Flowers, Chocolates... Promises You Don't Intend to Keep!

It is this last phrase that I need to refer to.  By the way, the movie?  Name it!  No big hints for you though... a disney great, singing, a girl and a beast.. I mean, boy/prince!  Ahhh, stink!  I think it is late... again and I just gave away the secret to the phrase.  

Anyway,  time has long since gone since that night of... weakness, sadness, reality. loneliness, whatever you want to call it.  I apologize for the absence.  Right now I am talking to myself because you as the reader I'm sure could care less if I write or not... but I care.  I have missed a bunch.  It is funny how I say that I am talking to myself.  It is late... again--2:00 to be exact.  I went through a tired phase, then morphed through it and decided to post a quick little jig... I mean tidbit.  

You may think that I talk to myself only late at night. Actually right now I am writing to myself, so talking in my head to myself. (I'm getting very confused)  My point is... I talk to myself a lot.  Ask my kids.  I think I learned this from my Mother-- she talked to herself a lot, too. Is this really something you can learn from someone else or is it just in your character? Why, you may ask do I participate in this crazy endeavor? It gives me clarity, understanding, helps me solidify my thoughts and what I'm going to say.  I have very interesting conversations with myself... if I do say so myself. (Hey it's late, I can get cocky!)  I don't feel like I speak eloquently with real people, so maybe I am subconsciously making up for my lack of beautiful conversations.  

So tangent aside- "Promises you don't intend to keep".  I think I promised myself that I would write on this blog more frequently and not fall behind in my inclusion of fabulous Mack experiences.  Like I said "Promises you don't intend to keep."  Well, I am going to try again.

Much has transpired since my last post-- I was consumed then.  I am consumed now because the consuming of my life then took over and therefore has pushed my other life responsibilities to now.  I AM IN OVERLOAD!

I figured it out though today... we do everything ourselves.  If a room needs painted, we paint it.  If a basement needs finished, we finish it.  If a house needs cleaning, we clean it.  If a lawn needs mowed, we mow it.  If a fan needs installing, we install it.  Most normal people hire a contractor to finish their basement.  Lots of women nowadays (is that a word?) have someone come and clean their home.  People have lawn care crews weedeat and mow.  No, not us!  We like to do it all ourselves!  Which takes  away our time from other realities... like playing with kids, attending sporting events, church callings, making dinner, etc.  I guess what I'm saying right now is... we are in a circus... we are juggling... and life is overwhelmingly busy with the things we "could" pay someone to do.  But we save our pennies, spend our time and our sanity getting it done.

Now I am not saying that everyone else is not busy and that "hiring out" these jobs is bad.  It is just taking up my mind space and my time. Golly gee-- I must be nuts!  I am sure that if we weren't doing those things and paying someone to do them that we would fill our time up with other activities and necessities and feel overwhelmed with those.  Vicious, vicious cycle! 

Oh, wo is me!

But I promise.. I will survive and post, post, post all that has happened this wonderful summer.

(After we finish the basement, paint the rooms, mow the lawn and clean house... etc.)

"Promises you don't intend to keep..."

The Past

I am up late-- alone.  My hubby is gone with our two sons to BYU for their annual father son sports camp.  I am excited that they have this time together.  I am excited for my time with my girls.

I know I'm tired, but I just happened to need to look up something on a website before bed.  It was a mistake. I should learn.  I found a blog-- read something and moved onto another blog.  A blog that hurts my heart!  It actually is a blog I have read before, but needed reminding.  It is a blog of a family who lost their sweet little girl, Gracie, from a congenital heart defect.  If you want to cry like a baby, go here.  

In the middle of my cry, I heard another cry.. my name.  Kendra is calling me from the top of the stairs because she needs her sippy cup filled. She is almost 4 years old yet she is still so thirsty like when she was on diuretics.  I knew after tucking her in to sleep that I needed to write about her.

I am crying, yet I keep reading.  My hubby would be upset with me for reading this blog.  Maybe you wouldn't cry like I am because it doesn't hit so close to home.  It brings back vivid memories of life when Kendra was first born, of the struggles she went through, of the fear and pain I felt to watch her struggle.  It also brings vivid thoughts to mind of... what if.  

I remember vividly right before Kendra was delivered. Our delivery room was swarming with medical people waiting for her to be born. I looked up crying at my sweet hubby and said "I am afraid for her." He said it would be ok.  And then this scripture came to mind.  I always cling to the scripture in 2nd Timothy 17 "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." It has always given me comfort. I have felt great power from God to know how to help Kendra and how to make it through the struggles.  Sometimes it is hard to love her when she is so stubborn and needy, but I realize now that she could be a lot worse off.  I feel blessed.  

I have realized through reading this other blog that I have a sweet daughter that has beat the odds, that is "thriving" compared to some of these kids, that has come so far.  I say thriving very loosely... she thrives compared to a lot of heart patients.  She can walk up and down stairs... you can hear her coming with every labored breath.  She gets tired walking longer distances... like from the car to the store, so she is carried.  Her oxygen saturation levels are in the high 60's sometimes and mostly in the mid 70's... a level that keeps asthma patients in the hospital without release until they are in the 90's.  It is her norm.  Her fingers and toes are enlarged... the blood vessels have naturally increased in size to increase the surface area of oxygenated blood to those extremities.

I realized that I have written about my sweet Kendra's ordeal in my journal... for my eyes only.  Yet some people do not know what she has been through or seen the horrific pictures we have.  They have never left my minds eye.

I think it is just my time to cry or maybe I am trying to cope with the reality that Kendra's next surgery is drawing very close and I have taken for granted the fact that she is "okay".  As okay as a little heart girl gets.  

She is okay even when people think she is soo cold because her lips are completely purplish black. She is okay even when an off duty paramedic is in a panic because he thinks she is dying/can't breathe/has too low body temperature because she is so dusky.  She is okay even when all the elementary school kids ask "why does she look so weird" or "why are her fingertips so fat" or "she is so cute... ya except that weird purple stuff."  She is okay even when every well intentioned stranger asks "Did you get into your mommy's lipstick" or "have you been eating a blue lollipop?"

After 4 healthy kids and one miscarriage right before Kendra, we knew something was coming... life was too easy.  We found out that our next baby girl had what is called DORV, double outlet right ventricle-- meaning that both of the outlets-- the Aorta and Pulmonary artery come out of the same chamber and do not cross each other like normal.  She does not have a septum which divides the four chambers. So essentially she has 2 chambers with one common valve.  She also has Situs Inversus which is the flipping of all the organs-- they are all mirror image.  This made the doctors think she had some chromosomal defect. She was tested and doesn't. From 23 weeks we have been prepared for the worst and feel so blessed to have made it this far with her.


Kendra was born September 29, 2006-- at 38 weeks.  She was purposefully brought early so I wouldn't have her on my own. Ten days later she had her first and worst surgery... the first in the series of 3.  !WARNING! These pictures are not for the faint of heart.  

This is a day later-- she actually looks more cleaned up here. She had a blue tinge when I first saw her and she was a lot more swollen. When I first saw her I couldn't come close to her.. she was hard to look at. This first surgery they sew the Aorta and Pulmonary artery together to make one large aorta. Then they sew the pulmonary artery to the lungs.  It is all about re-routing blood... not fixing the interior of the heart.

Way too many monitors, tubes, wires, and lines all in one little baby.  It was overwhelming to look at.

Because of the length of the surgery (I can't remember if it was 9 or 13 hours.. its in my journal) the heart swells.  Therefore, they cannot shut her chest.  This is a gortex piece laying over her open chest-- you could see her heart beating under this piece.  She is being given a heavy paralytic since movement would cause severe damage to her heart. Small pacemaker wires (blue wires) are directly connected to her heart... just in case she needed a jump start. The red-ish tubes are drainage tubes from the heart and chest cavity. She had a lot more in her lower chest.

Three days later her chest was ready to close-- her lucky day was Friday the 13th.  She is still paralyzed so she wouldn't move.  A couple times she was breathing over the vent so they had to increase her paralytic.  When they say staples-- they mean staples. Not a pretty sight.

Vent was removed-- not a happy camper though.  Her cry was a faint rasp due to the irritation of the vent being in for over a week.  It was hard not to cry when she did-- she could barely be heard. She finally came home from the hospital on November 10th, 2006.  She was in the hospital a month and half.

Second surgery was 3 months later in February of '07.  This one was a little easier.  In this surgery they disconnect the Superior Vena Cava and connect it to the pulmonary artery which is already connected to the lungs.  This made all the blood from the upper body go straight to the lungs.  There was so much pressure from this new change that it caused severe headaches and she had to sleep propped up for a few days after returning home.

The vent was removed quicker this time and she was "tented" with oxygen.  She was not a happy camper again.

She came home 6 days later with a new toy-- oxygen and a lot of tubing.  It took a lot of getting used to.  She has been through physical therapy, Synegis shots (RSV shots) for 2 years which was the cost of a small car, oxygen for 6 months, laser treatments for her birthmark, daily meds (the most being 6 different ones a day) and lots of CATH procedures.


And now in a month we are going to do it all over again.  Her third and final surgery (cross our fingers) is in July.  They will go in and disconnect the inferior vena cava and connect it to the pulmonary artery which goes straight to the lungs.  The final connection makes a "+" sign from the Superior, pulmonary arteries and inferior vena cava.  So all her blue blood will bypass the heart and go straight to the lungs out to the body. It will help her heart work a little less.


We are hopeful that this will buy her a few more years.  A heart transplant is most likely years down the road since her heart will tire out sooner than our own.  But there is never a guarantee.  Some of you may think I am totally being negative, but I feel like being in tune with reality makes time she has with us a better gift.  I guess if I think the worst, I will never be disappointed.  (But secretly, I am always prayerful.)


I'm not looking forward to her next surgery.  There is always that fear in the back of my mind.  We feel now that we have gotten used to our new "normal" that life has been easy.  What is coming next to shake us up?  


My understanding of the gospel and the plan of salvation is my saving grace-- it makes it all okay in the end.  No matter what the outcome.

At least we have been able to experience a little bit of HER!

Tired of Travel

I love to travel and so does my husband.  My kids love to travel, too.  We do it well, at least I think so.  And I have told myself that I will never tire of it.  But I have to admit that after these last 3 trips I am tired of traveling.  Scratch that.  I think I am just tired of being gone.  

When you are gone over the weekend nothing gets done around the house.  Like cleaning the bathrooms, weeding the garden, mowing the lawn, playing with friends, etc.  And, of course, I could do these things during the week (yes, I do mow & weedeat-- is that a word?), but the problem is that we have been leaving every weekend.  We come home, do the basics and then get ready to go out of town again.  

Our ward (the church we go to) thinks we are inactive.  I don't blame them.  Our lack of being sighted at any event is evidence of our inactivity status.  But this week I am making a showing and then dashing out of town again.  I am heading to LA to meet my hubby and one of his female staff members for continuing ed.

That opens a new topic... my hubby works with all women. So when he takes a trip with them for dental stuff I have  get to tag along.  It is a blessing and a curse.  Luckily this time, I can spend my time with a good friend who recently moved from here to LA.  Can't wait for that!

Anyway, I shouldn't complain-- we have had some great experiences on our travels recently.  We went to good 'ole Thatcher Arizona to attend the new temple open house.  It was lovely and so quaint. We were able to stay with Eric's grandmother-- a spunky woman whom we all love.  And see Eric's Dad, Mom and a bunch of family.  Something I just realized was that we didn't get a single pic of the temple-- the cameras were locked away in the car as we were asked to do.  Bummer!  But we did get some pics of us shooting guns-- yes, I shot a gun-- it hurt my shoulder. I only shot once... that was enough. I will post those later.

Then the next weekend we didn't have to be out of town, but Eric was going to be in Colorado Springs-- so we thought, "Why not, let's go down with him."  It was nice to see where he works for the weekends with the Airforce Reserves once a month.  I could've stayed home, but we wanted to be with him.

Then it was on to Texas for me to surprise my older sister, Tammy for her 40th.  All of my sisters were able to go and surprise her, help her decorate her home and finish up some projects.  Oh, and shop a little too.  It was so fun for all of us. I loved it!  I will post more pics of that too.

I am exhausted now and too lazy to put on cute pics right now. It will have to wait until after my next trip this weekend.  

Soon our lives will be back to normal, right?  We all know that is a lie!

Yummy food!

I started thinking the other day about how much I talk about liking to cook and yummy food. Well my brother (Love ya, Todd) emailed me after he browsed through our family cookbook.  He questioned if I really made all the lengthy recipes that I submitted.  I do... just not all the time.  In my search for good recipes I have found some that I love.  So since my family doesn't live with me to see my cooking... here is proof that I make some of my labor intensive recipes.  This is a new one...

Filet of Beef Piled High With Sauteed Mushrooms and Fried Leeks

The mushrooms don't actually go on the mashed potatoes, but Eric wanted an extra helping of the mushrooms.  I also wish that I had thought about taking a picture before I put the food on a totally distracting plate.  Oh well, you get the picture... good food!


P.S. This is not our healthiest of meals... we don't always eat like this... only when we want something absolutely delicious!

Blood

So somehow two of my kids got bloody noses at the same time.  Kendra was one of them.  I told you here that she bleeds dark.  Look at these two kleenexes.

It may not seem that different to you, but when you first see her bleed it is scary... and almost black!  By the way, her kleenex is the top one.  Oh and if you are wondering why we are comparing kleenexes on a blog... it is just because!

Experiments

We got eggs on the brain from Easter and somehow my hubby thought of experiments with eggs. Well we only performed one of them....

Vinegar & an Egg

We left it in there so long it became absolutely clear.  The boys wanted to squish it... so we did.  Good times!

It is not about candy!

Easter is not about candy!  Period. Yet the Easter bunny still comes.  I think I am going to boycott next year since I have kids who do this...

They get mad because they don't have as much candy as everyone else!

They check other kids baskets to make sure they don't have more candy than they do!

Then they all smile after mom threatens to take away all their candy for being ungrateful!

Easter is not about CANDY!

Easy on the Eggs!

How come I am the last to know about food coloring to dye eggs?  Everyone must know about this except me because I don't ever hear or see anyone gettin' all frazzled about going to the store and getting those egg dyeing kits--- like I did every year.  Leave it to Martha to enlighten me (Martha Stewart for those of you non-crafters, non over-top-make-you-want-to-throw-up-because-she-is-so-over-the-top-woman kind of women).  She did include... in this easter egg decorating ideas spread... all natural ways to dye eggs and a few other 

in-depth ways to decorate.  Yet she then included the easiest of all easy ways... food coloring!  I was under the impression that you had to have that little colored tablet... you know the ones that look like those plaque disclosing tablets that makes all your teeth pink if you don't brush good enough?  I'm not even sure if they give those away anymore at the dentist... and my husbands a dentist!  (Tangent, I know)  So from now on, it is food coloring all the way.  I do have to say that I missed the fizzing of the little tablet once the vinegar was added.  But convenience is key sometimes!

Isn't it interesting the difference of Kendra's fingers and Mallory's fingers.  I have decided I need to post about that so that others can understand... and so it can be documented.

Sick

Usually I would say that being sick is the worst... well it is!  Especially strep throat.  I felt it coming on late Saturday night and spent the day at home Sunday totally uncomfortable with a severe head rush headache, swallowing nails, aches and chills.  I was miserable.  So since it hurt my head to move around and hurt to eat I just sat in the family room snuggled under a blanket.  (by the way... 3 other kids got sick the rest of the week!)

I decided since it was Sunday that I would listen to church music.  I turned on my tv and my apple tv. 

 I LOVE APPLE TV!

It basically connects my computer to my tv-- I can watch my movies that I buy from itunes, listen to my songs from my computer, watch a slideshow of all my pictures stored on my tv, etc.  It is great!  So I was listening to all of my sacred music on my apple tv and then my picture library started.

I sat and watched pictures of people I loved, places we have been, beautiful creations in the world and priceless experiences... all to beautiful music.  I was mesmerized!  

And for a moment...it was worth it to be sick!

You Can Do Hard Things

At the end of February I was able to attend our Stake Conference where a new Stake Relief Society president was put in. She gave a talk where she referenced a girl who was struggling with some things that were really hard.  The girl complained to her teacher how things were hard.  Her teacher then replied... "Yes, it is hard, but YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS!"

This struck a chord with me.  I realized that a lot of times in my life I hear myself saying "This is hard".  Most of the time I hear my kids say "This is too hard."  I knew right then and there that my kids needed to learn this lesson... and I did too.

Luckily Family Home Evening was the next night so I could remember my thoughts during Stake Conference. I work well with object lessons so I asked the kids to lift our family room chair at the start of the lesson.  What was their response... "It is too hard!"  They tried... each one lifting with their might... each older child being able to barely move it a little more than the younger.  Then came Dad's turn.  Here he is showing us how it is done.

I told the kids that Dad couldn't lift that on his first try when he was young.  He has developed muscle and learned how to grasp it and balance it above his head.  It was hard at first, but in the end he could do it... because HE CAN DO HARD THINGS!

I proceeded to explain how some things may seem impossible to do in this life and they may seem too hard.  But I told them they can do hard things.. they just have to keep trying, learning, developing and relying on Heavenly Father to help them.  Will they be able to lift the chair tomorrow... no, but one day they will!

Twinners!

Fashion sisters on the same wavelength?  Or just a girl who thinks her beautiful friend put together a classic outfit that she needed to copy?

Well it would be the last one!  My dear friend Brecken is the creator of this outfit!  What are the odds that she would show up to Collin's baptism in the same outfit as me?  Well I guess it is very likely if it is easy to put together and ironed already!  Luckily our friend Erin didn't show up too.. she has these same  pieces too.

Collin

So I forgot the post for Collin that said...

8 Things I Love About Collin!

1. Collin is very witty!

2. He is so smart... he just gets things that an 8 year old shouldn't get!

3. Collin is a good friend.

4. Collin loves to pull a Bryan Reagan by calling everyone dude! (because he doesn't know their name)

5. He is not a complainer.

6. He loves to try new food--- his favorite is Sushi!

7.Collin is a looker-- I am gettin' nervous for when he gets older!

8. Collin is independent and is not afraid to do things on his own.

Loves to you, Collin!

Mallory is 10!

My Mal Gal is now 10!  

She celebrated with 6 friends and painted pottery, ate dinner and played at the park.

Ten Things I Love About Mallory

1. She is so sentimental...everything is special!

2. She is sensitive to other's needs!

3. She is still a little girl and naive.

4. She has the most beautiful BIG blue eyes.

5. She is always helpful!

6. She is very obedient!

7. She is a great big sister!

8. She is very creative and artistic.

9. She always tries her very best at whatever she does.

10. She has a great love for her Daddy-- they are close!

Two days later she celebrated with her favorite cousin, Kennedy...

by getting her ears pierced!  She was so surprised when we told her!

This is her laughing and almost giggly crying at the same time-- right after they shot her with the earrings!  My mother will be surprised that I caved so early!  I didn't get my ears pierced until I was 19!  

It was a fun time!

Yowza!

Can you say OUCH!

One split lip, 2 loose teeth, 1 bloody nose and one cut frenum later-- she is still kickin'.  Although she looks a little on the white trashy side!  Poor little girl did a face plant off of a rolley desk chair.  And I'm sure it was a scary sight to her Aunt Kendra who was babysitting-- when she bleeds it is dark, dark blood!

Don't worry, it is not the first time she has gotten beat up. Just look at this post.
And here is more proof...

Ultimate Yumminess!

Food is a passion.  And yummy food is essential to me. I have loved the fact that my hubby loves trying new places and loves exquisite food.  He also loves food I don't like (try Casa Manana & Chalo's-- sorry babe!)  It is a fun hobby for us... trying new great places.

It is a goal of mine to get better at making food that tempts me to overindulge-- not to the point of sickness, extra love handles or chubby cheeks (on both ends). But to the point of complete taste satisfaction.  The type where you eat and don't want to put anything else your mouth for fear of losing the flavor of the delectable last bite.

I experienced this the other day.  I was tempted... by C'est Chique cupcakes.  They are absolutely beautiful cupcakes.  Half of the pleasure of eating something so wonderful is just in the beauty of the food.  I, of course, could not try all the cupcakes at once.   I only ate one cupcake-- it was enough to require another trip back for that ONE cupcake.  Not that I have gone back yet... I am pacing myself... I will return for this DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE.

I ate this with a fork... it was not worth wasting a single morsel by getting it on my face trying to bite into it. 

P.S.  My goal is to replicate this somehow.  I spoke to the baker... he said their secret was extra butter, extra eggs and extra cream!  Oh and by the way-- the frosting is like mousse--not buttercream!! YUMMY!

ENJOY!

Baptism...s

It has been the month for baptisms here in Colorado.  My poor mother and father went from house to house when all these little ones were born.  Collin was born February 25th, McKayla was born February 28th, Azlyn and Sarandon were born March 20th and Cerra was born May 10th.  Now they are all being baptized within one month.

We are just missing one... baby Cerra... or I guess she is not a baby anymore.  She will be eight soon like the rest of these cute kids!  Collin's baptism was wonderful.  Lots of family and friends that packed the room.  He also had the opportunity to be baptized with a girl in our ward who's family has just become active again.  There was a choice spirit there at the meeting.

I was so afraid one of the kids would fall in. There wasn't a glass wall there to prevent this.  Luckily we all have good balance and stayed dry.

I think he looks cute... all wet!

A great treat was to have Collin's great grandma Mack there.  We loved having her come.

Harley Man

I guess it could be worse... Marlboro Man? Thankfully, it is not that.  I never thought that Eric would own a motorcycle again. He once owned a Honda Shadow to ride to school to keep our parking and commute expenses down.  Well hard times bring on hard choices.  One of our patients couldn't sell his Harley to pay for dental work.  So guess who got the Harley?  Eric wasn't crying too hard about it... it is a nice one and has been kept in pristine condition.  So I introduce to you, my Harley Man.  Doesn't he look it?  In his slacks and dress shirt?

A Well-Dressed Home Book Signing

Sweet Heather Gibb sent me all kinds of pictures and collages of the party.  It was such a success and it all turned out great!  I am excited to keep exploring doing food for parties.  It is something I love, but I worry that it will be slightly different since I am so used to doing my own parties with my own vision and expectations.  We will see how it goes.  In the meantime, enjoy some beautiful pics.

Parties are over!

So the parties have ended.  I am sad to see something so fun end, but not sad about the hustle and bustle being over with. (sigh)

I do not have any pics to post from last nights book signing-- I was a little busy.  Hopefully I will get some soon from Heather, the photographer for the evening.   We had a great turnout-- my last count was 70 women!  All wonderful women enjoying talking to Annette Tatum (designer and writer of this book The Well-Dressed Home), looking at Leslie Lewis' jewelry (sold here), enjoying photography by Heather Gibb (here), talking and looking at products from my dear friend and my esthetician, Shauna Gillespie from La Creme (email her), looking at fun house stuff from Old Glory Antiques (here) and then eating my food.  No I don't have a blog yet about my food and parties, but I hope it is coming.

Such fun!  Now on to cleaning up my forgotten house!

Oh and by the way-- I have a fabulous hubby.  I asked him to pick up something last minute from the store before the party and he came home with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  Gotta love him for thinking of me on my stressful and eventful night!  They were beautiful!  And when I came home at 11 o'clock last night-- my kitchen was absolutely clean! He is the best!

 I left all my stuff in the car and hopped right into bed... makeup on and all!  Shhh, don't tell my esthetician!

It is official (part 2)!

So it is official--- 
I am now behind again in my blogging.  Can we say SWAMPED??  My February is just too crowded with activities. But of course they are all necessary activities and some more fun than others.  Oh and why am I bloggin' when I should be makin' more desserts for an event... BECAUSE I NEED A CHANGE OF SCENERY FOR 5!

Let's start out with...

Stake Choir-- stake conference is in 2 weeks and so that means stake choir practice starts.  I'm in charge... gotta make the doughnuts, I mean gotta get the music, the announcements, the folders, the posters, the singers-- gotta get them all.  The stress of the first practice-- 13 people kindly showed on Super Bowl Sunday.  Then we learned that no one reads the ward bulletins, no one sees the signs we have put up in the foyers and people only come when they are told directly in church or emailed!  So no more wasting my time with the bulletin or the signs-- tell it to their faces!  After we did-- the choir seats were full!  THANK YOU!  Beautiful music is now being made for stake conference.

P.S. Lots of other stake music stuff going on... just to keep me busy, huh?!  Sheesh!

Next up, our annual Valentines dinner.  Every year we host a Valentines Dinner in our home for some of our closest friends.  Usually it is 5 courses, but we change it up sometimes.  Everyone comes to eat a fancy meal that my hubby and I serve to them and then it is time for the romance!  Everyone brings their favorite romantic movie clip.  I will tell you... out of the 7 (yes, I think that is right) times we have done this, we have seen some pretty interesting romantic movies.  It is fun to see what people think is romantic.  And I know what you are thinking... there are no love scenes ever shown.  This whole ordeal is always a learning process for me which is such fun!  Here is the table scape this year and some of our friends who joined us.

5 days later.... A book signing party hosted by my friend, Debbie Jenson.  The lady who wrote the book is celebrity designer Annette Tatum. The book is called The Well Dressed Home-- the premise is you know your style of clothing and fashion--use that in your home.  It should be a great event. But why is it making my life busy?  Debbie asked me to do the food!  I was excited and am right now in the midst of making desserts and more desserts for what she called a "divine dessert bar".  Well I hope it is divine.   So many people have been invited and we are hoping for a grand showing.  Here is some tidbits of what I am making along with the mess!

After that... To TEXAS for a day (24th)! Gotta get my teeth worked on.  It will be short, sweet (not the teeth adjustment) and to the point.


Then finally it is Stake Conference on the 28th!

AND I'm supposed to be running in a 1/2 marathon in almost a month and I am not ready-- due to the fact that I have been staying up late to prepare for these events and therefore don't want to get up early to run.  My loving friends forced me to run it with them... what kind of friends do that, you say?  MINE!  Love them, but might disappoint them with my walking or dying along the trail.  More news after the race!

In the midst of all this I am trying (not successfully) to keep house (my cleaning lady is lazy right now), take care of the kids business (dance class, piano, basketball, school and church), keep my hubby happy (sometimes this is easy! He He He!) and get a little me time in.

Oh the busy-ness of life... ain't it grand?