Bright Spots

I have had a couple of challenging weeks. And, so often, it is easy for one to wallow in self-pity and sadness, rather than see the silver lining in the clouds. I am finally seeing some lining, so I thought I would share some bright spots...
Monday - finally made my "stacker" for St. Patrick's Day and Spring. I couldn't afford the kit, so I had Dee cut me some old wood and I painted it and then copied a font I liked off the computer, traced it, and painted it myself!
Monday - Morgan came by...has a job selling Kirby Vacuums...great product.
Monday - didn't get my regular work done but, they messed up the house when Nate, Morgan, etc. came in and out fixing bikes, so I didn't get mad at them messing up my newly mopped floor...because it wasn't.
Sunday - Dee cooked Chicken and Snow Peas for dinner. Peas were from our garden and tasted amazing! He makes the best Chinese...better than anyone anywhere!
Sunday - subbed in Primary...as chorister. Witnessed Heidi Rollins: she is just what a Primary Chorister should be. SSHHHHH...better not let the stake leaders know or they will nab her!!! Great things go on in Primary, and she uses the music to teach principles, and the kids have a great time!
Saturday-I found some great dishes at a yard sale...spring green and turqoise and white. I wanted to say, "No...not a need," but my hubby asked the price and, at 50 cents for each piece, I just couldn't bear not to, so I have 7 dinner and salad plates, 8 bowls, and 4 serving bowls (and no place to put them...too many dishes) but it is amazing how that little purchase changed me.
Saturday- Mom came to visit...lots of fun showing her the photo albums, and just being with her. It's so nice that she lives on this side of town. She saved my life in more ways that one.
Saturday- my sweet 16 year old SON - Nathan - surprised me with...you guessed it, my fav banana popsicles! He rode his bike while I was buying marigold seeds (60 cents worth) all the way to Fry's, wrapped them in numerous paper sacks, an then rode home with them, and surprised me with a yummy treat! What a sweetie.
Friday - BAD DAY but even then, Doran and Danyel were just the best, and they know just what they did!!
Thursday - My daughter has found her passion: music. She loves to sing, and we were able to attend another GCC Choirs Concert. She had a solo and did a fantastic job. We just love to hear her!
Thursday - Cub Scouts - Cole is the only one that can come, and it must be hard to come alone and work with some old lady, but we had a such a good time (at least I did) doing things for the Space elective: making a rocket model, learning about the moon, satellites, and checking out the NASA web site...what a great young man he is. He turns 10 in a couple of weeks...I will miss him.
Wednesday - Nate had a good track meet. He now holds the school record for discus (first year of track for the school, so all records are new, but hey, ya gotta start somewhere...right?)
Tuesday - Talked to my sweet Allison...she just always makes everything better!
Monday - got to actually visit with Ethan and Cameo. I always miss them, so it was so good just to sit and talk and see them. I get to see what they do on Facebook, too, so that makes it so much better.
So, I guess it's not all bad...it's just how you look at it. Thank-you, one and all, for being my Bright Spots

Consequences for Many

Some kids, when they hit a certain age, like to make wrong choices, in the name of "using their agency". And they are totally convinced that the consequences that may and do come "only hurt them". Well, I can attest to the fact that no one lives in a vacuum, and that the choices that we make, the consequences that we face, hurt others, most of all, the ones that are closest to us. Morgan has made some sad choices in his life, and the consequences begin for him today. I have been thinking about that sweet baby I carried, the times we would read scriptures as a family, and he, wanting to participate, but being too young to read, would watch for Dad to give a special hand cue, and then he was in charge of saying, "And it came to pass". I remember when he was little, and we would say, "Morgan, why did Heavenly Father send you here?" and he would reply, "To make you happy!" So many things done for him, so much to support him, and yet, he has to face his consequences alone. I pray that this is a turning point for him. He is only 22...there is a future of good choices that he can make. I only pray that he uses this as a stepping stone on the road to Heavenly Father.

The Trouble With Knives is ...They Always Cut!

This truly has been a MONDAY. Now, in spite of various mishaps this morning, I had the floors mopped the bathroom cleaned, and I was cutting my beloved cauliflower for my fav everyday lunch salad when I slipped and...cut my thumb. Now, I got the bleeding stopped, and it really isn't stitchable, so I bandaged it. But, I feel like I have lost a wing. The rest of the scrubbing has to be done gloved. And I made the mistake of telling Dee, and he is threatening to remove all sharp implements from our household. Now, mind you, he has a right. I have called him hysterically on more than one occasion to come home from work (Honeywell at the airport) and tape me together (thank goodness for butterfly bandages)...I just won't be stitched. He has been very patient, but knives and I don't seem to think the same.

When It Rains...It Pours!

Life runs rather quickly for all of us. There are times, I remember, when I heard one mom comment that, as she was taking one child someplace, she swore she passed herself driving by the other way with another child! Things had gone well, yesterday, though, so I was fooled into believing it would continue...
I got my stuff out for Cub Scouts, got my shirt on, and then...the phone rings. It's an officer with the Phx. Police Dept., letting me speak with Morgan. He had some "past issues" catch up with him that he had left un-taken-care-of, and he needed ME to go get his bike because he would have a "ride" and be staying "elsewhere" tonight. Oh, my goodness...Cole will be here any minute and I AM NOT CANCELLING!! So, fortunately, Dee walks in from work, and he goes to get the bike. Ok...all is well...I began to have opening prayer, and the doorbell rings. Hoping it was my other cubbie, I race to the door. No, it is the solar panel man coming to measure the patio roof. Okay, Dee will be back soon, so I directed him to where he needed to be, and then said the prayer AGAIN and then got Cole started on his Blue and Gold Banquet invitation. Fortunately, Cole is a GREAT kid, and he enjoyed coloring and doing a real nice job at his invite. The doorbell rings again...this time, it is the Solar Water heater guy, assessing putting the unit in the garage! Again, no Dee yet, so I direct him to the garage, informing him that Dee is a little detained due to a mishap on our older son's part. We finish cubs, Dee arrives, Cole's dad picks him up, and I race down to Nate's school, where I am 45 minutes late to pick him up. I would have gotten there sooner, had not the traffic been backed up at Cactus Road. I finally pull in...his football coach is waiting to go to work (Sheriff Dept. Captain), alone with Nathan. He won't get off until 2 in the morning, and he has to be back at school at 6:00 A.M. for weightlifting. I am a heel, making him late to work!! I get home, throw on dinner, eat, and then run out the door to Verizon with Dee to exchange Kate's broken cell phone. Then back home...I clean up dinner while Dee has a meeting with India on the phone. By 9:00, I am ready to crash. Then a 11:30 P.M.phone call from Morgan at the "holding facility" to make sure we got his bike. What a day!! I hope to not repeat anything like this at all in the near future, at least.

Thankful Thursday

I haven't done this in quite a while...in fact, I kind of forgot, until I saw an entry on my friend, Kathy's, blog. Even when times are unsure, it is wonderful to take a moment to stop and think of the many blessings you have.
I am thankful for an ever hard working husband. No matter what is thrown at him, Dee just makes the best of the situation at hand. He may have an unsure future, but he gives his all today to do the best he can, and he is ever searching for ways to better support our family and our dreams. I am so thankful for his steadiness in seas that seem very un-calm.
I am thankful for blogging, for people that share their knowledge and experience, their coupons, their deals, their ways to save and store and cook and bake. I can tap a vast store of knowledge and assitance at the touch of a button. And, I don't feel alone in my financial concerns.
I am thankful for my cub scout calling. It is such a wonderful blessing to stop the routine and think of what we are doing doing at our den meeting this week. I look forward to Cole coming and working on his silver arrow (already has earned his Bear badge and his gold arrow), and hoping that Ben can come today. My church calling to work with these young men is such an honor!
I am thankful for our garden that Dee worked so hard to plant. We have had soooo many snow peas. When they grow, snow peas are a crop that is worth planting (though last year, we reaped 1 pea pod...costing over $100 - water,mulch, etc.) And we have collard greens (yuck), swiss chard (yuck) and are growing basil, tomatoes, yellow squash, and cucumbers. Too bad we can't grow those nice bags of salad that I get at Food City!! And I am thankful for our many citrus trees and the oranges, lemons, tangerines, red grapefruit and white grapefruit (yuck!) and the limes that will come in the future. We are truly blessed!

Take a moment, midst the stock market falling, the prices rising, and uncertainty, and give yourself the blessing of gratitude. It has changed my day! Thank you, Kathy!!!

My Sister...My Friend

My sister gets me the nicest things for Christmas! I have the most beautiful temple ornaments she has purchased that I cherish and enjoy each time I hang them on my tree. Last year, she got me the most wonderful sign that I hang by my front door... "The Rices est. 1980". I had always wanted one. This year, she made a clock for me. She didn't get the vinyl ordered for it, and I know how much it will cost, so I just finished the clock hanger and hung it up in the hallway, right outside the bathroom. Every morning, as I go out in the darkness to run, I see that clock...and I remember that I set a goal to say my morning prayers every day, so I go back in my room and say them. She helps me keep my goals that I have set...and she doesn't even know it. And that is not all. She seems to call at just the right time...always when I need to hear from someone who just loves me. She and I are very different...I am planned, she is spontaneous. We complement each other. Who would have thought that this person who used to get into my Barbie Dolls and totally disorganize my cases and boxes of accessories (now, again, she was just enjoying making Barbie beautiful and happy...I wanted everything labeled and organized), who would climb the street light pole with all the neighborhood boys looking on in envy, who forgot her slip to wear under her long dress at my wedding reception, so she had to borrow my short one (made for some interesting pics)...yes, who would have thought that irritating little sister would become my refuge in my storm, my rock (I even used to threaten my kids that if they didn't behave, I would send them to Utah, to Aunt Sharynn, I called her "the rock" so they would learn how to behave), my friend. So, last weekend, I traced a font that I liked off the computer, onto my clock, and painted the words in my favorite green color..."My Sister...My Friend" That seems to say it all! I love you, Sharynn!!!

This Economy Stinks

Now, I truly try to be a patient person...my children have taught me to have some patience (or else they secretly performed a lobotomy on me during the time they were teenagers)...but I really try to take things in stride. I took the news of no raises at Honeywell Engines as just a bump in the road. I took the news of payless furloughs as an opportunity to not waste our money and put into use our years' supply as well as expanding my cooking and planning skills. But today...well, what happened just takes the cake. I love the sugar free banana popsicles (Kroger brand) that I get at Fry's. I get one or two as a treat at about three in the afternoon. I look forward to my popsicles. I eat them winter, spring, summer and fall. On a few occasions when it was cold, I even went out to the car, turned on the heater, and then ate my popsicle. And they were a good deal...12 in a box for 1.99. I ran out on Saturday. So, today, as I completed my other shopping, I went to the freezer to get my familiar box of popsicles. I looked and looked. The cream filled and multi flavored were there. And then, I looked more closely... A new box! A new amount! A new price. Now, I only get 8 in a box, and they cost $2.49! Well, that's the last straw!! No more popsicles! Now, you say, it's only 50 cents and 4 popsicles difference, but it's just the principle of the thing. What do they contain? Any product that has increased in cost? No. There is no real banana in them...just flavoring. Has there been a freak freeze destroying the artificial flavor crop? I think not! And have supplies of artificial sweetener been interrupted by world conflict? I dare say no!! So, why, why raise the price on these tiny morsels? Why find these as the area of the Kroger empire that keeps them in the black? Why ruin my 3:00 snack? I cannot take this anymore!!!