General conference

Yesterday afternoon for the Sunday afternoon session of conference, we called the boys downstairs to come and listen, and they took their time doing so, so we started to wonder what they were doing. Well, when they finally appeared, they were all dressed up in their Sunday suits and ties, and Sam proudly announced, "Now we look like President Hinckley!"

We really enjoyed conference. There were some really good talks about avoiding the pitfalls of the world, and treasuring our families. I loved hearing from Pres. Hinckley, who spoke about his life experiences as a general authority. He talked about his recent surgery for cancer and mentioned that he still has some problems, so it may be that he will not live for too much longer. Although, with his typical wit, he said that we should not regard his talk as an obituary. Still, it was clear that in his own words, he is in the sunset of his life. I can't even imagine the church without pres. Hinckley, because he has been the voice of the church for such a long time--when the previous prophets were sick and unable to speak to the church. But, the Lord prepares a new prophet. We love President Hinckley so much. How blessed we are to be members of the church and have the fullness of the gospel in our lives!

Potty Training

Okay, well, 2 days of potty training, and the fun has worn off. Ginny was enjoying the extra attention at first--potty training the doll, reading the potty book, and watching the potty movie together. NOt to mention potty treats for trying, but I'm washing an awful lot of underwear, and although she did manage to actually go on the potty once, I don't think she really gets it yet. I'm giving up...at least for today. Maybe I'll feel like trying again tomorrow, or maybe I"ll just try again a month from now. She likes to wear big girl panties, but doesn't seem to care very much about keeping them dry. Sigh...I just keep thinking, this is my last kid to potty train....patience, patience, patience.

Happy Birthday Max!

Max turns 8 today! Today after school, we are taking him and two friends to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate. I don't usually go places like that for birthdays, but since he really only has these two friends, I thought it wouldn't be two expensive, and also much easier than throwing a party at home. He's really excited. We had a small family celebration last night and let him open one of his presents and the cards from his grandparents. The present he opened was a set of scriptures from Tutu and Papasan. It is a really nice quad--Max appreciated the gold leafed edges and the marker tabs. I think Emily was a little jealous. He also scored $14 cash from Grandma Gladys and Grandpa Steve. He was really excited. We had popcorn and soda and watched a movie together. I think he had a good time. Max was especially excited to have the soda (caffeine free diet Pepsi).

Yesterday at church, when I led the closing hymn, Sam followed me up on the stand, which was okay until he started pulling on my sweater, and when I picked him up he tried to climb on the organ while he was trying to get me to tie his shoe. AAAHHHHH! Needless to say, I was mortified, but I guess the ward got their entertainment for the day.

Also yesterday at church I took Ginny into the bathroom to change a stinky diaper, and a friend walked in the bathroom. She greeted Ginny saying, "Hi Ginny how are you today?" Ginny promptly responded, "I pooped in my diaper!" Time to potty train! I'm working on that this week--not today since there is so much going on, but tomorrow definitely. Wish me luck!

Lessons from a coke can

A few weeks ago, Max brought home a can of coca cola from school that someone had brought as a birthday treat. He knew he shouldn't drink it, as evidenced by the fact that he didn't drink it at school like the rest of the kids, but brought it home. He asked me if he could drink it. I asked him what he had learned about the word of wisdom and what heavenly Father wanted him to do, and he replied that he knew he shouldn't drink it. So he put the coke can in his room. A few minutes later he came and asked me again if he should drink it. Then he asked Trevor the same thing. I think he probably re-decided the question 10 times, but as long as he was looking at the coke can, he was still tempted. So finally, we talked to him about just removing the temptation so he wouldn't worry about it anymore. I promised him a can of rootbeer in trade and he finally worked up the courage to dump the coke down the sink. After that--no problem, of course. So how does this apply to me?

well, I've been really stressed about money this week. Just seeing how hard it is to pay our bills, etc. and then I get to thinking that I need to go back to work after all. My mind starts racing and I think over and over again about how we need the money, but what will we be giving up as a family? Will we really get ahead, or will we just decide that now we can afford more lessons for kids, etc. and get ourselves into a crazy schedule, etc. again. But we really need the money...you see the problem? Well, last night we were discussing the issue, and Trevor said the store needs more salespeople, so maybe I could do that. Well, this actually seems like a reasonable idea. He also suggests that he could work more in the evenings at a second job or something. But I don't really want that, either, because after a long day with the kids, the last thing I want is an evening without any support either. So after thinking this all over and over and over, I mentioned it to a friend this morning on the phone, and she shared with me that in her family, she had finally found peace on the same issue by deciding the question once and for all, and then trusting that answer. She stays home, knowing it is better for her family, but also knowing they will struggle financially. So, the question is...by questioning our previous answers to prayers on this subject, am I just continuing to stare at the coke can? Or, is it legitimate to re-visit the subject because we truly do have a financial need? Probably both--depending on your point of view. I think my family, especially my dad, would just tell me to go ahead and teach again or take the job...because it's true that in a practical sense, you just have to make enough money to live on. But, the whisperings of the spirit have been telling me to just trust that it will work out, and stay at home to teach and nurture the kids, and help make a Christ-centered home, instead of a stressed-out, too busy home. And the testimonies of several of my friends reinforce those feelings. So what to do? I want to trust...but how do I dump out the proverbial coke can? Especially wanting to be financially responsible...

Well, those are my musings this morning. More questions than answers, probably.

Pics of Trevor's trip to New Orleans

I haven't written much recently because I feel like we've just been plowing along doing the same old thing. I did get my taxes done this week. (Whew! Major Relief!) We're getting a refund, so that will be nice. I went to the doctor this morning to have a mole biopsied and get my cholesterol checked. Meanwhile, I found out that I have gained yet another 2 pounds, and that while I have been trying to be good about exercise and eating! AAAAAHHHHH! So frustrating! Maybe I should just give up! I've gained so much weight this winter...all of my pants are tight, but I refuse to buy new pants.
Trevor had a really good experience with the Elders quorum in New Orleans. They stayed in the stake center and spent one day putting up dry wall in a members' home and the second day doing demolition with FEMA. I'll post a few pictures, but he says you can hardly even tell from the pictures how bad the devastation was. He had a great time getting to know the other guys, and also felt good about being able to help some people. I think he hopes to go again sometime.

Good for you, Max!

After a little talk with Max on Sunday evening, he made a very good decision to share the DVD player he won with the Knotts family, who had invited us to the Upward basketball program in the the first place. He walked over to give it to them with Trevor, and came back saying he had a really good feeling inside. I think it was hard for him to do it, but he knew it would be a nice thing to do. Good for you, Max!

I was given a second calling this past Sunday to lead the music in sacrament meeting and be the ward music chairman. I guess that means we'll have to be on time to church! Trevor has a CTR 7 primary class to teach. I substituted for him this week since he was out of town--and discovered he is really going to have his hands full! Those kids have plenty of energy...

Luck o' the Irish

Well, after my depressing rant of yesterday morning, we had some good luck this evening. We went to the closing meeting for the upwards basketball program that the kids participated in, and they had a lot of door prizes. Well, it turns out that Emily won a combination DVD/VCR and Max won a 24" television with a DVD player. We haven't had that kind of luck in years. I almost felt guilty about having both of them win such big prizes. I mentioned to Max that maybe we could give the DVD player to someone else, but he didn't think that was such a good idea. Anyway, we actually did need a new TV and DVD player sometime in the near future because ours are slowly breaking down, so this was an unexpected blessing. It was fun for the kids. They had a great experience with upward basketball. It has been fun to see the kids work hard and do well at their games. Max isn't scared of anything--he just gets in there and tries hard every game. He has scored several points at each of his games and has improved in ball handling over the course of the season. Emily has been a joy to watch this season. She has suddenly come alive, and really contributed to her team. She has worked hard and been not only a great defensive player, but also a leading scorer on the team. I think she averaged about 16 points the last few games. She just needed a little confidence, and off she went! She's been great in assists and rebounds, too. What a long way she has come from the 2nd grader who cried as she ran up and down the court! I'm proud of both of them for working so hard.
So it appears the March luck o' the Irish is sometimes good for the Danes as well!

Insurance etc.

We're trying to figure out what to do about our health insurance. It turns out that our fears were confirmed, and Mozingo does not subsidize coverage for myself and the kids, which means that our total health coverage bill is over $700 per month. That really cuts into our paycheck, and makes it so that we are actually taking home quite a bit less than we had in Illinois, and with a higher mortgage and the loss of my income...well anyway, we've got to make some changes. I'm looking into other insurance options to see if we can save some money that way. Trevor loves his job, but he is looking into some other job options because we just aren't making it.
We are supposed to get a raise sometime this month, and maybe that will help, but I doubt it will be enough. I've contacted some band directors about taking students, but no results yet. The music classes with Eureka Parks won't start until this summer. Honestly, we're struggling. It makes me question what we thought were pretty clear answers to our prayers about the decison to come here. We felt so good about it, but now things are worse than they were in Illinois. I just don't know what to do. There are so many things we like about living here--and it's nice that Trevor does enjoy his job, but it's just so hard to make ends meet. We asked Mozingo when we were hired about whether health insurance was covered for the family, and they said yes, but apparently there was some misunderstanding -- we understood from their response that family coverage was also subsidized. Trevor is supposed to have an evaluation with them soon, and I guess he can ask them about it then, but I don't think that will change much about the insurance. A raise will help, but I think we need a BIG raise, and I don't think that will be coming for awhile. I think we are just destined to be poor.
The worst part is that I thought I had felt a really strong spiritual confirmation this past month that I should stay home with the kids, and not go back to working as much as I was before. But now I"m questioning that, too. I just don't know what the Lord wants us to do. We need to make enough money to cover our cost of living and pay our debts--and the prophet keeps saying we need to get out of debt. How can we do that while still keeping the commandment for mothers to stay at home and nurture their children? But yet, when I was working before, we were really still just keeping out heads above water--not really able to make many extra debt payments or save very much. It's all so frustrating!
Well, I"m going to the temple tonight--and I'll pray about it there.
Trevor is going out of town this weekend and next weekend. This weekend there is a civil war ball in Chicago, and next weekend he is going with the elders quorum to help rebuild members' homes in New Orleans after the devastation of the hurricane. It's a good service project, and it will be nice for him to go with the other elders.
I don't ever like having him gone on the weekends but I'm glad he can do this. The civil war band is another story...
I guess I've done enough venting for the day. Maybe if I get my tears out of the way in the morning, I can have smiles for the kids for the rest of the day.

Who is that masked man?

Sam was dressed in costume this morning. He stopped to look in the mirror, and told me in a stunned voice, "Mommy! That mirror thinks I am batman!" He removed the mask, looked in the the mirror again, and said (very relieved) "Whew! Now the mirror thinks I'm Sam again."

President's Day Cake

Yesterday was President's Day, so the kids were out of school. After a little morning clean-up, we packed up and went to the science museum. It was about a 45 minute drive from our house-not too bad. Max and Sam loved the life-sized models of the Tyrannosaurus Rex and Triceratops, but Ginny held onto my neck like her life depended on it. Poor kid! Our museum pass got us in free to the Discovery room, which had a lot of fun things to play with.
We came home and ate beef stew from the crockpot, which I had actually had presence of mind to start in the morning. Then after dinner Max and Sam helped me to make Nana's recipe for George Washington Cherry cake. The legend about Washington and the cherry tree may or may not be true, but the cake sure is good! Nancy and I remembered last week that she used to make that cake for president's day each year, and we decided to keep up the tradition. The best part is the homemade cherry/almond sauce that goes on top--with whipped cream of course! Yum!
After FHE and the kids were in bed, Trevor and I watched the ice dancing from the Olympics. I love the skating. Can't wait for the women's skating that starts tonight. I've always loved the Olympics.
It's been freezing cold the past few days! What a shock after we had 70 degree temperatures early last week! WE even bought a space heater because our furnace doesn't seem to be keeping up.
Trevor helped me hang up our pictures this weekend, so now I feel more "moved in". It's fun to see our family pictures, etc. again after they had been packed away for so many months.
I guess that's it for now!

remote generation

You can tell that Sam has grown up in a generation of remote controls. He thinks you can just "pause" anything! When we're reading a book, he'll say, "Pause the book mom!" this morning we were walking down the the stairs together and he said, "Pause this, mom, I need to get something." It's funny--I feel like we should all freeze so we can truly be "paused." It would be nice to have a giant remote control that would pause life when we needed a breather, wouldn't it?

Snow!

After a very spring-like January, it is snowing today! It's really beautiful. The kids can hardly wait to go outside and play.
We had so much fun at our preschool on Monday. Br. Daniel taught the kids about trees, and then showed them how to identify the trees in the yard, and then they got to tap the maple trees for sap. It was great! Next week the preschool will be at my house. I think we'll do something for Valentines day.

New calling

Yesterday at church they asked me to be the activity day leader. I"m really excited about it. Emily even thought it would be nice to have me as her leader, which made me feel good, since you never know with kids this age. Should be a lot of fun!
Also, the kids did great at their basketball games on Saturday! Max scored 8 points and it was only his 2nd game! Emily came to life and scored 10 points! She was really working together with her teammates, and having fun. She even stole the ball and scored on a fast break once! Good for her.
Trevor and I finished painting our living room/kitchen at about 1:00 a.m. sunday morning. Thank heavens. OUr bedroom is next, but it might be awhile.
I helped Emily sew a poodle skirt for her class Valentine party next Tuesday. It turned out really cute. She did a lot of the sewing and most of the cutting.
I've been having the kids practice the piano in the morning--their motivation being that if they practice in the morning, they don't have to ride the bus. It's been going better and making our evenings much less stressful. Both kids are now making progress in both piano and flute/trumpet.
Guess that's it for now.
Oh yeah, on Friday night Emily was supposed to sweep the floor after dinner and was not liking the prospect very much. She was whining and complaining, but I knew she was really serious when she said, "Mom, can't you just get it over with and ground me, and then you can sweep the floor?" I laughed, but she still swept the floor.
too funny.

this and that

Sam and Ginny are so funny playing dragon, princess, knight together. They say, "Dragon!" and run brandishing their swords, ready to fight the dragon. It's pretty funny to watch Ginny run in her little dance costume and SAm in his pajams with red cape and plastic knight helmet.
There's a good possibility that I'll be able to teach classes with Eureka Parks and REc. I had a really good meeting with them yesterday.
We've started painting, and I really love how it is coming out. It's so cheerful!
Who would've thought I'd ever paint my kitchen orange! But I love it. (It's really "dusted carrot".)
Our little preschool started this week and Kara Daniel's house. She did a darling lesson on shapes and I taught them some songs. It's going to be a lot of fun to do this each week.
Not too thrilled with Max's school teacher. I'm biting my tongue for the moment, but I did talk to the principal and I'm hoping things will improve.

trevor's trip

We picked up Trevor from the airport yesterday. He had a really nice visit with his family in Utah. I guess he sang at Grandpa Grant's funeral, and stayed with Grandma Gladys for about 4 hours the next day. She gave him one of Grandpa Grant's pocket knives, which he appreciated as a nice remembrance. Trevor was also able to spend some nice time with his brother and was there for Papasan's birthday party, so I think it was a nice weekend for him.
We had dinner last night with the Daniel family. They are very nice. Kara Daniel and I are going to start a home preschool for the kids next Monday morning. Should be fun!
I don't want to go back to work! I'm in denial about it. I know that realistically for our budget I should start teaching soon, but I am just loving the more relaxed family time. I feel like a much better mother--able to help the kids with chores, responsiblities, have their friends over to play, spend more time reading to them and playing games, sit down with Ginny to have some "learning" times, music classes, etc. Our house is better in order, too. The after school time is so much more relaxed. I guess I'm hoping for a miracle so I won't have to go back to work.