My Yard Sale High

My boys' clothes have been in a pitiful state. But if you have had a recent conversation with me, then you know that I am on a Dave Ramsey kick, which means I've stopped spending money on everything. Every single pair of my boys' jeans had holes in them. I patched them up and they lasted maybe a month more, holes are back plus some, and they all desperately need to be thrown in the garbage. I hated sending them to school like that. But this morning I got the urge to go yard saleing and I said a quick prayer as I left that I would find pants for the boys. The very first yard sale I went to, were selling jeans, GUNNAR AND ANDER SIZES!!! 3 of them are brand new with tags, and the rest are in pristine condition. 12 pairs, 22 bucks. HuYAH!

My dearest Peeps, I want you to know that God does hear and answer our prayers, and that he cares about little things like boy jeans. And for that I am grateful.

Look what Sylas discovered

I'm so proud. Hmph.

Catchin' up!

Wow, I feel like a lot has happened since I last blogged. So expect a post every day for the next few days.

Lohn had his birthday this last week. (He shares a birthday with Hitler and the Columbine shooting, nice)
He woke up to balloons all over our bedroom (a fun family tradition)
I made him Pancakes for breakfast (nice and undercooked just for him, gross huh?)
We ordered Famous Daves takeout and then pigged out.
We opened presents
And then we ate Cheesecake.
Oh, and he changed no diapers. All day.

Here is a picture of the AWESOME dessert I made. I dipped the strawberries in white and milk chocolate. And I put a big spoonful of the melted chocolate on the plate (many thanks to the Chocolate Cafe for the idea!)

Oh man, was it GOOD!
Happy Birthday to my hot, sexy husband!

Job interview update

Okay so the interview didn't go very well. Lohn accidently used the word "funnest" (he he, IDAHOAN) and when they asked why he wants to work for Bayer, He said "To be honest, Bayer has never been on my radar, until 6 weeks ago and saw the job and thought it would be a good fit." They didn't like that answer. What is he supposed to say? A bunch of gunk and mush about how wonderful Bayer is? (It's JUST aspirin, people) I hate how some companies just want to hire someone who is proficient at kissing butt. There are lots of people like that in the world who are as dumb as rocks. Anyway, I guess this wasn't the job for him, and we will keep looking. But many thanks to all my lovely friends and family who pulled "Enos's" for me. You guys are the bestest and "funnest" ;)

Job interview tomorrow!

Um yeah, so pray for him please! At exactly noon say a little prayer. This one is with Bayer, and the job would actually be here. In South Bend. I am starting to feel grumpy about all the jobs he is applying for. I don't want to live in any of these places. I would be fine with South Bend if I could remain at the Village. But I can't. I don't want to live in Florida, or California, North Dakota or Arizona. Then I stop to think, "Well then, where DO I want to live?" The answer? Here at the Village. I just want to live here. I looked at all the pictures entered for the Village photo contest and got all blubbery and emotional. I love it here. I thought when I moved here, that I was going to have to convince myself to be happy or at least pretend for the kids' sake. Imagine my shock when I discovered I loved it with little effort on my part. And now the time is approaching that we will have to leave, and I am sad. So I am going to Woman-Up and just be pleased with a job (seriously ANY job, please) and smile where ever I am planted!

2 jokes from Gunnar

Two jokes Gunnar shared with us at the dinner table this evening.
Q. What happens when the eye ball falls on the apple?
A. Nothing.

Q. Why did the apple go into the mouth?
A. So it could get eaten.

Isn't he adorable?!

Village Photo Contest

Every year the Village has a photo contest. Villagers are encouraged to take pictures and submit them. The theme usually has something to do with life at the Village. Then they are judged and the winner wins a shutterfly gift card and their picture gets to be displayed FOREVER in the community center. We are encouraged to give our pictures a title as well. Below are our entries.

I named this one "Behold Your Little Ones"
For those of you not familiar to this phrase, it come from the Book of Mormon. After Christ died and was resurrected, he visited other parts of the world, and taught them. He appeared in the Americas and taught the people there for a time. At one point he asked the people to bring the children to him and with them gathered around him he said "Behold your little ones" and then he wept for the love he had for the children. It's one of the most beautiful parts of the Book of Mormon.


This one is "The Giving Tree" (many thanks to Shel Silverstein for the great title) This is the only tree in the backyard that is climbable. All the kids have been seen dangling from it branches at one point. Tamsyn is with her best friend Pearl from South Korea.

This last one is Tamsyn's entry. The girls were in the sand box and made this beautiful wing design in the sand. And then each girl posed and got her picture taken by Tamsyn. This one is named "On the Wings of Fairies"

February and March Quilts

Before I moved here, I knew the Lord wanted me to continue Quilt day. I also knew that I couldn't take my quilting frames with me and I had no idea where I would get the funding. But I trusted that if the Lord wanted me to do it, doors would be opened for me. And after I moved here, and realized how ultra cool the Village is, I had the funding with no problem, and I learned how to make the quilts with just pinning and not with the frames, and it has even been a blessing, because it is a THOUSAND times easier to tie the quilts without frames. Quilt day has been a lot of work for me, but some of my tenderest memories will be of my special quilting mammas crowded around a quilt discussing children, laughing at their newest antics, job prospects or the lack there of, and hopes and dreams for the future. I am so grateful for quilt day and my ever faithful quilting ladies.

I'm about to brag, if you please...

Guess what! I just ran 5.10 miles WITHOUT WALKING!!! Thats the farthest I've ever ran in my life! So take THAT, you floppy, squishy flubber that hangs over my belt line, I'll show you! (insert evil manic laugh here)

No, I'm not pregnant, I'm just FAT.

Okay, so no one has asked me if I am pregnant yet, but I am terrified they will. I have gained 10 pounds over the last two months, and it makes NO SENSE! I am running like crazy (4 miles without walking!) and I try to watch what I eat. Okay, I admit that I like my chocolate and sugar, but STILL, I'm not eating THAT much. I watched a documentary on Netflix called FATHEAD. It totally messed with my head and questioned all my beliefs about food. We have the Word of Wisdom in our religion that teaches us to eat grains, fruits and veggies and eat meat sparingly. Well, Fathead is telling us to do the exact opposite. Grains and breads and pastas are evil, and eat as much meat as you want, and not only will you lose weight, but your cholesterol will go down. And that is including eating at McDonalds every day. And not only will your cholesterol go down, but your chances of heart disease goes down as well. I just can't swallow it. And if it IS true, then you are just swapping one horrible disease for another. If you take all whole grains out of your diet, then I see a nasty case of colon cancer in your future, but hey, at least your heart will be in good shape. (Sigh) So what EXACTLY do we eat? I hate all the conflicting studies and the theories. Snickers or Sandwich, baked potato or ice cream (Fathead would say snickers and ice cream because it has a lower glycemic index rate). I think I will stick to the Word of Wisdom. It was as true in Rack, Shack, and Bennies day, as it is today. (You know, Veggie Tales, real names I can't spell and too lazy to look them up, but you know, Shadrack, Meshack and Abindigo). But I am open to any of my friends theories. I trust you guys more than Fathead. So please share, what is the best diet???

My Ander Man is 7!

Seven years ago, and after only 4 hours of contractions, and a whirlwind birth, our sweet little boy joined our family. He is so wonderful, tries hard to please, and works so hard in school. He is incredibly smart, and has a sense of humor that cracks me up. He is timid, especially around people he doesn't know that well, and always steps into the back round and lets others take the lime light. He'd rather observe than be observed. His sweet temper reminds me of his daddy. I LOVE having him in our family, and I am so grateful he is mine forever!

We had a fun day. The kids woke up to balloons and streamers all over the house. Lohn and the kids were all home today, so at 9 am we went swimming all together. For lunch, we had a mac and cheese cookoff, and Ander was the judge. Lohn's velveeta version took first place, his cheddar cheese mac came in second, and my asiago and romano cheese came in third (sigh). Although, Lohn and I both thought mine was the best... (Velveeta is gross) After lunch we opened presents and then went to the zoo. We came home and played with presents and ate cake! It was a fun filled day and we loved celebrating Ander.

Buried in balloons

Cash from Grandma and Grandpa Dahle. Who doesn't love money??? Especially when in comes in small bills, and it looks like there is a lot of it :)

An analog watch from Grandma McKee. Remember how I told you he is so smart? Well he has had the watch for only a few hours, and can tell the time now.

Okay, so I swore I wan't going to buy him a wii game, because I want him outside PLAYING. But I saw it was only twenty dollars, and I knew he wanted this one badly, and I couldn't resist making him smile that big adorable smile. I knew it would make him happy. We will just have to set some rules on the amount of time he's allowed to play.

I let my kids decorate their own cakes. That way I can't be judged by those moms who take HOURS making elaborate cakes look like choo choo trains, or caterpillars and slather it with yucky fondant. I just say it's a family tradition for them to decorate their own cake. And yes, I use canned frosting and boxed cake mix. :)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LITTLE MAN, I LOVE YOU!!!

Moment of proudness- and then one of not so much proudness

My Proud Mama Moment: My daughter was outside playing with her two best friends, and they came in the house after awhile, seeking sanctuary from a kid on the playground who was saying some not nice things to them. Soon afterward I heard one of Tamsyn's friends say, "Lets go say something really mean to them!" And I heard Tamsyn say "No that never makes it better." Tamsyn's friend insisted this time, they go DO something mean to this child. Tamsyn then said "No" quite emphatically." I swelled with pride when I heard her. I went and talked to the girls about how we love those who are mean to us, and that the reason this child was saying hurtful things is because of jealousy of their close friendship and the feeling of being left out. I have one awesome daughter!

2 of my My Not SO Proud Mama Moments- #1 Gunnar squinted his eyes at me today and said, "Mom, who am I?" I smiling said, "You're Gunnar of course." He, still squinting, said "No, I'm Jimmy!" (Ander's best friend from Korea.) I stifled a laugh (because lets admit it, it's a wee bit funny...) and told him not to do that anymore, and God made us all different, which is a good thing.
#2 Then later at swimming lessons, Gunnar told me in a VERY loud voice, in a small room of multiracial people, "Mom, I want all the black kids to get out of pool." Okay, so this time I did NOT have to stifle a laugh, since I was totally appalled/embarrassed/shocked. I scolded him, told him, that was a very unkind thing to say. I'm not sure for his reasoning for saying such a thing. I still need to talk to him about it. I don't think he is thinking like a racist, because just before this he made friends with a little black boy and they were playing great. Not to mention one of his good friends here at the Village is black. Either way, I think I know what our next FHE is going to be on, and who will be giving the lesson. :)

Conference

I always watch Conference, and usually I enjoy it, but I think it shows how spiritually starved I've been (ahem, nursery calling here) when I say I LOVED conference this weekend. I SOAKED it up! There were two distinct times I felt the spirit talking to me. I will only share one.

I had the opportunity to take an investigator to the church house this morning to watch the first session of conference. She is the sweetest little old lady I've ever met (that is until I realized she is a raging racist, but thats another story). She has no transportation and was telling me she has no way to get to church. I considered offering to pick her up every Sunday, but disregarded it when I considered the extra time and gas it would cost us. But the talk by Elder Uchdorf (spelling???) spoke right to my heart. He talked of service, and how the Lord needs followers he can rely on. How our own trials can be eased/answered by service to our fellowmen. I knew during his talk that the Lord cares about this little (bigoted) woman, loves her very much and he expects me to help her. So I offered my services afterwards to drive her to church every Sunday, and she happily accepted, and I consequently felt the Lord approved of me at that moment. Lets just hope the Gospel changes her heart towards those with a different color of skin.

I also thought it was super cool when Bishop Burton talked about my own children's Great great great great (Not really sure how many greats) Grandpa Robert Taylor Burton. He's one of our heros. So what did you think of conference? Any stories that you would like to share with the blogging world?

So I got this from a friends blog, and I am reposting it. All you have to do is click on this link and sign up (takes just 30 sec.) and your name will be entered to win a Kitchen Aid, a years supply of King Arthurs Flour and 50 bucks. And if you win, I win one too! So pass the word along, cause I NEED ONE REALLY BAD! My bausch is no more and I have been desolate without it.