Man, Do I LOVE Halloween!

We were off to our ward Halloween party and I made everyone take a quick second and let me take their pictures, so these really are not the best pictures, but they are still fun!






I have always loved Halloween! I have had some pretty interesting costumes like a Q- Tip and Cereal Killer. I was even baptized on Halloween, I think I was a devil that year. What are some of your best costumes?

October 26, 2007

On the Hebrew calendar says that this date is 15 Cheshvan 5768.

On the Baha'i calendar says that this date is 11th day of Knowledge, B.E. 164 (don't ask me what that means, I just thought that it sounded cool.)

It's even supposed to be a full moon this year on October 26th.

182 years ago the Erie Canal opened.

146 years ago telegraph services began in the US.

126 years ago the Shootout at the OK Coral happened.

In 1954 Chevrolet introduces the V-8 engine.

In 1970 the comic "Doonesbury" debuted in 28 newspapers.

Topping the Music charts:
1950- All my Love by Patti Page
1958- Rock-in Robin by Bobby Day
1966- Reach Out I'll Be There by Four Tops
1974- You Aint Seen Nothin' Yet by Bachman- Turner Overdrive
1982- Jack & Diane by John Cougar
1990- Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice

Pat Sajak, Hillary Clinton, Jaclyn Smith, and "Hot Rod" Hudley are just a few people that were born on this day.

Gasoline prices were somewhere around .80 a gallon in 1979.

Interesting huh? Well, I bet if you ask my mom, she would say that the most important thing that happened on this day in history is that a crazy haired, blue eyed little girl joined their family. Yup today is my birthday! :)

For those that asked...

Some of my friends from my old neighborhood have asked to see more pictures of my house. You can see some older posts here, here, here, and here of pictures of some of the rooms and get info on what we did to them. But the outside was a big project all in itself, so this is a good time to actually post the before and after pictures of the outside.

As some of you know, my house was pink when I bought it. Yes, really pink! No, this picture doesn't do the color justice. I really hated it, but along with the rest of the house, I knew it had potential. So as soon as the weather got warm we took care of that! Here is the before picture.


So here is the after. I actually forgot to take the after until today, so forgive my crafty Halloween decorations. It looks SOOOO much better now, and I love it!


We ripped everything out of the flowerbeds and started all over. The lawn in the front needed some extra love and care, but the entire back yard which is somewhere in the range of 6500 square feet or so had to be dug up, ripped out, bulldozed, and many many more things. Early this summer we redid it all and laid new sod, put in a trampoline, and a swing set. Next spring we will start on the garden and the patio. It has been a HUGE project, but it was REALLY needed.

Our Family Room Addition

We went to Idaho last week and came home with this. We have lived in this house for almost a year now, and we have talked about what type of mantel we were going to build and how to do it forever now. I am very happy with the final look! It was made by my hubby and my father in law (with a little help from little dude too). They did an awesome job! I love they way that it just completes my room. I have been dreaming of what I am going to put on it now, but all I can think of is Christmas stuff. Can't wait for Christmas now! Hopefully Santa won't hit is head!

"...words as hard as cannonballs."

I found this little thought today and I loved it so much I thought that I would share it. Rumors are something that are so hurtful to so many people. Once you say something without knowing truth, damage is done, and is really hard to repair.

Sir Walter Scott suggested a subject in a well-phrased couplet:

“Thoughts from the tongue that slowly part,Glance quick as lightening through the heart.”
Whether slowly or quickly, what comes from the tongue ought to be thought through before being let loose. “Be careful of your thoughts,” said one observer. “They may break into words at any time.” People often hurt both themselves and others with unwise words, and then they say they didn’t think what they were saying, or didn’t mean what they said. But as someone has expressed it: “The person who says just what he thinks should think.” The processes of thought are difficult to follow or define, but speaking or acting before we have taken time to think, often gets us into trouble. Words are among our greatest tools and among our most dangerous weapons. We can endear ourselves to others or destroy friendship; we can encourage and comfort, or cause heartaches and do cruel damage—with words. It would be terrible not to be able to communicate. But it is also terrible to talk without discretion, without truth or kindness or consideration. It would be terrible if all our talk were negative, sarcastic, critical. But when we encourage others, when we teach truth, when we bring comfort, when we help men to be better, words are wonderful. We are in a sense as much responsible for what we do to others with our words as we could be with weapons. In a sense, you can hit a man with words—“words as hard as cannon balls” as Emerson said it. In any case, words somehow come from our thoughts, and saying that we didn’t think doesn’t help much after the damage is done. Falsehoods spread, rumors fly, hearts are hurt, all with unwise words. “The person who says just what he thinks, should think.” “Be careful of your thoughts. They may break into words at any time.”

So much like her mom

Yes, she is like me because of her love of chocolate, and getting it all over her face (as you can see) but this picture shows much more too. When I was a kid I knocked out all 4 of my front teeth. They were missing forever! Well, little princess was running through my bathroom to hurry and go potty, and she tripped over the cord to the iron. She fell face first on the tile floor and got pretty beat up. This picture was taken a few days after it happened, so it doesn't look too bad. She loosened her tooth, and got a bloody nose, a bruise on her chin, a chip in her tooth, bruise gums, cuts on her lips, and her gums and her lips were pretty swollen for a few days. She seems fine now, but we are still unsure if she is going to loose her tooth. It is still a little loose but we are hoping that it will just tighten and not turn black.

I felt so bad for her though. She was so sad, and I can't imagine how painful that was. I guess if she looses just one tooth it will be ok. It is still better than 4!

I can't stop laughing!

My sweet dad sent me this link, and since I saw it I can't stop laughing about it! ALL you moms out there have to go check it out! It is the funniest thing I have seen in a long time!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W95Y8hNQiH8

Hands

Some of you may have heard this poem before, but I really wanted to share it. It was read at a Young Women activity that we had the other night, and it really touched me. It is such a good reminder to put or trust in the Lord so he can bless us, and use us as an instrument in his hands.

Hands
A basketball in my hands is worth about $19.
A basketball in Michael Jordan's hands
is worth about $33 million.
It depends on whose hands it's in...

A baseball in my hands is worth about $6.
A baseball in mark McGwire's hands
is worth $19 million.
It depends on whose hands it's in...

A golf club is useless in my hands.
A golf club in Tiger Woods' hands
is a Major Golf Championship.
It depends on whose hands it's in...

A rod in my hands will keep away a wild animal.
A rod in Moses' hands
will part a mighty sea.
It depends on whose hands it's in...

A sling shot in my hands is a toy.
A slingshot in David's hands
is a mighty weapon.
It depends on whose hands it's in...

Two fish and five loaves in my hands
is a couple of fish sandwiches.
Two fish and fives loaves in Jesus' hands
will feed thousands.
It depends on whose hands it's in...

Nails in my hands might produce a birdhouse.
Nails in Christ Jesus' hands
will produce salvation for the entire world.
It depends on whose hands they're in...

As you see now it depends on whose hands it's in
So put your concerns, your worries, your fears,
your hopes, your dreams, your families and your
relationships in God's Hands because,
It depends on whose hands they're in.

A few thoughts from Mommy Going Crazy

#1 It is a little sad and slightly embarrassing when my little dude went and got his friends from down the street to bring them home and show that his mom finally went grocery shopping. I walked into the kitchen to hear "Look, there is food in here, and even here. There is just so much food."

#2 Next time I prepare a little slide show for the young women I need to make sure that ALL the pictures and even the music is saved on my laptop, and not try to run it off the network. I didn't even think about it since I had saved the project on my laptop.

#3 Always be prepared and looking my best for every trip to the library. I couldn't have picked a worse day to take my kids to the library in my pj's still. I saw 4 people that I knew in the 15 minutes we were there. Including a friend that I haven't seen in years.

#4 Never eat two pieces of really yummy wedding cake before dinner. I have a really bad headache now.

#5 When the kids are bugging me to get in the bath at 6:00 they really are tired and they don't just want to play. I can't remember the last time they were ready for bed and asleep this early.

#6 When my baby is constipated try faster to put a diaper on after cleaning the small attempts at pooping.

#7 Daddy really would look funny as a sandwich for Halloween just like the little princess thinks.

#8 Now that we have so much food in the house, maybe the princess will stop walking to the neighbor's house and asking for a bag of marshmallows.

#9 Getting the heater fixed might actually make it easier to get out of bed in the morning. As it stands I poke one foot out and pull it right back in and hide farther under the blankets.

#10 Now that my hubby thinks that I have painted a nice picture of our white trash lifestyle of not showering, not grocery shopping, a broken heater, and such you can send donations here.


Just Kidding don't! (Notice that really isn't a link. It was just a joke!)

It's about time!

Since the baby was born we have had some MAJOR problems with our insurance company. They said that we didn't add him within the 31 days after his birth, when in fact it was only two weeks after his birth. My hubby went online to add him and there was a computer glitch that we didn't find out about until all the claims had been denied. Since then we have sent in TWO appeals, and have spent the last several months stressed about it all.

Well I got a letter in the mail today saying that they did see the attempt to add him shortly after his birth. So they are now changing the effective date to his birth date, and all the claims should no longer be denied! HOORAY! I have to say that I took one big deep breath after I read that letter! What a relief!