Randomness...

I was going through the pictures on my phone and came across a few random pictures.

Fire ants hurt and Texas has a lot of them. I got bit by one on my pinky finger and holy cow, did it hurt! It also took a week to go away. Those little buggers have quite the bite! I also got bit on my toe during a fire drill at school. Argh!! You can't feel them until it's too late.

Ken somehow came down with swimmer's ear. He never gets really sick and never complains that much if he does but this one just about did him in. His entire ear canal closed off and his face got super puffy. I must admit, it looked painful. They put a wick in his ear (that's the white thing in the picture) to try and get some medicine soaked in. I'm not really sure that worked either. He was in a lot of pain. I kept teasing him that he had fungus growing in his ears and was going to sprout mushrooms. He didn't appreciate it... and still doesn't because I may or may not still tease him about it.

 Ha, ha, ha!! Saute those mushrooms up and you've got something yummy!

I had a really disturbing experience in my classroom last month. Actually, it continues to disturb me. Long, long, long story short I had a student who drew several of these pictures for other students.

"Jeff the Killer" is an internet phenomenon, much like Slender Man - if you've heard anything about that. I was completely unaware Jeff the Killer even existed. Google it if you want to but it's seriously disturbing and the pictures are super creepy. I have a student that is obsessed with him. When I found these pictures I turned them over to my principal and school counselor. We have since found out that the student was introduced to Jeff the Killer by another student at a previous school they attended. They have also tried to commit suicide several times, five times to be exact, all thanks to their Jeff the Killer research. The student is currently getting help but it is so scary to me! I teach 3rd grade, THIRD GRADE!! These kids are way too young to have problems like this.

We also lost all of our favorite Elders.

This is Elder Nanney and Elder Petersen.

This is Elder Petersen and Elder Price.

They took the Sisters out of our ward and put more Elders in. Then after a few tranfers, they took the Elders out and put in two brand new Elders, thanks to some other issues in the mission. Sigh. Now we have a new set of Elders to get to know (and we will love them, I'm sure) but we miss seeing those favorite smiling faces. The missionaries have become a big part of our life here in Texas. We're lucky to be able to interact with them and have them in our home.

A few end of 2014 things...

I didn't take very many pictures over the Christmas break. I wish I would have taken more. But here is a little catch up on what happened the last few weeks of December...

On New Year's Eve, my older brother Clint got engaged. I had a feeling he was going to do it but he wouldn't talk about it with me. He's been dating Olea for about 3 years. She has 3 boys so once they are married they'll have 7 kids together. Wow. 7. That will be a big adjustment for everyone. We REALLY like Olea. She is good for my brother and truly loves him. They don't have a date set yet but I'm glad they're planning a wedding.

Clint chose the ring all by himself. It is beautiful!

I didn't decorate much in Texas. I put a few things on the mantle. I found the 'Believe' banner at JoAnn's Crafts and Fabrics. The paper on it is all layered and I thought it was so cute. I picked it up on clearance for $3.00. Ken doesn't like the whole banner look but I do. He was a good sport and even helped me get it centered.

I also made Snowman Soup for my students. When I taught in Utah, I bought gifts for all of my students but the other teachers at my school in Texas don't do that so I don't feel like I can.

I put together a little bag for each student. There was a little poem on the back too. I felt like it was something I could give them that wasn't too "gifty".

We did Secret Santa at work again this year. Last year I had a teacher on my team and I got a different teacher on my team this year. I gave her the worst gifts all week long - we do one gift each day so I made sure to annoy her with stupid dollar stuff from Wal-Mart. She was mad! We eat lunch as a team so it was fun to hear her complain about her Secret Santa during lunch. Everyone felt sorry for her that she had such a terrible Secret Santa. I got her dud gifts because if I gave her what I had for her she would have known it was from me. On the last day before the break, I took my real gift into her. She was surprised (and embarrassed from having complained so much) that it was me. It was a really fun way to do a Secret Santa. Here's her REAL gift... stickers, treats, notepads, a DJ Inkers clip art disc, and other things she had on her list.

Ken put up the Christmas tree in Utah before we left from Thanksgiving. That way when we got to Utah on December 23rd, the tree was waiting for us. Ken did a great job on the tree!!

We had a great time in Utah and were able to see Ken's family, my family and a few friends (not as many as I would have liked). We woke up to a white Christmas (yay!) and had no problems on the drive to or from Utah. We were so glad to be home and be with our family for the holidays!

Another New Year...

Welcome 2015!

Well, another year has rolled over on the odometer of life. Let's be honest... it's really just another day. But for some reason a new year really does feel new-ish. I'm really not one for making resolutions. Somehow, taking down my old calendar and putting up a new one doesn't make me resolve to do anything. I wish it did, though. I found the above image and it sums up some things I need to recognize and work on. 

• FORGET MILESTONES REMEMBER MAGICAL MOMENTS - Am I the only one who somehow bases their existence on milestones? I've realized that mine aren't necessarily important or realistic. I get into the grind of the school year and sometimes just getting to the weekend so I can stay in my pj's is a milestone. I need to back off of getting from point A to point B. There are so many "magical" things that happen all of the time that come from a loving Heavenly Father that I often overlook. I need to keep my eyes focused on the magic.

• DRINK MORE WATER - My body is 55% water? Hmmm... mine is probably 85% Vanilla Coke Zero. That's pretty sad. I know it's a terrible habit but I still pop open the cans and stop at gas stations for a gigantic fizzy beverage. No brainer... more water. I'll be working on this one.

• CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY - I need some work on this one. I always forget that it's a choice, my choice. This is a toughy for me.

• GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK - Enough said.

• GET MOVING EVEN IF IT'S JUST AROUND THE BLOCK - I am having the hardest time trying to eat better and drop weight. With everything going on in my life (and even things that aren't that I want to have happen) it feels too daunting. One thing at a time, I guess. Drinking more water and eating more green things surely will help!

Whatever your goals, ideas, or resolutions are for 2015, all we need to remember is to take it one day at a time. Happy 2015!!

Family Pictures for 2015...

It felt like a small miracle but we all pulled it off... family pictures. 1 infant, 5 children, 2 teenagers, and 7 adults all smooshed into my parent's family room for pictures. We had to get rid of furniture, raise a chandelier (to get it out of the picture) and get my dad situated all without killing each other. Miracle of miracles we pulled it off. I scheduled the pictures and my sister-in-law and I decided that we were all wearing blues. Hopefully, once everything is cropped, the color is adjusted and whatever needs to be photoshopped is finished, we'll all be happy. I know we'll be happy.

My dad was a trooper. Sitting in a regular chair is difficult for him so we did any pictures with Reed/Dad/Grandpa first so we could get him back into his wheelchair. He didn't smile much (he's not really a smiler) and the day completely wore him out (and it will take him a few days to recover) but I am soooo grateful we did it!

The fantastic Scott Hancock of Scott Hancock Photography in Pleasant Grove came to my parent's house to shoot the pictures. There was absolutely no way we would have been able to get my dad to his studio so it was the absolute best option. We have loved the work he has done for us over the years.

We decided to take the pictures in front of my parent's fireplace. My dad collected all of the rocks from the canyon and did all of the rock work himself when I was a kid. I have just a few memories of him doing it because I was so young but I thought it would be a perfect place for the background for our family.

We had the professional in charge!

This is just a little picture I snapped on my cell phone as he was trying to get everyone situated. The baby actually did pretty well. He got a little fussy but we got plenty of laughs and smiles from him.

Again, just another little blurry cell phone picture of my younger brother and his cute family. I love how the kids are all holding hands - they did that on their own.

I'll share the final pictures when they are ready to proof. We had individual family pictures, pictures of just my mom and dad, and pictures of my immediate family - mom, dad, my two brothers and me. Ken and I had a picture taken of just the two of us, and I had a picture taken with just me and my dad. These pictures will be something to cherish in the near future as my dad's health is quickly declining. I'm so grateful for my family and that today is now frozen in time!

Yellow Rose of Texas...

I had a birthday on the 28th. 

I reached the big four zero.

40.

40 years.

40 years is 480 months.

It's 2,080 weeks.

It's 14,600 days.

It's 350,400 hours.

It's 21,024,000 minutes.

It's 1,261,440,000 seconds.

Give or take a leap year or two.

40 is hard. I certainly don't feel 40 and I don't feel like I am where I should be at for my age. I have friends my age with children - children in high school, children on missions and children who are married. I even have friends and high school acquaintances that are my age who have grandchildren. Sigh. The lack of my own children is a tough one for me. I have a hard time with it.

But, rather than focus on the "I can't believe this is where I'm not" things about being 40, I can focus on other things... like the beautiful flowers that my husband got for me.

He also got me a very nice card and wrote some really nice things in it (he's not really a card/note guy so that meant a lot to me) and got me a gift card to go see a movie. I don't get many flowers (I tend to see them as a waste of hard earned money) so it was a nice surprise. Maybe 40 will be the year that some things get better. We'll see!

Oh... it WILL happen!

2015 WILL be the year of my returning to regular blogging because...

• It's therapeutic for me to write
• My family/friends needs to stay current with our boring life
• I need to appreciate and find joy the daily things
• I need some sort of a journal - I'm terrible at journaling
• I need a place to put my random and irrational thoughts
• I feel the need to get back to blogging

Not sure that I can really catch up on 2014 but maybe I can here and there a little bit. No one really seems to blog much anymore but I'm vowing to get back on the wagon. Once upon a time I was a terrific blogger so here's to keeping updated on 2015!

A little fall, y'all...

Fall is my favorite season!

Here in Texas, it's not very fall-ish. It's still hot and humid. I don't have many fall decorations in Texas, most of them are in Utah. I pulled a few things out last week to add a little bit of to the house. It's not much but it makes me feel like there's a change in the air. 

Here's the mantel. Just a few pumpkins...

I found this lantern at Pier 1 Imports on clearance for $11.00. It was originally $45.00 - I love a good decorating deal!

I got a wicker and glass hurricane vase and filled with little mini pumpkin filler that I found there as well. I'm going to use the same lantern and hurricane and change it up for Christmas. Maybe fill it with little shiny glass ornaments?

I LOVE candlesticks!!

The dining room buffet got a few things added to it.

It's not much but it's nice to have fall colors around.

I had this little black lantern left over from a visiting teaching handout I gave to my sisters a while ago. It's kind of been kicking around here and there. I filled it with the last of the Pier 1 pumpkins and added it with everything else.

Just a little peek into the tiny bit of autumn that we have!