Going Places

Last weekend we went up to Branson, Missouri for a few days. We had a blast, and for sure want to go back! Silver Dollar City was by far the best part, and we plan to get a season pass next year, (because they are almost as cheap as going once) so that we can go over and over. We loved it!

They had a huge 4 story ball area that was a blast for the kids when they were a little tired of all the walking.
This swing ride went really high and so fast that you swing way out to the side. Natalie and Jackson went on it at least 5 times.

They had a whole area with original 1840's homes, churches, schools and things. I had to document that Staci actually petted the goats! I couldn't believe she did it, because she is scared of flies, butterflies, cats, puppies and everything else she has ever been exposed to!

The kids got to go to school in an 1840's school house. They had such a fun time that when it was done Natalie said, "I want to stay after school". We all thought that was funny since there was a whole amusement park out there to see! The stars they are holding are ones they made using the same technique Betsy Ross used when she sewed the first flag. I guess George Washington had asked Betsy Ross to make the flag using 6 point stars instead of 5, but she told him that she knew how to make a 5 point star with just one cut, so he let her do it that way, instead.

The girls posing in their July 4th attire. We all had flag shirts, along with pretty much every other person at Silver Dollar City.

The day before Silver Dollar City we went on the "Branson Belle". It is a dinner and show on the riverboat. It was really fun. There were several hundred people on this cruise, if not more, and Natalie was the only person chosen to go up and down the aisles dancing with one of the waitresses there to get everyone in a happy mood. I couldn't get a good picture (thanks to a lot of moving and not a very good camera!) but I thought I better put the blurry picture on anyway. We thought that was pretty funny and cute! She did a good job!

A Happy Momma and Daddy

Branson Butterfly Palace was really fun for the kids. They had a thousand butterflies just flying around the room. You weren't supposed to touch them, but if they land on you, you should just let them fly off when they feel like it. I think Jackson had three on him for a while, and one that stayed on while he walked around for about 20 minutes. Pretty Cool!

Oh, the dinner cruise again

Speaking of dinner - we went to a fun place called "Lambert's Cafe" (home of the thrown rolls) You may have seen this place on the Travel Channel. It was a blast and the food was good.... and humongous... as you can see with Jackson's plate. He was in shrimp heaven!!

A little climbing of the palm trees

All the drinks were the same size at Lambert's .... 64 oz. Natalie couldn't make a dent in her milk.

WE LOVE YOU

and hope you get feeling better soon!!

So, this is random, but....

This is a picture Jackson took in May of 2010 on his 2nd grade field trip to the Salt Lake City Zoo. I wouldn't have believed that he took it if I hadn't been there watching him take pictures... with an old camera, by the way. It was one that I gave him to be his from now on, and I kind of forgot about it until the other day when he was looking at the pictures on it and reminded me. I didn't do a single thing to enhance, or even crop the picture. Pretty good, huh? I think it belongs in a book... and I also think Jackson has a future in photography!

Where to Start?

So, we finally bought a new computer. Our old one died in October 2009. It was time. I decided I was going to upload some pictures from our camera to our computer.... or maybe all 1168 or them. The problem was I couldn't find the little adapter thing for the camera. Well, I found it finally, and as I was looking through all of the pics, I realized I have some MAJOR catching up to do. I honestly don't even know where to start. I think I will start from today and work backwards, 'cause if I start somewhere other than today, I'll be behind on today, as well! Did that make sense?

Well, I decided that I need to take more pictures of my kids. Lately I haven't had much motivation to do it. I don't know if it's the whole "I can't really walk" thing, or not. Yeah, that's probably it, now that I think about it. By the way, I found out last week that I have torn tendons in the same spot on both of my ankles. I knew something was wrong. I am supposed to be staying off of them and seeing if there is any way to let them heal, but it looks like I may need surgery on both feet. I will keep you informed!

Anyway, a couple of days ago Staci actually had her hair done, and she even had clothes on, so I decided to go in the backyard and take some pictures. This is what I came up with - Staci is such a beautiful girl, even though I am a biased Mom.

Some of the flowers growing in our backyard. Too bad it is so STINKIN' hot that nobody really goes back there and enjoys them!

Easter 2011

Here are a few pictures from Easter Morning. It is interesting to be on our own for holidays. I had to really get motivated to make it special for just us - you know, like making homemade rolls and fancy potatoes. I am figuring out that I have always had family around to do holidays with, and it is a lot more fun that way, but I still need to make it special, even if it is only for us, and even if my kids can't really appreciate it yet.

Staci, 4 years old

Natalie, 7 years old


Jackson, 9 years old

The most decent of the group kid pictures - I just couldn't get them to all smile at once, and even though it doesn't look like it, it was really bright outside!

Family Pictures

Here are a few fairly recent pictures (within the last 6 months is recent, right?) that my cousin Deborah took for me before we moved to Mississippi. I am going to start trying to post more pics and have more positive posts on the blog. It seems all I do lately is whine! :)

Hope you like them!

Staci (4), Jackson (9) and Natalie (6)

Craziness or Insanity... you decide.

WARNING: You may not want to read this entry... it is full of complaining and whining, so read at your own risk!

So, I know I promised to do a better job updating the blog once I moved here to Greenville, but life has been kind of crazy. Let's see, what have we been up to for the last couple of months?

1. I guess the most difficult thing for me is my own crazy bad luck. You may know I broke my foot while still in Arizona, and was on crutches for a couple of months and a boot for a few. At the same time I also sprained the ankle on the unbroken foot, so I had a ankle brace and a lot of pain on that foot. I was a sight to behold, and all the time playing "single mom" while Geoff was here in Mississippi working and I was in Arizona for 2-1/2 months with the kids. Oh yeah, and we were trying to move. Well, since we have been here it has been getting worse.... my luck, that is. I took off the boot on the left foot because it had been a few months and the doctor told me I only had to wear it until the middle of April. Well, as soon as I took it off I started getting this horrible pain in my left hip. I have scoliosis and my right hip is a little higher than my left, and I think wearing this boot I threw my body out of whack. I swore something was really wrong with me, but the pain is doing a little better in my hip now than it was about a month ago. On the other hand, my foot is still broken. When I tried to wear the boot again it made my hip pain worse. And to make it worse, I have had a second sprain on my right ankle and I am now having extreme pain on that foot. Also, I have had issues with my shoulders... both of them. Especially my left shoulder that I caught myself with one of the times I was falling. See, with my body all out of whack, and both of my feet hurting, I am just all over the place with my balance. I fell a few days ago and ever since I haven't been able to raise my left arm even enough to place something in my mouth. So.... I am a whiner. And this is not the way I anticipated this blog entry going. Don't I have anything better to blog about?

2. OK, I guess I don't. We have had CRAZY weather since we have been here. Have you heard about it on the news? Tornadoes everywhere. Luckily we haven't had a lot of damage around here, but so many people in other towns in our state have been severely affected by them. So many people have died in these tornadoes this year. It is the deadliest tornado season in US history. The season for tornadoes is not over, and we are just praying that they will stay away from this area (and others, for that matter). I have to admit, I am not sure why people want to live where they are supposed to wake up to sirens that go off in the middle of the night and run for shelter. They say a huge problem with tornado warnings is that nobody takes them seriously once they get used to them. It is hard to, when you are so tired and the sirens go off so often. I have to admit, that the first time they went off here at our house, Geoff and I didn't get the kids up and run for shelter. I checked the internet at that time to see where the tornadoes were and the magnitude of them, and then the spirit told me that things would be OK. After these last tornadoes, though, I am afraid I will be a little more worrisome.

3. Oh, another little issue we have been dealing with here in Mississippi is the idea of the "500 year flood" that is knocking on our door. They used to call it the 100 year flood, and refer often to a horrible flood that happened in the 1920's here and caused a lot of damage to most homes. Well, experts have renamed it because of the fact that the water levels are supposed to be higher than they have ever had before. What this means for us (living only a mile or so from the Mississippi river) is the possibility of some major damage. They are already flooding on the other side of the river from us in Lake Village, Arkansas, because they are a little lower in altitude than we are here. It is anticipated that the levee that holds the water back will reach the "overflowing" which could possible cause it to break by sometime this week. We have all been warned to prepare for the worst and then just pray for the best. We are supposed to have an evacuation plan and a place to go once we are evacuated. They have already evacuated north of town about 10 minutes and those people are mostly in the hotels in Greenville. It looks like we will have to have a place to stay OUT of town most likely. I have a lot of work to do this week (tomorrow) to get ready for it. We need to have everything up off of the floor and in a high place (quite difficult when we still aren't entirely moved in, and have boxes of things both in the house and the garage that we haven't been able to get to... see, I have a broken foot! And especially hard to lift things to high places when I can't lift my arm.) Geoff is going to help me get ready for this... which brings me to my next thing.

4. Geoff is working SO many hours! I don't know if you know this, but Geoff was asked to be the pharmacy manager in his store. He is "cleaning up the mess" that he inherited with the job, and feeling a little more than overwhelmed by it all. Now, in the pharmacy THEY have to prepare for the flood, too. So, needless to say, Geoff is working like a dog at the pharmacy (pretty much 7 days a week) and wishing he didn't accept this position as manager. I am sure he will get the hang of it all really soon and that things will get easier, but for now, it is a lot of stress on him!

5. OK, this is the last complaint I have for the moment. I have had the intentions of home schooling my kids while here in Greenville, but once we got here I realized I needed a little time to figure out a plan... after all, our computer died over a year and a half ago and we I haven't really had a lot of access to one since (until this week... yeah!). I planned on getting here and "winging" it for the first little while, while I found a great program on line. Then Geoff's laptop that he had for pharmacy school died. I mean died. So, that kind of ruined the plan. The first couple of weeks went by and I hadn't really done any school with the kids, and realizing my situation, it was really hard to try to do it at the time. I finally decided that I would put the kids in the public school here (after all that would give us a chance to see how it was for just a couple of months, and then if we really liked it, maybe it would be OK for next year after all). Well, we don't like it. That is all I can say. I have 2 crying kids every single morning and 2 crying kids every day after school as well. I didn't know there were schools still so old fashioned allowed in the U.S. I mean, they still whip the kids or paddle them for bad behavior. They put rulers to their hands on a regular basis. They don't allow you to sit anywhere but in your assigned seating at lunch (not by a friend, heaven forbid) and you are only allowed to take bathroom breaks when you first get there in the morning, and at lunch. You get in trouble for asking at any other time. You get in trouble if you step outside of a certain square when you are walking to and from class. If you do get your color card changed (from green to yellow and yellow to red) it stays on that color until you do something EXTRA special and get your teacher to acknowledge it and then hope she is in a good mood enough to turn it back to a better color. If she doesn't do it, the color card just stays on that same color day after day, week after week... unless, of course, you are bad and the color goes down. Natalie has had a problem with a lot of allergies since we have been here (actually, so has Jackson) but she has been complaining of her ears feeling "full" and having a hard time hearing. Natalie's color card got changed all the way to red because she didn't hear her teacher one time when she was calling her name. For a week and a half she had to walk the perimeter of the basketball courts the entire time everyone had recess because her color card was on "red". And, they only have one recess a day... which is hard enough. OK... if you can't tell, I am really disgusted with the school, but feel now that it can't really take them out, especially when I don't have a plan still for home school. I am planning on home schooling all three kids starting this fall (that's right, Staci will be in kindergarten), so wish me luck! I am hoping I can figure this all out!

So, now that I have rambled on like a maniac, is there any doubt why I am crazy!?

Sorry for the negative post.... I just had to write this all down more as a journal so I can remember all that we have been through lately!!

Walkin' in Memphis....

.... or at least hobbling along the best I can. Geoff and I took the kids to Memphis for a little get-away last weekend. I loved this city - it is so beautiful! We can be in Memphis within about two and a half hours, so I am sure we will be going there often (plus, that is our closest temple). We hit a famous BBQ joint (Elvis loved this one, apparently) called "CORKY'S", and it was super good! I'll post more pictures of that soon. For now, here are a couple from the weekend.

We went to an awesome children's museum in Memphis. They had a huge grocery store with little carts in there and cash registers to check yourself out... it even printed receipts when you were done. Most of the food was just empty boxes but the canned foods were real... just expired. Most of the cans were just barely expired as you can see below. Above is a picture of me getting caught shoplifting and Jackson (the Police) pulling me over.

They had a disco room in the museum. That was were Natalie and Staci spent over an hour of the time.

The three little munchkins!

They even had a full size jet in the museum to play in!! Wow!

Catching Up

Last night Staci fell and cut open her face from her lip to the nose. I didn't know that the cut went completely through the skin until the doctor looked at it, even though that explains the blood that was gushing out of her mouth. She is fine, but the emergency room is just never fun... it took us about 5 hours to get in and out of there! Yikes!

Staci's favorite color is pink. She has told me this a thousand times. Of course it is, what else could a four year old girl's favorite color be? Well, this morning she said, "my first favorite color is glittery pink, then sparkly pink, then beautiful pink, and pretty pink, and then just regular pink.... I don't really like hot pink". I thought that was cute.

Natalie is my social child. She likes to introduce herself to everyone and get to know them in return. I think she has met every check out clerk at every store we have been to in the last 2 years. That's just how she is! I think it is really cute. Staci, on the other hand, really doesn't socialize much. She has been known to be social and say things like, "I'm Staci. I'M SHY!!!" Only thing is she is screaming it, and bugging her eyes out at the person she is saying it to.

Jackson is just my little sweetheart. I think he wouldn't offend or hurt another person (except little sisters, of course) for anything. I am so thankful he is a part of our family! He is so smart, and always wanting to know more than he does. He loves to read anything he can, and is pretty much a walking encyclopedia on the topics of animals, space and anything Star Wars.

Isn't it funny that as a mom we continue to doubt ourselves time and time again!? At least I know I do. I plan on something and think about it over and over and tell myself that it is the best thing, and then doubt my decision. I have planned on doing home school while here in Mississippi, but didn't really have a plan. I figured I could do it without any problem (I have several work books for the kids and things) but I haven't had a lot of time to research programs on the internet. I have intentions of doing that, but it has been hard because I haven't had a lot of access to a computer. I figured I could "wing it" for the first week or two after getting here, and then I would have time to figure out a plan. Well, turns out that I am not as good at "winging" it as I thought, especially in the midst of all of the stresses of moving and a broken foot, etc. (have I mentioned that I have a broken foot and sprained ankle... on opposite feet?) So, last week, after a lot of conflict with myself, I put my kids in public school. The problem I have is that Natalie NEEDS the social stuff like she needs air - and has been BEGGING me to let her just go to school, "PU-LEEEASE, MOM!" Staci is also SO excited to start kindergarten in the fall... I just don't have the heart to tell her that she has to stay home for kindergarten. Jackson on the other hand, HATES it. He is having a hard time. I feel so badly about it, but I felt like it was important for them to do this until I have a better plan and organized myself here to be ready for home school. I am planning on still home schooling Jackson starting next year, but I am torn between what to do for the girls. The main purpose in home schooling them is because Geoff has never really been a part of the kids' lives. He has been gone at least 100 hours a week for their whole lives. We hardly have any family memories with him... honestly. Well, now he is working random hours. So, many days, like today for instance, he works late and won't see the kids at all. This is common, I know, but he also has to work every other weekend and I just don't want it to continue where the kids don't see him very much (although I know they will see him more now than they did before). I want to be able to work our school schedule around Geoff's work schedule and have a family life for this time when we are away from any of our extended family. I just feel like that is so important. But I am torn. Can you tell? I am rambling! I just wanted to express the struggle that I am having at this time... it's not always clear what the best thing is for your kids... and what is good for one kids may not be good for another. I guess I just have to wrestle a little more with it... any suggestions?

Anyway, I haven't found (mostly because I haven't even looked for) the device that uploads my pictures on the computer (what is that thing called?) I have to upload some soon, but for now you will have to settle for just what we are up to.

Pain stayed so long....

Have you heard this poem?

Pain stayed so long, I said to him today,

"I will not have you with me anymore."

I stomped my foot and said, "be on your way!"

then paused there, startled at the look he wore.

"I, who have been your friend?" He said to me.

"I, who have been your teacher - All you know

Of understanding, love, of sympathy,

And patience, I have taught you. Shall I go?"

He spoke the truth, this strange unwelcome guest;

I watched him leave, and knew that he was wise.

He left a heart grown tender in my breast.

He left a far, clear vision in my eyes.

I dried my tears and lifted up a song

Even for the one who'd tortured me so long.

This is one of my favorite poems. Some may know that I have had quite a battle with chronic pain for the last several years. I don't really know how it all came on, but it did.... and suddenly. I remember at a family reunion with my family starting to feel really dizzy. Before I knew it, I couldn't even lay down with my eyes closed without vomiting from how dizzy I was. I was also suffering with sharp and chronic ear pain. I wasn't allowed to drive and could barely move. After many doctors appointments, and many false diagnoses, I found to have completely rotten tonsils that were causing an infection that was travelling through my head. I had my tonsils out ("hell on earth" is what I call that surgery at age 30) and found that my dizziness gradually got better, but the ear pain became a lot worse. Shortly after all of this, I began having chronic migraines. I would have about 3 migraines a week, which were always accompanied by sharp pain in my ears, jaw and neck. I began my search for the cure.... because there was no way I could live like this. I searched, and I searched and I searched again! I spent thousands of dollars trying to find answers and never came up with one. To say I suffered from depression was an understatement. I have never had such a desire to die. I hate to even admit that, but living with constant pain makes you crazy!!! I lived like this for over 5 years. And then, just about 3 months ago, I found something that helped me beyond belief. I was crying to my mom, and telling her how I couldn't go on anymore, and she gave me the name of someone to call. She said, "I am going to hang up and I will call you back in 5 minutes and you better have made an appointment with him". I didn't even really know if he was a doctor or what, but I decided I better obey my mom and give him a call. It turns out he (his name is Randy Grant) is a nutritionist/chemist who has developed all kinds of supplements and enzymes for the body. He analyzes your blood under a microscope and can tell you basically every thing that is wrong with you! When we looked at my blood it was unbelievable - filled with all kinds of parasites and problems- you wouldn't believe it. I had severe problems in many areas, including lots of inflammation. He said that he was sure I had all of the things the doctors told me I had (TMJ was what we were focusing on primarily) but that my real problem was my blood. I began taking these supplements on January 7th and haven't had a migraine since. I rarely get ear pain any more, either. I can not even express the gratitude I have for being cured from these problems. I can't even express it. I almost have to remember the kind of person I was before I had chronic pain.... I mean, I have forgotten what I did before I was just surviving.

I didn't mean to ramble on and on about all of this - but I feel that this is more exciting to me than anything else that has happened in the last couple of years! My whole point in telling this story is that this poem is true. I have gained an understanding that I never would have had, had I not dealt with chronic pain. I am so thankful to all of my family who helped me endure this trial and listened to my endless cry-fests and complaints. You can go to http://www.divinenature.com/ to get more information about Randy's supplements, and if you set up an account, you get them for a significantly cheaper price. I highly recommend them.

Where to Begin?

Really? I think I have some 'splainin' to do! I don't even know where to start. Let's just start from where we are now, and work backwards gradually, shall we?

Let's see. I am sitting here in my family room in Greenville, Mississippi wondering "How did I get here?!" There have been other times I have felt that way in my life. On my mission I remember going to my room the first day in the MTC and waiting for my companion to get there. I was all alone and wondering what I had just done saying good-bye to my family and all things comfortable for the next 18 months. I remember at a really hard time in my life I moved to get a fresh start (kind of on a whim) and ended up feeling the same way. Hindsight is everything, and looking back I can clearly see where the Lord was leading me at those times in my life. I know in my heart of hearts that this is one of those times. I may not know what the purpose is now, but there is a purpose. I feel it already. Today was fast Sunday in my ward. I wondered before I moved here how these meetings would go being such a small ward and all. I figured there would be a lot of awkward silence. I was wrong. In fact, it was probably one of the best testimony meetings I have ever been a part of. I have forgotten what an awesome thing it is feel the fire of the new members' testimonies. Our ward is filled with converts. I think that's awesome!

As far as how we REALLY did get here, I guess I could fill you in. It's been a LOOONG road for us. Nine years ago now Geoff and I had a conversation. We had a new little son and Geoff was working a dead-end warehouse job working lots of overtime and still bringing home hardly any money. Thankfully, my brilliant husband has always been one to learn from others' mistakes. He had been observing the people he worked with. Many of these people were much older than Geoff, with worn out knees, bad backs and even worse attitudes. He saw himself down the road not much better off than they were. Geoff mentioned something to me at that moment when he told me he was thinking about going to school - "Emily", he said, "I know this is a big thing, and it may take a long time, but I will be 34 eight years from now and working this dumb job, or I will be 34 and done with school. Either way, I will be 34." There was no time for "would-a, should-a or could-a". The past was gone, and all we could do was move forward. I am so proud of Geoff for pushing through this and finishing it, (because it was harder than most people know). He now is working as a pharmacy manager here in Greenville, and doing a great job. You may not know this, but Geoff served his mission here in Mississippi (we named Jackson after the Mississippi, Jackson mission). He even served in Greenville for about four or five months. They only have one ward. Many of the members are still here that he knew as a missionary. So, obviously, Geoff already loves the people here, and I am quickly learning to, as well. We are in a great neighborhood and found a wonderful house for us (that I can't wait to paint and decorate) and everyone is doing just fine.

I had intentions of filling you in on everything for the passed year or more.... but I am not going to do it tonight. I'll be back soon, ya'll.... I promise!!

As you can see, we have some beautiful hard wood floors in this house.... and a lot of pink paint and wallpaper! These pictures were taken several weeks ago... it is MUCH greener and happier now... with flowers blooming everywhere.