Tis The Season...

This year has been difficult so we (I) am working at remembering all that there is to be thankful for and all of the many blessings we have received this year. Sometimes when you walk through dark valleys you need to remember that you have a vast beautiful sky above to enjoy. We have faced several trials this year that have really caused me to stop and think about who I am and the example I want to set for those around me I need to remember that sometimes it's not those standing in front of you that are looking the closest it's those that are 3 rows back that may be looking closest at you. I am very thankful for the many thoughts and prayers that have blessed our family. This has been a time for me to realize that sometimes life is not what we have planned and we have to be willing to bend. I have decided to sing in the choir for Christmas.This is way out of my comfort zone but I am enjoying being with my girls and we won't tell the director that Karen and I are goofing around more than we are singing. There is something to be said about the opportunity to sing with someone you grew up with. This year I'm more tired than I have been in a long time, I am more frustrated than I want to be with my life situation BUT I know that I am the one who controls my happiness and I will continue to look to the little things in life to keep me smiling. Sometimes those little things are what keep our faith in mankind. Thank you everyone for all of the many ways you bless my life!

Dragonfly Lampworks: December Giveaway

Dragonfly Lampworks: December Giveaway: "The December Giveaway is a fine silver pendant named 'Flutterbye'. I realize that many of my readers do not bead, so I wanted to change thin..."

To Be Grateful....

I have avoided the posting of a month of Gratitude. Really, I have avoided most of the things that I usually enjoy regarding the giving of thanks this time of year. We have been through a lot over the last several months and we aren't finished with the journey yet. Then, the other day at work we were told of the passing of a spouse of a coworker, then my parents neighbors house burned down. OK I get it...We are all well, there is a roof over our head, food in the fridge and it is by choice that we haven't yet turned on the furnace. We have been very blessed that with everything we have journeyed through we have what we have and have been very blessed to have our family and friends support. Christmas is coming and I can't stop it, so as they say, if you can't beat em, join em! The Christmas carols are being prepared for the Singles Ward so we are fortunate to have their Music Chairperson as our child so we enjoyed the beginnings of the carols today. Sometimes after you have lost so many people in a short time it is bittersweet to celebrate this holiday season. So, we have a few tears mixed in with our smiles and giggles. It is such a special time of year how can you not get caught up in the wonderfulness of it all. We took family pics at the park today. This is one of 450 or so. I think we all have posted a few on Facebook....

The passing of another season...

With the onset of October it's time to mourn the passing of our summer. The big problem with this is that most of the week the weather has teetered right around 100. In fact, recently we had a day that reached 113. If you weren't here let me tell you know, I NEVER want to do that again. OK so the weather doesn't feel very fall like. But, we are are going to deal with fall in 90 degree weather and hope it ends soon. I spent my summer working full time, Mike spent his looking for a job, and the girls, well, they swam at mom's, went to the fair, several trips to Knott's, went to the beach, enjoyed camp, welcomed a new set of twins to the family and tried to avoid the heat. I am hoping our fall with pass without a death in the family,at my house I'm hoping for a lot but that will be posted another time. I hope we all have a fall full of cool days, colorful fall leaves, lots of apple cider and maybe, if we are lucky, some decent football. Enjoy!:)

I just don't like Mondays....

Well, it happened. The answer to all we have been waiting on and it wasn't what we wanted. There will be no new job, no opportunity to move, no packing up and hauling our lives back to where we wanted to be, no new adventure for us all. I was hoping to quit my job and help my body get healthy. Instead, we press forward and try not to be too depressed. But, for today we will be sad and hope a change comes...quickly PLEASE.

Where have I been?!?

I started this blog to post about our daily goings on at our house. The intention was that I would post the good, the bad and every thing in between. Well, after my last post things at our house became sort of undone. It is fair to say we had a rough year or so. That said I will do my best to explain. You see, sometimes we get tangled into our daily life and it overwhelms us and keeps us so consumed we don't get much else done. Since I posted last we lost several family members. We lost some to illness and some to old ago. We lost 11 relatives, including aunts, uncles, Mike's great grandmother and most difficultly we lost Mike's dad to a very long, very tough battle with cancer. While all of this has been going on we have also dealt with medical issues and Mike's unemployment. But, funny thing that unemployment, I have come to see it as something of a blessing during his dad's illness. It enabled him to be able to take care of his parents, assisting with doctors appointments, finish projects, and really anything that they thought might need to be done. So, at this point we are working to pick ourselves up and get ourselves back on track. We are thinking that it is time for things to change, good things to come around. I can only hope that is what sets on our horizon. But, I would be remiss to not say, THANK YOU!! Thank you everyone for your kinds words and deeds through this hard time for us. We love you all and think of you all often.

Now, I plan to pick my blog up, dust it off, and get my self back to posting. Jen

Reasons to be thankful....

These last few weeks have been trying for me. I have struggled with children trying to overcome the sadness of the anniversary of the death of a favorite relative. I have worked at helping her to focus on the memories of good times together, like family dinners at a favorite restaurant; holidays eating everyone's best dishes; knowing that when we lived far away there was a phone call from them every holiday and sometimes just because. This has been just one of several but it is the one I want to succeed at the most. I am working at staying healthy. This isn't going as well as I would like but a trip to the Dr midweek this week should help us continue in a productive direction. There is always the struggle of unemployment. But, today I was speaking to someone on the phone who was sharing with me her frustrations and struggles in life. Then she said it, she shared with me that she is 80 and trying to raise a teenager left in her care. Thank you Heavenly Father for giving me my children to raise when I was young!!! Maybe I CAN handle the things placed before me. I am finding that when we think we are overwhelmed we seem to be shown the way to find the little extra we need to carry on. THANK YOU! So, I love my girls, they exhaust me and today I am sore and tired and feeling a little overwhelmed but I am 1/2 the age of some that are raising kids the age of mine. I think I am going to make it just fine. By the way, this time last year Catie had her hip surgery, this year she has the ok to begin running again. Something we thought may never happen. Yeah Catie!! I hope you have a great week. Jen