Downsizing

This past year our family has certainly seen many changes. As I was thinking about everything that has transpired in the past twelve months, I began to try to think of all the little changes I am seeing around my home due in a large part because of these experiences. I have come to accept that many things in my life, with the exception of family members, are now downsized.

Here is my list of things that have become smaller over the course of twelve months:

1. Food - This has been really hard for me. For the past 2o plus years I have pretty much been cooking for an army sized family. I never had to worry about having leftovers and certainly never looked at an expiration date when purchasing food. I now find myself freezing 1/2 a meal to have at a later date. THAT is something new.

2. Table Size - One night after Christopher and Samantha married, Greg, Josh, Emma and myself were sitting around the table eating dinner. Suddenly I realized that this table is far too big and we were not sitting even close to each other anymore. The next day I had Josh help me remove the two leaves from the table. Those leaves have been in that table since the day we purchased it. Our table looks very tiny now and it seems very strange. I am slowly getting used to it.

3. Stress Level - I cannot believe how much more relaxed I feel. I guess having three children gone from your home will do that for you. We still have Josh and Emma, but let me just say that those two are a snap. Life is soooo calm. It is wonderful. I remember having Christopher and Jenni and thinking that two children were hard - ha! I guess having FIVE put that into perspective.

4. Laundry - I used to spend each day doing at least 2-3 loads of laundry. Now I can do laundry twice a week and be done in a matter of hours. AHHHHHH. I love it! I have never really minded doing the washing and even the folding of laundry. But for some strange reason, putting it away has always been a trial. Now it is a breeze.

5. Traffic Running Through House - This is the first time in about 18 years that I have not had groups of children running through my home at all hours. Sure, we still have kids over, but it is nothing like it was before. My home actually stays clean now...What a novel idea. I used to vacuum everyday, now maybe twice a week.

6. Seats in Sacrament Meeting - This has been kind of hard for me too. I realized a couple of weeks ago that our family can now sit in the smaller side seats in the chapel. WEIRD. We used to take up almost an entire big row...now only a side seat? And while I know that we should probably sit on the sides to save space, I can't do it. Sorry...I still need a big bench. Maybe someday I can downsize that one, but not anytime soon. In the meantime, we are happy to share, but don't ask us to change our spot :)

I Feel Yucky

Sunday I came down with a nasty little bug. I woke up with a horrible headache (I very seldom get headaches) and felt very weak and dizzy. I stayed in bed pretty much most of the day. In fact, I felt so ill that I laid in my bed all day and watched a twelve hour marathon of Star Wars on TV. No...I am not a Star Wars fan, but somehow I got sucked into that galaxy and could not walk away. The Force was strong. It was a long day, but by the next morning, I felt much better.

However, I can't seem to shake this little bug. Monday I spent the day with the family and went to the movies and had Tara, Austin and Greg's mom over for dinner. By the time we returned from the movie, I was back in bed again. Anyone who knows me realizes that I really do not get sick too often. If I do, it is usually for just a day and then I bounce right back. Not this time. I still feel really yucky.

I tried to get up this morning and head to the temple to work in the flower beds, but by the time I got done getting ready I had to lay down and rest. Not a good sign. The last time I felt like this was about 10 years ago when I was finally diagnosed with pneumonia after six weeks of not feeling good. I hope that is not the case...I have a lot of things I am wanting to get done. Ten years ago when I was at the doctors he told me that people like me with good health usually get really sick about once every ten years and when they do, it knocks them to the floor....great. I guess my turn has come back around. Lets just hope it is not a six week sickness like last time.

The List

This past Friday was the last day of school for Josh and Emma. Included in Emma's grade envelope was a little list of things that each member of the class wrote about their classmates. I thought it was very cute and thought that I would share what Emma's note said about her.

-You're always nice and make me feel good
-You are hard working and very good at soccer
-You are so smart
-You are very thoughtful and helpful
-You are good at soccer
-You are sporty, smart, nice, kind, beautiful and crazy
-You are cool, nice, and you love soccer and you are very good at it too
-You are good at soccer and talking
-You are a great soccer player and you are good at anything you try
-You put your heart into everything you do
-I like that you try to finish things
-You are always trying to help people
-You are very confident
-You are exciting and good at sports and always have fun and you are crazy
-You are good at soccer
-You are full of energy and very fun
-You are very dramatic, I bet you will be a great actress
-You love to be and are comfortable being the center of attention
-You are good at soccer and are very nice to me
-You have long shiny and healthy hair. You are so beautiful and care for others

Thank you Mrs. Weakley for compiling these little list. I especially loved the ones that said she is good at talking and would be a great actress - ha... How true! I love that Mrs Weakley thought it was important that each of these children find something positive about their classmates. What a great way to teach them to always look for the positive.

Cavestock 2010

Tomorrow is the last day of school for Josh and Emma. Can you believe that? It seems like every year it goes by quicker and quicker. Last Friday night Josh's high school had what it calls "Cavestock". Basically this is an evening where any of the kids can bring their bands and jam out. There are food vendors, dancing and lots of fun for everyone. Josh went with a group of friends and had a great time. In the picture above he is with his cousin, Taylir, Ashlynn and Bailey from our ward. Hard to believe that after tomorrow Josh will officially be a Senior....WOW!

Emma's Rockin' Robin

Today was Barratt Elementary's end of the year celebration where all the classes dance for their families. Emma has been very excited to be dancing to Rockin' Robin this year and has been showing me her moves for weeks. About the only thing she was not too excited about was the bobby socks. (they were part of her assigned clothing) She HATED them - ha! Last night she even took Greg and I over to her school to show us EXACTLY where she would be standing for her dance, so that we could be sure to save a seat. Later last night I was talking to Marja on the phone and she mentioned to me that many people had already staked out their spots. I quickly grabbed a blanket and drove over to the school and placed it in the front row before all the good seats were taken. I have to admit I was glad I did it. Especially when I arrived this morning and saw the multitudes of people. How nice it was to just walk up to the front row and sit on my reserved seat.

Emma did a fantastic job and as she was dancing it dawned on me that I have been attending these events for 17 years. Next year will be the last...wow...hard to believe. Seems like yesterday I was at Wasatch Elementary watching Christopher in his very first dance festival grooving to the famous "Jello Dance" with his kindergarten class. Crazy...

Please Send Sunshine

At the risk of sounding repetitive....I AM SICK OF SNOW! I woke up this morning and looked out my bedroom window only to see a blanket of snow covering my lawn. What in the world? It is May 24th....MAY 24TH!!! Are you kidding me? Thank goodness that I refrained from planting the rest of my garden last week. For some reason I have been thinking that I should not plant until the last week of May. That is a lot later than I usually plant, but maybe this crazy weather is the reason for my reservations. My cool crops were planted a few weeks ago and thankfully, they will survive. My poor little flowers on my porch will be okay too....just a little droopy for a day. My spirit on the other hand is weary. Heavenly Father please send sunshine, lots and lots of sunshine.

Surprise!

While I was in Boise, Tara decided that Emma needed to redo her bedroom and surprise me upon my return. The day after they started, Tara got sick and was unable to finish the project. So...when I returned I was certainly surprised! All of Emma's belongings aside from her bed where stacked in the hall just outside her room. They had also painted just one wall (with only the first coat) so there wasn't really any turning back. SURPRISE! Not really a project that I wanted to tackle after returning from a trip, but all in all, it has been good. Emma and I finished the painting and when Aunt Dayna heard about it, she decided to be part of it and bought Emma a complete new set of bedding. I have been spending the past couple of weeks putting everything back together. We are getting there slowly.

I decided that I wanted to do a group of picture frames above her bed with her name in them. Luckily my friend, Kelsey had one of those nifty Cricket machines and helped me cut the letters out. That little group of pictures cost me less than $3.00 to do. Not too shabby. I love a good deal! Thanks Kelsey!

I still have more projects in my mind that are slowly coming together. Hopefully I can have this room put completely back together to my satisfaction before too long. In the meantime, however, Emma is pleased with the results so far. So am I!