The Stake Prom

Last night was a new adventure for our youngest son. The stake young men and women put on a prom for the youth 14 and older. Andrew RSVPed early and got his prom ticket sent in the mail. He dolled himself up and off we went. The 12 and 13 year old youth, served dinner and dessert and helped clean up before they left for pizza and bowling.

The set up was really beautiful with twinkle lights and stars. Cheryl set up a place where she could take pictures of whomever wanted their picture taken. This one with Tana was at my request.

Of course there was a picture of Andrew with Taylor. This was the first picture I saw him posing for. Andrew and the "Bowler Beauties."

Because of the simple decor, the take down was quite fast.

This was such a great activity. Some of the kids in the stake looked forward to it for quite some time. Unfortunately, there were other proms at schools on the same night so other youth had to make a choice on which one to go to. Andrew had such a great time. He danced with most of the girls in attendance. He said if a girl came with a date, he didn't dance with her, otherwise he did. What a good young man to dance with so many girls. I told him he will never have that much fun at a prom at school.

5 1/2 weeks more

I love teaching seminary. I really do. But I have to say that by this time of year, I'm getting tired. Not tired of the kids or the lessons, but rather tired of the preparing to teach. I'm really tired of my clothes. By the time I get to Sunday I'm sick of picking out a skirt. Yes, I wear a skirt to seminary everyday. I'm tired of getting up early, but I'd do that anyway to get Andrew up. Yes, I'm counting down the weeks. Not days yet, just the weeks.

And what is with the nasty odor coming out of the ladies room at church. I've got to say that I had to open the windows in our Relief Society room to get rid of the stench. I emptied the garbage and the toilets are flushed and the drains have been checked and still there is a stench very much like an over-used outhouse coming out of that room. I informed the girls if they needed to use the restroom to please use the men's room. Rye got there a tad bit late today and didn't hear me say that. She got quite an assault on her sense of smell when she walked into the ladies room. At least there's something keeping me entertained. It takes so little.

Tri-County Track Meet

The spring has been unusually warm this year and it's made for some nice days to be outside for track practice and meets. However, on Thursday of last week, we woke up to snow. Typical Wisconsin spring. There was no snow in Plainfield so our meet was still on. The day before as practice was winding up, I told all the athletes to dress warm for the meet. Hats, gloves, coats would be a good idea. I still had some kids come unprepared. Silly kids. I was prepared and stayed quite warm. I could've used a hat, but my hood did the job. Below are some of the athletes during their events. As you can see, some came prepared and some didn't.

100 thoughts for my 100th post.

I'm stealing the thought that my daughter, Sammi had. One hundred thoughts for my 100th post. I was actually going to post something else and then I noticed I had 99 posts. Here we go.

1. I love snuggling with my husband each morning.
2. I love Cami running up to me with a hug.
3. I love little B's smile.
4. I love being a mom.
5. I love track and field and even enjoy being the coach.
6. I love that my daughter is serving a mission.
7. I'm going to miss Erin when she leaves for school on Saturday.
8. I still melt when Andrew at 14 tells me he loves me when he leaves home or even when I drop him off at school.
9. I giggle at Tom when his name is called as a winner at special olympics.
10. I enjoy teaching seminary more than I ever thought I would.
11. I enjoy spending time with my extended family.
12. I love the change in the seasons. The only thing I don't love is the extreme cold.
13. I enjoy dancing with my sweetheart.
14. I like squeaky cheese.
15. Sometimes ice cream just hits the spot.
16. I have the best friends I could ever ask for.
17. Being "Nana" is so fun.
18. I love finding a new/old friend via facebook.
19. I'm glad I learned to play the piano.
20. I believe in angels.
21. A clean house is worth the effort.
22. I like mowing the lawn.
23. I wish I could play competitive volleyball more often.
24. I really enjoy watching my children play sports.
25. I love that I'm athletic (or used to be.)
26. I like that my children make good choices.
27. I hope my children will live close enough to see fairly often. They don't need to live in the same town, just not thousands of miles away.
28. I miss my mom immensely.
29. My dad was my childhood hero.
30. I have some really wonderful sisters (that includes in-laws).
31. I'm thankful that my children chose such wonderful friends.
32. I love living in downtown Lyndhurst!
33. General Conference is the bomb.com.
34. Living worthy of the Spirit is so worth it.
35. I like to eat and am thankful for enough to eat.
36. I'm blessed to have Tom in my life.
37. I've got some great neighbors.
38. I miss my family who live in Idaho.
39. Planting and harvesting are fun, but the weeding is not my thing.
40. I wish I had a better eye for design.
41. Having the priesthood in my home is something I take for granted.
42. I pray for my future sons/daughter in law.
43. My seminary youth are amazing.
44. I'd really like to ride my bike more often.
45. Sometimes I think about being thin again, but don't want to work that hard.
46. Rereading my journal makes me laugh, cry and shake my head.
47. I can't believe how immature I was when I first got married.
48. I have a very patient husband.
49. I love the sound of biting into a Cortland or Macintosh apple.
50. I'm not much of a football fan.
51. My daughter is an amazing mother.
52. I'm going to love having my entire family all together but don't feel bad that we can't be right now.
53. People that teach my children are amazing.
54. A short nap can refresh me very easily.
55. A tall, cold glass of milk is my favorite beverage.
56. Going to the temple always lifts me when I didn't know I needed lifting.
57. It's fun when the Stockbridge officers come over for a meal during their break.
58. Watching a baby learn to crawl makes me giddy.
59. I love that Tom is so polite to everyone, even the dentist.
60. Baked potato chips are so yummy.
61. I work well when I'm under pressure.
62. I miss the City of Joseph pageant.
63. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be in the pageant for 5 years.
64. Lemon pie is my favorite pie.
65. Playing lightning with anyone is really fun.
66. I'm so thankful I don't have to work a full-time job. I love being a stay at home mom.
67. I'll admit it. I enjoyed the Twilight series.
68. The ward choir is awesome.
69. A campfire is nature's television.
70. I enjoy playing the Wii. Especially tennis.
71. The church allows me to make friends that I would never have otherwise.
72. I love the scent of sheets that were hung on the clothesline.
73. I'm still frightened of snakes. Icky!
74. Chocolate-mint anything is worth the calories.
75. Anything patriotic puts a lump in my throat.
76. I like to paint, but don't like the clean-up.
77. I love taking pictures, but don't do it enough.
78. The fragrance of wood chips has always reminded me of my dad.
79. My mother was the master at giving selfless service.
80. I learned a ton about being a mom from Tina.
81. I an eternal optimist.
82. I love to smile and laugh. I'm a happy person.
83. I'm amazed when I think about the atonement.
84. Having the missionaries in our home is always a treat.
85. I love camping with my family.
86. I've always loved rollercoasters.
87. Paying bills isn't fun, but it always makes me feel like I've accomplished something important.
88. Getting out of debt is an amazing feeling.
89. I love surprising people.
90. Holding my babies for the first time was incredible.
91. Getting an affirmative answer to prayer makes me feel good.
92. I'm thankful to be married to a worthy priesthood holder.
93. I love soaking in the sun in my livingroom on a winter day.
94. I miss my daily phone calls with Tina.
95. I love phone calls from friends who just want to talk.
96. I think texting is just too time consuming. It's easier to speak.
97. I get excited as I watch my track athletes perform well.
98. I love to sing even though my voice isn't anything special.
99. Being silly with my boys makes me feel young.
100.I love getting comments on my blog from all of you who will read this.

General Conference

General Conference is upon us once again. I started some time ago, taking notes on each speaker. This has made me listen closer and in turn feel those things that are for me.

On Saturday I was impressed by many of the talk given. Who will ever forget Elder Holland! He certainly doesn't mince words. He gives it straight. Satan comes at us these days straight on so why not the words of an apostle?

I loved listening to Elder Bednar as well. What promises were given as he testified of the importance of reading and talking about the Book of Mormon.

Last night I listened in on part of the priesthood session. I heard Elder Rasband talk of how mission calls are made. I will love reading that one in the Ensign. I also listened to Elder Oaks talk about priesthood blessings. Many of my questions were answered in that talk.

I'm sure there will be more to come.....

Really? A cow?

Since my last post was a bit emotional, I thought I could make a few people giggle with this one. Our first track meet was on Tuesday in Wild Rose. A windy day for a meet, but warm temperatures for March. I was excited for the kids who I knew would do well and excited for those who did really well and I didn't know how they would perform. All in all, a pretty good meet.

On our way home, we were about 5 miles south of Marion when Todd says, "A deer. No a cow!" Jean slams on the brakes and tries to swerve around this heifer that is standing on the center line facing us. It is almost totally white, so it was a little difficult to see in the white lights. Just as Jean is swerving around the critter, it turns right into the bus. We hear a thump, thump and the beast is down. We stop and the thing gets up. Can you believe it? I get off the bus and there is only a cracked lens cover of the yellow marker light. It actually hit a big iron piece that holds the "arm" in place on the front of the bus. What a stroke of luck. How is it possible to hit a cow and not have a ton of damage to your vehicle? Imagine if a car would've hit that beast. YIKES!!!

Hopefully the rest of our meets will have the most excitement on the track and not on the ride home.

The Gift of a Sister

In 1981 my brother married a wonderful woman who then became my sister. I already had a sister, but not an older sister. This was a new and exciting event for me. I now had this sister and we did sister things. She became one of my dearest friends. What a gift a sister is! I married 18 months later and then we could really share our lives as we became mothers and wives. We spent hours together talking about our kids and husbands while our children played together. Sometimes those hours were on the phone.

In 2000, she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I mourned for days and was almost unable to do anything. I was going through the motions as I took care of my family. The following six months proved to take me through every emotion imaginable. There was joy and laughter along with sadness and tears. There were prayers of hope and finally prayers to let go.

Tina has been gone now for nine years. I still miss her very much and always will.

I was blessed with sisters because my brothers married. I never thought I would love these women the way I do. Life goes on when we lose a loved one but it's never quite the same. There is still joy and laughter and at times sadness and tears, but a piece of my heart at times feels empty because of the beautiful sister that's missing.

Thanks to my brothers for giving me these wonderful women in my life.