Orange Belt, Basketball, the Klondike, and Ashbear

This weekend was a fun one. Friday, we went out to dinner with some friends and then to a very exciting and close Jazz game, which we won! Saturday, Hunter had his orange belt ceremony for Tae kwon do. It was so neat to see him break the wood with his foot and see all of the other things he has learned. Madison played a stellar basketball game in which she scored against a really hard team. Go Madison! That night, we went out to sushi with Krissy and Zack and then came back and watched "G.I. Joe" in our theater room. We always have so much fun going out with them because Krissy and I share the same demented, but hilarious sense of humor.

Last weekend, Robert (scoutmaster) did the Klondike campout with Christian. I included a few pictures of that as well.

This week, I am going to do something that I never thought I would EVER do. I must admit I feel a lot of guilt about doing this, BUT . . . we are going to the Virgin Islands for 5 days with friends. Seriously, this is something I never thought I would do in my lifetime and I wish so much that I could take some very deserving people in my family with me! If I could, I would stuff you all in my suitcase and bring you along! Robert's parents who are recently home from their mission to Australia are kind enough (or brave enough) to be babysitting for us.

Life's been busy!

Christian

It is not in my nature to brag, but I just have to say a few things about my son Christian. I'd like to think of this post as recognizing someone for outstanding achievement instead of bragging.

He and I had somewhat of a rough start. Being my first child, I really had no idea what I was doing and he also came with some added challenges. Since he was my first, I thought his incessant screaming and excessive demands were due to my inadequacies as a mother, and so for the first 4 years of his life I had tremendous guilt and shame for not doing a better job and for not really liking being a mother. Later, we found out that his behavior was due to an anxiety disorder as well as some OCD.

The reason I have the desire to sing his praises is that not only has he overcome these two things, but has become one of the greatest blessings and examples in my life. Christian possesses a rare maturity in spirit. He reads scriptures and religious history on a daily basis, he never complains about his duties as Deacon's quorum president, he takes his responsibilities in passing the sacrament very seriously, and is able to immediately apply any spiritual concept he is taught. Christian can always be counted on to cook a meal, or babysit and is very empathetic towards me when he sees that I am overwhelmed. There have been many times that he can tell I am at my whit's end, and he will offer to take one of the younger kids and play with them. Christian also excels at school, receiving yet another 4.0 last term. I never have to worry about whether his homework or projects are done, or whether he is behaving in class--all of his teachers love him. The other day, I went down in his room and along with several scripture verses posted to his desk, he had made a daily workout regimen which he completely sticks to without any encouragement on my part. He often runs 6-8 miles a day and lifts weights all on his own. I often have to remind myself that he is only 13! Although he has many worldly achievements, it is his character that I am most proud of. He is kind, strong, wise, an incredible example to his family, and full of joy. I am so thankful to have him as my child and often wonder how I could be so blessed to have him. He makes me want to be better.

Where and What

I haven't done a questionnaire in a while so I put one together and I'm hoping my readers will copy and paste this into their blogs and answer all of these questions about themselves! If you don't have a blog, please email me your responses. I love hearing about other people!

Where is...

Your cell phone? Wherever the kids are--they steal it to make movies of themselves.

Your favorite place to be? In the forest, or at home when it is clean and quiet (very rare).

Your mother? It's Saturday, so she's probably at Costco.

Your father? Probably with my Mom at Costco.

What is...

Your dream vacation? For fun--Italy. For the experience--India and Africa

Your favorite foods? Homemade wheat bread, italian food, cheeseburgers and fries

Your dream last night? I dreamed my dog was dying. It was so sad!

Your favorite drink? Diet Dr. Pepper and milk.

ONE of your dreams/goals? Get a Master's Degree in Social Work.

What room are you in? The study.

Your favorite hobby? Photography of course. Also, exercising, biking, hiking, running.

Your biggest fear? Cancer and hideous car wrecks.

One of your favorite personality traits? Discernment.

One of your flaws? Don't handle stress well.

Where do you want to be in 6 years? Here in this house, almost completely debt free.

Where were you last night? Watching "Twilight" in my bed and eating Cafe Rio alone.

Something you aren’t? Passive.

Favorite dessert? Cheesecake and cinnamon rolls.

One of your wish list items? A new small car--both of ours are huge.

Where did you grow up? Texas and Utah.

Last thing you did? Picked up Hunter from karate.

What are you wearing? Navy velour sweats.

Who are your pets? Jazzy the dog who is adorable, but has learning disabilities, and 2 fish.

What is your mood? Happy and thankful.

Are you missing someone? Robert and Christian who are camping in a blizzard!

A pet peeve of yours? Too many to name--see my blog post "Things That BUG Me."

Something you’re not wearing? Makeup. It's scary.

Your favorite store? Anthropologie and J. Crew AND Costco and Target

Your favorite color? Lavender.

When was the last time you laughed? 3 days ago, while watching Saturday Night Live.

Last time you cried? A week ago.

Your best friend? Peaches. (Robert)

One place that you go over and over? The Gateway, the gym, Target, Great Harvest, church

Person who emails you regularly? Lately, my friend Lisa who is in Kenya with the Peace Corp.

Favorite place to eat? Z Tejas

Favorite season? Fall.

Favorite holiday? Halloween and Valentine's Day.

Favorite sound? Water; rain, a river, the ocean, a waterfall.

Favorite smell? Homemade bread, a disinfected house, roses, Sharpies, gasoline

Favorite past time? Being in nature.

Peoples' first impression of you? Hmmm. Probably that I have it all together, but really I don't.

One thing you would change about yourself? Impatience, I wish I was 5 foot 10, and I wish I wasn't so easily overwhelmed.

I can't wait to hear about you!

Today

Monday and Tuesday of this week, the kids have off of school. It started out hard with bickering and bad attitudes, but I managed to turn it around by watching the kids play outside. I was able to preserve some memories by taking photos and the kids enjoyed me watching them play. Tonight, Grandma and Grandpa Flynn have invited all of the grandkids over for a sleepover. Hallelujah! They always have so much fun with their cousins, and it gives Robert and I a chance to breathe. How thankful I am for my kids' grandparents!

Some of My Favorite SNL Skits

Click on links to view:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/73360/saturday-night-live-lawrence-welk

http://www.hulu.com/watch/52192/saturday-night-live-penelope---therapy

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/clips/gilly/945843/

http://www.imdb.com/video/hulu/vi3069116441/

http://www.hulu.com/watch/10333/saturday-night-live-mom-jeans

Things That BUG Me (and there are many)

*Close talkers. I have a very LARGE personal space and so when a person insists on speaking to me two inches from my face, I have to take a few steps back. Usually, this is followed by them taking a couple steps towards me again and I frantically try to find a way to end the conversation.

*Women with dainty appetites. This includes those who claim their dessert is just too rich to take more than one or two bites. Never in my life have I tasted something too rich. Woman up and stuff the whole damn thing in your mouth before I eat mine AND yours.

*People who claim it's up to God whether or not to have their next child. Here's a news flash: if you're having sex without birth control, you're going to get pregnant.

*Having to sing the "practice hymn" in Relief Society. Why don't the men have to do this? It never improves anything to make us sing yet another hymn and it NEVER sounds good. I also don't like having to stand as a congregation to sing a hymn or having to sing every bloody verse of a hymn which has 7 verses.

*Mute and/or passive children. It's so foreign to my system to see children like this that it inexplicably makes me angry and in a bad mood. Have a personality for pete's sake! It gives me the urge to secretly pinch them just to get them to have a reaction.

*People who are always happy.

*People who are always negative. Please, there is a wide array of human emotions. You have permission to experience all of them.

*People who have a simple answer to everything that happens in life. Sometimes there isn't a reason WHY you will ever know in this life, so don't insult me with pert answers to complex situations.

*"Mom jeans". Mom jeans are classified as jeans from the 80s that are hiked past one's belly button, they usually have very large pockets (8 inches is typical), and bear the name "Lee". It is common for women who wear these type of jeans to have particularly flat buns. Please mothers, no one looks good with their pants hiked up to their chin and it gives the rest of us a bad name.

*The "pop-in". I have a hard enough time answering the phone when I'm not prepared to have to talk, so PLEASE don't just decide to pop in for a visit without giving me 24 hours of notice.

*People who have the inability to pay attention to social cues. For example, people who don't realize they have been the only one talking for twenty minutes, or people who speak incredibly loud. Also, people who feel the need to divulge very intimate information without knowing you very well.

*I can't stand bad grammar.

*People who don't take responsibility for the decisions they have made which have contributed to unfortunate circumstances in their lives. It's not God that is trying you, it's your own stupidity sometimes!

*Women who are passive to their husbands. This one is HUGE for me. There really are no words to describe my animosity or disrespect towards women who don't have an opinion, won't voice an opinion, or choose to be uninvolved in certain aspects of the family life.

*If you drive a full-sized white van, you have officially taken "multiplying and replenishing the earth" too far. There are others that can help in this objective besides you and your spouse, so please don't add to the stereotype of the crazy Mormon family.

*People who refuse to admit flaws in themselves or members of their family. A certain amount of self-deprecation is always appreciated by me, and most people.

*People who can't see that there is always another side or opinion that merits consideration.

*People who try to "help" while in Target or the grocery store when my children are screaming. Please, the best thing you can do is ignore us and not call any more attention to something that is already maddening and humiliating.

*People who are outwardly sheep, but inwardly ravening wolves. This includes the woman who says the most blunt, judgmental things with a huge, serene smile plastered to her face. Warning to that woman: I can see through you, and know you are a sugar-coated b*&^$%.

*People who can't admit they are wrong.

*People who are always the victim. I'm not talking about people who are truly victims of terrible crimes, but those who can turn any situation into a "poor me" situation.

I think I could probably go on indefinitely, but I feel sufficiently cleansed of my annoyances to be able to quit. What are things that drive you crazy?

Winter

I was without my beloved Apple computer for 10 dismal days and wasn't able to upload and edit photos. Yes, it was a very trying time for me. So now that I have been able to get the oldest four off to school, and Ashton is safely zoning out in front of the tv, I have once again been able to bond with my Apple and my camera. Here are some recent winter photos for your enjoyment: