven't seen Uncle Roy much, when I do he treats me as if it was just yesterday and that I still mean the world to him. He will truly be missed but I am sure his lovely wife is so happy to finally be reunited with him.

Well, back to this week. That is the hard part, funeral... The good part about this week is that I am adjusting to student teaching. I can finally say that I am loving it. I taught almost the entire day today. I love the kids. They are so cute even though at times they are frustrating. It is amazing how much I have learned already.

I just hope that I can find a job teaching when I get finished. It would be awful if I finally had my dream come true and wasn't able to find a teaching job.

Oh yeah, I forgot. Angela finished her first Cross Country Race. I was so proud of her. Todd has been doing it now for two years and does wonderful but it has been quite a struggle for Angela. Why is it that I start crying when she came across the finish line??? I am so proud.

And it all starts...

This week has been very crazy for all of us Glads. Angela and Todd started back to school last Thursday and Karrilyn, AJ and I started back this Monday. It will be a crazy year for all of us. We will be working hard in many classes. I think we will need much chocolate and cookie dough to help us get through it all.

Student Teaching
I actually started my student teaching on Monday. I was very nervous the first day but after that things have continually become better. I am in the first grade. It has been a shocking experience for me. First graders can't do a whole lot, but they sure are adorable. The days have seemed long but as the week has gone by it has seemed to get better and better. I am teaching quite a lot of each day. I think the kids are getting used to me and I think I am also adapting. There is so much that goes into teaching each day. It is quite intense. I am student teaching out at Enoch Elementary school. I will be in first grade for thirty days and then fourth grade for thirty days. I can't believe that I am finally to this point where I will actually be graduating from school. What a dream I have been waiting for. I hope you are all cheering me on, because I can use it. I just hope once I am finished that I can actually find a job and teach.

I guess the hardest thing is to be gone all day from my kids and not being there every second when they need me. Mike has been wonderful. The first day he made enchiladas for dinner and cleaned the entire house. NO!! he has never made enchiladas before but they were great. He has definitely been cheering me on. Who knows maybe I will actually be a teacher some day.

Todd also had a birthday this week. He turned 17. For his birthday we gave him a laptop. He has all college classes this year but a few high school. He will need it. We also went out to dinner to the Pizza Factory. It was very yummy. My kids totally love it and we haven't been there for quite a while. I can't believe Todd is actually 17. I sure love my TODD. He is an exceptional boy with so much desire and most of all the desire to do good. Happy Birthday to my Todd Schmodd, Todderoo, one of my best friends. He is awesome!!!!!!!!!!

Fun with family

This past weekend, was crazy. We headed up to SLC after AJ got off work so we could be there for Sunday and spend some time with my family. My brothers that live out of state were in town and we had a party planned. It was a great day. We went to church with them, and of course I had to hold my new little niece and that was great, but she decided to leave a little mess on my white skirt. Oh well, she is well worth it. We also went to my sisters house for a barbecue, rock band party etc. It was a great time. I have the greatest siblings and of course parents.

This is a picture of AJ with his uncle Colt( my brother).

Here is the daddy of it all...

Of course you can't have a party without many pictures of family by Aunt Kristi.

This is a picture of my dad, my sister, Kami, and my two brothers playing Rock Band. We all had a chance to join in the fun. It was a hoot to watch and play in.

I have always loved teather ball and my sister happened to have on so Mike, AJ, and Todd had to try out their skills.

What a great day. My kids are the oldest grand kids of the family so they don't have cousins their ages to hang out with but they have their uncles and aunts that they have just as much fun with. This is what memories are all made of.

Birthday in Disneyland

This year, I had a great birthday. I usually do, but this year was great fun because Mike and I went to Disneyland on my birthday. We had so much fun just the two of us. We took tons of pictures, ate lots of yummy food, went on many fun rides and it was great. This time that we were at Disneyland, we actually ate dinner at Pirates of the Caribbean. It was expensive but well worth it. This is one of my favorite pictures so I thought I would share.

Up to Salt Lake and back for lunch all in one day

Last Wednesday, I think, Mike and I drove to Salt Lake to go to lunch with one of his favorite cousins that was in from New Jersey. Quintin was in town with his family. He brought his wife, Susie and Grace to have lunch with us at TGI Friday's. What a long ways for lunch but always worth it, with Quin around. Mike used to do everything with Quin when they were kids. Only a few things have changed, like amount of hair, a few wrinkles but mostly everything was still the same.
It was well worth the trip up and back to Cedar all in one day. Thanks Quintin and Susie for meeting us. Anytime you are in town we would love to do it again and maybe next time we can come to NY and see you.

Class Reunion Party

About a week ago we had an Elder's quorum party. It was great. We all dressed up how we would have dressed in high school. It was a lot of fun. They had printed color copies of all of us from when we were in high school. I wish I had pictures. My husband wore his pink jacket and white levis and I wore one of his favorite dresses that he bought for me when we were first married even though that really wasn't high school it was a couple of years later. He only wishes that I had big hair like I did when we were dating.( 80's)

We had cafeteria food; meat loaf, potatoes and gravy, milk in cartons and brownies. After dinner we played some games. We nominated people for "most likely to". Then we played Do you Love your Neighbor/Classmate? If you have never played this game, it is a hoot but quite dangerous. You have to keep on your toes and move around a lot. It was all fun until I ended up getting dumped on the floor. I was hurting pretty bad and still after a week I am still quite tender. Oh well that is how it goes. Everyone has a good time playing until someone gets hurt.
What a great night and such a great idea!!!!!!

So much to blog (I mean brag) about

These past two months have been crazy around here and I really have tons to blog about but it has been hard to take the time.

About a month ago we went to Youth Conference up in Kolob Canyon. It was gorgeous. I ended up helping with the games but my kids( which by the way are the greatest) had a great time and loved it.

Here is Ang, isn't this just the cutest picture of her.

This is of her getting ready to rappell and she really didn't want to do it but she DID it.

This picture shows her a little more happy about it. What a great experience.

This is one of the games that they were playing at Youth Conference. Todd is on the left.

This picture is of Todd rappelling. He is so much more confident about it than Angela but I think he has done it before.

I really need to update you on so much more. We have had so many great adventures that I need to share. I am so glad that my kids have opportunities like this.

Fun times for the Glads

I know it has been forever since I have posted. I hope you all have missed me.

On the 24th of July we went to an early morning breakfast and then to the parade. I guess it was brighter than I thought it was as you can tell by looking at the picture of my kids. It has been a tradition since they were little to get Old Navy flag tshirts for them for the 4th and 24th of July.
After the parade we came home and started our afternoon, day of playing Rock Band. It was a lot of fun but took pretty much the whole day. We conquered the 84 song list on Rock Band. We did break for dinner and homemade ice cream with homemade carmel. Mike makes the best.

This is a picture that I had my kids take yesterday after church. My husband has a kilt from his ancestors tartan. He wears it twice a year to church and boy does he get comments like crazy. It doesn't bother him at all, he is proud of his kilt. When his parents gave him the kilt they also gave me some material that matches his kilt. My mom made me a skirt to match his and guess what???? You guessed it, I always have to wear mine the same day that he wears his.

Really, I haven't fallen off of the face of the earth. We have been enjoying our summer except for the online Chemistry class that I am taking. My daughter received her learner's permit to drive. Wow. They just keep growing and growing. I spent a couple of days in SLC and got to go to dinner with my parents for my dad's birthday. I am leaving for girl's camp this week, wish me luck!!!!!!!!!

I have to brag

The past few months I guess you could say that I have a new hobby. I have been couponing and looking for great deals for grocery shopping. I never been much of a coupon person, just too much of a hastle but I started just recently. I have had such great luck and it is actually fun to shop.

One of my first shopping trips I spent $50 and I saved $120. I was so excited. I think my family loves it too, because they get some things that I have never before bought because they are frivilous and not needed but what do you say when you get them for FREE.

I have had so many fun trips with this where I have ended up spending no money because everything ended up being FREE. I must admit my kids get tired of helping me out with the coupons going through lines but they sure enjoy the benefits of it.

If any of you are interested and are tired of grocery shopping and spending too much money, let me know and I will tell you my great secret. I don't know how this will work when I am back in school but we shall see.

A Memory

I know it has been forever since I have blogged. You probably have wondered what is going on or maybe not.

Life continues to be crazy especially with Summer and a family of 4 teenagers. We are always going. We had a great Fourth of July. I can't think of a better way than to spend it with my kids going to parades, watching fireworks, making homemade ice cream and playing games.

This last week we had the chance to go somewhere, just Mike and I and the two younger kids. We ended up in SLC for one night, a real fast trip with no time to do much but we did take time to go to Camp Williams Swimming Pool while Mike was at his meeting at Camp Williams.

Have you ever walked in somewhere or gone somewhere and you have so many memories flood your memory that it is just crazy?? That is how it was as I entered that swimming pool. This place has SO many memories for me and all of my kids. We used to go swimming three to four times a week at this pool because it only cost us $1 a person and it is huge with grass all around it.
I remember taking my kids when they were just learning how to swim out to the pool after Mike got off of work. I remember playing and throwing kids in the pool. I remember so many birthday parties for my kids at this pool. I remember sharing this great experience with so many of my great friends. I can see me there with them and their kids playing, visiting and swimming. I remember a couple of times inviting all of my great friends in my ward to meet us out there and swim. What a party!!! There was probably about 60 people or more that traveled out to go swimming and eat and play together. I have shared this place and so many memories with so many people that I just had all of these great memories plow through my mind. Man, I wish I had more pictures of it.

I am so thankful for my memories of loved ones, great cherished friends and family. These are things that can never be taken away from me even when my kids move out and are gone I will always cherish these great memories with my husband, kids and so many others.

Have you ever???

For the past month, I have had been able to go and work out with my husband every day before he leaves to go to work. It has been great. We have a membership to Snap Fitness and it is so close and you can go any time that you want to. About a month ago I started adding weights along with my regular cardio work out. It has been good even though I really don't like doing weights. I do think it helps.

Today, I had a scary, interesting experience. I had finished working out on the elliptical for 42 min and went to start doing my weights. I was feeling pretty hot and sweaty, which is normal, but I started to get hotter and started to feel sick. It was feeling like it was so hot that I wasn't getting any air. It also seemed like I was sweating even more than I already was. I was sitting down and it just didn't seem to get better. Kind of scary. One of my friends happened to be there and when I went over to the floor to sit down I guess she looked at me and noticed something. A few minutes later I tried to do weights again and she came up to me and asked if I was ok. I was wearing a green shirt and she said that I looked the color of my shirt. Not too much fun, but finally I did get feeling better and we did head home. I didn't do too many weights because I knew I just needed to not push it.

Have any of you had an experience similar to this? What were you doing?

Give me Ice Cream, Popsicles, and Pudding!!!

All I can eat is popsicles, ice cream, pudding or anything soft. Poor Angela just had her braces put on yesterday. She has been in a lot of pain. It hurts to eat almost anything. I remember when Todd had his braces put on he was in pain for three weeks. I think she will shrivel away to nothing if she eats nothing for that long.

I kind of wish I was getting braces, but watching Angela it doesn't look like too much fun. She will be a little more festive for the Fourth of July and the 24th of July because she had them put on red and blue on her braces. I can't believe how much braces continue to go up in price. It is a good thing that all of my kids haven't needed them. I wish that insurance companies would pay for adults to get braces. I would love to have straight teeth and my whole life dentists have told me that I would have to have an operation and have my jaw broken to straighten my teeth but this orthodontist tells me he could do it without an operation. Maybe some day I will be rich and be able to have straight teeth.

Hang in there Angela and try to enjoy all of the ice cream and treats. I am sure that it will get old very soon. Before you know it you will have straight teeth and be glad that you do.

There are some days

Do you ever feel like some days you are just inspired or lifted so much more than others? Why is that? Is it that we need it more than other days, so we are seeking it more?

Yesterday, I had the always great opportunity to go to the temple in St. George with my husband. It was such a beautiful day. It is so nice to get to the point where I don't have to stress about getting a babysitter to go to the temple. I always cherish the time I get to be with my husband and just talk and be together. I am so blessed to be able to attend the temple with him.

I don't know what it was but yesterday the spirit seemed so much stronger. Maybe I am just going crazy, but it was so awesome to just let the feelings seep into my soul. I truly felt the strength that I receive from taking that time to go there. The world is so crazy and so many problems are facing us throughout the world, but to have a place to be reminded and put on track of what it is all about is one of my greatest blessings. Thanks Mike for taking the time to go with ME. I always need it.

What a day!!

Life has been crazy around here. Last Friday we went to see the movie " Up" and we all loved it. The three D is definitely interesting. If you haven't seen this movie, I think you would enjoy it. We left Saturday morning and went up to Salt Lake to see family. We visited at my brother's house and had dinner with my family that still lives here in the state. It was so awesome to see all of them. I don't get to see my parents and my sisters or brothers that often. We all really enjoyed it.
It is crazy when you get together to realize how much you are alike some of your siblings. I really miss being closer to them.
After that we went and stayed the night at my husband's parent's house. On Sunday we went to church at my husband's sister's ward. My niece was speaking so it worked out perfect. We had another party at my in-law's house with dinner and dessert. It was fun to see everyone and visit.
The only bad thing about the weekend was that we had to drive home that night, which is quite a drive especially in the pouring rainstorm.

Today is another day. It is cloudy and rainy again. I can't believe that it is the middle of June, can you? I went to the store to get some good deals and necessities and ended up getting a ticket. That is right, a ticket. What a way to ruin your day!!!

How many of you have been given a ticket lately or in the last year? Why is it that when my husband speeds 20 or 30 over he gets pulled over but no ticket but when I do a little over I of course get the ticket. It stinks.

Great Movie

I just recently bought a movie for my son for his birthday and I just want to recommend it to all of you.
The name of the movie is " Forever Strong". It was so good. My entire family loved it and it had so many morals to it. It is about a rugby team here in Utah. If any of you are wondering if you should rent it or buy it, I say YES!!!! It is very upbeat and a great show, so go buy some popcorn and treats and cuddle up to this movie and let me know what you think.

Don't forget the flour

There is flour in the recipe that I just posted for waffle brownies.
It is 2 cups. I noticed and called my friend, but I didn't realize that the recipe published so hopefully this isn't too late. You need 2 cups flour...

Have a great week.

Yummy treats!!

Waffle Brownies

8 Tablespoons margarine
7 Tablespoons cocoa
4 eggs
1 - 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
chocolate frosting

Combine sugar, flour, salt and cocoa. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Place batter in the waffle iron and cook for about one minute. Let cool; top with frosting. Repeat for remaining batter.

Helpful hints: spray the waffle iron with non stick cooking spray before cooking each brownie.

My husband and I love this recipe because it is quick, easy, and delicious! You can use all or some of the batter. Refrigerate leftover batter for later.


I really need to try this recipe. My friend gave me the recipe and she says it is very yummy. Let me know if you try this and if it is good. I thought it would be perfect for summer because you don't have to bake it.

I bet you didn't know

This picture is of my hubby and his friends. He is the one on the left.

I bet you didn't know what a special day this is. Today is my hubby's birthday. There are so many reasons why he is awesome and I am so lucky to have such a great handsome goodlooking guy as mine.
He is committed, fun to be with, humorous, and he can do anything.
I am continually amazed at how great he does everything. I am so lucky to have him as my best friend and my boyfriend, husband. He is the best and most of all he puts up with me. He supports me in EVERYTHING that I do including when I went on a diet this year. He is quite a talker. If you get him going, he will definitely talk your ear off.

Thanks Mike for being you and for all you do. You are the greatest.

My Linsey Lou...

About 21 years ago, I had one of the greatest experiences of my life. I just can't believe that it has really been that long. I had my first daughter, Karrilyn. I was so thrilled and she was definitely spoiled. She was the first child for us and she was also the first grandchild on both sides of the family. She had aunts and uncles that just adored her. There was never a time that there wasn't someone that wanted to babysit her for us.

I remember that special day like it was yesterday. I had waited my whole life to be a mom and I was so scared but so excited. I ended up having Karrilyn early and I also had her C section. That was very scary for me and then Karrilyn was very little. As a first time mom, I was a little too worried about doing something wrong because she was so small. She was SO beautiful and through the years my love for her has grown and grown as much as her beauty. She has grown into a beautiful young lady not only on the outside but even more so on the inside. Any one that knows Karrilyn can tell you how great she is just by being around her they know.
I feel so blessed to be her mother, even though she has been the one that has taught me so much through the years. Some day she will be a great mother to her own children.

Karrilyn has many nicknames. We call her Linsey Lou, Camel, Sissy, and many others. I feel so lucky that we still have her living at home with us. She is going to college and also working.

Any time that I ask her to do ANYTHING for me she never complains. She is always willing to give of anything asked of her. She is so generous and loving. She keeps us all smiling with her fun loving way.

She has many great talents. She loves to swim, teach children, listen, serve others, make us laugh, but most of all she treats everyone great and wonderful. Happy Birthday Karrilyn. I hope your day was as great as you have made my life.

Week full of Fun, Fun, Fun...

I know it has taken me forever to update my blog. I can't believe how crazy Summer gets especially when you go on vacation and then have three birthdays in one week.

Our trip to Disneyland was great. It was quite an adventure. We had planned on going to the beach but we ended up having some car trouble so we played at the hotel one day and went to see "Night at the Museum" at Downtown Disney. What a great theater. We did get our vehicle fixed and so we were ready for Six Flags in California on Tuesday. If you don't know what Six Flags is it is pretty much a theme park with any kind of roller coaster that there is possible.

A picture of my kids in front of the old western town in Six Flags. It was a blast but quite busy. We did do a lot of walking but it was fun. I must be getting older because some of the rides were a little too much for me, but you do what you need to do.

On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we went to Disneyland. We were withing walking distance from Disneyland, well I guess one mile counts as walking distance. We walked to Disneyland, walked home for lunch and walked back and then back for dinner each night. We also walked all over California Adventure Park and Disneyland Park. What a lot of walking!!! I guess that helps with all of the treats that you eat on vacation, right??? Our feet were quite tired each night and ready for a rest.

It just isn't Disneyland without going and seeing some of the Disney characters and getting pictures with them even if you have to stay in line.

One of our traditions at Disneyland is to go and get ice cream for one of our meals, quite expensive but very worth it. We don't buy very much food at Disneyland but we just can't pass the ice cream and the homemade fudge down.

Standing in line to see Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse is just one of the parts about Disneyland that is necessary. My husband noticed right away that Minnie had her hand on his shoulder and was wondering if Mickey would be jealous.

One of our favorite rides was the Haunted Hotel ride. It is quite a ride. I think that we went on it about at least six times in the three days that we were there.

This is a picture of us waiting inside of the Haunted Hotel for our turn. You already knew we were a little scary but now you know that we can be even more scary.

This is us waiting for Pirates of the Caribbean. My husband is above us on a bridge taking the picture.

The flowers were just beautiful there in California, we just had to take a few pictures of them.

This is the last night. We stayed at Disneyland until about 12 am. It was fun but really started getting crowded on that night. The lines were a lot longer. Some of our most favorite rides at Disneyland would have to be the Matterhorn, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Haunted Hotel ride, Space Tours, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Screamer, Woody's Round Up and Soaring over California.

What a week of fun. I thoroughly enjoyed spending the whole week with my hubby and my wonderful kids. They are all so busy so to spend a week with not outside interruptions was great. It was truly like a fairytale and I will always cherish this great trip. We had so much fun and everyone enjoyed everyone's company without arguing or complaining. Thanks Kids, you guys are great and thanks Mike, you always make it the best and spoil all of us.

I'm Back!!!

Yes, I am finally back from vacation to Disneyland and Six Flags in California. It was great. I will post pictures real soon and tell you all about it. We just arrived home last night. My oldest daughter turns 21 tomorrow. My husband has his birthday next Sunday, so as you can imagine it is crazy around here.

Grades are in- I don't know if any of you have been wondering but we did receive our grades. My son did real well with it being his first year in college. My daughter passed her Math class. We are all so happy. This is the second time for her to take the class and she passed with a B+. We still need to celebrate. I made the Deans List again and was very happy about that.

PLT test results- Some of you may remember me complaining about taking a test a couple of months ago that took forever, well I finally received my scores from it. It is a test that is required for me to pass to become a teacher. I PASSED!!!!! I was ecstatic to find out that I passed and did quite good on it. SO HAPPY to not have to take it again.

My Student teaching Placement- Some of you also asked me to let you know when I received my placement for student teaching in the Fall. I finally did. I will be student teaching out at the Enoch Elementary school. I will be student teaching in first grade and then in fourth grade. I was a little unhappy because I asked for Iron Springs Elementary and didn't get that school and now I am quite concerned about having enough cars for all of my kids to get to school and home again. I just hope it all works out. I am very excited to student teach and think it will be great to learn about first grade and fourth grade. More Adventure!!!

I will soon post pictures and information about our Disneyland Adventure of 2009

I can't believe he is so big!!!

This week, I have been remembering when my kids were little and some of the memories that we have had through the years. This is my little AJ. Isn't he the cutest?

As I was thinking about him, I was remembering the day that he scared me to death. My husband was gone to drill and AJ was about 10-12 months old. I heard him scream and went and checked on him and decided to bring him back into my bed with me. After he had been in the bed with me for a little while, he quit breathing. I didn't know what to do or what was wrong with him. I screamed for help, but there was no one to help me. I remembered the CPR class that I had just taken a couple of weeks earlier and tried to focus on what to do. By this time he was starting to turn blue. I started to give him mouth to mouth. I was able to remember what needed to be done and he finally started to breathe again, even though it seemed like and eternity. He was so limp and lethargic and this scared me too. I called my husband and wasn't able to get a hold of him but told them to tell him to meet me at the emergency room and that it was an emergency.

At this point, my husband was very shook up and came home and picked up my oldest daughter and took her with him. He felt like he wanted to be with someone if it was very bad.
They ended up not being able to find out what the problem was and sent us home after some tests.

There is no way to tell you how hard this was on me. For a couple of months afterwards, I continued to have nightmares that he died. It was awful. When you think that you have almost lost a child, it is the hardest thing you could imagine.

One of the hardest thing about this experience is that it happened a couple of more times before they found out what was wrong with him. He ended up having seizures and would quite breathing. They put him on medicine and after about three years he grew out of it.

Any time a mother goes through something like this with her child, she grows so close to them. I was worried every second. AJ is such a very special young man and we are so blessed to have him and we feel so lucky. Anyone that knows him will agree with me, there is just something very special about him.

Just a pair of shoes

During this school year I was in a class where we were required to write about a pair of shoes that we have had through the years. We had to let someone else read it and draw a picture of how they think the shoes actually looked. It was quite interesting. I have always enjoyed writing, but I know that I am not in any means a writer but I have had a few people say how much they enjoyed this paper.
I thought I would share it with you.

You could say that I am a pair of shoes, but not just any pair of shoes. I am a very sturdy pair of white with orange striping on them. I am the best pair of running shoes that you could want. Brand is always important especially when you are a running shoe and my brand is Asics. I am a very comfortable pair of running shoes that just never quits going. My soles are so worn that there is not much traction left. I am definitely not as nice looking as I have been in the years past, but I guess that is good because that means I have been used and loved.

In the past few years, my life has been very exciting and eventful. There are many days when I just think I can’t go on, but I am made for what I do so at least I am being used. Each morning as the sun rises, my owner gathers me out of her closet and begins to put me on her feet. She grabs her jacket, her heart monitor, and a drink of water and we are off. At first we would just walk and walk and walk, but as my life has gone on, things have drastically changed. I thought 4 miles of walking was plenty, but we were up to running nine miles before I knew it. It is not as easy as it looks to be a pair of shoes and carry around a human and try to give them the comfort and protection that they need. I am always excited when we get to the end of the nine miles, because we really start to slow down and then we walk. I am pretty tuckered out by then. We have covered a lot of territory the two of us, but I was to the point where I knew that I had been overused.

What am I supposed to do? I decided there was nothing else to do. I had to let her know that she needed a new pair of shoes, so I began to crunch up on her toes and she began to get blisters and she even lost her big toenail. Ouch!!! I know, but finally it did work and now I am left to rest in the closet and I am only used every once in a while. She finally gave in and bought a new pair. I know they probably aren’t as good as me, but they will have to work.

Where all dreams come true

We are so excited for this week to come. We have had reservations for a couple of months now to take our kids and go to Disneyland. We weren't going to go this year and go somewhere else but we have received a great deal because my husband is in the military. (one we can't refuse)
We all need a break and a vacation. That song " I Need a Vacation" comes to my mind.

We are planning on going to the beach, the Newport Beach temple and Disneyland for three days. My kids are getting older and I thought that they wouldn't be as excited to go but they just love Disneyland or any theme park for that matter, so they are quite excited. We are driving which won't be as fun as flying but we can get there in about 7 hours, so that isn't too bad.

I am going to need to get some healthy snacks, because we usually have junk food on these trips and I don't want to gain back the weight that I have just lost. I usually makes cookies, buy chips and drinks, but I am not planning on doing that. It will be hard to eat like I have been doing so if any of you have ideas, let me know. It is always hard to watch what you are eating when you are on vacation, because you should be able to splurge, right???
Have you been to Disneyland or Disney World?? What is your favorite part or favorite ride?
Like my kids say" I'm going to Disneyland."

Being a Mom

I guess with this week being Mother's day and everything I have thought a lot about this job that I have had for the last 21 years, the job of being a mom.

Do you ever wonder if you are doing what you should be as a mother? No stress or anything, it is just up to you if you have taught them what you need to so that they are good citizens and do something amazing with their life. On top of that, as a mother in the gospel, there seems to be more stress about it. These questions come to my mind. Will my sons go on a mission? Will my daughters be married in the temple? With the worldly temptations overcome any of my children and lead them astray? Have I taught them enough to overcome all of the problems that will face them in life? Do they feel loved and cherished and do they treat others with respect?

I can't imagine not being a mother, but it is such a load to carry. My kids are such good kids, but that doesn't mean that they won't make wrong choices in the future that might be detrimental to their lives.

I know, I know, you are saying you have to let them make their own choices and learn their own lessons, but do you know how hard it is to do that when you want them to be happy and make the important right choices. I am amazed at the great wonderful mothers out there that have many, many children and still seem to have a great grip on being a great mother.

I was telling my older kids today, that my paycheck has been my children and the lives that they lead. We all know that " there is no greater work that can be done than within the walls of our own homes."

One thing for sure is that being a mother sure makes me appreciate my mother that much more and all that we put her through while we were growing up. I guess it is a good thing that we have mothers, but it is sure hard some times to be one and be the kind that we need to be for our children.

Lilacs

As a child, I remember going to my grandma's house and I just loved her yard. She always had so many pretty flowers that smelled so wonderful. I think the thing that I loved the most were here lilac bushes. There is nothing quite like the smell of lilacs. Whenever I smell the lilac smell, I think of my grandma. No wonder my mom loves flowers like she does.
I am so excited to say that this year we went and bought us some lilac bushes. I hope they grow and actually some day blossom. I would love to have lilacs for my family to enjoy and to remember.
Does anyone know if there are any tricks to getting them to grow and do well???

My Mom

Everything I am, I owe to my angel mother.
By Abraham Lincoln.

All day long I have been thinking about my mom. How do you express a feeling so deep? I am very thankful for my mom. When I heard this quote, I loved it because I definitely owe everything I am to my Angel Mother.

I remember when I was a child, my mom's health wasn't the best and I remember thinking how can she be so patient. Even though she was not feeling well she never complained and always kept going and going. There are so many things that she has taught me. I think the best way is to list some of them.

1. My mom taught me patience.

2. My mom taught me to endure life.

3. My mom taught me to never complain.

4. My mom taught me to have faith in my Savior Jesus Christ and to pray to my Heavenly Father.

5. My mother taught me that I was never alone.

6. My mom taught me how to work.

7. My mom taught me how to clean and do laundry.

8. My mom taught me to love the outdoors and especially her love for Yellowstone.

9. My mom taught me the unconditional love that a person has for their child.

10. My mom taught me that I can do anything.

11. My mom taught me to love flowers, flowers, flowers.

12. My mom taught me the great joy of storytelling to children.

13. My mom instilled in me the great love for brand new babies.

14. My mom taught me how to be a mother and listen but how to be a friend and love no matter what.

15. She taught me to enjoy every minute of each day.

16. She showed me the greatest love that you can have is by serving your own family.

The list goes on and on.

My mom has helped to mold me to who I am today. I can never repay her for the many lessons she has taught me, and the greatest gift that she taught me about which is the love for my Savior. Thanks MOM!!! I love you!!!

Yummy Cookies!!!

I know I have been complaining about being on a diet but that doesn't mean that the rest of you are. I have a recipe for cookies that are to die for. My friend gave me this recipe and they are wonderful. I hope you enjoy!!

Orlas Cookies

Ingredients: 3 eggs- Beat until frothy then add the following:
2 cups white sugar
2 cups brown sugar
1 lb butter or margarine
2 tsp vanilla

Measure the following dry ingredients and add to the wet batch above:
6 cups flour
1- 1/2 tsp baking soda
1- 1/2 tsp salt
1- 1/2 bags (12 oz) chocolate chips or more if desired
2 cups walnuts
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. These cookies are usually made huge, but you can make them what ever size you want to. They make quite a few cookies so you might want to freeze some of them.

Enjoy!!!

Important to teach our Kids

As early as I can remember as a child, my parents especially my dad taught me to help others by his example. I remember him picking up hitchhikers when we were in the car with him. That was very scary to me. I remember him stopping to help people that their car had broke down on the freeway. I remember him stopping what he was doing to fix someone else's car so they wouldn't be stranded. I think because of this I have always loved to help others.

How important is it that we teach our children service when they are young???? I think it is very important. I remember when my kids were very little and one of them had a friend that had just received an operation and we went to the store and bought the friend something cold and sweet to eat and took it to him. I remember my child telling me, " Mom, that was fun, that felt good." I have always tried to teach my kids that service is important and that it makes us feel good.

Last night I was able to go and visit a sister in my neighborhood and help her in her yard. She is not able to walk around very much and can't do much for herself. I took my youngest daughter with me to help also. We didn't do a whole lot for this sweet lady but she sure thought that we did and it was great for my daughter to see the great blessings of serving others. When it came time to leave, she insisted in paying my daughter and we tried to talk her out of it. I think it is great for my kids to do service without rewards and without pay, but she insisted.

It is amazing when you fill your heart with love for others and are willing to help those that can't help themselves how great it makes you feel. You think that you are serving and in return you gain so much more. I hope that these experiences will help to shape my children, like those that my dad used to give me when I was young.

It is not only great to serve but we need to remind those that we serve that it is important that they let others serve them too. I think this is the hardest part is letting others serve us.

Six Weeks

I can't believe that I actually accomplished this diet that I have been on. Ok, you are probably sick of hearing about it but this is my blog so if it bores you I am sorry.

The last six weeks I have been on an intense diet as many of you know. I am finally off of stabilization, which means I can start eating a little more normal unless I want to continue to lose, which would be nice, but.... I guess I will see. In the last six weeks I have not had any treats. Any one that knows me knows that is hard for me, even when I am dieting usually I can have a diet drink or have some small kind of treat but I didn't splurge once. What an accomplishment.

Any of you that are on a diet or a new way of life change in your eating, GREAT. Good job. It is hard but I feel so much healthier. I have finally been able to exercise again, which is truly my LIFE, but because of my back it has been set back for a while. This is exciting for me. I am starting to do weights just today. I hope it makes a difference.

Do any of you add weights or strengthening to your exercise and have you seen a difference???? I guess this is one of my trials in life is to have to watch my weight my entire life, but at least it makes me be more careful than if I could eat anything that I want.

I hope you all are enjoying the great weather. I just can't stay inside. I am always outside walking, walking, walking.

Why is it so hard to say "NO"?

As a parent there are times when you just have to say those words," NO". Some of those times are when they are little and they want more and more cookies, or they try to get out of their car seat or they are running around the house with a pair of scissors, or trying to cross the road without watching for cars. " NO, NO, NO".

Through the years there are so many reasons that these words have to be said. As my kids get older and older some times I can't see the reason and they can't see the reason why but I just feel like the answer is " NO". It is so hard to tell a teen that always does what they are supposed to do and never gets into trouble that the answer is " NO". This happened to me lately and many times actually but just lately, one of my teenagers wanted to do something with their friends and I just knew the answer was " NO", but more than anything I wanted to say " YES". He is such a good kid and he should have this freedom. He was very disappointed and that makes it even harder for me.

I will never know why I felt like " NO" was the right answer but maybe that is good that I never had to find out. I just hope that some day he realizes that it is just because of love for him that those words were said.

Some day maybe when he has children of his own, he will understand but for now he just has to trust that we are the parents right now, even though this job is not fun at times. I must say that I am so LUCKY to have the best kids that have grown up to be wonderful teenagers.

I'm Done !!!!

I can say I am really done with school now. All I have left is student teaching and I will be doing that in the Fall. I am so excited. It was very sad to say good bye to all of my friends but I am so happy to have some time to me and my family.
They probably think that I have abandoned them for the last three years. There is so much going on in my family life that it will be nice to focus on that instead of worrying about school too.
I am hoping that I will get my placement for student teaching next week. That will be exciting.

Three of my kids also had finals this week, so I am hoping that they all passed. We will all be very thankful that we are done for school until Fall.

Three and a half hours of what????

I just finished my last test that I am going to have to take to qualify for teaching other than my finals this week. This test is called the PLT. It is basically about Principles, Learning and Teaching children. There were about 15 case study questions that I had to write about each one of them according to the questions and 24 multiple choice questions. It took forever. It is so frustrating when it takes them four tries just to hand out the testing booklets.

I HATE TESTS!!!!!!!! At least I finished, some of the students didn't get finished. I hope I passed so I don't have to take it again. I hope you are all crossing your fingers that I pass. It is so nice to have one more thing behind me. Angela also had to take the ACT about four weeks ago because if she passed with a certain score she could start to take college classes and she did. She received a 23, which I think is pretty good for a Freshman in High School. Congrats Ang.

I can't believe my Summer is right around the corner.
I wish I had more Summer fun trips planned. Any ideas????

My Life is so Crazy

My life has been so crazy lately that I haven't had much time to blog. There are days that I just wish that life would go away because life is so stressful, but there are days when I am loving every minute of it. I can't believe that today was my last actual day of regular class in the block(which is filled with intense classes all about teaching) I will be very excited to be done for Summer until Fall when I do student teaching, but I will really miss some of my friends that I have spent every day all day long with for all semester. Tomorrow we will be doing mock interviews so that we can find out what it is like to have an interview for a teaching job. Next week we will be doing our finals and having a party, and then it is all over.

Last weekend was very eventful for me and my family, but I have been so stressed about life that I haven't had a chance to blog about one more fun event in my weekend. I was able to go to my first meet and greet blogging lunch. Susette happened to be down this way for a vacation and blogged a couple of us and we met at Costa Vida. I have been friends with her for quite a while through blogging and was so excited to actually see her. She is just as wonderful in person as in the blogging world. Lara and Erin also came to the lunch. I have been friends with Lara in person for quite a while. She is so talented and so fun to be around. I happened to be lucky enough to already meet Erin. She came over one night and brought me some treats that I had blogged about. It was awesome. She is so fun to visit with. She has such a fun personality. We all gabbed for quite a while.
I love to blog but it is always a treat when I can meet such great people in person. I hope we can do it again soon, if not down here up north if we happen to be up that way.
Thanks to all of my blogging friends. You are awesome.

5K Fun Run with the whole family

I know I can't believe it either, a blog post two days in a row. If you haven't checked out my last post make sure to scroll down and check it out!!!

Saturday was a day of many fun events. We started out the day with all of us running in the SUU ROTC 5 K fun run. It was quite cold but it was fun. I took a picture of my kids all being quite funny, you can tell they aren't very warm.


This is a picture of all of us after the run. I look a little more of a red head here than my last post. I am truly a red head but do have some blonde highlights. My kids all did great on the 5K. Todd placed first in his division, AJ and Angela placed third and Mike placed second. They all did great. I think I placed fourth but not sure.
This has become a tradition for us each year to all of us run this race.

Questions to be answered
Some of you have commented about my husband's retirement and what our life will be like after that, so I thought I would clarify a little.
1. He doesn't retire until December, he just happened to speak at the dining out and they thought it was a great time to award him with some awards.
2. He definitely needs to get a job after that. He has his masters in business so we are hoping he can find something.
Thanks for all of your COMMENTS!!!

Special Night

This week has been a week of many special occasions for us. We have been very busy. On Thursday night , we went to the military awards formal banquet. My husband was the speaker for the evening. It is always fun to go to these because they are formal and it is fun to get all dressed up.
My husband is retiring this year and so they wanted him to speak. He did a terrific job. He is so talented. The students presented him with a flag that they all signed and one of them drew a portrait of him. I think they did a tremendous job. I was amazed how many students came up to him afterwards to tell him how great of an instructor he is and how much they will miss him. Everyone wanted a picture with him. Well, I can understand that.

I asked someone else that was there that night if they would take a picture of us together. I just love it with the big flag in the background. I am so proud of my husband, he is truly an instructor to be admired.

I know, many of you probably are saying that looks like the picture of you from last winter, but it is of this year's special night. I look a little different but not much. I just love the opportunity to dress up and spend a special night with my hubby. What a night to remember always.