Independence

Each new stage of development in life takes on its own joys and stresses. We are facing that now with Jeslyn's new found independence. She loves to get dressed, but picking out her clothes means that they all end up on the floor, then putting them one usually gets them on backwards, inside out, or in a tangle that takes surgery to fix. There is the getting her shoes on, the socks go on skeewompus causing her to freak out because it feels funny in her shoes, but I don't have to take the time to getting them on. She has to walk out to the car herself, makes it easier for me because she is getting pretty heavy, but then it takes 3 times as long to get there. Her favorite phrase is "I do it" or "Jessy do it". It's great when she wants to put the puzzle together, but pouring milk on her cereal isn't as good. She is learning that there are things that mom will not let her do yet, and she is coming to accept that a little bit. She gets very excited every time she figures out something new yelling "I did it" as loud as she can until someone acknowledges to her that she did it.

Jeslyn is so cute right now. She loves to play with her friend Dani, and asks to go see her constantly. They are still learning to play good together, but it is so cute watching them play together. Her smile is adorable, a casual smile is normal, but if you ask her to smile she squinches her eyes and bares her teeth. She loves Ferb! It's about the only thing that will calm her down if she is so sure of something that she isn't going to get. Oh yeah and the tantrums are here, FUN! She is usually good natured, but she sure knows when she isn't getting what she thinks she deserves. I love my Jessy!

Time and Teachers

So I have noticed that at this time of year there is so much more demand on my time. First off, for some reason the math teachers in this area are not getting through to every student, and the parents are finally finding out. I have been called so much this week with new students for me to tutor. I have put in over 8 hours of tutoring this week. The problem is that I only have about 14 hours that can be used for tutoring. It's been great though because I not only is that helping to pay for Christmas, but it has been so fun to see the students get excited about knowing what is going on in their classes. I picked up a Calculus student last night and I was so nervous. Luckily it is still in the easy stuff, so I was able to fake my way through it, but by the time he left, he was excited about knowing it, I was excited I remembered it, and I was just so happy to have helped another person.

Also, I am just so greatful that my kids have such wonderful teachers at school. They are both so kind and good at controlling their classrooms. I am so glad that Dailynn is still excited to go (I was really worried about that), and that Avi has friends and is doing great on her work.

Ok, so I am surprised that time is being given to me. I look back at each day and wonder how I got things done. I have had so many extra things show up in my day to day this last week, and yet my house isn't destroyed (it's not clean), my kids have had some extra mommy time, I have been able to work on our super secret Christmas present after kids go to school, I have done extra tutoring, and I have been able to help a friend with projects to improve her life. I don't know how I am doing this because last year there would have been no way.

I also have to put a plug in for my wonderful husband who has supported me in everything going on, watched the kids for me, and taken up slack where I have faltered. He has helped me get things done and motivated me to do the things I didn't want to. There are others who have helped with the watching the kids and keeping me going, so thank you everyone that is so kind and helpful!

Patience and Healing

I guess that I have been considering my testimony lately. It hasn't wavered, but I have noticed that when people are sharing theirs, and it seems so profound and they say how strongly they know something, it just makes me wonder what I know and what I just think I believe. I think I was considering that and I think I remember praying for an increased testimony. I have a Loving Heavenly Father that is more than willing to help me out with this, but you know what that means.... The learning process isn't always fun, but when you look back it is always sweet.

So, back to the title. I Heavenly Father is a very patient being, He will sit back and wait for us silly mortals to finally give up on the idea that we can do it all on our own and turn to Him for help. I keep running into that wall, and it is strange how it is so easy to forget. My weakness in this is with illness. I listen to a kid cough for hours before it kicks in that it isn't normal. or if they just have a fever, but are up and playing it doesn't send up red flags. So one night a few months ago Jeslyn was just hysterical. She was screaming and nothing I did would calm her down. I was in the living room with her just rolling around on the flour crying, not wanting me to pick her up, not wanting a drink, just in agony. After a few min of this at 3 in the morning, I was in tears! I finally remembered that there is nothing I can do about it, but there is someone that can help. I started a pleading prayer and instantly she calmed down. She went to a whimper then fell asleep in my arms. At that point I gave a much happier and very gracious prayer again and got her in bed and got to sleep myself. Another instance of this happened this week. It was yet again 3 in the morning and Jeslyn was coughing so much. Coughing doesn't cause me too much alarm, who hasn't had a cough last for months in the winter? The problem is that she was just finishing up with croop, so coughing like that wasn't ok. I tried calming her down, giving her drinks, taking her for a walk in the cold, everything, and finally I decided that it was time for the prayer again. Yet again, as soon as I say my pleading prayer with tears in my eyes, she calms down. We still had coughing, and it kept me up, but she was finally able to rest.

I also had another instance this weekend with my family. I was attending a funeral of an uncle, and of course it was a hard occasion. The funeral was so wonderful though, the words said were so uplifting and peaceful to the soul. The Lord is able to heal in a multitude of ways, and I am grateful for the knowledge that I have of the healing power. I am grateful that I have the gospel in my life to help support me through hard times, and such wonderful people in the gospel to help me understand it. I know my Heavenly Father loves me, and that he is mindful of me and my family.

Joy Fest 2011

My friend Katie is so wonderful, she is doing a joy fest 2011 and challenged anyone that wanted to join her quest to bring joy to more people during the time of season where we are supposed to have the most joy.
For today all I can say is that I made cookies with friends that we haven't been able to see for way too long because of sickness, and it brought my whole family joy, and it helped her family too. I love the family and enjoy being with them.

Shopping

So with the girls in school, I do all my shopping with just Jeslyn. It is so nice to have only one child to keep track of. So this week I went shopping, and JJ wanted a cart of her own. So they have these little carts that kids can push around, and I figured why not, it will keep her occupied, so then I won't have her trying to jump out every 2 seconds. So for the first little while it was fun to chase down mommy with the cart. Then we passed the bread section and she stopped for some peanut butter. As we went along she got less interested in following me and more interested in shoving her cart off, filling it with random ingredients, and running away from where I was trying to pull 2 carts too. By the time I got to the register, we had 5 things we didn't want and I was so done with the two cart thing.
That night Nathan wanted to go get something with a gift card, but Avi and Dai didn't want to go. Jeslyn was super excited to go with him though, so the two of them took off. So when they got there the item they were there for was supposedly in the back on the truck that was being unloaded, so they stuck around waiting for it to come off. A half hour later, Nathan was sick of JJ pulling everything off shelves, looking at everything with her hands, and generally not listening to him. Sad thing is that the item wasn't on the truck and they came home empty handed.

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving thanks to my wonderful parents! Mom and Dad showed up this morning and we got to work. Dad and Nathan worked on a doll house for the girls for Christmas (so shh, they don't know). Mom was so wonderful and got me motivated to clean up and organize my wedding business so that I can hopefully sell it sometime soon. We spent about 2 hours on it and although we got a lot done, there is so much more to do. Dinner was so good too, THANKS MOM for your help on that. After dinner, the men finished the house, Mom played with the girls in the leaves, and I ran around making sure the dishes were done and we had the tools for the house. After pie, Mom and Dad took off. It was a simple day, but so GREAT!!! Thank you Mom and Dad for coming over and helping us with projects!!!

Thankful

So I have been thinking about this post for a while now, and I think this is the perfect time for it. The number one thing I am thankful for is a living Heavenly Father who knows and loves me so much that he puts everything I need in front of me when I need it. I don't have everything I want, but anytime there is a need it is given to me.

I have noticed this before, but since we moved to our house 9 mo. ago, the instances seem to be so much more drastic, maybe because there is so much more in our lives. I had a hard time knowing if we were doing the right thing buying this house, but there is no question we are where we need to be. I have a great ward that I have been getting to know. I have wonderful neighbors, and good friends. I think that I had to move here just to have my friend Heidi so close. We both need each other so much and it is great to be near her.

Ok so the story that prompted this post. In Sept. Heidi got me this great job that lets me work from home as much as I can. First instance of the Lords hand is that the day I found out about the job, Nathan was randomly talking to co-workers and they were talking about a computer that was for sale. The computer was exactly what I needed for this job! Whoa huh! So then I have been doing this job making some money, paying off the computer and helping with the bills. Then I feel like I am really making some good money, well for how little I work, and I start stock piling it to pay a big chunk on a bill, I was so excited to be able to do that. So I ended up needing to go to court as a witness one day, and since Nathan needed to get his car in, he took it off to take it in and watch the kids for me. That afternoon we find out that the car was a much bigger deal than we thought. Needless to say we were worried about the big bill! The only thing I could think of is this stock pile of money I have been saving and how it was almost the exact amount that the car bill was. That is cool enough, but as I think about the timing, it gets even better. If we would have waited for this week like we had planned, we wouldn't have had the money, in fact if we would have waited another 3 days to get it in, I would have sent it to the bill already!

I have seen how the Lord has so much better timing than I do! If you question this, then just refresh yourself on my life over the last year and a half. My timing sucks, the Lords timing is perfect!