family pics and concert

we had our family pictures taken this weekend. they turned out quite well! i was happy!! here are the kiddos
here is me and the boys
dad and the girls
silly and gorgeous girls
our awesome family pic that i enlarged and put on the wall in the living room
our concert was friday and saturday. we got a standing ovation half way through, when the full choir sang together, from the 4 year olds, up to the adults. we don't fit on stage, so the adults were all the way around the hall. it was awesome!! here is tat and i waiting to go on.
gorgeous rebekah, all dolled up and ready to perform.
me and bekah. my good friend rebecca (whose husband is caleb, go figure!!) did our hair, and my makeup. she has been such a blessing!! and her sweet baby doesn't hurt either!!
i'm never happy with pics of myself, but here i am, in all my stage makeup!
i finished my classes yesterday, with a final and a web post. hallelujah!! i've never been so happy to end a semester! now just ten more credits to go.
we put up our christmas tree, and found that half the lights had burned out. same with the outside ones. what is it with lights this year?? so after a quick run to the store, it is looking festive in here. i love christmastime!! nathan doesn't though, it means extra hours away from home, and driving more monotonous routes. we gave ourselves early christmas/anniversary presents, and upgraded our phones to the new iphone 4. we are very excited, and are still figuring them out!!

frustration

man, this has been an uber frustrating time in my life. i have gotten a huge blessing, and had the dizzy spells associated with my headaches subside. it's been over 2 months now, which is AWESOME!! now, if i could just kick the headaches altogether. i had been doing good for a long time, then last saturday, i got hit with one, and it has just come and gone day and night all week. blah. i woke up with it today, worse than ever. i got a blessing from my awesome hubby and father in law, and was able to rest finally, this morning. i've just been frustrated with the whole, not going away, factor. blah.

i am in online classes, and am doing pretty well. i got my geology grade back up, and am happy with it, and my religions class. but this communications class, that is the accelerated, 8 week course. blah. it is kicking my butt. and not because i am having a hard time with the work. i'm not. it is because my teacher lacks the ability to communicate, then penalizes for it. she gives us super detailed instructions, but not very clear. then, when we ask her to clarify, she says it is all in the info we already have!! aaaaaahhh!!! obviously not, or we wouldn't be asking!! i have been working on a group project with 5 other people. everything has been fine, and we turned in our first portion. we got it back, with a zero, because the heading wasn't right. seriously?!?!? i understand the importance of following her directions, but seriously? i am getting a bad grade because a guy in our group forgot to cc everyone's addresses into the top? does that seem asinine to anyone else?? sorry, i needed to vent, i guess. thankfully, we will be done in 2 weeks. then, blessed winter break!!

our concerts are this weekend, and i am super excited. we sound better with every week that goes by, and i thought we were awesome last year. we have grown in ranks, by leaps and bounds. we were almost to 200 last year, and this year we are pushing 250, and most of that is guys!! hallelujah!! rebekah's group has grown tremendously as well, and i love sharing this with her! it is amazing to be part of such an inspiring, amazing organization. i love it!!

well, we survived the black friday shopping madness, and i finished all of our christmas shopping. i love that. and i didn't break the bank, though the kids won't be getting as much as they are used to. i think it is good for them, right? :)

busy bee

ok, so i thought that taking online classes would be a fun, albeit challenging, undertaking. i have had the hardest time this semester!! i feel so scatterbrained and unable to figure out and follow deadlines, and the simplest directions look like a foreign language!! at the beginning of the semester, i was hit with a whopping dizzy episode, but since then, i haven't had one. so that is a huge blessing. i am in world religions, which is actually very enjoyable and i am learning a lot. i had to read a very thought provoking book and go talk to my professor about it. (these are online classes, and i hadn't been to campus in a long time! eek!!) i am also taking geology of arizona. now, i thought this was going to be my easy ride class. rocks, what's so hard about that??? ha. a lot!! we don't have a book, so i thought it would be a cake walk. boy was i wrong!! we have a powerpoint with 20-50 slides each week we have to go over, an activity involving 5 or 6 puzzles with questions about the material, a supplemental reading and a quiz for each week. i pretty much had this part under control, but was not doing super well. the part that threw me, was the special activities due every 3 weeks for the first part of the semester. i had the dates wrong in my head, and like i said, can't seem to look at a planner. i missed the first 2 completely!! by the time i realized my mistakes, i had a 43 in the class!! i emailed my professor asking if i should bother continuing with the class or just drop it. he advised me to do better, and not miss any more assignments, and i would be fine with a b or c. that isn't failing, so i agreed. it has been much better since i got my head on straight. now, those 2 classes were for the whole semester, but i thought it would be fun to test my sanity and throw in small group communications for the second 8 weeks. oh my. it has required so much more work and time than i even thought i had!! i am spending an average of 4-6 hours a DAY on the laptop for these classes. i am so behind in my housework it is not even funny. rachel is enjoying all of the tv and computer time, but the older kids are starting to get annoyed when i have done NOTHING but homework all day. sheesh. add in the kids activities, choir, and being ward choir director, and you have a busy bee for a mommy!!

my baby got baptized

of course, i always post pictures in backwards order. but here is the whole family after rebekah's baptism.
rebekah with her baptism blanket made my grandma gresko

bekah and her daddy
rebekah with mom and dad
rebekah the sweet

so i was unprepared for the experiences we had yesterday. i was expecting a little bit of a hectic day, hard to feel the spirit of what was happening in my baby girl's life. it was so much more than that. we wanted to perform the ordinance when everyone could be there, so we went for in between conference sessions on saturday afternoon. conference ended at 11, and it was an hour to fill the baptismal font. we decided noon would be a good time to hold it. our bishop was scheduled to be on duty, where he is the fire chief in a nearby town. the other counselors were up at conference in salt lake, and working. it was a hard day to get ahold of the necessary people we needed for keys and such. it all came together though, and everything was set. the family were all there on time, and we began. we had talks and songs, and the baptism and confirmation were great. my sister was asked to give the closing prayer, and she said what we were thinking and feeling, but couldn't express. she said that we all feel the presence of our deceased grandmother, and know she is proud of rebekah. after some more sweet things were said, and with tears rolling down my face, because of the confirmation that sandy was indeed there, i hugged my sister, who was crying as well. she said, i don't know what happened, i was supposed to tell you that. then, grandpa gresko gave rebekah the blanket that sandy had made and wrapped a year ago for her. i was unprepared for the card attached to it. she had written a personal note to rebekah, which was so perfect and eloquent. rebekah squealed and wrapped herself up in it. it is beautiful and perfect. then, when we came home, and i was looking at the card again, i noticed that it opened up, and the inside was written in as well. it was filled with more of sandy, and we treasured it. what a day!!!

rebekah

i can't decide which picture to put on the table at rebekah's baptism on saturday. the 3rd, or 4th? she is so stinking cute, either one is awesome. what do you think? the dress was given to us by a friend who's daughter was 10, so score! it's like a wedding dress, with beading and buttons down the back. couldn't have been more perfect if i had designed it!!
she will be getting baptized at noon, between conference sessions. we will make it all work!! :) a year from the funeral of her grandma. i think it is fitting.

preschool and humble pie

rachel standing outside of her preschool class. what a big girl!!

putting on her shoes before class. like the cuts on her lip? she totally face planted and had a huge fat lip for school. i thought that was pretty fitting for her!!
yes, this is what the kids do with the hose!!!
rachel and i made muddy buddies a few days ago. she thought she needed to lick the lid after i shook it. it got powdered sugar all over her nose and dress. it was too cute, i had to snap a pic!!
and on a more somber note, on monday, my good friend and cousin saved her daughter's life by not letting an ex boyfriend in the house. for her efforts, she got shot in the head and killed. i was reminded just how precious life is, and wanted to take a minute to express my gratitude. i am thankful for my family and friends. for my kids and hubby. for the knowledge that i have, that this is not the end of our existence. my cousin lives on, and will continue to do so. i am thankful for the health i have, though i complain about it a lot. what i go through is so small in comparison to so many others, who suffer with no complaint. i have been very humbled over the last week, and just want everyone out there in cyberspace to know that.

end of summer

i didn't get the job, but i am still looking. it was weird, because of the way it happened, i thought it was a sure thing. i was strangely relieved and disappointed at the same time. the kids started school again on wednesday, and i am good with it. i enjoy having my time with just rachel, and i enjoy knowing they are learning and having fun at the same time. caleb has rebekah's student teacher from last year, rebekah has colby's teacher from last year, and colby has the only 4th grade teacher. they all knew who their teacher would be, and were excited to get to know them. they have gotten back into the swing of homework and chores, and of course, playing like mad when they finish. oh to be a kid again!! i am busy cleaning and trying to put the rooms back together after the crazy summer we had. we have gone to the lake twice, and i pulled the ligaments in my knee attempting to waterski. it still hurts, and i was told to get into better shape before i tried it again. ha! i agree!! so now i am just doing all the day to day stuff, waiting for school to start on the 20th. rachel starts preschool next week, and she is more than ready. she wears her backpack and tries to do homework with the kids. she is hilarious!! we love our kiddos, and our family more every day!!

working mom

i know, it is totally boring without the pictures, but bear with me for a while until i can replace the camera!! this week has been very interesting, to say the least. we have known for a while that nathan's job is going to be cutting pay. (pay, not hours, explain that to me!!) he will now be backtracking 4 times a day, instead of 2. he really hates this job, but it pays the bills, so sshhh!
anyway, i applied to about 30 jobs 2 weeks ago, and hadn't heard much from anyone. a few days ago, i noticed one of my friends posting on facebook about how she had a friend that was trying to find kids to watch, so she didn't have to go back to work. then, out of the blue, yesterday i got a call from a woman i knew a few years ago in a previous ward. she said she noticed my resume on jobing, and wondered if i was still looking for a job. the position she had was for a 7 hr day, still part time. it paid better than anything i was looking at, and she had confidence in me. i set up the interview for this morning, and sent my friend a message about how to get the info on the woman for the child care. i pretty much freaked out after that. i am pretty overwhelmed just doing what i am doing, and now i am considering going to work!! after the kids went to bed, i read my scriptures for the first time in a while. twice, i read a verse about putting your trust in God, and finding peace. so, i took that to heart, and was at peace for the night. i got up this morning, and after getting beautified (trust me, it's rare on a weekday!!), i checked my messages. the friend who was doing the childcare, was actually a friend of mine too! she lives next door to the lady who runs the preschool rachel will attend. it really seems perfect, as that was one of my worries. i didn't think we could get her there. i interviewed this morning, and was impressed by the principal i met with. the job is at sun valley high school, entering transcripts and meeting with parents and students to give them a personalized graduation plan. i think i could actually do this. things seem to be falling into place, now if i can just get the job! i am also registered for 3 online classes, so we will see if i can do it all!! here's to peace!!

no more pictures

i am so incredibly sad not to have lovely pictures to post on here. we had an awesome vacation, and i had pictures from caleb's bday party to post. sadly, i will never get the chance. i took pictures all week, and was so excited scrolling through them. i didn't bring the camera cord with me, and the card was so old, my laptop wouldn't read it. we had to wait till we got home to upload the pictures. now, i am just kicking myself. let me start at the beginning of the week. i had been having pain in my side for several weeks, but monday it started getting bad. tues, i finally gave up and went to the er. after blood tests, hours and ultrasounds, they said i had a ruptured ovarian cyst. nice. i went home and took some strong stuff, and went to bed. i woke up wed super dizzy and out of it. i still don't know if the drug triggered it, or i was set to have vertigo anyway. i spent the day in bed, and the next morning, the kids packed their own stuff for the stay at ajs house, and nathan did everything else. i went with nate and my sister tat to the airport, getting immensely sick while doing so. i can't say i have ever gotten so ill on a plane before! then we had a 4 hr drive to our hotel from the kansas city airport. thankfully, i started feeling better about half way through the drive, and had a great time while there. we toured all the houses and buildings, and historic sites. we played old time nauvoo games, walked on stilts, learned dances, and pulled sticks (i won!!). we watched the pageant, which was awesome, and spent time with family. i talked to my brother more this trip than i have in my entire life. it was a great time. the pinnacle was going through the temple with my little sister, and seeing the wonder in her eyes. she got sealed to her husband, and did all that was required of her to do so. she has had to change her whole wardrobe, and basically everything about her. she has done it though, and it was so exciting to be with her for it.
the next day, we went to carthage on our way to the airport. there is such a peaceful feeling in the jail, and you can almost see how it would have been for the Prophet Joseph. we took a lot of pictures, then went to return the rental car. somewhere around here, i put down my camera, and will never see it again. i have called everyone i can think of, but have had no luck so far. i can live with the lost camera, if i could only have the pictures on it! they are priceless. we survived waiting in the smallest airport i have ever seen, and the turbulence of landing in a giant thunderstorm (in phx, really??). we are home now, and back with our kids and our own home and beds. grateful to be there!!

family reunions!!

ok, again, these are in backwards order, so i will start from the end! we were in natalie's backyard and posed the grandkids with their bear blankets, that great grandma nehmer made for each and every one of them. they are well loved, and appreciated!!
what gorgeous kids!!
here is the whole clan, minus heather's 4, who are in the philippines
caleb was mad about something, and went to pout inside. here is where we found him not 5 minutes later!!
lake tahoe was freezing, but here is rebekah and alissa holding rachel
caleb
colby and cousin out on the rock
grandpa with jenna and morgan out on the rock
rachel and caleb playing in the soft sand of the beach at lake tahoe
rebekah and colby were crazy and brave enough to go out in the 53 degree water with most of the cousins and grandpa
here is caleb at the beach in san francisco. much too cold to swim!!
caleb, sam, andrew, and rachel playing on the beach

this is several of my cousins and other awesome family members that we got to see after almost 15 years without them!!
caleb holding a tiny baby chick
colby loved holding the baby chicks
sam and rachel looking a real live cow!
the cousins lined up looking at the pregnant cow
i didn't have my camera on me during some of the most enjoyable days i can remember. my sister kirsten got married, and we had so much dancing at her wedding! the rehearsal dinner and wedding produced a lot of fun pictures and memories, but alas, they were captured by a professional! i will see if i can post some of them later!

week of amazing experiences

i will add pictures once i get home, i did not bring my camera cord. i have been sitting in the airport again for 4 hours. i got the genius idea several weeks ago to ask one of our drivers who also works at usairways, to get me a buddy pass. it was so cheap, i was ecstatic. turns out there is a reason it is cheap. they overbook by 3 or 4, so the chances of getting on are nill. unless you camp out at the airport and get on the first flight of the day. they had 2 empty seats then. blah. who wants to be on a 715am flight? i was still snuggled in my bed. anyway, i had to buy a ticket on southwest on monday, for 300 dollars. today, i did the same thing. i have wasted many hours for being cheap, and i will not do so again!!! but i digress, the reason for the post is my amazing experience in slc this week. our choir, the evmco, was asked to come to slc and join with our sister choir, the ocmco, and record the messiah in america, the original oratorio written by our director, brett stewart. it was by far the most amazing experience ever!! there were over 400 choir members, and a combined orchestra of over 150. once the kids joined with us on friday, we had over 700 members on stage. it was spectacular!! i took several pictures of our amazing force, but am unable to post them because of copyright laws. we spent tues-thurs in intense, have to be silent, recording sessions. that is stressful. coughing is prohibited, and there are several of us that have coughs lingering for the last few weeks. tues was especially bad, and i was getting vertigo, combined with a severely upset stomach. i knew i couldn't continue like that, so i asked my father in law to give me a blessing before i left on wednesday morning. he did, and i immediately started feeling better. on the hour drive from provo where i was staying, into salt lake, i improved even more. i have never been more grateful for the priesthood in my life, and the knowledge and faith to use it. i was rejuvinated, and able to perform for the rest of the week. also, that day, i went through a live session in the salt lake temple for the first time in my life. it was beyond description. so beautiful, with the murals on the wall, and i loved moving from room to room as you progress. it was so moving, and the live actors they had, made such a difference to me!! i loved it!! i got to spend time with my sister every day, and my friends. i had some of the most spiritual experiences of my life, and was solidified in my testimony regarding so many things. we performed in the tabernacle friday night, to a sold out audience, and the sound was so crisp and clear and perfect in that building!! it was awesome. then saturday, we performed at 2pm in abravanel hall to another sold out audience. the entire organization was so exhausted from all the work of the last several days, that we did not perform to the best of our ability, but i hope our audience was moved despite our flaws. the soloists were stunning, and sounded perfect. i am so grateful i had the opportunity to do this. and that i get to go to choir every week and join in singing praises and being educated by such awesome people. i love it!! and now, i am very much looking forward to going home and seeing my husband and kids again. i had an awesome week, but i am more than ready to be home!!

concert, messes, and sick!!

again, these are backwards, so i will describe it all backwards!! after rebekah's first concert. she did great, and i loved singing with her onstage!! there are too many people for the adults to be onstage with the kids, but we were down in the audience, so i could see her singing her little heart out!
rebekah in her cute little choir outfit. she is such a doll!! her hair was curled by my friend, and stayed curly even for another day!!
my sister, tat and i. i always seem to look weird in pictures. not sure what it is......
trying to pose on my "skinny" side
my curls from the back.
walking up to the ikeda theater. so excited!!
rachel joined a swim lessons class for tiny kids. she loves it, and even moved up to the next level after 2 weeks. i never knew starting them young was so awesome! she is just thriving in there!!
after sleeping in foam curlers, here is rebekah
both girls from the back
rachel thought she needed some curlers too. i only had hair for about 4, to rebekah's 20. they were very cute though!!
so thursday, i started getting a tickle in my throat, and it didn't take long for my body to decide it was at war. i woke up saturday, the day of our big Collin Raye concert, with a barely audible voice, and really hurting when i did try to talk. i preserved my voice the best i could until the concert, and was able to sing a little bit for the first concert. by the second one, my voice was completely shot, and i snuck cough drops in my folder. i sucked on 5 of them throughout the hour and a half of the concert. i only coughed a few times, then went home and collapsed. sunday i was wasted, and didn't get up in time for church. i slept until almost 11, then took a nap at 2. nathan didn't sleep well either, so he came upstairs to sleep with me, and left colby in charge. normally, he does a great job keeping everyone out of trouble. not so with this day. he got caught up in the imaginary world he was in, and rachel got into some serious mischief. i'm not sure which came first, but she put a roll of tp in the bathroom sink, and left the water on. flooded the floor and outside carpet with inches of water, and little floating bits of tp. also, she got out the comet powder and dumped a lot of it on the kitchen floor. i guess she thought she was cleaning. i swept the whole floor of all the dry powder, but she had sprayed windex and bathroom cleaner on it too, so had to mop several times to get all the residue up. i guess that's what happens with a 9 year old is left in charge of a crazy girl named rachel!!!