Today Started with This...

This is Olivia's inner thigh.  At some point yesterday she got a bite of some sort and by this morning it was big, red, puffy and starting to streak. I called the clinic, took her in, and now she is on antibiotics to get rid of the infection from the bite.  After I dropped her off at school I came home to do my workout only to discover that the new flatscreen TV/DVD I got Michael for Valentine's Day had a DVD stuck in it and I couldn't get it out.  I took the TV off the wall and started taking it apart.  Half way through I wondered what in the heck I was doing that for (as if I would know what to do once I had it all apart) so I put it back together and hung it back on the wall.  I finally finished working out at 4:45 this afternoon.  Tonight Makenna had dance at 6:30 and Maddi had soccer at the same time.  I rushed the kids out the door and locked it behind me only to realize I had left the keys on the kitchen table.  It was coldish outside, we only had on sweatshirts if that much and I couldn't even turn on the car to keep the kids warm while I figured out how to break into the house.  I finally got the screen pulled off the living room window and managed to slide both windows open enough to stick Dillon through the opening so he could get the door unlocked for me.  My fingers were frozen but we managed to get everywhere on time.  Unfortunately though, we now have another thing to add to our fix-it list.  Tomorrow's a new day right?

We Got Mail!!

Yesterday , much to our delight, we got a surprise package in the mail.

It was from one of our most favorite families in the world!  The kids were so excited when they saw who it was from.  They especially liked all the stamps on it :)  It was filled with t-shirts, socks, gloves, treats, water bottles (my kids' favorite thing) and letters. It was so fun!  We are all wearing our new shirts today, the kids all took their new water bottles to school and I stole all the snickers out of everyone's treats!  A mom's got to have her survival kit ready - diet Dr. Pepper and chocolate!  It's so nice to know that even though we are miles apart, we are still the best of friends and we are still always on each others minds and in each others hearts!  We love you Olsens!

Twins

Olivia discovered the other day that she and I both have purple striped shirts.  She has been waiting for just the right day for us to wear them and be twins.  Today was the day!  We both had to wear our shirts, blue jeans and flip flops.  We went to lunch together to McDonalds and then went and did our shopping.  We even had a little girl comment to us about our matching shirts and that she and her mom had four matching shirts!  As we were walking through Walmart, she had to hold my hand as we walked and help me push the cart and sing about us being twins, holding hands and shopping.  She got concerned when I changed into my workout clothes that I wasn't going to match any more so I took a picture so she could see it when ever she wanted!  We also took a picture with my phone so we could send it to Daddy so he could see how pretty we were together today :)  She is such a cutie!

Fun Times

Okay, this will be a fun blog - I promise!  With pictures.  I have been slow with the pictures because my beautiful laptop that I got for Christmas crashed.  It is now in the process of being fixed but is taking forever (had to ship it off).  So I finally downloaded all my pictures to my desktop so I could post them.  Olivia is at a friends this morning so I have some quiet time to post.  Valentine's Day has come and gone.  I posted about our countdown we were doing.  The kids loved that and despite the melted ending, they want to do it again next year!  One of their favorite things we did was make ladybug pretzels.  It was an idea we found on Pinterest, my new favorite website.  I dipped the pretzels and the kids decorated them. Then we all ate them!

I think we ended up making these 3 or 4 times throughout the Valentine season.  Makenna even took some to school for her class party.

We've also had crazy days at school.  I only got pictures on the first day - crazy hair and clothes day.  The kids always love dressing up for school.  One day was crazy sock day. Maddi, who is not in elementary school any more, was feeling left out so she wore crazy socks to her school that day too.

We also got new carpet in the basement so I have been able to start organizing that which I have enjoyed. Pictures will follow when I get them taken. Dillon helped Spencer coach soccer and thought that was fun. we enjoyed getting to watch Braden play. Maddi started playing soccer last week so we will get to go watch more soccer in the coming weeks. Makenna is in the High School play "The King and I". She'll have her performances at the end of the month.  We got to see Braden, my nephew, get baptized and spend the day with him and his family. My sister, Sarah, and her family came up for the weekend so we had even more cousins to play with.  Baseball season is right around the corner.  I got the four little ones signed up for that and Maddi has decided to play softball this year so I signed her up for that.  Zane and Dillon have already gone to their first baseball clinic.  Makenna and Olivia have had several dance shows.  I love watching them do their thing!  They both love it!  We got a new dog named Max.  He is a Golden Retriever.  He's a little crazy right now because he has been ignored for the last three years of his life (his only three years) but he will be a good dog.  His energy makes Olivia and Zeke nervous but when he is settled down they love to pet him.  Zane loves to go in the back yard and play fetch with him and they all enjoy taking both dogs for walks.  I even get to take Max with me when I go out running. 

Anyways, that has been our life for the last little while.  Always crazy busy, don't think that will change :)  

Testimonies

Today was testimony meeting at church. The first Sunday of each month we fast and our church meeting consists of people from the congregation getting up and bearing their testimony. Anyone can do it but no one has to do it. Today, four of my six children did. Olivia wanted to but I told her no. However, Maddi, Makenna, Zane and Zeke did. It was so sweet to hear them do that. It warmed my heart knowing that they are learning the gospel of Jesus Christ and know the importance of having Him in their lives. As a parent, I worry about all that lies ahead of them. I worry if they will have the strength to stand strong and make good choices. Times like today, when I hear them speak of their testimonies, calms me and helps me know they are headed in the right direction.

Lunch Date And More

I posted yesterday that I was going to find one thing each day that was positive to help me get through this time. Today I had several. One was a lunch date with a good friend. We got to sit and talk for an hour. It was nice to have that time to talk and laugh. Another thing was the several phone calls I got from Michael today. I love hearing his voice and getting his calls. Another was time with family. My sister and her family, my brother and his family, my other brother and my parents. I love watching the kids play and I love talking with them and teasing. Another was getting Olivia and Makenna all dressed up for their dance show. They get so excited for it and Olivia loves the fact that she gets to wear make up. Also the random hugs from Dillon and the kisses from Olivia. Those always make my day!

One A Day

It's been a while since I blogged. Things have been crazy here. When Michael has his week off, I try to spend every waking minute with him. When he's gone, all the responsibilities fall on me. He is gone now. He started his two week shift in North Dakota. That is where he will be working now for quite some time. He flew out Sunday night. I am not excited to say the least. Neither is he or the kids. It is hard to be doing all this by myself. Sometimes the days get so overwhelming. At night I just sink down and turn off because I am so emotionally, mentally and physically spent. Kids take a lot out of me! I have a new and great respect for single parents! At least I know that I have my partner one in every three weeks! While that's not a lot, it's more than a lot of people have. I have decided since I am struggling right now that I need to focus differently. If I don't I will turn into a depressed mess and feed off diet Dr. Pepper and Cadbury Mini Eggs! So, each day, no matter how stressful the day, I will find one positive thing. If I am looking for the positive, maybe the negative will not consume me. Today my positive was my brother Spencer and his wife Kimberly. They must have known I had had a day! Around 7pm this evening I got a text from them inviting me and the kids over to their house to visit and make no bake cookies. One of the hardest things of Michael being gone is having no one to talk to. Even when he does call, the reception is not good from his room and we have a hard time having a conversation. It gets very lonely. Being able to go there and have some one to talk to was just what I needed. No bake cookies are my favorite so that was a delicious added bonus! I am so glad they are here and that I have them for not only family but friends. It was such a good way to end the day!

Happy Love Day!

My love day went something like this...get kids to school, go shopping, eat lunch with Michael, pick up Olivia go to four different Valentine parties, eat part of a banan split, the last half of a sucker, a sugar cookie, part of a sundae and some bean dip, come home and clean, go for a walk with Jack and the kids, forget to give a message to one child, melt the frosting, cupcake holders & cake mis when I turned on the oven and forgot they were in there (I had hidden them for our last Valentine Day countdown), forget to take Zane to scouts, clean some more, make supper, have a child ask why I never do the dishes anymore, help Olivia write her numbers, make almond bark pretzels since I melted the kids valentine treat, watch my laptop crash and get ready for bed. Do you feel the love?! There's always tomorrow right? It's really not all that bad. The sun was out, I got a date for lunch and I ate a lot of sugar and there's leftover almond bark pretzels for tomorrow! Happy Love Day to you all!

Countdown to Valentine's Day

Ok, I saw this really cute idea on HowDoesShe.com for a countdown to Valentine's Day.


Which they got from the website on the picture.  I was wanting to do something fun for and with the children so I decided to try this.  I made something very simialr to this and hung it in our living room.  Each day I put a little note in the tin for the day and it gives clues of where to find their treausre for the day.  It's just simple little things - a candy, cookie makings, gum - things like that.  I wasn't sure how they would respond to it but they love it!  Each day they can't wait to find out what I have hidden for them.  It adds a little fun to an otherwise ordinary day.  I love to do it beacuse I love to see their faces light up and see their excitement.  It has turned out to be a really fun thing and I am sure we will make it a tradition in our house each year!

Tears of a Child, Prayers of a Child

I know I promised a not so heavy post next time I blogged.  Sorry, I guess I lied :)  However, this really touched me today and I wanted to share it.  This week Monday meant Michael going back to work for two weeks.  When the kids left for school that morning he told them he probably wouldn't see them until Saturday morning.  This is his shift to work nights so he gets home after they go to school and leaves before they get home.  I noticed as the week progressed, my usually happy Dillon came home not so happy.  He was grumpy and seemed quite upset.  I asked him about it yesterday and all he would say is that nothing was wrong with him.  I tried to pry, but got no further.  This morning Michael got home late so he didn't have to clock in until later.  He was able to be home when the kids got home from school.  As soon as Dillon opened the door I could tell that he was still upset.  I said something to him and got the same repsonse.  Michael picked him up and started teasing him which brought giggles.  When Michael left I had the kids start their reading.  Dillon was again upset.  This time I sat down next to him and talked to him until I found out what was bothering him.  He was upset because Michael was gone.  He has mentioned before that he wishes Daddy didn't have to work at nights so he could be home but I have never seen it bother him so much.  Watching the tears roll down his face was so hard.  He holds such a tender place in my heart.  For those of you that know him, you know how sweet he is yet at the same time he is tough and never lets people see him cry - even if it hurts really bad.  To watch him cry hurt me really bad.  We have talked about this job that Michael has applied for and while the kids don't want to move, they all want Michael to be able to be home more.  They know that this job would allow that.  Anyways, tonight Dillon said the family prayer before bed.  In his prayer he asked Heavenly Father to help Daddy with the job in South Dakota.  To me, the prayer of a child can be just as powerful as the tears of a child.  Dillon's tears tore me to the very core, his prayer warmed me to the core.  Partly because I know of his desire to be with Daddy.  Partly because children pray with such faith.  I can't help but believe that our Heavenly Father is affected in the same way.  I know He feels Dillon's pain and I know He hears his prayers.  I know He is aware of Dillon's faith and I know He will respond accordingly.  I'm not saying that this job is going to be the answer to our situation, but I know He does have an answer and He will bless us according to our faith.  I hope that my tears can be as sincere as Dillon's and that my faith can be as pure.