Man Blog Update

Hey all, 

The wiff is baking some cupcakes so I thought I'd take a minute and give an update on the happenings here in WV.  Work is going well.  Busy as heck.  My first in-house call I worked for 21 straight hours...got to bed around 3am and was paged at 6am to intubate a sick old bird in the ICU.  I staggered down the hall way.  They must of thought I was drunk.  I took 2nd call on Friday and worked around 15 hours before coming home.  Didn't get paged to come back in.  Thank goodness.  There is some benefit from going into all the debt for school.  I earned lots of points on my credit card...so with all those points, I got our family a Wii.  We've had a lot of fun.  Jen and I were joking about starting a late night bowling league on Friday nites.  Tonight we were golfing and Paige was the first in our family to birdie a hole.  On a chip-in no less.  It was funny and the gallery erupted with cheers!!  Hope everyone is doing well and we can't wait for summertime to make it back out west to visit friends and family.   

C.A.P. Award!

Here is a slideshow at the city park last weekend.  The last picture is L with his C.A.P. Award.  It's an award for conduct, academics, and perfect attendance.  When we first moved here there was a Blue and White assembly for these awards and L wasn't included because he was new.  So he is excited to get this and he says "it's a pretty big deal".  P is trying really hard to talk us into getting a kitty.  She's "tired of being a kitty", she "just wants a real one".  I told her that we didn't really have the room for one and she said, "just a baby kitty, not a big one."  Well, I'm off to Parent-Teacher Conference.

Snow Advisory!

School was closed today because we were going to get 1 to 3 inches of snow.  You read right--1-3 inches.  I have to giggle to myself because it seems so silly compared to what we would get in New York or even Utah for that matter.  But then this is where I have to remind myself that we have the death defying, roller-coaster hills.  L was celebrating a little too much with the school closure.  The other day he was telling me how he liked his other 1st grade better.  Not just the classroom, but the kids and teachers too.  I worry about him.  He's gotten a lot quieter with the change and I hope this is only a temporary quietness.  He is still reading well and loves math but I have very little idea about anything else.  He doesn't like it when I ask so many questions.  What kid does?  I'm just hoping he'll get used to it.  My furniture I ordered was delivered today (a tv stand and buffet table).  I am so excited and I think Blake is too.  I have no more excuses for all the piles on the floor.  We hope this adds to our storage.  I'll post pictures when we get it situated.  

Life is a journey

I was reading a post from my sister's blog and it has been on my mind this weekend.  In her blog she said that "life is about the journey, not the destination".  Today in church we taught a lesson on choices and opposition in all things.   We asked the kids what kind of place was it before Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit.  Their reply was "a perfect world".  The more we got talking about not having joy/misery or good/bad we all decided that that doesn't sound very perfect.  If you're a mom like me parts of it sound great--hey kids, can you grab dinner off the tree.  Oops, no kids yet.  See, not so perfect.  Anyways, it got me thinking about taking shortcuts in life.  Wanting it easy and relying on everyone else to solve our problems when the only person we should rely on is our Savior.  If we are always looking for a shortcut or quick solution how will we ever progress in life.  Hopefully, all of us have had moments that have been painful or lonely at times but come out the other end of it a better person.  I'm trying to embrace these moments and know that I still have so many of these moments ahead.  But that would also mean that there is still so much joy ahead too.

My Valentines!

Two of my valentines. The big one is still working.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I spent today thinking of all the great people in my life. Friends and Family. So I wanted to wish you all a Happy V-day. You all have been thought of today by me (sorry if your ears itched, or is it your nose?). I realized over the years that certain people come into our lives for special reasons or to just help us lighten up and have fun. Thank you for all the fun times. I'm thankful for my sweet valentines this year--my kids and hubby. The kids have not tired of making me special cards all day long. It's wonderful to feel so loved. And that is why we should have more days like this.

Life's simple joys!

We took the kids to Cold Stone Creamery and the kids get so excited with the fun choices. P got Green Apple Gummy Bear ice cream with gummy bears in it, L got red hot ice cream with butterfinger candy bar in it. They both loved their choices (good for them, I couldn't imagine eating it). Remember when life was so full of exciting choices. I reminds me to let them enjoy this and to not rush them through these moments. Last week L had early dismissal from school and we spent the extra time erupting P's volcano that she painted in her explorer class. We had to stop when I ran out of vinegar. Another simple joy. Tonight when we were reading scriptures we were talking to the kids about Lehi leaving Jerusalem and all their precious things behind and related it to our lives. We told them that we would have to leave the TV, couches, and everything else. L asked how they would know what the weather was going to be like for the day and B told him that you just walk outside and see. L's response, "How pathetic." This last Sunday B and I spoke in church. The topic was 'families'. Let's just say, I'm glad to be done with it. I am not a public speaker but at least I will put aside all my pride and humiliate myself every so often. B did his first night of call/in-house and was pretty busy. He got to sleep around 3 am and got woken up at 6 am. It was a quick reminder of working nights and not enjoying it then either.

More Photos

I updated more photos into the slideshow down below. Sorry grandmas and grandpas. I know it makes you miss them more.