Grades so far...

Landon has received grades for two classes:
Music Appreciation - 97%
Anthropology - 100%

Yep, you read that right, 100%!!!!!!!

Landon would try to lead you to believe the classes were "easy", "just generals", and that he was "lucky". But I am here to tell you he is just really intelligent and he just needs to accept that! He put in a lot of hard work and we are so proud of him.

Love you Landon!

*** I need to add he got an A in his American Government class as well! I married a really smart man! ***

Home Owners at last!

As of Monday morning Landon and I became Home Owners!

We are so excited. It has been a long process but well worth it. We love our little home and I am already dreaming of paint colors for the bathroom and downstairs. :) You know me. I'm always on the lookout for a new home improvement project! I will post pictures soon, I promise. Well, I'll post pictures of the few rooms which are finished to the point that I want to share them. :) So if you want to come visit, PLEASE DO! We love visitors especially now that we have a nice size guest room.

The Littlest Angel

When I think of Christmas I think of sitting and listening to my mom read us The Littest Angel by Charles Tazewell. I love it! They have remade the book but I dreamed of owning the original with the original pictures. I looked on ebay. It was going for at least $35. I didn't want it that bad. Then I found a 1996 remake of the 1982 version. I bet on it and WON it! Total cost 99 cents for the book and $3.00 shipping and handling. It arrived less than a week later and it is in MINT condition. Actually I may have been the first to read it as the binding creaked as I opened it. Emily sat next to me silent and enthralled which is a big thing for my daughter. We've read it four times in one week. Another record for my daughter with books that don't involve Dora or Curious George. I tear up at the end and everything. Landon just shakes his head. I am so excited to have this book to create more memories for my kids.

Video Message from Santa

My friend Amber told me about a really great site that creates personalized Santa videos for kids. I went and made a video for each of my kids. It is awesome! And Free! We are doing Santa letters sometime this week. Then they are going to get a video from Santa when he "receives" the letters. I love this time of year!

Emily's Video

Collin's Video

Christmas Tree

As Emily and I put up our Christmas Tree today I was overcome with memories from our mismatched decorations. Just a few memories:
1. The bows I made the first Christmas we had a tree. We had no money to buy ornaments and someone had given us a really nice fake tree. I bought two $1 spools of wire ribbon and made bows. Definitely not professional looking but I can't bring myself to fix them. So I hung them on the tree smiling that now they are surrounded by more ornaments.

2. Ornaments from Sis Perry. For Relief Society, my third year in Powell River, we did a gift exchange. You weren't supposed to spend more than 5 dollars and were encouraged to make something for the person whose name you drew. Sis Perry handed me a very large bag. I think she may have missed the directions because it held about 6 beautiful ornaments, Christmas tea towels and few Christmas decorations. It was another tight Christmas and these 6 ornaments became my first store bought gorgeous ornaments. All child proof. Which is so nice because Emily was able to play with them today before hanging them up. I cried.

3. Metal Snowmans. The bookman who came to the staff room at James Thomson Elementary School had brought in a beautiful metal snowman tin and five metal snowmans. Very different looking but the price was right at $7 so I bought them. I love how the lights reflect on them. When I look at them I think of the good memories I had at JT. I even have a beautiful sled ornament made out of popcycle sticks from Lisa Traer's class my last year at JT.

4. Crafty Christmas Balls. One Christmas Ball is embrodered and quilted with beautiful material. My Grandma Knoll gave it to me for Christmas 4 years ago with a note that reads, "Your Grandma Hull made this for me one year. I thought that it would mean a lot to you to have it. Love Gram K." She is right it does. I don't have many things from Grandma Hull. I treasure the ball. The other ball my mother made using many sequins and pins. It is beautiful and the light reflect off of it at night. As Emily picked it up she said, "Its beautiful!"

5. White scene ornaments. My Aunt Margaret does up a couple of beautiful white ornaments on her sewing machine every year. They look crocheted. I love them. They are simple and beautiful. My Aunt Margaret inspires me in so many ways. I love looking at the ornaments and the incredible stockings that she has made for me and my family. She holds a dear place in my heart.

6. Snowflakes. When Jared Holmgren was married he decorated with foam snowflakes. As I had Emily at the time I grabbed a handful when they were offered to me. Everytime I look at them I think of the Holmgren family and their generosity they have offered to me over the years.

7. Handmade Ornaments. My mom and Ashley have made some beautiful ornaments over the last few years and given them to me. I love hanging them on the tree. It makes them feel closer when they are so far away. I also have a handmade ornament from Vicki Caldwell. When I was no more than 8, Vicki made a cross stich ornament for every child in our primary. Mine says, "Tamara is a Child of God". Every child received one with their name on it. I love mine. What a labour of love. The Caldwells have played such a large role in my life and I am so grateful of the small reminder I get to see on my tree.

There are also ornaments from friends, one from Halifax from Lance and Amber, an A&W bear playing hockey to help me remember home, one from the PR Primary for Emily, decorations that the Coe's helped Emily make for me. I am blessed to be surrounded by so much love, good friends and family. I am so happy to have a tree that embodies that at this time of year.

Snow Day

Today is my first snow day! Due to the blizzard outside I get the WHOLE day off work! Unless there is one tomorrow I have to go in until 1:15 and then it is a four day weekend for Thanksgiving. I received the phone call as I was getting out of bed this morning at 5:30am. I was so excited that I got to sleep in! I didn't get up until 7:30. It was so nice and refreshing. I got up, started laundry, made a big breakfast for everyone and cleaned the kitchen. I was done all of that by 10:00 so Emily and I got out all the Christmas decorations and put them up. It is nice to have today to clean my house get things ready for the Christmas season, and pack for the three and half days at my inlaws. This way we can leave right as I get off work tomorrow.

I love SNOW days!
(And the fact that we have a four wheel drive vehicle since we are completely out of diapers for Collin.)

Remembrance Day

My mom brought me a poppy from Canada when she came down on November 1st. I was so happy to wear it! One of the students at my school is from England and her grandmother had sent her a poppy from England. The two of us had our poppies on every day. It started a conversation in the Social Studies class I team teach. The teacher I teach with reminisced to me about when she used to wear a poppy to school on Veterans Day (Nov 11). She came up with the idea that we would talk to all the 8th grade social studies classes about poppies, and Veterans Day. And then they would each make three poppies out of crepe paper. Then 14 students volunteered to come in on their lunch break and help MariLana and I make up the remaining poppies so that there was enough for each student and staff member. On November 11th all homerooms received a bag of poppies, and a copy of the poem, "In Flanders Fields." It was so neat. On each poppy we attached a slip of paper that said Lest We Forget. We had a moment of silence at 11 o'clock as well. It did cause a little uproar with one staff member who informed MariLana that poppies were Canadian and that the US only recognized a yellow ribbon on Veterans Day. After a little research we discovered that she was wrong but we were good and did not say anything. :) I am so thankful for all the Veterans who have fought for freedom.

Life

I realize that I really haven't been keeping up with posts for the blog. Which is kind of sad since I do use this as our family journal. Life has been coming so fast lately. I leave for work early and come home late. By the time dinner is made, the kitchen cleaned up, and I've played with the kids it is time to put the kids to bed. Then its a quick check of my personal email and off to bed to start over the next day. There are a few things that I would like to document though.

1. My living room is as done as its going to get for now. Just in time for me to decorate for Christmas. :) I will post a couple of pictures as soon as I get the pictures off my camera. :) Now for the other rooms in my house.... No money though so they will have to wait awhile. :) I did purchase the material I need to mostly finish my bedroom. Hopefully I will have time over Christmas break to do some sewing. :)

2. Trip to Canada. We did a quick run up to Alberta and back the weekend of the 10-11. We needed to import the car so we drove 8 hours, stayed the night with Naomi and then drove home the next morning. Due to a few snowstorms and trouble at the border it took 10 hours to get home. Let's just say I am glad that was the last brush I should have to have with customs and immigration for awhile. I'm tired of the good cop/bad cop routine. We loved visiting with Naomi. The kids absolutely loved seeing her. We went swimming that night which was lots of fun. Even though Collin was determined to drown himself. So much fun. We met Naomi's boyfriend who was extremely nice. Landon loved Southern Alberta and wondered why we didn't move there earlier into our 7 years in Canada. I told him he would like it but he was determined to stay on the coast. :) The drive through Montana was fantastic. It is gorgeous in Northern Montana.

3. We have almost finalized everything for the purchase of our house. I can't believe how many things have gone wrong. Not to mention how painful financially it is to pay almost $300 more a month in rent than what our mortgage will be. Yikes! We hope to everything done by the end of the month. Just a few more wrinkles to iron out.

4. My sister, my life saver. I don't know if I would have survived the previous three months without my sister and her family. They have helped us out so many times. I keep asking how I can help her but she can't seem to think of anything. Seriously a SAINT!

5. Making new friends. In an earlier post I lamented about how I haven't made any friends and how sad I was. Well I woke up and decided that it was my attitude that stunk and to get over it. Very quickly things began to change. Instead of assuming that everyone had their own friends and that they weren't looking for new ones I just assumed everyone would love to meet me. I know how conceited. :) We have made some strides to creating some really great friends. We were invited to the home of our home teacher (who actually is the grandson of a missionary who served in Powell River when I was a teenager) to hang out with his family and another family in our ward. Emily had someone her age to play with and same with Collin. The older kids looked after the younger kids downstairs and the adults played about 12 hands of Scum. Jared and Elisabeth Stein are absolutely wonderful people. We had a blast and suddenly realized it was almost 10 pm and we needed to get the kids to bed. That was Saturday, November 6th. On Sunday I was chatting with our fabulous ward mission leader about his kids. His beautiful (insert beautiful and gorgeous so I am instantly intimidated) wife was standing across the room. Now he is good looking as well but he is so outgoing I am not intimidated. Beautiful people always intimidate me. :) I decided to get over it and went over and introduced myself. I told her that I loved her jean skirt which got us talking. I mentioned I was heading into choir and she said that she has always wanted to sing in a choir for the Christmas program. I invited her to come in with me since she mentioned she sang alto. We chatted between songs and at the end of the practice she asked if it would be okay if they invited us over for dinner. And they did! We went over Thursday night for dinner at Quinn and Suzanne Dance's house and they also invited another couple. Their daughter Maddy is one month younger than Emily and their son Bodie is a year older than Collin. We had a wonderful time and stayed until 11pm. They are a fabulous couple. I found out that Suzanne was family friends with my friend Taggart from USU. She went to high school with his little sister. I was invited out to another lady in our ward for a girls games night where you can buy the games. (Kind of like a Mary Kay party but with games.) And then Saturday we had Alicia and Blake over. I really feel like we have become a part of the ward and it feels really nice. We've invited other to our house but they have had to cancel for various reasons. I look forward to getting to know others.

Wow this post has gotten long! There is just so much going on and so much to be thankful for!

Weekend Memories

I wanted to write down some wonderful memories from the weekend.

1. Picking Emily up from dance class (an extra makeup class) on Saturday. Nic had driven her because I was at choir practice. She was so proud to come out and show me her stamp that she got for listening in dance class. She is doing so well and I am so proud of her!

2. All the Snow! It started snowing early Saturday morning and snowed until almost 3pm. Emily and Collin were so excited! The Explorer drives fantastic (so far) in the snow and it was fun to watch the kids play in the snow.

3. Watching Emily make dinner. Emily really wanted to make dinner on Saturday night. So I decided that we would have tin foil dinners in the oven. I set out all the ingredients and let Emily assembly the proportions on the tin foil. (I put the raw hamburger in...) She was so proud of herself when they were done and she told each of us which was ours. She talked about it all night. My little girl is growing up!

4. Having friends over. Alicia and Blake Hymas came over last night to play games and have dessert. Landon said he felt a little old inviting them over at first but by the end of the evening he was thoroughly enjoying himself. Alicia is 26 and Blake is 24 which is why Landon felt old. But we laughed and played a fun game Boxers or Briefs. Hilarious get to know you game. Blake was fantastic with both of our kids who decided to be rather clingy and wanted to play the game with us. They stayed until 11pm! And the best part is that the next day at church they both talked about getting together again. I'm always nervous that people will be nice to us and then disappear because we are too weird or not cool enough. :) I'm really enjoying getting to know the other couples in our ward. Some really incredible people!

5. Walking to church in the snow. We are only 3 blocks from our meetinghouse and so we walked to church on Sunday. Both Emily and Collin were mesmorized by the snow. Emily ran across the lawn at church because she wanted to make tracks. Of course her feet were soaking wet and she spent sacrament meeting barefoot. :)

6. Singing in the choir. I love singing in the choir. But I don't have the best track record with them. It has been so much fun to belong to our ward choir. The members are so nice. I've even convinced Suzanne and Alicia to join me in the alto section. It is nice to have friends to sit with. Emily comes with me after church to sing with me. She wants to sing different songs but it is so fun to watch her hold the music and sing.

7. Pride and Prejudice. I love that I woke up from an afternoon nap and found my husband watching the 6 hour A&E Pride and Prejudice without me! I made him turn it off until after dinner so I could finish watching it with him. That movie always makes me happy.

8. Bunkbeds. Landon and I put up the kids bunkbeds to curb the amount of jumping on the bed. Emily is so proud of her bed. She keeps saying that its just like Ethan's. And how she can't wait till Ethan comes and she can show him. We miss you Ethan. My kids are growing up! I pieced together a board to keep Emily from rolling off. Its not too pretty but it works. I already have plans on how to make it look nicer. Now to find the time and money... :) The ladder is only hooked to the bunk beds when Emily is sleeping because Collin has figured out climbing up it. See he is short enough to jump on her bed. :) But last night we found him on the top bunk and the ladder was not attached. Seems he has figured out how to climb up the side by watching his sister do it. Hmmmm.

I love my family. I am so blessed!

Incredible Hero

We tend to liberally give out the label of hero. But there are definitely people in the world who deserve it. Check out what this man was willing to do to save a man's life that he did not know. I don't think I would have been so selfless.

Subway Hero

Happiness is ...

I feel that happiness comes to us when we accept who we are with no reservations.

If I want an instant lift in my mood, I watch the movie Penelope. I tried to introduce it to my grade 7 students today. Didn't go over well but now I am energized, feeling content and happy as I look ahead to 4 1/2 hours of parent teacher conferences. Whenever I watch this movie I feel recommitted to learning to love myself. If you haven't seen the movie I highly recommend it. (And I will admit I would LOVE her wardrobe.)

Flashback

This morning was our motivational assembly. It is in conjunction with the chocolate and magazine fundraiser. A couple of professional BMX riders (both have gone to the X Games plus been featured on various tv shows), an announcer and music person put on a 30 minutes BMX trick show in our school gym. A few minutes into the show I felt like I had gone back in time to my childhood. I was listening to songs like "Eye of the Tiger" and watching moves that I had seen on my favourite childhood movie, "RAD." A great morning after a not so great night. It makes me want to go home and watch some 80's movies.

Abigail Jane Peck

I am an aunt again!

I love being an aunt! It is the best!

And this time I am close enough to get to see her right away. I can't wait for my work day to be over and go hold her!

She is 7lbs 6oz and 20 1/2 inches long.

Don't know how long labour was since Nic texted me at 6:45am and told me they were at the hospital. I don't know if he waited until he knew I would be at my carpool or if that is when they got there.

Yeah!!!!

A Little Green Card

I just got home from work and grabbed my mail on the way into my house. I found a third "Welcome to the United States" letter promising that I should hear from them within 30 days. Its the third one in a week. I was laughing about it as I opened the next letter that was coming from Texas with no return name above the address. Inside I found a pamphlet for new immigrants and my very own GREEN CARD!!!! Yep pretty much everything on the card is in different shade of green but now I can officially stay in the country, work, pay taxes, etc etc until 2020. The best thing is that it means that we can start the process of purchasing our FIRST house. Yippee!

A mother's work is never done. Enjoy!

Family Pictures

My wonderful sister Rita took our family pictures on Tuesday. They turned out SOOOOO good. Emily and Collin didn't always cooperate but we still got cute pictures so who cares! Next time I know not to choose a park that has swings and a slide at it. The fall colours were gorgeous and I loved having all the leaves on the ground for us to play in. The train tracks and park were a perfect place. The trees are planted along a triangle piece of land so it lends some fun background imagery. Click Here to go to facebook where I posted the pictures. It is a public page so you don't have to have an account. Enjoy!

Craters of the Moon Field trip

I had never been to or knew much about Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho when I found out the 8th grade class was going. I was able to go along with 8 other adults and our 120 students. It was nice to get to know two of the school's science teachers on the 2 hour bus ride each way. I learned alot about the fascinating earth science features that naturally happen in Idaho. Luckily it wasn't too hot of a day with a light breeze. The forecast had predicted rain so I was glad that they were wrong. The first thing we did after the ranger talked to us about the rules was climb a cinder cone. A complete hill formed from the ash falling from the volcano vent over 2000 years ago. Totally awesome. The rock/ash was sparkly. I didn't expect that. The climb was rather steep and I discovered that not only am I out of shape but my body has still not completely acclimated here. The top of the hill is 7000 above sea level. My lungs were burning! But the view was incredible. To look out and actually see the black hardened lava. (Can't remember the name of it. Guess I should have paid more attention) I could just imagine what it looked like red and glowing, how it flowed etc. It was really neat to see how certain areas must have had a high enough elevation because there will be a small green island of grass in the sea of black. We then climbed up to two vents. Lots of climbing but so worth it. My legs were BURNING. I love that feeling. :) The students were really good only a few yahoos who were of course from my homeroom. But no accidents even when they were running down the hillsides. I wish I had brought my camera. We then headed over to the caves. Everyone brought sweaters, hats and flashlights. My brother in law had kindly lent me 3 flashlights which I ended up lending out two to girls who did not have flashlights that worked. :) Gotta love 8th graders. We hiked Indian Cave first which was really neat. The caves are acutal lava tubes! Some have collapsed over time. There aren't many you can climb in now because of this happening. We then went in boy scout caves. One went into a large cavern that one end had collapsed making it so you had to go back in the entrance. The other cave you had to slither down into and the only way out was on your stomach crawing. I ended up going back up the entrance because the students were taking so long I was getting claustraphobic. And I'm a coward. :) The last cave is Beauty and it is a simple large cave you walk in and out of. We ended up going back into the Boy Scout cavern so that the Earth Science teacher could tell them a ghost story about the place in the pitch dark. I was trying not to laugh but couldn't help it when he reached the end. He told them that the wind you may feel in the tunnels is from the spirits of the three dead boy scouts and could they feel it. While it was quiet a drop of water and small pebble from the ceiling fell on the neck of one of the girls. She screamed. It was so funny! It was a long day, (8:30am-5:30pm) but well worth it. It makes me want to return with my kids. But maybe not until they are a little older. I wouldn't want them falling over an edge and getting hurt. I highly recommend it to everyone!

One of Those Days

Have you ever had one of those days? You know the one where everything goes wrong no matter how prepared you are and all you can do is laugh or cry. I'm choosing laughing today.

I woke this morning late so I quickly showered and got dressed in the clothes I laid out last night for my field trip to Craters of the Moon. I get makeup on and hair done. Breakfast eaten. Then I realize that Nic doesn't usually work Friday's and I need to get to my carpool. The kids and Landon are still sleeping. I text Nic and he says that he will drive me even though he doesn't work until the afternoon. Landon wakes up to tell me he has decided to go on the overnight trip with his brothers which means he is leaving at 1:30pm. I'm not getting home until 6pm because of travel for the field trip. I quickly text Rita (its 6:30am) and ask if she can take my kids from 1:30 till 6. She texts back yes. Then Nic texts me and says that he is just going to drop off the truck and I can keep it until Landon gets back. (Have I told you my sister and brother in law are saints?) I then realize that Collin had my house and truck key at Rita's house and I don't know where they are. Landon took them from him not knowing they were mine and thought he left them on the piano. I call Nic he was about to get into his truck. He says he will take a look around. I look around my house. No keys. Nic shows up at 6:45. I drive him back to his house. He gives me his truck key because he couldn't find the key either. I run into my house grab my previously packed bag, kiss Emily and Landon and make Landon promise to leave his house key at Rita's so I can get back into my house. I call Melisa and let her know I will be arriving 5 minutes late for carpool. As I am getting out of the truck I realize my healthy, packed last night, lunch is sitting in my fridge. Too late to go and get it. Melisa says that she will take me to the grocery store in American Falls to pick up some food. Half way here I realize that I left my cell phone in the Explorer. I get to the grocery store and realize I have 5 dollars to buy lunch. I haven't been in town or off work at times I can get a bank card for our bank account. I spend $4.58 on tuna fish and crackers snack pack, an apple, a fiber bar, and a pudding snack pack. I get to school, realize I left my school keys in my purse at home and it is only 7:44 am. What does the rest of the day have in store.

Deer and Big Blessings

Since my sister has already posted about this on facebook I figured I better get this on the blog. I have the best sister and brother in law on earth. Seriously, I do. Nic lends me his Explorer when it is my turn to carpool to work. My car is rather small and that way Landon still has a vehicle. Nic either carpools with his brother or I drop him off. I know, a saint. Since I am away Friday on a field trip, and Friday is my day to drive the carpool, I offered to drive Wednesday. This morning I picked everyone up at Petsmart, our meeting place, at 6:55 am and off we went. It is still dark and so headlights are on, etc. We got onto the freeway and I quickly sped up to 80 mph. We were chatting about stopping off at American Falls Break for Breakfast and pick up one of the cute pink insulated lunch sacks they were giving away. (Break for Breakfast is for women to raise awareness about Breast Cancer. You drive up, stop, they hand you literature, a pen and a lunch sack with milk, yogurt, muffin and a banana, then you drive off.) We were maybe 2 miles up the freeway when suddenly a deer jumped into the freeway, RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE EXPLORER. There was nothing I could do. I hit the deers butt with my front drivers side bumper. I felt a jolt, and a bump bump under my vehicle. I thought the wheels were handling weird as I calmly pulled over to the side of the road. I didn't swerve, slam on my brakes or anything. Just pulled over. I felt at peace. A little wired but not freaking out. I got out of my vehicle and I could smell blood and singed fur. I walked around the vehicle expecting to find a dead deer, nothing. I then got down on my knees to look under the vehicle, nothing. I turned and looked up the road, nothing. My co worker Melisa got out of the vehicle on the cell phone with her husband. I told her I couldn't see anything wrong. She didn't believe me. She walked around the vehicle and admitted that there was no damage and no deer. We got back in the vehicle and found our other coworker Marilana on the phone with her significant other. She couldn't believe there was no damage. We were worried that the explorer might not drive well because they had felt the thump and weird pull of the wheels as well. I tentatively pulled out onto the freeway and slowly excelerated. Nothing wrong. Except my hazards had still not turned on. Melisa called Idaho State Police to let them know about the deer and where the accident had occured. They said they would go look for the deer so they could put it out of its misery. We sat in silence for a minute and then Marilana said, "Well we braked but I didn't get any meat for my breakfast." That was enough to make us all laugh and joke the next 20 minutes on the drive out to American Falls. We braked for breakfast at the park, got our really cute bags and then headed off to work. As I made the last turn to work my hazards came on. It made me laugh. I called Rita as I got out of the vehicle. The first thing I said was, "Did you know that it takes more than 15 minutes for your hazards to come on?" She paused and asked, "Why did you have my hazard lights on?" I laughed and told her the story. She had Nic's dad drive over from Aberdeen to check the vehicle out and he gave the car and clean bill of health. As we drove back to Pocatello at 4:15pm we looked for any sign of the deer. Nothing. I told Melisa that I was glad that they were in the vehicle with me so that I knew I hadn't imagined it. She laughed and said that it would be pretty hard for the three of us to have the same hallucination. I have been thanking the Lord all day for our safe arrival. If I had driven my car it would have been another ending, I am sure of it. The deer was quite large. I could see his head and eye clearly from my elevated position in the Explorer. I am grateful for the loving care of my Heavenly Father today.

**As I side note: The bags were so cute that Marilana and I went back through the line so that we could pick two up for her daughters and one for my sister. They are pink with pink circle trim. On the pocked it says, "Fight like a girl!" They even gave us a tiny stuffed pink boxing glove key chain that says the same thing.**

Pictures from the Cabin

Since I am sitting at my mother in laws computer I can post a couple of pictures she took when we were up at the cabin for Landon's birthday. Enjoy!

Mel took Emily and Collin out for a ride on the four wheeler. They LOVED it!

The kids loved running around the yard!

It is always so much fun to go to the cabin!

Sunshine and other happy thoughts

"Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves."

J M Barrie (author of Peter Pan)

If I were to write this email three days ago it would be completely different. I had been throwing myself a pity party for over a week. I knew good things were happening to me but all I could see was the stress from work, an unpacked/dirty home, an extra 10 pounds on top of the 5 I wanted to lose at the beginning of the summer, so forth and so forth. And then Sunday night I read the above quote. Changed everything. I started seeing the positive. I realized that I was not being patient.

As an example: I have been looking forward to moving hoping it was my chance to create some new friendships. In Powell River I didn't have a social life outside of my immediate family (brother, sister in law, mom, dad). Don't get me wrong. They were absolutely over the moon fantastic. But I have really wished to have some girlfriends which I saw outside of work. I am a social person but my husband is not. I have always thought of myself as a friendly person who was a pretty good friend. And that I made friends easily. I have an absolutely wonderful staff at work. So friendly, kind, open, supportive all those qualities you want in coworkers. I car pool with two wonderful women. But nothing outside of school. For the first three Sunday's I went to church, sat by people, said hi, introduced myself, made comments in classes, all the things you do to meet people. Three people talked with me over the three weeks. They all know Rita and were wondering if I was her twin. I was excited to talk to them but the conversations were only once and short. I smile at people and get blank looks back. Rita and her friends are kind to invite me out but its not the same. Rita is over the moon wonderful. I couldn't ask for a better friend or sister but I was worrying that I was asking for too much and counting on her too often. So instead of thinking what you are all thinking, "It's only been three weeks!" All I could see was no one wants to be my friend, my history in friendship doesn't really show a great track record with me being a good friend, I just annoy people and on and on and on.

See I was pretty messed up. But the quote changed it for me. I was so busy seeing the negative I wasn't allowing any postive in. So I promised the Lord I would start to see the positive and be positive with others. Find the good, give compliments etc. Landon left Monday afternoon for Canada and I was stressed about it being Emily and I for 4 days. Rita stepped in, she has Emily all day, then feeds us dinner, we do scripture study with them and then head home. Once Rita's kids are asleep she comes over and helps me unpack. My living room, kids room and toy room are now done. In only TWO nights! Nic came and moved all the furniture I needed moved to unpack stuff into. He solved a couple of problems for me. Rita is calling around trying to find me a free box spring so my bed can get off the floor. And guess what: I am feeling so stress free! I hadn't realized how much it was weighing on me having an unpacked house. Emily walked into the toy room when we finished last night. I asked her if she liked the room and she said, "It's perfect." (in a soft quiet voice with her eyes wide.) Its not a professional room or even completely done yet but she loves it. I almost cried.

The best news is tonight Nic and Rita are taking me to Idaho Falls with them to go to the temple.

We truly need to remember that when we bring sunshine into the lives of others it shines back at us.

PS No you cannot have Rita for your sister. She is mine. (Well except for Naomi and Ashley. I will share with you.)

A "little" update

I have come up to breathe long enough to catch up on our lives here on the blog. This is my family history so I am sorry if this is a little long.

We had a pretty uneventful trip down once we received the visa. We arrived in Vancouver Wednesday night. Thursday morning I went to check the mail multiple times. The mail was not there by 10:30am. We started to get worried. Then my aunt's neighbor mentioned that the mail doesn't get there until 2pm. So we went out for lunch. The mail was in the box by 2 pm and my visa was there! After a dance of joy and a teaful goodbye to my dad we headed for the border. The border crossing guard gave Nic a hard time about working for the FBI. She decided he was okay when she found out that he was a techie. It helped releave my stress. An hour of waiting in the wait room and I walked out with my temporary permanent residence visa in my passport. They were really nice and let me take the kids to the washroom and go out to get things from the truck. They don't all let you do that but we did use the Aldergrove crossing which helps ALOT. The kids didn't sleep well so I got about 2 hours of sleep in total. We arrived in Pocatello at 7:30am. Just in time for Nic to be there as Russell walked to the bus for his first day of school. It was really important to Russell that his dad be there so I was glad that we made it back. Landon and Nic unloaded the truck, I showered and went into work at 10am. Yep on two hours of sleep. Needless to say I don't really remember much from my first day or the 25 minute drive home. Scary since most of the drive is on the highway going 75 mph (120 kmph). I taught three classes as well. With no lesson plan. Good thing I can think on my feet. :)

The school had been so good to let me come three days late I didn't want to make them scramble for one more day. The staff here are FANTASTIC! So supportive, friendly and welcoming. The principal is wonderful, I couldn't ask for a nicer place to work. (Even though I do miss my old schools.) The students were disappointed to find out I don't speak Spanish but they seem to have gotten over it. Of the 50 students I see a day (either homeroom or teaching) 42 are hispanic. I am really enjoying the change. Matt has helped me out with translating a few words and phrases. :) Now that my students know that I know someone who can translate there isn't as much Spanish thrown at me. :) They are hoping that Matt will visit when he comes out in February because they think he sounds AWESOME. See Matt you have that reputation whether you are their teacher or not. There is a teacher here that reminds me of Matt with his fun antics and energy. I think you would love this school Matt!

Our house is still in transition. Both in us purchasing it and unpacking/organizing. I love having a house! There is so much room! The kids are loving it, they love their bed room and the toy room. Especially the toy room. Even though most of the toys are still in boxes. I go to work at 6:30 am and get home just before 5pm. By the time dinner is made, clean up, and then trying to get the kids into bed, I am just too tired to unpack. Last night I spent 2 1/2 hours organizing and cleaning the kitchen. Crazy! I've had to reorganize the pantry a few times because every time I open a new box I find more for the kitchen. I still haven't found my hair dryer yet so hopefully it won't be in the last box. I've got about 14 more to go. Then organizing. Thankfully I have a week off in October so my goal is to have at least half the house organized. Maybe paint the bathroom... Hmmm. It all depends on the finances. :)

Landon's parents came up and stayed Saturday and Sunday with us the first weekend. It is so nice to have a spare bedroom with a bed and everything! People can actually come and visit! We had a wonderful time with them and were so happy they came. The kids enjoyed having them in the house.

The first Sunday I went to our new ward my kids were HORRIBLE! I have never had to take them out so much. They loved nursery though. There are 13 kids in their class. Emily is the oldest but she doesn't mind. I loved going to Sunday School with just Landon. :) The lesson was on Job and I really felt a personal connection to the story after this last summer.

I struggled through most of the next week but I will leave that for another post. Landon's birthday was on the 18th so we left to go stay with his parents at their cabin near Yellowstone Park after I got off work on Friday. I knew it would mean alot to Landon so that was his birthday present from me. I took the weekend off from unpacking and off we went. We had a wonderful visit. Cade and Janie came over Saturday morning and wished Landon a happy birthday before heading into the park with their friends. It was a lazy morning and so we took the kids to Yellowstone Discovery Center in the afternoon. Emily loved the bears and wolves. Collin was going nuts running around. I didn't really mind until I watched the wolves follow Collin's movements. After that I took Collin to the playground at the Center until Emily was done watching animals. The playground was really cool. I hope to get some pictures from Vauna. The kids killed the batteries on my camera and so I haven't been able to take any pictures. My daredevil children loved the playground for 5-12 year olds. Collin and Emily loved climbing a small climbing wall up to the slides. They would push past an overweight 10 year old who was having difficulty climbing up it. I felt bad for her. Collin is as much as daredevil when it comes to slides as Emily. Oh the fun! No one watching him belived me when I said he was only 18 months old. Mel (my father in law) took us out to dinner at Landon's favourite ribs place. It is an old lodge. When I came back from taking Emily to the bathroom I was laughing so hard! Picture this: Creamy white coloured walls, pink stenciled roses as the border, a framed doile on the wall, a garland over the sink, and five pictures of half naked cowboys with their topless girl friends. Yep. Topless with strategically placed arms. See the restaurant shares the building with a "Saloon". I have never laughed so hard in a bathroom. I tried to convince Landon to go in the Men's room but he refused. The food was very delish! The kids were okay. Vauna (my mother in law) made a beautiful cake so we headed back to the cabin to eat it (an Ice Cream of course). Emily kept asking where Daddy's candles were so we found some matches, put them in the cake and lit them. It was pretty funny. Emily loved singing happy birthday to her dad. We drove home to Pocatello after the cake. The kids fell asleep in the car and actually stayed asleep. I should also mention that after crying until 1am Collin slept until 9 am! First time I have had 8 straight hours of sleep since June. I was in heaven. And they did the same thing Saturday night!

Sunday Landon woke up sick. So he stayed in bed as I ventured to church with the kids all by myself. :) The kids were really good. The few times they started to act out either the woman behind us or next to us would reach over and lend a different toy to my kids. The kindness of strangers. They both told me that they had been in my shoes before and were glad to help. It made my day. I get shy when in new situations but I forced myself to go out of my way to introduce myself to people. I had a really enjoyable time at church. The rest of the day was spent laying around. I finished up a decorative family tree for my living room. I really like how it turned out, especially framed.

Landon was better by Monday and this week has been a really great week. I am so blessed. Rita and Nic have been saintly. They have helped out with everything. I'm trying to be better about calling them because I don't want to annoy them but I could not have made it through the last week without them. I am so blessed with family and friends!

Tamara and the Kids are On Their Way

So this is her sister Rita but I know people have been waiting for an update. I will let Tamara tell the whole story when she is safely at home but until then just to let you know her visa came today and as of a few minutes ago drove onto Washington soil and is on her way to Idaho. They should be here between 7 and 8 AM if there are no problems.

Visa Update

No visa in the mail this morning.

I called Senator Risch's office to talk with Rene. She promised to make some calls. I emailed the consulate asking for a tracking number. They emailed back asking for the address it was sent to. A couple of hours later I received a phone call from someone at the consulate. It seems that Tuesday they had some technical difficulties. They didn't print my visa. They printed it today. It is going in the mail today to my aunt's house in Vancouver. It should be there Thursday morning. My dad and will be in Vancouver tomorrow night. My brother in law and his father will be meeting us there. They are coming up early so they can attend a session in the Vancouver temple. Then we will pack my stuff up Thursday morning and then wait at my aunt's house until 10 am when they deliver the mail. IF all goes well we should be heading to the border around 10:30. Pocatello early Friday morning. Please keep your fingers crossed and us in your prayers.

Visa No Show

Looks like I will have to wait until after the long weekend to get my passport and visa back. They didn't show today. If it shows up Tuesday morning I will be in Idaho on Wednesday afternoon.

Hopefully I have an understanding employer since first day of school is Tuesday.

It is on its WAY!!!!

I got a phone call half an hour ago from the senator's secretary that my visa has been APPROVED!!!

Yippee!

It is in the mail tomorrow morning so my guess is that it will be here earliest Thursday. Probably Friday. :) I hope to be in Pocatello by the weekend!

We Love the Library

For the last month of the summer the kids and I have gone to the library once a week. It has been so much fun to introduce one of my favourite places to my kids. My aunt made Emily the cutest library bag because Emily wanted to go to "school". She carries it into the library puts her books in the return slot and heads to the kids section. She loved picking out a few movies the last time we were there as well. I have noticed that both she and Collin will grab the bag and read "their books." Especially the Dora the Explorer board book. Collin loves it. He now says: map, backpack, Dora (Dodo), camera, squeeze, bucket, Swimper; all because they are in his favourite book. Today I watched him bring me the book, Emily intercept and tell Collin she will read him the book. She sat with him and summerized each page with him watching enthralled. It was very cute!

No Visa

No Visa. I had talked myself into thinking it was coming today.

Maybe tomorrow.

How to Pass the Time so you don't give up...

Every day that passes with no visa arriving, my upbeat outlook loses a little bit of steam. Today I'm pretty much done. Landon and I have even talked about what happens if they don't give me the visa.

But I have tried to stay upbeat for the kids and here are some of the fun things we have done to try and pass the time.

Emily came in with a handful of dandelions for me. She was so excited that all her flowers bloomed outside. :) Its been so hot that my dad hasn't had to mow the lawn because it hasn't grown. But two days of small rain showers and suddenly their is a field of dandelions. We went outside and played in them.

Later we went to Donkersley Beach and played while my mom visited with a friend nearby. My kids love the beach. Emily likes to draw a circle around someone and "trap" them. You can't move until she "erases" the lines. They both loved running into and out of the water as the waves came up. I have some video that I will try and upload later.

Outdoor Movie = Fun

Our credit union in town does a movie night under the stars for everyone in town once every summer. Tuesday they hosted "How To Train Your Dragon." Emily was so excited to go! She even went down for a nap without too much fuss because she knew she would have to stay home. I love the atmosphere of having around 2000+ people get together to watch a movie in a field. The money made from the concession this year went to Therapeutic Riding Association which I am a big fan of so that was a plus. Emily was terrified of the two mascots of the credit union. I have never seen her so scared. One is "Super Savor" so he is a guy who looks like a superhero. The other is an eagle. Both have big smiles on their faces but they are costumes (like the A&W Bear.) Serena sought us out through the crowd so Emily was quite excited to have "her Serena" with her. Matt and Ashley were also there and Ashley was nice enough to let Emily sit with her as I ran to the concession to get Twizzlers. I was able to see a few people that I haven't see in awhile. All were surprised to see me still here. :) The movie started once it got dark enough (around 9pm). My mom ended up taking Collin to the car and drove him around till he went to sleep. He just wanted to run around, not so good once it got dark. Emily kept pointing up into the sky and trying to count the stars. Good memories. I love summer evenings.

Going to school

Emily comes in this morning to tell me good bye she is going to school. She says she has her mirror and she has to go. She come back a few minutes later and tells me that she is back. Then she says she needs to go back to school to read a book. I told her that if she is going to school then she might want to change out of her pajamas. She told me no. Maybe she will take after her mom who did wear her pjs to high school a couple of times a week...

Nailpolish and the bathtub

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you dumped a bottle of bright pink nail polish in the bathtub?

Emily has answered that long standing question for you...

It stains EVERYTHING.

Including herself, her little brother and the bath tub.

I came running when Collin started screaming. When I first came in I thought that they were covered in blood. Then I saw the empty bottle. Emily had already climbed out of grandma and papa's bathtub. I told her stand in the shower until I cleaned Collin off. He was in the process of rubbing his eyes. I quickly grabbed paper towel and nail polish remover to get it off his hands. Then I wiped it off his eye brow which made him scream and I was worried that I had gotten the remover in his eye. So I flushed it with water and used water soaked paper towel to get it off his face. Luckily that worked. Two days later he still has a little pink tinge to his right eyebrow. I cleaned both Collin and Emily off and then surveyed the damage to the tub. I should add that my parents had to wait till we all moved away so that they could build their dream bathroom. It is gorgeous. And now their beautiful tub was pink. Due to it being dumped into the water and then the water drained, lots of it rinsed away. (If Emily hadn't opened the drain the cleanup would have been much easier.) I called my dad to ask what I should use. (My parents had just left so that my mom could drop my dad off at the ferry because he had to leave on business for the federal United Way for a couple of days.) He told me that he was sure only acetone would take it off and that would take the finish off of the tub as well so when he got back he would call someone to come and refinish the bath tub. Not cool. So since the remover I had was acetone free I spent the next 35 minutes scrubbing out a bathtub with it. Problem was that Collin did not have a diaper on so I had to clean up messes of number 1 and 2 while cleaning out the tub. Oh the joy. After 35 minutes, a bottle of remover used up, a massive headache from the fumes, soaked in sweat from the wonderful heat and humidity and the bathtub was mostly cleaned out. A light pink color was on the bottom but I was out of remover. As I was finishing my mom got home. She said it looked like the finish was gone but hopefully it would be covered under home insurance. I wasn't too happy with my daughter. But on inspection the next day after my mom bought a new bottle of remover and got rid of the last of the pink we think that the finish is still there. My dad will have to be the judge of it when he gets home tonight.

Now you know the answer to the age old question of nailpolish in the bathtub. And now I can mostly laugh about it. I wish I could say my daughter has learned her lesson but only this morning she stole grandma's good felts and drew circles on the outside of the basement door.

Life is definitely not boring with Emily around.

(No pictures because I was in panic mode and my camera batteries are dead and the charger for them is in Idaho. Did I say lately how much I love living out of a suitcase?)

Big Sisters

Matt would appreciate this entry.

I have maybe seen an example of how he remembers his childhood...

Emily and Collin were racing a couple of days ago. Collin started to pull ahead so Emily lightly hip checked him. Unfortuneately not too unsual since Emily has decided she must win at everything. (Don't know where that is coming from... Really!) Usual Collin will stumble and get back up. This time he fell hard, and started to scream. I came running into my parents tv room to find Collin laying on his back, blood on his forehead and a goose egg rapidly growing. From the straight line of broken skin my guesses are that he fell into the edge of the door, edge of the wall, or the one piece of unfinished moulding on the floor. My mom grabbed Collin and some ice and immediately started putting in on his head with a wet cloth over the freezie. I ran to get some tylenol for the headache I knew would be on its way. The blood stopped quickly but the goose egg kept growing until it was over an inch. I felt sick to my tummy. Collin kept screaming because he did not want the ice on his head or the tylenol. Emily was quite sad and I brought her in once Collin stopped screaming. She kept saying she was sorry. By the next morning and even today he has a scab and a little bruise. (Side note: We didn't end up going to the hospital due to the three visits I had taken to the emergency with Emily over goose eggs. I always ended up being sent home before seeing a doctor and told to watch for signs of a concussion. So we watched for the signs and saved ourselves a two hour wait in the emergency room.) My dad and Matt gave Collin a blessing as well.

If I had been hoping that this was just a random act than my hopes were blown the next day BEFORE LUNCH. I walk in to see both of my kids looking behind the couch for all the toys that Stephen has put back there. They are both leaning too far for my liking. As I start to tell them to sit back down I watch as Emily looks over at Collin and lifts his foot an inch higher with her foot. And over he went. Luckily lots of the toys were stuffed animals and no more damage was done to the still existing head wound! Yeah she didn't even ask to come out of time out after that. She sat quietly in her chair and waited for me.

As I have talked with a few other people there seems to be a pattern I am finding. All of the people have one or more older siblings (boy and girl). They all have memories of the older siblings doing something to them. I am hoping it is a stage. The part I don't get is that none of the acts have been done maliciously. She thinks she is being in funny and is sad when Collin starts to cry.

(And don't get me started about the trampoline. Needless to say they do not jump on it together anymore.)

I hope I survive my children's childhood. Matt - I am truly sorry for my behaviour growing up. I believe you now.

A mouse in the fridge?

Yesterday Collin comes walking into the tv room grinning from ear to ear. In his hands is the block of cheese from the fridge. With bite marks in it. It seems a very large mouse was hungry and ate the cheese in my mom's fridge. It had rather large teeth.... :)

Forgiveness

This little video has touched me so deeply. I now need to relook at a few of my actions and put them more in line with what the Saviour would like me to do.
Please click here to see an inspiring story of forgiveness.

Fantastic Aunt and Grandmother

My Aunt Margaret volunteered to drive 2 1/2 hours up to Courtney to pick me up at the ferry terminal. The meant she left home around 6:30am to pick me up from the first ferry. She then drove me down to Victoria (3 hours), waited with me at the passport office, treated me to lunch, drove back to Courtney (3 hours) and then stayed and treated me to dinner to pass the time till the 7 pm ferry. She dropped me off at 6:30pm. When we arrived in Victoria she informed me that Stephen (my brother) wanted to pay for my passport. I looked at her funny and she explained. She gets paid by the government/Stephen for looking after him while my parents are away. She took some of that money to pay for the passport. I almost cried because I didn't actually know how I was going to pay for it. To get an expediated passport is just over a hundred dollars. She was so sweet about it. I am really lucky to have her. And then she told me that she would pick up my passport Tuesday morning and drive it up to Courtney so I could take the ferry over and get the passport the same day instead of putting it in the mail. She has always been a wonderful support but she has surpassed anything with these deeds of service. I am so lucky to have the family that I do.

Today I received a package in the mail from my grandmother. I had known it was coming because she had called the day before to tell my mother. She was sending it so that it would have to be signed for and she wanted to warn me because she didn't want me to get my hopes up that it was my immigration visa. She is a sweetheart. I opened it up and found a Readers Digest Magazine. I was a little surprised until I opened it and found a Thank you card with some Canadian and US money. I called to thank her and she told me that she remembers all the times she had to move when she was a military wife and how stressful it was. She wanted to relieve a little of my stress. My grandma doesn't have a lot of money so it was very unexpected and very thoughtful. She told me that magazine was because she trusts the postal system as much as I trust governments regarding immigration. :)

I love my family!

Doctors Visit

Collin and Emily had to go back in to the doctors to have their lungs checked to make sure the tightness had left after the cough. Both got a thumbs up from Dr. May. He did warn me though that he though Collin would be susceptible to a bad cough followed by congestion in the chest any time there was a change in season. We are to use the puffer any time this happens to help minimize damage which could lead to asthma. Oh the fun... Good news was that he wanted to have Collin weighed. He weighs 21 lbs! He is back in the 5th percentile for weight. YIPPEE!

Last Week

I don't want to forget all the fun we had last week trying to forget about Landon being gone so I am going to record it. Please bear with me....

Monday: Landon left first thing in the morning. Lots of tears. We headed out to Inland Lake at 1pm to meet up with the Walker family. (Roberta, Robb, Conner, and Hailey) Kids fell asleep in the car so I waited in the parking lot till they woke up about 2 o'clock. Thought the hike to the island was 20 minutes.... just under an hour later we arrived. My feet had gotten a little sweaty from the heat and so I had 3 blisters by the time we got there. Not fun. The kids had fun playing in the water with everyone even though I forgot their swimsuits. Ooops. We left at 4 o'clock, I tried to walk bare foot on the way back. Through a forest. Not smart. Shoes were only a little less painful. After 20 minutes the hair went up on my neck and I realized that we were in the middle of the forest, no one around, and bear/cougar sightings. The forest looks right out of a Twilight movie for those who haven't been here. I got spooked and started to run with the stroller. My feet definitely hurt by the time I got back to the car. My aunt made a beautiful dinner for the everyone. (missionaries, Matt's family, us) Crazy and loud. But fun. Definitely happy to go to bed that night.

Tuesday: Feet still hurt so I filled the kiddie pool and put the sprinkler under the trampoline. The kids ran around naked for most of the day. Collin's sunscreen wore off near the end so he was a little red but not too bad. My kids have no tan lines. This would be because Landon wasn't here to tell me they had to wear clothes. Oops. Very laid back day. Loved it!

Wednesday: Another day in the backyard. It was lovely. I did an photography project for the kids new toy room.

Thursday: Another day in the backyard. Lazy and lovely. Met up with Ashley and Kristina at Ashley's house for a girls night. Emily and Ethan stayed up watching a movie on the laptop on Ashley's bed. Collin stayed home with grandma Knoll and slept. We watched 10 Things I hate about you. Good laughs had by all.

Friday: Kristina and I took the kids on a hour hike at Inland Lake. We hiked for half an hour, ate lunch and let the kids play a little in the water before heading back. I wore the proper foot wear. :) Very relaxing and it was SO nice to have adult conversation. Took the kids home for naps. Kristina came over later that night and we watched The Matchmaker. More good laughs.

Saturday: We were going to head down to the Townsite 100 year celebration but Matt's family plus the missionaries showed up to do service for parents as a surprise so we stayed home. I made up sandwiches for adults, and Kraft dinner for kids. Ashley and I walked up to the corner store with the kids and they each picked out a bag of chips for lunch. I didn't like either of their picks so we purchased a third bag. Good thing we did because all were devoured. :)

Sunday: Church. Kids were really good at church which was a little surprised. My sunday school lesson went well. Nursery was nice to let Collin attend 4 weeks early so I could teach. So nice! Lazy afternoon and then we went to Matt and Ashley's after dinner to hang out for an hour or so.

A pretty fantastic week for being a single parent. Doesn't mean that I don't wish Landon was here. :)

Visa Update

Yesterday I received a note saying I had a letter at the corner store that I would need to sign to receive. It was a letter from the US Consulate. Ends up that my passport expires in November. It needs to be valid for the 6 months after my visa is issued. So I am off to town to find out if I will have to make an emergency trip to Victoria to get my passport renewed. It can be faster if you appear in person. Otherwise it will take up to 4 weeks. Yep. Please keep us in your prayers. Landon is going to start looking for a job since our finanaces are getting really low having us live in two different places. We won't be seeing him until we move. I'm still hoping that will be in two weeks. Call me an optimist.

Knight and Day

Last night Kristina and I took the kids for a walk along the Willingdon Beach Trail and up to Putters Mini Golf for an ice cream. As were leaving we saw that the theatre was doing a double feature for $4.50. We saw that the first movie started at 7pm, Grownups, and that at 9pm they were showing Knight and Day. I have really wanted to see Knight and Day so I got all excited. Since it was 7:30pm we knew we would miss the first movie but that was okay. We rushed back up to my parents, got the kids ready and into bed. I asked my grandma to keep an eye on them and off we went back to the theatre. I can honestly say I have never laughed that hard in an action flick. I LOVED it! The chemistry was great and besides one swear word the movie was clean. No gory stuff either. My type of movie. It has now been slated as the movie I will watch any time I am feeling a little down. :) I recommend it!

Picnik.com

I am absolutely in love with the website picnik.com. I have been using their free subscription for a few months now but have recently upgraded to their premium. It is SOOO much fun. Here are a few pictures I have done today. Most of them will be for the kids toy room when we move.

Service and Love pt 2

As I was typing the last post, my brother walked in and let me know he was going to be out cutting my parents lawn. When I went out to check I found Matt mowing the lawn, Ashley picking blueberries and the missionaries raking out the sawdust in the backyard. My parents would love to have a level backyard so my dad has had a local sawmill drop off his sawdust to use as fill. He even bought a load of dirt but my dad seldom gets time to work in his yard. He is always out helping others. It will be a nice surprise for him to come home and see what has been done. I quickly put together a lunch for everyone and took some pictures. I am grateful for the examples of service that I see from my family members and others.

Service and Love

My sister Rita embodies both of these traits. She is almost 8 months pregnant. Yet the other night she headed over to my new house and unpacked my kitchen. Today she is hoping to go back and get the kids beds set up. Move the toys down to the toy room. She says its because she needs something to do. But she knows that it will mean the world to me to move and not have to worry about it. Thanks Rita!

Collage

I am so excited for the home we are buying. I have been thinking about how I want to decorate. Since we are on a tight budget I have been searching the web for creative cheap ideas. I decided that I really wanted to have a wall that celebrated families. I ordered a really neat "Family Tree" that I will personalize when I get down to Idaho. I want to surround it with family pictures. And I saw two cute signs at a hallmark store that gave the definition for parent and child. I am not artistic enough to paint so I used picnik.com to create these two pictures:

I wanted to have some reminders of Canada after I leave so I chose to use a picture of a maple leaf and a dogwood branch. I mounted the pictures on foam board. The total cost of the project is $4 a picture. I'm excited to finally get to Idaho and settle into my house!

Cure for a bad day

Yesterday was a pretty downer day until I found the perfect cure:

1. Sit and talk with your grandmother.
Landon and I sat and talked with my grandmother for about 45minutes. We talked about my grandfather and great grand fathers (both her dad and father in law) experiences during the first and second World Wars. Put my problems in perspective and gave me a greater appreciation for my patriotic and wonderful grandfathers. My great grandpa Knoll (Homer) lived in the United States, came to Canada married his wife Muriel and decided that he wanted to join the war effort. Since the US had not joined the war yet he signed up with the Canadian forces. He endured so much! When he got home he found he had lost his US citizenship because he had fought with the Canadians so he settled down with his wife in Canada. She told of how the scars of war affected him her whole life and how as she got older she was better able to understand why he was the way he was. The only time she ever heard him talk about his experiences was when she brought my grandfather home to meet her parents before they were married. She evesdropped as these two men spoke of there experiences. They stayed up all night. She said it was the only time she heard my grandfather speak candidly. And then she spoke of my grandfather's experiences of being a dental assistant in England, deciding he needed to contribute more and so he joined an infaltry group, and when they needed stretcher bearers he was pulled over because he has "hospital experience" (as a dental assistant!) How he would work bringing in his friends as they were injured and then he would sleep sitting up so that when he heard a call he would rush out to bring someone else in. And that they started tying him down while he slept so that he would get rest because he felt such a powerful responsibility to help out his brothers in arms that he would forfeit his own rest. At the guilt he felt at not being there to identify his best friend's body and so it was reported to the parents he was MIA and not KIA and that the friend's parents kept holding out hope though he knew his friend was gone. And then the treatment of veterns after each war. How sad! I am so grateful for the courageous men who came before me. What a legacy! And what a pattern to follow when life gets a little uncomfortable. At the end of the conversation I thanked her for sharing the stories and taking me out of my pity party. (She never once asked about my day.) She gave me a hug and said that my Auntie Margie had told her the news and figured I wouldn't want to talk about it. I LOVE my grandma. She is such a special person in my life.

2. Dinner and Visit with Wonderful Family
My sister in law heard the news from my brother. She called to tell me she loved me and that she wished she could help me but knew there was nothing she could do. So she invited us over for dinner and to go for a walk after the branch council meeting that she, Landon, and Matt had to attend. We had a beautiful dinner and I had a fabulous time watching the kids outside the church. I love watching the games that kids come up with to play. Ashley and I walked the kids down to SeaFair while the boys finished up with a branch presidency meeting. We had a great time walking around looking at the rides and food. Emily started to get cold so I bought her a sweater from our friend Rosie Fleury. She was selling them at the night market. It is really cute! When the boys showed up Emily and Collin went on the helicopter ride. SO CUTE! The guy operating the ride told Emily to push the red button in her cockpit so the ride would start. He pushed his button when she pushed hers. She was so proud of herself. I wish I had had my camera with me. Matt snapped a couple of pictures on his cell phone. Then we got some popcorn and headed up to Putters for an ice cream. We decided to go and get some Timbits so we walked back to our cars. We were parked in front of the Willingdon Campsite. I noticed a big black animal in one of the campsites across from us. It was a bear. I pointed it out to everyone. Ashley quickly put her kids in the van while mine sat in the stoller as Landon, Matt and I took a closer look. Yep she is the better mom. Emily even joined us in looking at the bear. A man came out of his motor home and asked why we were calling out. Matt told him he had a bear in his campsite. He didn't believe us and started looking around. Luckily the bear had moved two campsites down by then. He was not happy with us because he couldn't see the bear. And then we heard a loud pop and the caretaker yelling at the bear. The bear took off running right across the road. Three cars down from us. A car of teenagers that was driving by had to slam on their brakes not to hit it. The bear disappeared down the trail opposite of us. It was AWESOME! Afterwards we got our Timbits and rented the move The Informant. We went back to Matt and Ashley's house, visited with Elder Wolfgramm and the new Elder (Elder Hall) and then watched the movie. Stupid movie but great company.

By the end of the night I was tired but extremely happy and feeling positive for the future. I am so blessed!

A Needed Smile

I'm having a hard time staying positive and happy today and this post made me smile. I hope it makes you smile too!

Day 4

We received a phone call from the secretary of the US Senator who is looking into our case. The consulate had still not contacted her but she had called a contact in the US Dept of Naturalization office who looked up our case. It said that the consulate had contacted us on July 16th by letter. It stated that one of our forms had not been signed and that we needed to still prove Domicile for Landon. As I got off the phone with her we got a phone call from my old landlord. There was a letter in our mailbox from the US Consulate in Montreal. Landon drove over and got it. It ends up that our sponsorship had accidently not been signed. They were returning it. The letter was in response the email we had sent two weeks ago. They also requested that I send my passport. Which I sent at the beginning of June. My guess is that they have not yet opened up the package I sent by Purolater that contains my passport and Landon's acceptance letter from ISU. We have sent everything by email to Rita who is going to get the right forms signed and send a package the fastest way possible to Montreal tomorrow. I included a letter letting them know about my passport. Hopefully it hasn't been lost...

We will probably have to wait another 2-4 weeks after they receive the paperwork before the visa arrives. It looks like the kids and I will be in Powell River for most of the summer. Landon is heading down to Idaho this weekend because he has stuff that needs to be done before he can get his classes for September. Hopefully this will go by quickly so that I will be able to get my green card in time to teach by September 1st and so we can buy the house we are looking at. Everything hinges on the visa. Please keep us in your prayers.

Day 3 continued

Came home from town. Checked the mail box. A slip of paper was inside saying we missed a delivery. We can pick it up after 5 pm. Excitedly I flip it over. It is addressed to...

Janet Hull

Yep. No visa yet.

Day 3

No visa yesterday.

None today so far but it is only 11am.

Landon got home at 11pm yesterday. He was tired and stressed but happy to be back with us. He has a better understanding about why I hate going over the border, especially the one in Blaine, WA. Actually I am terrified of that one because of stuff that happened when I was coming into the US on a student visa. I don't find them to be the friendliest.

Landon and my parents spent 3 hours yesterday packing, going through our stuff, putting all my stuff in storage, and repacking the trailer. Then they headed back to the US border. Here is Landon's account:

My parents and Landon each had to see their own customs agent. My parents' had a chip on his shoulder while Landon's was relatively nice. He even looked embarrassed a few times by the rudeness of his co worker. Landon calls the whole experience a taste of hell. They were treated like they were ignorant idiots. They were left sitting and waiting as the vehicles and trailer were inspected. The agents asked if there was an itemized list. Landon said it was in the car, so they went out to look for it. When they came back with it, the "jerk" officer asked if this was the list Landon had been referring to. Landon said yes, but that they hadn't crossed off all the things that had been removed yet. To this the agent said, "This list doesn't suffice," and then he walked away. It was a five-six page listing of everything that was in the boxes. A few minutes later, the "nice" officer finally came back and said there was a problem with the household items. They wanted to know why there was a crib and other children's items in the trailer. Landon said they belonged to his children. The guard said that Landon would not be allowed to cross the border with them. Landon then cited the name of the guard he had talked with the night before who said that Landon could bring anything belonging to the kids, or jointly owned with me, just not items that were clearly mine. The "jerk" said, "How do we know those items are not hers (meaning Tamara)?" Landon said, "Well for that matter, how do you know any of the items in the trailer are mine, other than I'm telling you that they are?" By this time Landon was upset and he said, "Those are my things too. They are going into my house in the United States. The "jerk" walked away. The nice guard then asked Landon where the children were. Landon told him they were with their mother in Powell River, that they were born in Canada, but they are US citizens, and the items in the trailer belonged to them. Landon then walked away and told my parents that they were going to have to return to Canada. So they sat there waiting to be escorted back to their vehicles, and back into Canada. A few moments later, the nice guard returned to the counter, called Landon over, handed him the passports and signed customs slips, and said, "You're free to go." Landon was surprised and said, "You mean back to Canada, or into the United States?" The guard just nodded and said, "You're free to go." Landon just looked at him directly and said, "Thank you." He then went back to my parents and said, "We can go." They asked where, and Landon said they could go south (into the US).

Landon went into the US, grabbed a bite to eat, and headed back to the Canadian border. He was still feeling cautious about everything so when he was asked about how long he had been in the US and why, Landon told him that he was helping his inlaws get over the border with a few of his things and they were taking them down to relatives in Idaho. The guard became very suspicious at this, and began to ask more probing questions. When Landon realized he was not going to let him in, he told him the whole story. The guard said, "Oh, why didn't you tell me that?" Landon apologized, and the guard waved him through.

Yep, borders suck!

Update

No visa in the mail Monday.

So far no visa today. Last night my parents and Landon were turned away at the border due to the fact that they were trying to import items that were mine. So they stayed the night in Cloverdale. This morning spent a few hours sorting through all our boxes and putting everything into storage which was mine. Landon will take them across the border and then come back up to Powell River. When my visa arrives we will drive down to Vancouver, put all the storage into a small Uhaul van and drive both vehicles down to Idaho. We will import my car then too.

I hope the visa comes today.

PS Emily got sick last night, Collin and I are both sick today. I am grateful that we aren't on the road.

Its been awhile

I haven't posted in awhile. Life has been crazy. Living at my parents. Working for my dad as a cashier. Fantastic Hull Family reunion. Same old, same old. :)

Tomorrow is moving day. No immigration visa yet.

So by 3 pm tomorrow if it hasn't arrived than I will be waving good bye to my parents, Landon and Emily. Collin and I will be waiting it out here in PR until the visa arrives.

Please keep us in your prayers. I can't wait until this is all over!

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day Everyone!

The weather here isn't the best but that doesn't put a damper on anything!

I am so happy to be a citizen of this wonderful country. My parents have instilled a patriotism that will never go away!

Emily's shiny blue eyes

I told EMily that the dentist cleans our teeth so that they are nice and shiny. She thought about it and said, "Emmy has shiny blue eyes." And then proceeded to make them as large as possible and bat her eyes at me. She repeated it THREE times. Seriously she is so adorable and I LOVE her!

Emily's first Teeth Cleaning

With such a catchy title I know that everyone is dying to hear about her trip to the dentist....

Since Emily tried to take out her front teeth a couple of weeks ago, we had to head into the dentist today and have them checked out. She needed to come in for her 6 month checkup in a couple of weeks so not a big deal. She sat patiently next to me and watch the hygienist clean my teeth. She even passed her the water and suction tube. She thought it was really cool. When the hygienist told her to hop up on the seat she was in heaven. (Funny side story: When the hygienist was putting everything away from me Emily turned to me put her hand on her head and told me she had a fever. That is what she does at Collin's doctor's appointments because she wants to have the doctor check her out. I reminded her that the dentist looks at our teeth and that her turn was next.) She sat with her mouth wide open the WHOLE time. She didn't like the suction and would panic a little went it went into her mouth. Other than that she was quite content to sit there. Her front teeth were still a little tender but she was a trouper. When the hygienist put the strawberry flouride on her teeth she almost gagged. That is the way I used to feel when I used to have sit with it in my mouth. The hygienist said that she was so good she could pick out a prize while we waited for the doctor. She picked a ring and a sticky hand. She climbed back into the chair herself but as I was opening the sticky hand she over compensated in her balance and fell backward off the chair, hitting the ground. Lots of tears but after about ten seconds the tears were because I hadn't finished opening the toy. (Another funny aside: Our family doctor was in the room across the hall from us with her teenage daughter. She had come in to say hi while Emily was having her teeth cleaned. She stepped outside just before the fall but when she got back in her daughter told her that a little girl had fallen off the chair. Deb came to see me to see if we needed a doctor. I said no, and she laughed because she said that she knew it had to have been Emily and that Emily would be okay. Emily just smiled at her and showed her the sticky hand. Yeah she knows about Emily and her falls.) We had to wait 15 minutes or so for Dr. Machin and Emily spent the whole time whipping the sticky hand around. And climbing on the chair. I had to hold onto so she wouldn't fall again! She must be surrounded by guardian angels! And she wasn't even traumatized because she happily climbed into the chair to have the dentist look at her teeth. Especially after he told her she could have another sticky hand because she had pulled hers apart. She walked out of the office with 2 sticky hands, 2 rings and 2 toothbrushes. Whenever she was asked a question she would look up at them with a demure expression and bat her eyelashes a bunch of times. I have no idea where she learned that! The dentist checked my teeth and said that he knows that my check up will be quick and that he can never count on making money off of me. Thanks Mom and Dad for great teeth! :) Carrying on the tradition started by my mother, Emily and I headed out for a treat to celebrate having beautiful clean teeth. Tim Hortons was busy so an ice cream at Dairy Queen hit the spot.

(The trip to the chiropractors after this is a whole other story but all I will say is potty training has definitely had its ups and downs!)

Blessing of Good Friends

I would take a moment to talk about how blessed I have with good friends. I am astonished with how blessed I am with friends. Actually many times I am surprised that I have friends but that is a different story. I figured that we would move and that no one, except maybe family, would notice we were gone. And then the Lord humbled me.

Blessing One:
I love to surprise people with parties. I LOVE it! But I can only remember it happening to me once, I think. I have been putting long days into work and my poor husband and children have been supportive but two weeks ago Landon put his foot down and said we were having a family day on Saturday June 12th. I agreed but then I got a call from my mom. She said that my dad was really stressed and she wanted to take him to the beach on the 12th (two days later) and have him hang out with his grandkids. I told her I'd have to talk to Landon. Landon said that we could drop by but we weren't going to stay long. So Saturday morning came along and we packed up 12 boxes and got the van all sorted out. It was 3pm and we started heading to the beach. I had to help out with Grad that night and so I wasn't planning on showering until right before it. On went a hat and I was heading out the door in grubby capris and ratty t-shirt. Landon asked if I would get changed because we were going to be heading out on a walk and I looked a mess. :) (He did say it nicer than that.) So I grumbling changed into different shorts and a t-shirt. Landon brought me some perfume to put on and asked if I wanted to put on make-up. I declined. We arrived at the beach to find my parents, and the Coe family. I sat down and started chatting. To my surprise the Norris' and my brother's family pulled up. Sheryl than explained that she and her daughters wanted to throw me a surprise going away party. And Landon had known all week! He just grinned. I'm so glad that I at least changed my clothes. I even wish I had brought my bathing suit because it turned out to be hot! We had a wonderful time eating and visiting for three hours until I had to run home and get changed to go out. It was so wonderful. The Coe's have been wonderful family friends and I will miss them dearly. My kids will miss them even more!

Blessing Two:
I started at the high school in September. I've been there for one year. I have been blessed with a great supportive group to work with. There are 11 Student Support Assistants and they have been fantastic. I have learned a lot and we've had a lot of fun. I had one SSA retire in January and two more this June. As we planned the retirement party for the last two the staff asked if they could include me as a going away party. I was really touched. It was very nice of them. We had a beautiful light supper out at Herondell Bed and Breakfast and a fantastic tuxedo cake. The owners of Herondell (Alex and Nancy) have been family friends for years. They taught both Matt and Naomi voice lessons. It was nice to have time to chat with them as well. The staff surprised me with a beautiful gift. They had noticed that I wear little no jewelry and what I wear is very simple. So they bought a beautiful heart necklace and bracelet that says "Life is the greatest treasure..." The incredible thing is that I have wanted the bracelet for years but had never purchased it! I couldn't believe that they were able to purchase such a perfect gift for me. I will miss them all so much! I have worn the necklace every day and have found that when I am nervous it brings me courage.

Blessing Three:
I have many good acquaintances here and a few good friends. I always wished that I had some good girlfriends. I miss girl night out and just having fun and feeling accepted for who I was. I worried a lot that the few people I considered friends really only saw me as a nice person but not a friend. I really only knew people through work and never socialized outside of work. But I've discovered I was wrong. Two wonderful ladies, Norma Lazaroff and Robyn Scoville, emailed and asked if they could put together a small group of people to have a goodbye dinner for me. My friend Glynis Romanica offered her boat for the dinner and we decided to a potluck. The dinner was last night and all I can say is Wow! I came home for about a half an hour after work and then headed out to the dinner so my husband was a little stressed about me going out. But he knew how much it meant to me so he let me go. Jody wasn't able to come but it was a nice cozy dinner with the four of us. I had so much fun. When we realized it was dark outside we couldn't believe it. It gets dark here around 10pm. We had been chatting for over 3 hours. The food was wonderful but the friendship even better. These three ladies plus Jody (and a few others) are the reason I have made it through the last seven years sane. They have supported me, taught me, inspired me and been there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on. Thank-you girls for the wonderful night!


Blessing Four:
Emily is so excited for Mondays when we go to Strongstart (the free parent/child preschool). She excitedly says, "Cynthia, toys!" Cynthia is the wonderful woman who has been running it this year. She has helped me so much with my parenting. She has taught me a loving (not yelling) way to get Emily's attention and to get her to follow directions! Hallelujah! She has taught me to be positive and that it is possible to put a positive spin on everything. Ie: When Collin started yelling at the top of his lungs for fun she looked at me, smiled, and said, "Collin has found his voice." We just love and adore her. She is moving away the same time as us and my dad is sad because she has done such a fantastic job with one of his pet projects, the ORCA bus. (A travelling preschool.) We will miss her! The singing, dancing, positivity, smiling and love she gives everyone that meets her.