I want to run naked through fields of daisies!

Ok- so I really don't want to run anywhere naked. I just thought it might get your attention. :)

I am feeling so over whelmed and stressed lately. I don't feel like I have enough time to get anything done. I am always tired, always depressed, and usually wanting to hide in my bed. But life trudges onward. Wow- that was cheerful!!! LOL

Lets go back to the field of daisies (minus the naked part.... cuz really that would be itchy!!!) Life is good. Things are wonderful and I really can't ask for more! I have just been feeling the stress of the holiday rush lately. I really want to get my blog updated again so I can start posting more. I think I stopped posting about the fun little things in my life because I feel like I need to catch up on the big stuff first. So instead of sitting down and typing about the neat lesson the Lord taught me yesterday, or the funny thing Amalyssa said this morning, I think - "no- if I blog it has to be about the trip- or about some of the bigger events of the past few months" In truth though I am scared of those... they are too big... to many pictures and memories I want to share... so instead I don't blog at all. I ignore my poor blog all together.

Well not tonight. Tonight I am just going to whine a bit..... vent a bit... share a bit. Then I will publish the post and question my judgement in the morning.

First up- What inspired this crazy rambling? This picture-

Ahhh! NOW you get the naked part!!!! lol. I was going through some old photos on my PC for a Christmas project I have been stressing over. I found this little goddie in among the memories of this past year. I always meant to put this up on my blog and never got to it. So I am putting it up now! Besides... it remindes me of WARMER times!!! Not much story behind the picture. It was this past summer and we had the pool in the yard. Braden was out playing in the water in his diaper and swim suit..... then somehow the diaper and swim suit got left behind. I looked out the window to see this LOVELY sight and just started to LAUGH!!!! Oh how I love this quirky little boy. He makes me smile everyday. He reminds me that Heavenly Father knows us better than ourselfs. I would have had Braden be a 'Sarah' if it had been up to me. 'Sarah Kaylee' would have been our 2nd childs name. We had it all picked and planned. But then the Lord threw me a curve ball and sent us a boy. I am SO GLAD he did!!!! Braden is just what I needed. I would forever be sad to have missed out on his adorable smile. I love having one of each. It is so fun and I thank Heavenly Father every day for sending Braden to our family.



Next up- Lessons from the Lord
Yesterday I got an unexpected lesson about the Holy Ghost. It was snowing really quite bad in the morning, and had been most of the night. Scott called to warn me that the roads were slick and to be careful while I dropped Amalyssa off at school. He even gave me a play by play of the poor guy trying to get up the "slight incline" into the gas station. I knew it was slick.... I even had been told that small hills were dangerous. So what made me think I could pull my van into the parking lot at school..... well Amalyssa said I could. There you have it. Stupid hu!

Amalyssa's school parking lot is at about a 45% angle down in. There is a horse shoe shaped drop off route. You drive down in... kids hop out of the car... and you drive back up out! When Scott mentioned small inclines being bad news I imediately thought of the parking lot! "Not going down in there this morning!" I told myself. On the way to school I explained to Amalyssa that I would not be droping her off in the usuall way and that she would have to walk a bit from where I could drop her. She responded "you will be fine mom, you can drop me off in the normal way" So what happends.... in my brain I start to have a discussion "no- you will get stuck... dont do it - aw it will be ok... I am in a VAN I wont get stuck" and so on. Well I drove into the parking lot..... against better judgment... and even warning... I did it. Yep... STUCK! I was one of the lucky few who manages to sled my way into a parking spot where I stopped the car.. put my head on the steering wheel and though "What now genius?"

Short story Long - I started to listen. I stoped acting on my own thoughts and started listening to the Lord. I said a prayer and then sat... and waited... I waited for direction to know what I should do. After watching several other cars slide around the parking lot a few of us started a pushing brigade. We got the cars out of the lot one at a time. I was still waiting... helping...and listening for what I should do with my own vehicle. After the traffic had cleard a new way out opened up... a way I had never seen quite this way before. It was my answer. My gleaming white, still slippery, but level answer. I got out. I got home. And learned a lesson. We need to listen. If we don't.... we will get stuck. Sometimes we don't listen because Satan plants just a tiny seed of though... "I can do it... I will be fine... I am ME!" Somehow we loose all sence of right and choose what we know to be wrong. We need to listen. But the Lord loves us... even when we make mistakes. He gives us time to ponder, time to work toward repentance.. the oportunity to help others in their trials so we can see ours in a new light, then when we have learned... he gives us a way out. An answer. I am greatfull for the Atonement. I am greatfull for the Holy Ghost. I am greatfull for my many MANY blessings. I am greatful for this lesson the Lord let me learn. One hour stuck in a parking lot.... a lesson to last a life time.

Last- To end on a lighter note.... though now this post is really much longer than the 2 paragraphs I had originally planned.

Amalyssa Christmas 2005

Amalyssa is really excited for Christmas. She is starting to get so smart. You can almost see the gears in her head turning sometimes. This morning she ask's me "What do people do on Christmas Eve?" Odd question I though... we started to discuss traditions and that people do all sorts of different things on Christmas Eve. She then asked "what do WE do on Christmas Eve?" well... it is only the second year we are having our own little Christmas in our own little house. We don't really HAVE a tradition. So I asked her "What do YOU think we should do on Christmas Eve?" Her response was imediate... as if planned from the begining of this strategic conversating (as I had suspected all along) "WE SHOULD EACH OPEN A PRESENT ON CHRISTMAS EVE THAT WE GET TO PICK FROM UNDER THE TREE!!!!!" She was only slightly happy when I told her I loved the idea of that tradition... but that DAD and I got to pick the present they opened... she was a little un happy about that part.

Well... that was a long post wasn't it. And I didn't really get 'caught up' on anything... yet I am happy to have let out some of my more recent - though small- adventures.
I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season filled with joy and love and thoughts of our SAVIOR - for HE truly is the reason for the season.

Love to all -
Tina

Time for something new?

Hmmmm... maybe it is about time I updated my blog eh!? Well.... it is coming. I don't know when.... but it IS coming!!!! :) Until then..... Have fun figuring out what THIS picture is all about!!! (Not Halloween!)

Halloween part 2!

Here is the second installment of Halloween pictures. Hope you enjoy them!

Me in my Egyptian Hottie costume! (to bad I can't look adorable when I pose like my daughter can!)

Here is one from the pumpkin patch I missed yesterday! It is probably my favorite one! I was trying to get them to smile and Braden kept squeezing his eyes shut. Amalyssa was helping me tell him to keep his eyes open!

The lovely Great Great Great Great Aunt Jemima! Isn't she a looker!

My dear 'ol dad. He was so smitten with Aunt Jemima that he could hardly talk

The kids trying to copy mom's pose.

A somewhat decent picture of me (don't you just hate seeing yourself in pictures!)

I got to help out with Amalyssa's class party. They asked the children to dress as their favorite book character. I decided to follow suit and dress as a book character also (plus I couldn't bear the eye makeup one more time) So I chose to be the mother of Fancy Nancy. I tried to convince Amalyssa to be Fancy Nancy but she insisted that Cinderella was a better choice for her.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!! (Now if only I can get the vacation blogged about before Thanksgiving!)

I just can't get cought up!

I can't quite seem to get time enough to blog all the fun that is happening in our lives right now. There are so many stories I wish I could tell, but alas... there are children to feed, dishes to do, and general mayhem to keep at bay. So I guess you will just have to enjoy pictures and quick blurb descriptions for the time being.

Our pumpkin picks from the pumpkin patch! (The biggest one is Braden's. I just couldn't tell him 'no' after watching him use all his might to roll it over to the wheel barrow.)

Braden practicing for his drivers license. Good thing this tractor was stationary!

Amanda and her hubby Jack. Amanda was my co-hort in a great Halloween party this year. Sorry none of you got invited.... I sort of forgot to invite my half of the party!

Scott's grandma at the party drinking soup through a straw! (LOL... I just couldn't resist a picture!)

My pick for best costume award at the party goes to Aunt Jean! She made a HAUNTINGLY convincing Michael. It was actually REALLY CREEPY! The picture really ruins the effect.

Braden as a FIERCE Pirate!

Amalyssa loved her '50's girl' costume... even though she had no idea what a '50's girl' was. Still... it came with lots of sequins so she was happy!
In all I only spent $2.20 on the kids costumes this year! GO SALVATION ARMY! I decided to use all the money I had saved and make the costume I have been dreaming of for a few years now!

Introducing
Tina as:
Egyptian Hottie!
(though I really think I look horrid in all the pictures... oh well)

Well.........Ok... this is all you get to see for now! LOL. My pictures aren't where I thought they were and I am to tired to go find and re-size them now.... so this is the sneak peak.

Check back soon for more fun halloween costumes including
Tina as: Fancy Nancy's Mom
Janna as: great great great great Aunt Gemima
John as: Biker man
and Scott as: HAHA YEAH RIGHT... he dosn't dress up.

You got a TATTOO!???? Day 4: 09-27-09

So this day is a fairly easy one for me to blog. We kinda gave ourselves the day off!! At least my little family did. We actually made port in Boston Mass. this day. We hadn't pre paid for any shore excursions like everyone else had. We were a bit tired and worn out so we decided to be bums and just stay on the ship. Looking back I am a little sad. I did a whole report on Massachusetts when I was in grade school and I still remember being so fascinated with the state. Unfortunately I was pretty tired this day and so I didn't feel adventurous enough to leave the ship by myself. We had a great day hanging around on the ship though.

Scott and the kids participated in a mini golf tournament and all won metals. Hmm... mini golf in the rain on a ship... interesting activity wouldn't you say!?


Amalyssa was excited when Rebekah came back from their shore excursion and they got to go to the Kid's camp for the first time! They spent every spare minute they could there! At times I wondered if I had even brought my daughter on the trip with us! She was sad when I told her we had to wash off her face paint. For future reference - take the picture of the face paint BEFORE you tell them it has to disappear!



And Scott!? Well he decided to be a rebel and get a Tattoo.... a BIG Tattoo!

They had an air brush artist on the ship. He would air brush these temporary tattoos for you. Of course it cost a good chunk of change to have it done. But Scott was thrilled that he could have a dragon on his arm. He was sweet enough to ask my permission and thoughts before having it done. I figured.... Eh.... what the heck.... It isn't a chance you get every day and it will be gone before we get off the ship.

I think my dads reaction to the tattoo was the best though. Scott met him out in the hall and had slung a jacket over his arm so it was covering the tattoo. (not purposely... he just was carrying a jacket). Dad saw just a tiny bit of the tattoo and started to laugh in a shocked way. He never would have expected a tattoo on Scott.... then Scott pulled the jacket back to unveil the full ferocious beast. I thought we might lose my dad right there. He was laughing and coughing and sputtering like he had just had the biggest shock of his life... then again.....

Scott said dad's reaction made it worth every penny. Plus he thought he was hot stuff with a giant dragon on his arm all week! lol. So that was day 4 of the trip. Now for a little break in the trip blogs. I have a bit of Halloween blogging to do so that post will show up next. Then we will be on our way to day 5 -Portland Maine!