Bewitching Insight: 2009

Hello all! No I didn't fall all the way off the face of the earth we just slid south. Or rather we made the longest move of my entire life! SO for those of you who don't know we made the leap in July and moved from Idaho to the beautiful state of Texas. It is like a country all it's own....or a planet....that's it....we moved to a different planet! It is HOT here....but not uncomfortable... Not like "I feel like I am melting hot"....But I must admit there are those days when I am working to unload boxes and I am in the garage and it feels about 140 degrees. I swear I lose about 5 pounds....LOL WOuldn't that be cool if it were true?! So we have been here about 2 months now, the kids have started school, and we are all but settled.

The Drive was unbelievably long! 1600 Miles long.....We drove through Idaho, of course, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and finally Texas. We had a bad fuel pump in Laramie....While Laramie had a horrible storm and no power. I ended up covered in mud thanks to my dog. We spent the night in Fort Collins, CO at a KOA.....But where else do you camp out if you have......2 adults, 6 kids....we thought we would bring two extra just for the heck of it!......4 dogs....only because we are insane. A cat....because sadly enough I gave the other 2 away.....and a lizard.....did I get all of us....it was a traveling road show. Kind of like a circus or a freak show. Then the second night....because we drove from 7 in the morning until late and never got any closer....we stayed in Kansas.....Salina. It was humid there! I think that is why I appreciate the humidity here....that was the worst! My feet in my flip flops felt as though I had walked through a puddle....gross. We stayed the night in the only place with a cheap room that was vacant.....again our traveling road show needed somewhere.....and let me tell you....I wondered if I should sleep! YUCK!! (Nat's Bday amidst the move)

Our moving truck didn't show up for 2 weeks....we camped in our house with a mini fridge.....It was a wonderful start to our new adventure! SO we thought we had to make the best of it.

The kids convinced us to go swimming at Marie's house in Fort Worth which was wonderful until we all got sick...not all together....one at a time and we didn't want Marie's two angels getting sick so we quarrentined ourselves.

We took the kids to Dublin, TX which is the oldest doc pepper plant in operation. Or the first....

anyhow they still use real sugar in there recipe.....Yes it does make the difference believe it or not

....I think that was the flavor from when i first

fell in love with that pop when I was a little girl! Oh.....side note....Pop is not Pop here....it's soda. I know technicality Soda Pop. Anyhow, Sami was told saying pencil the way it should be rather than pincil sounded snobby! :-) On with the story! So then the kids convinced us to look at random OLD cemeteries

out in the middle of no where....and they are old.....like civil war old! Pretty cool! Last but not least the kids got a wonderful going away present from their great grandpa.....and with it they made us take them to Hurrican Harbor. So how could we argue? He gave it to them and told them to use it how they wanted! Little did we know that the kids had this worked out before we even left Idaho! We took the kids to a Rangers game....it is seriously cheaper to go to the rangers games than the chukars back in Idaho! It cost all 8 of us 18 dollors grand total to get in.....and not crappy seats either!

(Oh when we went with our own kids we watch them play the red sox.....so cool!!! They messed up our tickets so they gave us the homerun section for free.....the guy in front of us caught a homerun ball in the second inning.....KinslerRangers second baseman hit it......anyway he had sat it in the cup holder and these kids took it and Nat I.D. them and the guy got it back and gave it to nat for being so cool! It was a blast! I adore baseball!!!)

So funny story...we have a few....we took the girls to the airport. Which like everything else in this huge state was monsterous! It was like it's own town...it was serious travel time by vehicle from terminal to terminal! We started off in terminal E at 8 in the morning.....apparently the airline had issues. I was unimpressed from the beginining...from the rude employees to the unorganized manor they handled things! Anyway....the girls were supposed to be off by 10:30....by 11 they loaded the plane. The whole time while watching through the window...and told I can't leave til the plane takes off "unaccompanied minors" I see them working on the engine.....for 3 hours! Then they unload the plane and begin rebooking flights on other airlines! Seriously angry people filled the terminal. They worried about the kids first...which didn't make me anyones friend. They actually booked them on a flight that we couldn't even make it to the other terminal in time to get on.....terminal C. (Of course no one told us where we needed to go.....no one knew. So helpful!) But before we could go there they said....you need to pick up the girls unaccompanied fees from the desk....don't stand in line you don't have time we will tell her you are coming......should have been my first clue that I would be attacked by the angry mob. I hear REALLY load....Lady the line is back here. I try to be nice and said "I know they told me to come here"....to hear "We were all told to come here princess" I had one lady with a 3 year old that the woman stopped helping to help me....be NICE! Thank you random lady!!! The whole time this other woman and other jerkes were saying rude things! If only they knew that by the time we made it to American Airlines the guy at the desk would laugh and say they already boarded and the other people knew better than to book flights like this! So then he was wonderful and booked the girls on a flight that night.....he said be there at 6! So we fed the kids because no one had eaten since 5am.....and since Texas is so big we couldn't actually go to far so we hung close.....well 30 minutes away close to the airport. We went back early......5:00 thank goodness.....because they kept changing gates on us....serious....we would get to one and it would be boarding Mexico or Paris.....and then we would go to the one that they then said over the load speaker to find that in the mean time it was changed.....finally we get to the right place to have them baording at 5:30 not 6 and you have to be there 30 min early or you miss the flight! Crazy!!! But we made it back to our house at 8:30pm.....What a nightmare....though the girls made it home to their worried parents Safe and sound!

Then our first relaxing week end ended with a tornado and our trampoline blowing away....about half a mile into a pile of twisted up metal! The kids were devastated.....it was so crazy! We about got sstruck by lightening.....running through the foot of water in my back yard....lightening struck right in front of me...literally.....which made our power go out for 9 hours.......then we were put on a back up transformer and 1/4 of our power for 2 days....anyhow....what would I have done if we found the trampoline??? Who the heck knows! I am an idiote from Idaho I was just pissed about the trampoline! LOL

So it has been one adventure after another.....and I still love it here! Even though the spiders look like rodents.....the grass isn't real grass.....and the only place around here with no trees is my yard. Next time I will tell you about our adventure with schools! I thought our schools in Idaho followed safety precautions!

BTW.....we just joined the tech age again yesterday. The kids are so happy......there were so many things with our school and other things that we had no other choice....even though we wanted to torment the kids longer!!! Love you all and am so glad to be back!!!

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Sweet Sixteen......Appendectomy.......and the Jazz half time!

So my oldest beauty turned sixteen! I am so proud of her and all of the wonderful choices she has made in her life! It is amazing what challenges children face today and how they aren't given enough credit for the good choices they are able to make! So Bravo to you princess for being such a great kid!

So amidst the struggle to find out what was making my lou so sick, my little man began to be really sick! Of course i had the best mom of the year moment when I actually asked him if he felt sick because he was feeling left out! Oh Dear! So then after a second day in the ER they took him up and removed his appendix. It all happened so fast and the first words out of my angels mouth was "See mommy I told you I didn't feel good." Poor baby! Atleast he feels better now!

On the 30th of this past month, right after the surgery, my three beauties performed at the half time of the Utah Jazz/ Oklahoma game! It was amazing.....I adore watching the girls perform! I didn't like it as much as last years half time, but it was still awesome! It was fun watching them be silly before the game! I think that was part of my favorite!

And for those of you that know me.......my middle beauty was diagnosed insulin resistant last week. Her body is producing an overload of insulin which makes her body feel like it's blood sugar is super low. Which it isn't........it's actually high......but her body doesn't know that and so her liver keeps releasing more sugar into her body.....and the extra insulin that is in her body.....well.....it doesn't want to work and break down the sugar that is there. Weird.....she is active.....eats great......out of all of my kids she doesn't even like soda pop. So I guess you never can tell! I just think that with everything the girl has had to deal with already in life......well.....this is so unfair! But then if life was fair.......................

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Our trip to Boise!

So this past week end we went to Boise....or rather Nampa to the Pride, Potential, and Power cheer competition! I am pleased to say that all three girls teams did awesome! My little ones team took second......they had a great performance! I am trying so hard to figure out the whole add a video thing so that you all can see. I am a little slow on the figure out thing but trust me I am actively trying to learn! The older girls team took a wonderful first place which is awesome for their self esteem. They had a whopping583 points which beat some pretty fantastic teams! It is making Vegas look fabulous! So we had a terrific visit with my grandma Teddy! My kids love how adorably fun she is....full of giggles and good times at a wonderful age of.......well......she is a lady so I suppose it would be rude to toss it out there for everyone! But she is twice as old as my big brother! I love you both! We high jacked gram and made her visit with us at the hotel after the competition....so she could watch the kids swim......and after all that is my little mans favorite part of the cheer comps!

Friday, January 2, 2009

Reflections of 2008

Another year of growing has come to an end. For the end of it, I am thankful. For the lessons learned, I am grateful. I look forward to another year of surprises and blessings. I have come to love a new quote, the author is unknown to me, but a wise and understanding individual. “Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means that you’ve decided to see beyond the imperfections.” Isn’t that so true? I mean so many times have I looked at others seemingly perfect lives and wished for what they had……not knowing what struggles they deal with on a day to day basis. I realize that we are all dealt a hand that fits us perfectly and it is how we deal that strengthens us and we are able to learn. So to see our happiness built on whether or not our situations are perfect is an unrealistic expectation…..people and life are not perfect, but it might be perfect for us. We become stronger by the obstacles we overcome…..some have bigger obstacles than others….does it make those lives less perfect? NO….and again….no one has a perfect life….but everyone has the perfect life for them…..and to be able to see and to accept that is a blessing all on its own……Hopefully in 2009 we will all see beyond our imperfections and be happy!

Things that I had yet to blog about……a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with my family. I was lucky to have my Grandfather there another year. I was lucky to have both my parents there…..though health wise they haven’t had the best year they were both there and happy…….I was able to see my big brother and his wonderful family who drove from Minnesota to visit us all. I was thankful for every family member who played a special and loving part of my family’s life through out the past year. I am so thankful for my children how each of them have grown through out the past year…….they are all strong and wonderful individuals who are such an asset to the world….

In December my Tab celebrated her 13th birthday. I can’t believe that we now have two teen girls living in the house. She celebrated with us by eating Spaghetti and giant meatballs……and a huge glob of no bake cookies rather than a cake……we even stuck candles in the gloppy mess. It was wonderful because it is what she wanted and I am tired of conforming to what is suppose to be normal……ie, cake.

Our oldest went to a convention with the BYDC called trapped sober. She learned about the consequences of drinking and using drugs. She has been such a role model to her younger siblings…..I am so proud. She knows how to make great choices and isn’t afraid to say something to anyone if somehow their choices affect her. She isn’t afraid to be herself, even if it means that she isn’t accepted by everyone. But the funny thing I think she is learning is that more people have accepted her and looked up to her for standing up for what is right.

We went to the first cheer competition of the season. Both the older girls and my youngest daughters teams took second. It is always wonderful watching them perform. My oldest got over her phobia of tumbling and is flipping along with the rest of them. I still hold my breath when the two younger girls get thrown in the air…..I look forward to the next competitions and the half time for the Utah Jazz. My little man looks forward to seeing the basketball game. J

We finally had a real snow storm…..ten inches in one storm! Just like the ones I remember from when I was little. Of course it is on the verge of melting already….but it happened. I was so excited!

We had a wonderful Christmas! We had Christmas dinner at my home….and again it was nice to have my parents and grandpa join us here at our house. It was super and the roads stayed open for them to travel to and from somewhat safe…….scary drive but safe!

So a there you have it….a quick rewind of the last bit of the year! (And keep your fingers crossed…..hopefully will be a little closer to joining the shelves at the book stores soon!)

I hope everyone has had the blessings of new and old friends this year……and the joy of family that you love being around you! I wish everyone well in 2009.…….and though each moment of the entire year might not have been perfect I hope that you all can see past the imperfections and relish in the blessings however small they might be! I love you all!