We survived!!!

I don't know of many people who "like" to be asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting.  I don't "mind", but it's not my favorite thing to do, and once I've committed to it, it's no fun until it's done. lol  It's scary!  Talking in front of a bunch of people - and about spiritual things...  That's not easy!  But that was the assignment we were given and though it's not fun, it is scary, and intimidating, we were grateful for the opportunity.  Can't explain why really, just that it's such a blessing to be a part of the Lord's church.  It's a blessing to get to participate in the work, even when it's doing things that are scary, hard, or unpleasant.

My topic was pride, so keep that in mind as I tell you how proud I am of Acadia!  She performed her first Sacrament Meeting piano solo as the musical number today.  For those who have heard the cd that she and I made a few years ago, she played the same arrangement of "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" that I played on that cd.  She has truly come a long way in developing her talent.  I am so proud of her for accepting the assignment, for working hard on developing and increasing her talents, and for having the courage to go through with it!  She was SO NERVOUS!!!  But she did a wonderful job!  I am so incredibly pleased with her!!!

Ryan spoke about increasing spiritual growth through scripture study.  Both his topic and mine were among the topics our ward council had selected to be discussed during our ward conference, so Ryan and I both turned to the talks given back in February to use as a reference point.  It's hard to go wrong when you're using such great material to base your talk on! 

But the best part now, is that it's over!  We can all breath a little easier now.  *deep breath out*  :)

Now time to start working on my lesson for RS in two weeks... :S  lol

Keeping my head above water.

Isn't that how life feels sometimes?  Sometimes it's all I can do to keep my head above water, and not always for very long, but forget about swimming laps! lol

It's all good though.  Life has been full of good things. 

• I have been assigned to speak in church tomorrow, so I've spent a lot of time focusing on that. 
• I finished transferring all of my "old blog" posts to this new blog.  That took SO. MUCH. TIME!  Seriously.  So glad that's done. :)
• Working in the yard anytime it's not raining or too cold to go out.  Pulled weeds, planted new flowers, even started the vegetable garden with the hardier veggies.  I'll have to give it another couple of weeks before I get to the others.
• Keeping up with my house.  Please, will someone invent the self-cleaning house already???
• Oh yeah, I'm a mom.  Running kids to and fro.  Reading stories.  Cuddle sessions.  Playing Chess with a 4 year old.  All part of the job description, look it up. ;)
• Dating my hubby.  Yep, he takes me out on dates.  Usually weekly.  Cause he loves me. :)

Anyhow, I've been busy.  Life's been full.  And the next week will be a little bit more-so since it's crunch week as I get ready for the end of the month a little early since I'll be at Women's Conference the week after that! :)  Things to do:

• Work on my RS lesson (to be given the day after I get back).
• VTing changes with the coordinator
• Approve Newsletter for printing
• Presidency Meeting
• RS VIP (Very Informal Potluck) Dinner
• Keep attempting to contact the two less-active sisters on my own VTing route and hope to actually get to see them.
• Pack
• Figure out meals for my family while I'm gone.
• Uh... EASTER!!!  So: Dying Eggs, Easter Bunny's visit, Family Dinner on Easter Sunday.
• All while still doing all the Mom things previously mentioned.  Plus, keeping up with the house, working in the yard, and hopefully still squeezing in a date with the hubby.

So, if the posts are few and far between, those are the reasons why.  Just give m a couple of weeks and hopefully I'll have a lot of fun stuff to share! :)

Progress Report, a little late

I've been working so hard to get all of my blogs transferred so I haven't been blogging as much as I should/would like to.  And I'm late on my progress report - heck, it's half way through the month!

Honestly, it's about the same as last month, just with a few more pounds added to my total lost.  I'm progressing well in all the same areas, not progressing in the others.  I think I've only played the piano TWICE in the last month.  Which, is in large part to this blog transfer. 

BUT I'M DONE!!!  I'm totally and completely switched over!  And I made the deadline.  My old blog dies in less than a week. :(  But now all of my posts are safely saved here and on my computer for all my journal entry recording needs. :)

In the process of transferring blog posts, I came across a few drafts that never were published.  I'm considering posting one or two of them, so we'll see. :)

But for any who were interested in subsribing or have already, it's safe to do so - no more days of endless posting.  Yay!!! ;)

Brace Face no more!

About 16 months ago, I wasn't counting but according to Cadi (who certainly WAS counting), that is how long it's been... Acadia became a Brace-Face.  A.k.a. Tinsel Teeth.  She endured it well.  She was attentive, responsible, and finally after going without gum, corn on the cob, popcorn, ice cubes, a variety of hard and/or sticky candy, etc, Acadia's sufferings came to an end.

On Tuesday, Acadia had her braces taken off!!!

Yay!!!  And there was much rejoicing in the land. ;)

We celebrated by going to Olive Garden for soup, salad, and breaksticks, all of which I pointed out she was able to eat WITH braces on too, and I wondered why she didn't want something that she had been missing out on these past 16 months, but she said soup, salad, and breadsticks are her favorite so that's what she wanted. ;)  I meant to take pics and completely forgot!  (Soup, salad, and breadsticks are one of my favorites too and I was pretty happy to be there as well!)

But I did have presence of mind to at least get before and after pics at the orthodontist's office:

If you clicked the link about when she had the braces put on, you'll see that this was just one phase in Acadia's braces career.  The purpose was to move the center of her top teeth over to... the center.  For some reason, it was all shifted over to the side before.  Plus, bringing the teeth closer together would make more room for the teeth still trying to come in, which hopefully will eliminate the need for more extractions, but it's too soon to know if we acheived that yet. 

For now, Acadia is BRACE FREE!!!  For about a year, then we start the process all over again - on all of her teeth.  We can't wait. :S

In case it were in question...

Acadia and Aurora are playing.  Acadia is trapping Aurora in her room because she is a cat.  Or so Cadi says.  She keeps telling Rori she can't come out because she is a cat.  Rori keeps yelling, "I'm not a cat!"  And Cadi responds, "Yes, you are!"  To which Rori says, "My. Mother's. Human!"

Glad we cleared that up. ;)

Despicable Driver

Interesting, I can blog from my phone, but only in html... okay lol. Except my phone doesn't have some of the symbols I need for html, so this will all be one paragraph. Lol... So despicable driver... yes. So this guy totally cut me off. He looked right at me then pulled out right in front of me! Then, it just so happens that we both pulled into the gas station, and he pulls up go the first pump and stops - didn't pull forward, just stops so I have to go around. The guy was a total jerk. Okay, rant over.

Saying Good-bye to Lila

This weekend was a very special one for us.  Usually, we look forward to General Conerence, watch each session, take lots of notes, go out for our traditional ice creams after Saturday's afternoon session, etc.  This weekend was different.  This weekend, we said good-bye to Grandma Lila.  We did watch the Saturday morning session of Conference, but the rest are waiting for us on the dvr. 

After the morning session on Saturday, we headed over to my aunt and uncle's chapel to participate in a Celebration of Life.  I had been asked to accompany my aunt and two of my cousins as they sang The Lord is My Shepherd.  We got there early to practice a few times.  After we finished practicing, there was still a bit of time before people were to arrive, so Cadi started playing the piano and Rori got on the mic and began singing.  Eventually, they started to coordinate and next thing we knew, Cadi was accompanying Rori as she sang I am a Child of God.  It was so sweet and everyone who was there helping to get ready LOVED it!  Matthew loved it, too, and that was what clinched it for me (since this was for his mom's service).  Rori really wanted to sing in the program, so when it was time for the congregation to share their thoughts and memories of Lila, Rori and I went up so she could sing her song.  (Cadi didn't want to do it in front of everyone, so I filled in.)  I set her up with the mic and sat down next to her at the piano and she sang in front of everyone, all by herself!  And she did a really, really good job!  I don't know how many other people loved it, but I know my family did, and that's what mattered the most to me. :) 

We love the Hills... and they are a little crazy.  It's hard to ever get a picture without someone acting goofy!

It was so wonderful to be a part of this very special time, to remember and celebrate such a sweet and wonderful lady. 

The Celebration of life was fun!  There were lots of memories shared and several musical talents shared, most of whom were Lila's grandchildren; she had always been so proud of how musical and talented her grandchildren were.

After the Celebration of Life, the girls and I went back to the Hills while Ryan wen to Priesthood Session.  We ended up hanging out the rest of the night.  We goofed off, ate some of the leftover food from the service, and just spent time together.  My cousin Chelsie trimmed up the girls' hair since they both needed it badly and they both look so much better now! :)  Thanks, Chels!

There was a lot of leftover Martinelli's, so we toasted to Lila a few more times.  In honor of the "toasting", Chad made toast. lol

On Sunday morning, the girls and I headed into the Gorge to help say good-bye to Lila.  Ryan was going to join us but ended up getting caught up all day with work.  He was so disappointed!  The girls and I had a really nice time with the family though and I'm so glad that we still went, even without Ryan.

We began in the Gorge at HorseTail Falls, one of Lila's favorite places. 

(My camera lens was pretty wet by the time we took the group picture! lol  But it still turned out okay.)

Next we needed to head back in the opposite direction, all the way to the coast.  But first, we stopped at Multnomah Falls to take a restroom break before the long drive.

We caravaned along on our way to Cannon Beach, when all of a sudden the lead car pulled over at this little restaurant.  MaryJane remembered that Lila always stopped to get a milkshake there on her way to the beach, and she really wanted everyone to do that, too.  So, we piled into a side serving room and had milkshakes.  Rori and I shared a blackberry shake that was berry delicious. ;)

Finally, we arrived in Cannon Beach and met up with more family.  We walked along the beach to Haystack Rock and Matthew took her ashes into the waves.  His sister, Jill, brought white roses and threw them into the waves as well.  Of course, the waves just pushed them back on shore at first, so we sprinkled more ashes on the roses and waited for the waves to come get them.  After a few minutes, Jill decided that Lila wouldn't have waited, so neither should we.  She picked up the roses, walked into the water, and placed them into the ocean.  We watched as they were finally carried off, to her final resting place.

The whole weekend was a special experience.  Lila was a wonderful lady and we were fortunate to have been able to become part of her "adopted" family in her final years. 

Good-bye Grandma Lila!  God be with you til we meet again. :)