Wednesday, December 31, 2008

New Years resolutions...how many of us keep them?!? We all make them though. So I've been thinking about what I want for 2009. Instead of calling them resolutions, I'm calling them goals. As long as I'm moving forward and progressing, no matter how far I get (each one is different), then I'm successful. These are some of the things I want to work on:

Personal

1. Continue to develop a stronger relationship with my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ.

2. Study the scriptures more often...daily would be great.

3. Moving my life along.

4. Lose weight...I now know that I don't have to be skinny to feel good about myself. I do not have to be model-thin. Society will not dictate what's best for me.

Family

1. Be more patient with Alex and help him reach for his potential.

2. Make decisions that will ultimatley affect the family in a good way.

Work

1. Contract with two or more doctors to do their billing. Don't want to grow too fast, roots need to grow deep.

Fun/Social

1. Try to go to more church activities and fight the feeling of being a wallflower (we all know who puts those thoughts in our head).

These are just a few. Some will continues even past 2009. I really want to make good changes this year.

I hope that all my family and friends have a great New Year. May God bless you all.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

A reward!

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I received this reward from Screaming Mimi...Thanks so much Pam!! Like her I enjoy the blogs with depth in them. This is what she had to say:

I really like this award because of the way it says that these bloggers are not interested in lots of prizes, awards, etc.
I have been to some blogs, where the only goal seems to be snatching blog awards anywhere they can find them, whether they have been given these awards or not. The blogs I love are ones that I can relate to. The ones that deal with lifes joys, pitfalls & surprises with grace and laughter.The award states:"This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships!These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

I don't have eight I can send this to as Pam has already done so from those that I know. I do however have one more person and that is Aubrey at The Dogghouse!. She is my cousin and I love her blog. I love how she shares herself spiritually. Love ya Aubrey!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

What a fun Christmas season this is. My folks got in a few days ago. And Matt came home tonight!

Matt had some real neat experiences the last two days. While sitting in the airport for nearly 24 hours he had a lot of people come up and shake his hand and say thank you to him. I think that shows there are still genuine people in the world. It makes my heart swell with pride. Then while he was waiting at the gate he had fallen asleep. A nice person woke him up so he wouldn't miss the flight. When he went to the counter, the attendant looked at Matt and said "You're sitting up front!" and bumped him to 1st class for free. I thought that was pretty nice. He sleep comfortable for 2.40 hours.

Matt didn't tell his girlfriend Jenifer that he was coming home tonight (he was supposed to come home tomorrow). He just showed up at her door!

I've been so enjoying the last few days. I've had a couple of very busy days. (Not what the doctor told me to do). So outside of going to church tomorrow, I will be staying home and relaxing. I can't undo everything that was surgically fixed. I did get to start working from home this week...ok'd by the doctor. I actually enjoyed it too.

It's a very cold night here. It was in the 70's during the day but a cold front has come through and it's only 32 now. Brrrrr....

Monday, December 15, 2008

Matt's Jump!

Ok, first let me start off by saying "Yes I'm a sponge". Now that that is out of the way Matt called and told me about his jump from an airplane today. He said that he really didn't jump as much as he got sucked out of the plane. So now he is free falling and his shoot is supposed to automatically open up...I said it did...right??? He's says, "Well mom, no it actually didn't". My stomach hits the floor Shock . So I said, "At least your backup did." He says. "Well actually it didn't". At this point I'm trying to process what he's telling me, after all I was actually talking to him so he had to have made it down safe...right? I asked him what he did. He said as he was free falling he thought for sure it was over...he was going to die. So he unbuckled his harness and landed on another soldiers open shoot. I'm thinking..well...wouldn't that collapse that soldiers shoot? I was trying to understand what he was saying. Well you guessed it...I was the butt of a joke. I'm not stupid...just gullable! He actually did just fine and jumped twice. He jumps two more times tomorrow and is looking forward to it. I'm just breathing a sigh of relief. Whew

Sunday, December 14, 2008

The Race

"Quit, give up, you're beaten"
They shout at you and plead
"There's just too much against you
This time you can't succeed".

And as I start to hang my head
In front of failures face
My downward fall is broken
by The memory of a race

And hope refills my weakened will
As I recall that scene
Or just the thought of that short race
Rejuvenates my being

Childrens race, young boys
Young men, how I remember well
Excitement sure, but also fear
It wasn't hard to tell

They all lined up so full of hope
Each thought to win that race
Or tie for first, or if not that
At least take second place

The fathers watched from off the side
Each cheering for his son
And each boy hoped to show his dad
That he could be the one

The whistle blew and off they went
Young hearts and hopes afire
To win and be the hero there
Was each young boys desire

And one boy in particular
Whose dad was in the crowd
Was running near the lead and thought
"My dad will be so proud"

But as they speeded down the field
Across a shallow dip
The little boy who thought to win
Lost his step and slipped

Trying hard to catch himself
With hands flew out to brace
And amid the laughter of the crowd
He fell flat on his face

But as he fell his dad stood up
And showed his anxious face
Which to the boy so clearly said
"Get up and win the race"

He quickly rose, no damage done
Behind a bit that's all
And ran with all his night and mind
To make up for the fall

So anxious to restore himself
To catch up and to win
His mind went faster than his legs
He slipped and fell again

He wised then that he had quit before
With only one disgrace
"I'm hopeless as a runner now
I shouldn't try to race"

But in the laughing crowd he searched
And found his fathers face
That steady look which said again
"Get up and win the race"

So up he jumped to try again
Ten yards behind the last
If I'm going to gain those yards he though
I've got to move real fast

Exerting everything he had
He regained eight or ten
But trying hard to catch the lead
He slipped and fell again

Defeat, he lay there silently
A tear dropped from his eye
There's no sense running anymore
Three strikes, I'm out, why try?

The will to rise had disappeared
All hope had fled away
So far behind so error prone
A loser all the way

"I've lost, so what", he thought
I'll live with my disgrace
But then he thought about his dad
Whom soon he'd have to face

"Get up" the echo sounded low
"Get up" and take your place
You were not meant for failure here
"Get up", and win the race

With borrowed will "Get up" it said
"You haven't lost at all"
For winning is no more than this
To rise each time you fall

So up he rose to run once more
And with a new commit
He resolved, that win or lose
At least he shouldn't quit

So far behind the others now
The most he'd ever been
Still he'd give it all he had
And run as though to win

Three times he'd fallen, stumbling
Three times he'd rose again
Too far behind to hope to win
He still ran to the end

They cheered the winning runner
As he crossed the line first place
Head high and proud and happy
No falling, no disgrace

But when the fallen youngster
Crossed the line, last place
The crowd gave him the greater cheer
For finishing the race

And even though he came in last
With head bent low, unproud
You would have thought he'd won the race
To listen to the crowd

And to his dad he sadly said
"I didn't do too well"
"To me you won", his father said "
You rose each time you fell"

by D. H. Groberg

Saturday, December 13, 2008

The Meaning of Christmas Symbols

Here are the meanings to the Christmas symbols

·The Star: A heavenly signs of prophecy fulfilled long, long ago- The shining hope of mankind.

·The Color Red: The first color of Christmas, symbolizing that Savior's sacrifice for all.

·The Fir Tree: Evergreen- the second color of Christmas shows everlasting light and life. The needles point up to heaven.

·The Bell: Rings out to guide lost sheep back to the fold, signifying that all are precious in His eyes.

·The Candle: A mirror of starlight, reflecting our thanks for the star of Bethlehem.

·The Gift Bow: Tied as we should all be tied together in bonds of goodwill forever.
·The Candy Cane: Represents the shape of the shepherd's crook, used to bring lost lambs back to the fold.

The Wreath: A symbol of the never ending eternal value of love…having no end
Gizmo has been by my side everyday since my surgery. He's just too darned cute. If I sleep, he sleeps. If I get up he gets up. And then, of course, if HE plays, I play. Here a a couple of pictures of him destroying my bed. He loves to bury himself under my pillow. And then he waits for his prey...ME!

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And he can be so cute when he sleeps. He was cold and had crawled under a leg warmer on my bed.

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Thursday, December 11, 2008

Pondering Friendships

I was thinking about the friends I've made since I moved to Texas. At the time my husband was active duty Marine. We moved here in 1998. For the past 5 years we lived in Belton, Missouri. I did daycare and developed friendships with the other daycare providers. Being the kind of person that I am...I gave my all in a friendship. I developed a strong bond with Percilla. We took our daycare kids everywhere together, we watched each others kids when we got sick, etc. A true friendship...right?!!??! Or so I thought...

When Steve got his transfer orders to Texas I was sad because I had good friends here, especially one.

(Sidenote: I'm very greatful to have come to Texas. We were ordered to California. I have never wanted to live in California. I always dreaded it. Well, one of my daycare moms knew our monitor and reminded him that he owed her a favor. She told him to not mess with her babysitter because she did not want to go to California...so he sent us here to Fort Worth)

Ok, back to my ponderings...When I told Percilla that we were moving to Fort Worth she dropped a bomb on me. She did not hang on to friendships once people move. She said they come here, they leave, they're gone, end of story. I was floored. That's not what I consider true friendships. I don't cut people off like that! How can people do that. I was devastated. I have friends all over the place. I sure remember them and kept in contact as I can. Yes, I know distance can make a friendship fade, but it's not like cutting it off completely and pretending it was never there. I felt real alone when I moved here. I had no friend to share my change with.

Anyway, my point in all of this was that I don't get it. I've been thinking about it for the past few days (don't really know why). Can anyone explain it to me.

MY FAVORITE 'P' THINGS!

My friend has this on her blog and I thought it was pretty cool, so I asked her for a letter. The game is easy! All you have to do is make a list of ten of your favorite things. There's a little catch. Everything on the list has to start with a specific letter of the Alphabet. That letter is randomly assigned by the blogger who you are playing with! I got "P".

So here is my list of 'P' favorites in no particular order:

1. Pasta, pizza, peanut butter...when you love food like I do, you can't just list one!

2. Pictures...pictures are my way of capturing memories. I'm a scrapaholic!

3. Playing...with Gizmo. He is the pup who has stolen my heart!

4. Proud...I'm proud of my children and the accomplishments they've made in their lives!

5. Plenty of friends...I have made some real good friends over the past 8 years. They are truely a blessing.

6. Parents...I love my parents tremendously. They lovingly raised me in the right way to live. For that I will always be grateful.

7. Petunia, pansies, petals...yep I love flowers of any kind!

8. Peace...I love peace. I am a peace maker. Live is so much happier lived in peace.

9. Purple...is one of many colors I enjoy.

10. Promise...the promise of a new day is something to look forward to. Will you make each day better?

So there you have it. I did have to get a little creative as the letter 'P' wasn't as easy as I thought. So now leave me a note and I'll give you a letter to work on!!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Today has been a lazy day. I did nothing but chill out. Surfed the internet, surfed itunes, read (Twilight), watched TV (The Game Plan (?) with "The Rock". The one where he has a little girl..way too cute). Lets see... talked to mom and dad for about an hour. See what I mean...LAZY!!! And I think it will be that way tomorrow too. I'm still bleeding from the surgery...not sure how long that's supposed to last so I've definitely decided to slow down. I go see the doctor for my two week check up on monday.

Matt is excited to come home. He said he is tired. I bet he is...it's hard being put on a schedule. But wait until he comes home...he'll be so used to getting up early that his body alarm will kick in. Hmmmm....maybe I'll invest in some ear plugs!

I wish I could drive Friday....I want to go to the movies. It's become my treat for myself. I thought I'd hate going by myself but it's actually fun.

Okay, so I know my last few posts have been boring...but now you know how bored I really am...lol!

No more torchure tonight!...

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

So I'm one week and a day after surgery. I've been told to take it easy. Basically rest and relax. No lifting, vaccuming, etc. Well I haven't been able to stay true to that. My house is a wreck and I have a teenager who just doesn't understand...or because of that nasty stage... just doesn't care. I put my own sheets on the bed the other day. I have a kingsize mattress. I took my time doing it but it sure pooped me out. Then today I couldn't handle the kitchen anymore. I gave in and cleaned it. Afterward I took a very long nap...I was wore out. When I was growing up I had chores and I helped around the house. Unfortunately I didn't have the backup help I needed to instill this in my children. My youngest is in charge of the dishes. His idea is to load the dishwasher maybe 1/4 full and that's enough to run it. Oh, and lets not forget that he thinks the dishwasher is a scrubber too. Forget about wiping down the counters or cleaning out the sink. And I've done the laundry. I did demand someone take the baskets of clothes and put them on my bed. I was not a horrible housekeeper back in the day. But when my kids got old enough to help out, BUT DIDN'T ...I gave up. Just as soon as I have everything looking nice...WHAM...its a mess, that fast. I know this is a big ol long rant but I had to get it out. I'm dying inside! Can I go live by myself?!?!??!?

Saturday, December 6, 2008

So I am home from surgery. I actually came home wednesday night. Monday was the surgery. It was supposed to start at 9:15 am but didn't get started until after 12:30 sometime. I remember very little from being wheeled into the O.R. They put me out so fast. I usually will feel it hit and the be out shortly afterwards but this time...BAM...I'm gone. Everything went well. Once they removed the utuerus my bladder bounced right back where it should be so they did not have to perform that procedure. However they did find a hernia in another area (don't care to mention where...ahem) so that got fixed. I have a vague recollection of being in the recovery room. My regular room was not ready so I was in recovery for 4 hours. Hardly remember it. I do remember that they let Steve see me for a few minutes...but thats all I remember. Matt's girlfriend Jenifer came to the hospital and waited with Steve. I thought that was so sweet. She brought me flowers and a balloon. The first night was hard. I hurt and hardly slept. They had to keep me turning positions every 2 hours. The nurse that first night was so sweet. As for the others...they were nice but hardly saw them. Hospital food is awful...especially when they put you on a liquid diet. I HATE GREEN JELLO!!!!...nuf said...hehehehe.

I am home now and actually getting bored. Also frustrated. There are things I want to do but I can't because I can't lift anything over 10 pounds. I walk up and down the stairs for entertainment. Six weeks of this!!!...aaagggghhhh!

Fun times are coming though. Mom and Dad will be here on the 17th and will stay through the new year. And Matt comes home on the 20th!!! We will have lots of fun!

Gizmo.....gizmo is begging me to play with him....more later...