I'm hear...and A BIG THANK YOU!!!!

I'M Hear...I think I'm ready to come back to blogging. As you can see I have had a two month leave of blogging. I have had a two month slump. I had to learn a few lessons and now I am ready to get back to life with lessons learned. More to come on that, I suppose.

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What a great way to end the year. This week I received a package from Hawaii. My daughter thought I was so cool I have a friend in Hawaii.

I wanted to post a big thank you to Leona...she made some beautiful hand made gifts for me and family to enjoy. I met Leona probably a year ago now. She came to my blog and I really felt a connection with her. Next to my sister, Sandra, I really enjoy Leona and felt a real connection with her. Anyway, here are pictures of what she gave. She is truly a talented woman. She gave me some fun ideas that I want to try this year.

THANK YOU LEONA, YOU ARE TULY LOVED!!!

Click on Leona's name up top and visit her blog. She is a wonderful lady. I've enjoyed visiting her blog. She does a lot for her family.

Propane please...I am not stupid!!!

Out in the country we don't have the ability to have natural gas. We get to use a propane tank.

Well, the last six months I have known that our propane gage has been wrong. I tried to tell them the last time I filled up, but the guy just would not believe me.

So, finally I had had it. I knew that this company would give me a hard time about my dilemma. SO, I dialed the phone number with a plan in mind. I can't explain to you how I know the gage is wrong, JUST BELIEVE ME.

Anyway, today I called, the lady I visited with didn't want to believe me. SO, I said, "If you guys aren't worried about it then I guess I won't be either. But I want my gage to be right so I can know the exact amount I have." She sent someone out not wanting to argue with me anymore.

The guy comes out trying to tell me that nothing is wrong with the propane tank my levels are fine. I tell him again, "I know the propane tank is fine but my gage is wrong". He finally believes me "I THINK". Just got a phone call from the guy today. I will be getting a new propane tank tomorrow with a gage that will work!!!! Finally!!!!

I am not a push over anymore. I WILL stick up for myself. and I love doing it. I am not rude and I don't yell, but I don't give up. Especially when I know I am right.

Just wanted to vent and write out this paragraph of my life. Have a great day and don't forget to stick up for yourself.

Sucker and Happy Birthday!!

First, SUCKER, Yes I am a sucker for kittens. Last week we got two new kittens. My friend was needing a home for some kittens. I told her if they are males then I will take two.

So, unfortunately, she had two males left. They are really cute and my kids love them. I have repeated many times, "Take the kittens outside", "They are outside cats". I am not doing a litter box...NO WAY!!!

jjjjjjjjja (Four year old son helping me type)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!..

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Yesterday, my second daughter turned eight years old. It was her turn this year to have a friend birthday party. So, after finding birthday invitations at the D.I. for .50 cents we took around invitations to her friends. (We had to keep this birthday simple & Cheap)

My budget was $100. For $100 I was able to buy her 4 gifts and buy the accessories I needed to pull off her party.

Can't forget the presents...She doesn't look excited at all.

After the games we did the blow out of the candles. I made cupcakes for her party.

After we sang and blew out the candles we played a game of "cake walk". When the number they stood on was called out they could go get their cup cake and eat it. They had fun doing this game also.

This game was a big hit...Bobbing for apples. Had everything at home to use for this game.

After the party almost everyone went back to play with this game.

This game was ring toss using left over soda bottles and diving rings.

I learned a valuable lesson doing this party...It isn't how much you spend on a party, it is the memory you are creating and the fun you can have by making it simple. Simple is good.

Kids are great!!

A few days ago I was sitting next to my four year old son. He is so cute. We were sitting by each other and he just happened to say, "Heavenly Father will never leave us alone". Just out of the blue, it was perfect and what I needed to hear that day. I love that he learned that somehow. I would like to take the credit on that one, but he has good Sunbeam teachers too.

None the less, he understands at an early age that our Heavenly Father will never leave us alone.

What an amazing thing to know. I can't imagine doing anything without my Heavenly Father.

Kids are great!!

Can I just say...

Well, I was going to write a post to complain and ask your opinion on my dilemma, but then I realized that I shouldn't do that. So, I will write a post about nothing. Nothing at all.

Life is still going and we are still being blessed. I am so amazed at how the Lord is so aware of everything we need in life.

My husband and I left our home in AZ two years ago when I relocated to Utah and my poor husband had to follow. Since we have left our home we have been blessed to have amazing renters in our home that have taken care of it and paid every month on time.

Now that my husband has lost his job we can no longer make the house payments. So, we got a friend to be our realtor. This has been a long process, but we finally got our house on the market.

It was put on the market last Wednesday, had two walk throughs and two offers by that same Saturday. This is unreal for Arizona. The market is so bad there. The value of homes in AZ have dropped in price as much as $50,000. Our home was bought seven years ago for $107,000 and we listed the home for $69,000. If you need a home in AZ now is the time to buy.

Anyway, we are hoping our realtor can negotiate well with the bank and settle with a short sale.

This is ideal for us and the bank. The Lord's hand has been with our AZ home. This has been one part of my life that I let go of and handed it over to the Lord. I knew I couldn't do, but I knew the Lord could. Look what He has done. So AMAZING!! God is good!!!

Not JUST a Mom!!

I am NOT just a Mom. I am a Mom that is ready to stand up for what I believe is right for this country. I was watching Glenn Beck tonight, he has had moms on his show trying to make a difference in their communities and wanting to help shape America. On his program a mom started a website titled As A Mom. I am passing on this information.

As a Latter Day Saint woman, I know the power of a mom. A mom is what holds together a home and family. So why can't we help with America. It is time I get involved with knowing what is going on and being part of even my community. I have started in a small way by being on the PTA Board, which I didn't realize how time consuming it is, but I need to be out there knowing what my children are facing. So, I will get off my soap box and share the website that I learned about tonight. Life is Good!!

asamom.org

Look around...

This past week I was sitting outside with my little boy. I happened to look up in the sky and right in front of my house were 3 hawks flying around. It was amazing. They were beautiful and pretty close to us. I ran to grab the camera. Never was able to get a picture of them together, but managed to get some pictures. I enjoyed watching these birds. I'm pretty sure they were hawks.

I am no bird expert. In my eyes I thought of this as a tender mercy. Life is good if we look around.

Have a great week!!!

All you need is...

Hello!! I really haven't had the desire to do blogging lately. These last few weeks have been good and emotional at the same time. I know I am not the only one with a husband laid off. But I just need to vent. It is hard!!! I know we have been so blessed. So many tender mercies in our life, but sometimes it is just hard to stay positive every single day. I have slipped a couple times and been sad. Sunday I knelt in my room and wept. I cried like a baby. It felt so good when I was finished.

I hadn't cried for such a long time. I have been holding things in for a long time.

So, tonight I have new emotions. My husband had had 4 interviews with a company and found out today that we didn't get the job. We both cried together.

It has been four months since my husband has been out of

work. I would like to share some of the lessons I have learned. Mostly, so I don't forget what I have learned.

• It isn't how much money you have, it is the memories you create.
• Knowing how others will feel. I now have empathy for others and I will know what I can do to serve them better.
• Life is about improving and trials are here to give us the chance to improve.
• The Lord does know my needs. It is true that he gives us those things we need through others.
• It's not what I live in, it is what I do with it that counts. Make what I have beautiful, don't worry about having better things.
• We can create memories without a lot of money.
• It will be alright!!!
• Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get. The great thing about chocolates is they are always sweet.
• I do need love in my life. Having a love for my little family helps keep me going each day. Gives me something to get up for and work hard.

I could probably keep going and going and going and going. But it has to end sometime.

Well, thanks for letting me vent, share, whine, murmur whatever it is called. I am entitled to do it, right? LIFE IS GOOD, JUST HARD SOMETIMES!!!

Go here for an inspirational thought from one who knows best...COME WHAT MAY, AND LOVE IT.

Eleven years already?

It is hard to believe 11 years ago today I became a mother. I remember being scared spitless. I remember crying in my hospital room (and I cried). I felt so alone, but I know I was excited and loved holding my new baby, but I had complete terror. I remember saying to myself, "now what?" I remember after my first night at home I couldn't believe how hard it was. I called my sister, Sandra, to ask "Is it normal for a baby to cry all night?" Of course, she told me "YES". After a while I was able to really bond with my baby and learned how to love her and take care of her. Now after 11 years I still don't have it figured out, but I feel good about what I have done. I can look back with no regrets, maybe a should've done something different, but I have no regrets. I definitely have a more pure love for all my children and grateful for chance I took to be a mother. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CLARISSA!!!

Tonight's the night

The count down has begun. Only 2 hours left for the big premier of Wizards movie. Here at our house we are way excited. Tonight we will be having a wizard party. We will start out by making some frozen pizza with A&W Rootbeer, then we are playing a board game, my husband will do 2 magic tricks and then we will start the show.

Of course, we will be popping popcorn and having a lot of chocolate. Looking forward to our Friday night party!!!

P.S. This is my 100th post. Hard to believe I actually made it this far. I will be putting together a SMALL giveaway soon. Little nervous about doing it since everyone else has cute giveaways. Stay tuned for that. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!

Back to School/LIFE

Hello!! I have been procrastinating any blogging because I am close to my 100th post and I am not ready to do a giveaway. This week I plan on putting something together and have a small giveaway.

Back to School...Wednesday!!

Here we go another year of school begins. Can't believe my oldest will be in the fifth grade, and my next daughter is in second. I feel like we had a really good summer. I think we did

some fun things. I hope my kids feel the same way. Back to school means....

Back to Life...

No more lazy days, no more staying up late, no more sleeping in (cry...cry...cry). The best part of back to life is

I am better at setting goals, having a routine. I am feeling excited about getting back to life and feeling good

about myself. I have let that go this summer. I am ready to feel good and get back to working on a monthly

project. Must say LIFE IS GOOD!! Don't get me wrong it can be hard and stressful and frustrating

but it can be a lot of fun. It's all about the attitude, Right?

Missouri continued...and Amazingly Blessed.

For some reason I haven't been motivated to do any blogging. My heart has been feeled with love and humility. My husband has been out of work for two months now. I can't even tell you how blessed we have been. With my husband working a graveyard job at a convenience store and unemployment money we have been able to pay for what we need. The people of my community have been amazing. Just in the past two to three weeks we have had so much food given to us.

A neighbor brought over food storage cans with a bag of ground beef, another family called for us to come get some beans from their garden. Few weeks later the same family with the garden gave us corn, eggs from their hens, cucumbers and summer squash. Yesterday we got food from the Relief Society and just today a lady brought us a grocery bag of venison. My parents also came to visit this weekend and brought a cooler of yummy beef with food given to us by my sister, Ann. It is so humbling to know that the Lord sends people to do His work. He can't give us what we need without others doing service. I hope to give back one day what I have received. Oh another day a family brought my little family lunch for the day. AMAZING!! We have also been blessed by family members giving us money to buy school clothes for my two girls. JUST OVER FLOWING WITH BLESSINGS!! So happy the Lord is on my side.

MISSOURI...

I wanted to post some pictures of the church history sites I went to see in Missouri. I just wanted them on here since this is like my scrapbook in a way.

This is the Liberty Jail...what an amazing place. The floor of the jail is the original from back in I believe 1838 (don't quote me on that one). The jail is inside a visitor's center. We sat in a room to listen to a narration and then brought into the room where the jail was placed. The minute those doors open I felt the spirit so strong. I knew right then that Joseph Smith was real and he really suffered here. By the end of the presentation I knew that just as Joseph Smith received peace, revelation and inspiration through his long trial, I can too. I felt a great love inside my heart. I knew that I can survive and also feel the Savior's love for me.

These two pictures are of Far West. I was amazed by this place. I guess I didn't know my history very well. But Far West was a big city back in the pionner days. There were 5000 people living there with markets, 2 hotels and homes. The saints were also commanded to build a temple there. I believe they were only able to get the corner stones built before they were forced from their homes by the angry mobs. The four corner stones are still there. I felt a lot of love for the pioneers at this spot.

Haun's Mill had a interesting feeling there. It is hard to explain. Those of you who know what happened here might would be able to understand. I was glad I went to see this spot where many pioneer lives were taken from this earth because of angry mobs.

I loved Adam-Ondi-Ahman, this is a huge area of beautiful land. Right in this grove of trees is where I pick to live when the Savior comes again. An amazing feeling here. BEAUTIFUL!! I loved my experiences looking at the church history sites.

Verily I say unto you all: Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations; And that the gathering together upon the land of Zion, and upon her stakes may be for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth. D&C 115:5-6

Missouri and Dopp Family Reunion

This year the Dopp reunion was to be held in Missouri. My little family had decided to not go because of my husband being laid off. We were ok with this, but my sister-in-law Diane, called to see if she could take my girls with her to the reunion along with two cousins. I wasn't sure about this idea so we came up with the plan that I would ride with her and we could take my van. So she offered to pay for gas during our trip and off we went. Isn't that so amazing. She is such a wonderful person. Everyone needs a person like Diane in your life. July 18, 2009 me, my children, sister-in-law Diane, and two nieces left Utah for a long trip to Missouri. The first day we drove 17 hours to Lincoln, Nebraska. Here is a rest area we stopped at along our way.

Here is Diane!!

After arriving in Nebraska we stopped to eat. I asked a lady in Wendy's how far it was to Lincoln, Nebraska, we were told 4 1/2 hours. I wanted to die right then, but we kept going and were able to crash at my friend Amy's house. She is an amazing person too. Amy and I have been friends for probably six years. We were neighbors in Arizona and now far apart. I'm an idiot because I didn't take any pictures of being at her house. I would love to have a picture of their family. THey were so kind to let us show up at 12:30 a.m. and let us crash and feed us the next day. Thanks!!

Finally we made it to Gallatan, Missouri after 21 hours in the van with five kids. These kids were so good. Not one fight the entire time and nobody cried or whined. It was completely a miracle. Here are some pictures of the Dopp family reunion:

After ten days we made it home in one piece. It was a fun trip to go on. I will post another time of some other great things I was able to do while in Missouri. THANKS DIANE!! Because of you my kids were able to go and have fun with cousins they hadn't seen for a year.

A big Thanks to Vickie for putting the reunion together!!! Thanks to Jason for putting up with all of us!!

Good bye Bock...

Wanted to pay a tribute to our beagle, Bock. He passed away almost two weeks ago. He is truly missed by our family. I must admit that I truly miss this dog. I had fallen in love with him and wish we could have him back. Bock was such a fun, loving dog. He loved to tease us by steeling my girls stuffed animals then taking them outside. He loved it when we would chase him. Sometimes he was even sneaky about it. He loved chasing our cat. He loved carrying anything around. He was such a good dog...I know that we will have another chance to have him part of our family again. WE LOVE YOU BOCK!! Don't forget about us. We will always miss you.

Dopptastic Night of Music!!

I have the honor to teach my kids piano. We do our best to have weekly lessons and practice everyday. I must say we do pretty well. Recently my girls prepared for a piano recital. They were asked to memorize two songs and perform at the "Dopptastic Night of Music". We all dressed up ready for the big night. We decided we wanted to walk to the recital so the girls and I walked around the loop of our driveway and went to the recital. My little boy wanted to drive. My husband drove him around the loop letting John think we were driving to the recital and he was not happy when he returned back to the drive way. He sat inside the van for quite a while before he would come out."Smiles" was up first...she played her first song.Clissy was next to play her song.Then of course, "Indy", had to take a turn. He can actually tell you what a quarter, half and whole note are. He likes to have is turn too.

After our recital we walked back home for a treat. It was a fun filled night of Dopptastic music. One night we will do again. If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. D&C 136:28

I know what I want to say...

I am feeling very uplifted right now. 1) My husband got a call today for a job interview scheduled for next Friday. 2) I am reading a good book and tonight I read a statement that has really empowered me as a stay-at-home mom. I really wanted to type out this statement so I would have it on record. Here it is:

Stay-at-Home Moms are not SAHMs because they're lucky, stupid, lazy, weak, scared, useless, spoiled, frightened, or any other condescending description. SAHMs are SAHMs because they realize the blessing of the opportunity to make a profound difference in their own lives, their families, their community, and ultimately the world as they coordinate the lives of their family members so that no one feels neglected, unimportant, or unloved because of the limited commitment of their parents.

Dr. Laura Schlessinger, In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms, pg 64.

Isn't this amazing? I just love it. I said to myself, "YEAH!!" I love my job. If I didn't stay home I would miss out on so much and I wouldn't be raising my children. I'm really glad for that chance. I'm sure their life will ultimately be my fault, because I blamed my parents once too, but at least I have the chance to mess up their life. LOL!!!

If I didn't stay home would I enjoy the little moments as much? Who knows. Like the day I went to check on my son and found him like this as he put himself to sleep.

Then went back a few minutes later and found this. Our cat loves this spot.

If I didn't stay home I wouldn't be able to go help at the school and be at all the activities during the day. I am grateful for the choice I made to stay home. I also have a love and compassion for the mothers that choose to work out side the home. They have to make a big sacrifice too. They give up a lot as well. I don't know how you guys do it. I'm amazed at all you accomplish. You are good examples too.

I hope I have made nobody feel guilty, but at this point in my life I am grateful for who I am and what I am doing. I am glad to be able to stay home during the summer times and just play with the kids or not play too.

Being a mom is good!