Wonderful Life of Motherhood

I was reading one of my favorite blogs today, which happens to be my sister in law,
http://tyandk8.blogspot.com/ and she just had a good post about parenting her 2 year old daughter. If you have an extra minute read her post, I am sure you can relate as a mother. As I read it I was reminded of an experience I had the other day that I wanted to share.

One thing in my life that I used to hate is grocery shopping with all of my boys. In our town you can save lots of money by shopping at WinCo, as opposed to one of the higher priced chain stores like Albertsons or Smiths. The trade off is that you end up having the most miserable experience if you have children with you. WinCo is cheap for two reasons, they don't accept credit cards and only recently started accepting debit cards, so you had to pay with cash, check, or like most people in that store food stamps. The other reason for being cheap is that you have to bag your own groceries. One more down side that I should mention is that they don't have carts that hold more than one child. I am sure that the most miserable day of my life was the day I decided that we were absolutely too poor to shop anywhere but WinCo. (I had previously shopped at other stores to use the Sky Miles credit card.) So I decided it was time to start shopping smart.

Jacob was just a few months old so I had him in his car seat clipped on to the top of the shopping cart. There was no place to put Will and Andrew so they were just roaming free as I desperately tried to collect my groceries while being a responsible parent and keeping my eyes on them. The shopping trip lasted almost two hours and you can imagine how I was feeling by the end. First I was furious because my 3 and 4 year old boys were not perfectly obedient and helpful like I wanted them to be for the past 2 hours, and Jacob was tired and hungry and screaming in his car seat. I got up to check out and still had the "bagging my own groceries" part of the shopping trip ahead of me. While I was attempting to do that, with 2 boys running amuck, and one screaming infant the checker tells me my total. I go to pay and that is when I learn that this store does not accept credit OR debit cards. My only solution was to leave all of my groceries there, gather up my children and go home crying. It is days like these that I hate being a mother.

Well the other day I was in WinCo again, making our weekly grocery trip. This time I again have my 3 boys. As we were headed to check out I saw a young mom pushing a shopping cart full of food. She had her little baby in her carseat clipped to the front of the shopping cart. Behind her she was pulling another cart with her 3(ish)year old son in it. As I passed her I saw that her face was flushed. Immediately I remembered the worst day of my life. I decided to go ask if she was ok. She assured me that she was and that she was finished shopping and only had to check out. Tears filled my eyes and I just told her that I too had been there. I was actually sort of embarassed and surprised at how emotional I became, but realized that I had just spent one hour shopping with my 3 boys in WinCo and was actually having a good experiece with my boys. What I realized was that as mothers we have plenty of days that we want to throw in the towl. We have experiences with our children that just make us crazy day after day after day. Then there comes a day or a moment that we realize how blessed we are and how amazingly wonderful these children are that we are raising and we are not sure how we got there. When was it that I started enjoying my shopping trips at WinCo? I remeber very clearly making a vow to myself that I would never set foot in that store again. But here I was happy to be there, happy to be with my children, not being bothered by the small things they were doing. I even bagged my own groceries without being bothered. And so I thank that young mom for reminding me of the bad days and promise her that wonderful days lie ahead. Life just continues to get better with these little ones and I am so thankful for mine.

My First Car Accident

Well after 28 years it finally happened for me. My very first car accident. I am fine, no damage to me, just shaken up a bit. The driver that hit me had no insurance or registration. She was also driving without a license. Needless to say she was not happy with me for getting in her way. I am so grateful my boys were not with me. I would have some explaining to do about the words coming out of her mouth.

So now we need to get our car fixed:(

Protect our Families

Put the kids down for a nap today...all 3 of them! :) I thought I would check out the latest information on proposition 8 from this blog and ended up in tears thinking about the direction this world is turning. Having 3 boys I know that as a parent it is going to be hard enough raising them to be moral in this world as it currently stands. Read through some of these articles, watch the videos and debates and it will give you a glimpse of what we could be facing with our children in the very near future if this proposition fails.

I have to say that when my 4 year old asked me the other day why a boy and a boy don't get married it infuriated me. I don't know if it was just a simple statement of observation or if he heard about this somewhere but I will not teach my children, nor should anyone else, about homosexuality at the age of 4. Instead I used it as an opportunity to teach him what I know is correct. "Marriage between a man and woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children."

To read "The Family, A Proclamation to the World" click on this link: http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=e1fa5f74db46c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=1aba862384d20110VgnVCM100000176f620a____

Twin Falls Idaho Temple Dedication and Youth Cultural Celebration

Yes, that is President Thomas S. Monson and directly behind him in sunglasses, my wonderful father-in-law.

The highlight of our summer was the Twin Falls Idaho Temple Open House, Youth Cultural Celbration, and Dedication. As many of my family members have said, I can not express in words how amazing these experiences were. It only made sense in my mind that these were truly "tender mercies" from the Lord that I was experiencing.

"When words cannot provide the solace we need or express the joy we feel, when it is simply futile to attempt to explain that which is unexplainable, when logic and reason cannot yield adequate understanding...truly we are blessed by the tender mercies of the Lord and made mighty even unto the power of deliverance (see 1 Nephi 1:20)." -Elder Bednar

I will forever be grateful for the blessings of this amazing summer!

Blog Resurrection!

After a very short and very busy summer I have found that blogging was last on my priority list. For anyone out there (Katy) who even checks my blog anymore I hope that this post will give you a bit of hope that I am back. I am making no promises as to how frequently I will be updating. I have reached a new and very exciting phase in my life. I have 2 boys in school. I am a room mom for Will's kindergarten class which keeps me occupied 2 mornings in the week. Our boys are involved in art classes, swimming lessons, and other activities that keep me busier than I have ever been with them. I LOVE IT! I have found that as my kids grow life just gets more enjoyable. Each new phase is something to be enjoyed. So sorry to all of you who still are in the phase of life where you spend all day at home and can find time to blog, but I am just not that girl anymore. (Please sense the sarcasm in that last line. I don't mean to offend any of you.)

Hopefully I can blog again soon about the wonderful summer we had. Most of which is blog worthy. I just need to find the time.

I am off to get the boys hair cut, and then swimming lessons. :)

Best Photo Shoot EVER!

Yesterday was the first day for the temple open house. They are having the "VIP" tours this week. Yesterday's tours included all of the missionaries from the Boise Idaho Mission. The mission president and his wife asked if I would be willing to take a photo of all of them in front of the temple as it would be the only time that all of them were together at the same place and time. I had no comprehension of how large this group would be. In my mind I imagined about 30-40 missionaries. The first group arrived and I was overwhelmed when I had to arrange approximately 70 missionaries. Just as I was feeling ok with everything the mission president's wife approached me and told me that they were still waiting for about 100 more missionaries. I honestly thought she was joking. About 2 minutes later a bus pulled up and sure enough over 100 missionaries joined the group. I have to say that as they all got organized for the photo I could not contain my emotions. Luckily I was wearing my sunglasses, but I just began to sob at the sight I was beholding. 200 missionaries gathered in front of the House of the Lord. What a beautiful sight. I felt such gratitude to these young men and women for the sacrifices they are making and for the marvelous work they are involved in. I received another confirmation in my life that I belong to the only true church upon the earth. I feel such gratitude to a loving Father in Heaven for blessing my life with such amazing experiences such as these. I look forward to the next 6 weeks of the open house and dedication for the Twin Falls Temple and the special experiences I, and many others, will have.

Check out my Slide Show!

My blog background makes my photos look a bit transparent so the quality doesn't look that great. To view these images in better quality click on the image.

First Summer Campout

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Last week Brent was gone overnight in Sun Valley for a Law conference. We were not able to join him because of some scheduling conflicts. I decided that the boys and I had to plan something super fun since dad was doing something super fun without us. So we decided to go camping. Yes, me and all 3 boys went camping without dad. How did I do it you ask? Well, we only had to travel as far as the backyard. The boys loved it. We read books together for a couple of hours until it got dark. Then we looked at the stars for a while. I have to be honest, I was not looking forward to sleeping on the hard ground when I had a nice comfortable bed ALL TO MYSELF. But I resisted the temptation of sneaking inside and actually spent the entire night in the tent with the boys. We had such a good time. The boys made me keep the tent up the next night so they could do it again.

If you are ever looking for cheap summer entertainment, camp in your own backyard.

To All Twin Falls Stay At Home Moms!

Summer is here and I am thrilled. The past few days I have spent a lot of time outside with my boys enjoying the beautiful weather. Today it dawned on me that I am going to go a little crazy if I spend my entire summer without some adult interaction.

I have had a few experiences over the past few days that have made me realize that maybe I am not the only stay at home mom wanting something to do, but I don't know where to go to find out what's going on around town. I will be the first to admit that I stink at organizing play dates and other activities that involve people other than my family. If it involves getting on the phone and calling everyone I know...it's probably not going to happen. And so I am wondering from all of you stay at home moms, are there any resources out there that you know of that I can find out what is going on around town. Any mothers groups? Any blogs? If there are no resources, let's get some.

Does this sound like I am begging for friends? I was just thinking it might be nice to set up a blog where people can post activities that they know of going on every day. Then the mothers who want something to do can look at the blog and see who is doing what, where and when. What park is everyone going to today? Where is everyone eating for lunch? Who is having people over to run through the sprinklers? Who goes exercising in the mornings/ evenings and would like someone to go with them?

If you come across this blog and have any ideas or info for me please leave a comment. If there are enough people out there who feel the same way that I do in this town lets get something started and spread the word.

Is Today the Day?

Could it be? Is summer here? Please, oh please, oh please let today be the start of summer!

After getting ready for the day this morning I walked outside to find Will blowing bubbles. Me and the other boys joined him and as we were blowing and chasing bubbles, all I could think about was spongebob squarepants. I don't watch that show, but have seen enough episodes in my life to know that he LOVES to blow bubbles. Because I couldn't take a picture or film this most joyous of occasions, because I was the one blowing the bubbles, I just had to take a mental picture of the moment. (And if I did have a camera the results would look something very much like this photo) Not only do we love bubbles, we love summer even more. And the fact that it is warm enough to be outside at 10:00 am just might mean that summer is finally here.

Global Warming??? Not in Idaho!

I just have to say to anyone out there in the world who is concerned about global warming, move to Idaho...it's a non issue here. Today is June 11, and it is 39 degrees today. My yahoo weather widget on my computer shows a chance of snow. My boys have been asking me for 2 months when we can set up the pool outside. I keep reassuring them that summer is just around the corner. I am beginning to doubt that myself. Instead of the pool this year we may have to bring out the snow clothes. Building a snow fort seems to be the more realistic option this "summer".
Take a peek at my sidebar and look at the weather...this is no joke. :(

Another Temple Tour

Brent and I had the opportunity to take another tour of the temple on Sunday with the temple committee and the 14 stake presidents in the temple district. Once again I have to say how amazing it is to be a part of all of this and to have such wonderful opportunities. The temple is very close to being completed. The furniture for the temple arrived yesterday. And from the way things looked on Sunday there are just very minor things that need to be finished up. Then after a good cleaning it will be complete.

I am so excited for everyone to have the opportunity to see it. For those of you who are wondering how it compares with the other temples, in my opinion it is right up there with the most beautiful that I have seen. It is very modern. The design inside is absolutely beautiful. I am amazed at how all of the details tie together so well. For those of you who still do not know, the open house begins the 11th of July and the dedication will take place on Sunday, August 23rd. If anyone is interested in tickets you can go to http://www.lds.org/reservations/ticket1/0,10785,1624-1-442-0,00.html they are now available online for anyone who would like to go.

Recent Temple Photos

Goodbye McGee Family!

I just had to post these photos of my 2 nieces Lucy and Claire. My sister in law Katy has been in town for the past two weeks with her daughters. We had so much fun with them. My boys love being with their cousins...they don't have any that live here...maybe someday.

Katy let me do a photo shoot of both of her girls and I have to say they are such darling little girls. I love them to death. I also have to say that it's photo results like this that make me miss my photography like crazy. We had so much fun.

So Katy, Lucy, and Claire, thank you for a wonderful 2 weeks. We love you and will miss you until we see you again in July.

Gardening Tips Anyone???

Brent and I finished preparing and planting our garden about 2 weeks ago. I think I am a little obsessed with my garden because I find myself outside about 6 times a day looking for the smallest sign of a sprout. I can't wait for everything to grow, I am so excited. I just keep thinking about how bummed I will be if my garden isn't successful this year.

I have grown a garden before, I loved it then also, but I have to admit I am not the best gardener, because I don't know anything about it. My goal with my previous gardens has been that we can eat something out of it. I guess by those standards we were successful. The problem was that we threw away at least 80% of what we grew. Sad, I know, and so I decided to rethink my garden goals this year. This year my goal is to can/freeze most of what we grow for food storage. The problem with that is that I have no idea how to do any of that. The only thing I have ever canned is freezer jam.

And so, with HIGH HOPES for my garden this year, I am asking for ANY gardening advise that anyone has to give. Here are the main questions I have when it comes to caring for my garden:
1. What is the best way to fertilize?

2. Any tips on weed control?

3 Any tips on bug control?

These are the things I have planted this year:

1.Green Beans

2. Carrots

3.Red and Yellow Onion

4. Tomatoes

5. Corn

6. Spaghetti Squash

7. Zucchini

8. Cucumber

If you have any tips on freezing/preserving/canning, any of these items, or know of a good resource please let me know.

I know I am going to have oodles of tomatoes this year so I also would like to get ideas on what to do with all of them. I am thinking maybe some salsa? some spaghetti sauce? Any good recipes out there that would be good for any sort of canned tomato?

This is the first sign of green, from my onions. :)

Happy Birthday Annie

Yesterday I turned 28! I had a wonderful birthday. We have been celebrating since Saturday and the festivities continue through tonight so it's still my birthday (unofficially if you still want to send birthday greetings...jk) Saturday was the western days parade…lame, but fun for the kids. After that we went to Chili's where they gave me a free molten chocolate cake for my birthday…I pretty much ate the whole thing by myself and I loved it. Then on Saturday night Brent and I went out to dinner with my parents to celebrate. We ate at the Garden Café. It was fun being with them, but dinner was pretty disappointing. I ordered baked Salmon. When they brought it out it was wrapped in fancy parchment paper. Once I removed the paper it was covered in all sorts of vegetables, which I love, so I was pretty excited about my delicious healthy salmon right? Well I took a nice big bite and the texture was like mashed potatoes…..what the???? I thought to myself that doesn’t taste or feel like salmon. So I removed all of the veggies and to my surprise I found a nice big piece of raw salmon. OOOPS! Someone forgot to bake my “baked” salmon. "Surely that could not happen, maybe it’s just a different type of salmon, or maybe it’s the way they cooked it that makes it look and taste totally raw". So I showed my dad and had him take a bite. YEP! It was RAW! So after telling my waitress, she took my plate back to the kitchen and brought me a cooked piece, placed nicely where the old dead fish used to be, bathing in all the old raw juices. Let’s just say I completely lost my appetite. Yes they still charged me for it…and the dessert, which was the only thing I ate…and they wished me happy birthday on my way out. How nice of them. HMMMM someone needs some training. Or, I probably need a backbone. I guess we won’t be going back there any time soon. I am really not that upset about it, it was just pretty gross. Anyway, on Sunday we had some friends in our ward invite us to dinner and she happened to make my favorite meal. Ham and cheesy potatoes YUM! Thanks Hills! And tonight we will be celebrating again with the Nielsons. I am just getting pretty chubby from all the birthday cake I have had in the past 3 days. Not to mention all of the leftover cake I have been snacking on since Andrew’s birthday last Tuesday. So that is the reason I go work out in the mornings, just to burn off all of my birthday cake calories.

I love birthdays. I am so thankful to all of the family and friends who said and did kind things for me. I kept thinking yesterday, "I am so glad I was born". Dorky? Maybe. If you had my life you would be thinking the same thing though. I am so blessed. I am thankful to all the people in my life who have helped me to be where I am today. I am grateful for the blessing of an amazing husband, and such amazing, beautiful children. I am so thankful for my life experiences and for the perspective I have through the gospel of Jesus Christ. My life is wonderful and so I am so glad I was born. Happy Birthday to me!

Happy Birthday Andrew

Andrew turned 4 on May 27th. How is that possible? Why are all of my boys growing so fast?

Things I love about Andrew:

1. His craziness- no matter how serious the situation Andrew is always happy. You can't get mad at this boy...it's not possible.

2. His energy- Ever since he was a baby he has wanted to roll/crawl/walk/run faster than he is able. He has so much energy, but boy does he take great naps!

3. His sincerity- He will frequently at very random moment stop to tell me how much he loves me, or to thank me for some random thing that I have long forgotten. He is so sincere.

4. His ability to reason- This boy has never been a tantrum thrower. It is amazing to me how he always respects our decisions. If I don't let him have something he wants, his response goes something like this, "Oh, ok maybe later I could have that". I am constantly surprised at how laid back he is.

5. His politeness- He tries really hard to be polite. I have tried to teach him to say, "May I please have....". Whatever it is he is trying to be polite about he throws the word "may" in there as if that is the polite way to say anything. When he and Will start to argue over a toy he will say,"will you may not do that". Or if he wants something passed to him at dinner he will say,"can I may have some of that?" It makes me smile.

6.He is laid back- Details don't bother him. He has a girl in his primary class that shares his birthday. She sent him an invitation to her birthday party which happened to be a "princess" party. He is the only boy in that age group so the party would be all girls and him. The invitation said that all the girls would be dressed up in princess dresses but that he could dress as a prince if he wanted. So everything about this was a little worrisome for me. I was feeling so bad that his first birthday party invite he would have to turn down because it was a "girl" party. So, I approached it very delicately with him not wanting to stress the "princess" part. He was so excited. He had no reservations about any of the details of the party. He was thrilled to dress as a prince. I was so happy to see that the mother hosting the party actually made up some boy party favors for him. He had a wonderful time and didn't say one bad thing about his "princess" party.

7. He is so handsome- He has such beautiful skin (Thanks to Brent). He has such nice hair. He has beautiful eyes.

OK the list goes on, but I can not. I love Andrew so much and I am so happy that he is part of our family.

Congratulations Will!

Will graduated from preschool last week. He did so well this year. He loves learning. He misses his teacher and his friends. He has a little girl that he says he is going to marry. Every day he tells me how much he misses her. He drew a cute picture the other day of the two of them playing at recess. He drew hearts all over the page and at the top he drew a sad face because he misses her. I had him mail it off to her today so she knew how much he misses her. He made such good friends. He had such a wonderful preschool experience. We are so proud of him.

Will's First Helicopter Ride

I had the opportunity to take another helicopter ride to take some aerial photos of the Temple. I was able to bring Brent and Will with me. We had such a great time taking Will. He was so excited. You can see it in his face. He absolutely loved it.

I am so blessed to have this calling. I have had such amazing experiences. I am so happy that I am able to share some of them with my family. We are so blessed.

Photo Update-Why I love my life!

Have I mentioned how happy this guy makes me? ...keep reading

Wow he is so stinking cute.

I love a good photograph. This photo represents so many things to me that make me happy. 1. Jacob wanting to do everything his big brothers do. 2. Andrew taking such good care of his little brother. 3. Grandam's house. That makes us all happy. 4. Summer time- the fact that the weather is nice enough to be outside.

My college roommates. They are all such beautiful, amazing girls. It was so fun to get together for a little reunion 2 weeks ago. I haven't seen them since college (8 years ago). I have been so blessed to have such wonderful people be a part of my life. I am so proud of all of them for the good women, wives and mothers they are. They are such great examples to me. I love you Kim, Laura and Michelle.

Let's do it again.

Spring is here! I LOVE SPRING! I love that the earth comes alive again. I love all the beautiful blossoms. I feel like my spirit comes alive in the spring. I can't get enough of being outdoors, and observing the beauty of the earth. It makes me so happy.

I love this picture! This is Brent's grandma Lucille. She is 84 and just adores all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She loves to spend time with our boys but she is limited in what she can do with them. She always talks about how she feels bad that she can't run around and play with them like she used to with her grandchildren. I think that is all she sees our boys do is run around and so she feels like she can't do much. The other day she dropped by to see us for a minute and Andrew asked if she would read him a story. He climbed right up on her lap and handed her a book. I think it was a special moment for her as it was for us. She is a wonderful woman and I am so thankful for everything she does for our family, but most importantly the love that she gives to our boys. We love you Grandma Lucy!

One of the greatest sources of JOY in my life comes from this little guy. He truly makes me a happy person. Whenever he walks into a room and sees someone he loves he makes this happy, shouting, groaning noise with a huge smile on his face as he runs to give you a hug. The best part is that it happens every time he sees me through the day. Every time I leave the room and come back, he is so excited to see me. I absorb all the loves and cuddles he gives because I know that it won't last long. They grow too fast.

Jacob you make me smile!

One thing that we have enjoyed as a family for the past couple of years is tagging along with Dad as he travels to continuing education courses across the state. We go to Boise a lot. We stay in a hotel, eat out, swim...party, and the next day while dad is in meetings, I go do something fun with the kids. This photo was at the Boise Zoo. I just realized the other day that we may not have these experiences much anymore because Will will be in kindergarten next year.

This is my niece Teya. I was able to spend a couple of weeks with my sister Jaime and her daughter in April. I love spending time with family.

This is Will's preschool class. We have been so blessed this year to have him be a part of such a wonderful group of kids. He has such a wonderful teacher. I am so happy for Will that he has something in his life that is just his, and he is so happy with it.

Only the Nielson family can appreciate this picture. :)

I love that my two oldest are so close. They have such a good relationship and they love being together. Andrew enjoyed being able to go to all of Will's preschool field trips. Will helped him fit right in with the rest of his friends.

Will took a field trip to the bowling alley with his preschool class. He is a pretty good little bowler.

Will participated in Spring Soccer this year. This was our first "sports" experience with our kids. His experience was positive because his dad was there with him having fun. It was fun to sit on the sidelines and watch them play together.

The Host

Just wondering if anyone has started reading...or maybe already finished Stephenie Meyer's new book The Host? How does it compare to the Twilight series? I just got it today and I am excited to start it. Let me know your thoughts!

Happy Birthday Brent!

Today is Brent's 29th Birthday! I have never been too successful at surprising Brent on his Birthday, or any other holiday for that matter. He always knows exactly what he is getting, or not getting and that seems to put bit of a damper on things for me. As I prepared for his birthday this year I was excited to get him a couple of things that would certainly surprise him. Well come to find out the boys spilled the beans and so no more surprises for Brent :(

Feeling saddened by this I began to think of ways I could make his Birthday wonderful without having to surprise him with anything. As I said my prayers this morning and thanked my Heavenly Father for the wonderful man that I married, I realized that if he knows how loved and appreciated he is, that will help him to have a very happy birthday!

So Brent, my birthday wish to you today is that you know how much I love you. You are the greatest blessing in my life. Since the day we met, you have made me want to be a better person. After being together for 8 years now (WOW!) I hope that I am. Your hard work and sacrifice is noticed each day. Thank you for all you do as a husband and father to make my life, and our children's lives so happy. You are my dream man. Thank you for being you. I love you!

Happy Birthday to our 2 new nieces!

We had a very exciting day as a family last Friday. Both of Brent's sisters, Katy and Emily, delivered their babies on the same day. We are so excited to have these beautiful babies here and can't wait to see them. We are so happy that all went well with their births. Both moms and both babies are doing well.

What a wonderful thing to have these beautiful babies come into such loving righteous families.

Kara Elizabeth Plane

Claire Mirien McGee

Congratulations Jeff & Emily and Katy & Tyler!

I have a testimony of DI!

I can't believe how long it has been since I have updated my blog. You would think that after such a lapse in time I would have something seemingly more exciting to update you all on. Well for me, this is the most blog worthy event of my life the past few weeks.

I assume anyone who reads this has either been in this situation, or soon will be. Brent and I have found ourselves in a bit of a financial pinch the last little while...since...oh...let's see...oh, wait, we have been in a financial pinch since the birth of our first baby 5 1/2 years ago. So anyway, we are poor. Why you ask? Aren't we out of school, and Brent has an awesome job, and he was just made partner this year? That is exactly what we keep asking ourselves. Then we remember that between the government, the church, ALL of our student loans, our car, our home, Dr. bills, and a few absolutely necessary expenses (like water, electricity, garbage, etc.) we have no money left for entertainment or enjoyment. This month as it has been getting warmer we realized that it is time for some new clothes for Will. I also was reminded that the end of the summer last year I cleaned out my closest and finally got rid of any thing I have owned since High School. Believe it or not that pretty much wiped out all but a few of my summer clothes. Brent also ripped through 2 of his suits in the last couple of months and he is now in need of 2 new suits for work.

Feeling a bit excited about the idea of going and buying a few new things for myself and Will I went through the closets, storage room, and all dresser drawers figuring out exactly what our needs were. I came up with my list. I was very careful not to add my "wants" to the list, only "needs". After making my list I got an ad from JCPenny announcing their semi-annual "Buy one, get one $0.88 sale". I was so excited. Now I could go get what we needed, and get a "sweet deal".

Later that afternoon Brent called and informed me that his tire was flat on his car. We took it in to get it patched up and they told us he had to get new tires... he had been putting it off for a year and all 4 of his tires were completely bald. So we got new tires, 4 of them, all brand new tires on his old car, not cheap :( Oh, and did I mention that he had to get his car fixed the week before because it wouldn't start. So there was all of our extra money and some. Why does it always happen that way. Just when you think you are so totally broke, the most random, expensive, repairs-bills-replacements pop up, and then you give up all hope and go into more debt. Does it ever end?

Anyway, back to our clothing needs. I hit the Penny's sale after having cut my "needs" list in half and walked away having spent $80. How many items did I get for $80? only 6. For some of you, that might be amazing, but I was raised thinking, and still do, that a pair of jeans should cost $10 and a shirt $5. When it comes to kids clothing a pair of shorts should not cost $15 ON SALE! Kids clothes should all cost under $5. I expect to replace my wardrobe for around $100. Maybe that is why I hate shopping so much, because I am always so mad at how much everything cost. Does anyone else shop like me? You walk into a store and you don't even look an item of clothing, or try it on, you just walk around checking price tags and once you find one that matches what you were thinking of spending you check out. Then a few days later you realize what an ugly, misshapen, over sized, waste of money that purchase was. Needless to say, I have never been the best-dressed mom on the block.

After a few hours at the mall and having spent more money that I had budgeted, and not gotten even close to what it was we needed I was very frustrated. So I got the bright idea to check out DI. I have never been a successful DI shopper, probably because I can't stand to be in there for more than about 4 minutes, but I am pretty sure the Lord opened up the windows of heaven for me yesterday in the form of DI. I walked in and immediately found Will 3 pair of shorts for $5-total. I decided to give the women's section a shot and found myself 2 very cute, very nice pair of jeans for $4-each. Then I wandered around for a while feeling so excited about the fact that I just got our absolute necessities for $9 I wanted to see what other great deals I could find. I came across 2 little boys baseball gloves for $3. That is wonderful because the boys are starting baseball in the summer and we just recently returned some previously purchased baseball gloves from Target because we felt like they were too expensive. Then I decided to check out the kids books. This was just a big fat bonus for me. I spent an hour looking through all of the kids books and found so many good ones. It was like a school teacher had just dropped off her collection and I was there to pick it all up. I found close to 60 books that I wanted to buy, but I knew I shouldn't spend a lot on books even though they were all only $0.25-$0.50 each. So I put half of them back. I left DI having spent only $30. Half of that was on books!

Today we took a trip back to Pennys to return all of our "sweet sale" merchandise.

And so I end with this, I would like to bear my testimony, I know that DI is true!

Boys' First Movie

This post is from Brent, and this is my first. Annie has been the one who has kept the blog up to date thus far, and so here is my first contribution. When I was a kid I used to love making movies. Now that I have kids, I now have an excuse to make movies again. This was the first one we made together. We have also done a Transformers movie that I will post in the future. I'm still trying to get the licensing squared away with Andrew (he won't let me post it unless he gets a royalty for each time viewed). Anyway . . . enjoy!

Mom takes too long blogging

I guess I spent a little too much time blogging this morning instead paying attention to my crying baby. Jacob put himself down for his nap this morning because "I just had to finish this one post". I find myself saying things like that a lot. Please forgive me. Sometimes I forget my priorities. Sorry Jacob, you do look pretty peaceful now! I do love you.