New Year/New Do

First the OLD hair cut...not bad, I kinda liked it! I thought she did too, look at her posing for the camera.

Taken earlier today.
<<-------








Yep, another one gets the scissors! Actually she had some help from her "experienced" sister.

Such a shame.
Such pretty curly tresses,
gone, gone, gone...for a long time.

Now I have a girl with a mullet! ----->>>

Not very Princessey!

I hope I can find someone open whose cutting hair on New Years Day.

I thought when Brianna cut her hair she had learned the scissor lesson, but I guess not since she was helping her sister with the parts she couldn't reach.

This time they cut part of the bang area to the scalp. That will take a little while before it's back! The length will take longer though.

Oh so sad, I cried this time! I'm thinking of having her wear a bandanna, or head band till it grows back.




Out with the OLD, in with the NEW ...seems to be our 2009 motto.

Twas the Night before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas, and all though the Porter house, all the children sat still (oh my gosh that's unbelievable!). For Daddy was reading from the scriptures the birth story of Christ. With hot-chocolate in hand and a warm bath just past, it wouldn't be long till all the kids would finally crash, Mamma proclaiming "at long Last!!"

Then out crept the Elves and got the tree and gifts ready for the next day's events. Just before 1 am the Elf's eyes started to close, not like the nights long ago when they stayed up to see Santa arrive. Soon the visions of Christmas will just be dreams in their heads, when they'll be hearing "wake up Mom, wake up Dad!"

We hope everyone has a joyous Christmas.

**A special shout out to those that made Christmas extra special this year! Thank you for your gifts! They are well received!

Reunited and it feels so good

Greg has finally been reunited with his luggage! :-)

It was a terrible mess of bags everywhere at the airport.*

We showed up a little early to try and sort out the luggage situation before Greg landed to speed up the process. They wouldn't let us go into the room where these bags (see picture above) were, but there were plenty of bags to check out around the carousel still unclaimed from earlier flights.

We spent a little time searching, but couldn't find his bags (because I forgot to make sure they stood out from the rest of the bags that look just like ours). Lots of "Black/Dark Blue" bags.

Wouldn't you know it, his bags were actually in the above pictured room we couldn't go into unless we had a baggage claim ticket. Not sure what the difference between those in the picture and the ones just lying around for the taking. Good to know Greg's bags were safe.

Still, it was the fastest pick-up at the airport where check-on bags were involved.

He ended up getting on an earlier flight than originally planned today. We weren't expecting him home until after 7 pm, but picked him up shortly after 3 pm. He didn't want to jinx it so he waited until the flight was taxiing from the gate to use the last little bit of charge on his phone.

"Flight 1475, leaving now, not sure when it lands in Vegas. Got to go. See you soon."
Good thing I knew the flight was at least three hours.

Everyone is glad to have Daddy home,
especially Mommy!
I think Greg is happiest to finally be home.

* Las Vegas Airport was closed to incoming and outgoing traffic from about 4 yesterday until sometime this morning. Many stranded fliers (some slept at airport), tons of unclaimed luggage. Crazy SNOW!!

Final drum roll please...

Greg's Medical Evaluation Board convened today and offered him 10% for his knee* with severance and separation from the Air Force. He accepted.** His next step is to go to the Veterans Administration Office locally and they rate him on all his current medical problems/disabilities occurring while in the service of the United States. This will determine how much he will get as a disabled Veteran from the VA. He had an appointment with them last month and they went over his medical history and came up with seven ratable items. His knee injury will carry over with 10%, Sleep Apnea brings in 50%, and then five other things that we don't know the rates yet. If the VA rates him at 100% then he is considered retired which is a good thing (not exactly sure how it all works out but I think it involves paying for additional schooling). HOWEVER, it takes the VA at least six months to get all the paper work done...so we will be glad for the severance package to help out during the upcoming months.

But it ain't over till the fat lady sings... they said not to be surprised if we are still in the Air Force until February because the paperwork from the ME Board still has one more stop to get an official stamp. If there is any one thing we have learned from all this: EVERYTHING in the military takes TIME. Hurry up and wait!! We just hope his commander will be kind enough to allow Greg to fill out the proper paperwork to allow him to work outside the military if a job comes up before he is "officially" separated.

Today has been a long day for both Greg and I, starting with a 4am phone call from him sharing some concerns before the board convened. Then after the decision was made he thought he would try his luck at getting back to Vegas earlier than planned. I'm not sure what lesson he is to learn from all this but his luck was not so good. He did get an earlier flight to Dallas but the connecting flight to Vegas was over booked with 30 people on standby. He got a ticket booked for the next flight which still would have been earlier than the original flight, but it got cancelled from the weather in Vegas***. Then the airport announced that all flights to Vegas had been cancelled until Thursday afternoon. The earliest they can get him home is 7 pm. But we have good news, his bags might have made it to Las Vegas!! Poor guy, what an ordeal.

* The military only rates the disability which causes separation from the military. Sleep Apnea no longer is a kickable disability, therefore there is no rate to offer the service man at separation.

** Greg is a gambling man, but sometimes a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush especially when those birds are already for flight and the mere glance from the hunter. Accepting is a better thing for our family at this time. It might have played out very badly for him if he re-enlisted and got separated without severance. I don't think I'd make it very far on "Deal or No Deal."

*** While we were enjoying the rarely seen beautiful snow falling we did not know it would delay the time we would see Daddy. No need to spoil all the fun!

Dreaming of a White Birthday

Today was Kaitlynn's third birthday. What a lucky girl, she got snow on her birthday! Although I've been hearing others talk of snow in Vegas we hadn't really seen any until today. As usual, it didn't stay around long at least where we live.

There must be something big expected because all of the flights Greg has attempted to get home have all been canceled. He is scheduled to be home tomorrow evening, cross our fingers it will happen then. There is news that they might be closing school tomorrow as well.

I love snow, how pretty it makes everything...not the cold, airport cancellations, or school cancellations (except when I was a kid and got out of school, now as an adult it is a whole new story!).

An angel among us

There are angels that live among us! I know because one lives down the street. I will not mention names, because sometimes she reads my blog. Not that I don't want her to know I know she is an angel, but because she would argue and say she is just an ordinary person like the rest of us.

This angel of mine (not that I can claim her as mine, for she is an angel of many) is very close to Heavenly Father and he whispers in her ear often. She listens and uses her hands to do his will. She goes above and beyond in her service of others.

I believe there are others, but this angel is on my mind right now and I want her to know I love her. She lets me know that Heavenly Father loves me enough to send her to me.

The attached song is for her.

Angels Among Us - Alabama

I almost got it.

There is a tradition in my ward where the Relief Society Women have a "white elephant gift" exchange, it is tons of fun. A sister, back in 2000, gifted 2 sconces that look like they came from the 70's or some era long forgotten. Every year the "lucky" recipient of these sconces is to put their family name on the back and make sure to bring them the next year. It has been fun to see the responses of the past recipients and over the past few years the sconces have even been stolen from the first person who opened it. So was the case this year. Only this year I was not just viewing the "fun" but actually picked the box that housed the sconces! I'm not sure if I looked happy or not. I think my first thought was "OH, LUCKY ME!!" sarcastically. I then was thinking that it might be a good thing to get it since this might be my last year to be able to put my name on the back and subsequently "live on" (even if only in name) in the ward. And just as I was resigned, no, excited to have the honor...my dear sweet ex-visiting teaching companion went and took it from me! Her family name had not been on the back either. My next gift got stolen as well. It was a fun night.

This following picture is Elizabeth who accompanied me to the RS Christmas party at the a fore mentioned sweet ex-visiting teaching companion/host's home. Her tree was absolutely beautiful, and Elizabeth could not help touching the reachable ornaments.

Don't ask

Here is a snack Brianna "cooked" up.
Ritz crackers and faux fruit loops.
I didn't try them, but I have to give her an A++ for presentation!

Mother(s) Nature

Last month I came across this sight,
my ARTIFICIAL tree had started losing it's leaves.

??!!??

Strange!

Until it occurred to me...
Three inquisitive girls + tree = Mother(s) Nature.
Like the potato commercial "you can't stop with just one!"

I had to take a picture to blog.
Then it happened again.
Poor tree!

The kids wonder why the Christmas tree hasn't been put up yet...

Thanksgiving UPDATE

Although we have lots to be thankful for we will not be knowing the outcome of Greg's medical board hearing this Thanksgiving after all. They postponed his appearance till the week of December 15th. Hopefully by the end of that week we will have a decision. Until then we will plug through one day after the other, at least it's another known paycheck or two.

My mom sent me the following story and some kernels of corn for our children to have a visual of the history of Thanksgiving.

The Five Kernels of Corn

When the pilgrims came to America the merchants that had organized and funded the endeavor stipulated that they had to live a form of communism, every man working for the common good and food and clothing provided from the common stores. The land and houses were to be the joint property of the merchants and colonists for seven years (the biblical number that a man could be held in slavery) and then divided equally. If ever communism were to be possible, it would have been in this group who truly loved one another and were dedicated to each other's welfare. Then came a disastrous "starving time" when the daily ration from the common store was reduced to five kernels of corn a day. With the death of their good pastor, the new governor, William Bradford saw that bold decisive action was needed. As he wrote in his History:

... after much debate of things, the Governor gave way that they should set corn every man for his own particular and in that regard trust in themselves. The experience that was had in this common course and condition tried sundry years and that amongst godly and sober men, may well evince the vanity and conceit of Plato and other ancients...that the taking away of property and bringing in communism into a commonwealth would make them happy and flourishing as if they were wiser than God. For this communism was found to breed much confusion and discontentment, and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort."

The new arrangement worked well. When it was their own property and they understood that they would benefit from their labors, even the little children went willingly with their parents to help set the corn and tend to it. The change in their circumstance was remarkable! The first thanksgiving was instituted to give thanks to the Lord for his bounteous blessings. With the trestles groaning with food, and savory aromas tickling their noses, for the first course the feasters found on each plate five kernels of corn. You may imagine the intense feelings of gratitude as they listened to the blessing on the food. May we be grateful, also.

Happy Thanksgiving!

God Bless America! my humble request

At this HISTORICAL day in time (as per the hype), I would like to acknowledge that I do have my fears for what is to come but that I also have peace in knowing I can trust in the Lord. He has promised many things in the scriptures that came to my anxious mind to calm my troubled heart.

Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever. (2 Nephi 1:7)

And I said unto them, that it should be granted unto them according to their faith in their prayers; yea, and this was their faith—that my gospel, which I gave unto them that they might preach in their days, might come unto their brethren the Lamanites, and also all that had become Lamanites because of their dissensions. Now, this is not all—their faith in their prayers was that this gospel should be made known also, if it were possible that other nations should possess this land; and thus they did leave a blessing upon this land in their prayers, that whosoever should believe in this gospel in this land might have eternal life; yea, that it might be free unto all of whatsoever nation, kindred, tongue, or people they may be. (D&C 10:47—52)

Wherefore, I will consecrate this land unto thy seed, and them who shall be numbered among thy seed, forever, for the land of their inheritance; for it is a choice land, saith God unto me, above all other lands, wherefore I will have all men that dwell thereon that they shall worship me, saith God. (2 Nephi 10:18—19) May we all remember the Lord is a jealous God, we are to have NO OTHER GODS before him.

I will continue to pray fervently that the leader and we the people of this Nation will strive to be righteous, that God may continue to Bless America!

I did, how about you?

Here's the proof, and the lucky penny I found on my way to the voting booth. Should be a good sign, but a prayer is more reliable.

Answer to "Name that Porter Baby" post

Brianna was the correct answer (I'll find a way of getting your prize to you if you guessed correctly). Congratulations!

I know my babies look alike. Grammy Morgan said it best when she sent a letter congratulating me on one of my babies and asked if I had a mold for making carbon copy babies. Good thing they were given different hair color. I'd never be able to tell pictures apart.

No school tomorrow = Staying up late

Tonight Joe announces that he can stay up as long as he wants. Want to know why? Tomorrow is no school (teacher development day)! I think this is fine by me, after all he will sleep in later, right?

This is the sight I see at 8:30...just had to laugh. In all fairness, without the time change it would have been 9:30. And that's pretty late for a seven year old.

Does this mean he'll be up before 6 as usual?

Thanksgiving Day (a big deal at our house this year)!

Greg will be reporting to the Lackland AFB (Texas) for the Medical Board on the 21st of this month. Every thing is moving along slowly. I thought he would be reporting sooner than this, but as with most things in the military, it takes time. Now for the bad news, well not so bad as a little disappointing. He will be gone over a weekend (don't know why they would do this, it costs more for hotels and such). We are hoping he will get seen by Wednesday so he can get home for Thanksgiving dinner. They may have to fly him back to Las Vegas on the most traveled day of the year (probably pretty pricey too). I don't know why that bothers me, the military will pick up the tab on everything. Before he leaves the board will give their decision. At least we will know right away and not have to wait any longer for the decision (except for me, I'll have to wait for the phone call). Waiting is not fun for either of us. It wreaks havoc on our complexions.

He might also have a job interview in Elko, NV the week before. We still haven't been contacted with exact dates and times, just the possibilities. But, it would be good to have options before learning his fate with the military. We all feel better having back-up plans.

So, this Thanksgiving there may be much rejoicing and thanksgiving in the Porter house. Stay tuned (if waiting doesn't cause you complexion issues).

Mini Grand Prix & a Chihuahua?

What do a Mini Grand Prix and a Chihuahua have in common?? Parent/child dates.

My husband and I started a one-on-one date with our kids this Saturday. This is a family tradition I should have started a long time ago. We have four children and usually four Saturdays in a month, perfect! Joe and his dad went to the mini grand prix. Brianna and I went to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua. What fun times. It was nice to only have one child to focus on while doing something we knew they would enjoy. I know the boys had fun too, my husband reported back to my mom about the experience.

I think it is important to get that one on one time with each child and am looking forward to all of my future dates.

Tagged again! Yea!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:57 am, to wake up my husband who was using my phone as an alarm which apparently didn't work because he wasn't up.
2. Diamonds or pearls? Gosh, I’d do both if I could afford them.
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Fireproof your marriage, highly recommend it to all married couples and those thinking of getting married.
4. What is your favorite TV show? Don’t get me started, Monday I watch HEROES.
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? On a good day, breakfast burrito (McD’s)
6. What is your middle name? I wasn’t given one at birth, so I took my maiden at marriage. I always wanted to be Delvonna Marie. All my girls have middle names! One even got Marie.
7. What food do you dislike? It changes with my moods.
8. What is your favorite CD at moment? Don’t really have one.
9. What kind of car do you drive? Toyota Sienna, the mom mobile!
10. Favorite sandwich? BLT
11. What characteristics do you despise? People who use their charisma to sell wickedness.
12. Favorite item of clothing? Non-maturnity and sliming!
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? I’d like to try Hawaii.
14. Favorite brand of clothing? I don’t have one, but if it is (see answer to question 12) then I'll love it.
15. Where would you retire to? Somewhere with a great climate and four seasons.
16. What was your most memorable birthday? So many to remember, probably 21, my friends threw me an “Old maid” party.
17. Favorite sport to watch? Not a big "watching" sports fan.
18. When is your birthday? August 4 mark it in your calendar! JK
19. Are you a morning person or a night person? I think I feel better before laying down.
20. What is your shoe size? 6, I used to be a 5 ½ before kids.
21. Pets? Not at this time
22. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share with us? Not at this time, waiting to see how Greg’s military career will go.
23. What did you want to be when you were little? A Mommy
24. What is your favorite candy? Reese’s peanut butter cups
25. What is your favorite flower? Orchids and Rose buds.
26. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Friday, the 31st, pay day
27. What are you listening to right now? Brianna begging for a cookie. 28. What was the last thing you ate? The cookie Brianna was begging for.
29. Do you wish upon stars? Sometimes
30. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Burgundy and Purple
31. How is the weather right now? Warmer than I’d like for end of October, but it is Las Vegas!
32. The first person you spoke to on the phone today? My sister, Rose.
33. Favorite soft drink? Coke, I know...repent
34. Favorite restaurant? Olive Garden
35. What was your favorite toy as a child? Certainly not a Barbie, my mom wouldn’t let me have one, but if I would have had one it would have my favorite!
36. Summer or winter? Summer, until I moved to Vegas...here I like winter.
37. Hugs or kisses? That is a tough one, but I really do love kisses from my baby 38. Chocolate or Vanilla? Are those my only choices? Cherry
39. Coffee or tea? Just the smell of coffee makes me want to hurl. Especially when I was prego.
40. Do you want your friends to email you back? Of course.
41. When was the last time you cried? I got pretty teary in the movie I saw last…see question 3
42. What is under your bed? Alien dust bunnies! Baby shoes and other storage things.
43. What did you do last night? Caught up on a program I was behind on.
44. What are you afraid of? Not being able to choose for myself, losing my freedom because the majority didn’t see bondage coming.
45. Salty or sweet? Sweet and Salty
46. How many keys on your key ring? 1
47. How many years at your current job? How old is Joe? Seven years. 48. Favorite day of the week? It’s always been Friday, I was born on a Friday.
49. How many towns have you lived in? Military Brat, we’ve moved a lot. I’m going to say about 10 off hand.
50. Do you make friends easily? I enjoy making acquaintances, I have few close friends.

Now I tag Christy, Stacey, and Jennifer.

Name this Porter baby

Ok, so for those of you that can get this one right there will be a prize, I just haven't thought of it yet.

Can you tell which of my four children this is...I'll even give you a hint: This beautiful baby weighed over 8lbs at birth (that only rules out one of the four). You ask for another hint?? Ok, ok, twist my arm. Since the picture is in black and white and you might not be able to tell...this one doesn't have red hair. Now, if I give any more hints it wouldn't be fair.

Good luck to all that try, even mom and dad have trouble telling these two beauty's pictures apart.

Under My Umbrella

Under My Umbrella - Rihanna

Today we went to Katie's very fun Fairy Birthday Party.

"Itty-Bitty" went as the Binky Fairy but quickly found a replacement...

Candy!

Learning new things

I've decided to teach myself a few photo editing techniques. This of course means time away from other things I should be doing. What I need to learn is how to balance them all...

hmmm, no, I want to play.

Here are a few color on black and white I worked on tonight.

I'm in trouble now

I went to my friend Stacey's Creative Memories party a few days ago and got my purchase today. I'm so excited!! I will be able to do some really cool digital scrapbooking things! Honestly I was a little envious of how she "took-off" on her blogging. She will still blow me out of the water because she is just way more creative than I am, but now I have some "HELP." I'm sure if I sat down and really played with paint.net I could figure out how to do some fun stuff, but who has time to do that! This will just make my life a little easier (on the computer doing scrapbooking things anyway). Now if I could just find a program that would cook and clean!

Here is a sample of my practice run...it will get better.

Thanks Stacey (and Kendra Coffey, the Creative Memories consultant)!

Long awaited news

Well, today Greg got the military medical board's decision. Not good. They are offering him a severance with a 10% rating for his knee. Nothing like the retirement he was expecting. He was seeing red once they offered it to him. He also said he felt like they had left him in the middle of a battle with no help or backup (true military man!). He has until Friday to accept or reject the offer, of course he will reject it. Then he will head to Air Force headquarters in Texas, next week, to appeal, then wait again for another offer. We hope it will drag out till he has been in the military 16 years (November 22nd).

The advice he has received so far is to fight it, take it as far as he can. They are not offering any compensation for his sleep apnea which we feel they should but they say is something the VA will deal with. We believe it is brought on from his knee injury and should be grouped with the decision.

I am still in shock myself. Even his commander feels they are not doing good by him. "Thanks for your service/commitment to your country, sorry you got hurt, here's some 'insult to injury' money, good luck in life, bye-bye."

I do have to say that he is way better off than some of the people who get really injured in the line of defense, I wonder what they have to go through to get what they get. The husband of a friend of mine died a week after the military finally admitted that the cancer he had was in fact from Agent Orange. There was no time to fill out the paperwork for any compensation before he passed away. She only get's 1/2 his retirement as his survivor and no compensation for the Agent Orange connection to his death. The military only payed 80% of his medical bills, and his treatment was very expensive.

Yeah, we'll appeal and see where that goes. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers. God is good and will provide once we do all we can.

Rant: Something is seriously wrong with the current set-up where the guys who really keep this country safe for democracy get paid/compensated crap, while the politicians make sure their own future is well taken care of and most of them have never served in the military. It would be one thing if they (the politicians) fought to keep the country "free" from enemies foreign and domestic, but it just seem that they are lining their pocket books (and those of their friends) with tax payers hard earned money, or selling the country to the highest international banker.

Semi side note: Greg is a three time war veteran and has been deployed more than he cares to remember (once would be enough for most of us to have nightmares and a new found appreciation for what we have here in the safety of our homes). I know there are others who have similar or even worse stories, but the long term effect it has on their lives should be better compensated!

Humbled by children

Today I have been humbled by my children.

I have been attempting to read the scriptures together with my children (as a family) which is hard when you have really little children and are doing it by yourself. I haven't been as diligent as I should be, and honestly have been feeling very overwhelmed. However, tonight Brianna came into the living room and told me it was time for scriptures. I told her to gather the other kids. She ran down the hallway singing, "It's time for scriptures!"

My heart was full and my spirit humbled.

We read, tonight, in the Book of Mormon, where Lehi felt it was important for his children to be brought up in the way they should go, and that they would not depart from it. And that because of his blessing to the children of his disobedient sons, they had the opportunity to not pay for the sins of their fathers. What a blessing!

I am feeling the weight of the spiritual upbringing of my children very strongly right now. Joseph is quickly approaching the age of accountability and I want him to be ready for the decisions he will be making in the coming years. He is one of my biggest hurdles when it comes to scripture time. I asked him five times to sit and not stand up and down on the couch. I disciplined improperly and impatiently tonight. He needs the role model of his father.

We are blessed through our children despite ourselves. I am grateful for mine. I am humbled tonight for I do not feel worthy to raise these precious spirits. What was the Lord thinking when he assigned them to me?!

I am walking away from tonight with a new resolve to continue in my pursuit of scripture reading together. Heaven bless these little ones.

Stop over

My brother Calvin, and his beautiful wife, came for a visit on their way back to Oregon from Mississippi. The kids had a blast visiting Red Rock Canyon, and a couple of other parks. Brianna couldn't get enough of her Aunt Becca. Calvin had to tell her that Becca was his kissing toy, not that that stopped my sweet kiss monster. Calvin and Rebbecca are alway teasing each other about who Brianna loves the most. This visit Calvin asked Brianna and she told him she loved Becca more. Ouch, but really, don't ask a question if you're not ready for the answer. I think he took it in stride and found another willing admirer in Kaitlynn who told him about 20 times in the car that she loved him.


They are a sweet couple. It was Calvin's first time meeting Elizabeth. They hit it off just fine. Although he did try feeding her to a dinosaur at the park...

One of every color

While getting my military ID extended a lady next to me wanted to chat.

Lady: "You have one of every color, don't you"?

Me: "Yes, I do, and they all have the same father"!

Lady: "I think you are one of the first people to talk back to me, most people ignore me".

Me: "I know, Vegas is a difficult town for making friends. What made me more approachable"?

Lady: "Well, you don't have your arms folded in front of your body for one thing".

Me: "So, if I did this," folding my arms, " you wouldn't have talked to me"?

Lady: "Yes, it's all in the body language".

She was so approachable my red head came up and pointed to her arm where she had a tattoo of a cartoon like bunny.

Red: "What's that"?

Lady: "That is dumb, dumb, dumb. Can you say that"?

I love that there are people who are fine with themselves and can make fun of the silly choices they've made in life. She said she got the tattoo when she was 14-15 and hid it from her mom for 3 years, just making sure to put a sweater on every time her mom came around. Once her mom saw it she told her that one day she would be a grandma and her bunny would sag with her skin and she could make it hop. She is still trying to get the bunny to hop. Her skin was not yet sagging though, maybe in a few years.

She was a very nice lady and helped the hour and a half wait time to go by pleasantly. She had two "Kyle Bush" m&m bracelets she had made for some other little girls, who had since gone, that she gave the girls to play with. Later she ended up giving it to the 'one of every color' girls.

What's going on, What's going on?

So, it looks like this is becoming a once a monthly blog now.

Update: We are currently about three weeks out from knowing if Greg will be medically retired or just medically released from the Air Force. We really want to be retired. Greg's re-enlistment date as come and past (Sept - 29), we have been given a three month extension on our IDs and medical coverage. Greg is currently looking to line up work for when he is retired/released.

I have been trying to de-clutter the house (this is a really hard job for me!). I can now officially get rid of all little baby toys, but they are so cute... This is my problem with everything. What if I need it one day? I admire the home-maker who's house is in order with only a drawer/room of clutter.

I have been working on my kids to understand that if they bring something out, they need to put it away, in the designated spot so they can find it the next time. I had baskets for gathering, thinking that would make it easier on cleaning up time, but they ended up being for their storage. They seldom put things back where they are supposed to, and then I get the never ending question, "mom, where is ____"? To which my reply, "I don't really know, I didn't play with it, maybe if you would have put it away where it is supposed to go you'd be able to find it now". I feel like a broken record! I think this must be a never ending job, like dishes, laundry, and cleaning.

Funny how we find ourselves saying the very same thing our parents did when we were growing up.

That's it for now, "LIFE," maybe I'll come up with something fun to post soon.

Busy August

Gosh, so much to catch up on!

First there was my birthday, the big ## (did you really think I would reveal my age?). I don't like getting older after all, I think I'd really like this machine my son keeps talking about inventing where you can go back to a younger age. I'm not sure what age I'd pick but I'm sure I'd like to go a "little" younger, oh, but I'd like all the things I have now like my kids and my husband.

My in-laws visited for a week just days after the water heater was fixed (thank Heavens!!). It might be the last time they could come to Vegas and have a free room to stay in, and see their grandchildren to boot.

We went to my family reunion in Malad, Idaho. What fun that was! And only a little family drama. We were missing only a few of our family members, my brother Ben, my brother Calvin and his wife. We try to meet every year to celebrate the life of my brother Lachoneus, who died when he was 17, we call it "Lakie Day." This year we had all of the 13 grandchildren in attendance. Unfortunately we did not get any pictures of the whole family.

My little Elizabeth was the "baby bully," she may be the youngest but she is for sure the biggest and the meanest (but she really isn't mean, she's just very aggressive with her love)! She is one of the luckiest cousins around, she has three cousins born just two months before her (Jessi's little Zeke, and Zeb's twins, Elliot and Otto). Otto and Elliot got to the point where just seeing Elizabeth coming was enough to make them cry (in unison), I can't wait till next year when they will get her back.

Then we had my my Dad, my sister Rose and her two, Eamonn and Fiona, stay with us for a few days before we went to my cousin Traci's wedding in California. Her wedding was very beautiful up in the hills at Palos Verdes Estates overlooking the ocean. The wedding lasted six hours, only 4 of which we stayed for...kids don't do too well after 9pm.















There was a lot of waiting around after the ceremony and before dinner, during which time my children made the best of it.


Funny story: A couple were sitting and betting on which one of the kids would fall into the fountain first. Not pictured in above photo: Joe (wearing blue).

Me: "What's the bet?"

Gentleman: "I've got $100 on the boy in blue going in first."

Me: "Who's putting up?"

Gentleman: "My wife."

Me, to the wife: "Might as well pay out now. My bet's on the boy too!"

Although no one fell in we had quite the time trying to pry them away from the beautiful fountain. I can't wait to see if the photographers got any good ones of Elizabeth touching the water with her momma holding a foot to make sure she didn't go face first into the pond. Every time I would try and get her away someone else with a camera would say, "Just one more?"Even one of the flower girls and bride's mother partook of the cool water.

Joseph and Elizabeth had birthdays, posts for them later.

That's it for now. I told you it was busy. One more California picture:

My First "Tag"

I've never been 'tagged' before, but I was surprisingly pleased when I saw I had been in a friend's blog. Thanks Heidi!

1. How long have you been married? 8 years! Where has the time gone?
2. Who eats more sweets? The kids by far.
3. Who said I love you first? I'm sure it was me.
4. How old is he? 34, I started the new celebrity trend of marrying younger men!
5. Who is taller? Greg (by at least a foot)
6. Who is smarter? I'm a woman, who do you think is smarter? JK
7. Who can sing better? You'd have to ask an innocent bystander (but why would you want to hurt an innocent bystander?).
8. Who does the laundry? Me, loads and loads.
9. Who pays the bills? Me.
10. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? We both do...wink, oh you said sleep. Me
11. Who mows the lawn? What lawn, we live in VEGAS baby, our HOA doesn't allow grass in the front and we have rock in the back as well.
12. Who cooks dinner? Cook? We both do, he's a great cook!Who drives? He does if we are on a trip, I do if we are in Vegas traffic. He doesn't want to drive the mini-van around town too much.
13. Who kissed who first? He did, but I didn't turn away.
14. Who asked who out? I had an offer with his military friend that if he ever had any "single friends" come to town I'd show them around. Greg was the first and last. After the first date we both knew.
15. Who has more siblings? Me, I have 7; he has 3 half siblings.
16. Who wears the pants? I'm the only one who wears a skirt/dress if that answers your question.

Now I tag Stacey, Jennifer, and Jessica.

Thats Done, What's Next!

We have our garage repaired and our water heater installed (we really only went without hot water for a couple of days until a temporary hook-up was done). So far everything has run very smoothly, having insurance is a good thing. Sometimes it is hard to make the payment when money gets tight, but oh how much more tight it would be when disaster strikes! And this one really wasn't too bad (I say that because I haven't seen the invoice yet).

It is good to not have the hole in the wall, now if I can get all the cracks inside the house fixed! We asked if the company could give us an estimate on cosmetically fixing a few things. The gentleman that fixed the wall came in to get a look. He shook his head at one of the "problem" areas and said that it would be really hard to give a dollar amount until he "got up there and took down the ceiling." And it would take a "few" days for the stuff he could see.

PHHHH, heavy sigh.

I am feeling the economy's pinching a little more right now with Greg's pending release from the military. He told me yesterday that it took his buddy a year to get his retirement check after he was medically released.

Never a good sign

We were on our way out to grab some lunch with a friend when the kids came back in to tell me Kaitlynn was standing in some warm water. I immediately thought she had pee'd her pants and was getting ready to change her clothes so we could get on our way. It wasn't pee, and it was HOT water.

Yep, that's the Fire & Water Cleanup and Restoration truck! Nope, no fire, just a busted water heater (I guess it's time, ours is about 12 years old if put in when the house was built). Time or not it wasn't convenient for us, but is any disaster? So, we are seriously thinking it is time to get one of those home warranty programs. We've already replaced the dishwasher, now the water heater. With our luck the next thing to go is the A/C, which would not be a pretty thing for me and the kids here in HOT Vegas! Does anyone know of a good company they could recommend?
It did some water damage (could only have been leaking for about 2-3 hours). But, we will have a new water heater that we can add to the great new amenities of our house when we sell. Plus, if I have it my way, a home warranty to sweeten the deal.

Basket Fun

I recently found out Elizabeth can put things into baskets, I was so excited to have another hand to help out around the house with all the toys that seem to find their way onto the floor.

Today I found her taking a few toys out of the basket to replace them with a bigger toy.

My children never cease to entertain me.

Out and about

This is from our outing to the Las Vegas Natural History Museum with the Clement girls. Joe and Brianna read enough books to receive a free pass each from the Aliante Library. Got to love the summer reading programs at the library(s)!! They ran out of the swimming passes, but hopefully they'll get more in soon.