The Elections Are Over

FINALLY!!! We have elected a new President. I really don't enjoy politics all that much. It tends to bring out the worst in people, and that isn't my favorite side to see of others. I didn't vote becuase I never registered here locally after we moved a few months ago. To be honest, I am not sure who I would vote for. There are things with both the candidates that I liked and things I didn't really like. I think with either person as President, there would be change, which in my opinion, is a good thing for this country right now. I just hope and pray that President Obama does what is in the this country's best interest, and I pray for his safety. I hope no crazy person does something awful! When someone is in a high-profile position, there are always people who are passionatley for and against them. There are also a few radicals out there, and I just hope no one does anything stupid.

Texas State 5A Marching Band Contest

Last night my husband and I went to the finals of the State Marching Contest. My husband had never seen anything of the sort, so I was excited to show him a part of my high school life. It was really fun being there with him. I actually haven't done anything with my clarinet since high school. Sean is always encouraging me to pick it up and to teach our kids and to even give lessons. I would love to do all that, I just haven't made myself do it yet. It was a HUGE part of my life back then, and I was really good and had a great time with it. I think last night helped to jumpstart my playing again:)

$1.93 a gallon

It keeps going down! I love it. But today I just heard how Exxon Mobile made record profits this last quarter. It is soooo irritating!!

Too Funny!

OK, I just had to post this. I was talking with a former classmate of mine on the phone and she was going to text me some info I needed for our class blog. She said to me "just text me your info and then I will get you what you need." See, the only problem with that is that I haven't ever texted someone. So I sheepishly told her that she could text me, but that I couldn't text her cause I didn't know how. She was very understanding and said she would email all the info. The very second I got off the phone, my 7 year old said "mom, I can teach you how to text." He ran out of the room and got his cell phone(no, not a real one that is activated, but one of our old ones we no longer use) He promptly opened it up and went into this long speal about how to text. I think it is tooooooo funny that he knows how to do this, especially when he hasn't ever done it for real.

Trunk or Treat

Last night was our ward trunk or treat. It was lots of fun. There was face painting, a cupcake walk, donut contest, wagon rides, and lots of fun. There was also a soup contest, thanks to me:). Oh, and lots of little ones in costumes(and some big ones too)

Pumpkin Picking

Tonight for Family Home Evening we went to a pumpkin patch in our community. It was not all that impressive, but it was worth the fun family time we had. My mom came and my grandparents came, that was the highlight. My family sure loves having my kids around:) Here are some pics that we took.

Time Out for Women

Today I attended a Time Out for women here in San Antonio. It was such a good experience! I was supposed to go with my mom, but she was unable to go, so I ended up going with a friend of mine. The purpose of these events is to have a day set aside just for women for us to have a good, uplifting day. I recommend this to any woman, and I plan on going every time I get a chance!

$2.05 a gallon

need I say more?

I can't stop talking about this...

Tonight when I filled up my van, I had to keep pumping to get $50 worth of gas into my van. I remember just a few months ago I cost me $75 or more to fill up my van. This is great. I hope it keeps going down! But that is a HUGE difference!

Peace Like a River

My bookclub just read Peace Like a River by Lief Enger. It wasn't really my style of book, but it is good enough to own. I actually only read 1/2 of it by our discussion time, but listening to the others talk about it made me want to finish the rest of it.

$2.28 a gallon

It keeps getting cheaper and cheaper. I love it! It is gone down well over a $1 in just a few months. I sure hope it stays down.

Proud Mama

We are a praying family. We say prayers as a family in the morning and at nights. We pray at all our meal times and then we pray individually morning and night. Grace always "participates", which usually consists of her hitting us on our head or running around while the rest of us is trying to be reverent and prayerful. Tonight as we said our family prayer, Grace had her arms folded and was chatting and chatting and chatting. She sure was having a good conversation with Heavenly Father! I had to catch it on film, so I had the boy do another "mock" prayer so she would think we were praying again, and I was able to get a pic:)

My Grandma Turns 84!

On the 17th of October my Grandmother turned 84 years old. She is such a neat lady! I have always been very close to my grandparents, I even lived with them for a while when I was young. They have been influential in my life, and I am grateful to be living by them now.
She had a small party at a local bakery in town. I just love how happy my grandparents are together:) And in the cake, if you look close enough, you can see a rather large opal ring my grandfather gave her for her birthday(opal is her birthstone).

$2.55 a gallon

That is what we are paying at the pump, what are y0u paying?

Matthew

Everyone else has put up a funny pic, so here is Matthew's...

Bad Hair Day

Old Benja"geeser"men

Benjamen wanted to make a funnyface like his daddy

Sean's diet and weight loss

Most people like to lose weight... but I have the simple solution...

just eat whatever you want...
and get fat! Did I mention that the Presidential Fitness Program doesn't work? I am a true American. :)

$2.66 a gallon

Can you believe it? I filled up my car last night at $2.89/gallon and thought I was scoring pretty good. But this morning on our way to church we passed a place for $2.66/gallon. I heard just yesterday too that they are expecting gas to keep dropping. How great!

Fisher House

Tonight Sean and I had the opportunity to go to one of the original Fisher Houses. The Fisher House is a non-profit organization that provides housing for family of military personnel who are injured and in the hospital. We were at Lackland Air Force Base right here in San Antonio, and this is where the program started. As of today, there are 38 houses across the United States, but this is the only one that does not charge the families to stay here. It runs strictly on volunteers. Sean's company is always looking for ways to serve and give to the community, so through his company, we were able to take part in serving dinner to these wonderful people and visit with them. There is a pic of some co-workers of Sean's, and the other picture is Virgil and Betty. We ate with them tonight. She is going through radiation therapy for breast cancer. They have been married for 50 years and have 6 children, 9 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. They are a wonderful couple and were very grateful for our service tonight. What a wonderful place this is!

Benjamen's Progress Report

I met with Benjamen's teacher today. They are having the parent/teacher conferences since we just reached the first 6 weeks. It is definately a little different being in Texas than in Utah. In Utah I volunteered once a week for the whole school year as well as help with parties and such, but here there isn't anything for parents to do to help.
But it was nice sitting there listen to the teacher tell me how much she loves having Benjamen in her class. He is getting 100's across the board, except in his penmanship(an 85). I am not too worried. That isn't an academic thing or anything, and I know lots of people who have survived this world with bad handwriting(like me.) Anyway, he is reading just at a graduating 2nd grade level(so I guess that means 3rd grade level?). Anyway, she is recommending him for the gifted and talented program which he will be tested for in a few weeks. That will be exciting if he gets into that and he can have some extra work to keep his little mind busy. We are proud of him and how much he tries and works hard in school!

MY grandma and grandpa

Sean and Grace with Sparky the firedog

Benjamen and Sparky the firedog

Grace on the pony ride.

Boys on a pony ride

--little does Matthew know, he is about to be consumed by the devil horse: (love Sean)

Matthew on firetruck

Benjamen in the firemen garb

Benjamen inside the firetruck

Benjamen and our local grocery store mascot--HEBuddy

Sean and Grace and my grandma

National Night Out

Tonight was our National Night Out. It is a program that encourages awareness of public safety issues. It gives neighbors a chance to get out and meet each other and get to know each other. It also gives the opportunity for children to get to know their local first responders. In our small town we had the police department putting together identity kits(with fingerprinting and DNA sampling). The fire department (all volunteer) was there letting the kids put on the outfit and go through the fire trucks. Local businesses were out to get to know their townpeople. It was really nice. We had a decent turn out. I have attached some photos.

I am crafty:)

My mom owns a baby store here in their town. She just got back from a baby expo in Vegas and brought a cute hair clip back for Grace to try out. It is a simple pin-back hair clip with a magnet added to it(perfect to help keep it in Grace's fine hair) covered with a velvet-like ribbon with a bow on top. It suits Grace's needs perfectly becuase of the magnet, but also the velvety ribbon keeps it from hurting or pulling out her hair when she tugs on it. My mom's cost was $6.95, so she would have to sell it for like $14. I wouldn't pay even $7 for one, so I told her I would try and make some. They were less than .50 cents to make and turned out soooooo dang cute! I am attaching some pics. It is hard for you to see closely, but they are so adorable. Now mom can sell them for less, while making way more profit than if she bought from the other company. Plus, I make a little myself:)

My Gym

I started going to a gym when I moved here mid May. I have lost 10 pounds since then, and I feel great! This is the coolest place! It is so nice to have such a sophisticated gym in a rural community. We are in an old Alsation community where families have lived here for generations and come from thick Alsation/German roots. The place is called Iron Haus. They have a play room for the kids. I have attached some photos of that as well. It provides a rock wall for the kids, there are tons of toys and movies and other things for the kids to do. I usually go in the morning and I love how most of the other people there are older ladies(I am talking like in there 60's and 70's.) The thing that cracks me up every time is how a lot of these older ladies wear their lipstick and do their hair so they look fine while exercising:) It really is a great thing and I love what it is doing for me!

Left To Tell

Last month I read the book called Left to Tell. It is written by a woman who survived the Rwandan Holocaust back in '94 (I think that is when it was.) It was really good for me to read because I wasn't aware of the awful things going on at that time. This book isn't necessarily for the faint-hearted though. It is quite graphic in its explanations and descriptions of the awful things that happened. The wonderful thing from this book is this woman's unwavering faith. It seemed that the harder things got for her, the stronger her faith got. It really is a book worth reading, just remember it is not for the faint-hearted.

My brother!

My youngest brother is such a cool guy. I love him so much! He moved up to Utah 3 years ago and lived with us a short while before getting his own place. He is such a good example to me. I know he looks up to Sean and I and thinks the world of us, but I seriously think he is a much better person than I am. I hope he knows how much he means to me and my family.

Us and Our Dogs

We are the worst when it comes to dogs. We love them, we just don't stay committed very long. In the course of the last 3-4 years we have had 9 dogs(including 3 newborn puppies), and a cat. We love them, we just don't like keeping them around I guess. I haven't quite figured it out what it is yet, but it is something. Anyway, we have yet another dog. We bought a miniature dauschund.

Day at the Zoo

Today we met up with a friend at the zoo. During the week, during school hours is the best time to go, becuase there is no one there. We are so fortunate here in San Antonio to have this zoo. It is the 2nd or 3rd best zoo in the nation, behind the San Diego Zoo. My kids just love going.

SCARY!!!

Sean and I both got a pre-recorded phone call on our cell phones at the same time saying that there was a bomb threat at Benjamen's school at 12:20(it is now 1:13). They transferred teh students to another school and checked it out and found it to be okay. What the heck!! What if it was for real? I want to talk with Benjamen to see how he is doing. Is he scared? What did they tell the students?

My Testimony

I have quite a few of my friends who have gotten divorced over the years. I sit here and think it is shocking becuase I haven't been married that long, but I guess I am starting to get up there in years.
It is so hard for me every time I hear about someone else. My heart hurts so badly for the people and I want to take all their pain away. The most recent one I heard about really made me sad. I was praying for Heavenly Father to take their pain away and to make everything all right. I was praying to know what I could do for them. Then I had a profound realization. I tend to want to make things all better. I want my presence to keep others from hurting and from thinking about the trials they are going through. But what I realized this night as I prayed, was that there is nothing I can do to take away their pain and to keep them from going through this. They will still have dark times and lonely times. But what I can do is be there to help them bounce back. That is what we all can do. None of us can take trials and pain from each other, but we can all help us get from one day to the next. I know Heavenly Father is real. I know he listens and hears each one of our sincere prayers. He is listening to the one who is praying to take the pain away, while at the same time listening to me ask what I can do, and then giving me the realization I had. I can say today that I know if we do what we are supposed to do, that our joys will outweigh our sorrows by far. And when I am going through my next major trial, I hope to hear one of you say the same thing so you can help me get through it. That is what we are all here to do. To help each other make it from day to day.

Technology

Benjamen came home from school today saying he is learning how to type. I knew he had a computer class and that they did stuff, but I did not expect him to say he is learning how to position his hands and where the home keys are and such. I was so impressed! I was in 9th grade before I took a computer class that actually taught me where to position my hands and how to sit properly at the computer. I think it is great. It just floors me how much technology has and is advancing! This just goes to show how things have changed even in just a few short years.

Community Service

You know how they say watch out for the small towns 'cause they are speed traps? Well I live in one of those small towns. Only, I think this is the worst speed trap out there! My parents warned us when we moved here that the cops will get you if you speed. So I made it a point to never go over the speed limit in this town. I mean how hard could it be? The town is only like 1 sq mile big, so I could keep my foot off the accelerator. So one day, shortly after we moved here, I saw the copper hiding out behind a big bush, but I seriously told myself I didn't have to worry becuase I don't speed here. Well I looked down and was going over 40 in a 30. I put on the brakes, hoping it was in time. I drove right past the guy and kept on driving. I kept looking in my rearview mirror and no sign of him. I thought I was good. Then like a whole minute later I looked back in my mirror and here was this guy with lights and all. I have no idea how long he had been trailing me since I hadn't looked since the initial passing of him. Needless to say, I got a ticket going 41. Now I am the kind of person who likes to follow the rules, I don't like to cause ruffles(is that the right frase?). Anyway, so my heart is pounding and I am sorry. My fine is huge! So I go to the judge and ask if I could do community service or something other than pay this exorbitant amount. I get stuck with 15 hours. So guess what I did? I had to pick up trash for like 11 of those hours and then I got to wash and vacuum the police cars for the other 4 hours. Why is it when you really want time to go fast, it goes the slowest. I hated doing that. Oh, but when I was washing the cars one time, these guys were totally making fun of me:) They were making comments like "doing time" and other juvenile things. I had to laugh. Anyway, I learned my lesson. I will remain trying to be a good citizen and not speed!