Christmas Tree and Apollo

Today has been a fun day. Got to decorate our Christmas tree! My sister in law had given me and Steven their tree since they had gotten a newer one. It's not super big, but it's big enough for Steven and I to hang all our ornaments on it that we've collected over the years! The home is really beginning to feel like Christmas! Here's a somewhat blurry image of our beautiful Christmas tree :)

Also this same day Steven and Gabriel decided to be silly and stack things on Apollo. This is how he took it:

Thankful Today, Thankful Always

It is Thanksgiving today and I feel I might as well post something. It's been a few weeks and I'm beginning to feel more bothersome as I send out the almost weekly email with nothing overly exciting. Finding myself developing more into a writer, I almost feel like I ought to have more exciting things going on in my life to write about. Right now I'm debating whether it's my own fault for not doing more exciting things or for not taking the mundane and utilizing my creative imagination and making it the most amazing thing ever!

Anyways, I am shifting my blogs slightly. Instead of the weekly updates, I'm going to do my best to 'journal' the important and interesting things that happen when they happen. This could be the end of the blog for that matter since I tend to get busy with other, not necessarily important, things. I hope it won't be, though it may seem it to some since I will not be sending out the weekly email anymore. I've been doing this for 1 and a half years and by now I would hope people remember how to find me. Maybe save the link for the blog from a past email.

Now back to the main intent for this post: Thanksgiving! I'm with Steven at his parents for Thanksgiving. Each and every year my family always would say at least one thing they're grateful for. Well I have many things to be thankful for this day and always (and this may or may not have been my facebook status update...). I'm alive, my parents are well and healthy, I have wonderful in-laws, I'm sealed to my loving husband, I have live in a comfortable home with good friends and two priesthood holders, all of my talents I've been blessed with, a job that I love and can't believe I get paid to have fun with next to zero stress, friends who accept all my zany, quirky, and quite possibly psychotic personality, and the gospel in my life that gives me meaning and direction.

I'm sure I forgot something like being thankful for Apollo or soft blankets that make sleeping so much more enjoyable, but like with counting your blessings, when I really think about it, there is a lot of things I'm grateful for and could probably write a novel about it complete with the reasons why. So be thankful I gave you all the foot notes ;)

Now as for a side note of this vacation, Steven's mother hands me a magazine for their town in Idaho. I haven't a clue what will catch my attention in it, but I flip through it since she seemed to think I would find something I'd like. Well, as luck would have it I saw a page talking about Allie Brosh, a blogger who has written quite a few funny blog posts (like this one!) and has compiled a book together of her blog posts. I discovered she and my husband went to the same high school. She graduated a year before Steven and even he's trying to figure out if he might have known Allie Brosh. Too bad he only kept his Senior Year book. That was probably the coolest thing to have happened lately next to almost being related to Rupert Grint (we're not, but for a moment their it looked like the Parker side of my family was).

Hope your Thanksgiving is going well and you're surrounded by loved ones! Remember, it's not just today we're thankful. Today is an opportunity to remember what we should already know.

<3 

New Phones

The awesome update of the week is Steven and I got new phones! Its the Samsung Galaxy sIII. We've joined the smartphone generation. So far it's been really nice. I basically upgraded my iPod to being able to make call and surf the web. If we haven't given you our new numbers, leave a comment or send and email and I'll be sure to forward it onto you :)

I WON!!

The 18th was our ward's Harvest Carnival. I went as a Pirate which was very fitting since mine and Steven's roommates went as Peter Pan, Wendy, John and Michael. I also had fun spending a little more time with my Boss and her kids outside of work. They came along and though the big brother was shy, he's told me today that he did have a fun time. The other fun thing about that night was I won the dessert contest! I gave out a loud whoop before they had finished talking due to my surprise and excitement which got some laughs. The treat I made is called a Pumpkin Crunch Cake. Super tasty and quite easy to make. I figured from how simple it was and the lack of any purposeful decoration and attempts to elevate it's appearance that my dessert would be enjoyed, but not the winner. So yeah. I was totally stoked!

You should click here fore the Pumpkin Crunch Cake Recipe

Oh yeah, forgot that I didn't even serve it with ice cream or whip cream! It won on it's own ^_^

Also, Steven and I have colored our hair. Make guesses, take bets, but we'll show you pictures next week after our Halloween party this Saturday.

<3

Blame it on the Lazy

Yikes! Has it really been  month since my last post! Well, I'm sure there's something AMAZING I've done since we last talked... let see... oh! I'm still employed, which is always good, and Steven has survived 4+ weeks of over time. He has a break this week from it, but it sounds like it'll be back once more.

I've canned green beans with my mom and dad. A new baby is in the house. Our roommates had a baby boy on the 23rd of September. He's cute as can be and was another injection of baby fever for me. But that's subsided some. Steven and I cannot say we're expecting still, but I suppose if HF wants it to be, it'll happen. In the mean time I really should be thankful to be able to sleep a full night's sleep and continue to save what money we can (not that it'll be much especially once we're both paying for our health insurance).

I've also been working on some art. Here's pieces of what I will be making into a giant picture in about another month or two.

She will be leaning against something.

They are characters from the D&D game Steven and I have been playing. In fact, the red looking one if Steven's! My character has art work for her, but I have a different one I'm making for this particular project I'm doing.

Steven and I also received a new calling. I had been the visiting teacher supervisor (if I hadn't mentioned that back in August) for almost a full month when Steven and I were called to teach in Primary. We get to teach one of the two CTR 4 classes. We taught 2 weeks ago, had General Conference last week, then taught again today. Primary program is coming up and it'll be interesting seeing how well our batch of 4-5 year olds do (let alone us making sure we help them do their part correctly XD). But for now, we're enjoying team teaching together. It's really nice serving with Steven because one I'm comfortable to with him and two, he's actually a really good teacher :)

So that about sums up the excitement from the last 4 weeks. I'm sure I forgot something, but I suppose that's my own fault for not staying on top of writing here.

Take care!

<3

Greatest Love

This past week has been AWESOME! First, Steven and I were able to get a freezer. Thankful because now we can go back to making frozen dinners and buying bulk meat. Huge thanks to my father for taking time out of his busy week to help with that. Apparently he and my mother have been working feverishly on getting the paint on the house stripped and repainted. Here's hoping they were able to accomplish that despite the rain that has now set back in.

Thursday was my 25th birthday. It was a very pleasant day. Received lots of birthday wishes in the forms of phone calls, birthday cards, text and facebook messages. Steven was able to slip a gift in while I wasn't looking and made for a great surprise. It's a kite! A big one! Yes I do love kites. There's something about the challenge of getting it up, especially while living at the apartments, when the wind isn't 100% cooperative. We were going to try it out this weekend, but we vetoed that due to something else we had to do.

My sister, Emily, then treated me to breakfast and the Zoo. It was particularly fun going to the Zoo because I had my little girl that I Nanny now with us. She got in for free and promptly slept through the majority of the visit. Then that night Steven says the other part of his gift to me was to sit and watch Twilight: Breaking Dawn part 2. We had a blast watching it. There were parts we had fun poking fun at which made the movie that more fun. For those of you cringing at the thought of Twilight, the 5th movie is by far the best. The other's are at best okay.

Anyways, Friday I went and paid a visit to my last job. I was mostly looking forward to seeing my little babies. Oh man have they grown and this was probably the best thing I've ever experienced. I knew there was a great chance that my babies were gonna be forgetting me very soon. I had seen them 2 weeks prior and they seemed to kinda remember me, but with the parents there and all the people at the talent show, it wasn't too surprising they didn't give me much attention. But Friday, 3 of my 4 babies recognized me the best. These three are now in toddlers and ALL three of them are walking! It was so cute to see them moving around. The part that filled my heart with so much joy was when I called their names and all three of them saw me and their faces lit up. They then walked/crawled as fast as they could to get to me and I had to make room for 3 cuddly babies who all seemed surprised and very happy to see me. I nearly cried at how much they seemed to have missed me and boy I can't wait to go back!

With the pump of that love, I don't think the rest of the day could have done any wrong. But I must say, nothing terrible happened anyways. In fact that night I ended up giong to Seattle to meet up with a friend. I had wanted to go to another friends to watch America's Next Top Model, but unfortunately with Steven wanting the car and her folks being gone it just didn't work out. So Seattle was the next choice in which I got to catch up with another friend whom we haven't had much of a chance to see each other lately. We enjoyed walking about the city, bought some stuff and ate a fabulous dinner at one of my favorite restaurant, the List. Couldn't do Pike Place or any other sites due to the lateness we got together (bus and traffic being the main reason for the lateness).

Saturday Steven and I had planned on flying the kite he got me, but we had talks to prepare. All week we had been pondering our topics, but with Steven doing OT (60 hour week), we had little time at home to really sit down and focus on it. So Saturday became our cram day. He finished his before me, but through distractions and the need to step away ever so often when I got stuck, I completed my first 15 minute talk at 12:30am this morning :D Okay it was 14 minutes total, and I was hoping that I would remain calm and composed and not speed read my talk making it suddenly 10 minutes or less. Long story short, I gave my talk with few mistakes and only shaved off about 2 minutes though my nervous rush. For those who'd like to read my talk, click here or scroll down if you are still in the main feed of the home tab.

Anyways, like I said, it's been a great week. 25 hasn't been so bad so far. I hope everyone had a great week and those in Western Washington may the storm I hear happening outside not harm any of you.

<3

Talk on "The Savior Wants to Forgive"

Good morning Brothers and Sisters. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Meriam Kopsa. I typically respond to Meri, but either is just fine. Steven and I have been in the ward nearly 3 months now, having previously moved from SeaTac, WA and we so far love it here. We’ve been married for nearly 2 wonderful years and am thankful we still have eternity to go. I would go into details about how we met, but I assure you Steven recalls our first date far better than I do. (And those chuckling out there obviously agree). It’s been about 8 years since I’ve given a talk, so I’m hoping to put to use all I learned in Speech 101 a few years back when I was in college since I am no public speaker. I pray the spirit of my message will be understood in case I speak too fast or jumble what I have written to share with you.

But first a little about me since I am new to the ward and have not yet been able to acquaint myself to each of you. I am an artist in many forms; drawing, music, and dancing, to name a few, are my favorites and strongest of talents. I was born and raised in Washington to a family that promoted my artistic expression and raised me up in the gospel. Though artistic, I’ve pursued after the profession of childcare which my personality thrives in, since I’m silly and creative. I have a love for animals which has been healthfully nurtured by my parents since they both are veterinarians. I also just turned 25 and noted 2 things about being half way up the hill; I still don’t know everything and I’m still not perfect. It sometimes looks like I’ll be forever making mistakes and sinning. Thankfully we have a loving Heavenly Father with a plan so you and I can return to him someday. It just so happens that I’ve been asked to talk on the message given in April’s General Conference by Elder Craig A Cardon, “the Savior Wants to Forgive.”

For me, I find myself forgetting, from time to time, how much the Savior loves me and wants to forgive me. I let my guilt and negativity for faltering cloud my mind. I tend to find myself like Simba, from the Lion King, avoiding the issue and hoping something will come along and be my Rafiki; soundly whacking me on the head to remind me of who I am. I guess what I’m hinting at is, this seems to have been an inspired topic meant for me to talk about for the next 12 minutes. With that, I feel as though I’m to focus my talk on two ways we can remember that the Savior wants to forgive us.

The first way that I thought could help us remember that the Savior wants to forgive us is by ‘Remembering Who We Are.’ An Anonymous author in April’s 2008 Ensign wrote of her experience about a phrase her mother would say to her:

"It was around my 14th birthday when my mother started talking in code. Just as I would be running out the door, she would call out, “Remember who you are!” I wasn’t quite sure what she meant by that, but I would feign understanding and yell over my shoulder, “OK, Mom. Bye!”

I decided my mother’s message was the result of her being a registered nurse for about 25 years. Maybe she had seen children who had been left with amnesia after some horrible accident. She just wants me  to make sure that if I am ever hurt, I will remember my name and other vital information.

As I was growing up, life with my family was not always pleasant. After one particularly bad night, I remember staring at myself in the mirror, hardly recognizing the reflection staring back... Thoughts of running away crossed my mind. Even worse, ideas of ending my unhappy life wormed their way into my confused thought process. I looked into the mirror once more and the words “I don’t even know myself” tumbled from my lips. That was when I heard my mother’s phrase repeated clearly and distinctly in my mind: “Remember who you are!”

I can describe that moment only as enlightening. For the first time, I realized what my mother’s message meant: it was her plea for me to remember my divine heritage."

Interestingly enough, I had a similar experience to this anonymous author. I recall during my time in Young Womens,  especially during my high school years, my mother almost without fail would say to me, “Meri. Remember” every morning before heading off to school. I, unlike the author, questioned my mother when I first heard it, stating, “Remember what?” At that age I was quite forgetful and my head was racing with what it was I had potentially forgotten. My loving mother smiled and informed me that I was to remember I am a Daughter of God. I smiled, while keeping to myself my smart remark of, ‘I already knew that, Mom.” Yet like the author, that constant reminder proved beneficial years down the road when I had lost my way for a time. AS you can see, that constant reminder of who I was helped me lead back to where I am now.

This author then continued on to list ways we can learn and be reminded of our divine heritage:

"To help us combat our trials, Heavenly Father has given us tools for increasing our understanding of our divine heritage. We have the scriptures, which show us how others have recognized their roles as sons and daughters of God and have acted accordingly. The Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect example of one who understood His divine heritage. The scriptures tell us that in His youth He “increased in wisdom and stature.”. The more His understanding grew, the better prepared He was to fulfill His role as the Savior of the world.

We have the prophets, who teach us about our divine nature and potential. We have the priesthood, which enables us to receive inspired blessings that affirm our relationship to Heavenly Father. We have temples, where we may participate in instructive and sacred ordinances. We also have the means for direct communication with Heavenly Father through prayer. This can help us during those times when we forget who we are."

The things this author listed were the same things I had listed when I was brainstorming ways we can remember who we are especially in regard to the Prophets. I don’t think there is a  single conference that goes by without one or more reminders of our divine heritage from our Prophet, Apostles and all the leaders we receive guidance from.

There was one thing she didn’t note that I felt was equally important was that of our songs and hymns. One of them we learned in Primary and is an ever constant reminder throughout our life that we are all God’s children. “I am a Child of God.” That simple phrase iterates who we are while reminding us the importance to seek, learn and grow in the gospel throughout the three verses and chorus. Another is song that I love is a Child’s Prayer where in the 2nd verse, who I felt was the voice of a parent answering the child’s plea, saying, “Pray, he is there. Speak he is listening. You are his child. His love now surrounds you.” These songs may be intended for the primary children, but the meanings of the words are just as important for us to remember so we won’t forget who we are.

As you can see, there are plenty of constant reminders in our lives that help us ‘remember. Unfortunately it is not a complete safeguard against the trials and temptations that will rise up against us. Our testimony of being children of God will help strengthen us in those times of adversity, but often we will find ourselves faltering. So a second way to help us remember the Savior wants to forgive us is by remembering, that though we may sin and make mistakes, we have a brother and father in heaven who love us dearly. The greatest manifestation of this love was given to us by our Heavenly Father and brother Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father, all wise and loving, provided a way in which we can be forgiven so we can return to live with him again. He sent his son, our brother, Jesus Christ, to atone for us.

In the pamphlet True to the Faith, under Atonement, we read:

"The word atone means to reconcile, or to restore to harmony. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can be reconciled to our Heavenly Father. We can ultimately dwell in His presence forever, having been “made perfect through Jesus” (see D&C 76:62, 69).

Jesus Christ “was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem [His] people” (Ether 3:14). In the premortal spirit world, Heavenly Father presented the eternal plan of salvation, which required an infinite and eternal Atonement. The premortal Jesus, then known as Jehovah, humbly declared that He would do the will of the Father in fulfilling the plan (seeMoses 4:2). Thus He was foreordained to carry out the Atonement—to come to the earth, suffer the penalty for our sins, die on the cross, and be resurrected.(Revelation 13:8; see also 1 Peter 1:19–20; Moses 7:47).

The Atonement is the supreme expression of our Heavenly Father’s love for us (see John 3:16). It is also the greatest expression of the Savior’s love for the Father and for us"

The pamphlet goes on to explain in depth the Atonement, but I like how in the introduction it informs us of what it does and why it was done. The last two sentences particularly highlight why it is the Savior voluntarily atoned for us: It is because he loves us and therefore wants to forgive us. Elder Craig A Cardon spoke about this in his talk given in April’s General Conference. He highlighted one of the important things about the atonement that we must do in order to receive his forgiveness. He says:

No one need suppose that this forgiveness comes without repentance. Indeed, the Lord has declared, “I, the Lord, forgive sins unto those who confess their sins before me and ask forgiveness.”.”24 While the Lord“cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance,”25 yet He differentiates the relative gravity of some sins. He declares the gravity of murder and emphasizes the seriousness of sexual sin such as adultery.28 With regard to repeated serious sexual sin, He makes known the increased difficulty of receiving His forgiveness.29 And He has said that “he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation.”30 Yet, in His mercy, He allows for improvement over time rather than demanding immediate perfection. Even with the multitude of sins occasioned by the weakness of mortality, as often as we repent and seek His forgiveness, He forgives again and again.31

In this forgiveness we see the enabling and the redeeming power of the Atonement harmoniously and graciously applied. If we exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the enabling power of His Atonement strengthens us in our moment of need,14 and His redeeming power sanctifies us as we “[put] off the natural man.”15 This brings hope to all, especially to those who feel that recurring human weakness is beyond the Savior’s willingness to help and to save.

What a wonderful gift our Heavenly Father has given us. He knew we would falter for this is our time to learn and grow. And because he cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance, our loving brother, Jesus Christ, offered himself, to take upon our sins. How fortunate we are to be part of an eternal family that has such love for each and everyone of us.

It is my firm testimony that as we remember who we are and how much the savior and our Heavenly Father loves us, that we can come to know that the Saviour wants to forgive us. He wants us to be happy and He wants us to come home. Repentance may not be easy nor painless, but through it we will find greater joy as we as we draw closer to our Heavenly Father. Let us learn from the past and not burden ourselves with guilt, but press forward in faith. I conclude with the 4th verse from hymn number 146 Gently Raise the Sacred Strain:

Holy, holy is the Lord.

Precious, precious is his word: …

Repent and live; Repent and live

Tho your sins be crimson red,

Oh, repent, and he’ll forgive. Oh, repent, and he’ll forgive.

I testify these things are true and would like to leave them with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

Fun in the Sun!

The most excitement this week was had on Labor Day. I and Steven had the day off, so we spent the night at my parents Sunday night so we could head out bright and early with my family to Ocean Shores Monday. morning.

The beach was wonderful. It was warm, though cloudy. The sun did make an appearance which just added to the niceness of the beach and the coolness of the water. There was a mild rip tide going that when out jumping the waves kept slowly pulling me up the coast. Steven was the only other person to join me in the waters. Eventually we began to fight back the rip tide and while jumping ways slowly worked our way back to where we started. Grant it, we never went further than our feet could touch, so we weren't exhausting too much energy by trying to keep a float too.

There was one wave that just knocked me over silly. I knew it was big, but I thought I was gonna be able to jump high enough to break the top. Instead the wave crashed right down on me. For a moment a sense of panic kicked in, but amidst the watery embrace, I was able to get my feet back on the ground and stand back up through my tumbling. It was quite exciting though I know the dangers of loosing control in the ocean could be dangerous.

After playing in the water and having lunch, we all packed up and moved down the beach to do some horse riding. My mom, sister and I had to wait an hour for the next ride, but it was worth it. I wish we had slightly more freedom in where to go and how fast we could go, but the horse I had had enough spirit in him that I got a lot of trotting in, despite what the chaperons would say.

We then ended the day with some Red Lobster.

The rest of the week was work and me working on story writing. For those remotely interested in reading up on a game story, here's the website me, my family and friends write up our character's summary of what has happened. I have tried to keep mine written as much like a story as possible, but with the out comes of the next game unknown, it's tricky how to end a certain entry when I might be contradicting my character's thoughts with her actions. Anywho, like I said, for those interested, here's my character's story and from there you can check out the other's if you want.

Hope you are having a great week!

<3

It's Weeks Like This

Lately  for me it seems that something awesome or interesting to write about is happening about every other week. I try not to drone on with the same old, same old weekly things that I and Steven are up to, so when weeks like this come along where it was just church, work, and play, nothing being out of the ordinary, I tend to feel less inclined to write. I suppose I should try and figure out what else to write about in the mean time. If you have a suggestion as to something you'd like me to write about let me know and I'll try and use that in the next uneventful week I have.

I will leave saying that Steven and I are happy and healthy. Hope you all are doing the same :)

<3

Apollo Can Hunt

I wish I had a picture of what had happened, but last weekend I was outside dinking around with little Josh and while out there saw Apollo carrying a dead bird in his mouth. My initial thoughts were that he found a dead bird and decided to bring it home. So with that I figured I better check it to make sure it wasn't super old and rotten/diseased. He crouches down as I approach, as though he was trying to protect his 'catch' and as I reach down to grab the bird, I barely touch the feathers when suddenly I see TWO birds frantically flying away from Apollo, squawking the entire time. I was so stunned and surprised by what just left Apollo's mouth that I ran inside yelling to Steven about the awesome catch Apollo had. I could hardly believe that Apollo could hunt and catch a bird, let alone TWO! I'm sure he was quite upset with me for ruining all his hard work, but I'm sure the birds are thankful for me intervening. I do have to wonder how it was Apollo caught both of them... however it happened, it happened and it was quite awesome.

Other than that, I started my new job. I am a full time Nanny. It's been a great week and I love working with my baby girl. She's 3 months and has an older brother who goes to pre-school during the day. I've gone out once with baby girl and had fun getting oo'd and aw'd at. I look forward to the time when it's actually my baby people are awing at, but until then, I'll enjoy this little girl and her big brother. Her older brother is actually quite mellow for what preschoolers can be like, so that's super nice. I look forward to developing a better relationship with them and watching them grow.

I also got my first sunburn in a long time. Went to Ocean Shore's Monday with my friend Amilyn. It was sunny and warm and lots of fun playing in the endless ocean water and fighting the waves, but I forgot to reapply my sunscreen during our 3 hours of sunshine fun. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it sure was an unpleasant reminder to the efforts I've made over the years to never have to endure that pain and torture to my skin.

Hope everyone else is having a great week and enjoying the beautiful weather!

<3

Nightmare

Well, maybe more just a bad dream, but like I had mentioned last week I quite possibly have a new job. Actually the lady last Sunday night called and said, "We would like to hire you!" I'm excited and tomorrow is my working interview with her. So all week I've known I would be doing that and have had just a great week. Not that I was happy to be leaving my current job, I've honestly felt I've grown the most as a person and teacher while at the Giving Tree. The week itself was just simple and fun. So the fact I had a bad dream last night about my working interview tomorrow kinda threw me off this morning.

I dreamt that it was 7:30am Monday morning and knew I was running late for work, that is work at the Giving Tree. I check my phone and sure enough there's some missed calls from the Giving Tree. I call them and they ask me if I was coming in. I said yes and explained I was just running a little late. For some reason my parents were there and gave me a ride to work. It was about 8:05 when I got to work and as I walked it once more felt a wave of idiocy as I remember I don't start at 8 any more by 7:45. Well, that bit of forgetfulness was quickly forgotten about once I was in the Toddler room. My co-worker had a quizzical look on her face seeing me and though she never said anything, it hit me hard that today was the day I was suppose to be doing the working interview! I had the day off! Why was it I thought I had to go tot he Giving Tree and why did they call me to see if I was coming in!? Oh the agony of recognizing my error and worse yet is I didn't have a car I could just take off in while calling my soon to be new employer about my lateness.

I ended up calling the lady as I struggled to find quick transportation and in the end (despite my well chosen words to explain how sorry I was inconveniencing her like that and how it wasn't my character to make such a huge mistake) she explained how she's sorry this wasn't going to work out for her after all, but that because she did like me from the interview, that she'd be happy to write a positive review on my Care.com page.

By this time I wake up in a haze feeling very upset. How grateful I was to have reality seep back into me and realize it was just Sunday. So I'm kinda confused as to why I had such a terrible dream when I haven't been feeling stressed. Heh, maybe that is my mentality letting me know I am despite how much I've unknowingly suppressed it.

Anyways, that was the excitement of this morning. Like I said, it was a good week. My last day of work at the Giving Tree is this Friday the 9th. I'll have 4 days off before officially starting on the 14th (if nothing drastic happens at the working interview). I'll be a Nanny of 2 children. One is 4 and the other is just 3 months. I'll be the primary caregiver to the 3 month old since the 4 year old goes to pre-school 85% of the time, so it should work out nicely and I'm definitely looking forward to this next chapter in my life.

Hope everyone else has a great week!

<3

House Warming and Maybe a New Job?

This week was long, or so it felt. I attribute that to being sick most of the week. I had a sinus infection. Felt it start Monday, then it got worse until Friday when I woke up and felt distinctly healthier. I was so thankful because it really made for a great end to the week. No fun working while not feeling well, but not ill enough to stay home and rest up for most of it. Any who, my sinuses are still swollen or something, but the pressure that was there has pretty much ceased.

Friday I got to take my roommates kid to work with me. That was cool, though I suppose I now know what I'd be like if I actually had my own child there, well at least what I'd be like for the first few days. Constantly checking in and saying Hi. The good thing was the boy was having fun and engaging in the activities. He even took a nap (which I helped with when I went on my lunch just cuz I knew some of the other kids in that class were more difficult to put down and I knew the key thing to do to help him fall asleep anyways). So yeah, it was neat having a kid there I really new.

Saturday Steven and I had our house warming party. It was just a fun get together with my family and our friend Ann. Ate yummy food, let them check the place out, and then by the time that was done, we had enough time for some cards. I do wish family was closer, but I suppose that's what Steven and I need to focus on... making new friends and opening our home to new people.

Oh and how could I forget, part of the house warming was celebrating Steven's 26th birthday. His birthday isn't until Tuesday the 30th, but since family and friend was there already, figured it'd be a good time to add his birthday in with the festivities. So we enjoyed a pudding cake with vanilla ice cream. I actually accidentally scorched the top of the cake due to the new oven that I hadn't really used much in the month we've been here. The dial you turn to determine the temperature of the oven is the same dial that turns the oven on. But I didn't realize I had to turn the dial back the opposite direction to turn it off. So when I thought I had turned it to off, it actually stayed on broil! I had decided to leave the cake in the oven while it cooled off so it'd still be nice and warm when we ate it with ice cream. So yeah... 5 minutes later when thankfully I decided to melt the cheese on my burger in the microwave, I noticed smoke coming from the oven and quickly opened it up to find the cake burnt! I pulled it out and looked at the dial and saw it on broil. I thought at first I must have slipped, thinking I had put it on off, but it clicked back to broil when I looked away. And that was when I learned there is only one way to turn the knob to make sure the oven is off.

Like I said, the top was scorched, so my mum carefully peeled the top off and saved the cake ^_^ Wasn't as pretty looking, but oh well. It sure made for a fun story.

About to feed the missionaries! Enjoy your night and have a great week!

<3

New Car

Sorry I didn't t take the time to write out something quick. Steven and I made a last minute trip to my parents about this time to go see my new baby Niece. She is super cute and it's exciting to see a little baby! It was also nice being able to use our new car that we had bought the Friday before that. We got a 2012 Nissan Versa with 41,500 miles on it. GREAT gas mileage and so far has been a great deal for us.

Thankfully I'm still doing well since the car accident. I've had no problems or complications. I've also continued job hunting and have had some more bites. Hoping sometime soon I'll be a Nanny watching over some small children. I'm ever hopeful and feel I will thrive even more being able to care for just a few children versus managing 14+ children in a childcare setting.

Anyways, enjoy your week!

<3

A Busy 3 Weeks

I don't know if I'll be able to get every juicy detail typed out in the 50 minutes I have left on this Library computer, but let me just say it's been a busy 3 weeks.

So first thing that happened was June 17th, Steven and I continued our car search. We had done some searching on the 15th before I got my hair done, but I wasn't too thrilled about the car. So as soon as I got off of work I picked Steven up and zipped off to Everett to check this other car Steven saw online. Both of us were less than impressed with it. But since we had more time, we looked around and found one that suited our needs. It drove well and they were giving us a discounted price. Long story short, by Tuesday morning we had a new car. It's a Kia Rondo 2007. It had just under 72000 miles on it and we were super happy to show it off. It was kinda funny too because I was the one who gets to drive it most, so now on the weekends Steven has been doing more than his share of driving us around.

The nice thing about getting the car on the 18th was we had the Dirty Dash on the 22nd. It was a hot day, but we needn't fear for we had AC! But enough about the car. The Dirty Dash was pretty much the same as last year. The obstacles were slightly rearranged and had a few more fun stuff added (like a bubble tunnel). And instead of it being just me this year, I had my sister Emily, Steven and some of his friends join me. We played around with some team names like Free Hugs, but decided to go with Uruk-Hai. They are the orcs the Sarumon from Lord of the Rings raised up to make an army. Orcs are born from mud. And we decorated our faces with a white hand print (or 2). Unfortunately the white paint sweated off as soon as the running began :( Fortunately, it all came off in time for my interview that night.

So another round of getting muddy. It took us 2 hours! to get through. I was literally pushing those who carpooled with me and Steven and get rinsed off, changed and in the car since I had an interview at 6pm and it was just after 2:30pm. Another long story short, I made it home in time to clean up and be presentable for an interview as well as get stuck in traffic and still make the interview a few minutes early. The people were very nice. I had mentioned Steven was driving me to the interview since we hoped he'd be able to run an errand depending on how long the interview was to last. Upon showing up they insisted he come in. This was a Nanny position I was interviewing for and found out they both work for Microsoft. Steven ended up chatting with the dad a litle later while I, the mom and the baby continued to interact with each other. I felt the interview went very well and had high hopes to hearing back almost immediately.

Well, I did hear back, and for over the past week and a half it sounded very promising. But the move then happened on the 29th which put a small hic cup in the communication. We no longer reside off of 208th any more. Instead we are pretty much at the top of Lake Washington now and love our new area. It's so pretty up here and look forward tot he next year in our new home. However the commute will be long until I get a job closer to home. If only I knew how much longer it would become, maybe I would have taken a different route home that day...

So in case that didn't hint at it, I was in a car accident on the 1st. I was re-ended and thankfully have not sustained any injury from it. I honestly haven't a clue why I was hit because I was going with the flow of traffic, didn't break before or after the hit considering how I was propelled forward from the impact and still didn't hit any car in front of me. I had been traveling in the lane for 5-10 minutes anyways. At least the guy who hit me was honest. As much as I wish we didn't have to report it (sounds like this would be his 3rd strike) we had to and thankfully we did because we've heard rumors that the car may be totaled. All I can say is pray for John O'Brien that mercy will be showed upon him or that he'll find another way to provide for his family. With how the insurance company has been handling this, John has continued to be honest and I would wish him blessings for that.

My compute went from 45 minutes one way to 2-2 1/2 hours one way. about an hour of bus time and 30-70 minutes walking time. I have a great respect for the pioneers who walked for months straight 4+miles a day. My legs were soar and aching and sleep has been too short and that's only with 3.5 miles walked and a soft comfy bed at night to sleep in.

Back to the job interveiw. Despite the long week, Wednesday I recieved an email from them stating basically that they want me and that they'd like to chat one more time on the phone. Pretty much the ball was in my court to say yes or no. We decided to chat friday once I was off work. Lucky me, I got off at 10:30. So an horu later I got to chat with the mother who regretfully informed me of some not so good news. They have relatives moving in who want to help them watch their child. Understandable that'll save them money. She also feels bad to deliver that news and understands that going from full time to part time is probably not what I'm looking forward, though if I were willing to work part time that she'd be thrilled to have me since she says I seemed very professional. She also offered to put a recommendation in at the Parent board in Microsoft which I said yes to. So though I don't have a new job quite yet, I have some more networking and hopefully by August or September I'll have a full time Nanny job with one or 2 children.

That's what's been going on these past 3 weeks. Steven and I are happy and well. Like I mentioned before, I would appreciate for those of you who would, keep John O'Brien in your prayers.

<3

Happy Father's Day

A quick shout out to all the Dad's and soon to be Dad's. You're the best and I know I wouldn't have been quite the same without my Dad.

Steven and I actually celebrate Father's last week with my Dad while at the same time celebrating my Nephew's birthday. It's crazy to think that boy is 5 now, but I suppose growing up is inevitable.

Though it was a wonderful Sunday enjoying family and food, unfortunately bad news came in Monday morning. Apparently our cat Mormon (more my parent's cat since he stayed behind with them) was found dead in a neighbor's yard. Police claim it was a hit and run to which some carnivores came upon him and did some work to him too... but from what the grape vine says, it sounds more intentional. How often does one find half a cat (or animal for that matter) from a car accident? And what animal would would have made off with only some of his body? Yeah, gruesome and disturbing to think about. We all hope it was an accident despite what was seen. At least he's in a better place right?

Also that same day another friends place thankfully was not burnt down. But it was a shock to the system when the bishop called to see if I had heard from him. I hadn't heard from this friend and was sickened by the thought that it could have been his unit that caught fire. Like I said, thankfully it wasn't his unit. So we're praying for the family's affected by the fire and it sounded like no one was hurt.

Friday and Saturday was almost non stop. As soon as I got off work I went and played a little mini golf with Jessica and Keith (her friend) before zipping over to another friend's place to eat dinner. We enjoyed some bbq burgers and played phase 10 well into the night. We didn't finish since Steven and I had building cleaning duties in the morning.

Saturday after cleaning the church building, Steven and I went and test drove a car. We think the car will due if the other cars we look at tomorrow night prove worse, but it's not high on my list as a must have. The fact that it is probably worlds younger than our current car now is it's only huge positive. I wish we had more time to check out some of the other cars inthe lot that we didn't see online, but I had a hair appointment to make. Yes the hair is still short, in fact probably a little shorter. I love it and I has it just in time for the Dirty Dash next week.

We then had our usual game night that night with my sister and other friends. It was very crowded with all the boxes Steven and I have. Speaking of which, 2 more weeks now! But you may not hear from me for 3 weeks due to the internet ending this Thursday. We hope to have it up by the 1st, but we'll see what happens. I hope my absence won't be terribly long, but that is what is happening and not me being lazy this time.

<3

Our New Place Is...

What a fast week. I feel i was just telling you last week about our fruitless search for a new place to live... oh wait, it was! Wow! Well good news, the very next day we went and checked out a place for FHE. It's a duplex, so we will have neighbors next door, but it is a lovely place. I would post the video here... but I would rather not have just any person see it since this is a public page. We have a decent back yard that needs work done (weeding, watering, removal of cut grass clumps) and we hope to start a garden somewhat soon. The rooms are decent size. We have 1 and a half baths as well as a hole in the garage door that will prove purrfect for keeping Apollo's litter box in the garage. The neighborhood looks very nice too. It's kinda in the woods, but we're just on the edge of it with beautiful homes on the other side of us.

We can happily settle into the new place on the 29th of this month. Here's hoping this week was just a taste of what the rest of the month will be like- fast! I'm excited and look forward to making new friends and finding a new job in the area. I'm still employed, but the commute will literally kill our car if I don't find one shortly after moving that's closer to our new address.

Now don't get me wrong. Steven and I will miss our area. It may not be as pretty as the new place, but we did make friends here and I know our ward will feel our absence. I really love the Des Moines ward and I think that's what has held Steven and I back for some time was that we have been useful (let alone young and active), yet he also needs to be closer to his work. I've also been wanting to look into being a nanny with all the experience I have and being closure to Kirkland, Redmond, etc. will provide many opportunities for me to find that kind of job.

Anyways... I suppose you'd like to know exactly where we're going. We'll be moving to Bothell at the end of the month. I promise for those who live somewhat near by and are interested in seeing the new place, I'll be trying to set up a house warming party for a simple, pot luck and games kind of party. In the mean time, here's hoping for a quick 3 weeks!

<3

A New Adventure

It seems so long ago that Memorial weekend had happened. One would think a four day week at work would have felt so short, but it it didn't. Everyone at work seemed to be drained as though we hadn't had an extra day to rest up. Who knows, maybe we're all getting sick.

Anyways, the big news for the week is Steven and I will be moving by the end of the month. Either we'll be moving back in with my parents for a short period or if we're blessed, we'll have found another place. Either way, we are gonna move more north and hopefully much closer to his work.

For quite sometime we knew we would be moving, we just weren't sure when. Our lease was up back in October, but despite our efforts to see what the apartment wanted for us to do, we just kept paying month to month the same amount since no one ever got back to us. Well, Friday night as I get home I see we have a letter on our door from management. They explain to us that they see our lease is up and would love for us to sign a new lease in which we would be expected to pay and extra 40$ on our rent or and extra 90$ if we went month to month. I laughed to myself because it was the push we needed.

We also have another family we hope to move in with. They too had a similar situation in which they've been there for over two years and after their one year, no one ever got around to them to make them renew their contract. They too received a letter, like us, Friday about renewing their lease with additional payment.

Yesterday we went and looked at 3 houses in Renton. The first one I had a really good feeling about, but upon arriving, the feeling was trickling away fast. The first reason was due to the house space already being shared with a family who lived upstairs. Grant it, they have their own entrance, but still it took my excitement down a notch. Then we got to see the floor plan. Holy cow! There is some serious remodeling that needs to be done. The kitchen was divided into two sections, the smaller looking like it once was a laundry room. The Living room is about half the size of our current one and the three bedroom and one bath are all strung together side by side. The only way to get the the third room is by walking through the first room, the second room, and the bathroom... yeah... it's safe to say that we are not going to pursue that home.

The second one we saw we began to fall in love with upon looking through the windows and walking the park path behind the home. The neighbor even introduced himself to us. However when we were finally able to get a hold of the owner they informed us that the house has already been rented out :( Darn.

The last one had a similar situation. Couldn't get a hold of the owner, was in a decent looking neighborhood, and part of it was shared with another tenant. We probably won't pursue that one either (especially since the owners still haven't returned our call).

It was kind of a let down day of searching, but I keep reminding myself that this was just one day. We have the rest of the month (in which all Saturdays are not obligatory house hunting days). This is gonna be a long summer, but an adventure none the least!

If anyone had boxes they can spare us or keep their eyes open at work for any, that would be most helpful! We could use a lot!

Belated Mother's Day

Talk about a busy week! Last week was Mother's Day and I spent the day with my mother, hence why I found no time to write. I got to garden with her some and then brushed the horse down and shaved the cat! The cat didn't  appreciate the grooming and scratched my hand up kinda good, but nothing I was unable to heal from. Once all the grooming was done, we ate dinner (which complements go out to my dad for such a great meal) and then played Yahtzee! It was a nice way to spend Mother's Day.

Then Wednesday I got to go see Luna Lovegood! Well I suppose her real name is Evanna Lynch, but I feel she was such a spitting image of the Harry Potter character that she'll forever be remembered as Luna Lovegood to me. She was giving a little seminar at Western Washington University, so I took a half day so Jessica and I could get there early (it was Jess who found out about it and thankfully got me a ticket!). Upon going up I realized I had none of my Harry Potter books that have Luna in it. So we swung by Barnes and Nobles and the only hard back book for Harry Potter they had was The Goblet of Fire. Knowing I definitely did not have that book for my collection, I bought it and got it signed later that night by Luna.

The seminar itself was quite brief, but I wish I had a really good memory and was about to recite ever wonderful detail she spoke. It was a self image speech she gave and lessons she learn from the character Luna Lovegood. The part that stood out the most was her childhood dream (and kinda is now) to be a Cat. Yep, a Cat. Why a Cat you ask? Because think about it, a cat doesn't really have a care in the world. They get to preen themselves for hours on end, lazily going about the day eating when they want, resting when they want, and whatever carefree things they do. As she grew up it became more apparent as to why she felt that she wanted to be a Cat when she grew up.  Ultimately it was a safe place. There are no pressures of life (such as failing) when you're a cat. No need to worry about succeeding in school or work. No worries of what makes you special because there's someone there who already loves you unconditionally. Everyone is looking for love and desires to be loved. Yet it is our fears that tend to hold us back and make us feel unworthy of love because we don't want to be rejected of fail in our attempts. Of course I am not quoting her word for word, but this was the gist of some of the things she said and I felt this could have heard this from a General Conference with some of the symbolism she gave.

It was a long Wednesday, but well worth the drive and wait to see Luna. Once home (at 1am) sleep was almost impossible what with my poor choice to have a dr. pepper right before bed and the cat vomiting all over me and Steven. Yay... thankfully I was in agood mood and had energy enough to enjoy my work day.

Then it was Saturday and I got to go enjoy breakfast/lunch (someone might say it was brunch?) with Amilyn and her new fellow (Christopher Reeves! Though he's not the 'real' superman actor, he's still quite awesome). he whipped up some eggs and a breakfast salad while Amilyn (the vegetarian  cooked us BACON! I brought strawberries for our consumption.

Soon Amilyn was off to work and I off to hang with my mom to enjoy our belated Mother's Day outing. I got a great deal from Group-On and was able to get a mani-pedi with a foot massaeg for 35 dollars for the both of us! It was very delightful to get pampered. I wish I could afford it more, but I always seem to rather spend that money else where... but boy I love deals like that ever so often.

After having girly time with my mother, Steven and I went and saw Iron Man 3. That was very enjoyable! I figured we would be calling it good since it was almost 11pm, but for whatever reason, Steven really wanted to see Star Trek as well... so we saw the 11:15 showing of it. I was falling asleep off and on, but for what I saw, that was equally good as Iron Man, though a bit loud for my taste. And it was bout 2:30 in the morning when Steven and I FINALLY crawled into bed. Morning definitely came too quickly, but I knew I would manage. It was more Steven I was gonna poke fun at if he turned out to be grumpy or whine about being tired.

A very eventful week full of awesomeness. I hope everyone is doing well and had a great mother's day!

Sickness Everywhere!

Upon coming back from my 4 day weekend, I came to my classroom only to have one of my babies get sent home with a fever. Poor guy. With that, was told how one of my babies was sent home while I was gone due to a fever as well and another was sick with the flu over the weekend. Oh joy! Well, it was quite a simple week, Friday being the 'busy' day with all four babies back and somewhat healthier.

That night I also got to go to the temple for Women's Conference. While there it was becoming apparent I wasn't feeling too hot, but I didn't feel sick. By the time I got home I was still just feeling uncomfortable and tired and went to bed around 11pm. By morning I felt like a bag of sand. Just ache and exhausted. Steven noted that I felt hot and sure enough I had a 100.1 temp. A fun fact for me is I tend to run cool (97.7 on average). So if 98.6 is the norm, then 100.1 could almost be translated to 101.1 for me. Anyways, I relaxed all day, fore going the second session of Women's Conference at the Stake Center.

By mid day I was nearing 101 but thankfully didn't get any higher. By then Steven had returned with an AC for us. Our apartment gets quite hot in the summer and seeing that it's May and we already have had 2 80 degree days, I'm dreading what August will have in store for us.

Well Steven set the AC up in our room which cooled the room down enough to actually send chills through me (finally the room was too cool for the fever). By about 8pm with the fever staying in the 100.? range, I finally took some Ibuprofin since the head ache was picking up pressure. By 9pm the fever broke and I suddenly had energy (probably due to all the resting that day).

As for today, I'm still with out fever, though I wonder if I'm still sick because my temp has gone up a point from this morning. Whether I am or not, I'm trying to take it slow and here's hoping this won't interfere with work tomorrow or the rest of the week.

4 Day Weekend

Busy week! I've looked forward to this week for a month now because I had asked for Thursday and Friday off. Alas it had come and I relished in it! Thursday I did 3 1/2 hours of working out (2 zumba classes and weightlifting), watched Safe Haven, and saw my mom before going home and relaxing. Needless to say I was sore the next day.

Friday I had a doctor appointment and basically the doctor isn't worried about my inability to conceive yet, but in a year or two if nothing happens, we'll talk about other options.

After that I played pool with Jessica and then zipped off to get Steven for the Youth Temple trip. It was interesting not doing the part of the youth on this trip, but it was exciting to watch Steven get to help with the baptisms. He really enjoyed talking to each of the youth as they got into font and did great with saying the names.

Saturday I had a self defense class called Krav Maga at Dojo 3 in the Renton. It was really awesome. I plan on working out more earnestly just to make sure I can throw my punches and what not and keep up with my attacker versus tiring out. That was actually probably one of the best advice they gave was to keep in shape because even if you don't know how to fight or defend yourself, how can you expect to run away or try to fight back if you are exhausted after 10 seconds of exertion?

Then Saturday night had friends and sister over for some DnD.

As for today, went to church, got my VT done, fed the missionaries, and we are now zipping out the door to go to Youth Discussion. So busy! Have a great week!

Kite Flying

The past few weeks have been fairly mundane. Work for Steven and I have fluxed between easy and intense. But I suppose the only real notable thing has been the weather. It's been raining, sunny, and windy many times a day. Kinda crazy, I am anticipating a storm. However non has happen yet and it would seem non is on the horizon... so what to do? Fly a kite! In the middle of the apartment complex is an open area, which tends to be a whirl pool of wind. Constantly it'll change direction, but it has a distinct direction it prefers to travel in. All I know is if I can get my kite above the tree line before the wind stops of changes direction, I'm set on letting it go to it's full height.

So yeah. I sure hope your past 2 weeks have been more exciting than mine.

<3

Almost Cured

The best news of the week was Tuesday afternoon. Monday I had gone in for my A1C blood test and though I could have gotten it that day, the clinic was so busy and packed that I opted to call tomorrow. Tuesday, while on my lunch, I gave the doctor a call to see how my levels are. First off, I was feeling like I was going to have the same or have gone back up because I knew the holidays I was being particularly bad, but as of 5 1/2 weeks ago, I've given up sugar and joined a gym in which has helped motivate me to continue to get more active. But that had only been a month and a half of change, hence my hopeless approach to the results seeing I had another month and a half of being bad with my diet to make up for.

Well, as luck would have it, my efforts have paid off greatly! I was a 6.5! So I'm still diabetic from what I've researched (just now) but I'm practically in the prediabetic range. At first I thought the scale from healthy to diabetic was 6.5-10.5. 6.5 was suppose to be the normal healthy person. Any where in between was to be prediabetic and 10.5 or higher was to be obviously diabetic. Well I know a bit better now. Even if I was 'cured' I know I am still diabetic. It would just mean that through diet and excersis I was healthy. If I stop that, then I will be diabetic once more.

Hope everyone is enjoying a beautiful Easter Day like we are. It is just a perfect day for the resurrection of our Savior. Tonight Steven and I will enjoy the missionaries and friends for and Easter dinner and play some games afterwards.

<3

Random Act of Service

This week I got to give service to someone while least expected. I had gone to Fred Meyer to get a few things and as I headed out of the parking lot notice a woman trying to carry a few bags that seemed quite heavy. I didn't question the situation, I just knew I ought to ask if she could use a ride. She was very grateful by this unexpected bit of fortune. She got into the car and I was able to understand Federal Way with the thick accent and few English words as she attempted to speak to me. I did my best to tell her what I was doing and gestured to her whether I needed to turn right or left whenever a intersection was coming up.

I got her to her apartment just fine and once more she thanked me and I wished her a great rest of the day. Grant it, we couldn't communicate perfectly, but it was touching to me how this woman trusted the kindness of a stranger who could speak her language to help her home. If I was in her situation, I don't know what I'd think. I am overly cautious and doubt I would put much faith into a stranger unless it were an answer to a prayer if I was in need of assistance. I'm grateful I had that opportunity and though I'll probably never see her again, it was wonderful to know I was able to make someone's day that much more happy.

Also this week, I got my hair cut! I'm in short hair once more ^_^

Working Out

This week has been busy! I've been working out after work and with that have been literally gone from home 12+ hours a day now! The weekend has been really short. But with the added work out, I've also stopped eating sugar. I'm treating it like an addiction because chocolate is my drug. I love it too much and all the sugary things out there! There really is no self control. I can be good for a while, but then I sucome to my carnal self. Finally fed up with feeling unhealthy and icky, I have sobered up and haven't had sugar or chocolate in over 2 weeks! I feel great, especially with working out on top of it.

So what do I eat? Especially for someone with a huge sweet tooth as myself. I only let sugar free jello be my go too dessert, sweet treat. I sometimes feel I could pig out on them, but in honesty, I may eat two servings and call it good for many days just cuz I bore of jello quick. I also have been trying to keep strawberries and peaches around because those are the better fruits for me. I've also found some fruit snacks that are all fruit and are a nice treat in those moments when I feel weak. Plus I've also been eating 90% more whole grains with every meal. I haven't completely forbidden white bread and rice from my diet, but its more a last resort or if someone prepared a meal with white flour or rice in it.

My blood sugar has been really good too, so confirmation on what I'm doing currently must be good :)

Anywho, another busy week of working out, going to work, doing church activities, and preparing my lessons for Sunday. Steven says he's the busier guy, but he just goes to work and rides a bus home... so don't let him make you think otherwise ;) Love you all!

<3

Another Story Complete!

I'm sorry for not posting last week. I was slammed with church, cooking, visiting teaching, home teaching, feeding the missionaries, and game night. I think the worst of it was the cooking. Steven and I have been making meals for our lunches and freezing them. So he had suggested Saturday that we cook some meals to last us a couple weeks. However since we were going to be going to a friends that night and we'd be close to Winco, I said we'd cook Sunday after church and before game night. 4 hours should be reasonable enough right?

Well Sunday comes and as we leave church I am then reminded about that Steven and I are feeding the missionaries, that I had already planned a VT appointment at 1 and our home teachers want to come over. So long story short once church was over it was non stop go, go, go! The sad part was it continued into Monday. But at least our freezer if full now and Steven and I can enjoy a few weeks of quick lunches.

I also finished my story of Alysin van Delia. I am now going to be editing it and making the final illustration for it over the next few weeks. Once I finish that, I hope to be able to publish it via Amazon, but we'll see what happens.

Other than the business of our weekend last week, works been going good for us. We have been in good health and I began to go to a gym Saturday. Though with church responsibilities, this week and the weeks to come will continually have me quite busy.

Speaking of church responsibilities, Steven today was called to be the 1st counselor for the young men. This will be fun because now Steven and I will both have to go to mutual together on Wednesday nights.

Take care until next week!

<3

Date Night (Nightmare?)

The week started off nicely. I knew Valentines was coming up and I set about putting mine together. With Steven now being a working man again I thought a pick-me up gift would be nice on those days in which were just dragging on. So I got a bunch of different goodies, wrapped a note around them and placed them in a lunch box of mine. I then on the inside of the lid put a picture from our engagement, wedding and sealing. So not only did he get a treat and a note, but he also got a picture pf us together during some of our happiest times together :D

Steven loved it. He even got complements on it at work.

Then Friday it was date night... at work. To make a long story short, lets just say that there was 3 of us for 40 children! Thankfully one of our co-workers stuck around and that made the night go worlds smoother than it would have if she hadn't. One room was a movie room, while the other was an activity room. We had the children divided evenly and before we knew it, 10:30 rolled around and we all made close to a 100 bucks.

And on top of all that, my body is trying it's best to stay sick enough to make me miserable but yet able to work still.... it's on the up swing of things. I'm grateful for the good immune system I have and can only hope the day I truly have to stay home, that no one else from work.

Chapter 8 is out! Other than that, enjoy your week!

<3

Fire or Drill?

Monday there was a fire drill at my work. I remember seeing it on the white board in the office and thought nothing about it. Well, while on my break, about 6 minutes into it the fire alarms start going off. Immediately I was high tailing it back to my room to get my babies since I had no idea if it was real or a drill. I was determined to make sure my babies were safe! All our drills happen with out the siren going off, but there was nothing that would indicate the reasoning for the alarms to be going off hence why I was curious if it was just a drill. Sure enough it was, but boy it had me in mommy protect mode. I'm gonna be such a good mom.

The babies fared the dirll fine. I think one of them began to cry because I was alarmed once I came back to the room. I felt bad for scaring him. One of them slept through the ringing (which is concerning, but I'm not going to worry too much about it until he shows no alarm while awake since he is a heavy sleeper). I took my babies outside since the alarms were to go off for another 5 minutes. It was still cold, but at least the rain held off. Thankfully the rest of the Monday went very well. The drill didn't upset my babies :)

Tuesday Steven went back to work for Microsoft. I meant to mention that in last weeks post, but forgot. He's doing the same stuff for an extra dollar an hour. We hope that we'll be able to find a place closure to his job, but in the mean time it looks like we're still content to staying in SeaTac.

Saturday I got to do Knotty Yoga. Okay, bad connotation, so I've been telling people I'm doing aerial yoga. Basically the class combines yoga with aerial acrobatics. It's not a lot of flying around or anything, but you use the silk ropes to help support you and give you an extra stretch and to do pull ups with. My whole body hurts today! Well, that's a lie. My legs and hips are just fine. My abs and ribs are sore, butt he worst of it is my left fore arm. I think I have tennis elbow, or something. I remember pulling a muscle there years back from hitting a ball wrong with my hand. I feel I've over worked the muscle and it's hating me for it. But it's calmed down since this morning. However I've heard that it's the 2nd day (tomorrow) that it's suppose to be the worst! Here's hoping I'll be able to report back to you next week.

<3 

P.S. Chapter 7 is complete for Alysin van Delia!

Employee of the Month

The week was trying. The babies were all fussy on different days. You got to love teething woes. It is weeks like this when I don't feel at my best because my babies are all freaking out. But thankfully we had a Staff meeting Wednesday night. My boss brought up a really good concept for us ladies to keep in mind as we strive to teach our children. Interestingly enough I also feel like most of the things that go on at the staff meetings now don't really apply to me, but I do my best to still absorb the advise given and strive to apply them to how I work with my babies. This months them is, What is Excellence? To me it's when I meet all my children's needs with out feeling flustered and stressed out. When I'm able to get them engaged in playing and sensory activities. I know just because my kids aren't always satisfied with playing and sensory (amidst me taking care of their needs) that is doesn't mean I've failed, butt he fact I'm striving is what counts.

On top of this wonderful staff meeting, I was also surprised by being made employee of the month! This was another boost to how I feel like I'm not doing great with how upset my babies can get. So I suppose as I continue to strive for excellence, I shouldn't have anything to worry about my performance.

So that has been the highlight of the week. It has a busy week with work and lesson planning and pumping out the 6th chapter of my story. I almost worried I wouldn't find time to finish the chapter in time for the posting I made of it yesterday. But thank goodness nothing was planned for yesterday and therefore was able to write my chapter and plan my YW lesson with some time to spare :)

<3