An attitude of gratitude

That is what this blog is all about.  Counting my blessings.  I confess I often miss them.  Many times I have wanted to write a "here is the real truth" uncensored version of events.  Sort of a way to vent frustration in the moment.  I do try to keep these entries true to life, but we really are more grateful in reflection.  I think that is why pondering is so strongly suggested by our Father in Heaven.  The reality is, that I am, we are, surrounded by blessings both small and profound and we miss them.  Because we are tired.  Because we are lazy.  Because we are stressed, sad, hungry, busy, hard at work, hot, cold, distracted, etc..  Because we are human.  My goal, become a better human.  See the blessings sooner. 

So with reflection, I found these few moments, out of many, to be grateful for:

the 3 little anti-bethovens
I year ago I had said for the hundredth time, sort of robustly and with great energy (okay maybe yelled it a little even)
"FINE!  Have your wish!!!! You are DONE with piano.  YOU MAY NOT play the piano EVER AGAIN"
And I have taken the piano books and rushed from the room.
This is a fairly accurate quote, and was targeted at any of the 3 boy.

Then we had a 6 month break rather forced upon us.
We are now back at it. Peter and Seth on the piano and James now on the guitar.
I still have to "make" them practice sometimes but more than once I have caught each of them getting carried away with their practice.  Practicing more than they needed too.  Practicing other songs than were assigned.  Playing for the joy of playing.  These moments are truly the music to my ears.  To hear the appreciation of music happening.  May it last!  

Ah. . . innocence:
The boys are growing up.  Unbelievable.
We have let them watch  a few "grown-up" movies (that means mom and dad approved PG-13 movies) but they still enjoy childhood favorite cartoons.
These boys can text and download but are still happy with a tote of legos on a Sunday afternoon.
So when all 3 put on a bit of disguise, grab a foam sword, and play a round of Ninja warriors, or whatever they call it, it is sweet.
Until someone gets hurt.  :)

Frenemies:
James and Seth have a 90-10 relationship.  10 percent brotherly love and 90 brotherly rivalry.
They rarely get along.
When Dave put up the ping pong table finally this week (and it is stationed on our nice covered patio out back, where it is warm enough to play almost any hour of the day, if you are a boy) and I caught these two playing, genuinely playing, I was floored.
Well chaired, to be exact.
I sat down outside on the patio with them, and just watched with wonder.
It didn't matter who won.  They just played.  They laughed.  They tolerated each others spikes, or spin moves on the ball.  One would win and the other was laughing and smiling.  Then the other would win.  I kept waiting for the tattling, the bickering, the yelling of "that's not fair".  But it never came.  And it hasn't in the week and 1/2 they have kept playing.
I'm smart enough to know this is not a permanent change but perhaps the beginning of a longer, happier path for these two as they mature. 
I don't think I can accurately describe my wonder and amazement and, again, gratitude for witnessing this moment.

Very Special Guests
About one month after my parents visit here, Mom and Dad Stanley came to visit.
November 16, 17, and 18.
How is it possible to love any more, or cherish any more, the people you love in your life and the moments you get to spend with them.  But we did.
Our time was much the same at the trip with my parents.
Give them a tour of our home and our lives.
But with Mom and Dad Stanley we ate more Mexican food.
Just twice.
Hamburgers at home one night.
And fondue on Sunday.  That was fun, and yummy.
Some highlights:

• Taking mom on about 20 miles of bumpy dirt road.  Probably a first for her.  When we stopped worrying she would have a heart-attack, it became a little humorous to see her bobbing along and holding on for dear life.  If you ask her, she may say the scenery was worth it, but I can't be certain. 
• Eating a picnic, just Dave and I, with Mom and Dad, at a stop at one of the lakes on that scenic tour. 
• Watching Dave and his Dad walk out to a view point over a dam.  Families are forever. 
• Seth getting to show off his soccer skills (although he was upset for a couple of hours that Grandma and Grandpa had to see him lose). 
• James getting to show off his basketball prowess and Grandma and Grandpa getting to see Dave in action as a coach. 
• Casa Ramos.  Grandpa discovered a "cheese crisp" thanks to me.  Mmmmmmmm. 
• Christmas lights being tested at the Mesa temple, so we got to see them together. 
• Bosa Donuts the second time.  The first time they weren't very fresh.  The second time they were DELICIOUS.  
• Mom being so sweet and attentive to our ridiculous little dog. 
• Dad taking time to watch Seth shoot his bow, talk basketball with James, and watch a football game with Peter and quiz him all about youth conference. 
• Peter going to youth conference.
• James being willing, just barely and it was looking bad for a while but he pulled through, speaking that Sunday.  He spoke about the 9th article of faith and the Family, A Proclamation to the World, and in under 2 minutes.  Bet no one else could be that brief and still pack some punch. 
• Mom telling us a few childhood stories
• Dad sharing some favorite scriptures.

The worst part of the whole visit is that is was over too fast.  At least for us.  We could really get used to having frequent visitors.

And so I will finish November next time.  Not because this has to be a log of events, but because there were more wonderful things to reflect about.

We had our "moments" too.

• 2 holes in our walls already
• Dave's truck battery dying at the grocery store. Luckily I was 2 minutes away with an Auto-Zone in between us. 
• My car battery dying twice.  Nope I still dont have jumper cable in my Pilot. 
•  Me missing the midnight premiere of the last Twilight Movie and missing being with my friends for that historic event.
• Sore throats
• overspending on groceries, of course I haven't ever stayed in budget, but I'm still trying

Give Thanks

And I will soon.
Since it took me 6 weeks to recap October, I'm not sure how long it will take me to make another update.
The next episode will include more exciting events. Don't miss . . .
Mom and Dad Stanley coming to VISIT!!!!
James trying out for the school basketball team!
My brother Joseph and his family coming to celebrate Thanksgiving with us!

But more than a log of our life this blog was meant to put rose colored glasses over my blood-shot eyes (from lack of sleep, worry, crying over spilled milk, or serious troubles with teenagers, you name it, they are shot from it).
And I haven't seen as many moments lately that I smiled about, willingly or not.  So this is a reminder for myself to watch.  Watch boys be boys and laugh instead of cry over it.  Watch when the little boy side still comes out.  Watch as the young men emerge.  I can't wait to see and share. 

October - a Blur and a Blessing

October was a blur because I can't believe it is over.  So much happened.  Stunning.
So the blessings (the obvious ones as well as the not so . . .), in chronological order:

October 8th-
I don't seem to mind camping in my own home.   Takes away a lot of pressure (like cleanliness, decorating, well-cooked meals, etc. , )
The wood floors (okay they are wood laminate, but by choice, for the maintenance.  And they cost the same as the real stuff.  They look so real I am weary of telling everyone that compliments them, that they aren't wood, so they are now theoretically wood.  :) ) are all installed and so BEAUTIFUL! (this comes after a 3 day freakout, by yours truly, that they were too orange.  Since the restock fee would have been about $1200, I kept staring until, wha la, they became the perfect color).  When I go into other homes with my floor plan, I can't believe what a difference the unbroken expanse of wood does to make our house look completely different. 
And now for the fun.
The "STUFF" arrives.  An entire semi-load.  Literally.  And of what?  Don't ask? I already went through all of our possessions twice before we moved here and yet I was squashed by the weight of potentially unpacking all that I chose to bring here.  So I didn't.
For a week.
Much to Dave's dismay.
But I just couldn't deal with what could possibly be inside all of those boxes.
So I just kept painting and living very simply.

And then . . .
Fall break hit.
Time to get to work.  So we started unpacking.  Many have asked to see more pictures of the house.  So here is what it looked like, as of Monday,
October 15 -

Isn't our house lovely?

One funny note, I must add for posterity. The "professional" movers (quotation marks denote that whereas the packing team were work-horses, the unloaders, more like unmotivated teenagers, but they weren't teenagers.) , and  praise heaven above for them, lazy or not, wrapped everything in paper.   When they packed our house.  EVERYTHING.   Every spoon, piece of tupperware, markers, tape dispenser, etc.,  for silly sake.  That was some fun unpacking I'll tell ya.  Movers do not help you unpack.  We had so much packing paper that James made a paper pile/akin to a leaf pile, and did some jumping onto, into it.  It almost had cushion. 

But by Wednesday/Thursday, I worked my usual Johanson Woman magic and had everything in a place (70% being put back in the garage to deal with later).

Intermingled in this heightened chaotic style of living, was the celebration of Seth's birthday.  And this was no ordinary birthday. 
Seth turned 12.
Seth is such a unique and special boy.  He has been looking forward to this birthday for a long time.  I plan to add more about him soon but here are the highlights.

• Seth is very easy to please.  I pulled of my usual late night decorations and shopping and in the morning Seth woke up to balloons, streamers, Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, his favorite this year, and a few nice presents.  Really he is so easy to please I had to really think hard to find a few gifts for him.  James helped buy him a new, more "hip" backpack and Peter helped replenish Seth's book supply.  Then with birthday money from his grandparents we went shopping that day at "Outdoor World" akin to Cabella's.  Seth bought himself some new, very fancy arrows, for his compound bow, and Dave and I bought him a real target.  This target does not resemble the Robin Hood fashion so don't try and picture it :).  What Seth really wanted to buy was a Ranger Bow (known in modern times as a recurve bow).  Only fans of The Rangers Apprentice series would understand why a boy needs this kind of tool.  Unfortunately they don't make Ranger Weapons for his age. 
• Seth enjoyed a birthday meal of pot-stickers (yeah Costco!) and Orange Chicken (yeah Panda Express). 
• If I remember correctly, it was so long ago now, we were too full from dinner to enjoy his favorite, mint-chocolate-chip ice cream. 
• Seth enjoyed watching an animated movie that night with his brothers.  This was a big feat since our tv wasn't hooked up. 
• Really is was a mellow but happy day. 

October 18th -
This was the best present of all.  My parents came to visit.  It was beyond wonderful to have them come.  To get to share our new life/home/state/ward with our family meant so much.  Seth was deeply grateful (he is a deep 12 year old) and it made the significance of his 12th birthday even more so.
It was a short trip for my parents but we lived it up the best we could. 
Touring Dave's work, then driving the Apache trail.  This was like driving a hike and the scenery felt like we were in a Western movie.  It was bumpy and fun but the boys even enjoyed it without aide of electronic distraction, and we were gone most of the day.  All one happy family in our Honda Pilot. 

That night was out to dinner with just Seth and Grandpa and Grandma Johanson. 
After much reassuring myself that it was okay to let Seth pick Golden Corral, since it was his birthday, we made the most of it. 
The choice came from the influence of an older brother, and from the 5 minutes of commercial television the boys snuck in somewhere, where they were exposed to the worst kind of coercive advertising.  A chocolate fountain.  The chocolate was sub-par to be sure. Seth's eyes are bigger than his stomach, literally, so as you can imagine from knowing him, his stomach isn't very big.  Seth ate about a total of 1 cup of food and 1 cup of dessert, plus 1 1/2 half Cotton Candies (how to you pluralize that). 
There were a half-dozen things on the buffet that were actually quite good.  Grandma and I even caved in and ate a Cotton Candy.

Having Mom and Dad to visit that weekend was such a blessing.  We showed them Phoenix, and the sports venues, took them to see the temple and to visit my Dad's brother, Uncle Ben.
We watched a couple of movies together.  Grandma got to watch Seth win a soccer game and Grandpa got to watch James' team lose a basketball game.  All in all it was just a treasure to have them experience our lives for a few days.
The highlight was having Grandpa and Grandma there for Seth's priesthood ordination.  He recited the 4th article of faith in sacrament meeting, perfectly.  This boy has been longing for this day for so long.  He truly appreciates its significance and takes his new responsibilities as a deacon, seriously. 
It was a teary parting but a peaceful one. 

And then the rest of October happened.  I can hardly recall.

We did have fun on Halloween.  We hosted a few teenage boys and I made spud-nuts for anyone who would eat them.  Seth did not get to wear a costume to school and I didn't get to go for any kind of party.  It is strange to have your baby get grown-up.  Seth and James (yes, 13 year old James) went tricking treating with friend so we took Levi trick or treating.  Levi is our (dumb) dog.  And no of course, not really.  We just went for a walk around our block, since trick-or-treaters were slow.  It was fun to meet new neighbors.  Almost everyone sits out on their driveways in camping chairs.  Very festive and friendly around here.
I almost forgot to add that for a couple of weeks Peter has been sneaking out and running around the neighborhood in a "scream costume".  It worked.  He scared people.  He sat in our yard wearing on Halloween night.  After confiscating it from him, we figured this was the legal use for it.  But many kids wouldn't come to our door because Peter was in our yard.
One night Peter called me up to give him a good-night kiss.  He doesn't often summon me, but I go in and give him one anyway so I did think anything of it.  When I pulled back the covers for the kiss, I had Scream waiting to greet me.  Oh boy.
This picture below was a classic piano practice.  I'm fairly sure he was pounding out "Funeral March" as the pic was snapped.

What did not happen in October:
Our pool did not get finished.
I did not learn to like my  job any better than before.
Peter did not make huge strides in his grades.
We did not lose a single pound, but I don't think we gained any either. 

What else did happen:
Boys practiced their instruments. Whew
We found a really good mexican restaraunt
Peter's "team" at school assured us he will survive this year
We watched Jurrassic Park with the boys for the first time and finally let them see "Batman Begins"
We missed you all some more and learned to love it here a little more too

Sunday, Oct. 7

Sunday, October 7:

I'm back.  Hooray.  I am really enjoying writing this, although you might be surprised how long it takes for a one page summary of our lives each week.

When Presidend Uchdorf talked about facebooking less and doing meaningful family things more, I was beyond happy that I had just chosen to do this.  I think facebook has its place, but really pondering our blessings and journaling them feels right.

Our top moments:

1. We can't believe we have lived in our house over a week.  The painting is going slow and grossly over budget. Watching it slowly turn into a home, is satisfying.

2. The boys would list their indulgent, stock-the-fridge-with-frozen-foods-since-we-can't-cook, shopping trip as a highlight of the week.

You may be surprised but we have never had frozen corn dogs in our freezer.  EVER.
Each boy got to pick whatever they wanted.  Did I mention Dave took them shopping.

When my visiting teachers brought over a dinner, homemade enchiladas, and told us another night some other sisters would bring something too, well I wasn't just touched, I was relieved.  My family got a couple of nourishing meals this week. 

On fish sticks night we ate on the patio and attempted family scriptures.  Apparently Seth, who would be a junk-a-holic, if I let him,was still hungry and took to eating the ketsup with a spoon.  The same plastic spoon that then became a "pea-catapult".  When I removed the ketsup and forbid the pea throwing, Seth actually got desperate enough to keep eating the peas.  I think he even finished them off.  Frozen peas aren't so bad.  They quite sweet, even for a sweet tooth.

3. Seth had most of the adventures this week.  He us most pleased with his right-of-passage moment when getting his first stitches.  While I was driving James to basketball, Seth was playing with friends around our pool construction site.  He slipped and tumbled over the wooden border that is secured with rebar posts and thick metal wire.  We think it was the metal wire that sliced his foot open as he tumbled over.  The hero friends rode their bikes to a neighbor who came over and helped Seth by bandaging him up.  I was about 10 minutes away and of course was horrified when I got the call from Julie Olsen, mother of 6 boys.  She wasn't fazed by the experience and gave me tips as to where to take him.  It wasn't deep but it was long.



before

The real relief was finding Seth, smugly propping his foot up, a gleam in his eye.  He was going to be the center of attention for a while.  He was basking in it.  We shooed the very concerned neighbors friends home and took him to the Kids Urgent Care about 15 min. from our house.  2 1/2 hours later, and this was with no one else in the CLINIC!!! Seth is sporting 9 stitches.  He never cried, he never flinched.  He watched them sew it up.  And truly this kid was THRILLED to have his stitches.  He might have sung a different tune if the injury had been worse.



after

To Seths dismay, his teacher was so careful with him the next day at school that he was bored to death and in Seth's own words "I was treated like a Prince Mom, and I couldn't stand it."
Trying to keep him mellow on that foot is the hardest part about the experience.  A whole week without soccer is rough. 
James and Dad were very concerned and one of the highlights of my weeks was James' tender concern for the brother he is usually torturing.  James even gave Seth his turn to sleep with the dog, as a comfort for Seth his first night with an injury.  Seth did wake us up in a little pain that night so it wasn't all fun and games to get stitches. 



4. I mentioned Peter has been having a rough time at school and we have been having a rough time parenting him.  We have been so worried about him in so many ways.  This is our first 14 1/2 year old teenage boy after all.  They are CRAZY.  This morning I strongly encouraged Peter to come on our Sunday walk the dog walk.  This was a sacrifice for me, because I love every second of alone time I get with Dave, and I have an unending list to discuss with him in those uninterrupted moments.  But  I knew Peter would have a nice time once we got him outside and with us.  We didn't talk about much.  We listened once again to many football facts.  But its beautiful to walk in the wild "wash" that runs through our neighborhood.  Its entertaining to watch our silly dog chase rabbits and quail.  When Peter walked up between Dave and I and put his arms around our necks on the way home,walking affectionately between us,  I knew he had felt a little deposit into his "you are loved" bank account. 

Then to have him later, pick up on two scriptures in conference, as call out "that's a scripture mastery!"  well, it doesn't get much better than that.

5. I'm a Christian Rocker.  Definition: car windows rolled down, cool evening breeze blowing, blasting Christian rock/pop stations down the highway.  Don't knock them til you've tried them.  I have my limits too.  Some of the songs are just too rock for Jesus lyrics but most of them are so uplifting.  We have KLOVE here and at least 5 other stations.  But I love classic praise music the most.  See post below:



6. General Conference.  Dave and I get "after conference blues" sometimes because it is over so fast.  Is is just me, or are conferences getting more profound and life changing.  Very, very quickly, some highlights:

• Peter and James going to Priesthood session.  Dave reports that James actually listened.  You can't know how big of a milestone this is.  I'm not sure if James' has ever listened to more than 30 seconds at a time of a church meeting, ever.  He had plenty to share at "Souper-Salad" after.  (why not Mexican.  We had Mexican every night except fish sticks night, this week). 
• Seth sharing his favorite moment of conference was Elder Hollands talk about Peter and the Savior asking him "Do You Love Me".  I knew this talk was one of the most profound for me but for my almost 12 year old.  I was amazed that he was so affected by it.
• The boys got along for 3/4 of the broadcasts today. (the 1/4 they didn't was ugly.  I don't have the energy to write about it)
• Going to some new friends house tonight, the Robisons, to recap conference.  They have 8 kids, ranging from 16 to 18 months.  They have 4 adopted, and 4 biological and they are the greatest, and a very real, family.  I call it the post-conference chaos night, but it got our kids to talk about conference and hear their friends talk about conference.  I made homemade fudge sauce and homemade pineapple sauce for ice-cream.  Yummy.  The honey-vinaigrette salad I made was just okay.
• I think Daves highlight was Priesthood Session
• We are as excited as everyone about the missionary age.  Except that Dave was my Knight in Shining Armor and I wouldn't have missed him for anything, I kind of want a do-over so I can go on a mission at 19. 

• For me one of the most tender moments was the performance of "Does the Journey Seem Long".  I could feel the spirit of our Savior so deeply during that moment.  If you didn't have a quiet house for conference, listen to it again, alone, sometime.  It makes your soul remember where we all want to return after this long journey.

The less pleasant moments:

1. Ants.  Grrrrr.

2. Pool builders did not come this week as scheduled!



3. Finding out you don't want a yellow wall (luckily we figured it out from painting a sample and not waisting a whole gallon and an hour)

4. Worrying about your kids

5. Watching your kids suffer.  Dave says it's part of life, but I never read that in the users manual.  Oh wait THERE ISN'T A MANUAL!!!!!  Okay fine, yes there is, the scriptures, but I could have used the "raising kids for dummies" version.

6. running out of money



7. Working out 1 day, yes you heard me right, that was 1dumb day, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, this week

8. Ruining your first, triple batch, of chocolate sauce.  But talking to your sister on the phone at the same time was worth the waisted ingredients.

9.  Missing Autumn

10. Missing your family

We cannot complain, even though we do to often, and we are truly happy here, but every life moment that passes here in a new place, reminds us how much we do miss home. 

Sunday, September 30

Counting our Blessings:

1. WE CLOSED ON OUR NEW HOUSE THURSDAY! 

and moved in that night.  Friday morning I was actually walking around squealing spontaneously and singing away.  Truly delighted by the fairly basic, though spacious, 4 walls.  The singing sounded great because an empty house has a great echo, akin to the sound of shower singing, but even better.  The concrete floors added to the amplified effect.  No, concrete is not the new trend, it is the deal we worked out with the builder.  They left out their worthless standard flooring in the first floor of the house so that we could have Home Depot come Monday to put in floors beautiful, laminate wood floors, at a decent cost.  We have carpeting upstairs.  The house is basically empty because when I say, "move in" it means we took all the stuff that fit in 1 Honda pilot and about 8 suitcases, plus all the junk we accumulated in 4 months, then added all the stuff I bought new for the house, and deposited it in the loft.  We have scheduled the movers (yes a professional moving company that packed our whole house in Utah and then will move everything in for us, woo hoo) to bring the rest of our belongings on Monday, Oct. 8th. 

2. Taking on a new, 20 year loan.
After a nightmare I had that our house ending up costing $800,000, the reality of signing for new home actually felt calm and "right" and added to the confirmation that this is where we are supposed to be.

3. Premier Pools dug a really big hole in our yard Monday.

4. Dave LOVES his job.  Watch out!   He knows alot about the precious resource, water, and tends to get a little preachy about supply and demand, waste, etc. :)  (if you want to know why he knows so much about water, when his job is working to open a new underground copper mine, you will have to call and ask him.)

5. I like my new job okay. 
Long story short:  When I have too much time, I get depressed, stir crazy, and very dissatisfied with life.  I got a job as a part time reading aide at Canyon Rim Elementary (about 8 minutes from my house).  I really like it when I actually get to teach the kids but when I just do busy work, or wander around a room keeping wiggly little boys on task, not so much. 
(Long story long: at first I took a job as an instructional assistant which meant assisting generally in different classrooms throughout the morning and occasionally with the kids.  There was also an option of office assistant/ copy girl.  Both had my busy brain reeling and searching for some meaning to those long, 4 hours.  So the day after I took the job, I told the school that I just couldn't do it and that I was going to be a substitute teacher, to work more with the kids.  They called me that afternoon and offered me the reading aide.  I really want to love it, and it has potential.  My time is precious and I will keep it if it works well with my personality and if that going to work EVERY DAY doesn't put me behind with my other pursuits as mom, homemaker, neighbor, visiting teacher, . . . the list goes on).

6. Seth's team finally won a soccer game.
They lost the first 2.  Seth has had a really hard time going from competition soccer in Utah (called "club" soccer in Arizona) to recreational soccer here.  The "club" teams play alot on Sundays so we didn't want to pursue that route.  Seths team has progressively gotten better and he was so satisfied to assist with all 3 goals his team made.
Seth's sweet tooth has finally caught up with him.  See the picture below. 



dont know why this is posting sideway.  See "sumo wrestling" for the real story on seths shirt.


7. James -
Hmmmm, James had an average week.  He doesn't know how he is going to survive until our pool is finished.  This boy has swam every day since we moved here.  During one homework session, James was banned from my presence due to his drastically negative attitude, but then rallied to once again complete a fabulous, and beautifully penned book report.  I don't blame him for despising Book Reports but my comments of "get-over-it because you have many more to write in your life" didn't help the situation. 

We had a precious moment today that fit the purpose of this blog perfectly.  Dave and I took a moment to just watch and appreciate the zest James has for life.  He passed a few of his long Sabbath hours shooting a bow and arrow in the empty hole that will be a pool.  He was so intent, so full of purpose, so able to capitalize on what life had to offer this warm afternoon.  It was a moment of appreciating what a 13 old boy has to offer.
Tonight James also caught a toad.  Well Levi (the dog) really found the toad and James found a new passion.  The cardboard box home will hopefully last the night.

8. Peter -
Since we moved in, only 2 days ago, Peter has already disappeared too many times, to be found at the neighbors.  We have been going to our ward since we moved here so he already knows where the closest Mormons live. 
Peter worked diligently (once we convinced him he had to) to haul in a palette of laminate flooring boxes.  Although murmuring the entire time, he was pleased at his work when we pointed out the nice accomplishment.  

9. Our color scheme (it sounds weird, but we are using colors called Granite Boulder, Squirrel, Silver Frost, and Hazelnut Cream) is turning out stunning.  I can just hear my mom groan at the sounds of those drab colors, but it looks awesome.  We are adding some color splashes in the days to come.  We are painting the entire house inside ourselves, because again, the upgrade charge by the builder to go from 1 color of, now listen, 1 color of FLAT, did you hear that, I said, FLAT paint, to two tone FLAT paint, was so outrageous, even our sales lady asked "you didn't pay the paint upgrade did you?"  Well no we didn't.  We are the paint upgrade.  Satin finish and multi-hued.  It took us two days to paint 2 rooms.  They are big rooms.  But this is a blessing because it is gonna look soooooooooo good.

10. A list of a few more I really  need to include:
*General Relief Society Meeting
*inviting your recently converted visiting teacher sister to come and having her actually come
*a wonderful landlord at your rental house
*the ability to work with little sleep
*watching food network shows while doing that work
*wonderful new neighbors who insist on helping you move even though you don't have a ton to move
*so many ward members offering you tables, chairs, mattresses, and even and iron to borrow (when they heard you wouldn't have those things for 10 days) that your phone was ringing all day
*friends for your kids
*dedicated teachers

*Kohls is open late

*Walmart is open late

and more . . . it's been a blessed week

*Dave just reminded me to add that we found THE BEST Mexican restaurant here, after much searching.  We have only had time to try it once, last week, but it might be better than most in Utah as well.  salivating just thinking about it.

And now for a few moments, keeping things real

1. Should you get mad a a kid for reading too much?  Because if there ever was a kid inspired that feeling, its Seth.  He is apparently the 2nd fastest reader in his class, did the 4th best on his geography of the Middle East test, and according to his teacher, is one of her "Math Kids".  But man he is infuriating when he wont put a book down for anything, at it happens all day, every day!

2. Because I am so indecisive, we have hardly any lights in our new house.  Most of our rooms have celling fans with lights that we were supposed to choose and install ourselves.  If I ever finish this tonight I will force myself to order them, pronto.  

3. A clear glass shower.  This presents several negative scenarios.

4. Going scorpion hunting for family night and finding ZERO scorpions.

5. Having another of the boys recreational wrestling matches turn nearly fatal (not really nearly fatal Mom Stanley, it just sounds like it from any other room in the house).  Tonight's version was imitation sumo wrestling.  James and Seth stuffed pillows in their shirts and this was supposed to soften the blow.  Funny how these matches come up so often since we have a NO WRESTLING OR EVEN TOUCHING EACH OTHER/NO SITTING BY EACH OTHER  rule in force.  It really all ends badly when Peter doesn't let up, and the kid is like a squid!  Powerful, powerful tentacles. 

6. Not being able to see any mountains from my back porch.  There are mountains here.  Cool, craggy looking ones.  But they are too far away to see from sitting on our porch.  I try to console myself with the balmy cool mornings eating breakfast on the porch.  Dave refuses to eat inside.  Finally the nights are even cooling down.  85 degrees is quite heavenly actually.  

7. Peter is really struggling with his academic classes in high school.  He is happy, and likes the big school.  He finally went to a football game Friday night, homecoming, we won, and he had a wonderful time.  Now we just need him to take learning seriously.  We don't know what else to try, so prayer please anyone?

8. Peter and James have pimples. 

9. Second night in new house, first clogged toilet.  I won't say who (but it wasn't me).  And of course we didn't pack a plunger in the "must-haves" we brought from Utah.  Fun.

10. (i could go on and on): We don't have a sharp knife yet.  That goes on the "things we can't live with for 9 days list) and I will be buying one tomorrow.  When I planned dinner I didn't think about this fact.  Turns out a butter knife does not cut french bread so we had torn garlic bread with our frozen lasagna.  It was different. 

11.  Bonus - I had to do recess duty for AN HOUR on Friday at the school I am working at.  This is most unpleasant. My feet are already killing from being on them for most of the 4 hours straight. 

Overall, blessed, and I guess we will try again this week. 

Sunday, September 23

Some of the many blessing of today:

1. Sleep
In my old age I have found my sleep-ability changing.  I have been lucky enough until this point, to be able to fall asleep within seconds of hitting the pillow and I do not exaggerate.  Then I sleep like a rock! until morning.  Those days seem to be fading to memories.  Now it can take up to . . . minutes to fall asleep, and I often wake before the alarm, 5:30.  Today, after a late night of picking up Dave and Peter from the Metro Rail after the UofU vs ASU football game, I was able to sleep until 8:00 am!!!!  It was so refreshing.  I wonder why I still had bags under my eyes today?

2. Our amazing body.
Dave's back doesn't hurt much today.  Dave and I are really feeling our age, although we don't feel our age at all.  Does that make any sense?  He pulled a muscle or tweaked something yesterday, while helping a family in our ward move.  I mean when you pick up an armored safe all by yourself . . .  JUST KIDDING.  He was just bending over to pick up something light.  The result was extreme pain and immobility most of the day.  Lots of ice and anti-inflammatories all day, he slept well and woke up much, much better.

3. Ibuprofen:
Despite Dave's injury we sent him with Peter to the ASU vs. Utah game.  800 mg of ibuprofen really made that possible.  To bad there wasn't a cure for Utah's poor playing.  Even as an avid BYU fan, I always want my little boy to see his team win.  Luckily Dad and boy had a great time anyway. 

4. Church:
I always love church.  I love that Peter came today.  He always does but he often threatens not to. 
I love our bishop.  He is so earnest, and so inspired, he moves us.  He gave a talk today imploring the congregation to love more.  We can't but help feeling his love for us and wanting to spread that love.

5. Cookies:

My behavior towards chocolate chip cookies, really the dough, does not reflect gratitude.  Lets' not put a label on what is does reflect :).  Watching and backing up James (13 1/2 year old) make chocolate chip cookies, however, brings me pure joy.  He looked up the recipe himself (I guided him to a better one) and then made and baked them himself, except for the one or two times I stepped in to stop a disaster.  Like when the recipe called for dissolving the baking soda (which I've never heard of until today) James got out a pot with a cup or two of water.  He was ready to boil that water away and dissolve the little 1 tsp of soda in it.  After pointing out to him that the recipe, which he hadn't bother to read much of, mentioned 2 teaspoons of water to dissolve that same soda in.  Whew.  We thwarted a very soggy batch of cookie dough.   

This is a very busy boy.  He has to be moving, touching, bugging, creating, inventing, experimenting, etc. at all times.  It was a great way for him to spend an hour on a Sunday.  He wanted to be independent but I was able to enjoy from a short distance. 

A few other thankful fors:
*talking to a few sisters in Relief Society, to get to know them better
*a nice visit from my visiting teachers
*Dave's awesome work computer that I am using right now
* Sunday morning dog walks (even though I don't truly appreciate them, I got to walk the dog with my husband today and that is always nice)
*The few moments my boys got along. 

 Reasons I could be bugged but chose not to :
1. I was still tired after all that sleep
2. Our dog Levi is obsessed with me.
3. Dressing up my extra 6 or so pounds for church
4. The church is FREEZING!  I have to take a "warm up" walk around the building between Sacrament Meeting and Sunday School.
5. The political and financial mess our country is in.  This was one of the subjects Dave and I discussed on our walk today.
6. Too much laundry

7. Eating too much cookie dough

8. Never having enough time to do everything I want on Sunday

9. Its still a little too hot here in AZ

10. My boys tease too much!