FORTY, Fabulous and FINALLY Over the Hill!

In celebration of my birthday, I thought I'd do something I rarely do.  Be in a picture!  I'm so much more comfortable behind the camera, not in front of it.  I guess it's not too intimidating when you hand the camera to your 11 year old son and direct him how to take your picture.  I've always said that my hair is my best feature!  Let me show you why!

 

Ya see?  I knew you'd agree! 

So many things are bashing around in my brain right now that I'm not sure how to organize them enough to write about them.  It doesn't help that I'm not an eloquent writer, but there are a few things I want to convey today, on my 40th birthday.  (OK, technically it's over, but I haven't gone to bed yet!)

I've been anticipating this day for a whole year.  I wasn't too sure about how I would feel turning 40, but I've spent a lot of time contemplating about the things I've accomplished, the trials and bumps in the road that have set me back a bit and the person I've become in the last 4 decades.  While doing so, a high school friend of mine, posted this article on her Facebook page.  I read it and it just made perfect sense to me!  It really summed up my feelings and attitude about my upcoming 40th birthday.  I LOVE how, at the end, she says,

"It is simply because, through the marvelous gift and power of prayer, I am discovering I have been prepared to be EXACTLY where the Lord knew I'd be...


...because He's been preparing me, for forty years, to be right where I am.


And I believe He's been preparing me for the fulfillment of promises.


His Promises.


How could I possibly ask for anything more?"

Really, could that be any more PERFECT?  Not for me!

I've had a rough patch these last 7 years with my health.  That's a looooong time to feel so rotten.  In the end, it was nothing super serious, but it was life altering.  It took me from a very active lifestyle, healthy in every way, to a very sedintary, only-do-what-you-abosolutely-have-to-do-to-get-by life style.  It was SO HARD.  Incredibly challenging; physically, mentally and emotionally.  I had 4 babies and a husband to take care of on a daily basis.  I was running a full time daycare out of my home for wonderful families who I grew to love like my own family.  I had things to do.  I didn't have time to hurt and be sick. 

I've blogged a little about the dibilitating headaches and dizzy spells that I lived with on a constant basis.  No relief EVER.  Dealt with it 24/7 for 7 years!  Had test after test after test done, only to be told that everything looked healthy and normal.  WHY then, was I feeling like CRAP?  As I stared and cried at myself in the mirror, 80 lbs heavier than I've ever been and high blood pressure, I just resigned myself to the fact that I was going to have to live with this chronic pain for the rest of my life.  What more could I do?  I felt like I had done my part to find the problem.  But nothing ever came of it.  I felt so hopeless so much of the time.  And then, out of the blue, because of my daughters first bout with her genetically inherited back pain, a miracle happened!  A miracle long prayed for and probably not so patiently waited for.  I refused to let her deal with her back pain like Meister has his whole life.  I wanted to know what was going on and what was causing it.  I did not want her suffering chronic pain like I was having to endure.  Like her daddy has had to endure.  I trusted my instinct and took her to our bishop, who is a chiropractor.  As I listened to him tell me exactly what was wrong with her and that it could be fixed, I was so incredibly grateful.  As we began her therapy with him and as I went to appointment after appointment, I began to realize that my very own body had been SCREAMING at me for a long while.  I had all kinds of aches and pains that I never paid much attention to until then.  I suddenly realized that so much of what I was dealing with could be aleviated through chiropractic care.  I dove into that treatment as fast I could!  As we looked at x-rays togehter, I was told that a childhood injury to my neck, resulting in torn ligaments and jammed vertabrae, was likely the cause of my headaches and dizzy spells.  I left his office that day, after one adjustment, and had never felt lighter!  I joked with him at my second appointment about how I felt like he had decapitated me!  THE PAIN WAS GONE!  For the first time in 7 years!!!  I really didn't know what to do with myself.  I cried.  That's what I always do.  All I needed all this time was a simple adjustment???!  WOW!  WHY didn't any of my doctor's suggest a visit to the chiropractor?  Needless to say, I've become a huge advocate.  I try to share my experience with others so that they don't have to suffer as long as I did. 

Now here I am, 6 months into chiropractic therapy, feeling better than I have in a long time!  Being able to be active again has been so liberating!  It feels great.  But I still have my moments when I look at myself in the mirror and all the weight I gained from being so sedintary.  From when I could hardly stand to make my family dinner or put laundry in the washer and dryer.  Sometimes I think that I'm just meant to be obese forever and that I'm never going to get it all off. 

On one of those really bad days, feeling so down and frustrated, I was once again inspired by my high school friend.  She posted another article on Facebook, meant just for me on that day.  You've got to read it!  Hurry, click here!  It was just what I needed to hear.  The motivation to keep doing what I'm doing and to ease back into physical activity.  It took 7 years to put on and it just might take that long to take off, but here I am!  Ready and willing to master the art of starting over! 

I know that I have been been prepared to be right where I am today!  I am so happy to be 40 and on my way to the best years of my life!  What a wonderful birthday it's been!  That hill was a dang hard one to climb!  I'm so glad to FINALLY be over it!

Easter Weekend

Grandma and Grandpa's easter egg hunt was a success and fun was had by all!

The itty bitty's had plenty of eggs to fill their baskets.

We had two birthdays that we were also celebrating.  Aunt Vee, just turned a ripe 29.  I guess the "5" and the "0" candles were all grandma had in her cupboard!

And little Elsie Bean turned 2. 

It was a perfect day!  The weather was BEAUTIFUL (for once) and we enjoyed the entire afternoon in the glorious sunshine!

Emily decided it would be funny to tease Austin and Todd and steal their stuff, but they were in hot pursuit to get it back!

Grandpa's GARGANTOUS (i DO use that word a lot) garden has it's first peas sprouts already!  Oh, the deliciousness that comes from this dirt!

Thanks, grandma and grandpa for another fun day!  We LOVE you lots!

After church this morning, I took the kids for a stroll at Daybreak Lake.  Another GORGEOUS day to enjoy the warmth of the sun and the beauty that surrounds me.  I love to reflect on how blessed my life is when I find myself marveling at the wind blowing my hair, the beautiful flowers and all their color, the sound of seagulls flying nearby and trickling water through the creek.  I truly have been given much!  I know that my Savior lives, that he knows me and that he loves me.  It's been a good day.  A GOOD, GOOD day!

Here are 4 of my GREATEST BLESSINGS.

HAPPY EASTER!  I hope your day has been as wonderful as mine!

Rice Krispie Carrots

Just gettin' ready for Grandma and Grandpa Myrick's annual easter egg hunt tomorrow and thought I'd make all the little bunny rabbits that will be there a fun little treat.

First you make a GARGANTUOUS (yes, that's a real word in my house) bowl of rice krispie treats.  But make sure you add orange food coloring to the melted marshmallows before you dump them in the rice krispies.  Oh, and you have to make sure you have some of these awesome Wilton decorating bags, too.

Then you take a butter knife and jam a tiny amount down into the very tip of the bag, as far down as you can get it to go.  Continue to spoon rice krispies into the bag, forming and compressing it as you go.  I actually found that it was much easier to use the knife, than the spoon, to put it in the bag.  It was easier to get it in that way.  The spoon held onto the sticky mixture too well.

Then you tie your bag off with some green curly ribbon and VIOLA!  You're done and have a bunch of cute, sweet, crunchy, ooey, gooey carrots! 

P.S.  If you really want to make these but don't have the time (or patience) for this sticky mess, you can fill the bags with cheetos. Crunchy ones work best because they're smaller than the puffs.

Happy Spring

Well hello there!  It's been a long few months since I made a post.  For a couple of reasons.  #1)  My life really isn't that exciting.  #2)  I got bored with my blog and decided to ignore it for a while.  That's it.  Nothing major happend.  I just got bored.

I just have to say that I'm so HAPPY it's SPRING!!!  I'm really looking forward to warmer temps and the happy sunshine!  I really can't complain about this past winter though.  It was a very mild one.  I'm just ready to be outside.

As usual, the weather here is what I like to call bi-polar.  This is what our first day of spring looked like.  I was 70 degrees the day before, and now, two days later, we're back up to 70.  Guess Jack Frost just needed to shake things up a little.

I'll Conquer The Beast

This is how the evening started off.  Happy, positive, excited, with christmas music playing on the stereo, I was ready to conquer the skinny pencil tree.  The bottom half was done; the fattest part.  How hard could the rest be right?

It wasn't so bad.  Am I mad that I have to restring this tree?  Eh, not really.  I knew this one had to be done.  I was prepared mentally!  And then.....just as I was falling into my groove, half of the brand new freakin' string that I had just put on the tree, went out!  LIVID!  I was LIVID!  Sitting and staring at them didn't make them come back on.  So I sat and fretted for a long while instead.  I think those furrows in my forhead are going to be permanant.  Dangit!  So much for the compliment I was paid today.  Whilst at the ENT, I was told that I don't look like I could have a 15 year old!  That audiologist made my day!  (Maybe she needs her eyes checked)

I tore that string off and perservered, and alas, I did CONQUER the beast!

OK, shut up!  I see the branch RIGHT OUT IN FRONT that I missed.  Don't take the wind out of my sails.  I'll cover it up when I decorate it!  FLIP!  It's always somethin'.

Can't wait to decorate it in the morning!  I'm tired.  It's 1:57 in the blessed A.M.  I'm going to bed.

Christmas HATES Me This Year

You see people, THIS is why I start decorating the second week of November.

A (2 year old pre-lit) tree that won't light on one side. Oh wait, IT DOESN'T LIGHT AT ALL!

Banister garland that's only half lit. Entryway garland that's only HALF lit. ANOTHER tree that's only freaking half lit!!!! C'MON! WHATARETHEODDS??!??!?!!  This is not funny.

THANK HEAVEN for a VERY patient, sweet Meister that is going through LIGHT by freaking LIGHT with his meter to fix them for me. So far, he's come to the conclusion that the copper wire has tarnished and it's breaking the electrical circuit. Lovely.  But that doesn't mean that all of the lights are bad.  It could only be one or two.  But give up and buy new? Oh, NEVER! That's not Meister's style. He'll fix it before he forks out money to buy a new one.  He made a little probe that allows him to quickly (relatively, anyway) check to see if the light is still good.  When he finds a bad one, he sands the wires with fine sandpaper to make the wire shiny and new! He's the epitome of fix it up, wear it out, make it work or do without!! We save SO MUCH MONEY because of him. I sure do love eem.

I have headache. HMPF. Maybe I won't be decorated before Thanksgiving afterall.

You Are Go For TLI

Trans Lunar Injection, to be exact.

Many, many months ago (April, to be exact), Meister embarked on a mission to build the boys a "basic" spaceship to play in, in the backyard.  HA!!  Basic, my big, fat, cottage cheese butt.  ;)  Meister doesn't do "basic".  I knew the second he started cutting wood that it wouldn't be basic.  Let me show you what I mean. 

Starting with plywood, recycled from the playhouse he built for the kids when they were little, he cut and put together his basic shape of the descent stage of the Lunar Module, used during the Apollo space era that took men to the moon.  Yes, my boys are obsessed!!  But you already know that.  ;)

From there, he was just going to do an easy, boxy top, aka ascent stage.  You know, just something to put on top that they could stand inside of.  But Meister being the perfectionist he is just couldn't settle for something boxy.  I honestly have no idea what that "boxy" top even looked like in his head because he completely abandoned that idea before he ever tried to build it.  Instead, he came up with this:

Basic?  What's basic about this?  I was blown away!  But alas, the boys had their "basic", as defined by daddy, spaceship.  They were so excited to play on it.  But WAIT!  (Insert sounds of a screeching halt here)  Meister said he wanted to make just a few changes and add a little detail that would only take a little bit of time.

He completely disassembled it and spent endless hour upon hour tweaking and adding to this amazing space craft.

I can't even begin to add up how many hours and sleepless nights Meister spent on this little project of his.  SO much love and excitement went in to building this Lunar Module for the boys.  This is most definitely his magnum opus!  Watching him watch the boys makes my heart swell and brings tears to my eyes.  He is such a great daddy!  He loves us so much and it shows in all things he does for us on a daily basis.  I LOVE you, Meister.  Thank you for being such a great daddy and wonderful husband.

Although he still has a few antenna dishes and thrusters to add, I'd say his replica is pretty dang AWESOME!!  My jaw still drops in awe of this fun spacecraft he built with so much LOVE!