http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-Gx_IBJYzfqV80fJFQ_vWTOfi en-us Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:19:29 GMT http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-Gx_IBJYzfqV80fJFQ_vWTOfi?p=245
UPDATE:

First words out of Isaac's mouth when I picked him up from school today were.....

"My teacher is SO nice!"

And I breathed a sigh of relief! Prayers answered once again.
]]> Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:19:29 GMT http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-Gx_IBJYzfqV80fJFQ_vWTOfi?p=244
Isaac is one of the sweetest, most tenter hearted boys I know. He always has a smile ready for you- even when he's in a bad mood. If you just look at him long enough, he will break out in his dimpled smile followed by his signature giggle.

Isaac will often be found doing some secret act of service for someone in the family. He likes to disappear downstairs into the hole we call my 'craft room' and with all of my supplies at his disposal, he will create some artistic card or decorate a box that he will fill with items from around the house and will secretly leave these items for the person of his choosing. I have countless cards written by him with his unique spelling (I think he gets that from me!) telling me how much he loves me and how thankful he is for all that I do for him. So sweet.

Isaac is also loud. And that is the understatement of the year. When he was a little boy, we kept a couple of pairs of ear plugs in the car for Erik and I to use on drives where we were required to be in the car for more than 5 minutes. The screams and sounds that came from his little body made our ears bleed. Oh! And this hasn't changed much over the years. He is still very loud- in fact, one of the most common phrases you'll hear any member of our family say while driving in the car is, "Isaac,will you be quiet!". We have decided that it is a talent though. And one that we feel he will be able to put to good use some day in his future employment. He could be a sports announcer and would never need to use a microphone. He could be a professional cheerleader and not have to use a megaphone (Erik hates it when I suggest that one). He could be a teacher or a principle of a school and never have to whistle to get the attention of the students. Just one yelp from his vocal chords and all would stop and be silent. Yes, he must use this gift that he has been given for some good.

Isaac has worked very hard over the summer to keep his reading skills up. He read two stories to his little brother almost every day this summer. His reading has improved so much from where he was at the end of last year. This hasn't been easy for him, so I am so proud of what he has accomplished.

Isaac is such a fun loving boy who has tons of energy and always loves to be doing something. Anything. He absolutely HATES to just sit around. He loves to play with his little brother and his friends. He has mastered several video games on the Wii and his DS and loves to have his buddies over for Wii tournaments. He enjoys having lots of things going on around him. He does not, however, enjoy going to Lagoon. Go figure. (This was something that we figured out after buying our season passes this year.)

Isaac is growing into a great young man who knows right and wrong and who tries to make others around him happy. We are so fortunate to have him in our family and every day when he shares one of his smiles with me, I count myself blessed.

I love you Isaac!
]]> Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:02:46 GMT http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-Gx_IBJYzfqV80fJFQ_vWTOfi?p=243
Saying goodbye is hard to do. And of course there were lots of them as our BFF's the Black's prepared to move from UT to PA.(it seemed like every day we were doing something for the "last" time with them!)

Nicole came home early from Oakcrest camp- partly because she was having a horrible time and also because her good friend and roommate was coming home for her grandfather's funeral and Nicole wanted to be there for her. I loved having Nicole come home early. She is such a sweety and we miss her so much when she is gone. I also loved hearing her tell me how home sick she was and how good it was to be home! Makes a mama's heart feel good!

We found out this week that my cousin's 5 month old baby boy has Melanoma of the lungs and liver. It is always hard to hear that someone you love has cancer, but so much harder when it is a baby and my cousin's only child, whom they tried for many years to get here!

The weather has felt almost like fall this week. I really has made me excited for the changes that are in the air. There are going to be some exciting things happening for Erik and our family in the next little bit- but I don't to talk about them now because I am afraid doing so will jinx it! But some changes that I CAN talk about are that Isaac will be starting 4th grade on Monday, Nicole will start 9th grade the following Monday and Ian will start 3 days of preschool the Tuesday after that! I too am gearing up for another semester of fun- starting next week!

My dad had surgery on his knee on the first of August. He has been in so much pain and as a daughter I wish there was more that I could do to help. I have decided that having them in Provo feels too far away. I want to bring them dinner every night or stop by with a treat more often. But they are where they are meant to be- so instead of food, I send good thoughts and prayers their way every day.

Our garden has started producing! Isaac has become quite the little farmer too. He loves checking the garden daily for ripe tomatoes, peppers, peas, carrots and beats. He knows how to tell when they are ready to be picked or pulled up from the ground. I can't wait to start making fresh salsa! My mouth is watering right now!

I have been reading the 4th book in the Twilight series. I am about 3/4 of the way through it and I have to say that I am a bit disappointed. There have been some things that for me, have gone too far. I am happy to step into this fantasy world of vampires and werewolves, and I know that in that world, odd things happen, but oh my. It also feels a bit long. Like Stephanie was trying to make it a thick book like the others- so she dragged out some of the scenes way more than necessary. Just my little opinion though.

I have been de-junking our house and it feels good! We inherited some cute furniture from Mr. Black's office and the kids spent most of the next day fighting over who got what. To make room for all of these new pieces, we had to do some moving and tossing of some of the things we already have. And then that lead to other rooms in the house! I have so much more to do, but it feels good to be started! I guess if there was a good thing about the Black's moving, it was that it motivated me to get rid of some of our excess.

I have really enjoyed watching the Olympics this week. I am amazed at what the human body and mind can do! Wow! I have loved cheering for team USA and have enjoyed hearing all the stories about the athletes from all the countries. Amazing!

That's about it for now. I am looking forward to our last weekend before school starts and life gets crazy again. Hope yours is great too!
]]> Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:22:56 GMT http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-Gx_IBJYzfqV80fJFQ_vWTOfi?p=241 Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:57:31 GMT http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-Gx_IBJYzfqV80fJFQ_vWTOfi?p=240
My list went something like this:

Our late night talks in the Black's bonus room
Waving as we pass in the neighborhood- Mrs. Black has the cutest smile- ok, so does Mr. Black!
Our weekly dates
Grocery shopping together at Macey's
Mrs. Black's beautifully wrapped gifts
Watching our older sons hunched over their sports card collections
Sitting in the freezing cold weather watching our boys play baseball
Shopping with Mrs. Black
Watching how excited our little boys get when they see each other- the daddy's too!
Eating at wonderful restaurants and then going somewhere else for dessert
Seeing their friendly faces in the halls at church
Tending Lucy
The wonderful smell of their house
Sitting on the front porch visiting
Hearing Mr. Black calling Erik 'coach Lavelle'-, E-dawg- and a few other cute pet names
Their unique sense of humor
Watching our husbands interact with each other- funny stuff!
All the laughs
Sitting in "the chair"
Watching our boys grow up together
Seeing Mrs. Black's incredible fashion sense- such talent!
Hearing Mr. Black shout, 'love you!' before Erik and I hang up from talking on the phone

That's just a sampling....the list goes on and on. The Black's are such amazing, talented, funny, generous, supportive and loyal friends. We have been blessed to be a part of their world. They are going to do so great in their new corner of the world....and they will be missed!
]]> Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:51:30 GMT http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-Gx_IBJYzfqV80fJFQ_vWTOfi?p=239
My instructor informed the class that our grades would be posted within the next few days so I knew the wait would not be long before I knew my fate. Would my work be enough to get me a passing grade or would I be looking at another semester of chemistry? Ugg.

A few days after the final, I received a phone call from a fellow classmate who had just received her passing grade, a C+, which she was thrilled with. I was at my parents house at the time and knew that I could use their computer to check my grades as well. But I hesitated. What if I had failed? I would be so embarrassed to have to admit to my parents, sister and niece, who were anxiously waiting to hear my score.

Why is it that I feel that my grades, good or bad, reflect my worth? I struggle with these feelings all the time. Something that my wise husband has advised me to get over.

It took some effort to push the worried thoughts from my mind and allow reality to take their place. Of course I know that my family would not think any less of me if my grades were poor or think more of me if my grades ended up miraculously wonderful. They love me regardless of my ability to make the grade.

Fortunately for me, this tale has a happy ending. I do NOT have to take chemistry over again. Thank goodness. I was pleasantly surprised with a final grade of an A-. And hopefully, as I progress through this college experience, I will learn to worry less about trying to be that perfect student with perfect grades and just realize that I am doing my best, and that is good enough.
]]> Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:10:49 GMT http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-Gx_IBJYzfqV80fJFQ_vWTOfi?p=236
Every summer starting at about the age of 6, my sisters and I and a couple other girl cousins made the hour long journey to Provo to spend a glorious week with our grandparents. These summer vacations were looked forward to with as much anticipation as Christmas. During this week, we were treated like princesses. We would eat out every night at some wonderful restaurant (usually one that used cloth napkins and more than one fork at your place setting-which was HUGE to a girl who very rarely ate out and when she did it was usually at Arby's), we would be treated to shopping sprees, out to movies, to wonderfully strange traveling exhibits on BYU campus, to hot breakfast each morning complete with milk and half and half for our cereal served in little tea pots, and would end each day with a bowl of vanilla ice cream topped with our favorite candy sprinkles! It was heaven! I loved the week away from chores at home and looked forward to all the experiences we would have each day there being pampered by my grandparents.

Their home sits at the feet of the"Y" mountain. As a girl, I spent much time watching the college students who hiked up to the Y move around like little dots on the white washed backdrop. I wondered what the Y was made out of. I had heard it was rocks that were painted white. I couldn't imagine how they found all of those rocks and hauled them up there! I promised myself that one day I would hike up there, be one of those little dots and see it for myself.

Well, my friends, today was that day! My sister and niece and I spent the night at my parent's home (who bought my grandparents house after grandpa died) and got up early this morning- not knowing what we were getting ourselves in to- and hiked up to the Y.

I have to say that it really is a good thing that we didn't know how steep and hard it would be- or we would have never done it. Nonetheless, we did it- although it took us twice as long as it does most people (and by most people I am talking about the elderly, pregnant women, small children and dogs- all whom passed us as we were sitting at one of the 12 markers along the way- a most humbling experience!) But we did it- and it was cool! The view was breathtaking- and what made it an even greater experience for me is that I got to share it with my sister, niece and parents. My mom and dad sat on their front patio looking through dad's sighting scope keeping a watchful eye on their girls- just in case they needed to call for help (I don't think they had much confidence in our hiking abilities) and kept checking in on us by cell phone. I sat on the top of the Y ( as in the picture above) and talked on my cell phone to my mom. How cool is that?

Anyway, now I can cross something off of my list! Feels good! Now on to number 2! :)
]]> Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:03:48 GMT http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-Gx_IBJYzfqV80fJFQ_vWTOfi?p=235 ]]> Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:42:27 GMT http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-Gx_IBJYzfqV80fJFQ_vWTOfi?p=234
Here is a little snippet of the knowledge that I gained over 3 days, in one paragraph.

Never speed-read 2 Nephi again. We will all have a wilderness experience in our lives. Parents were people before being parents. Parenting often seems like organized chaos. Our ability to hear spiritually is linked with our willingness to work at it. Create a home where our children can thrive in their uniqueness. Each family is given all the gifts it needs to gain exaltation. Marking in our scriptures helps to establish ownership and shows how we value them. Powerful patterns of righteousness require passion, persistence and patience. The ability to communicate is not something we are born with, we have to learn it and earn it. Listening is one of the forms of love. It's not what we get, but what we give that keeps us emotionally healthy. Your value to the Savior is independent of your body mass index, your calling in the church, your popularity, your marital status or any other source of comparison or competition. What competition are you in? WE ARE NOT IN A RACE! We are each destined for greatness!

So there you have it, in a nutshell. 3 days of awesome classes, good food and wonderful friends! I'm filled and renewed.....until next year!
]]> Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:33:43 GMT http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-Gx_IBJYzfqV80fJFQ_vWTOfi?p=233
We have owned this car for 10 months and have had to have the windshield replaced 3 times already! The third time was the beginning of last week and I happily drove around LOVING my crack free windshield for an amazing 7 days until *!!bam!!* another rock hit it on Tuesday while we were driving to Lagoon.

What. Is. The. Deal!?! Out of all of the other cars we have owned over the past 16 years (and there have been quite a few), we have only had to replace our windshield once or twice. This is seriously crazy! And at $100 dollars a pop, this is getting to be quite pricey too!

Luckily this time we were able to get the quarter size rock chip repaired before it spread, so hopefully windshield #4 will not be needed for some time. Puleez!


]]> Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:03:30 GMT