I know I'm in blog entry overload right now, but ray-ray came home with her creation so i had to sare it with everyone. the first thing she said was it was a present for me. How sweet is that ? I love this time of year and I love my kids. There is nothing better than this
So I thought I was being clever when my kids starting rattling off what they wanted for christmas and it was getting out of control. So hoping to stop the madness I told them they wouldn't get everything they wanted because "Santa" was on a budget. They said o.k. went on their merry and I thought I was in the clear . Until 2 days later my 7 year old came up to me with a handful of change and said " I found some money for santa so he can get me everything on my list.
How do you rebound from that ? Well, I don't even remember exactly what I said, but something along the lines of children are only allowed a certian alotment of toys, because there are so many children. Santa doesn't use "real" money etc, etc...... Whew! Good thing it's not bad to tell those kind of lies !
"Santa did enjoy a nice ice cold diet coke though, haha!
Merry Christmas !
Doesn't Lind-z look so grown up in her concert dress. She doesn't like the way she looks, but I think she looks beautiful. But of course I'm not biased. It was a beautiful concert. Even though we didn't get of pic of Grandpa Ralph, he was there as well and really enjoyed it as well. I love Ben's smile ! it's so contagious. I was surprised how hard it was to get everyone to smile at the same time. I love my little 7 year old diva. She always has to look just so. If you look at Bryan and Ben they smiles look alike to me. I hate to brag, but I'm going to anyway. I think I have a great looking little family. I hope everyone is having a great week.Bryan, Lindsay and I had the opportunity to go to the forgotten carols concert with my parents. I had never been to it before. What an amazing experience. The spirit of Christ and the magic of Christmas was so strong. There wasn't a dry eye in the place. The quiet reverence was so amazing. I feel really lucky that I got to offically kick off the Christmas season in such an amazing way.
We hope everyone had a good year this year. Here is a little bit of news about our family.
Bryan - Still works for Bureau of reclamation going on 10 years now. He enjoys biking when he can and when the weather permits. He keeps things running around the house. Thank goodness. It seems something always needs to be fixed. He loves to take his wife on fun dates, mostly the movies. He also helps his other family,(parents, siblings) whenever he can.
Marian - Finally got out of retail and went from part time to full time. I have to admit that took some getting used to but now I love it. I work for Developmental Center( Training school). I take care of the residents that live there. I've been there since Feb of this year. It's the first job I've ever had that I truly love. I also keep busy being a mom and a wife. That pretty much takes up the rest of my time. I do manage to squeeze in girlfriend time for my own sanity.
Lindsay - Has blossomed into a beautiful young woman. She is 13 now and in the 8th grade. She loves art and writing and is really very good at it. She is my right hand man, next to Bryan.Being the oldest, She helps out alot with babysitting, jobs around the house etc....... She also does the typical teenage stuff like hanging out with her friends and blogging.
She is the reason I got into blogging. She has a strong, independent spirit.
Ben - our little Ben, who is 9 and not so little now. He is in the 3rd grade. He is all boy. I'm pretty sure his life motto is the louder, the dirtier, the more michievious the better. He loves cars,trucks, trains, basically anything with an engine. Like father, like son. He is dad's right hand man whenever something around the house needs to be fixed. He is a bear in the Cub Scouts and seems to really enjoy that. He also loves riding his bike.
Rachel - who is 7 now and in the 2nd grade. She went from my little pink princess to a
Hannah Montana wanna - be . If you tell her she looks cute she will tell you she suppose to look cool not cute. She also loves art. Although not quite to the level Lindsay is at, she loves it. She is all girl. Much like her mom, she always wants to go shopping and she can never have to many shoes or purses( thanks Aunt Brittney). She is a great "big" sister to Ben even though she is 15 months younger. She also has an amazing, independent spirit about her. No nonsense about her.
The royal highnesses - Pugsley and Eve. Our Black and white pugs who we love. They are spoiled rotten, but are a fun part of our lives. They have the patience of Job when it comes to the kids.
We love you all and want to say "Thank You" for all your love and support you have shown our family this past year. You guys are great. We hope you have a very merry Christmas !
I'm thankful I didn't have to go anywhere for Thanksgiving. It was nice to just relax and spend time with my family.
What I'm thankful for :
1. Bryan - he will clean anything except the toilet. No complaints here
2. my kids - I love it when they come home and tell me all about their day
3. my job - as crazy as it may sound. nothing is more rewarding than being able to take care of special spirits that are unable to care for themselves.
4. friends - whoever I visit or hang out with, I'm grateful for friendship
5. movies - what a great way to escape reality
Well....... After working all night I was crazy enough to go see Twilight this morning. There seems to be alot of varied opinions already about it, good and bad. But my personal opinion is it's worth watching. I really liked it and would go see it again. The only recommendation I would make is read the book first if you haven't already. The movie will make more sense. I don't want to say anything to ruin the movie for those of you who haven't seen it. But I think it's worth the effort to go see it ! Have a great weekend !
That's right ! I was in the emergency room again this morning, YIKES!!!!!! I woke up hurting so much I thought I was going to die. I also thought I was going to have surgery to fix the problem, but after four hours of more tests and morphin. They told me my cist wasn't big enough to require surgery. Basically I have to live with it until it goes away. Which could be as long as a week. They gave me percecet this time to control the pain. Thank you doctors!!! I go to my regular doctor tomorrow to follow up and make everything is on track, whatever that means ! Anyway, thanks for listening to my complaints. I will try to write something a little more positive next time !
I have to brag........ Again......... Lind-z wrote this amazing poem when she was at church. So I wanted to share it with everyone. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.
Peaceful Rain by L.B.
Peaceful Rain, washes away my pain.
Yesterday's sorrow, won't be there tomorrow.
THunder like a drum beat, the world under my bare feet.
The wind blowing through my hair, the world so beautiful you have to stop and stare.
The small raindrops on the leaves, and the gorgous smell of the damp trees.
Lightening like golden rays, and in the nest are the scared blue jays.
Peaceful rain, it's worth sitting at your window pane.
lol
5 minute pity party.......... thursday I got a pain in my side, but I thought I just pulled a muscle because I did some furniture rearranging ( by myself because Bryan was out of town) anyway, I didn't think much of it until it started getting worse to the point I could hardly walk yesterday. Bryan insisted I go to the E.R. so I did. After about 3 hours of tests and waiting they discovered I have an ovarian cist that burst and that is why I hurt so much. So now I have an excuse to take it easy for a few days. If it's not not better by Monday I may need surgery to get rid of it. So we are going to keep our fingers crossed that it will disolve on it's own.
what a crazy night ! I love Loritab ! HAHA!
so....... My washer broke and I didn't get it back for 4 days. You can imagine the laundry build-up from that ordeal. Bryan, bless his little pea-picking heart, Spent all day, on a Saturday, playing catch -up so I wouldn't have to and so I could sleep since I had to work the night before. How many husbands do you know that are willing to do that ? My husband rocks!!!!!! lol
o.k.......... I have to give a shout out to Lindsay ! She got an outstanding citizenship at school. You have to have 5 or more teachers give you an outstanding to get it. She also got to go to a party for it at school. Way to go Lindsay !!!!!! You rock !!!!!!!!
Cool..Brittney tagged me....I have never been tagged before. I tag.....celeste, linda, and kiki Answer each of the following with one word answers!
Yourself: A mom
Your partner: dependable
Your hair: originally, brown
Your mother: provider
Your father: entertaining
Your dream last night: don't know
Your favorite drink: diet coke
Your dream car: anything newer than 2oo5
Your home: cozy
The room you are in: bedroom
Your fear: rapid dogs
Where you want to be in 10 years: Hawaii
Who you hung out with last night: family
You're not: skinny
One of your wish list items: to be skinny
The last thing you did: sleep
You are wearing: scrubs
Your favorite weather: winter
Your favorite book: twilight
Last thing you ate: tomato soup
Your life: rewarding
Your mood: happy
Your best friend: Brittney, Brandi, Kandi, Lind-Z
What you are thinking about right now: getting to work on time
Your car: 1994 Dodge Caravan
What are you doing at the moment: being tagged
Relationship status: Married
What is on your TV: The Nuclear Option (Bryan's show)
When is the last time you laughed: tonight
These are some pictures from the scarecrow festival at Thanksgiving Point. It was alot of fun. I went with My friend Brandi and her kids. We were there all day. It was a great way to survive the kids being out of school for fall break. I really thought the pirate would scare Ben, but he thought it was pretty cool. That and the helicopter which we got to see take off. We hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. Fasten your seatbelts, Christmas is knocking on the door. Now that is scary !!!!!!Hey everyone who is still basking in 80 degree weather ! Yesterday's high a cool 45 degrees. Last night's low an even cooler 36 degrees and I drove home in a blizzard this morning on the way home from work. That's right a blizzard !!! All of a sudden I'm having to remember, in a hurry, where my winter wear is. Thankfully Bryan is a very organized person and had everything stored in a rubbermaid container under the bed. Crazy!!!!!!!!! Aren't you looking forward to visiting in February now ? Hey Bennett O. Don't forget your thermal underwear and your electric blanket...... HAHAHAHA!!!!!
We celebrated Ben's b-day yesterday. That was alot of fun. We did the usual cake and ice cream thing with the grandparents. Then we went up the canyon for a haunted halloween train ride. (kid friendly) We all found it kind of funny that Ben was terrified of the moth flying by the light on the train but not the feaky looking dead guy with an ax sticking out of his head. He even sat next to Ben. Ben loved it. I think more than anything else that was one of the best presents we could of given him. At one point on the train Cherie started laughing hysterically and none of us still don't know why.
But we had alot of fun with dad, Cherie and even David took time out of his busy schedule to come with us. Funny story about David. One of the "ghosts" that wondered through our car was a cat lady. She got right up in David's face and asked him if wanted to go on a date with her. It was pretty funny. David said" No, I'm good, but thanks for asking. It was a pretty fun day.
I hope everyone is doing good . Have a great week. I look forward to hearing from you ! LOL
SO................... Tuesday night I went protesting for the first time ever. Bryan went with me. They are trying to put a treatment facility for teenage sex offenders just 2 blocks from my house. YIKES!!!!!!!!!! We were even on the channel 4 news with Brent Hunsaker. It was quite an experience. But I was grateful for the oportunity to be able to take a stand to protect our children. Anyway, hopefully we will be able to prevent this fom happening. We are praying and keeping our fingers crossed. WE hope everyone will get on board to support this cause ! Thanks for reading. Have a great day !
So I decided to use my blog for a little Autism Awareness. Hopefully it will be helpful to all those who read it. First let me say I love all my kids. They are good kids. Our son, was diagnosed with developmental delays when he was 15 months old and our lives have been the same. I'm amazed at the strength and love our 2 daughters have growing up with an Autistic brother. As with all siblings there is definitely a love/hate relationship.
Every one in 150 children will be diagnosed with Autism each year. Autism is a neurogical disease that can't be cured and there is still no known cause. Boys are 4 times higher risk than girls because of their genetic make-up. There has to be a genetic link in your family for a child to have autism. We didn't have any immediate family with Autism so re really had to research to find that link.
Life can be rewarding and challenging when raising a child with Autism. The past nine years have definitely been interesting. I don't wish to get long winded about my life and "woe is me" I love my son and I know he is a special spirit that I have been given the privelage to raise. That doesn't mean everyday is rainbows and sunshine. But then anyone with "normal" kids knows that's not the case anyway. You can't wait for them to get here. and then it's all you can do somedays to let them live.
Anyway, Some challenges children with autism face are, speech, potty training, abstract comprehension. gross and fine motor skills, communication, no sense of time ( days, weeks etc..)
nocommprehension between right and wrong, meltdowns, etc..... just to name a few. A great website to get more information is autismspeaks.com.
Congratulations , if you actually made it to the end of this little Autism tangit. Thanks for reading. i hope everyone has a great week.
FYI - April is Autsim Awareness month !
o.k. So I had an interesting experience yesterday. My friend suggested I get my upper lip waxed because I've never done it before and I only have one word about that.....OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My friend is a pro at it, but of course i scream like a little girl. Very embarrassing ! After that we went shopping at the mall to take my mind off the pain. That worked pretty good. Plus Lindz was with us and that's where she wanted to go.
Why wasn't she in school ? Because I let her ditch and have a girls day out ! We all know how important that is. Lindz is at that fun age where we can do stuff together. I just have to make sure not to do anything that will "embarrass" her. I'm just thankful she still wants to hang out with me.
so...... I went to see the new movie with Richard Gere. Anyone dying to go see that, don't forget your tissues. Idon't want to say anything that will give anything away, but let's just say It's takes an unexpected twist. Enough said. Next on the movie list, Eagle Eye !
Other than that just keeping busy, with work,family and life in general . I keep thinking with all my kids in school life might slow down a little, but so far it hasn't. Bummer.
speaking of kids now that they are all gone to school I'm going to sleep now. I hope everyone is having a great week.
so...... Lindsay helped me add some fun stuff to my blog. I have a count down to christmas. Which can be helpful and frightening at the same time. I also have one for my anniversary. Bryan and I are still trying to figure out what to do for that.
On a sad note I have to go to a funeral today. My cousin was killed up Spanish Fork Canyon. He was only 24. My dad called to tell me and he said, "Give your kids an extra hug and never drive up Spanish Fork Canyon. I think this accident really shook him up.
Last Sat Night We went to a concert at the Conference Center In SLC . It was fun to have a night out and listen to some great music.
Rachel just had a wardrobe melt-down. She doesn't like the shirt she is wearing , it's green and pink, very cute. she is wearing it with black pants and she was freaking out because she said it doesn't match. So I had to convince her that black goes with everything, but she still went to school upset.... ARGHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
And speaking of wardrobe, I gotta go and figure what I am going to wear to my cousins funeral.
Have a great day
so............. I'm new at this blog thing. My daughter is trying to get me motivated about it. So, here goes. School is back in session, which makes me happy because I don't have to hear "I'm bored" all day. I did some shopping with a friend today, which is always fun.
I work full-time ,which can make life nuts, but I love my job so it's not so bad. I would love to write more, but mom duty calls. I'll probably write again when my daughter makes me sit down and do it again. Have a great day !
school is coming! YAY! it's tomorrow! i can't wait! no more kids bugging me and i can sleep in peace. I work graveyards so it'll be nice not having kids wake me up every two seconds! Oh how i enjoy school. no kids, peace and quiet, and...no kids. don't get me wrong, i love them, but i need a break. plus, i can blog more when they are away.
love you all!
Mary Ann
This is my first post, and I'm kind of new at this blogging thing. :) i will post a little more later.
