October

So far behind!!!!

I have a love/hate relationship with my blog! It is not intentional, but I neglect it for long periods! I should really not do that, since I get so far behind and don't know where to begin!

It's October, and the month is almost over. It has gone by very fast. The beginning of the month was General Conference, and we enjoyed watching it from home in our jammies. I made snacks and lots of food, and we just ate and watched all day. The speakers were amazing and we got many answered prayers. It was a good weekend. One prayer in particular was about Justin. We just did not know what to do with that boy anymore and putting him on medication seemed more and more important, even though we felt he did not need it. Well, we got an answer through General Conference to just be patient and things happen on God's time, not ours... That is a powerful and hard thought to go by, because I am stubborn and impatient! So, the very next day (Monday) was school and I held my breath. I talked to Justin as I have many other times and gave him a pep-talk... And wouldn't you know it, he has been a great kid at school ever since! No more issues with anything, just like that! He has earned his privileges back in the classroom and has been a good example all month! We are very excited for him and thank Heavenly Father every day for helping Justin to control himself. That prayer was answered immediately. I am very thankful for that, and the effort that Justin has showed!

The same answer came for moving.. in a little over a month we have had been in El Paso for 5 years and that is just a very long time. As it looks, we will go through a deployment which will push us to 7 years in El Paso, and by then, why would we want to move since retirement will be just around the corner??!! Anyway, the answer came to be patient and He will move us when we are ready... I had a problem with that at first, because we both really REALLY wanted to move, but we are where we are needed in this point in time and we need to be okay with that. Besides.. you know how kids ask for something and you tell them to be patient, only for them to ask a million times and you end up saying, NO! Well.... for the fear of hearing NO from Heavenly Father, we have backed off the subject and will continue on until He is ready. :)

Joseph has been crazy busy with work, and it will not slow down anytime soon. Not much else to say about that.

Kids are doing well in school. I am pleased to bring that god news from ALL of our kids. Seems like everyone is having a blast with their classes.

I am doing good enough. (as a very dear friend likes to say) I have been having issues all month with pain in my abdomen and found out it was Gall Stones. So, I have surgery set for November to remove the gall bladder and hopefully remove the problem permanently! I am a little nervous about having something taken out of my body, but I know it is the right thing to do, so I am sure it will be ok.

Thats all the big news here.. not much, but it is an update. I will try and be good and post things about Halloween early next week, including pictures.

See ya lata, until then!

Cross dresser??

So on another note... Aaron has been stealing Savannah's under things.. and hiding them under his bed?pillow...

That is a head scratcher!

Pushed to the limit

So, ya, by now I think you have noticed I am *Not* an avid blogger, as much as I would like to be, I just get lazy and find other things to do, or not do! So this post is going to be more of a rant, so that I do not bombard my loving husband as soon as he walks through the door! I hate to word vomit to you, but I even more-so hate to word vomit on him, especially because I know today is a rough one for him...

Well, I am so utterly done with El Paso, I cannot even describe it. I think we are all feeling the effects of being in one place too long, and a place we did not even ask to come to. I hate that I have no control over helping my children while at school when they need help. Case in point, Justin. He is struggling at school so much it is hard for me to deal with. I have zero clues as to what  can do to help him, and it seems that the school also has that same attitude. We had a parent/teacher conference last week with his teacher and basically went well. She had her theories and we had ours. The thing that bothers me is that she told us to be firm on him at home so it co insides with firm at school.. Uhhhh we are very hard on our kids and I think he has been able to get away with so much at school he has learned this behavior. I feel bad for the teacher, that she has to deal with it (luckily she is a strict one) so she does not let him get away with much. It just tears me up inside (so much so that I might have an ulcer, or the beginnings of one!) that he is struggling. It is hard, very hard to watch your kids struggle.

So, a couple weeks ago we went to the commissary and picked up some "medicine" for Justin. We are all for tricking our kids so we thought we would tell him that the vitamins were for his focus and behavior and if he took one every day he would be better. It was an experiment. So last week, we heard nothing from the teacher! So, I figured it was a good week.. then this week we heard nothing again... that is until today.. here is her e-mail to me:

Justin's behavior is getting a little bit better.
His work habits continue to be a problem. He isn't doing work like he should, he's wasting time, continually playing around and I believe he is pretending not to know what to do. Keep in mind all of this is after I continually give him directions, re-direct him etc...
Today he missed computer lab math games because he wouldn't finish his writing.
He also is turning in very poor work, again after re-direction.
I am hoping that with his progress report next week Justin will realize that his having no privileges and getting poor scores on his report card will continue until he makes the choice to do his school work and behave like he should.
Sorry for the bad news but again, I am hoping Justin makes some progress soon, he is so smart and can do the work successfully if he chooses to.

I thought all was well, then 2 weeks later... 2 weeks.. she says he is not improving very much. Sigh. So, what is going on and how the heck do I figure it out and help!?! I am so fricking frustrated with everything I just don't know. I took him out of school last year a month before school let out to home school and it was not too bad, and he seemed to know what he was doing... So, what is happening at school? Does he really need medicine to make him focus? Does he need to be in 2nd grade again because 3rd grade is too hard for him? Ugh!

So I talked to Justin today after school and I got a little upset and yelled because what he was telling me and what his teacher was telling me seemed to be different things. Then he broke down after I asked him if he was struggling. He started to hyperventilate and sob that he was struggling and he did not know why. I suppose this will need serious prayer, because I just do not know what I can do anymore. We do have a referral to a mental health professional so I need to get that appointment date. I guess we will go from there.

Sorry for the rant! I just needed to get that off my chest!

I LOVE to surprise them like this

So, I got called as Secretary for Relief Society. I am excited, and nervous! I was released from the enrichment committee, so I have 2 callings instead of 3! They are going to keep me pretty busy I think. I need to time manage really well, because I was talking to Rhonda S. from church and she was just called as the Scout Master (or leader) of the 8-11 yr olds. Justin has to get a bunch of stuff done for his wolf by his birthday in December and we need to work on a lot of it from home. Savannah will be in YW in January and she has personal progress that needs to get done as well! Good times, but busy I think. Not to mention I am trying to manage my families in the unit! hehe. Anyone out there with a good time management organization skill, please let me know what I can do to get on a good schedule!

Lately we have just been hanging out at home. We are trying to save some money for our trip to Idaho in just a few weeks. We are doing.... Okay. We could be doing better (or *I* could be doing better) but I also could be doing worse.

Monday was Joseph and my 13th wedding anniversary. He took half the day off and we saw the new Transformer movie. It is nice to go out with just him and I. We are enjoying some of our new freedoms! After that we came home and watched some movies we got at the PX. Joseph was called to give a blessing to a lady from church and he changed and went to the hospital. He didn't get back until about 12:30am and we went to bed.

Yesterday I cleaned like crazy. There is so much dirt that gets into the house, it needs a good clean a couple times a month. It has been about 2-3 months since I cleaned that deep, and it showed! I spent the day scrubbing and scrubbing. I finished at 5, took a shower and made dinner. As soon as dinner was done and cleaned up, it was time to take Savannah over to play with some friends. I was pooped from my day and when I got home from picking up Savannah I was done! Today I have a headache and some body aches from working hard. I know the headache is from all the dirt and dust I was cleaning up.

Now it is Friday. Today my Mom and Step-Dad are here. They flew in late last night and will be here sometime this morning. I do not know what we will be doing today since Joseph has to work and we won't go far.. but I am super excited they are here. Tomorrow is our trip to Carlsbad Caverns. We went a few years ago, when the kids were smaller and just after we moved here. So it'll be cool to go back! We did not stay to see the bats fly out of the cave, so maybe we will see it this time?!? Oh! Also, the kids do not know their Papa and Gramma are here! I LOVE to surprise them like this. 1) because they get a huge reaction and makes me smile and 2) by them NOT knowing I am not hearing "is it time yet" 100x a day! Like for instance, we are heading to Idaho in a couple weeks and every day someone is asking if we are leaving soon... lol. So it is good to keep secrets like this from them!

Well, I will post pictures and whatnot after this weekend. Hope you all have a fun safe one!

A crafting Fool!

So, lately I have been a crafting fool! I will have to follow-up with some pictures of my latest projects. I am so glad I have started doing crafts again.. I just *LOVE* doing stuff like that and it is a stress reliever! I even got Joseph and Savannah into crafting lately and they are loving their projects! (I'll take pictures of those too!)

Other than that we are just hanging out and enjoying life.

A couple of weeks goes by pretty darn fast!

Today is the last day of school for the kids. There is mixed feelings about it from them. Savannah will be transferring to MIDDLE SCHOOL!! I know, right!?! She is excited about it, but also a little nervous since a lot of her friends are moving away and so she will be a little fish in a big pond. I told her that she can test it out for a year.. I have not heard great things about the school so we will see. I wish we got into the school we wanted! Dang it! Anyway, She will be taking a bus and wearing a uniform and all that jazz. Such a grown up kid! I am proud of her!

Aaron is sad about Pre-k being over. He said he does not want to go to kindergarten because all his friends wont be there. :( Being a military kid has to be hard because of all the change! I'll work on it this summer and get him excited!

Justin is excited school is over because the other two will be home with him now all day. Plus he begged me (they all did) to let them go to school next year and not be home schooled.. Whaaaaaaaat?! They must not want to be home with me 24-7.. little do they know the feeling is mutual! Muahahaha Just kidding... only slightly!

So, I am allowing all the kids to go to school next year to schools that I really am having a hard time liking... But it is what it is right?!

So I Started this post about 2-3 weeks ago... So again, time is going by fast! I need to remember to update more!

Life is just busy. There can be a lot I can say about this past month, but I honestly cannot remember every detail. Basically the kids are fighting a lot more, and are bored, as am I. Money is scarce for now as we are saving for our trip to Idaho. It leaves not much to "extra" things. Plus, wouldn't you know it, both pools here on Ft. Bliss happened to not be working right as soon as summer hit! We may have 1 pool back by tomorrow, but I am expecting to to be packed! However, that is a new option for us to do for the summer that requires zero money! Other than that, I have been staying in a lot. I go out here and there, but not as much as I was before school let out. Which reminds me, Savannah is becoming quite the little babysitter for me! Yay! I can go to the commissary or run a few errands while she stays home with the boys! Sometimes I get anxious and nervous when I leave them, but I know I am right around the corner. All they do is play the wii anyway, so it is like a 2nd babysitter! Ha!

Joseph has been crazy busy with work and church. Both are very demanding on his time and he has precious little of it to spare. I am ok with it for now, because I know the importance of both, but sometimes I do want to have my husband focused on me! I know that is selfish, but it is how I feel. So, right now when he comes home, he shuts off and I try very hard to let him decompress in his way. I am proud of him and all that he is doing for everyone. He was able to head to the hospital yesterday and give a blessing to a lady in our ward before she had her baby. So, the baby arrived like less than an hour later! I am grateful to have such a caring and worthy man!

Well, I guess I should get up from my computer chair and do some work around the house. I have been lazy today and dragging my feet because I do not want to clean! lol. Seems like with the kids home that is *ALL* I get to do.. Sigh..

Take care!

It is always how it goes but does not make it any easier

What another busy, filled week! There seems to be a lot of those lately, and I am fine with that. I think I don't like to be NOT busy. I sit around the house and get very little done. I like to have things to do and to go places. Thanks Hilary for getting me out of the shell I hide in... Now that *you're* busy with other things I am restless to do something or go somewhere.. hehe! It is all good. I applied for a very cool job and if I get it, I will be plenty busy.

So, last week was busy with normal things. Karen and I went to Hobby Lobby and I held her hostage for about 3 hours! It was a great time and I really enjoyed it. She is a great person and always a joy to be with. I believe this was Monday... Tuesday was a steering committee meeting. We talked about an upcoming "Stryker Day" where the families can come out and learn about the new vehicles, and climb in them and such. We were also discussing a range as well and have a bus that would take some people out to the range so they can shoot a stryker. Way cool stuff. Wednesday was craft day and a birthday party. Basically all of us have no more crafts but we still get together for lunch and gab! It is a lot of fun and I enjoy these ladies very much. We are calling it quits since summer is coming and there will be kids home, so that is a bummer. We are just going to have to come up with other ways to hang out! Not too sure what Thursday and Friday were about. I really should blog more often so I know what I do! lol.  I do remember Saturday!! Joseph and I were going to the bishops store house to help stock food and such and we were dropping the kids off at the Nouhan's... well, we were almost to the store house when a little baby puppy ran to our car. Ok, so I did  make noises and talk all high pitched to it. I scooped it up and was going to bring it to the humane society so it would not get run over or something else tragic. Joseph thought I would bring it home to live with us, but honestly I am not ready to love another puppy at this time. Scout really messed me up with it, and I just can't seem to get past it. So anyway, the humane society was closed until 11am and this was at 7am.. so I told Hilary I was coming over with a puppy. She got excited and the kids were excited too. They even gave it a name, Dakota. Had something to do with Paul's work changing a name or something... Well, I left the puppy with them for the day. After discussing, they decided not to keep it, and I went to pick it up to take to the humane society because it was my responsibility since I found it! But the humane society was closed and so I brought it home with us for the night. She pee'd everywhere! LOL At least the poop was outside! I forgot how hard it can be to have a little puppy around... Sunday we went to church, and Joseph offered to take it since he knew how hard it was for me, emotionally. He is a sweetheart, and I love him! (just thought I'd throw that in here!)

Unfortunately he had the hardest time with the humane society and so I told him, I will NOT be picking up any puppy's anymore.. I just can't get involved and then drag my family into it. He dealt with the rude people at the humane society, and the kids were super sad to see her go.. Savannah came in crying! Poor kid.

Oh! On Saturday we went to the carnival that the young women were having as a fundraiser for camp. It looked like it went well and everyone had a good time. Poor Hilary got super sun burnt... I hope she feels better soon! It sucks to have burns.. I had plenty of them growing up and I still remember the really bad ones... Ouch!

Today is craft day again. It is our last one. We are losing some to moving this summer too so it is a bitter sweet time. Those who are moving on will be missed and thought of often. This is the hard stuff with military.. you finally get friends who you can trust and love and then they are called to go elsewhere. It is always how it goes but does not make it any easier.

Joseph is gone for the night as well. He has a spur ride he is doing and will be back tomorrow. It is very interesting how things have changed from even 10 years ago in the military. It is so much more calm, meaning no more yelling, name calling or hazing with things. I know they will still have a good time, but it is so different than when Joseph had to earn his spurs.

With that, I am off to get ready for my day. See ya!