blah blah blah

Does that sound a little like Scrooge? I meant it more like the same old same old. I get up I cook, I clean, I drive somewhere for someone...you know what I mean.
I usually wait until something interesting happens or I have something of value to say before I post to my blog but lately I think facebook is the venue most of my friends prefer to communicate on.
But then again I use my blog like a journal that I hope will be around long after I am gone and my children can read it and remember our journeys. So I write...for them.
Our Christmas was sweet...quietly meaningful if that makes any sense. The girls had quite a few presents under the tree...mostly clothes and little things but they were excited to open each and every one of them. We tried hard to focus on the Savior and His life but it is not as easy as it sounds. So many things distract me and I do love to shop.
We have had the Missionaries over a bunch this holiday and it is really adding a cool spirit...a warm and fuzzy feeling having those amazing young men in my home...and they think I am all that and a bag of chips when I make homemade rolls for them!
The year 2010 is right around the corner and I have no resolutions to speak of. Except maybe to resolve to not have any resolutions.
I like having Cory home but the girls tend to pick at each other when they are around each other 24 hours a day...day in and day out...it doesn't help that most of their friends are out of town. So they are sentenced to play with each other. This would normally be fine except Dene hates video games and gaming is Jonece's favorite passtime. So Dene does her best to disrupt Jonece when she is playing and this only causes unhappiness all around.
I really missed seeing Greg and Chris this holiday but I keep telling myself that next year we will be in a position to either drive to see them or fly if needs be. My sister has been going through a really tough time these last few weeks and I feel like a bull at a dairy...useless. I can't help her and it sucks.
Well we have an entire week before every one goes back to school and I have a few fun things planned to make some memories. I hope it snows (I know who thought I would ever say that!) so we can get in some sledding.
I hope everyone is having a great holiday and my friends hurry up and get home...I miss you guys!
One Blah L

Last Christmas in the Burgh

I am trying to really enjoy this winter...I said trying. Part of that is looking at things in a different way...realizing that this will be the last of so many things. Some are sad...some are not but all are held in a positive light. It was sad to realize that it was the last time I will witness the leaves changing color here...and not so sad to realize we watched our last first snowfall! Our last first slide on an icy brick road...our last first scraping of the car...all these things make me see the bright side of things. This new attitude (and the meds) are making this winter season my best so far.
I am sad that Christmas will be without family and our friends that feel like family but this is our last holiday with just the four us and that makes it super special. I am determined to make it memorable for all of us. Cory is off school for a bit and even though he will be studying for Boards we will fill the break with fun family times. Since this might be our last snowy winter we are making sure we go sledding often. The building of snowmen and snow angels are on the itinerary as well as hot apple cider and the occasional snow ball fight.
I am grateful for all my friends and family who have loved me over the distance and the new friends I have made here in PA.
Have a great holiday everyone...and know I am thinking of you!
Love and smooshes
One winter lovin L

Beware the Sleep-over

They look innocent enough...don't they??? Well guess what...they are not!!!! And they are not afraid of me...the crazy eyes and the quietly menacing voice? No effect! Have I lost my touch? Have I lost my credibility? These little girls ran amuck until 2:00am and Cory and I were powerless. So what have we learned? Never have sleepovers! Never more Never more!
Well the early part of the evening was great we stamped canvas bags (thanks Keri for the idea), decorated a matte in a picture frame for Dene, colored a wooden girl, and made jewelry.
We also made ice cream cone cupcakes and the girls decorated them...but the highlight was the trick candles. I told them that you count how many blows it takes to blow out your candle and any more than one means you have that many boyfriends. Thank goodness these girls still think boys are yucky so they were mortified that their candles kept reigniting!
Dene had two favorite parts of her birthday celebration...the first was getting an ipod from Daddy and the second was the Oreo Blast cake from Dairy Queen.
Why is it my children prefer store bought cakes and cookies from my home made ones? Are the rest of you guys lying to me? Are store bought ones better than mine? My world has been shaken these last few days...no one is afraid of me and maybe I am not the baker I thought I was.
Well I must go and rethink my reality.
Love you all]
One lost L

Deep Thoughts

The first thing I thought about when I wrote this title was those funny cards I used to read at the car wash in AZ. You know the ones...with something like...If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason.
I miss going to the car wash...we have washed our car probably 6 times the three and a half years we have lived in PA. Has cleanliness dropped on our list of priorities? No, it is mostly the rain...sun inspires one to wash the car...so do hot days. Those are not in abundance in Pittsburgh. I am not bashing Pittsburgh...I really have come to love so many things here, it is just a fact. I really can't complain about the weather lately we are having a wonderful fall with crisp evenings and mornings sandwiching warm and sunny afternoons. A perfect combination if you ask me!
As for my deep thoughts I have decided to delete most of that part of my post...but let me just say the future is right around the corner and I am freaking out on some levels. I am excited to start a new chapter in our lives that does not include food stamps...but I don't want our family to change...I don't want my girls to grow up and be materialistic and shallow. I don't want my family to get so busy doing things that we no longer just do fun cheap things at home. I know there is a balance...I just hope the girls grow up to be down to earth and well rounded.
Enough of the deep thoughts...
Super Saturday is done...and I have vowed to let others teach for a few years. My sister is so funny...she said when I moved back to AZ I should tell everyone I am not crafty and we can be closet crafters...sneaking around buying supplies and working in a hidden room... selling our wares over the internet under different names...she is so funny!
On a completely different note...our little family is sick...the flu...I hope not the swine flu...but we will see. Cory is the sickest...chills, aches etc. Lets hope we all have excellent immune systems and have mild symptoms and recover quickly. I must make chicken soup...and along with the Zycam and other homemade remedies we will prevail!
Later friends
One L

Cluttered Mind?

I have been busy making jewelry...mostly filling orders that I had put off and put off until it was do or die. But I must admit that I do my best work when I am under the gun! I will post individual pictures of my stuff on my other blog.
This is a look into my creative mind...Scary isn't it!! I like to be able to see all my beads so I have to splay them out over the table leaving me absolutely no room to actually work. It looks completely unorganized but in my mind it all makes sense.

The girls had a fun Halloween, Dene was a beautiful vampire while Jonece relented on the Greek Statue and settled for a Confessor of sorts (If you don't watch The Legend of the Seeker you won't know what that is). They raked in a ton of candy and Cory has been in his glory raiding it whenever he wants. I am so glad that chocolate holds no lure for me...now if they had collected freshly baked rolls...I would have eaten them all!
Later friends
Love
One L

Long Time No Blog

Its been a while since I updated my blog and I really get after my friends and family when they slack off so I am making an effort to keep up this blog.
We have been busy this past month and I will give you it in a nutshell.
The girls had their parent luncheons at school and I brought them their favorite lunches and later we got to play outside and they both beat me at tetherball (I don't know how to spell it).
My missionary who knocked on my door and brought the gospel into my life when I was 28 years old, came for a visit with his son. I had a hard time calling him Greg...he will always be Elder Harris to me! He hasn't changed...the years have been kind...he didn't say the same thing about me.
My son Chris came for a visit and it was delicious! I just love having him around! It makes me happy to see his face. His choice of sweatshirt on the other hand made me nervous (they were all rival hockey teams)
The girls got sealants and Chris and I took them to the Dental School. It was a little long but having Chris there made it fun.
I had some jewelry in my purse and sold some to the nice ladies that work in the pediatric department. Pa-ching!
I forgot to take pictures of the fall leaves and they are pretty much gone now...it was pretty but you will have to take my word for it.
This is our year of lasts...our last fall here in the Burgh...our last time firing up the boiler...our last year of school for everyone...last Super Saturday here etc.
Today is Halloween so I will take pictures and post again soon.
Love you all
One Slacker L

Capital Trip

We went to Washington DC last weekend and it was quite the experience. The no parking thing made me a little crazy for a bit but eventually I got over it and enjoyed walking 6 miles around DC with my sweet family especially the little girl who complained the entire time about her sore feet!!


Eating was expensive but fun...we had to walk everywhere so by the end of the day we settled for something close to the hotel, and for once in my life I wasn't in the mood for Chinese!
Some things we had to do a driveby because of some marathon going on and the roads were closed and after one day of marathon walking I wasn't up to it again the next morning.
The Lincoln Memorial was the one thing I was super excited to see...it was just as magnificent in person. I especially enjoyed the quotes on either side of the statue.

But Cory and my favorite site was the World War memorial...we cried...so many lives given to keep the world free...the quotes were so moving.
The girl's favorite part was spending time with daddy...especially when he whacked them with the hotel pillows!
Here are the girls at the beginning of our tour of the city looking pretty happy and excited to see all the sites. Unfortunately we picked the weekend when there was a march re: Taxes...so it was a bit tense at times with people with bull horns yelling stuff at the White House...but I was impressed everyone used appropriate language and they were all polite and well behaved. Now that is my kind of protester! I get all uncomfortable when protesters get in your face and you think if they knew you didn't agree with them they might hurt you.
The museums were great...Cory loved the air and space one the most. The girls love the natural history one mostly because of the gems...they just love all the shiny jewels! Its all about the bling!
This a picture of the girls just before we left for home...they were sooooo done!

Of course any trip to Washington would be incomplete without seeing the Temple...magnificent!
Well that is our trip in a big nutshell!
Love
One L