Hey, Cupcake Fans!

Ooh, look at these! Check them out here. Cute, cute, cute. I can't even pick a favorite - I love them all. Good old Woman's Day!

Responsibility

As I have spent a little time in the past day or two with our sweet little grandkiddoes [those who live in town as well as those who don't] I am always reminded of how much our Heavenly Father loves them and how much trust He places in us as their family members.

"Clearly, those of us who have been entrusted with precious children have been given a sacred noble stewardship, for we are the ones God has appointed to encircle today's children with love and the fire of faith and an understanding of who they are." [Elder M. Russell Ballard]

I'm not raising little ones in my home anymore, but I have a lot of contact with children -- in the family and at church and I do feel that responsibility: to teach them, to lead them, to help them understand who they are and most importantly [to me, anyway], to love them and help them feel confident and sure in that love.

I love this quote. It says it all.
[picture via flickr]

Mine!

Not to beat (or eat?) this subject to death, Natalie of Lud Letter fame sent this to me and I couldn't resist. I think I'm in love here!

Easter is Coming!

It is! Do you know how I know?

It's not the warmer weather. And it's not that we're seeing greener grass and flowers. It's not the blue-er skies either.

It's that Cadbury cream eggs are now appearing in the stores again! I love these little treats! I love the full sized ones and I love the bite-sized ones too. I love it that you not only get that great creamy milky Cadbury chocolate on the outside, you also get that sweet, gooey inside that even looks like a real egg. I just spotted something new -- a Cadbury orange cream egg. Haven't tried that one yet but you know that I will!

I need to stock up because, as the commercial says, they won't be around for long.

Tagged!

My friend Emily Richter tagged me so here goes:

10 Years ago I was:
Hmm. Living in Reno, Nevada. Chris and Tara had just gotten married [November '97] and Natalie and Chris were engaged and planning their wedding [May '98]. Math was finishing up High School. I was teaching seminary, doing Primary music, and working at the Reno Institute of Religion. It was a lovely time period if a bit stressful with all the wedding money issues. We loved Reno -- too cold, but a great place to live. It was a happy time in most ways.

What would you do if you had a Billion dollars:
Wow. I'd pay off our house, every bill each of my children has, pay for school (grad and otherwise) for any and all of the family who wanted it, send us all on a Disney cruise together, take a trip to see my parents and sister and her family, and then I'd bank the rest for retirement. I'd probably do some really good shopping too.

What I love to eat:
Well, this is a hard one because it seems to vary. I love me a good bacon cheeseburger, and I love the Snack Wraps at McDonalds (I have a high class appetite, right?). I also love the bow-tie pasta with shrimp that they do so well at Galaxy restaurant here, -- but really, on any given day, I like most anything. Candy for sure. I'm a big sweet-tooth person.

3 of my bad habits:
1. I get critical of others, not even knowing their situations. Thank goodness over the years I've learned to keep those thoughts to myself. But I need to be a kinder person. I really do.
2. I hate housework. I do not like to clean kitchens and bathrooms especially. I tend to just leave them to rot. Yuk. Embarrassing, really.
3. I waste a lot of time on the computer. 'Nuff said.

5 places I've lived:
1. Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
2. Colorado Springs, Colorado
3. Nashville, Tennessee
4. Boise, Idaho
5. Las Vegas, Nevada.
6. Austin, Texas
**I know that's more than 5 but I could have gone on and on and I restrained myself. So many moves!

5 jobs I've had:
1. Front desk at the Prince of Wales Hotel in Waterton Lakes, Alberta
2. Box office cashier at a movie theater
3. Mgr. Trainee/sales person at Northern Reflections clothing store in Nashville, Tn.
4. Secretary at the Reno Institute of Religion
5. Elementary school music teacher (my most favorite!) in Nashville

Current5 things to do today:
1. Take a hot bath and hope my ear drains
2. A trip to the libary
3. Dust-mop my hardwood floors -- they're really looking sad
4. Normally there would be piano lessons to teach but it's Spring Break so I'm off. Yippee.
5. Figure out what the heck to fix for dinner and actually do it. Again, yuk.

Things people don't know about me:
1. I'm not all that interesting or have many secrets really, but one thing I'd love to do is to have my own preschool in my home. I love children and would love that. Unfortunately, this house lay-out just won't work. I guess I need a new house, right? hee hee!
2. I'd also love to get back to being a runner but with my feet issues, it's not likely to happen. So I need to find something else I love doing in the exercise area.
3. Music speaks to me. (although I suspect people know this). It really does. It makes such a difference to me in my life. My favorite calling ever is Primary chorister - -a perfect combination of music + children = happiness for me.

I'm done! Feel free to do this one if you are interested. This was fun. Thanks, Emily!

Sick of Being Sick

While trying hard not to whine, I am going to say it again: I'm sick of my right ear being plugged up. The throat is improving a bit at a time, the eyes are now officially un-pink and less goopy than before, but I might as well be deaf in my right ear at this point.

There were a few hopeful pops and crackles this morning, but no real action and I'm still deaf as a post this afternoon. Sigh.

Mark has been home sick for the past several days and Natie and the little guys are all sick as well. We all want this over with.

Soon? I hope so!

Finding Joy

“Joy bursts in on our lives when we go about doing the good at hand and not trying to manipulate things and times to achieve joy.” (C.S. Lewis)

I believe this. Joy doesn't happen when we are looking for it -- it comes when we are trying to do good. Feeling congested and cranky [who, me? ha ha!], I need to find some joy. Clearly I need to do something good for someone else.

It's all about those little things.

Sick Zone

My formerly very pink eyes are starting to improve - -they are still goopy but somewhat less so which is encouraging. But my throat is still so sore. And my right ear is completely plugged up which makes me feel dizzy and off-balance all the time -- just goes to show the importance of the workings of the inner ear, I guess.

I'm trying to stay positive -- I'm not sick very often and this is minor in the big scheme of things. And I did hear (via the grapevine) that my little piano student whose 'grone-up best friend' I am is very sad that not only did I not see him last week, I won't be seeing him this week either. My theory though, is that friends don't give pinkeye to their other friends.

My biggest wish? That I could figure out how to get this dang right ear to drain! Sigh.

Disneyland -- a Happy Place and a Happy Time

Time together for hugs and kisses was great.

Snuggles and sharing ears was fun too.

Welcome to the happiest place on earth!

Our Segway boys had a ball on their tour.

Minnie and I share a giggle.

Mason loved the parade. He even tried to join it.

Be the fire, Natalie! Get down!!

Mark enjoying a dance with Cruella. Nice outfit, right?

Maya got in on the fun too -- twirling in front of the fire station.

Dad loves his girl.

The wicked witch seems to love him!

Maya loves it all. Look at that face!

Minnie heading out with Grandma.

A little Autopia action - Maya seems concerned. Is Grandma a wild driver?

Aviator ears! Every little boy needs a set of those.

Crash! Love those bumper cars. Maya is a pretty wild driver herself.

These are only a few of the gazillion photos we have -- but I thought it was a fun representation of the great visit we had at Disneyland. If I could get rid of my pinkeye, I'd be ready for a return visit now. Can't wait!

Home Again

We had a wonderful time visiting Disneyland last week, truly the happiest place on earth. I loved every minute of it -- seeing the sights (that I hadn't seen in nearly 30 years), enjoying the beautiful weather, being with loved ones, and mostly watching the joy and excitement on the faces of Maya and Mason. It was a lovely week. It really was.

Natalie has posted a lot of pictures but I, for some reason only known to Blogger, don't seem to be able to. Not sure why but there you have it. Annoys the heck out of me!! If it ever allows me to do so, I will post some cute pics of Mark and Chris on their Segway tour.

At any rate, the newest news is that I am sick. I started with a very sore throat and congestion in my ears mid last week but it got progressively worse over the weekend. Then last night my right eye become very swollen and when I got up this morning it was stuck shut (never a good sign!) so I was on the phone to the doctor at 7 a.m. this morning. She checked me out and said that I do not have strep (which I had wondered about since there's been a lot of that here and the throat has been so sore) or an ear infection (although the right ear is completely congested -- but not infected) but I do have pinkeye. Yippee.

So now I'm throwing away eye make-up, washing towels and pillowcases, and wiping down anything that might have had contact with my face in the past 48 hours.

Welcome home!