Crossroads Poem.

I am at a crossroads
and just want to do my thing
I don't care if it hurts
and want to be left alone
If that is true then why
keep calling on those around
I want to stop the madness
but don't seem to know how
Or maybe I do know how
but maybe I'm not willing
Does this mean I don't know
what I really want inside
Perhaps my deeper thoughts
know what is best for me
I really like the way things are
but why does it get me down
Secretly I give the finger
but laughter is what shows.

January Glad List

I try to find the little things each day that make me happy. At the end of each day I write one thing down. Here's my list for January.

1. goofiness
2. crazy dancing
3. texting with my buds
4. doing the church bulletin
5. grocery shopping with KG
6. family home evening
7. goals
8. tivo
9. clementines
10. walks in the foothills
11. scrapbook paper
12. kindness
13. feeding the missionaries
14. compassion
15. forgiveness
16. date nights
17. smiles
18. candles
19. incense
20. caramel corn
21. patience
22. unconditional love
23. computers
24. sanity
25. money
26. Project runway
27. desire
28. Two Little Girls in Blue book
29. tissues
30. pita pit
31. the cannery

Just Say NO to Turkey!

Today I worked in our church cannery. I have been working extra hard, night and weekends along with my normal daily hours, to try to fill up these stupid apartments! For whatever reason, they are just not renting. That is so unusual for this building and especially this time of year. So it was a nice break from the norm to go to the cannery and do some service. I was even more grateful that I went when I discovered I'd only had one phone call regarding the apartments while I was there! I have always liked to serve. We canned turkey. Let me just tell you that the next time I see turkey will be too soon! I will NEVER eat canned turkey for as long as I live! Thank goodness Thanksgiving is still 10 months away. Perhaps by then I'll stop throwing up in my mouth at the thought of nasty little turkey bits, parts, fat, blood and blah! It was just nauseating! We stood for 4 hours straight. Boy that does a number on your back and feet. And I was thrilled to see my too long pants soaked up the back with turkey juices! YUM! I will say though that I laughed and laughed as usual. Granted it was mostly at the expense of Kris but it was worth it! :) Like one time I 'accidentally' dropped turkey fat right on her shoe. We kept looking for beaks but didn't find any. I swear I saw a fat blob that resembled an eyeball though! There were two other ladies with us, Karen and Kay. All great women and they were fun to be with. There were also three men, Roger, Brent, and Steve, whom I threw a chunk of turkey at for getting the easiest damn job in the place! :)It was tough to stand there but it was worth it and I had a good time. I intend to go again. Not too sure I'll do meat but if the need is there I'll go! I have only been once before and that was years ago. After we were done, Kris and I admittedly 'snuck' out as the clean-up started and went shopping in the warehouse. When you work at the cannery you are able to buy anything they have available at the time as well as come back one more time. We came home with salsa(the best ever and the main reason I wanted to work there!), canned fruit, jams, and fruit sauce. It's a great way to stock up your food storage! Kris, I know it wasn't easy for you to go but I'm sooo glad you did! :O)
While I was stuffing turkey into cans, Flower was having a lovely time at Julie's house playing with Hannah and Andrew. KG picked her up and she had a great time! Thanks Julie!
And thanks Jer for being our chauffeur! ;)

ABC's Flower style!

She seems to get stuck in a loop between 'h and p' but with a quick reminder she is back on track! I love her 'l lo lo lo p'! :)

I'm Sick

This is all Flower has been saying since Sunday. Poor thing. Her little face was so burned so we finally went and bought tissues with lotion in them and that has made a world of difference! She is doing a bit better now as it has settled into her chest. I LOVE making her laugh right now with her voice being all gravely! :) It makes me laugh so hard!

Two Little Girls In Blue

Book Review: Loved It!
I read this book faster then any book I've read in a while. It kept my attention the entire time. I have always been interested in twin telepathy and twin talk ever since elementary school when I had twin friends so I thought it was really fun that it was worked into the plot. I highly recommend this read.

I am now onto my next book:
I am having a harder time getting into this one but I'll let you know!

If anyone wants to borrow the top one or any other book that I have let me know and I can give you a list! I get lots of mine from my mom and am happy to spread the reading love!

I am Blue

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Blue

You're blue — the most soothing shade of the spectrum. The color of a clear summer sky or a deep, reflective ocean, blue has traditionally symbolized trust, solitude, and loyalty. Most likely a thoughtful person who values spending some time on your own, you'd rather connect deeply with a few people than have a bunch of slight acquaintances. Luckily, making close friends isn't that hard, since people are naturally attracted to you — they're soothed by your calming presence. Cool and collected, you rarely overreact. Instead, you think things through before coming to a decision. That level-headed, thoughtful approach to life is patently blue — and patently you!

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/rd/50651/color/index.jsp?testname=colorogt&resultid=E

Hashi-What Now?

I have Hashimoto's Disease. What is this you ask? It's a thyroid thing. I was diagnosed 6 weeks ago. I had mixed reviews on this. Of course I'd rather have my body working properly. But I was somewhat relieved to have some explanation to my recent weight gain, bitchiness, muscles aches, depression, exhaustion and on and on and on! I'm told it's common, can be fixed with Synthroid and not to worry. Fantastic! Sign me up! I felt a difference immediately...but only for 3 weeks. Then I went back to feeling like crap and then even worse. So today I was not surprised by anything that was said at my follow-up appointment. My blood test showed it was worse. Based on what I had told her, this means that the antibodies attacking my thyroid are working twice as fast as we are. Soooo, she tripled my dosage and I go back in 6 weeks. Gosh, this is fun! :)
One thing I wasn't expecting...she is concerned about my lymphoids. I have this one under my right ear that had been giving me issues (swelling so it sticks out of my neck, rolling around, clay like, hurts like hell)the past couple weeks. I pointed this out to her and just asked if it was anything I needed to worry about. She said, "It's probably nothing to worry about BUT (don't you just LOVE when a doctor starts things out that way?)we need to keep and eye on that one and the one on the other side and the one in your armpit(wait. what? I wasn't having issues with those ones)and don't manipulate them at all and I will check them when you come back in 6 weeks. This can be a sign of Lymphoma but probably isn't. Don't worry about it." Oh, well goody! That's just what I needed, something else 'not to worry about'.
Other then that everything is peachy! :)

A Healing Trust

What makes me feel this trust
and makes me open up my thoughts?
It makes me share the things I've bottled
which I prefer to let rust.

At times I'm left raging
that her nonjudgmental nature
keeps me spewing the things I've guarded.
Why can't I stop engaging?

Perhaps trust and friendship
are just what I need to push me
over the fear I have of leaping
to those that can break the grip

Embarrassment and fear
sink in each time I share my thoughts.
What if sharing what I've kept inside
makes me lose those that are dear.

It's something from above
that keeps me coming back to share.
Although I hate her for her patience
and unconditional love.

Thank you from the chilling
of this unsettled yearning heart.
Although I'm angry that you found me
I'm grateful that your willing.

An Amazing Man in Every Way.

June 23, 1910 to January 27, 2008
Read more about him here.

Snug as a bug in a rug!

She was watching the Polar Express and when KG came out he found she'd bundled herself all up!

Check out the lovely afghan draped over the back of the sofa. My mom made it for me for Christmas! :) I just love the colors.

Contortionist?

Not on purpose! Flower was supposed to be taking a nap. She was obviously climbing around on the furniture instead! I was on the phone in the other room when I heard her screaming.
This what I saw. I could not stop laughing and just had to grab the camera. I'm bummed that she turned her head because the expression on her face was even better then her body being folded in half! :) I would have tried for another shot but she was really crying!

Miniature Golf

Today was a pretty relaxing day. I was up till 3:00 a.m. last night working on the book I'm having published of last years blogs. That is a lot of work! I've been working on it since December and have spent around 60 hours on it! When I went to bed I 'accidentally' woke up KG. ;) So he got up for a bit. I don't think we fell asleep till 5:00 a.m. At around 11:00 a.m. I woke up to Flower so sweetly tickling my back. :) She was just laying there between KG and I. Not sure how long she'd been there! She is the best. KG then spent the afternoon playing editor to my book. That's going to take awhile! It's 440 pages. I'm grateful he's willing. While he did that and Flower took a nap, I soaked in the bath and read my current book, Two Little Girls in Blue, which I am loving!
I have been feeling a bit off for a few days. When I stood up to shower after my bath, I got all light headed so I sat back down and blacked out. I finished my shower very slowly and mostly sitting and then went and laid down on the bed and fell asleep for an hour and a half. We already had plans with John and Lisa or I'd likely still be there! We dropped Flower off at the Bahr's for Nathan to babysit. We then met J and L and The Cheesecake Factory. We enjoyed a yummy meal! I tell ya, I can't get enough of their Buffalo Blasts! We shared it however so we each only had two which was much better for all of us! We then left for a new Miniature Golf place in Meridian that is all decked out in black light decor. There was an hour wait so we went next door to Big Lots and played. We finally went back and played some Air Hockey just in time for them to call our name.



The photo of me laughing is because I hit the puck so hard it bounced off the table, hit John in his manly bits and flew across the room! Awe, so funny!

John just cracks me up! I laughed so hard when he put these stupid 3D glasses on. What a goober!
KG is modeling one of his new outfits that he scored last weekend! Love it!

The putt-putt was pretty cool but not nearly as cool as the one that John and KG have been talking about for years. Of course we had fun breaking all the rules, imitating/making fun of all the other people there and just cracking ourselves up!










Kg won, then Lisa, then John and I came in last. Big surprise since I goof off more then I concentrate! :) It's way more fun to get a laugh out of people then it is to win! Since I still wasn't feeling quite up to par (hah, get it? par?!), we made it an early night. I know, unheard of! We went and picked up Flower and headed home. She had so much fun with Nathan and the other kids and I'm excited about having him watch her again. And now I'm off to read and go to sleep!

Gotcha Day

I am in total disbelief that it's already been a year ago that we met our sweet Flower! Wow has she changed! She speaks in full sentences, loves to sing and dance and is so spunky!
The physical change is amazing! Here she is on the day we met:Here she is today:Here's our first family photo together:Here's our family today:In order to celebrate, we had plans to go to the Discovery Center and get something to eat. We were bummed when we 'discovered' that it closed at 5:00 pm. We tried to go at 6. Oh well. So after going grocery shopping with John from upstairs, we went to dinner at Applebee's for their yummy chicken salad. We had a lovely dinner. When we got home we melted some chocolate and dipped strawberries. It's so fun to look back at how nervous KG and I were while flying to China and then walking into the building that we met Flower for the first time. She was so scared and didn't want to leave the comfort of Amanda's arms. We had brought a lollipop from my niece and nephew and we attempted to bribe her.
She finally went to KG and he was smitten. She was terrified. Her entire world would be changing! She was calling us mommy and daddy within the week and other adoptive parents couldn't believe it. We were so blessed by the amazing care that she received from Amanda. She was so prepared to come to us! We were so nervous and didn't know what to expect and wanted so badly for everything to go well. Now look at us! It's all so natural! She is amazing. She constantly tells us she loves us without any prompting on our part. She has such a huge personality. We have received so much love and support from so many throughout this entire process! It just warms my heart at how many people she has formed bonds with and how many people just love her to pieces! She is one special little person! Thank you so much to all those that have had a part in our transition this year and loving her. You know who you are and you are very important to us!Flower is now tucked in bed and KG and I are about to watch The Waitress. KG has the next seven days off work and I am so thrilled! :)

Happy Birthday Marco!

You are so important to us! I hope you have a fabulous day! We love you and miss you!
Here's hoping there are many more Birthdays to come!