CREATE

I saw this on another blog and loved it. I hope you feel inspired!

Bad air- again

That's what we came home to yesterday. We pulled into the garage after church and I could hear the smoke detectors going off inside the house. At first I thought that something might have gone terrible wrong with my crock-pot dinner but quickly realized that that was not the problem. It was carbon monoxide. I quickly packed the kids into the car and headed back to the church to get Bryan.

You see, this isn't the first time that our lovely house has fill up with deadly levels of CO, it happened in Feb of 08. It was a very windy day and the air in our home couldn't vent properly so it started filling up with CO. We're guessing that that's what happened this time too. I was hoping Bryan could come home and fix it without having to call for any help. We opened windows and turned off the furnace but still didn't feel good about having the kids in the house without knowing for sure if it was safe or not. So we ended up calling the fire department to come test the air.

They closed the windows and had us wait in the car while they walked through the house with oxygen tanks and air monitors. They found that the levels in the basement were fine, living room area was slightly elevated, but that the bedrooms upstairs had the most CO. They opened up all the windows again, turned on fans and the bathroom vents, and brought in a large fan to the kitchen. After 15 minutes or so the levels were down and we were safe to go back in.

We left the furnace off and the windows open for a while to play it safe. Shortly after we got back inside, Bryan and the older girls left for the temple dedication. Tyler, Kate and I were left in the freezing house. We laid on the couch with blankets and watched a movie. I was able to get Kate to take a little nap in my arms since she couldn't go in her room. I closed all the windows around 5:30 when the temp in our house got to 62 on the main level (a lot colder upstairs where the windows were open). We didn't turn the heat back on until about 6:30. It was still really cold upstairs when we put kids to bed.

I guess it's time to figure out what needs to be done to fix the problem so that it does not happen a third time. Every time it's windy (which seems to be often out here), we worry about if our CO alarms are going to go off again. It's a good thing that we have them or the outcome could have been a lot worse. I am very grateful that we are all safe and healthy. Test your alarms, make sure that they work. If you don't have a Carbon Monoxide alarm, get one- you never know when you're going to need it!

A lesson learned from Anna

Anna is an amazing daughter and she taught me an important lesson last night. A lesson that I have always (still to this day) struggled with. It might me a long story, so bear with me because it's worth it.
Anna found a pair of my shoes that I hadn't worn for a long time and thought they were cute. I warned her that they would be too big for her since I had gotten them while I was pregnant with Kate (I get big pregnant feet!). In fact, they're too big for me now which is why they hadn't been worn in a while. She tried them on anyway and confirmed my suspicion that they were indeed too big. But being the nice mother that I am, I told her that we could hold onto them for a little while to see if her feet grow anymore. But then I added "Lets hope, for your sake though, that you don't grow into them because I've always hated having big feet." To that she replied "Why? It's our differences that make us special. If everyone were the same, we wouldn't have anything to make us special."
Here is my daughter, who will be 13 next week, telling me that my big feet make me special. My daughter, who is at that age where most girls are self-conscious and too worried about everything to feel that they are special, knows that she is. I'm the mother, I should be the one teaching this to her, but it's something that I still have a hard time believing myself.
How can I feel that my differences make me special if I have a long list of things that I hate about myself... my big feet, crocked smile (from half of my face being paralyzed when I had Lyme disease), bad hair (the back went curly when I had Kate but the front stayed straight), extra weight, lack of fashion, shyness, bad teeth, bad posture, and my list could go on and on. I struggle with feeling that I'm not good enough or special.
So, thank you Anna, for the lesson you taught me. You are a beautiful girl and I love you. I need to follow your example and be more comfortable with who I am. I am a daughter of God, I know that he loves me for who I am, and I know that that makes me special. I need to remember these simple words from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf "As spirit daughters of our Heavenly Father, happiness is your heritage." Remember- your differences make you special!

Haircuts, budgeting, and random pictures

Those are about the highlights of this past week (if you can even call them highlights!).
Ellie was the lucky recipient of a haircut. She had been begging me for a few weeks, so I finally gave in. I took her over to the Super Cuts on Saturday morning and told the hair dresser that we wanted it cut in a bob a little below her chin. Well, this is what we got...Definitely not below her chin, but still a cute cut. She's a cute girl, and for some reason I like her hair better when it's shorter (maybe not this short- but oh well, it will grow)! Next will be Anna's turn. She's been begging just as much as Ellie, she just wasn't home Saturday morning to go with us.

We have some money saved up from tax returns and our monthly contribution to our savings account. Last night Bryan and I sat down and came up with a list of the things that we could spend that money on. The list included things like- the basement (trim & carpet), a treadmill, a deep freezer, a shed, a family vacation, a garden, and food storage. Now, one of the hardest things for me when it comes to budgeting is distinguishing between a "want" and a "need". So it was really hard for me to say "Yes, our food storage is more important than a treadmill". But in the end I think we got it all worked out in order of importance, with a good mixture of boring "needs" and fun "wants". So the treadmill might have to wait a little while until we either find a really good deal or a decent used one, but at least we'll get to take the kids on a small vacation.

It's not often that I find my kids playing quietly and nicely together. But that's exactly what I found on Sunday. Tyler was playing the Leapster and Ellie sat down to watch him- which usually results in someone getting mad. But not this time, I found this instead...They sat, head to head, playing together. I love it! It was so nice and peaceful in my house before church, which is not always the case. So thanks you two for being so nice to each other!

Kate is starting to figure out what the camera does, so now every time I try to snap a picture of her, she makes these crazy faces. She's such a fun little girl to have around!

Pay it Forward!

I commented on a friends blog for a fun surprise- and now it's your turn. Comment on mine and you'll get something fun from me!

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me!
My choice--for you!

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make NO guarantees that you will LIKE what I make! (I can only hope)
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It WILL be done this year.
4. You have no CLUE what it’s going to be … it may be cards, a bookmark, something delicious or a complete surprise to you (and me!) … who knows?
5. Most importantly, you MUST offer the same deal on your blog - the first 5 people to comment on your blog get something made by YOU!

A month in review

I'm so busy with life these days that I sometimes forget that I have a bog to update. Let's face it- I'm a bad blogger. So here's a review of what we were up to in February (mostly for journaling purposes):

-Bryan and I made it to the temple together for the first time since I was pregnant. I'm embarrassed to say that it had been over a year since we had gone. It was so good to go again and feel what I had been missing for so long.

-Anna brought home Strep throat, missed 2 days of school from being sick, went to a school Valentine's dance, and got a valentine from a boy in our ward all in the same week. She's a busy girl! I really can't believe that she'll be 13 in a few weeks.

-My sister came to help me paint the basement. Thanks Aubrey!! The paint is now 90% done. It is taking so long because neither Bryan nor I have very much time to work on it. The whole project is so close to being finished, yet there seem to be so many things left to do. I'll be so glad when it's finally done and we can spread out a little. Right now we are crammed in here with not much room to roam.

-Bryan took me out for Valentines Day. We went to dinner at Pat's Barbecue in Salt Lake. If you like barbecue, you've got to try it. It's amazing! We also saw a lame movie- Mall Cop. Don't waste your money. We had limited choices of movies for the time that we could go. It was fun just to go out with out the kids. He also gave me new super-soft fluffy towels and a new pillow. I have the best husband!

-Thanks to Anna, I came down with strep throat the week after she had it. I started feeling sick on a Tuesday- but didn't do anything about it. In fact, my dad was in town so he came over for dinner. I fixed a really sorry dinner, and I'm so embarrassed that he came and ate it anyway. When I woke up Wednesday- I felt like really bad. Fever, soar throat, aching body. Bryan stayed home for half the day so I could go to the doctor. Thanks to some penicillin I'm all better, and so far no one else has gotten it.

-On Saturday the 21st we went on a tour of the new Draper Temple. We were able to meet up with some family. There was Bryan's parents, my Mom, my sister Aubrey and her family, and Aubrey's mother-in-law and niece. It is very beautiful and the kids had a great time walking through it. Ellie has had some questions lately about what it's like to get married in the temple. She's asked if you get to walk down an isle or have flower girls. It was really neat to show her the sealing room and teach her about temple marriages.

-This last Saturday (the 28th) we drove up to Logan for my niece's baptism. Islay Mae was baptized and we are so proud of her! She is such a sweet girl and I'm so glad that we were able to be a part of her special day.

It was a busy month- I guess having 4 kids keeps my hands fuller then I ever imagined it would. But honestly, I wouldn't change a thing!