September 11th

I have never had a blog to share my feelings openly about what September 11th was like for me and where I was when it happened. I have mixed feelings about that whole thing. It was such a sad time, but turned out to be so happy for me long term. I was in the car with my dad, he was driving me to my college classes when we were having our typical fight over the radio. Who should get to control it and will it be my dad's favorite (talk radio) or mine (music). I won that morning, until we heard the DJs talking about a moron flying his plane into the Trade Center building. We were surprised and changed to talk radio where we got the whole story of 2 planes, both towers, terrorists and then the announcement of the Pentagon as well. I was stunned, but thought we would still be holding class.

When I got to English class all the teacher was doing was watching the news and everyone was talking. He excused us for the day and very few professors had class still going. We all watched the TV in the main area and I talked with a cousin of mine, until I decided I needed to go to a spiritual place and headed to the religious Institute building. It was on every TV there too. I talked with my friends and the called my parents because there was speculation of Osama Bin Laden going into China to hide and my sister was then over seas in China, 50 miles from Afghanistan. The next day, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang and the First Presidency did a memorial service that was on broad cast to the Institute. It was there that I felt really sad and heard this annoying guy behind me laughing and giggling during a somber moment. My friend Hilary kept giving him crusties.

The next day I met that annoying guy, he turned out to not be so annoying and in fact was a very cute nice guy. I dated and married him and we have been blissfully happy ever since. So the interesting thing is that when it happened I had a thought that after that time my life would never be the same. And it was true, but in a very positive way. I can't be completely sad during this time. I remember the emotions, the friendships, the worry, the sadness for so many lives lost and the love that I found after such a difficult time.

Lindsey

My sister Rachel tagged Lindsey so I will do a post all about her.

Name and meaning: Lindsey Brooke. Well, I looked up the definition of Lindsey and it is old English meaning "Lincoln's marsh; island of linden trees". Okay... Really before she was born we couldn't agree on any names but this one. We went to the hospital still not convinced it would be her name, but while we were there, nothing else came to us and it seemed to fit her well. It is also a family name on Robert's side, he has ancestors that came over seas named Lindsay with an sAy and they were all men. Brooke is my sweet little sister's name and I have always loved it. The other story with that is that at one time my mom and my Aunt were pregnant with little girls. They had them hours apart and 2 separate days. They both had 2 names Lindsey or Brooke. They decided they wouldn't let it influence their choice and my Aunt just happened to name her daughter Lindsey and my mom named my sister Brooke. So I ended up combining the two. :P

Age: 19 months old. She gets to have a January birthday like her mommy.

Nicknames: Pinsey, Pinseykins, Kinsey, Pinwheel and she now calls herself "Neeny" so that is her new one.

Favorite activities: Playing with pretend food and feeding people, pushing toy cars on the and making it's sound, going outside, etc. She loves to look and books and "read" them just like her big sister. And she loves to play chase and SCREAM with Emily. (the screaming part drives me crazy and has GOT to stop!)

Favorite foods: She likes most foods, meat, peas, grapes she LOVES, bananas, bread, eggs, rice, corn, beans, etc. She really isn't very picky. She of course loves sweets. The other day she had a cupcake for a birthday party, her cousin 2 weeks younger than her, just sat and licked at the frosting. Lindsey took it with both hands and SHOVED it frosting side first into her mouth. :D

Least favorite foods: For some reason she doesn't like pears and just like Emily, won't even try potatoes.

Favorite music: She loves music. She dances to anything, she tries to sing the A,B,C song with us and our night time primary songs. She walks around saying 8 all the time and finally I realized it meant A, but she likes to put a T at the end of words like "shoe".

Favorite toys: Loves the phone, real or fake. She also LOVES her baby doll. She has mothered that cheap ratty baby doll since she was 13 months and still crawling. She hugs it, loves it, feeds it, wraps it in a blanket and puts it to bed. She also has recently become attached to Elmo and our cheap Elmo doll and she can now ask for it by name.

Favorite book: She has a Blue's Clues board flap book that she has pretty much ripped and worn most of the flaps to death but she loves it.

Favorite item of clothing: Well, she LOVES shoes and is obsessed with her shoes, Emily's shoes, my shoes, etc. She puts them on her, on anyone who will let her. And she likes wearing Grandma's play beads and calling herself "petty".

What makes her happy: Going anywhere with her mommy and her sister, swinging, eating, her "key-key"- her blanket. Playing with toys, being tickled.

What makes her sad: When Emily picks her up when she doesn't want it, getting out of the swing, being put in the car seat too many times in one day, being physically hurt in ANY way.

I tag: Spring with Mia
Trisha with Kelsie
Jeanette with Elijah
and Bridgette with Colton

Art Blog

I have now become a serial blogger! I thought 2 blogs was enough, one main blog, one homeschool one. That was all I could handle, right? Wrong! I have added an art blog. I find that because of blogging I take more pictures, I write about what my family is doing and I feel like I get more things done because I am always wanting to document good memories for my kids and I make a point to make those memories. Well, I am finding myself to be more stagnant in how often I paint. I am doing more than before because of my art lessons, but I need to do more. I can't let my talents go to waste while being a mom. I stay up late enough to read through everyone's blog posts, email, message boards. Why not do that at the same time I paint? So I have started it and it has been helping. I really want to have art study goals, etc. and I want to share them too. That is the reason for the art blog. So come and check it out! There isn't much there yet, but the goal is to fill it up! Have fun checking out my work.

10 Things

5 Things I Hate Right Now


1. Politics. Oh, yes. I am really getting sick of it. I have been paying attention sometimes, but I just get so frustrated and angry. And truth be told I am pretty passionate politically. I interned at my state capitol as a teenager and considered studying politics for a time. And now it seems politics have done to me what they do to a lot of people. Make you stressed, angry, frustrated and just get so fed up with the whole thing that you turn off every speech and think "I will follow this up another day when I have calmed down." And let's not forget that we are running out of time before we have to actually go and vote.

2. Money. Ah, the beloved dollars and cents thing. Really I am grateful for my financial blessings, but it is stressful at the same time. Especially right now. I think this has been the hardest financial time we have had since we have been married and we were pretty broke when we GOT married. I wonder if the fact that $20 used to fill the tank back then and now... that is barely a quarter of the tank.

3. Food. I like food in general, but when you have celiac disease it can be easy to get really tired of your food. And there really is a lot of good things to eat still with my disease. Good fruits, veggies, meats, rice flour foods, but I get in a rut and my meals become the same old thing. Plus if I get really busy running around with the kids a lot, I eat poorly. I don't have many "grab" foods- bananas and carrots are the top thing so far- and if I am out of grab foods I just starve and then hate food altogether. Course, my chubby middle doesn't show this, but it is true.


4. Dishes. I have been doing much better in keeping on top of my dirty dishes recently. However, that doesn't mean I enjoy them. They never go away. I wonder why that is... something about eating every day, something like that. I have had a strike right now and there are dirty dishes in my sink!


5. Ants! Oh, they love my old, mildewy, cinderblock apartment. My bathroom, it's so lovely with crumbling, rusted walls and base board and the ants are SO happy to come through them that I am just about to set up a nice hotel for them complete with continental breakfasts. It doesn't matter what I try, sprays- which I don't like to use anyway- natural remedies- I have tried them ALL and nothing works. They always seem to be happy to find their way back. ARGH!

5 Things I Love


1. Fall. I love it when things start to cool down and you don't feel like you will roast outside. My favorite time of year is the Spring when it is nice out and the flowers start to bloom. But I also love the fall when the leaves change color. Beautiful!

2. Thrift Shopping. I am so excited to be getting ready to go to the giant thrift sale coming up. I LOVE it! I seriously feel like it's a candy store when I go there. Every spring and fall I plan to spend about $100-120, but what I get in return is AMAZING! There is no way on that much I could get what I come home with. Last spring I got 10 dresses for both girls, 4-8 capri pants, 6 shirts- the shirts in the spring aren't as nice as the winter-, 3 pairs of shoes, books, toys. And that was less than other times. I got a crib and dresser Bassett furniture set for $350. They were normally $350 for one. I go right before the doors open, it really is fun! This is one of the ways I save money that is a blast to do. It's boring and stressful and frustrating to do it retail. But when I am paying $2 for jeans with very little wear in them, how could I be stressed?! And they only take the best stuff.

3. Painting. I am so happy to be taking art lessons again. I have missed it. I paint more now because I am going. My art teacher is wonderful. He is 78 and such a sweet guy. He inspires everyone, make all of us feel that we are wonderful artists. He is kind to everyone and I just can't say enough about his character. This week I am putting another piece in my state fair. I have put about 5 things in and had 3 ribbons, 1 7th place and 2 4th place ribbons.


4. Ice cream. I love moose tracks ice cream. Right now the best kind is Private Selection brand. However, I am avoiding it like the plague it is what with 23% of saturated fat, no WAY! But it is sinfully good and gluten-free! So my chubby middle? Yes, that comes from my chocolate and ice cream LOVE.


5. Reading. I love to read. I have been reading the best things recently. I have really liked having this time to expand my mind and I love that Emily is reading everything she can get her hands on. She is so cute. We went to the library and I am specifically trying to gently push her out of her comfort zone. She is getting nervous about talking to people she doesn't know recently. So I had her go up to the librarian and ask for the Frog and Toad books. She has 2 of them and loves them and wanted to read the others.

Blessings

Our house hunt has been on hold recently. We have gone over our budget and our numbers and realized that with our current income a house would be impossible. In fact moving any where even a little bit more expensive was going to be impossible, what with rising gas prices, etc. We have also been waiting since March for several promotions from Robert's job. Well, since they haven't come, we decided it was best for us to start looking for another job. Perhaps our answer to our prayers was that it was time to move on. And since we get kicked out of here in December we were worried that if it didn't happen soon we would try for an extension- which they don't always give once you are graduated- or we would find a lovely little shanty like this one:


You don't like it? I think it has a certain "charm" about it. Easy access to transportation right?

Last week Robert calls me from work to tell me that he got a promotion with a decent raise in his department. We were so happy and grateful to the Lord for this blessing. It would definitely help. An hour later Robert calls back and says that the promotion we have waited on forever in another department higher than his called and offered it to him! This is an even greater raise than the other one. We were happy with the first one and feel very blessed and humbled to be given the second. The department he is in now unfortunately can't let him go yet since he is one of their indispensable people, but the other department needs him too. So at this time he will need to stay for 1-3 months. We are really praying for 1 month, 2 at the most because the sooner we get to the other department the sooner we will be able to figure out if the house buying will be possible or we will need to find another place to rent for awhile longer. Then we just may be able to upgrade our home situation to something more like this middle house:


What? You don't see any difference?

Blocks

I finished another painting. This one I have been working on and off for awhile. I finished it last week and am glad it is done. I don't hate it, but I have others I like more. I think eventually when I have the space to do it, to put it in one of my kids rooms or a playroom. I am now working on one MUCH harder. Have you see the cathedral in Russia called St. Basil's? I will be painting that. My art teacher has a new method he wants me to try and I am kind of nervous about it, but excited too. Both my older and younger sister have lived in Russia for a time and have taken beautiful pictures of it while they were there. My older sister really wants a painting of St. Basil's and I think it will really stretch my abilities to try and paint it. We will see how that turns out and I will post it on here when it is finished. In the mean time, enjoy my latest painting.

Family Reunion

Every year all the family comes to the old farm house to have a family reunion. The first year I became part of the family we had only been married a week and didn't go. We have gone every year after that. Robert's Granddad and Grandma Donna went with us that first year and haven't been able to go since. They are getting older and can't leave their home. We miss having them there and everyone still has fond and funny memories of them.

The first year I went I was just newly pregnant with Emily and was tired, sick and crabby. At the end of the week we decided to let his family know, so they didn't wonder if Robert had married a basket case. The next year we went with little Emily who was a trooper during the 4-5 hour drive. The year I was pregnant with Lindsey my sister-in-law Lori was pregnant with her little girl Sienna. We took the drive together since neither husband was able to make it. I really enjoyed it that year since not having Robert really helped me to step out of my comfort zone and get to know the family I had married into.

Each family takes turns with the activity and menu of the lunch on the second day. This time the theme was a Hawaiian Luau. We didn't have anything Hawaiian so we walked over to the local dollar store and found some flowered leis and flip-flops with flowers on top.


This is the old farm house that Granddad grew up in. His old childhood bed is still upstairs. Right now, there is a back house that is being added onto the farm house. Sylvia and Sid are brother and sister and they share the house. Sylvia is married to Adam. Sid does the best firework show there is. He shoots them off in the field behind the house while we all sit on the lawn with a front row seat. His breakfast is superb and one of the best parts of the reunion. Fresh chicken eggs, ham, sourdough pancakes (only wish I could eat that part) and tons of wonderful fruit.


There is also a natural spring that I missed the hike to this year. You hike to the top and take a long gulp of water before heading back down. When you are looking at the moss on the rocks the thought of drinking it just doesn't seem right, but you have to give it a try. No water ever tasted SO good! And I don't have any parasites yet. We went up to the old cemetery where we saw the graves of Robert's Great-Grandfather and Great-Great Grandfather and Great Aunts.


Poor Sienna had to be the unlucky one to fall in the ditch by the house. It's hard to keep your eye on two babies the same age and poor Lori injured her back before the trip. It was another fun year.