I have a silly son

We went outside today and I let the kids play with the hose for a while. When we came back in Bubba was soaked and muddy so I took him to the bathroom where I washed his legs. Then I took off his wet shorts and underpants only to find a second pair of underpants. Under that was a third and a fourth pair. Apparently he was so excited about his new underwear that he had to wear them all at once! No picture for obvious reasons :)

There is Hope

Yesterday was a wonderful day. Julio started working from home a few weeks ago. We had deposited the paycheck the day before, so I went to the store and bought all sorts of things we haven't been able to afford that many might consider necessity. I got ice cream just for fun and I even let the kids wander through the toy section for a little bit. I was so proud of them when instead of asking for stuff and fussing like they used to they looked and said "Oh I like that one...but I don't need it." I had this wonderful feeling of gratitude and hope. The Lord has always been mindful of us and blessed us. But I realized something about faith and trials. After Julio graduated and we were looking for work for months we were constantly blessed with some little job to pay our immediate bills. This time we felt assured that whatever was around the corner would be a great blessing. However, for more than a month there was no work at all. All the little jobs fell through. It was terrifying for me. I suddenly realized that we were in the same position as many of the prophets and families in the scriptures. That we had to demonstrate faith even when there was no reassurance. Joseph Smith sat in jail for months wondering where the Lord was. Lehi had wait for days or weeks while his sons went to get the plates. And can you imagine how the Apostles must have felt waiting for three days before the Savior was resurrected? Faith is believing even when there are not immediate blessings. If they can go through these huge trials with faith surely I can hang on for a short while. And yesterday I realized my little bit of faith has been rewarded so greatly. We have our material needs plus a little, I have a husband around now who can help me when I need it (I try not to need it), and many little blessings. I could go on but let it suffice to say the Lord is mindful of us all and is willing to bless us.

Eternal Family

One of my dearest friends, Alyson, just adopted two handsome little boys and was sealed to them in the temple a little more than a week ago. She already has one little boy so now she is the mother of three crazy boys and will soon add a sweet little baby girl who is destined, I'm sure, to be spoiled, smothered, and overprotected by her brothers. Congrats Al, I am so happy for you and your eternal family.
Kathleen, Alyson, and I are high school friends and college roommates. Two beautiful women and me. But I got the ... umm ... charisma. I love you gals!

Halloween and Bubba's Birthday

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Aack!

Emily has gotten two teeth and has started standing in the last couple weeks! She's also decided she wants to try grown up food like crackers! What happened to my little baby?

New Baby Cousin

Born October 3, 2009 at 6:09 p.m.

Weighing 6 lbs., 11 oz. - 19 3/4"

Robin Danielle Gartner

Proud parents - Matt & Kim Gartner

Proud older brother - Jacob Gartner!!!
Congrats little bro!

The Insanity Continues

I am at the end of a long line of Dr. appointments. Whew! Julio got insurance through this job and we all needed everything. Tavian needs a cap and some fillings from a fall several months back that I guess did something to his nerves and caused decay, I need glasses (I've needed them for a couple years), we've all needed dentist appointments for a while, Julio has needed new glasses for so long that the lenses on his pop out frequently. Side story: a month or two ago we were at the ward swim party when poor Julio lost the lens in his glasses in the water. A whole bunch of people pitched in and swam around until we found them scratched up and at the deep end of the pool so poor Julio has been walking around for a month with this one really scratched up lens than falls out frequently. It's like a cartoon!

The spanish piano class is going well. Sometimes I speak better than I think and other times much worse. It seriously brings new meaning to the expression "tongue tied" for me!

Julio is leaving for a week to work in Nevada. He networked some computers together for a car auction here in January and the guy liked how he worked so well that he's going to fly him up there and back, pay for his hotel room, and pay him more money per hour this time around. So, the kids and I will be going up to Payson one last time because I can send the kids outside for more than a few minutes without worrying about sunstroke. I'm excited for Payson and nervous because I've never been without Julio for so long.

We're hoping to get Eliana into preschool soon as well. She can write her name pretty well and add and subtract, she's so good at art and I want her to get the same chances as other kids.

Anyway, that's our life right now. Not as exciting as all these trips and vacations I read about from others but we're blessed and we're busy. The Lord has opened the windows and poured out His blessings that's for sure.