Our Snow Day 2010!

We all have had a great day enjoying our "winter weather" here in Zebulon! We have been under a "winter storm warning" since Wednesday and wondered if we would really get any kind of good snow...well, we did get some beautiful flakes coming down at first over night and then today it all turned to sleet and now we have about 3 inches of snow on the ground with 2 inches of sleet on top...great for sledding (too bad we don't live on a hill..hehe) so we all went outside for a little while and stomped around in the crunchy white stuff on the ground! It was fun but has been nice to come inside and stay warm with blankets and a big pot of homemade chicken noodle soup on the stove all day along with homemade brownies and chocolate chip cookies as well!! We are enjoying spending our day together as a family. Church was cancelled for tomorrow because the roads are sheets of ice so we will have "church" at home tomorrow as Jeff can administer the sacrament to us. It will be nice to have a quiet family day at home and reflect on the blessings the Lord has given us...which are many! We have had fun with our "big winter storm" of the year..hehe!

Vote for Pugslie!!!

We entered Pugslie in a contest to be on the box of a Bissell Clean Machine (which we would also win)!!! Please vote for our adorable little dog below:



Thanks!!! Voting starts January 29th....PLEASE VOTE FOR HER!!!

Getting back to Normal!

Finally our life around here is getting back to normal. Everyone is one the mend and now it is finally time to get busy and get back to business as usual. My dining room table transforms itself each weekday to our schoolroom and the kids sit around it and do their schoolwork. They each work on a different subject at a time and I go over their lessons with them on an individual basis to make sure they are on the right track. We spend between 4 and 5 hours a day completing schoolwork, and then I have housework to do and dinner to cook, clothes to wash....so, back to doing what I do everyday....still tired but definitely better!!! Below is a picture of how our dining room looks during the week! Hope everyone is doing good and enjoying their beginning of 2010....we are finally starting to get on our feet!!!

2010

Some days I can hardly believe that it is 2010 already...time seems to be speeding up....sometimes I think it goes too fast and then other times it seems too slow. I was looking at my kids tonight and I realized that they are almost grown...it made me want to cry. I have always said that I would be glad when my kids got older but now that they are I wish for those moments when they were small back again...I know there are no "do overs"...I would have been a much better mommy. I have a lot of regrets...I wish I would have been better at parenting. Now the time is slipping from me and I can only pray that my children will grow up to be God fearing, caring, responsible adults. I guess I am also having one of my "Noah" moments...the new year seems to always bring them...I know everyone thinks about him occasionaly still but for me, he is always at the front of my thoughts. Oh, I have dealt with the pain and I carry it with me...most times I do it very well, but tonight, I don't wish to do that...I want to think about him and how if he were still here my Michael would have someone to play with and laugh with....seems like I not only got cheated out of getting to have Noah here but Michael got cheated at having a best friend in the house all the time....life doesn't always seem fair. But..that is life, isn't it...ups and downs and twists and turns. Sometimes I would like those twists and turns to be good ones...the last few years we have had twists and turns that have tested our faith and our resolve. I would like a few years of twists and turns that pour out blessings but then I wouldn't grow and learn so I need to be thankful for the challenges...they keep me moving forward and focused. I just really wish tonight that I would be allowed a peek, just a peek, behind the veil and see my son...if only I could just have a peek...time to get out my scriptures and read and ponder...

Happy New Year!

Today is the beginning of a new year, a new decade, and a new beginning! I love the beginning of a new year because we can start fresh, set new goals, change something we have been meaning to change and look forward with fresh eyes! I am happy to say that last year I set 3 main goals for 2009...

1. Read the Bible from cover to cover....completed!!!
2. Read the Book of Mormon four times....completed!!!
3. Go to the temple once a month....completed!!!

It made me feel good to complete the goals that I had set for myself so this year I have set new goals...goals that I will accomplish because I feel successful going into this new year! I have them on a card and I will keep them in my scriptures where I will look at them everyday, they will be a constant reminder to me of where I want to be at the end of this year and I will persevere and strive to reach them!

Yes, this is a new beginning...so tell me...have you set new goals, written them down and then prayed for help to accomplish them???? We can all have a brand new start and I LOVE that!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!