This Whole Kate Kelly Deal

Hey all. I haven't blogged in forever I know...but I just have to get my thoughts out there on this Kate Kelly deal. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go HERE to read a little more about it. The readers digest version is that Kate has founded a movement called Ordain Women. She feels that the LDS church should give the priesthood calling to women as well as men. The church has said no, that isn't going to happen. So she has created her own movement, along with discussions (which in my opinion are similar to the missionary discussions that missionaries give people who are investigating the church), encouraging people to join her movement and demanding change. People are now getting up in arms because she is going to be excommunicated from the church when she has "done nothing wrong" as she says. And a lot of people are saying it's unfair that she is getting excommunicated for simply "asking questions". She did ask. And she was answered.

And this is where I have a problem....

She asked. She got her answer. She didn't like her answer. So what does she do? She demands the religion change one of the principles that has been long standing since the creation of the church. THEN tried to preach against that religion and get others to follow her....THEN the leaders of that religion have nicely asked her to stop preaching against their teachings several times and she didn't stop.....so YES. They have every right to excommunicate her from membership of their religion. They haven't asked her to change her feelings. They haven't asked her to change her beliefs. They simply asked that she stop preaching against their teachings if she wanted to remain a member of the LDS church. And she didn't. So duh. They said this was going to happen...it's now happening. And this is what kills me. Our society is all sorts of crazed with entitlement and it drives me crazy. Stop. Just stop.

Now don't get me wrong. I understand that she feels the LDS church has a serious inequality issue, and she has every right to feel her own feelings as do all of us. But really, if she doesn't like one of the bigger principles of the religion, then stop following that religion. Membership in the LDS church is completely voluntary. Nothing at all was forcing her to stay a member if she didn't agree with how it was run. And there is no problem with her asking the leadership to reconsider this principle....but if she was really a devout member as she claims she would know that she can't just petition for the leadership to change something big and have it done right then. When things in the LDS religion change, it's because there was some serious thoughts/prayers/revelations that went into that decision along with several meetings with the leaders of the church. It takes time. A long time. It's not just a "Hey think we should change this? Okay lets do it." And someday it may change, but today is not that day. So like or not...that's how it is. If you can't handle that... then nothing is keeping you from practicing a different religion. End rant.

Funny Image Searches

Did you know that if you search on Google images, you can upload a picture and find ones that are visually similar? I didn't either until I was randomly reading another blog and they did it. It's kind of humorous and I really kinda hope I don't look like some of these images in real life..... here go!

Picture of myself I uploaded

And here are some the images that Google thought best matched this picture visually (all images are from Google images)....

Hmm I am similar to a man wearing makeup?

Oh and punk rocker who I assume is a girl but could go either way

And....I've aged.

Hey I got a celeb! Granted its a dude....

I got one pretty girl! Score!

Ooo two for one! I could either be a bald dude with a nose ring or pink tattooed/pierced pink haired girl. Oh yes.

Who...magically changed ethnicity and joined an Asian soap opera.

Who has now gone back to being the correct ethnicity but has changed genders and aged...

A painting? I look like a painting of a lady with flowers on her head. Awesome.

Fangs. My teeth aren't THAT bad.

Changing genders again. Rock on.

Another pretty girl....with a golden grill. That's still good right?

And now we're back to paintings, only less flattering wrong gender old paintings.

A monk! I got a monk. Is it a sign I'll never get married again? Maybe. Me in 80 years.

Google must have known my feelings as I scrolled through the random pictures of "visually similar" folks. 

And there you have it. A few of the funnier images that look "visually similar" to me. I kinda hope that Google is feeling a little under the weather with a few of those, otherwise I'm going to start worrying I look like a middle aged man.... just saying :) Happy Friday and have a good weekend!

Focuses...NOT Resolutions

Hey. Happy Christmas and New Year! We had a great holiday season but it's been very nice to get back into the daily routine. So as is common with the New Year we've all decided on a few things we would like to work on. Not so much resolutions, just things to continually focus on. The boys have their little goals, one of which will earn them a big prize if completed. If Nate turns in every single piece of schoolwork for the next 2 months he will get be enroll in Football and if Ty can go 2 more months (he's at 4 months so far) of not having nighttime accidents he will get a Coby tablet. We haven't decided on a goal/reward for Ry yet. As a family, we've decided to do the following:

1. Make it to school by 8:30 am
2. Brush teeth/read scriptures and books/say family prayer every night no matter what (i.e. nighttime routine)
3. Be more active (more sports)
4. Get out of the house and do stuff together more often
5. Eat dinner at the table every day
6. Save for a vacation
6 1/2. Go on said vacation :)

I think all are manageable and so far we are doing really well with most of them. I made personal items I want to work on this year as well.

1. Manage my money better
2. Do 52 week save challenge (put money equal to the number of week it is away each week, i.e. week 1 would be $1, week 2 = $2, week 3 = $3) and by week 52 you'll have $1500ish saved.
3. Plan and cook meals - try new recipes
4. Ditch the negative vices holding me down
5. Learn a new skill
6. Re-dedicate to Weight Watchers
7. Be more consistent in my parenting/stop yelling
8. Plan for vacation
9. Pass my Loan Originator Licensing Exam
10. Get more sleep
11.Spend less time on phone/in front of TV/on electronics

I'm off to a good start so far for the year I think. I haven't eaten out all week, not even for lunch which is amazing and have cooked things I haven't cooked in a long time. I also have a mini-goal to reach my 10% token in Weight Watchers and have about 9 lbs to go until I reach that, so that is my January goal. It's going to be tough but I can do it. So far I'm doing well.

Have ya'll heard about the article going viral about divorcing phones? It's at this LINK if you want to read it. The bishop talked to us about how some studies he'd read stated that people who spend 2+ hours either watching TV/playing games/etc (anything to do with electronics) start having their frontal lobe shut down. The frontal lobe is the part that controls creativity, emotions, etc. Which makes sense as to why people who spend too much time doing this stuff can get aggressive after awhile (my boys do....and me too sadly). So between knowing I'm knocking my frontal lobe out of place AND knowing I'm missing important stuff all around me when I spend too much time on my phone....I made that last goal. I would encourage you to read up on this stuff too, it's pretty fascinating and scary. Makes you think twice about what you choose to spend your time doing.

AND...my phone apparently didn't believe I could accomplish that last goal because it took things upon itself to 'divorce' me. And it won't come back no matter what I try. Since you have to buy phones with Straight Talk outright (no discounts), I've just decided to wait until I do my yearly payment next month. My dad has lent me his cell phone so they have a way to get a hold of me and his is not a smart phone which has been interesting. There is no texting or internet, no apps, no nothing. And I kinda like it. I haven't had to charge it one time since Sunday and the dang thing still has a full battery. I do miss being able to check my bank acct any time I want and texting people I care about whenever I want, however it has literally forced me into focusing more on my kids and what they are doing and it's kind of nice.

A weird outcome from this lack of phone deal is that I haven't had any desire to sit on my laptop all night and play Facebook games either. This has helped me get back into good sleeping habits this week which has helped us all get to bed earlier and wake up earlier so we are earlier to school. I also 'feel like' exercising more because I'm not consumed with FB games (those things are addicting). Crazy how that works huh? For some reason all of this combined has also helped me be able to kick some nasty vices I'd been holding on to as well which I know will help in the Weight Watchers side of things. So I have decided one good lifestyle change can have quite the snowball effect. Granted this is just the first week. Or second actually. But still....I have high high hopes.

I'm thinking 2014 is going to be a good year. I'm looking forward to it. I hope ya'll have made some good focuses for 2014 and wish you all the success in accomplishing what you set out to do.

Picture Overload Updates

The pictures of the house FINALLY sent to my computer so here they are! We also have been up to other stuff so might as well tell it all in pictures right? Here go...

The kitchen!

The kitchen again

Dining Room

Part of the living room

My red wall. I love my red wall :)

The family room

My bedroom

Ty and Ry's bedroom...its much bigger than it appears

Nate's ever messy room

The "red room" that is huge (more space than could fit in a picture). The boys have it as their secret club at the moment but will be used for food storage eventually.

Laundry/mud room

And that is our house! The back yard is very pretty too, I will take pictures when I remember to in the daytime. I always seem to forget. I want to pretty it up a little too so maybe when spring comes :)

The boys had a blast at Halloween trick or treating with the neighbor kids. 

Nate and Ty are playing basketball now too. Nate's team was suffering for a bit but had their first win last Saturday. Ty's team has been stomping the competition by 20-30 pts a game usually. Haven't had a loss yet.

My emergency preparedness "stove". You can put whatever your heating on top and light a fire in the can. At least I kinda have a heat source if stuff ever goes down right?

The little specs at the top of the street are the boys. They walked to school all by themselves that day. It was a bittersweet moment for me. Love that they were independent....not loving they are getting so darn big!

And that is about it for now. We are just getting prepared for Christmas (holy geez that came fast) and having as much fun as we can. It's snowed quite a bit here as well which has been fun, except for the slippery ice. I'll post more pictures of our snowy fun later. Its soo nice to have a yard for the boys to run and play in, and build snowmans...and have snowball wars....oh I love it so much. It feels good to have a home. Happy Holidays!

Broken

My heart is broken. Losing a loved one is extremely difficult but losing a child is just....different. It is a different kind of pain and sorrow. Something that is hard to understand unless you have had to go through it. Some loved ones are now going through this and I so badly wish I could take it all away and make things right again but I know I can't. All the feelings I had when I lost Grayson have seeped in tonight and knowing they are going through the same sorrow is gut wrenching. Please say a little prayer for those who are struggling tonight to find strength to make it through their trials. Pray for those close to them to know the best way to love and support them and most importantly please pray for them to know they are loved.

He knows that everyone falls down,

He's reaching His hands to lift up and strengthen us all now.

He helps me stand higher than I ever knew how,

Through things that I couldn't do alone.

He handles the rest when I've given all I've got to give.

My heart's been trying, and in his eye's it's enough.

He know's who I am, and he know's I'll make mistakes.

He's my oldest friend and through it all I know he'll wait.

I learn every day that I've got so much more to give

My trials have a purpose, I know that's why I'm here.

-Mercy River

Busy Busy November

Holy geez this month has been busy. We had the move of course but so much more too.

The boys started basketball a few weeks ago and it's been crazy crazy since. Both Nate and Ty are playing on separate teams and are in different divisions, so practices and games sometimes overlap. They usually practice Tuesdays and Thursdays then the games are on Saturdays. This last Saturday both games were at the same time at different locations. I was only able to see Nate's game and his team did fairly well. They got creamed but for most this is the first time they've played organized sports like this, so all in all they did good for their level. Tyler's team was opposite, they creamed the other team pretty good. I heard the game was awesome and was sad I had to miss it. Luckily, there is only one other Saturday that the games overlap so I should be able to go to both of their games every week now. This weekend, Tyler's game is at 9:00 am at Canyon View High and Nate's is at 11:00 am at Canyon View Middle School in case anyone wanted to come. Basketball is going to last until January for Tyler and February for Nate so the next few months are definitely going to be busy busy.

Nate has been doing great with his Cello. He's still undecided on if he wants to continue to play it after the Orchestra class is up but I am definitely going to suggest he keeps at it. Tyler is also taking piano lessons and doing very well. From what I hear he is really enjoying the lessons and from hearing him play a little he is catching on really well. And of course both the older ones are also doing their scouts. Poor Ry hasn't had anything too huge going on but he's been a trooper riding along to all these other events and it's helping him be a little more motivated to want to participate in activities when he gets old enough.

Work is going well too. I was really struggling with trying to figure out what the underwriters looked for to give good solid approvals on files so I decided to reach out to the underwriting manager the other day and she gave me some great tips. I've put her tips into play and my last three files have come out very clean (which means the underwriter was able to issue approvals without having to request a ton of extra info called conditions). One was even a quick clear which means that I had provided all but two items she had needed to give me a clear to close. That's pretty major. I am also done with my required educational courses for my Utah Licensing Test and about half way through the required courses for the National Licensing Test. The goal is to complete these courses and take my tests to be a licensed Loan Officer by January. Things are headed in a great direction and I really feel we are becoming closer and more tight knit as a team. It's very exciting to be a part of it all.

So we're busy busy but absolutely loving every second. It's been an adjustment for sure with all the changes going on but so far all of it is definitely moving us upwards and I look forward to where this little path we've jumped on will lead. Here is to a good ride :)

Getting Settled

I have been attempting to post pictures of the new house for the last week but they won't transfer from my phone to my computer. Highly irritating. So eventually I will get some posted I promise.

The move went well. We had a few bumps along the way though. The house was not ready when we moved in. I don't know what happened there, but when I came to do my move-in inspection that Friday before there was maintenance stuff EVERYWHERE. A toilet was completely ripped out of the hallway bathroom and was chilling out in Nate's room, the stove has some issues and there were pages of things that they didn't quite get finished. Tools were everywhere and patches on the wall hadn't been fixed yet. So the plan to move stuff in on Friday was out. I was a little stressed out I couldn't move as much as I was planning on but come Saturday morning most of the stuff was cleaned up thank goodness and we were good to move stuff in.

I was extremely blessed with all the help that showed up. We had our last load in the new house by noon which is a record for me for sure. When not as many people as I had expected to come showed up, some prayers were answered and the troops came in. I am soo grateful for all the help, thank you to everyone who took time out to help. I know we couldn't have done things so quickly without them all...I am soo grateful that things worked out the way they did.

So not everything is fixed yet unfortunately but they are slowly working on it. The toilet got moved back into the bathroom but wasn't installed until yesterday. The stove is now fixed too but I cannot get the gas fireplace in the family room to work to save my life, there are still toothpaste looking patches on some of the walls that didn't get covered and I can't dry any clothes here since my dryer is electric and the hookups are gas. The maintenance guy said he had connections and could hook me up with a very inexpensive dryer, but I've yet to see that come to fruition. So...the hunt for a dryer continues and we become friends with the laundromat for a minute.

Having a house is a lot of work too...as I mentioned I can't get the gas fireplace to work in the basement and even with the heat on it gets cold down here. I have no idea how to use the wood fireplace in the living room either, so we are slightly cold. Good thing heat rises though because the bedrooms are nice and toasty, and I guess that is really what counts right? And the spiders. Oh the spiders. I hate spiders. And there are TONS of them. There was one in the boys room who's body was easily as big as my thumb. It was nasty. But we are handling it bit by bit.

But there are soooo many upsides that all the other stuff is minor. We feel at home every time we walk in the door. The boys are loving the space and the ability to run and play without me having to tell them to be quiet. And being so close to the school means that we have not been late once since we moved in which I'm sure the school appreciates too. My favorite part is the fact that the dining room and family room are far apart so we haven't had any temptation to eat in front of the TV. It's been soo very nice to eat as a family at the table and to have the kids excited to help cook, set the table and do clean up. I'm sure that won't last forever but I'll take it while I can. The boys are super excited for the prospects of fun activities in the house too. Nate is going to have a friend party at our house this year for his birthday which is something we really didn't have room to do previously. The other boys all want to do the same and I'm excited to be able to give them that option finally. And the holidays! They are soo excited to spend the holidays here. We can decorate and feel all festive here which we are ALL excited about. Yay!

So that is that. I look forward to the fun memories we are going to be able to make here and the opportunities we will have with being in our own home. And with that, have a lovely night :)

Gettin' Antsy!

The time to move is coming up and I have been trying hard not to be too excited because otherwise time will pass by slower than it has been already. But I couldn't help it tonight. So of course....I turn to my Auto Homestyler and have at it. The living room in it's raw is below....

Yay fireplace!

And below is how I'd love to someday have my living room look. It will be awhile before I get to spiffy it up since getting the kids new beds is my priority (they are in pretty rough shape). And of course I couldn't structure the room exactly like above, but it's close. Forgive the loooong outside view...camera placement was off.




And of course I can't help to play around with my bedroom. Also low on my priority list but it's still fun to dream :) Bedroom picture below....

It's workable...

I think it's workable. Someday. Maybe. :) Until then it's fun to just design. And side note...I fell asleep creating these and writing this post last night. It was kind of funny. Anywho...bedroom below.





Ok that is it. Moving day is coming in one week and hopefully we will be ready by then! I'll be sure to share pictures when I get all set up. Have a good night ya'll. Happy dreams :)

Remembrance Day

 Source

Today is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness/Remembrance Day. And of course I am remembering my Grayson, who has blessed me and keeps blessing me to this day from his little perch in Heaven. He makes me realize how precious life is and how I need to never ever take my living sons for granted. I forget that on those awesome days where they don't listen or if they do, they just don't care to do as I ask or when they are endlessly antagonizing each other or fighting relentlessly. But they are wise and give me gentle reminders. Sometimes it's a hug. Sometimes it's filling up my water bottle when I don't even realize I need more water. Or offering to exercise with me to keep me motivated (although this isn't completely selfless, since most the time they are trying to get out of going to bed but it's sweet all the same). I love the mornings when one (or all three) end up in my bed super early in the morning just because they wanted to cuddle for a little bit. Or when they steal Eskimo kisses just because. I especially love the breakfast in bed on random days because they want to do something nice for me, or when they actually help each other out. I love my boys and can't think of life without them. Sure it would be easier but it most definitely wouldn't be as fun. And I am thankful for the influence Grayson has had on them. They never met him in person or even saw him other than in pictures, but they all feel a connection to him. In fact, Grayson is Ryder's friend right now and he talks about him often. Don't get me wrong, today has been a bit difficult as well. I've been reading over stories of the men and women who are apart of a Facebook support group and it is just heartbreaking to know they've had to go through this type of pain. I have definitely shed a tear or two.

So I offer a challenge to you. If you know someone who had lost a pregnancy, stillborn, infant, child, etc. please give them a hug today. Or even a quick text or call to say you were thinking about them. It helps soooo much to know others care, believe me. So do you accept the challenge?? Do it! I dare you! Alrighty until next time...have a happy week!

What I've learned

This last week(ish) has been interesting. I've learned a few things.

1. When something exciting happens (moving!!!) the remainder of the time you have to wait goes by sloooooooooow. The last year has whizzed by quicker than you can say quick. And October was proving to do the same...until I want it to go quick. Then of course time goes at snail pace.

2. Moving sucks. Nix that. Packing sucks. I hate packing. I've been procrastinating. Nate's room is ready to roll. Ty/Ry's room is getting there. The rest of the house is untouched. Except for the mountain of boxes in my living room.

3. When I get ready to move, every flipping time, my housework goes to pot. I don't know what it is but every single time, the last month before I move equals a serious lack of keeping up with chores. So irritating.

4. Tonight I found out I beat another dude to the punch on the home. I know he's needing to find a place pronto and would like to stay in that area, so now I feel kinda bad that I got in with my app just a tad bit quicker than him. I'm grateful for the opportunity, super excited of course, and I think it all worked together for a reason. However I'm definitely keeping an eye out for rentals in that area in hopes of helping his cause.

5. Procrastinating on homework (a.k.a. building volcanos) until the night before they are due is not a great idea. Thankfully, he teamed up with a friend who had also forgotten and they got it done quickly. But we didn't get home until 9:45 pm.

6. On that note....I hate the new "core" math they have going on at school. Nate used to absolutely LOVE math. Now he despises it, and I got a call from his teacher that he's been unprepared for math all week. Meaning he hasn't been doing his homework. The homework he says he never has because he finishes at school. If he doesn't start being more prepared, she's sending him to Skills which is not good. That is where the naughty kids go. Oh heaven help us all, lets send some good mojo his way to help him to remember his homework. And actually do it. Ugh.

7. Moving sucks. Again. I've been thinking of all the stuff I will need in a home and prioritizing. Priority 1....new beds. The younger boys broke their bunk beds (but in reality not all their fault, they were not put together well when we moved in to this place) and I truly don't think those beds will make it to the new home. It has some Kimmy handyman redneck tactics holding the beds together right now. It's time for new beds. Do you know how much new beds are? Yeah I almost had a heart attack.

And there you have it, the lessons I've learned this week. Here's to hoping all works out well. Cross fingers and send good mojo if you have any to spare. Until we meet again,,,,,