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!!