A Blast from the Past

Last weekend mom and dad came to visit and to hear Elder Nelson. When they came they brought 2 boxes full of my old stuff from High School, that I'd never gotten from their house. Inisde one of those boxes: dun dun dun!!! Yearbooks and journals. Incase you didn't know, I was WAY good at journal writing in High School. I had 16 journals. Each written from cover to cover. Re-reading them has been like reading a thriller! I've been having so much fun. And remembering how people have touched my life. And seeing how some of those people have changed.

I'm trying to take snippets about people that have been particularly touching, and e-mail them. I think it's cool to let other people know how they touched my life as well. Some particular ones, like when my sister and my brother got home from their missions. When Anna started dating Alex, I wrote about him and what I saw in her. And things I'd written about my parents. I just can't believe how those years laid the foundation for who I would become. I was a very faithful youth. And each page is not only written about the goings-on of my life, but the progress of my testimony and faith.

One volume is missing. And it's one of the best ones! I have these journals numbered one through sixteen....and Journal #15 is missing. It spans about four months of my senior year in high school. I hope I find it. I don't even know where to look. I can't even remember what the cover looks like. It kinda makes me sad, since I've enjoyed the journals from my senior year more than any others.

Among one of the people that was in my life was one young man in particular. I never got extremely close to him. I took him to Sadies my senior year. And after graduation he joined the marines and he wrote me a few letters from boot camp. He was never particularly strong. But I always had such high hopes for him. I always thought if he could just get his act together, he could be so strong. And I always told him about that potential I saw in him. He had married his High School girlfriend, and last I'd heard she was pregnant and they were getting divorced. I'd always wondered what happened to him. Yesterday I found him on Facebook. He's gay. My heart sank. Really? THAT'S the direction he decided to go? He's a FATHER for pete's sake! AUGH! I felt sick. This new information totally ruined my day. I felt......so awful for the rest of the day. He'd written me one particular letter from boot camp.....it was 9 pages long. He'd told me how I'd really inspired him to want to be a better person, and hopefully prepare for a mission. How my example had touched his life. Augh. It makes me sick. I'm completely beside myself. Not completely surprised.....he always wanted to be accepted. And kinda.....took the easy way out of some things (I'd thought). And now this. Not surprised.....just SO disapointed.

Among other things, my journals are stuffed with e-mail inserts from friends and crushes. I am amazed at how good I was at always keeping the future in sight. I had my share of crushes in High School. Some quite intense. I never pursued them. I always thought it was stupid to have a boyfriend in High School if you wanted to marry a returned missionary (which of course I did). Why get attached to someone you were gonna have to break up with? It was because of this attitude, I made it all through school without a boyfriend, and without kissing. My first kiss was Parker, who eventually became my husband.

I wrote these journals....mostly for my children. I hope they can learn from the things I learned in my youth. I hope they will enjoy reading them someday.

Elder Nelson

Today Elder Russell M. Nelson came to our stake conference here in Filer. Pretty awesome I thought. It wasn't even a regional conference, it was just our stake (I am not sure why....but that's the way it was.) I invited my parents and Grandma Willis to come down and listen. So they arrived yesterday, and we all went to a session in the temple. We had dinner and then visited for the rest of the evening.

This morning we got up and had breakfast and got ready. We were supposed to be in our seats at 9:00 and it started at 9:30. Mom, dad, and grandma went at 8:45 (thinking they'd go early and save seats)....no. 8:45 put them 2 rows in front of the stage......yeah. Apparently they should've shown up at 8:15. The conference was really good. I just can't get over how lucky we were to get to listen to a prophet of God in our OWN building!

While Elder Nelson was speaking, he asked the primary children to all stand up so he could see them. Of course.....even standing on their chairs they weren't much taller than the heads in front of them. So he asked them to raise their hands. Caleb stuck his arms way up in the air and wiggled his fingers. Then he asked those children to sing "I am a child of God". Wow. Something about primary children singing ALWAYS gets to me. I sat and cried while I watched my little boy sing the song he knew so well. So powerful.

Elder Nelson spent a lot of time talking about things we should be teaching our children. Like how to pray, and to gather for family home evening. He talked about the struggles of gathering his ten children for family night each week. His work schedule was busy because he was a heart surgeon. Their family prayer and scripture study was at 6:30 AM. Ick. But even though it was difficult, and probably not always done as well as it should be......all ten of his children (as he reports) have family scriptures and prayers with their own children, better than he ever did with them. But the foundation was made. And it made a difference.

I was so glad we had the opportunity to hear the words of an apostle at stake conference today. I hope I can remember the things he taught.

January

Twas the month after Christmas
And all through the house
Nothing would fit me
Not even a blouse

The cookies I'd nibbled
The chocolate I'd taste
At the holiday parties
Had gone to my waist

When I got on the scales
There arose such a number!
When I walked to the store
(less a walk than a lumber)

I'd remember the marvellous meals I'd prepared
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared
The wine and the rum balls the bread and the cheesee
And the way I'd never said "No thank you please."

As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt
And prepared once again to do battle with dirt…
I said to myself as I only can
"You can't spend a winter disguised as a man!"

So away with the last of the sour cream dip
Get rid of the fruit cake every cracker and chip.
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
Till all the additional pounds have vanished.

I won't have a cookie not even a lick.
I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick.
I won't have hot biscuits or corn bread or pie.
I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.

I'm hungry I'm lonesome and life is a bore...
But isn't that what January is for?
Unable to giggle no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet

What a great year ANGIE!

My baby girl is a year old today. How fast time flies! I can't believe it's allready been that long! She's so beautiful and such a joy! And yesterday (just in time for her birthday) she decided to start walking. She falls all the time....but she gets back up to walk instead of crawl. It's like she decided to grow up over night. And I still can't help thinking about how she was the size of my two hands. So tiny. I would really like my readers to re-watch the video of the day we brought her home. Click HERE


And finally a month-by-month re-cap of Angie's life so far.....

January 15, 2010

Angie Nicole Lyons was born at 6:04 AM. 6lbs 10 oz. A painful delivery. Always worth it.

February

March

April

May

June

July

August-September

October

November

December

January 15, 2011

(Today)

I love my baby girl! I am so blessed to have such wonderful children. I really think I got lucky with these two. Even down to the little things.....they both sleep well at night. Very well-mannered. They don't cry all that much. And overall I just have very happy children. I am so blessed to have Angie in my life. I'm so excited to see her continue to grow. At the same time.... Iwish she'd just stay little forever. But....as you can see from the last 12 pictures.....she's not doing that at all. She just keeps growing. Sigh.

Lame....

Every winter our driveway does this....

It starts when it snows. Then it melts. Then the moisture goes into the ground. Then it freezes again and expands. And then up goes the driveway. It's about 2 inches high right now.
Then as the ground moves up....this happens.....

The siding that trimms the garage door starts to wrinkle and bend. It feels like there's stairs into the garage.

I'm sure the genius who built this house was supposed to do something in order for this to not happen.....but.....obviously they didn't. Pretty lame huh?

Caleb Says....

I'm blogging before exercising....and it's day 2. You can tell how well THIS is gonna go.

Caleb has been our little comedian lately. Here's a few things he's said just last week.

On the way to Utah for aunt Kate's wedding, Caleb saw the crescent moon. He said, "Mom LOOK! I see EARTH!!" I tried to explain to him that he was looking at the moon. "No mom. It's EARTH." There was no reasoning with him. Finally I said, "It looks like earth from outer space doesn't it?" He agreed with that. I asked him if he saw any stars. "Yes I see the stars in the sky. And....I see.....I see Jesus!"
"Really?"
"Yes I can see Jesus"
"You can?"
"Well....I see Jesus's HOUSE!"
"Caleb....Jesus doesn't live in a house..."
"Yes he does Mom.....it's the temple."
Dang. He got me on that one. (Although.....the temple was NOT in sight at the time...)

When we woke up at 7:00 AM at aunt Jo's house the day of the wedding. I was trying to keep the kids quiet so that they wouldn't wake everyone else up. About 45 minutes later while Caleb and Angie were playing in our room, we heard baby Kayleigh cry out.
"Who was that?"
"That was baby Kayleigh."
"Who?"
"You know...baby Kayleigh. Aunt Robyn has a baby Kayleigh, just like we have a baby Angie."
"......is LUCAS here?"
"Yes."
"He IS?!!! HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT?!"

At the wedding reception somebody asked Caleb, "Did you like watching Aunt Kate get married today?"
"Yeah....but I don't like it when they kiss. Bleh!" (Caleb being the ring-bearer got a close-up view of them kissing after they got married).

Driving home from the reception, Caleb and I were arguing. He kept asking me if he could watch a movie or go play when we got back to Aunt Jo's house. (It was almost 10:00). I kept telling him no, he's going to bed. We had the SAME conversation OVER AND OVER AND OVER. FInally I said, "Caleb! Stop asking me!"
"Okay okay!.......Save your batteries!" (As I sat there with tears in my eyes from laughing so hard....I contemplated whether or not I should give the 'don't talk to me that way' lecture........I didn't).

Yesterday we were watching Avatar for the ump-teenth time. Caleb asked me, "Mom...have you ever been an avatar?"
"....uh.....no."
"Me neither......but.....my DAD has!"
"Really?
"Yeah."
"I didn't know that"
"Yep. Except.....he's not on THIS movie."

The other day I had to leave the kids at home with Parker for the evening. I had to get some shopping done. The following night as I was putting him to bed, Caleb asked me if I was gonna stay home. Assuming he ment that evening, I said, "Yeah, I'm not going anywhere."
The following morning he came into my room and saw me getting ready for work.
"Mom, I thought you were staying home today!" Surprised that he'd thought that meant I wasn't working the following morning, I said
"Well I stayed home last night. But I still have to go to work today."
"But you SAID! You said you were staying home!"
Parker looked at me....."he got you on this one."
I replied, "I know....he tricked me."
"No mom- YOU tricked ME!"

There's so many more. He makes us laugh all the time. I'm gonna try to be better at writing down the funny things he says.

2011

I've been a bad blogger lately. And sorry to say, blogging better is NOT my new years resolution. Sorry. I've got a few more pressing matters. Parker and I always set goals for ourselves each year. We don't always follow through. This year will be different. Because this is the first year I'm writing those goals (at least some) on my blog.
Personal Goals
1. Get Healthy. This includes NEVER eating out for lunch (unless my boss pays....if there's one thing I've learned, NEVER turn down a free lunch, even if it isn't very healthy. Once won't kill you). Home cooked meals in the evenings (therefore providing me with leftovers to eat the following day). Home cooked meals each evening will require meal planning each month, and therefore weekly grocery shopping within budget limits (budget and financial goals have been made, but will not be listed here....except to say that there IS a budget, and we'll be following it). And lastly at least 40 minutes of exercise at least 5 days a week. This should hopefully result in a loss of 20 lbs within the year 2011.
2. There is no number two. I think number one is enough for this year. Don't you think?

Spiritual Goals
1. Attend the temple once a month
2. Read scriptures daily
3. Family home evening once a week.

Home Goals
1. Grass in the back yard (I want to be able to send the kids outside to play....and not in the dirt).
2. Finish front porch....ok let me rephrase that. Build a front porch. We don't have one. It's just steps right now.
3. Lie pavers around the gravel on the sidewalk.

Rules to manage time:
No blogging or facebooking unless I've exercised first (yes I did just finish exercising before I started this post).

Well- there it is. I really would like to look good in my swimsuit this year. And I hope meeting these goals will give me the energy I need to get through the day....because at first it's gonna take a lot of energy to get started.
WISH ME LUCK!