New Callings

Well as most of you know Kirk was put in as 2nd counselor to the Bishop yesterday. It was very exciting and wonderful. We are both so excited for all the opportunities for growth that it will bring. Everyone kept saying how busy Kirk will be and how he's going to be gone all the time and I thought, so whats new? I am very grateful this chance is coming when our kids are old enough to not cry for their Dad on the stand, and when we both have to be at RS this week our kids can babysit themselves. The Bishop and his 1st counselor are such wonderful men I am thrilled for Kirk to work with them. Our Bishop works for Covey and you can tell his presence fills the room, his spirit and attitude are so contagious how can any of us feel bad to be put in a new ward when he is the one leading us. I've been so proud of my boys, Connor started passing the sacrament from our first week there even though he didn't know anyone and they do it a little different but he did it. Matt got to church early to help the teachers set up chairs and he stayed after to help clean up the sacrament. I know they will be blessed with friends and comfort for their faithful service. I do not have my calling yet so we'll see. I was smiling at the chorister and enjoying sitting with my family when they released her to be the RS president! I just laughed and couldn't believe that calling is open again. She assures me I won't have that calling so I can finally sit with my family, esp now that Kirk isn't sitting with us! Well I'm off to run, clean, and grocery shop only 3 weeks until the kids next vacation and there is work to be done!!

Retail, no chocolate therapy

So I was feeling a little of the holiday blues today. I'm missing my family even though Kirks family is great, it's still nice to see ones own family occasionally. Maybe it was worse because I came soo close to seeing family, no guilt people. So I was moping around the house being generally annoying. I thought some retail therapy would help. So my friend Celeste and I joined the holiday masses shopping. I have to say it was fun and nice to get out. We don't have See's candy stores out here but we get the kiosks every December and I resist every year, even though I crave it. But not this year, not in my weakened state! So I bought myself the small box of nuts and chews which is their best holiday box. This lead to my biggest laugh of the day because does anyone think I came home and gave everyone a piece? No I just hid in the laundry room, ripped off the holiday wrapping paper and ate 2 pieces hiding in the laundry behind piles of laundry as tall as myself! And you know what? It was worth the laugh, I have no problem being the cliche because it was delicious!

Hard lessons

The next time someone says, "Bonnie should we drive 10 hours in a possibly unreliable car with a young baby who may or may not like road trips in cold weather to see you for the holidays?" am I going to say "only if you are up to it and think it will be okay..."? no, HECK NO. I am going to say "Heck yes you should jump in the car right now because whats a few hours of pain and lots of money in gas in comparison to the incomprehensible joy of seeing your big sister and allowing her to cuddle your baby for a meager few days, I mean really what matters most? Your comfort or my happiness??? Duh?!!" Lesson learned.

Changing of the wards

So it was a interesting day. They split our ward, well they took a 1/3 of us and put us in another ward. We sang as a ward choir and it was so wonderful, one of my favorite songs that we sing. And then in the closing song it was How Gentle God's Commands and the words were ironic and wonderful to me, "Why should this anxious load press down your weary mind? Haste to your Heavenly Father's throne and sweet refreshment find". I was looking at everyone I love and will miss and couldn't quite finish singing the last line. And I sat down for what I thought would be the last time after 4 years of chorister when they opened the meeting to discuss the split announced the song and the Bishop motioned to me from the stand that he wanted me to lead it as well. So we sang We thank Thee oh God for a Prophet, which rather than the sad tears from the other song I found myself smiling with all the poignant meaning, "we feel it a pleasure to serve thee... when dark clouds of trouble hang o'er us and threaten our peace to destroy, There is hope smiling brightly before us and we know that deliverance is nigh". It was a fun end. Afterward anyone in the new ward was invited into another room to meet our new Bishop and I wanted to clarify that we are all released because they only talked about what happens to those staying in the ward. And he said, "well, would you lead the music next week?" and I paused and said, "really? (with my mouth agape)" Not my best moment and he said yes so I said of course. And he said someone would call and give me the songs unless I wanted to choose them, and I said "honestly I've been choosing them for so long I've feeling kinda dried up so I've love someone else to choose." Once again not the best foot to start off with the Bishop but it was so funny that the one thing I was looking forward to changing wards was getting out of this calling and now it looks like I might not!! And of course I accept whatever calling is asked of me.

Tooth Fairy bloopers

So AJ lost a molar maybe 2 weeks ago, and for some really odd reason the tooth fairy hadn't come yet by this weekend when he pulled out another molar. I think the tooth fairy was trying to figure out what the going rate for molars these days. Really she needs to keep a journal where she records what previous children got. Well we were at costco and AJ saw a bag of really cool gold chocolate coins in a bad he clearly loved and so I went back a day later and got it. By this time AJ was thinking the darn fairy needed some serious help. SOOO last night he put the teeth in a bag and taped it to the wall by his bed! I am not joking, 5 pieces of crinkly loud tape right by his head. So I stay up late, reading duh, and about 1 I go in there and start trying to peel off the tape. You have never heard such annoying loud tape, and of course it's late which makes everything funny, so I'm snickering, because there is no other word for the laughing I was doing, peeling tape hovering over Connors bed to reach the area by AJ's head. Finally the 5th piece I figured I was going to do it like a band aid and I ripped it off and up AJ sits, so I put my hand with the bag behind my back and I say " hey I just wanted to be the first person to wish you a happy birthday since it's past midnight" and he smiles and lays back down, whew. So I come back with the bag of chocolates and as soon as I step in the room he sits up so I say" hey just wanted to make sure you weren't too hot", he says no. So about 2 I try again and up he sits and I say "hey just wanted to see if you wanted your fan off". At that point the heck with it and I went to bed. So at 6:15 as I was waking him up I slid my hand under the pillow with the candy which of course scratched loudly up the bed rather than gliding as simple money would have done. But needless to say he is very happy and EXTREMELY happy with the generous tooth fairy.

Elles letter to AJ

Dear AJ I no (know) we are not giting (getting) good well. I wus theckin (thinking) thae we kod (could) be nes (nice) to eoh chuder (each other). But if you dot have to do it if you dot have to do it. (i think its trying to say you dont have to if you dont want to.) but if you dot well den you have to have to be yif (with) the enoen (annoying) Elle. From Elle
Pretty clear cut terms huh, be nice or I'm going to be annoying. reminds me of some letters I wrote Mom and Dad about my brothers.

Bedtime Energy

Ok it's 8:30 at night and all I want to do is curl up in bed and read and then sleep, but AJ and Elle have no such compulsion. Here is what they look like at bedtime!!

MMMmmm chocolate... ummm chocolate?

Was anyone worried that I would go a week without something embarrassing, bizarre, or annoying happening? Well have no fear it's happened again. I was standing outside my sister in laws house holding what was left of our cheesecake and a bottle of Hersey's syrup in a bag talking to my in laws for about 5 minutes when I felt something on my foot. I look down and my belt, thigh and leg are covered in Hersey's syrup. My belt is positively dripping with chocolate. It kinda looked like when you are at the beach and you let wet sand drip through your fingers to make a drip castle, but chocolate and it's of course everywhere. Everyone had a great laugh and I once AGAIN am forced to wash my jeans just when they were fitting perfectly!!!

School picture follies

Ok so I didn't buy AJ and Elle's school pictures and they turned out darling so I ordered Matt and Connors, and THIS is what Matt did. He finds it very humorous, it's going in the yearbook on his student id!!! I am making him earn and pay me the money for it! But I couldn't reprimand him at all because I kept laughing so hard. it is funny.

Post holiday mess

Ok so I love my jeans, really, I love them, why wear anything else? They are kinda expensive, not 7's or republic but still more then I want to have to go spend again for awhile. I heard that to keep jeans longer you wash them less frequently which I do, I go several wearings before washing them to ensure they last a nice long time. Now I wash my boys jeans almost every time they wear them simply because boys don't keep their jeans clean when they wear them, and I do. But I find myself washing my jeans for the THIRD time in as many days! I am not amused or happy about this. Halloween, just like every other holiday, the aftermath is the downside. Today I had to remove the pumpkins since it's trash day, it's been raining so they were filled with water and pumpkin goo and various bugs. So one at a time I rolled them into their garbage bags to carry to the curb for trash day, when one had the AUDACITY to fall through it's trash bag soaking my jeans AND my ugg slippers in pumpkin vomit like goo. SOO gross!! And so here I am washing my jeans, again, which means I'll have to walk around in too tight jeans again until they stretch out to their proper fitting. What a way to start the day!!

Music moments

So I'm sitting here a little mellow this morning, Kirk left for 10 days, I have tons to do and I'm a little you know overwhilemed and I have Pandora radio station playing on the computer, it's on the Bens Brother station (thanks Bex and Jameson) and I realize the song playing was TOTAlly playing into my mood, it was called By Myself by Roch Voisine, once I realized what it was saying of course I was laughing and finding it very funny. There have been some very funny music moments in my life one of my favorites was when Kirk was studying for the bar and he would be in the room for 10 hours or more just studying and once I opened the door and he had the radio playing and the song that happened to be on was "All by myself, I'm doing it, all by myself..." I laughed so hard, I mean really whats the odds!!! And then another time when Kirk was trying to get a paper turned in on time and Bard was visiting I think and we started singing "You aren't going to make it, no you're not going to make it". Good times. Matts recent discovery was the Beastie boys, You got to fight for your right, and I'm thinking, grrrrreeeaaat!