Burdens

Dave and I have recently been called to teach
the Valiants in Primary. These are the 10 and 11 year old kids who are getting ready to go into Young Men's and Young Womens.

When the Bishop asked us to do this, he warned us that most of the kids in there were a challenge and a handful, but knew we could handle it. Right on the spot, after saying we'd do it, I told him that if the kids wanted to act like the 4yr old pictured here, they'd be treated like a 4yr old. He was fine with that, and when the Primary President dropped the manual off, I told her the same thing.
Sunday came around, and though we missed the first half of Sacrament, we made it on time to our class, expecting the worse. Instead, one of the kids had gotten the chalk, an eraser, scriptures for everyone and even wrote "Welcome New Teachers" on the board. Dave and I were in shock, but didn't drop our guards. Then after telling the kids that we won't take any goofing off, and that we weren't afraid to treat them like 4yr olds if they act like it, we showed them the Maximum punishment (which the Primary President and Bishop BOTH knew about), Dad's "Burden Ball". I passed it around to each kid, and one in particular had commented that it was cool, and he wanted to wear it.
Long story short, instead of anyone wearing the "Burden Ball", one of the kids was made to stand with his nose in the corner, and after telling me he was a YOUNG MAN not a LITTLE KID, I replied ever so calmly "Oh really? Cause from where I'm standing, you're not acting like a YOUNG MAN" He behaved for the most part in sharing time, and after church, when we were getting set apart, I pulled the Burden Ball out for the Bishop and his Counselor to see, and the first words out of his counselors mouth was "Oh no, Alec didn't have to wear that did he?" I reassured him that his son was one of the best kids in there, and what we only really had a problem with one of the kids. We will see what this Sunday brings, if this kid has learned his lesson or if he wants round 2, but they all know that they're stuck with us, and will NOT get away with anything.

Heather's Valentine's Gift

For the past few Months, Elvira, Heather's little arachnid friend, hasn't eaten or done much but switch sides of her cage from time to time. The 12th or 13th, Elvira flipped onto her back and stayed there. On Valentines Day, we had noticed that she finally molted her skin, and so Dad took it upon himself to take the skin out of the cage. He brought it upstairs and put it in Mom's cookie box she got from school.

As much as I dislike spiders, ok, lets face it, they're the Devil, I've become slightly fascinated with Elvira and her habits. From the first time I saw her eat a half a dozen crickets at one time, to seeing on Youtube how a tarantula molts, its actually interesting in a creepy kind of way.

I didn't know that they molt their fangs, and can't eat until their exoskeleton hardens after molting. They push themselves out of the old skeleton through their butt, and it can take 4hrs to molt. I heard at one time that Mom wanted to keep the skeleton in the school for the kids to see, but I really don't know for sure what the real plan is. Sadly enough, I've been entertaining the idea of having one of my own, but seriously don't think I'd be that brave yet.

New Hobby

As you all know, I'm learning to crochet on my own. Over the past few years, I've made blankets, scarves, dishcloths and even tried my hand at a doggie coat that turned out relatively fine except the dog it is for is allergic to the yarn. This year, my goal is to try some thing new to crochet each month. One night as we were walking through Wal Mart with Marsh and Emily, I ran across this yarn that Emily liked for Josie, and decided to make her a hat with it. The original plan was to use my Knifty Knitter to make the hat but saw this adorable pattern on the paper wrapped around the skeen.

To my delight, the pattern was easy and after I got it down, the hat took about a week to finish. It was a little bigger than expected for Josie, but works and Marsh and Emily absolutely LOVE it on Josie. Among the many dishcloths I've got scheduled to make, I'm planning on filling 2 orders I already have for Hats and Scarves and then will make more of these hats and sell them. Before too long, I want to make a price list for the things I can make, and take orders for whatever people want. I'm finding that crocheting is good therapy for me, and am glad that Rachel took the time and had the patience to teach me the basics..

Happy Holidays

Today was a pretty good day. I was a little bummed knowing we all left Mom and Dad alone for Christmas, but the gift we gave Dave's parents, was well worth it. Our drive to Twin on Christmas Eve was good, and had no problems when we checked in to our hotel. We looked at the few lights that were around town, then went back to the room and put "family" presents together.
Christmas morning we got up, had breakfast and then got ready to go to Dave's parent's house after a short nap. When we were about a block from the house, counting on nobody knowing we were coming but Jacob, Dave called his father. We told him that we were on my way to my Grandma's house and wished we could be there with them. He parked down the street, and I told him I"d see him "inside" and then walked down to their house.
To make a long story short, we surprised them all, and even put my father in law in tears. I think it was the best that we've done for them all year. Everyone seemed to have liked their gifts, the kids were a bit rowdy with theirs, and the food was good. I tried to contact all my siblings to wish them a Merry Christmas, and hope that they all had a good day. I also hope my parents had good time alone, regardless of the dogs. I have been blessed to have such a wonderful family, and love them all dearly.
For the past month, I've noticed that I had gotten into the Christmas spirit, and was really looking forward to surprising Dave's family with our presence. I am really happy that this has been the best Christmas I've had in 5yrs, aside from when Dan and Chrystal surprised us with their visit. Since my grandpa passed away, I've had a struggle with Thanksgiving and Christmas, and to have this one be a good, positive experience, it's a blessing for me. I hope that this is a start of Christmas to come.
For those of you who don't talk much with us, we're doing good. Dave's now got Sundays and Mondays off, and I am still watching kids. With problems in the house and stress over my Dad's health, I've started focusing on my workouts at Inches A Weigh. I still don't follow the menu I'm supposed to, but I've gone from barely being able to do 2min on the exercise bike, to 35min, and I do it 3 days a week. Starting at the beginning of the year, I'm going to try to workout on my Wave in the mornings for about 30min, and then go to the Center and do my workouts, including the 35min on the Exercise bike, each day. I will then, once that's 2nd nature to me, start on my menu and see how it goes. I am hoping that I lose what I need to, and noticed that I've not eaten as much stuff as I have in the past.
I hope this entry finds everyone happy and healthy. MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!!!

A Fresh Start

Well, as a lot of you know, we're overwhelmed with our "brood" of pets. I like animals, but never thought I'd own 4 dogs and (now) 2 cats. For years we've had Dante' and Tika, and have tried everything to find a "Forever Home" for Tika. Well, one of the families that I babysit for, who was also in our ward when we lived in our own house, saw her and decided to give her a try with their 2 Shih Tzu's.
Last Wednesday, we took her and her crate up to their house when we played games, and jokingly I told them that we'd bring her Kennel in and just leave her there. Stephanie, the mother, said that she thought that was the plan, so just before we left, we brought in the Kennel and told them to call us if there were any problems or if they got tired of her. Expecting to bring her home the following day, I asked Stephanie when she picked the kids up, but she said they'll still keep her there, and are enjoying her being there. I told her that we'd drop off some food and her bowl, that they could feed her how they liked.
On Friday, we took her leash to them, and were told that they absolutely love her, but haven't decided for sure if she was gonna have a permanent home there. Then came today, Stephanie showed up as usual to get the kids, then looked at me and said " So, looks like we're going to keep Tika." I just about jumped out of my skin with joy. The first time I saw the family with her, I felt that it was just a right fit for them, and was even evil enough to get her out while the kids were here so they could quickly get attached to her. The 3yr old that I watch, Grant, fell in love with her instantly, and followed her around the yard whenever she was out.
When we took her up to see how she did with their dogs for an hour, I wanted to leave her there because it felt so right. When we left her there last Wednesday, I didn't really look back, my heart leaped for joy, I had a very good feeling that she'd found her "Forever Home" and just let things ride. It took her a while but she warmed up to Steve, and that's when it became official. As the agreement goes, since they decided to welcome her into their family, we've agreed to pay to get her bathed and brushed, and to wash and sanitize her kennel.
The last attempts to re-home her, I cried like a baby, didn't feel comfortable leaving her at the houses, and really worried about her. I didn't shed a tear when we left her with the Wozniak family, I know she's in good hands, a loving home, and will be well taken care of. I also know that I will see her often, and that if they have any problems, they will talk to us about them. This is a blessing for Dave and I because it'll be a little easier to get into a place now, it's just a matter of finding one within our budget.

My Boys

Since I live in the house with Heather and "Monroe", I get the privelage of watching Troy when they need to go somewhere. Right now Troy is going through the "I'm really tired but don't want to sleep" stage. The only way I can get him to go to sleep, or even settle down, is to sit at the computer and play Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook, with the volume up loud. I was doing this while waiting for Dave's cake to cool down enough to frost, when Tucker came in and poked me in the rear. I turned to look at him, and as to be expected, I hear "Up".
Well, you know the results of his sweet little request, as seen here in the picture. My siblings have some pretty awesome boys, and I can't wait to meet Josie, and watch her wrap me around her little fingers as well. Tucker is my little man. He hunts me down in the house every time he comes over. I can't take 2 steps without him being right there, hugging my leg and wanting me to hold him. The other day I was combing out Duster's matts, and Tucker walked up to my back, put his arms around me and hugged and kissed on me for about 20 minutes.
Troy is my little man as well. Heather gets so frustrated at times because he can scream and cry, but the second he sees me or I hold him, it's all smiles. It always makes me smile when my boys are around. I can't help but smile when I hear Tucker's giggle of delight, or Troy's hugenormous smile when he sees me. They're such sweet little ones, and I just love when they're around. Heather often tells me she doesn't want me to feel like I have to watch Troy, I tell her that it feeds my baby hunger and that I'll let her know when I'm being run down or burdened by it. Anyway, I just thought I'd share one of the special and fun moments I have with my nephews. Hope you all have a good day.

Only in Idaho

Last month, I was sitting on the couch just doing nothing more than looking out the window when I saw this picture. The neighbor had taken his car onto the lawn, up to a gopher hole, and stuck his irrigation hose down the hole, then duct taped it to his exhaust pipe. This was their 2nd attempt at "exterminating" the gopher that had decided to take up residency in their yard. Their first attempt: Glue traps down the hole. At the time I took this picture, between chuckles, I had heard the woman on the phone, suddenly tell her husband "Honey, they say that Road Flares work real well too!". At that time, I had to put the camera down and walk away. I had begun to laugh so hard, it just killed me. Half their day was spent with an irrigation hose hooked up to their car, tryin to gas out a gopher, and entertaining me and the other people in the house at the time. I guess it worked though, because NOW we've got the Gophers in our back yard, and it seems like a new one pops up each day.