Four down & Four to go

 My sister, Becky, got married this last weekend.  That means four of my parent's eight children are now married.  They have seven grandkids.  One of those grandbabies was born today (congrats Robert and Cheryl on another sweet baby girl!)  Only two of the grandkids are boys and they are both mine (yeah-I love boys!!)  It was a beautiful day and everything went so smoothly (thanks to mom and Becky who are both way more organized than myself!)  I am so excited for Becky to join the married world.  Her wait was answered with a great guy who has two beautiful daughters.  We are so excited to add them to our family!

Becky & Brandon

Brandon's cute daughter

Left is Brandon's older daughter & right is my cute cousin

Matt already loves his new cousin

Survival

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.
It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up.
It knows that it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve.
It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or a gazelle
when the sun comes up you'd better be running.

I wish I knew who authored this quote.  I love it!!!  My life recently feels like I am always running just to finish the bare necessities of life (work, laundry, food, and a little time for loving :)  So you might think I am crazy to make time in that picture to actually run.  But crazy or not, I love to run.  It is my time tested and proven best stress buster ever.  On the days I squeeze in my trot for tranquility I feel so much more prepared to roll with the punches.  Instead of losing my cool when things don't go as planned, I am able to smoothly transition to plan B without much frustration.  I know that running doesn't do the same for everyone, but I think we each have our own inner harmony restoring activity that leaves us feeling refreshed and invigorated.  With spring and warmer weather on the way, here's to the challenge of finding time for the things we love.  You gotta fight for the right to . . . . . do whatever it is you do :)

The House That Built Me

If you haven't heard the song "The House That Built Me" by Miranda Lambert go to the right side of my blog right now and listen to it (song # 5).  I love the song!  It always gets me thinking about the house that built me.  It was the best place ever for a kid to grow up.  Never mind that it was under 1000 square feet and had a few other issues I won't mention.

We had grandma & grandpa right next door, a rope swing over the little ditch by the driveway and so many interesting places to explore.  Imagination was our best toy.  We were explorers on a mission or pioneers crossing the plains (soooo Mormon I know).  I remember playing in the ditch until way past our bedtime.  Mom would call for us to come in from the porch and we didn't want to get out of the "warm" water into the cold night air.  (Ditch water totally grosses me out as an adult, but I bet I got my strong immune system from all the nasty things that ditch exposed me to!)  There was a u-drive between our house and grandma & grandpa's house.  We would ride our bikes around and around the driveway passing our lazy summer days.  It was so great! 

So many important moments in my life happened while living in this house.  My mind is full of fond memories.  They all wrap up on that sad morning that I sat turned around backwards in our brown minivan watching the green and white home of my childhood disappear as we headed north to move into the other house that built me.  I remember the tears pouring down my cheeks as I realized that this special place was not going to be mine anymore.  It was true heartbreak to leave the only home I had ever known (as real a heartbreak as the night I thought Dustin had broken up with me forever).

Although some may have looked in on our family of 9 living in that little house and felt sorry for us, we were very happy there.  It was a warm, clean, loving space where I felt safe.  We were kind of on top of each other a lot, but it taught us to share and cooperate.  Thomas Jefferson said:

"I had rather be shut up in a very modest cottage with my books, my family and a few old friends, dining on simple bacon, and letting the world roll on as it liked, than to occupy the most splendid post which any human power can give."

Other than the bacon part, I totally agree.  So, I give a shout out to those of you out there who, like me, are living in smallish spaces.  Fill whatever space you have with love and fun and be content.  Kids are small and they don't care if they live in a mansion.  They just want to feel safe, loved and happy.  And I am learning that small spaces are healthy for adults too.  Any hoarding habits that I had are dead.  Life is simplified!  Less to clean = more time to do the things I love.  Yup, I love my small space.  And I hope some day my kids will have good memories of the spaces they have called home.

“The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.” ~Tom Bodett

My family learned a very unforgettable lesson in the spring of last year.  My dad, the man who doesn't go to the doctor unless he is in great pain, went in for a routine physical in the middle of the week.  It turned out to be anything but routine.  A few specialists and tests later we learned that he would need open heart surgery immediately.  So the beginning of the following week we started a journey that was frightening, exhausting, and life changing.  At the young age of 55, my father required not the quadruple bypass the doctors were expecting, but eight bypasses to provide critical blood flow to his heart.

Seeing my dad go through that experience was heart wrenching.  If you've never seen anyone after open heart surgery I don't think you can fully understand the impact it has on a body.  They look like death.  I don't know how else to describe it.  I just could not believe that my dad was that swollen, pale person laying there.  We came very close to losing our dad.  Too close.  He is the rock of our family.  He is the sense of reason and optimism in a home of loving, but emotional females.  We need him!

With time, he made his comeback.  He even went golfing the first week the doctor gave his okay (I think it was in September).  We all  consider ourselves very blessed that he is still with us.  Because open heart surgery is not the solution to heart disease (just a temporary second chance) I decided to try my hand at healthier cooking.  I bought three cookbooks geared for heart health (low sodium and low fat).  I tried many recipes, some good and some not so good.  I shared some with my family, not always with great reviews, but some were better than others.   Then life happened, things got busy, and holidays came and went.  I've fallen back into bad habits and so has my family.

The best dad and grandpa!!

Here's my request if I have any blog readers left.  Do you have any good suggestions for healthy eating?  Any great recipes that taste good but are also low fat and low sodium?  Heart disease is present on both sides of my family tree.  I need some inspiration and motivation to continue the life change and eat healthier.

And, any of you who can, go hug your dad (and your mom, siblings, spouse, kids, etc.)  The people we love need to know it and hear it regularly because we never know when life will send us a test to teach us something!!

Ready or Not . . .

. . . Winter is here!  I can't believe the snow that we already have and I hear we are supposed to get more.  Crazy!  At least my boys love it . . .

 I promise Drew was having fun, until he realized his hands were too cold and started to hurt.  After a cup of hot chocolate he was asking to go out again.  Here is a photo flashback to catch up the last few months.

Emily's first 5K run.  It was awesome.  It was just before Halloween.  I am supposed to look like a zombie.  It was a zombie chase.  The runners who signed up as survivors got a one minute head start before they let us zombies start and catch them.  It was awesome.  I am not just saying that because my sister-in-law was the organizer.  She did a great job!  I will definitely be running more races after this experience.  My sisters also ran as their first 5K.  They were survivors.  That's why I look so weird next to them.  And yes, I caught them.  Ha Ha!

My boys were the cutest on Halloween.  The cowboy and his trusty horse.  Kids make holidays so much fun.  I feel like a kid again watching their fun and excitement.  We threw a party at the shop.  It was complete with a hay ride through the field, homemade chili and donuts, but the big screen movie plans got blasted when my stupid computer decided to take a break for the night (hate my computer--can't wait to get a new one next year!)  Despite the trouble, it was a fun night.

My cute boys - I love them even when they drive me crazy.  I've been trying to enjoy them more and stress less lately and it has been great.  They are so cute and fun and entertaining.  My life would be sooo boring without them.  It would also be much cleaner and quieter, but I'll take the mess and noise and remember that life is flying by so fast that I had better enjoy the moments while I can!

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season so far.  The snow has helped me get in the Christmas mood early this year.  Does the early snow mean winter will end in March???

It's all in how you look at it!!

So, I thought I was having a bad day yesterday.  I didn't get much accomplished, we have car troubles, my boys were acting up, etc....  I was kind of feeling sorry for myself until I went out to my garden to check for any zucchinis that were ready to be picked.  As I was searching through the plant I found a spider's web.  The spider was at that very moment killing a fly that had gotten tangled in the web.  Instantly I thought, "Hey my life isn't so bad!"  Our troubles always seem so hard until we see someone who has it harder!  I'll take my difficult children, stupid broken cars, and unaccomplished day to that poor little fly's situation.  Here's to a perspective adjustment for any of you out there who might need it!!

Really?!

     Dustin just turned to me and said, "Hey why don't you go out and do a blog post and I will watch the kids"  Huh????  I didn't even know that Dustin knew what a blog post is, but okay if you say so hubby!  It has been a long time and I do appreciate a break from the whining (we have sick kids right now :( )  So, a quick blog post tonight thanks to my supportive husband. 

     We have had a busy summer that has gone by way to fast.  I'm watching the corn growing tall in the fields and thinking, "It can't be time for corn yet, can it??"  I have a beautiful garden this summer (by my standards, i.e. not entirely weed free, but somewhat weed controlled and all plants are alive and producing).  This is my third year attempting to garden and this is by farrrrrr my best yet.  It is the coolest thing to plant a seed in the ground and then see it actually come up.  It is even better when you taste the delicious peas straight of the vine, the crisp fresh lettuce, the mouth watering tomatoes, and use the zucchini in so many different recipes that only make it out of the recipe box one time a year.  I LOVE IT!!!

     Matt turned one year old yesterday!  He is my little "cute face" (especially now with his four front teeth with big spaces between them!)  Drew is such a big boy!  He surprises me every day with his memory, ingenuity, and sense of humor.  I didn't realize that you can see the class clown tendency so young :).

     Dustin is always busy!  He works more than the typical hours every week.  And when he's not in the shop you can find him irrigating, feeding animals, or doing something with his calling in the young men.  He's a hard worker--I wish I knew where his off button was.

     Hope everyone is doing great!  Sorry there aren't any pictures--maybe next time!