Six months already or that's all?

It's funny having served a mission I thought sending my son off on his own mission wouldn't tug on my heartstrings like it does.  I was super happy and excited the whole while getting him ready to go.  I actually didn't have that much trauma dropping him off at the MTC.  The hardest part of all the good-byes was the kids, his siblings saying good-bye was very hard for them and hard to watch as a mom.  But once that was done I was fine.  But when he called from the airport and it was the lamest call ever, we weren't prepared so we didn't say much or talk much it was rather disappointing.  I was in a funk for a couple of days after and realized I was actually starting the 'mourning' process of saying good-bye for awhile.  Anticipating the hard times he would inevitably face, the loneliness of not knowing a soul or understanding anyone but also the deeper sense of purpose in relying on God because there is no one else to really trust.  I think unconsciously you realize the magnitude of the change to you and him.  You also experience a deeper trust in God to watch over and care for this child you have nurtured and cared over for the last 19 years.  All the while days seem to drag, and then it seems like he's been gone forever but he's only been gone 6 months?  And then other days, wow, it's time to write him again...these weeks fly by!  It's just amazing the range of emotions you can feel but at this point I mostly feel happy.  I am so happy he has had many amazing experiences that have helped him become a better person.  He has faced many challenges with faith and hope.  He is receiving many blessings and noticing the compensation during these hard times.  I am so happy he is faithful and loves the people he is serving.  I am grateful I know that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.  I know that as my son shares the message of Jesus Christ with others they will be blessed forever and that brings me great joy.  I pray for and think of those he is teaching.  I care about them too.  It is a huge blessing.  Another heart enlarging experience for sure.  I would post a photo but I need to clean out my web albums because I am out of free space for photos!  Crazy, huh.  Here is a link to his blog that has some photos: http://eldertaranpew.blogspot.com/

2012 Year in Review

2012 Year In Review

Taran: Finished off his first year at BYU with all As and only one A-! (For some this may not seem like a big deal but I may have gotten an A- my first year and that was my only A) His 'band' appeared in BYUs got Talent and they were easily the 3^rd best group overall—there were some amazing groups. He had a great college experience at BYU. He made great friends and had great roommates. In February he received his mission call to serve in Guadalajara Mexico. So once the winter semester was over he worked and prepared to leave for 2 years. He was able to go camping with some of his college friends before some of the them went into the Missionary Training Center (MTC). He went to a lot of farewells on Sundays. We did a mini family vacation to Park City before he left. He went into the MTC June 13^th and has been in Mexico since mid- August. He has already had a lot of amazing experiences. We look forward to Mondays when we get an e-mail from him. We were able to meet his first companion who returned home in November. That was a fun experience.  Here is a link to his blog with his letters and pictures.

Timo: Is in the middle of his Senior year at Lone Peak high school. He works part-time as a custodian at a local elementary school. He is involved in A Capella choir which was invited to Carnegie Hall to sing in February. Last year he got to go to Disneyland & Universal Studios for A Capella Choir tour in California which is where they won nearly all the choir awards. He is part of our Youth City Council, a service organization. They are currently raising money for their Santa's Workshop—needy families from our community can come and choose gifts for their children for free. He was able to go to NYC with some friends and help with the Sandy clean up through Mormon Helping Hands over the Thanksgiving Break. It was one of the highlights of his life. He has been serving as First Assistant in the Priest Quorum and looks forward to serving a mission once he graduates from high school. He just finished applying to BYU and BYU Hawaii even though he will defer until after his mission. He has the lightest load he's had since 8^th grade. AP Calc and AP Spanish are his hard classes, he has ProStart (foods), Sports Sewing for fun besides choir and seminary. He recently received his Eagle Scout Award. He is glad that is over! He has enjoyed a lot of great scout experiences this year. We are grateful for all his great scout leaders! He enjoyed flag football this fall, their team went to the championship but didn't win. It was still fun. He has started Jr Jazz basketball and so far they have won.

Emily: Was able to go to Cedar City with her Granny Louw and see Les Mis and The Merry Wives of Windsor.  They had a great time and enjoyed exploring the local shops and cafes.  She has been serving as Student Body Vice President this school year at the Jr high. She loves being involved. She is still in drama and musical theater. She is going to be Peter Pan in January and she is also helping with the school play with directing. She enjoys attending local musicals and plays and her junior high sporting events. She has discovered the joy of photography and saved to buy a nice, used camera to learn and experiment. She continues to serve at the Alzheimer/Dementia center near our house. She visits there once a week singing to the residents. She is taking care of Taran's guitar while he is gone. She still plays the piano and sings in Concert Singers at the Junior High. She is serving as a counselor in Mia Maids. She always has something going on!

Izak: Started Junior high this year and seems to be enjoying it and adjusting to 8 classes. He is in a Mens Hip Hop class which he enjoys. His soccer team continues to do well. They won their second championship in the spring. They almost went AAA but had a few players leave so they decided to stay AA. They will play indoor after the Christmas break. He became a deacon in the Spring when he turned 12. He broke his toes last spring just before soccer season. Luckily he was back in time to play during tournament time. He enjoyed scout camp except for having to say good-bye to Taran on Monday before he left instead of Wednesday like the rest of us. He enjoys reading, playing ping pong, playing most sports and hanging with friends in his spare time. He is taking care of Taran's bass and cell phone while he is gone and still takes piano. He is star rank in scouts and has made it a goal to be an eagle scout before Taran returns.

Micah: Is in 5^th grade. He is enjoying his teacher a lot. His soccer team also won the championship this past spring. They continue to do well this fall. He has started running with friends. He looks forward to Jr Jazz basketball over the winter. He loves drawing sports figures and creating sports logos and jerseys. He is a great student and is progressing in piano.

Zane: Is in 3^rd grade. He is super responsible and also does well in school. He enjoyed flag football this fall and looks forward to Jr Jazz basketball. He is also progressing in piano. He is what people might call a fanatical BYU fan. Especially football! He loves Superhero Legos and riding his bike.

Gwen: Started kindergarten this year. She enjoyed preschool and was ready to move on. Her reading skills have taken off. She loves to read, draw and create. She loves Irish dance and is really good at it. She is super sweet and less outgoing than some of the others. She learned to really swim and ride her bike this year! She loves her friends and family.

Rachelle: Besides trying to manage all our schedules and sometimes missing some things—oops! I keep busy with PTA as Secretary, helping in Zane and Micah's classes, high school Choir Board member and Young Womans Secretary in church. I enjoyed going to Girls Camp for the first time since I was a teen! I also get to watch my niece Anna's daughter (17 months) June once week so she can have a little break. And I spend a few hours a week with my dad so my mom can have a break too. My dad struggles with Alzheimer's and was recently put on hospice. As sad as that reality is for us the knowledge that he will soon be free from this disease is comforting. He has been blessed to still know us yet struggles to remember day-to-day or hour-to-hour happenings and barely eats, mostly sleeps and stays in his room most of the time. It has been a huge blessing to be able to spend time with him. He still has great thoughts and carries on great conversation. This is the way I want to remember him. I have enjoyed sending packages to Taran on his mission--so far he has gotten all of them. I am missing keeping up on my blog--maybe next year.

Tim: Keeps busy with helping get people places as well! He had been playing tennis at lunch even through our mild winter with his good friend Ryan. Ryan works for Adobe and they have recently moved into their new building far from Tim's work so they will have to figure something else out. He has played church softball, flag football and now basketball will start. He works on various home improvement projects and helping our parents with the various things they need. We are glad to be near enough to be somewhat helpful at times even though probably not enough. He continues to work for Family Search but he has no control over the site and the bugs there so don't complain to him:) He enjoys going to BYU Football games, and other BYU sporting events as well Jazz NBA games.

We had a fun summer going to Seven Peaks Waterslide Park both in Provo and Salt Lake City. We enjoyed Trafalga, Owlz games and such. We also visited Thanksgiving Point a lot, and local canyons and beauties. We also got a zoo pass and have enjoyed more visits there as well. We are grateful we can enjoy these things and for all the many blessings we have. We live near so many family members that we enjoy their company on most holidays! We are blessed with great friends and neighbors. We are grateful for our many blessings throughout the year! Life is not always easy or maybe should I say life is rarely easy but it is not without meaning, happiness and hope because of Jesus Christ. This holiday season brings the spirit of His life and mission: love, service and mercy. May you and your family feel His love in your life this season and coming year! Love, The Pews

I miss you...

I miss blogging even though I don't have a huge following it's about sharing my life and thoughts somewhere and my journal isn't quite the same.  I am really hoping to figure this out!  I have so many cute photos of my kids...I am reading a time management book so maybe that will help!

2012-09-30

Monday, I was able to help in Mr. William's class and Miss Riddle's class. I really enjoyed that. I got some stuff done and then picked up Gwen and her friends from kindergarten. It was minimal day so I picked them up at 11:15 AM. Gwen goes to Zoe's after school on Mondays so I walked everyone home and her to Zoe's. Everyone was home early, it is so weird. Gwen had Irish dance. I actually had time to get some stuff done. I was going through rooms and getting stuff to sell at the yard sale. That night we did Family Home Evening at the Ashford (Alzheimer's/Dementia assisted living). Some neighbors asked to join us so they could do it on their own sometime. All the kids played something on the piano except for Izak. He just wanted to lead the music for the songs. I did a spiritual thought on the Savior, short and sweet. We had our largest group ever. It was a great experience as usual. I went grocery shopping after we got home. 

Tuesday it rained quite a bit. I went to the temple at 7 AM so I was home just after 8 AM. I had to get my crown on the tooth that broke a few weeks ago. Then I got home just in time to go to a PTA meeting. I usually have YW Presidency Meetings but this week we were meeting after YW with all the leaders so we consolidated the meetings into one. So I went to a PTA meeting at the Regional Council. I came home and made a treat for the kids, a new one I found on Pinterest that tastes like Reeses peanut butter cups, pretty yummy. Again I worked on going through stuff. Emily stayed late a few days this week being Quidditch referee for their Harry Potter week at the junior high. Zane and Micah had piano and are doing well. The weather cleared up enough that Micah had soccer practice. Timo had a flag football game--I guess they played well and barely lost. I wish he would have let us see that game. Timo got asked to Sadies with socks all over the porch and flower bed and even on the lamp on the porch! Her name is Arianna. I guess she is in Timo's seminary class and really nice. He was suppose to find her on Wednesday wearing a certain sock but didn't see her. He saw her in seminary Thursday and gave her some old athletic socks with YES on them. I hope she wasn't disappointed! I told him I am going to make her a sock bouquet to make up for it! Tim played in his flag football game that night and they won by forfeit and no one got injured.

Wednesday I put up some of the yard sale signs we had laminated the week before. I had June here after dropping off the girls at school. We played with puzzles and toys downstairs and then I took her with me to Kneaders to get lunch for Stephanie and I. I also got Gwen and Zoe lunch at Wendy's for Stephanie's actual birthday. We got back in plenty of time and June was asleep. I let her sleep until I had to pick up the girls and then I put her in the umbrella stroller I bought for Taran that we still have! She was happy to go on a walk to the school and back. I fed June a French fry, then thought maybe Anna wouldn't like that so I gave her some pasta and mozzarella which she loved-- leftovers from dinner. We had a nice visit--I'm grateful for Stephanie's friendship. The girls played until Anna got here.  I took a little nap once they all left. But as usual it didn't last as I had to get up when the boys got home. Timo's team had a game at 5 PM so he had to leave work early and go back. It was Brynn's birthday so he and his friends did stuff with her after YW. Izak had scouts early because they were doing service for an older couple in the neighborhood. YW met early for a scavenger hunt--One of the leaders had taken pictures around the ward and the girls went looking for them in groups. It was really fun. We had to start early because it is getting dark by 7:30 PM or earlier! The leaves are changing, it's just beautiful. Too bad we don't have time to go up the canyon! I had my meeting after YW. I got home around 9:30 PM. We are planning Young Women in Excellence and camp. We are trying to go to Moab river rafting next year, depending on the price. I hope we can, it would be a great experience for the YW.

Thursday, I actually got to go walking for an hour. Then I ran to Walmart for a few things--helmets for Zane and Gwen, a kickstand for Gwen and a few other things. One of the workers, a tiny lady, accidentally stepped on my big toe—my left foot. This toe was almost done healing from Micah stepping on it with cleats in the summer and bruising it. I thought I was going to cry it hurt so bad. I quickly finished up my shopping and got home to see my toe was bleeding. It was nasty. And it hurt. Gwen's kindergarten carpool group came home for lunch and to play. It was fun but after lunch I had to put my foot up for awhile. I got the Halloween books out and they loved having me read lots of them! Thursday after school was CRAZY! Micah had a game, Zane and Micah had Pack Meeting, Izak and Gwen had soccer practice, Emily was helping Sister Stewart do a photo shoot for a couple getting married, it was Student/Teacher at the Jr high, so Timo and Clay got a ride to work with the Francis'. Izak had some missing assignments which we got settled and came home but it took awhile. Julie and I put up signs for the yard sale when I got home from the Jr high. I went to my Mom'd after Pack Meeting so she could run some errands. My Dad and I watched the end of South Pacific, not my favorite but poor Dad got all choked up at the end. I was able to put ice on my toe at my Mom's which helped a lot. I was glad THAT day was over.

Friday Gwen was going to ride her bike but she decided at the last minute not to even though I bought her a new helmet and lock. Owell. We walked and it was a nice, crisp fall day. I did a couple of errands including Costco. I got home with plenty of time before Gwen got home. I worked on some PTA stuff for our meeting this coming week. Then Gwen and I went to Lone Peak to laminate sign stuff—yes we had a ton of signs. Our concern was that we would have twice as many kids selling so we needed more people to come. It paid off! Julie is super efficient thinking so we laminated stuff so we could reuse them next year and hopefully beyond. We didn't get done with it all until 3 PM. Tim came home early so he was there. He was able to pick up Emily and then he took Izak to the BYU vs Hawaii game. Micah, Zane, and Gwen had the Primary program practice from 4-5 PM. Micah had a birthday party at 5 PM--dinner and the movie 'Hotel Transylvania.' At 5:30 PM we started loading stuff into the Roger's trailer and the Beardall's truck, our van and their suburban. We had a little pile left in the end that we got later that night with the Hallsted's truck. We finished just after the BYU game started. Zane had football practice so I waited until he came home to feed the kids. Emily had a party at a friend's and it was on Julie's way so she dropped her off for me! YEAH! Timo and Zane listened to the game at the computer. I helped Gwen with her cleaning and then put the Avengers on for her. Micah took over when he got home at fast forwarding stuff she wouldn't/shouldn't want to see. She loved it. The BYU game was done by 9:30 PM and we started unloading shortly after that. It was 1 AM before I got home. My toe was terrible so I soaked it 2 times in hydrogen peroxide. I knew it had gotten infected by some dirty water that got on it at the parking lot at the school while we were setting up. Timo, Tyler and Brynn slept in the van at the parking lot. We had talked to a policeman who was patrolling the area and he said that he would watch over them. That made us feel good.

Saturday my toe woke me up at 5 AM so I got going and showered then I had Tim drop me off since the van was already there. We were done unpacking everything by 7 AM after that we did more organizing. It went well. I got fried. We had people coming until almost 2 PM buying stuff even though it ended at noon. Meanwhile Emily, Izak and Micah reffed 8-10 AM, Izak had a game at 10:30 AM, Zane had a flag football game at 10:30 AM and Gwen had a game at 10 AM. Tim went to Zane's game then to the end of Izak's game. Emily had the freshman football game at 3 PM. Back to the yard sale, between the three weeks they did quite well, so I think Timo is happy about it. I think he had fun on top of it so it was a win-win. Once we were totally done it was 4 PM. Tim and some of the other parents and kids took the stuff that didn't sell to DI, some other parents threw out all the garbage and took back tables, and Tim did tables too since he had the trailer hitched to our van. Tim also bought Timo and Izak bikes at the yard sale so now they are set up. A kid in the neighborhood who does BMX racing is fixing Micah's bike. I need a bike now. After the yard sale I came home and ate some Wheat Thins (my lunch) and crashed. I woke up just as the RS Broadcast was starting so I quickly got dressed and ran over to the church. I had missed the very beginning, I can watch that part to make sure I got what I thought she was talking about. It's a new presidency so I was interested to see what they said. It was really good and President Eyring spoke as the concluding speaker which was excellent. I am so grateful for living prophets! I am so excited for General Conference next week! I had a nice chat with Alison after the broadcast. When I got home Tim and Gwen were watching Avengers again! I laid down on the couch and watched with them until Gwen and I fell asleep. Timo, Izak, Micah and Zane went to watch Avengers on the Hallsted's big outdoor screen. They had a lot of fun but Zane fell asleep and came home right after. I was in a daze and I ate some more wheat thins since I didn't get dinner. I had a high fiber fudge bar (like ice cream) too so I'd get some protein! Timo helped clean up so he got home after curfew. Emily and Ashley watched Alias.

Tim had early meetings this morning (Sunday) but I was dead. I enjoyed the MOTAB broadcast today. Today was the Primary Program which was hilarious as usual and also uplifting . Choose the Right was the theme this year. Gwen mostly sang but did have her hands in her teeth a couple of times. She must have a loose tooth! Today in Sunday School the teacher talked about how we are compensated when we are going through hard times, how we should look for those blessings that are given to compensate for it. I loved that, so things like hope, a feeling of love from our Heavenly Father, etc. Sometimes all we see is that we are going through a hard time and we have things to learn but there is more to that than just getting through the Lord provides a way for us to be sustained through these blessings. Tim taught a devotional on having a good foundation using the 3 pigs analogy. I think it went well. We are the pigs, the parent pigs= Heavenly Father , the road=the world, the house=spiritual foundation, big bad wolf=Satan, huff and puff=temptations. He used scriptures that told how to have a good foundation. After that Tim and I went to my Mom's to borrow a book for Timo to read for school.

The End.

2012-09-23

It is feeling like fall here. The leaves are changing and the air is crisp. 

So this was a dumb week for me, I thought I was finally coming down with what Tim had on Monday morning so I didn't go in and help Mr. Williams or Miss Riddle. I rested and by noon I was totally fine. Had Tim not been sick I would have not really worried about my tummy since I have a pretty tough one. Owell. Gwen went to dance with Claire and Zoe. For FHE Zane was in charge and we played that Headbandz game where you are an object on a card stuck to your head and you have to guess what you are. It's pretty funny. Anyway that was it but it was good.

Tuesday I went shopping after getting Gwen and Zoe to school. It was cute as I was leaving Walmart I saw a temple lady and she said that they missed me that day! I told her I had to switch with a friend so I would be going Wednesday which I did. I hope I get there this week on Tuesday, I just love my temple ladies! I got home in time to unload everything and put it away and then I went to get the girls from kindergarten. We walked all the other other girls home and then I took Zoe and Gwen home for lunch. They mostly rode their bikes on our hill into the basketball court. I would check on them periodically but I worked on some projects that I had going on besides the daily laundry and cleaning stuff. That afternoon was more simple than usual because Micah and Izak didn't have soccer practice. I was able to plant some pansies and mums and I pulled most of the red petunias I planted in the spring that ended up growing well and HUGE. But as it is cooling they are dying. I kept 2 clusters while they look good. I also pulled out some major weeds.   Zane had scouts and some of the kids had piano. Timo had work and a Youth City Council meeting that day. So I ended up going to my Mom's once Tim got home so she could go to the temple. I left my purse in the van so it made me late since it was at Timo's work! I had another great time with my Dad. We looked up Guadalajara on my tablet and I showed him the wax museum Taran talked about in his letter, and some other stuff. He loved it! We found out they have 2 Costcos in Guadalajara! 

Wednesday I went early to the temple. Anna and family went to Idaho for the weekend so June didn't come over. So I ran to Costco and the Dollar Store and Target. I got photos printed to send to Taran. Our mechanic showed up that afternoon to fix the van. He had been sick so he couldn't come before. So that meant I didn't have a car. Luckily I had taken Tim to work so I had his car and Timo took that car while Tim borrowed my Mom's car and went to Micah's soccer game and then the end of Timo's first flag football game. Tim got home before Brian was done and was able to get something fixed on his car as well. What a relief to have that done! Tim also fixed the filter on the fridge which had caused the fridge to leak into the basement Homecoming day! That night for YM they did a Book of Mormon reading in 80 days challenge kick off! That night I didn't sleep because of my allergies. There are fires in Idaho that are so bad the smoke has spread into Utah and our air quality is terrible.

Thursday morning I had to take my Mom's car back to her. I ran to Orem so we could get Gwen back in time for kindergarten. We barely made it. After my Mom dropped me off I went to the after hours doctor. My actual doctor never has openings the day you are sick--too bad I can't decide ahead of time, right? So they actually gave me a breathing treatment because my chest was so tight when I was breathing. She also prescribed an inhaler and Nasonex. I was already taking the Zyrtec—24 hour. I also bought some Ricola cough drops and saline nasal spray. That night I slept better until about 4 am. After the doctor I worked on signs for the Yard Sale and a food drive flier. Timo had flag football game, Zane had flag football practice, Izak and Gwen had soccer practice all around the same time! Micah was a jewel and helped Gwen get to practice and then picked her up when she was done. I didn't want to go outside anymore. I made dinner for a neighbor that had a hysterectomy. I made ham and cheese sliders and apple crisp with Thomas' apples. Another neighbor made the rest of dinner. Tim and Emily took the food over. I hope she is doing alright. Zane watered my plants I planted Tuesday since Tim hasn't had a lick of time to hook up sprinklers to them. After Izak's practice they went to Tim's parents to watch the BYU v Boise State game. Once I got Gwen to bed I listened on KSL until their signal went out part way into the 2^nd half. Timo went to Tyler's to watch it after their game. I sort of kept track on my tablet but it was a crazy defensive struggle. It's too bad Riley won't relent when he is so injured. They are still saying he will start this week—I know I listen to sports talk radio sometimes. Really? I think they need to get him healthy FIRST. 

Friday I was still pretty miserable since I didn't get back to sleep after 4 AM. I put up signs for the yard sale, I went to get copies for the food drive, went to the dry cleaners and then put up some more posters than ran to the post office and mailed a package to Taran. PHEW! I got home at 10:30 AM from all of that and I got a call from Julie to go laminate the signs I had made to put up—not the smaller ones I already put up. So I went to the high school with her at 11 AM and we laminated--pretty cool! We got done just in time for her to drop me off at the school to pick up the girls. After we got home from that I fed them lunch and basically crashed! Luckily a neighbor had brought us chocolate chip zucchini bread so I didn't need to make a snack. I was partly zombie, miserable—my head started throbbing and I got dizzy moving around. Ya, I was thinking I am getting a sinus infection, so pumped my sinuses with the saline and took ibuprofen and I bought some Mucinex DM which I thought we had but we didn't and I think the combo starting working. We had a surprise birthday party for Stephanie that night and we had to take a treat. Emily helped me make a treat after she had been at the Ashford. Tim and Timo worked on yard sale stuff then we went to the party. The plan was to make an appearance and leave for the doctor. Well, the ladies got me chatting and it was 9:15 and too late to go. It was alright because I just took all the meds and cleaned out my nose. I slept good and I was feeling way better the next day! YEAH! Timo, Tyler and Brynn slept with the yard sale stuff at the school parking lot! They didn't get much sleep.

Saturday I woke Tim up to go help them. I wanted to but I knew I needed to stay in another day to be healthy. I drove the kids to their games and reffing. Micah got a ride to his soccer game. Emily stayed with Gwen at her game and I sat in the car at Izak's. After Izak's game we took down the signs for the yard sale. I dropped him and Gwen off at the house and then my nephew Scott showed up! We chatted and I got to meet his friends. Cute girls! He said he'd be back today but somehow I knew he wouldn't be able to fit it in. Then I went to pick up Emily and Micah from reffing and we stopped at the high school to help loading up the yard sale leftovers. Micah and Emily found some treasures! By then I could handle being outside. Once we were done it was 4:30 PM! We didn't eat dinner until 6:30 PM. I was so tired even though I was better so I rested then got myself in gear and we had soup! The Bybees gave us homemade bread for a thank you to Tim and Timo (and Taran) for hometeaching them. So we had that with the soup. After dinner we got bikes for the kids with birthdays coming up. I figure if we are going to get new bikes anyway, it's a good time to get rid of the old bikes at the yard sale. I ironed and watched Facing the Giants with Emily and Izak. Tim had an early meeting and went to bed. Timo was at the Hallsted's and came home with his hair straightened. It was a late night--we talked a bit about choir tour and stuff.

Sunday I still felt better.  It was the dedication of the Brigham City temple. It was nice but I only could stay awake for the last talk. Tim, Micah and Izak went at noon and me, Timo and Emily went at 3 PM. Gwen taught our devotional about why we have temples. Then we read a special letter my Mom prepared for each of us and gave us each a simple yet pretty handkerchief. It was cool. She even got Gwen one for later. It was a rather relaxing sabbath, for us! The kids played uno and skipbo and watched family videos. Pretty fun!

Time after time I am learning how much I can do with the Lord's help. Honestly I couldn't have done what I did do this week without his sustaining power. I am so grateful for the gospel, how do people survive without it? Watching Facing the Giants reminded me of how much we can rely on the Lord. If we do all we can do he will work miracles in us but the glory should go to him. I am so grateful for this understanding. 

2012-09-16

Monday I started helping/volunteering in Mr. Williams (Micah's) class. I help students who are behind in Math. I enjoyed it and talked to him afterward about some math games you guys did when you were in school that might help these students. I will start helping Miss Riddle (Zane's) tomorrow—after Mr. Williams. She wasn't quite ready that day. Gwen had gone to Zoe's before school so her mom took her to school at the right time. She has the girls Monday and Tuesday and I have them Wednesday and Friday. It has been nice. I got stuff going(laundry, blah, blah, blah...) then got ready for my dental appointment. My tooth broke Friday late afternoon so they couldn't get me in until noon that day. So now I have a crown there. Hopefully the root won't die so I won't need a root canal. I got home just in time for the kids to get home. We had gotten an email from my mom wanting somewhat of a family meeting that night so we ate early and ran over to her house as soon as Tim got home and ate. She has to have surgery in her foot. Her ward is really great--they heard about her situation and in ward council they discussed how they could help her. They are offering to pay for her to go to a rehab place for 2 weeks after the surgery. This is so she can completely rest and get better. Otherwise it's same day surgery and her insurance will not pay for anything of the sort. So it would have probably fallen on me to take of her and dad and then who knows what would have happened with our family. So I am so grateful for their help. I offered to be with dad during the day and Teresa said that she could do nights. If this had been done during the summer it would have been a lot easier. The rehab place is awesome because they will make sure she gets her medications and they will do physical therapy with her to get her back on her feet—literally. This is true charity since there is no way we could ever afford that kind of cost. Mom is relieved to know she can just concentrate on getting better with her foot after her surgery. We don't know yet when this will take place since she still needs to meet with her surgeon and that will not happen until October 8^th. The ward was also willing to pay to have someone come in with dad but I know he doesn't want that and I know he doesn't want to go anywhere. So I suggested we figure out how to do it ourselves once we have the date. On our way home we dropped Timo off at a craft/fabric store to get his sports sewing class material. He met up with a couple of his friends who were already there.

Tim's sisters--love them!

Tuesday I was able to go to the temple early again but it was SUPER busy and seemed so ALL week! Very cool but I got home later than I planned and I had a YW Presidency Meeting at 10 am and then lunch with the Pew ladies (and Tim's dad) at noon. My meeting went well--we are trying to plan YW in Excellence (like a YW Eagle Court—super special but for all the YW). It is next month. I got to Tim's parent's just after noon. Annette was there still but left the next day so this was our last visit before she left. Eventually Shellie, Anna and Amy arrived. We all brought our own lunches and met there, usually we meet at a restaurant but with the varying schedules it worked out good this way. I got home just after the kids, but it was okay. Tuesdays are really nutty with Izak 6:30 AM piano, then piano after school and scouts and soccer practice and sometimes soccer games. We didn't have any games but Timo had a choir concert, Patriot Concert (for 9/11). It was great, of course. Just Tim and I went so Emily and Izak babysat. My mom came and Teresa watched my dad. It was interesting to think about the day it all happened and where we were, etc.

Wednesday was my busier morning but Tim was home to take the van in for it's inspection, so he was helpful. After I dropped Zoe and Gwen off at school I watched a neighbor boy so his mom could go to the temple. Anna dropped June off while he was here and they both started crying, she was afraid to leave. I insisted I would be fine and I was. He left before I had to go get the girls from kindergarten. Our van didn't pass so Tim fixed the things he could and we hope Brian can come this week and fix the rest and a couple things on Tim's car. Anna had brought June's portable playpen/bed to see if I could get her to nap. She seemed tired but just drank her bottle and then yelled, not cried until I got her! She is so funny. I'll try again next time so she can have a schedule. The girls love playing with her--it's so cute. Micah had a game in Highland and Izak had a game in Saratoga Springs. Tim took Izak and I got Micah a ride—Timo had my car until 5:30 PM so I couldn't get him there early. I went to the game and got to see him score a PK. It was super windy so I was glad they played well. My mom also went to Izak's game. No one needed my help in YW so I stayed home since it would mean Emily would have to babysit another night (she had YW the next night--they went to one of the girl's soccer game at the high school). Tim and Izak got home fairly close to 8 PM so Izak missed scouts. Both Micah and Izak's teams won. Izak hurt his foot in PE the day before so he didn't play a lot. Timo didn't have scouts which made it easier for him to get homecoming stuff done—I guess he played football with some guys.

Thursday I was finally able to exercise in the morning instead of at night. That was nice. I worked on Timo's Amazing Race for their 'day date' before Homecoming. Gwen and I made pumpkin blondies for the kids after-school treat. That afternoon was nicely slow for a change but Micah had a game at 5:30, and Gwen and Izak had soccer practice at 6:30 PM so I left Timo in charge of dinner—Totino's. Tim met up with Micah's game. My mom went to his game that night and I went to stay with my dad. They had no cable, internet or phone so we just chatted the WHOLE time which was great. He's feeling weak and we talked about that and he shared some things about his mission. I got home late because my mom had to visit with me some as well when she got home.

Friday Tim had been up with something so I didn't sleep well. He stayed home from work. He didn't eat until late afternoon when he tried 1/8 cup of Coke. I was feeling iffy but not quite as bad so I ate pretzels, Coke and ginger ale. By later that night I felt better but very tired and Tim was doing a bit better but he was weak. Timo went to the Homecoming game, Emily had gone to the Ashford to sing and after had friends to photograph. Izak and Micah ended up tagging along. Gwen and Zane did their Saturday chores that night so they watched HP7.1. I was finishing up all my Amazing Race stuff, I did it just here in Cedar Hills. I hope Timo liked it, he never really said. One girl told me she loved it and thanked me. A tender mercy since it was a lot of work. I read and read and got ideas online and then put it all together. I had some other parents and one of Timo's friends help me.

Saturday Izak had a 8 AM game in Provo? Tim felt good enough--barely--to take him. I was cramping a little like I might have IT for sure so I didn't want to leave home. I had asked some neighbors to take him in case we couldn't. I still had to take Emily to ref at 8 AM at Deerfield. I also had a couple of things I had forgotten so I had a Walmart stop on the way home. Tim picked up Emily in the way back. I took Micah and Izak to ref at noon at Westfield and tim took Gwen to her game at noon at Deerfield. My mom went to her game so now she's seen them all! Tim also took Emily to the freshman football game--luckily she got a ride home. When I got back Timo took the van to get money and his corsage. I had the Amazing Race helpers come over early and I explained everything and got them their clues and supplies. I had painted trophies from DI with metallic spray and wrote Amazing Race Champions on them to give to the winners. The kids seemed to like it. We ended at the Cedar Hills Grill where we gave out the trophies and took photos and then the boys got their dates a treat. After that it was time to get the food ready for their dinner—we had strawberries and I had to cut them up. I also had to get the kids fed before 6 PM stake conference adult session. Tim was singing in an Octet so he had to be there early. I was late because of some Emily drama but it turned out fine in the end. I love the adult session--always so good. We were done before the BYU game started so Tim took all the kids but Timo, who was at Homecoming by now. He picked Emily up from where she was helping with Timo's homecoming dinner and took her to his parents'. Then he picked up Jeremy and Ammon. Their stake had stake conference 7-9 during the game. Bummer, ya. Actually not so much since BYU stank it up the first half and had to play catch up after that. I had it on the radio at home as I put away Amazing Race stuff and laundry and such. I went to bed before the end so I had to ask Tim when they got home who won because the internet thing I was watching on my tablet didn't change forever so I gave up and went to sleep until they got home. Then Timo got home shortly after that and it was fun to hear how it went. 

Sunday we let everyone sleep in since we were assigned 1 PM session. It was broadcast from the Marriott Center. Elder Oaks was presiding and spoke last. It was very good. The main things I enjoyed: Remember who you are and you will remember to make good choices...The work of God is never frustrated just the work of man—love that! Another: Spiritual Priorities of the family members make a home. Elder Oaks commented on the election as in the church is non-partisan, and doesn't always speak out against  misinformation about the church just to be sure that they are not appearing to favor any candidate or party. We need to vote and be civil when we disagree. He counseled against Para Military groups and non-professional therapy practices. He said this a few times: Trust the Lord and in his Timetable, do the right thing at the right time... Faith prepares us for life's challenges. It was great and I could write more but I am sure you are feeling that is enough! We had a nice dinner and Zane taught our devotional and we went through the talks and chose some things to work on as a family. Mostly talking kind and being kind.

2012_09_09

Hey, this isn't Rachelle, this is Tim. Since Rachelle gave up on her blog I've been missing it since that is how i find out what has been going on with my wife and kids. So, I hacked into her email and got the letter she sent to Taran and I'm posting it here, slightly edited.

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Monday Izak did flags for Labor Day with the scouts. The YW used to do it but now we can't do fund raisers anymore so they are just having the youth take turns. Tim and I went on an hour walk up to the canyon via the golf course. We went to my Mom's that afternoon to celebrate her birthday. She wanted pizza, watermelon, corn on the cob, cinnamon cake and rootbeer floats. It was fun but we had to hurry back to clean the church. We were subbing for someone who had a 12 hour shift at the hospital that day. A couple of other famiiles were there as well. One of the families said that they usually take closer to 2 hours to finish and we took just over an hour! Helps to have big families helping.

We read Taran's letter as soon as we got home and then had ice cream and the kids showered and we watched the rest of 17 Miracles. Gwen actually wanted to watch it again this week! She is random. It is about the Martin Willy Handcart companies and 17 miracles that happened along the way, including one where a pie magically appeared in the wilderness--very awesome!. It is actually very inspiring but heart wrenching. It was so hard, why, why would people submit to that? Because they had testimonies. They knew this is the church of Jesus Christ and they wanted to come to Zion. They were willing to endure these hardships for the chance. Despite the advice of experienced leaders they left late and unprepared. It is amazing to me.

Timo got his Homecoming answer that night via some skittles YES! Relief! Although he had decided that if she said no he would take the girls in the ward who aren't going (a polyga-date!), all of them together! He is so nice!

Tuesday I got to go to the temple early so I was able to go walking, shower and then go to Costco. Gwen goes to the Zoe's before and after school on Tuesday. The kids started piano that day and seem to be gung ho! We are hoping Emily will learn the hymns so she can quit before Gwen starts next year. Timo is on the Cedar Hills Youth City Council and they had a car wash to raise money for the Sub for Santa program. I took the van in between my meanderings and they washed it. Micah had soccer practice and Izak had a game. Tim went to Izak's game while I got dinner for the little kids. Emily went to an Owlz baseball game—box seats with the Harts so she couldn't babysit. Timo got done before Tim and I had to leave to see 'Arsenic and Old Lace' at the Hale Theater. I got everyone in bed so when Izak got home Timo could leave for taco Tuesdays. The play was hilarious but a dark comedy. I thought I had seen it but I hadn't because it was not at all familiar to me. I bought the tickets because I have ALWAYS wanted to see it.

Wednesday I got to walk again. June didn't come--Anna and Buck went to pick up his sister at the airport and knew she would want to see June. I was going to watch my neighbor's son so she could go to the temple but she ended up needing to be home for a repairman. Another morning alone, so I walked again, then came home and worked on PTA stuff for our meeting the next day! Yep secretary is a lot of work sometimes. Zoe comes home with us on Wednesdays. That night was Micah's soccer game. I got him a ride and Tim went to the game when he got home from work. I had YW that night but we got a call just before YW that Scott (Tim's sister's son) was going to come visit us—he had just flown in and was on his way to BYU-Idaho the next day. I also had a choir board meeting that night at 8 PM that I really needed to go to so I didn't go to YW. I would have gone with a class that night but no one needed my help. I went to the choir meeting for a half an hour--we were preparing for the yard sale on Saturday. I got back home just before Scott and Annette (Tim's sister). It was fun--he's a cute kid. Tim made homemade peach ice cream for the occasion.

Thursday I had the PTA meeting. It went well. I had stuff to do that made it so I couldn't go walking, so I ended up watching Tangled while doing the Elliptical. I made Gwen's lunch and she watched with me. After the movie we made pumpkin chocolate chip bars for a snack. It was a fun time. She loves helping me make food so I need to let her do it more. That night I went to my Mom's to give her a break. She went to the mall and walked around and had a nice break. I enjoyed visiting with my Dad. I picked up all the peaches off their grass and then picked all the ripe ones off the tree. Then my Dad and I watched tennis (US Open) and talked politics, social reform and life after death. Yea, we covered a lot! It was great. While I was gone Tim got Gwen and Izak to soccer practice and what-not at home.

Friday my Mom had an MRI on her foot and found out she will need surgery--not fun! Meanwhile we had Zoe over until their friend Teresa's mom came by and picked up Zoe and Gwen and then brought them home later after school. I walked again, it was nice, a little cooler than other days. I am enjoying the new Linkin Park song we have and Imagine Dragons as I walk. Tim came home early Friday to get ready to go camping with Izak and the scouts. Timo had to work for his coworker so he was gone until almost 6:30 PM. Then he went and helped get yard sale stuff ready. I had the other kids do their chores. Emily was emotional about her friend situation. Fun times...I tried to go to bed early because I had to be up at 5:30 AM at the school for the yard sale.

I woke up at 5:15 AM. I took Timo and a friend over and they started unloading trucks. I put up signs in the road and nearby intersection. Then I helped until 7:30 AM and I had to take Emily to referee at Deerfield. I left Micah to babysit. Tim and Izak got home not too much after me. They had fun. Tim took Micah and Izak to their refereeing games and I picked up Emily. Zane watched Gwen! Crazy, I know. Then I went to Gwen's soccer game. She played pretty good. She was a little off. Zane called wondering where I was—oops! I had meant to leave a note! After her game we went to get Micah and Izak because Tim and Emily had left for the BYU game. I had Micah get a ride to his game because they needed help loading up stuff at the yard sale. So once I knew Micah had a ride I made him a snack and headed to the high school. I got done so late that I got to Micah's game at half time. They were winning and he was having fun so I guess that's all that matters. We went by Wendy's on the way home and got lunch. I scarfed mine down at home and left for Izak's game (he had gotten a ride). It was a close game so they had to work hard to keep a lead. I enjoy watching these guys play! Izak got to eat after his game! Yes, I am mother of the year. So we ate dinner at 8 PM because most of us ate lunch between 2:30 and 4 PM! Tim and Emily had fun and got home around 5:30 PM. I crashed at one point because I was exhausted from being up since o'dark thirty. Emily did her chores then hung with friends. Izak played night games with Ethan Lynch and friends. Timo stayed home to write his talk for Sunday. He spoke on the Via Ferrata trip his scout group did. Timo actually crashed after packing the leftover yard sale stuff into our garage—it's half full and all the way up. After we got the kids to bed Tim and I went around and took down the yard sale signs I had posted. Then we went to Walmart for milk. I made some treats for neighbors whose son (Taran's friend Spencer) had just returned from his mission. Then it was bed time!

Sunday Timo and I had BYC. We got out early—wow! Sacrament Meeting was great. Timo did a great job on his talk and the other talks were also amazing. After dinner, Timo and his guys planned Homecoming. They are doing the breakfast for dinner that Taran did. Izak said that he is going to do that when he goes...cool beans! Okay, off to bed for me! Oh wait I am also in charge of their Amazing Race day date...how do I get myself into these things! Timo is excited so that is good. He wasn't before since his date is acting kind of weird. Life!

Freedom Friday: Why I am voting for Mitt Romney...

So what's the big deal, I am a Mormon all Mormons are brainwashed and do what whatever they are told right?  Well, I have heard these things and find it quite funny that anyone who actually knows our church knows it's all about choice.  God gave us all the freedom to choose.  Now we can't choose our consequences which makes us very unhappy when the outcome is less than desirable like the extra 5 pounds I gained after a summer of frivolous eating!  I digress, so it wasn't a slam dunk for me to vote for Mitt.  Why?  Okay, I am ultra-conservative.  He did a fantastic job with the Olympics, he saved the day!  Read about it if you didn't know.  But he tends to be more compromising than I feel a conservative should be.  Maybe that makes him a good fit.  He is willing to listen and work with others who have differing opinions.  It's not that I am not willing to listen I just want the government to keep to their role: protecting my rights and freedoms not taking them away through taxes and over regulation etc...I would say I am almost Libertarian except for legalizing illegal drugs and foreign policy.  So Mitt has some great leadership qualities that we need as a country.  He understands the corporate world and the economy.  He also has had to run a budget in a state as a governor so he gets that whole process.  I am not really sure about Obama.  He served in the senate one term and was a community organizer.  So far he is showing no real leadership.  He has divided more than gathered us to work together to solve our problems.  His solutions are more spending and taxes, sorry but what happens when the well runs dry?  We need less spending and less regulation.  Then companies can feel confident in hiring more people, investing in new ideas, etc.  It works, look at post-Jimmy Carter up until the mid/late 90s we were very prosperous.

It actually doesn't matter much if I vote for Mitt because he will get the Utah votes.  So I can only pray that good people everywhere will think and if they are the praying type, pray about who to vote for.  I pray for Mitt and his family because the media is going to step it up.  He is the underdog in a sport where the referees (the media) will side with the home team (Obama).  He and his family have already been attacked with terrible lies and hearsay.  You can tell they are nervous, by the outrageous things they are saying.  Unfortunately this is all some people read or see.  So it's really in God's hands and if we deserve better we will get a better leader if not we will reap the unfortunate consequences of an inexperienced leader.  May God bless America in November.

Hello...

So now I am 2 weeks behind and I am not sure when I will post again.  I want to it's just that I  need my sleep and I need to find a different day to post.  Sundays were good but between writing Taran and stuff it was commandeering too much time and making it less peaceful around here.  I know no one but me will really miss it until I figure it out but until then this is good bye.  Here some favorite quotes from Pinterest:

The Olympics and summer are winding down...

Gwen and Holly backstroke Olympic swimmers!

Charl, Izak, Micah Anders and Tim at the hoop!

Tate floating amidst the floaty toys

Tim makes a shot!

Izak gets ready to do the backstroke--gotta love the Olympic fever!

Zane doing the 'butterfly'!

Holly and Gwen getting tossed by Katie's feet

Emily and Dad have a hug.

Teresa and Tate converse.

Timo chillaxing...

Timo working on his eagle project.

Gwen and Tim at the SLC 7 Peaks

Zane and Emily @ SLC 7 Peaks

Micah in the wave pool @ 7 Peaks SLC

Rachelle chillin' in the wave pool, her favorite.

Izak @ SLC 7Peaks

At the Zoo, we ARE the monkeys!

Spider Monkeys!  A favorite.

The baby elephant was so fun playing a squirting in the water!

Baby and Mommy Elephant play...

The Rhinos

Even bears eat their veggies even if it's last!

Poser Giraffe!

Tigerrrrrrr

Sweet barn owl from the bird show!

They measure up pretty good!

Monday I had a regional PTA Meeting. They basically had classes for each executive member, I am the secretary. After that they had a general meeting which was somewhat interesting—I mostly fought staying awake. I came with the President or I may have left after the first meeting. She ended up having some questions so we got home just after noon. The kids were anxious for me to get home since I wouldn't let them have friends over until Timo got home from work or I got home. Timo was anxious to go to his friend's to watch the USA men's basketball team in the Olympics—we don't get that channel. Emily was gone on a Student Council retreat/team building day. That late afternoon we met Teresa, Katie and Charl and family at her pool for free swim day—the last of the summer. I was going to bring the younger kids and Tim would pick up Timo and Emily on his way and bring dinner. By the time I got everyone home and ready to go Tim was home so we waited for him to get ready and then picked up Timo and Emily. We got pizza on our way there for dinner. Timo and Tim brought their tennis gear but I had forgotten to have Teresa reserve a court so they didn't get to play. Everyone swam but Timo. He played games on his itouch. Owell. Tim took him to play tennis after we got home. It was a fun family night all in all... we always enjoy cousins!

Tuesday I had to get my crown put on then my visiting teachers came or one came anyway—there was a mix up, no ones fault. Anyway, I always enjoy visiting with them. I had to pick up Timo and his friend Clay from work after she left. I did the family grocery shopping that afternoon. Izak had his first soccer practice that night from 6:30-8 PM and then a friend's birthday right after. He got home super late but had a lot of fun! Tim and Timo went over to Tim's parents to move the last of their furniture so they could get their laminate flooring installed Thursday. Tim knew Wednesday night would be too hard to fit it in.

Wednesday June came over. We took her for a walk to the school to return the books to the library. By the time we got home she was super tired so I fed her mac-n-cheese and some strawberries. Actually she fed herself, I just gave it to her! Then she wanted her bottle so I rocked her and fed her until Timo wanted me to make him some mac-n-cheese. So he fed her, I should have taken a picture of that! Owell, she rested enough at that point that when her bottle was done she was ready to go again. So the kids played with her, Zane was the best. He was super cute with her. That late afternoon Timo worked on his eagle project, making the triage bandages. We had about 13 scouts help others that just watched but we got them all done and now he just needs to sterilize them. There are a lot! Right after that we ate dinner and he, Izak, Tim, Micah and Zane went to Young Mens. They were having a 3v3 basketball tournament with all the young men—Tim was a ref. They divided up the boys into somewhat even teams as in each team had almost the same amount of each Quorum. Timo organized the bracket and teams. His team won which he wished hadn't happened, he wished other kids would have won. (Since he wins a lot he felt bad) But there were 3 deacons and him so it's pretty impressive. Izak's team was the most stacked team, if there was one, and they were in the championship with Timo's team. Izak thought it was fun and wasn't mad that Timo's team won. It sounds like it turned out good over all, as in even kids who don't care about basketball came and seemed to have fun. Meanwhile Emily, Gwen and I were at the church for the young women's activity, it was a craft that they didn't have time to make. It's a dry erase board made from frames, craft paper... so it was quick and easy. The girls seemed to like it. I had a choir board meeting right after and I went with my friend. It was long then we chatted until 11 something! Owell! She is just so fun to chat with. I am glad they have kept me just over publicity a few emails and phone calls and I am done!

Timo and his winning team and his YM leader with double thumbs up and wig!

Thursday Tim took in our window that was broken to get fixed then he took Izak to my mom's to mow her lawn. Timo had my car. I was able to get a lot of stuff done around the house. Especially laundry, people say I will miss doing so much someday, I REALLY doubt it. I will miss reading to little people and such but I don't think I will miss laundry! I know people who can do all their laundry for a week in a day! It takes me 2 days to catch up on not doing laundry Sunday! And I don't do Emily, Izak or Timo's! They do their own. Tim picked up Izak from my mom's and they went to an open football practice at BYU—it was pretty fun I guess. After Teresa and Izak watched the USA women's gold medal soccer game at my mom's and then she brought him home. Our neighborhood does a free swap, it's to help out those in need and help people get rid of stuff. You don't have to donate to do get anything. I helped set out stuff and grabbed a pair jeans for Emily and one for Gwen. Later Timo, Tim and I with some other parents of choir kids picked up stuff that was going to go to a local donation center for the choir kids in our neighborhood to sell at a large yard sale in September. We ended up not getting very much because we didn't get over there as soon as we should have. Owell, something is better than nothing. Every little bit helps!

Friday we went to 7 peaks in Salt Lake, everyone but Timo who had to work. We stayed until noon and then went to the zoo. It was super cool to see the newest improvements there and most of the animals were active since it was a little rainy and overcast. We had a great day but were very tired in the end! Tim and I went to a wedding reception for a girl in our neighborhood that night. We were just going to leave when Jordan Johnson, Tim's cousin's son, came up to us so we had a nice chat with him and his date (the groom's sister). Small world! Tim and I ran to Krispy Kreme to get Taran some before he leaves the States on Monday. Tim says that he is the most spoiled missionary ever...owell. I also sent him a Book of Mormon with our family's photo and testimony in spanish and then Emily's picture and her testimony that I translated (I had the Mia Maids write their testimonies and I taped it in with the translation. Tim and I watched Mirror Mirror after we got back and the Olympics were pretty much done. Emily and her friends went to the Lone Peak girls soccer game. I am not sure what Timo did besides watch the Olympics with friends.

Saturday Tim was up early to go golfing at 7 AM. It was a 'tournament' of guys from the neighborhood. But they were in teams of 4, and they used the best shot on each hole, that kind of thing. He had fun but didn't get home until after 1 PM. Meanwhile I went to send the stuff to Taran, hopefully he got it! I also ran some errands since I was on that end of the valley. When I got home I fed the kids lunch then I took Timo and Izak school shopping, mostly for shoes. After many stores Izak found some at the last store. Timo may have to try online. So I think other than Timo's shoes we are ready for school that way. I need to double check the school supply list for the elementary school and the jr high and high school kids will get their info after school starts unfortunately! I am dying at the amount the school fees are costing over $300 for Timo Emily is close to $200 and Izak's are over $100. Gwen hadn't really done her stuff while I was gone and Tim left soon after he got home to pick up our window and help his parents move furniture back and hook up all the electronics. So I helped her get her room clean and some things. I am going to have to clean the bathrooms this week since she didn't really get past her bathroom. Emily went to a LP football scrimmage and her friends on the Freshman team beat the Sophomore team! She came home after that game (there were more) and she worked on her online computer class. I ran to get milk and stuff and return our movie. Izak and Micah swam at a friend's who have an above ground pool until the sun went down.

Today I woke up with a severe allergy attack, my nose was running like crazy! Unfortunately I didn't get back to sleep so I am not feeling great at this point. I had taken some 24 hour allergy stuff that usually works so I can't really take any other meds until tonight! I am going to go to Sacrament Meeting, I think. I don't like missing but I need some rest so we'll see. We get to talk to Taran, they are allowed to call from the airport. If we don't hear from him in the morning we'll have to wait around to talk to him in the afternoon! I told him in my letter to call in the morning our home phone. I am glad that we don't need to go up there to the airport. We've said goodbye but it will be fun to hear from him!  I turned on the TV to watch the Spoken Word and the USA men's basketball team was barely beating Spain.  After the Spoken Word we switched back to see the last 25 seconds!    I was impressed with how patriotic the team was.  I am somewhat sad the Olympics end today but it will be nice to get to bed earlier and not be distracted all day and night!  I did go to church and Sacrament meeting was awesome.  It was about the importance of the Sacrament and Keeping the Sabbath Day holy.  I came home after and took a nap.    I feel less zombie like now.  Summer goes too fast and so do the Olympics but I am glad we have this last week to maybe do some more fun stuff before this summer is totally over only problem is we have A LOT going on.  Timo needs to finish up his eagle project: making cribbing and triage bandages for our emergency blocks in our neighborhood.  He is getting close!
Have a great week!