26 February 2017

The weather this week was just lovely, and yet I found myself cold all week!  It’s that wonderful time between cold winter and warm spring…when its chilly in the morning and sunny and pleasant in the afternoon.  This is always the time of year when the garden starts to call to me again, and sadly there’s not much to do in my garden. 

Monday evening we had our weekly family night and Felicity picked the activity, she wanted to watch The Phantom of the Opera, so I put together a lesson on the difference between being humble and choosing to turn toward Heavenly Father on our own and being compelled to be humble and seek help when negative events effect our lives.  I equated Christine’s love to our willingness to be humble and choose right.  That her love was not genuine or as meaningful when the Phantom compelled her to love him with threats and intimidation in comparison to when she openly and willingly loved.  Ok, it was a stretch, but I think they got something out of it and I was able to tie the activity in with the lesson…loosely! 

We had too much to do on Tuesday.  Helen had a third grade musical performance and we had Activity Days and I had mutual.  Jeff took Helen and Felicity to her performance and Arlo chose to come to mutual with me.  The young women did a photo scavenger hunt around the church building.  Some of the pictures they came back with were really cute.  It was fun and Arlo had a good time following the young women around. 

I got a message and photo from Arlo’s teacher on Wednesday, he had crawled into their little “quiet time” area and had fallen asleep pretty early on in the morning.  He didn’t have a fever, but he only sits still like that when he’s not feeling well, so I went and picked him up.  He was feeling better after some more quiet time and a movie at home.  I took him to get a haircut in the afternoon which was fun.  He really hates them using the electric trimmer on him, I think it’s a mixture of fear and tickling.  He always looks so handsome after a haircut.  In the evening the kids’ dad came to get them for the long weekend. 

I got a lot of cleaning and crocheting in this week with such quiet kid-free evenings!  My Friday was a little on the crappy side.  I had my performance review at work and was passed over for a raise.  I couldn’t even really be upset as I did not have a good year and struggled to enjoy work, or maybe better put struggled more than usual to hide the fact that I don’t enjoy work.  I transitioned around a bit and it was just not a good year professionally, I knew it, but it was hard to hear that I wasn’t the only one who had noticed it.  On Friday afternoon I was supposed to meet the missionaries and help them teach a lesson in ASL, but their appointment ended up falling through.  I just picked up some Chinese food and spent the evening watching a movie.  I’m just so exciting!

I did some trimming and raking in the front yard on Saturday, and I gave in and planted some sunflowers and marigolds in the flower beds in the back.  I figure they’re very low maintenance and they will add some pretty color to the yard come spring.  I also mowed the lawn and did some more trimming and pruning.  I miss my garden!  I wish the house situation would pan out so I can move on, but I’m still waiting.  As I think about it though, I think things will probably line up better if the house sells this spring and I can move and get reestablished over the summer.  It’s also looking much more likely that we’ll be headed down Sahuarita road closer to the Vail area, which will mean a new school district and stake; naturally better to make that transition over the summer.  But who knows!  I’m just trying to be patient as I see how things unfold.

Saturday evening I met Leona for dinner and we had a great time chatting and catching up and staying up way past our old lady bedtimes!  I’m grateful for her and her friendship, no matter how long it’s been we can always just pick back up and run with it. 

I wasn’t feeling great on Sunday and my realtor had planned an open house that was starting an hour and a half before I needed to be at church, so I went with my mom and grandma to visit my grandpa instead.  We had a nice lunch and visit.  I picked up the kids in the evening and just as we were pulling in the garage, we got a call that there was someone that wanted to see the house.  The kids and I wandered Wal-Mart for an hour while the house was being shown (it was really weird to be in Wal-Mart on a Sunday).

I read a great article this week entitled You're Not Messing Up God's Plan For You it was really insightful and gave me a lot to think about.  By nature my disposition is one of wanting to accomplish things perfectly and I put a lot of stress on myself in that pursuit, so the article was a good read for me.  It was also good to hear another perspective on why we wait sometimes.  I certainly have felt myself grow and learn, even, or especially, in the midst of the hardest challenges and most disappointing experiences.   "I have yet to see some of my desires materialize. Trusting God is something I practice every day. Being without the desires of my heart has kept me turning to God, kept me seeking Him, and I can’t help but wonder if that was the whole point after all—to use this time in my life to come to know Him and how He works with me." 

19 February 2017

Monday morning I heard back from my realtor.  My offer on the house was accepted as “first back up”.  In other words, they accepted another offer and if that offer falls through then I will have the option to buy.  It also appeared that my offer was higher than the accepted offer, but since it was contingent on the sale of my house, they went with the lower offer.  I was disappointed, but at least they are contractually obligated to offer the house to me in the event the first deal falls through.  I really need to get my house sold, but there doesn’t seem to be anything I can do to make that happen.  I’m just going to keep hoping and praying and trusting that there’s a plan and it will all work out. 

We had our family home evening lesson based on a conference talk by Elder Larry S. Kacher.  He tells the story of being caught in a rip tide and how we can avoid dangers that would take us away from the safety of the gospel if we don’t heed promptings from the Holy Ghost.  We filled out our valentines as our activity.  

The kids were really excited for Valentine's Day and boy did they come home with a crap load of candy!  We had mutual on Tuesday night and had a "Gal-entines" party for the girls.  We had popcorn, candy, and soda and watched "Beauty and the Beast" together.  It was  a lot of fun.  

We met Nana for dinner this week and had a nice time.  She had some Valentine's goodies for us too.  She is always so sweet to us, we sure do appreciate her!  It was my off Friday and after a Young Womens Presidency meeting in the morning got all my chores done, which included lots of cleaning, laundry, groceries, you know, the usual line up.  In the evening the kids went to their dad's for an extra visit.  I met my girlfriends for our monthly girls night out.  We had a waffle night and made Monte Cristos, hash browns, cinnamon rolls, and a few other things in the waffle iron.  We laughed and visited and ate and played games and tried on lipstick and just had so much fun.  I'm so grateful for them!
Saturday morning I went back to the temple.  There was supposed to be a regional single adult temple trip, but as it turned out it was just me and one other friend.  I was honestly a little disappointed, but enjoyed being there just the same.  It had actually been quite a while since I was in the Mesa temple.  I picked up the kids on my home and we stayed up and had popcorn and watched a couple movies.  Our meetings were good today.  I've been contemplating the blessings that come from attending church each week, partaking of the sacrament, and serving in callings even when church is hard.  

12 February 2017

We had a downright exciting week at Casa de Davidson.  Monday morning I went out with the real estate agent to see a house.  The house had been for sale previously, but the price was out of our range, so I didn't bother to see it, but now it's in short sale and the price was reduced significantly, putting it comfortably in my budget.  I fell in love almost immediately.  It is EXACTLY what I've been looking for.  It's more perfect than anything I've seen yet.  I spent the week contemplating and praying over the decision to put in an offer.  As it turns out, Monday afternoon someone came by to see my house and put in an offer.  Lamentably, the offer was too low, so we countered with a more acceptable offer; however, their agent said it was unlikely they could afford it at the counter, but it was good to at least see some movement!  I made the decision to drop the listing price of my house by $5,000.  I'm hoping that that renews interest in it and I can get it sold.

I also got to read at the Intermediate School on Monday.  Parents were invited to come read in the classrooms for Love of Reading Week.  I went to Felicity's class and read "Who Pooped in the Sonoran Desert", one of my favorites.  A 10 minute book took about an hour to read because I did lots of extra facts and asked questions, and was just me.  The kids were really interested and engaged.  When I left, I had the thought that teaching is what really brings out the best in me.  I wish is was a more feasible option financially.  Monday evening we went for a run as a family.  One of my two goals for the week was to exercise every day, and running is one of my very favorite ways to accomplish this.  The kids wanted to join me, so that was our home evening activity.  At first they were a little annoyed with how slow I was going, but soon figured out that it was best to go a little slower, because we were going to go pretty far.  Well, as it turns out, we made it a mile before Arlo couldn't go any more, so we turned around and walked the mile back home.  It was fun, I'm sure I was quite the spectacle running down Las Quintas with my little ducklings behind me in a row.  Our lesson was based on the First Presidency message for the month, "As I Have Loved You".  We talked about how our loving relationships are what life is about and how important it is to cultivate those relationships.

Tuesday, Felicity and Arlo were participating in a district program honoring the White Elephant in Green Valley.  We were at the district auditorium at about a quarter to six.  Arlo and the other little ones at the Early Childhood Center led the Pledge of Allegiance.  Arlo really enjoyed being on stage in front of everyone.  We listened to quite a few choirs and ensembles from the different elementary schools, as well as some excellent solo performances from the high school.  Felicity played in a combined band ensemble and it was awful, but in that wonderful way that beginning bands are awful.  She really enjoys band, and I'm glad that she does.  We didn't get home until after eight, but it was a good night.

Arlo made "Stone Soup" this week at school.  He was so excited to do it, he reminded me several times on the day of, to bring his broccoli.  About half way through the day, his teacher sent me a picture of him trying the soup.  I didn't want to predict it, because I was hopeful, but she said he pretty much hated it!  I saw that coming!

On Friday the girls had a "Vocabulary Parade" at school.  I swear, they're constantly being asked to dress up at school!  I told them to find something in their dress up bin and I would give them a word to go with it.  Felicity picked a hodge podge  of weird stuff, so I told her not to brush her hair, and she could go as "Disheveled".  Helen picked a ladybug costume, so she was "Arthropod".  At the end of the day, Felicity was disappointed.  "I thought I was going to get to ride on a float!  We just walked in a circle around the playground!"  They went to visit their dad in the afternoon and I drove to Gilbert to attend the temple.  I have felt all week like the house that I saw on Monday was the one for us,  I had already gone through the steps to get the pre-qualification paperwork signed (twice since I changed my mind on what I wanted to offer) earlier in the week.  I went to the temple just to confirm that I was doing the right thing, and that it was the right house to make an offer on.  I had a very nice evening and felt like I needed to put my offer in and then trust the Lord with the rest.

Saturday morning I submitted my offer and then went out in the yard to get my mind off of it.  I trimmed back all my rose bushes and then dug them up and potted them in 5 gallon buckets.  Since it would have been too much of a shock to pull them up in November when I cleared the rest of my back yard, I had left the rose bushes.  Well, they've died back as much as they're going to and I needed to transfer them before they started to put out new growth.  It was a heck of a chore, some of the old ones had really strong root systems.  I'm praying they'll all survive in the buckets until I can get them planted at wherever our new house will be.  After that I showered and went grocery shopping and cleaned house.  I really feel a lot of peace about the offer on the house.  If it's meant to be, it will, and I'm hoping my heart won't be broken if they don't accept my offer.

I'm fasting today that my offer will be accepted and all the financing will work out, if you are the praying type, a quick prayer that our offer is accepted would be much appreciated!  We are supposed to hear back from them no later than Monday night at 7pm.

05 February 2017

We really enjoyed the great weather this week; a little brisk in the morning and lovely in the afternoon.  We had a really nice week.  The kids came home from their weekend visit sick and all three ended up staying home on Monday.  Luckily I was still able to work and by the afternoon they were showing none of the signs of death they had so obviously exhibited in the morning so it was off to school for everyone on Tuesday!

We had mutual in the evening on Tuesday and the young women had wanted to do a "make over" night.  I kept it really low key and brought some nail polish and my straightening iron (my new fancy expensive one) and my curling iron and I think the girls had a great time.  They painted each others fingernails (including my girls') and I straightened quite a few heads of hair.  A few of them brought make up, so they did that too.  Sometimes its the simple things that are the most fun.

I attended the school assembly on Wednesday morning where Felicity was honored as the "Bobcat of the Month" for her class.  We had Family Home Evening after dinner, which included a lesson on tuning-in to the Spirit and tuning-out the distracting noises of the world.  For our activity and treat we met Nana at McDonald's for some ice cream and play time.  It was fun.

I got my taxes completed this week which is always nice.  I'm hoping that the refund comes in time to be added to what I've been saving to put down on the new house.  Speaking of the new house, there still isn't one because there still hasn't been any offers made on our house!  We did hold another open house this weekend and had a couple people come by.  I also noticed that the number of views the house got online jumped significantly this week as did our rating in how often our house came up in searches, I'm thinking as we head into February there will be more people looking.  I'm not at all concerned though (can you believe that!?), I trust that the right buyer will come along at the right time and when it happens we'll be able to find the right house and property for us.  Aside from the occasional annoyance of needing/wanting something that's currently in storage, I really am just satisfied to sit back and see what is in store for us.  A new house and property came on the market this week that might be a fit, am waiting to hear back from my realtor about going to see it.

I was off on Friday and did my "mom stuff", you know, cleaning, grocery shopping, meal prep for the week, etc.  I also had the windshield on the car replaced, it's been needing it for some time now.  In the afternoon we went to my parents house for pizza dinner to celebrate Papa's birthday.  The kids had fun as usual.

We were up early on Saturday and finished off a few last minute items so the house would be ready for the open house and then headed over to my dad's.  We went shooting for a couple of hours and had a lot of fun.  Arlo got to shoot his new BB gun and once he figured out how to line up the front and rear sights, he was hitting the target consistently from several different distances.  We also brought the shotguns with us, Helen's .410 and my 12 gauge.  The girls shot at a still target for awhile and then set up the skeet set and we shot at clay pigeons.  Felicity struggled with it a bit and her arm got tired after awhile, but the kids had a lot of fun pulling for me and I had my own cheering section!  We shot for about two hours and then drove into Tucson for lunch.   Arlo was so excited about shooting, that he told no less than five people at Walmart that he had been out shooting and three people at Chipotle.

Our Sunday was nice.  I mentioned to the kids that I thought we should try a new seat at church, and Felicity turned to me and asked "we can do that?".  I guess nine years of sitting in the same place during sacrament meeting made my child assume there was assigned seating!  Our meetings went well and I stayed after a bit to help the Beehive class presidency conduct a presidency meeting.  The kids played (mostly) happily all afternoon and at about 5:30 we went out for a walk in the neighborhood.  I love my kiddos a lot and am so grateful that I've been given the opportunity to be a mother; I'm not always perfect at it, in fact sometimes I'm not even very good at it, but I sure do try, and I sure do love them.  I mentioned last week that I had set two small goals for myself, well this week I continued those two small goals and added two new goals.  I was successful at both all week and will be carrying my now four goals into next week, with an additional two things that I'm going to work on.  I finished another really good book that I learned a lot from and I continued to abstain from Face Book this week (with the exception of posting to the YW page) and think that it's been a good break for me.  I'm excited to see what the coming days have in store!