HaPpY NeW YeAr!!

It is no secret-I am NOT sad to see 2009 over with! It is the last day of the year, last day of this decade! Tomorrow is a new beginning! Tomorrow is the first day of the 2010 year, and for this coming year, my hope is that my family will be healthy, happy, grow stronger together. My goal is to become more of an autism advocate, to go into communities and teach those listening about life with autism. I want to become the Incredible Shrinking Woman again, and today I have already started to GET BACK ON TRACK. By this new year's end, I will graduate college. I wont be sad to see college over with as well.

What happens this new year:
Matthew will turn 11
Bethanie will turn 8 and be baptised
Madison will turn 4 in December and she will soon start Primary (this Sunday)
Matthew will finish Cub Scouts
Bethanie and Madison will be in their first dance recital TOGETHER
I will meet my weight loss goal (yes, I WILL)

So, as you can see, I have some things in the works, some things will happen as time progresses. I hope and pray that this New Year will bring only good things for everyone!!!

A Year In Review...

Wow, I cant believe that the year is OVER! I wish I could say it was exciting. Looking back, some of the first thoughts would be:

he finally graduated college...10 year old boys, wow!...beautiful ballerina...i love my family...teaching youth Sunday School isn't so bad, the girls really are great...i feel invisible sometimes...i am not the incredible shrinking woman anymore, but i do plan to get back on track SOON, and I AM WORTH it, still...i love having a house cat...a total career change is fun and interesting...homeschooling is something i never thought i wanted to do...the holidays were fun...i wished for a lot of snow and got my wish...Madison is growing up and turning into such a delightful little girl...Bethanie is still shy but is loving having friends...Matthew is happy...my thumb is really mad after the Dr. tortured it today...i am craving a cheese burger...i only have 15 hours left for graduation...i am loving technology, just not figuring out how to use it...fudge, i know we have some left somewhere...i have some goals set for the new year, yet to be revealed to you...i love my friends, especially those who take the time to read my thoughts and offer me support continually...I drove in a city by myself the other day, which I NEVER do, and I am proud of me...my husband turned 40 the other day, and i am still younger than he is...Autism, and teaching others about it is my passion... so is my family, parents, siblings, children, and niece and nephews, dont forget my dear friends.

That is just a few of the thoughts running in my mind. Believe it or not, the brain isn't totally fried from kids and homework. :O)

It is my hope that this new year, 2010, is better for everyone financially, emotionally, physically and in every other way that it could be! this year had its share of challenges for us all, and here is to a Happy New Year!!!

Invisible Ink

Sometimes I feel so invisible. Do you ever feel that way? I think it is a combo of things. Christmas is in a couple of days. I am already grieving that it is almost over. I love this time of year. I rarely get out of the house these days since pulling ds out of school. I am not complaining, mind you, just saying, it is hard to never leave the house or to have any personal time to myself. It could be that 3 times now, I have been passed over for things when everyone recieves something as group, and I am left out. I know it is not intended with malice, but I still feel sometimes like I dont exist. I need to put my priority hat on straight. I KNOW I mean something to my husband and children and parents. That is probably the most important thing. THEY know me, who I am and that I am here. Just feeling sorry for myself is all. Chalk it up to winter blues. :O) Cant be happy all the time, right? So that is why today I am writing in invisible ink. My cup has been bone dry empty. I am giving more than is getting putting in. This past year has been fairly tough on us and even though it has been 6 weeks since ending things with the school (in a rather nasty way), I still am feeling the emotional effects from it. I know things will get better.

Bwahaha-its official....I AM a NERD!

TOTAL FITNESS A
PERSONAL AND COMMUNITY HEALTH A
ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY A
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY A
WESTERN CIVILIZATION I A
GPA 4.0

21 YeArS aGo...On DeCeMbEr 12th...

I met "the one". OK, I was only 15, what could I possibly know about it? I met Jeff on December 12, 1988. It was his 19th birthday. We met on a blind date, through a mutual friend. We dated all through my high school years. We became best friends, and I loved him so much! We married just after I graduated high school. I was just 18 when we walked down the isle! We hoped for kids right away. It would be seven years before that dream happened. Finally Matthew joined our family. We were so excited! Struggles through infertility were painful, and something we would deal with again through each additional child we tried for. But through those seven years, we learned that it was BEST that we didn't have a baby at 18. It was also best for our relationship because we were able to become very firm in our marital foundation. I love Jeff so much. I cant believe how the Lord loves me so much to send me such a wonderful man in my life, one worthy to hold the Priesthood, one that has such a good work ethic and is so willing to go to work each day and provide for our family. Jeff is such a good person, who has an eternal optimistic outlook on life. Sometimes I find that annoying because I am fairly pessimistic. :O) I guess that is why we balance each other so well. Jeff is such a good dad. He loves to spend time with his children, to do things with them and to teach them! I love seeing him so tenderly involved with each one of them!

We have now been married 18 years. Our love continues to grow and grow. I hope Jeff knows how much I love him and I hope he had a great birthday, even though we spent it Christmas shopping. ;OP

HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY JEFF! You don't look a DAY over 40!

I love you!

BrAnCh ChRiStMaS PaRtY...

We had a fun time on Friday evening (December 11th) at the Branch (Church) Christmas Party. The kids took part in a Nativity display that was so cute. I guess it was just Bethanie that took part. I am not sure why Madison didn't, but Matthew likely didn't want to. Bethanie was an Angel, and so pretty at that! We sang songs, saw Santa, ate great food. It was fun! What a fun way to invite the Spirit of the Season!!! Our favorite niece, Heather was there. Bethanie had a friend there (Shay) and they all had so much fun. Madison was not as brave to sit on Santa's lap this time. Bethanie wouldn't hear of it at all. I had to sit with her, hence the reason I am in the picture with them! LOL!

AcCoMpLiShMeNtS...FINALS WEEK!!!

My most challenging part of finals week came today, when I had to play "Catch-up" with work. I had to complete two tests for my online Personal & Community Health class. I had a unit test to complete (70 minutes, 100 questions, and believe me it takes every minute to do it) and the final which was 200 minutes for 100 short answer questions. I am so burned out on hearing about drugs, alcohol, sex (hehe), STDs, heart health, exercise and so on. I am SO GLAD to have this class out of the way. I ended up with a 92% which = an A. Tuesday, I need to go and take my Abnormal Psychology final. I am not too worried about it. For some reason, I am LOVING psychology. I don't know if it is because I live with abnormal people (myself included) or what the deal is. LOL!

This has been such a challenge, this semester. I didn't plan on having to be a teacher so soon with having Matthew home each day. I have to say, I am LOVING being his teacher. He is making this so much easier for me than I thought he would. However; it makes getting to my classes much harder (impossible). I still have four hours to exercise this week to finish off my PE class (if I want an A, and I do). So somehow it will all be done. I am not sad to see the semester be finished. On with CHRISTMAS!

WiNtEr WoNdErLaNd...

We have over a foot of snow! I cant believe there is so much snow on the ground! We have been out of school for two days, and the kids have had a blast! So have we! Yesterday we took all three of our kids and three of their friends out sledding. I took Madison down the hill first and we plowed through fresh snow. By the time we stopped, we were UNDER the snow. I tried to cover up Madison's face as we went through it but was not successful. I stood her up after we stopped and turned her toward me and tried to get the snow off her face so she could breathe and see. She said, "Me not LIKE it". :O) It was funny. So I put her in the van to stay warm so I could watch the other kids sled. She watched the DVD player and was nice and toasty. Matthew then joined her soon. He is sensitive to temperatures. But the rest of the kids had so much fun!

Today we spent the day scooping out our driveway with one shovel. We took turns scooping and it was A LOT OF WORK. But it is done. I think the worst part of the day was that Jeff tried for an hour to leave for work and was not successful. Then, the battery to the van died because someone left the light on the DVD player on and it killed the battery. So we struggled all day to GET TO THE VAN through the snow so we could jump it. It was just kind of a challenge all day long. But the kids played out in the snow for a while and I made some delicious homemade cinnamon rolls to reward our labors. :O)

TiNy DaNcEr...

Once again, my sweet Bethie has stolen my heart with her performance. There is just something about seeing her so excited about being on stage performing! Yesterday she was a Toy Soldier in "The Nutcracker". Her dance company puts this on every other December. The last time she was in it, she was a dancing Christmas Tree. :O) She seemed a bit shy on stage this time. She has been in several of these recitals by now, and she knows what to expect. Her nerves got the best of her, but she was up there, she did her thing and she looked as beautiful as ever! GO BETHIE!! I am so proud of her!

Next month, Madison will start dance. I hope she enjoys it as much as Bethanie does!!!

LeT iT sNoW!!!

We are supposed to be getting dumped on tonight and tomorrow! I am so excited to see it is supposed to snow, FINALLY! We had little snow last winter. I was so disappointed because the kids didn't get to play in any snow. I hope we get a couple of really great snow falls this winter.

Madison loves putting on her snow boots and going through fresh snow. Bethanie cant wait to get out there and build a snow man. Matthew will like being out for a bit, but will want to come back in. Hopefully we will go sledding. That would be fun too! YAY SNOW!!!

BiG GiRl...My SwEeT MiSs MaDiSoN...

Our sweet youngest child, Madison is turning THREE! Where on earth has the time gone??? We had her birthday party tonight with our family. She has been excited for her birthday for WEEKS! Finally, after whispering in my ear daily that her birthday was coming up, it is here! Not officially but close!

I remember my pregnancy with her. I was HUGE! I had gestational diabetes and I was on quite the heavy dose of insulin (both kinds). She was born at a whopping 9 1/2 lbs, nearly two weeks early, upon my intense insistance. :O) But she came into this world and she instantly captured the hearts of her entire family, one member in particular, my dad (Brown Grandpa). She really favors his dad in features.

One of the many neat things about Madison is that she has a very outgoing personality. I think she gets that from her brother. What she gets from her sister is that she is shy but only when attention is ON her. ;O)

Madison is really into the color PURPLE. She LIVES for that color. She is also in love with Snow White. It is crazy since she has not actually SEEN the show. We have the DVD but she doesnt have the time to watch it. LOL!

Madison has learned about friends this past year. She has a friend at church, and two friends who also are friends with Madison's older sister, Bethanie.

She is also very willing to learn. She counts to ten, knows tons of colors and shapes. She is our singer.

Two things that struck me tonight about her that was really funny was, as she was opening presents, she finished opening one and stood up and said, "Next!". What a hoot! After everyone left, we were picking up the mess (you would think a gift bomb exploded in our house and it isnt even Christmas), Madison pipes up and said to us, "Thank you for my birf-day!) Oh my heart MELTED AWAY! Suddenly I remembered who I was, and why I was here-for my children! I love them all so much and I am so proud of each one of them!

Happy Birthday, my sweet little Butterbean! I love you sweet heart!

(Above are pictures of this past year with Madison).