Life's Greatest Joy

This past weekend we had the opportunity to take Alex through the temple to receive her endowments and be sealed to Nick. Nothing in life can compare with being in the temple with your kids. Brian, Katie, Andrea, Todd, Greg & Carinna were all there with us. Amanda was there in spirit but was not able to come in from Alaska to be there in person and we missed her as well as aunts, uncles and grandparents who we love. The weather was absolutly beautiful which was nice as it had been bitter cold and raining earlier in the week. Heavenly Father truly blessed us with a wonderful day. Nicks family all came down from Idaho which was really nice. It was a fun experience to meet Alex's mother in law in the dressing room in the temple! We had lots of fun, lots of love and most of all lots of joy. Katie & Brian once again stepped up to bat and pulled off all the decorations, food, and photography. Everyone pitched in to help set up & clean up. It always amazes me as I watch the kids pull together to help each other out how much they have grown and the love they have for one another. Saturday as I reflected on the day I realized that exactly nine years ago on April 18th we were sitting in a court room signing the final adoption papers and Alex legally became our responsibility. How fitting that nine years later to the day, she legally became Nick's responsibility!

Entering the 21st Century

I have had the same glasses for the last 4 or 5 years and have noticed over the last few months that when I put them down on a counter, bookshelf, table, etc. I can't find them. They are frameless and blend right into whatever surface they are on. I find myself running my hands across the surfaces hoping to bump them so I can find them. I'm sure it is an amusing sight and makes it appear that my sight is worse than it really is. I should probably explain that I need them for distance and take them off in order to read which means they are off on a regular basis. Since I needed a new perscription I decided that it might be time for new frames that I won't lose when I put them down. Joe helped me pick the new ones and assured me they look great. When I came home with them Greg said "wow, welcome to the 21st century mom". They are so different that I do a double take every time I see them in a mirror. I end up laughing and wonder if they are really "me". Since my insurance only allows new frames every other year I have plenty of time to get used to them. Riley and I tried to get pictures of both sets but it didn't work too well so you'll just have to use your imagination! The new frames have wide black arms and have black along the top edge. They are not quite the shape of cat eye lenses but they're close.

So now that I posted four in one day can I be lazy for four months??

Conference

I loved conference. I am so grateful to be a member of the church and have the opportunity to hear from the Prophet and apostles on a regular basis. No matter what is going on in life there is something in the conference talks that brings comfort, peace & hope. My new quote comes from Elder Neil L Anderson's talk as he quoted President Monson. There seems to be a running theme in my quotes regarding challenges and having the strength to get through them. Our family seems to be going through a time of growth and learning which means challenge and struggle. It will be interesting to see what quotes I am drawn to as different challenges pass and new ones arrive.

To walk or not to walk

Katie found out about a half marathon in May which we are planning on doing together as a family. Some of us will run (obiviously not me) and some of us will walk. I am hoping to get clearance from the Dr this week to participate. Right now I have permission to do training walks but she won't clear me to enter until the lab tests come back. Last week I walked 2.8 miles on Monday and 2.25 on Tuesday then spent Wednesday and Thursday down and pretty much non functioning. By Friday I was regaining some strength & energy. This week I think I will try walking every other day and see if I can handle that better. Whether or not I get to participate I am excited for everyone else. I think it is going to be a great opportunity for Riley to see what she can accomplish before heading off to college the first week of June. I also think Kevin will excel and it will bring him a measure of self assurance. He continues to struggle in school and was recently "excused" from science and math. His caseload teacher is also his constitution & history teacher. She really likes him and loves his quirky personality. She is the only teacher who has not "excused" him from attending class on campus. When I was meeting with her to get the teachers editions for the math I will now be in charge of she asked about my health and I mentioned it may be chronic fatigue, she asked if I was sure is wasn't chronic Kevin!

My how time passes

As is blatantly obvious I am not getting better at this blog thing. It has been a tremendously busy and crazy time around here and I recognize that the more stressed I feel the more private I become. It is hard to write to an unknown audience and express daily ups and downs. I am still fighting almost constant fatigue. The Dr is now checking for vitamin deficiency which I am hoping for as the alternative at this point is chronic fatigue syndrome. I cannot imagine feeling like this everyday for the rest of my life.

New quote

I just changed my quote yesterday but had to change it again today. I signed up for an online seminar through Time Out For Women. Today I "attended" the first session with Sherri Dew. I really need this right now. The topic for this session is the Divine Influence of Women. In the midst of current challenges I often question my ability as a mother to guide the kids in the right direction. I love the quote from Abigail Adams about needing difficulties to form good character. It was a good reminder that instead of praying for things to be easier and trials to be lightened I need to pray that they find their true strength through their trials.

Newly employed

Since Kelly & Riley have graduated from high school and have nothing to occupy their time til college begins we have "forced" them to join the ranks of the employed. They have been fortunate enough to find jobs this week. Kelly will be working at Solare, a tanning salon. The question now is will she save for school or will she tan instead? Since it will be obvious to all of us what her choice is we hope she will opt for college funds. Riley is now working at Subway. She started training on Wednesday of last week and then had her first day on Thursday. Here's how it went: she was scheduled to work from 1:30-5 at the Raley's location. The manager calls at 9:30am & says he needs her at the Safeway location asap, she says "ok". She comes and tells me she needs to go to work but I am in the middle of a lesson with Kevin and cannot just drop it at that moment. Brian is up to his elbows in glue getting sets and props ready for that nights roadshow. Greg, Carinna & Katie are not at home to take her. She says it's okay since her one and only uniform is in the washer! I ask if she let the manager know it would be close to 2 hours before she could get there as they had just started the washer, she said she let him know she'd be there in "awhile". The washer finishes and we hear her starting the dryer with only her uniform. We ask her to put the whole load in so the laundry can be kept going. About 15 minutes later we realize she has disappeared. We finally find her in her bathroom blow drying her pants with the hair dryer. On the way to drop her off Brian asks what time she will be done, her response: "I don't know." She did not ask how long she was supposed to be there nor did she find out if she was still supposed to work at the other location in the afternoon. She calls me at 1 and tells me the manager just walked in and said he needs her at the Raley's location right now. Once again Brian nor I can just drop everything and run. About half an hour later I finally get free and head out for her (keep in mind the store is 20 minutes from home). She calls to let me know she is in front of Safeway and not at Subway. I ask if her boss is aware that she does not have her own car and that she would have to wait for a ride between locations. She says she's not sure. I let her know this is the one and only time I will be transferring her from one store to another in the middle of the day. By the time I get her to the Raley's location it has been almost 90 minutes from the time she called. Her boss thinks she went straight there as she left Subway right after he came in! That night on the way home from roadshow I ask if she works the next day, she tells me that she doesn't know. She has only been hired as a relief worker and will not have a set schedule. They will only call when they need her. As the conversation continues it comes to light that not only will she not have a regular schedule but he had asked her if she could do transfers and she said yes not knowing that he meant going from store to store during the day. Then she tells me that he told her he didn't need anymore employees but since she was honest with him about leaving for school in June he decided to "squeeze" her in as a relief person! Remind me again why I made her get a job????