Book Club Update

OK!
I think that we should meet Friday, January 30, for some yummy treats.
Bring a list of great books, and we'll pick some to read. Maybe we could meet every other month or once a month, so think about that!!! My friend, Rebecca, an avid reader and experienced book club member, is going to help me get January's meeting up and going. Even if you can't make it, please feel included, after all, one of my goals for 2009 is building friendships. I can't wait to get started.

Sick, Tired and a few Hopes!

I am sick!!!!
I am usually a pretty healthy girl, but last Thursday I started feeling kind of puny. My throat was kind of achy, my nose was kind of snotty, and my head needed to be removed. It has gradually gotten worse. Yesterday we went on a field trip to hear the Midland & Odessa symphony. It was great, but standing outside in the cold for thirty minutes waiting for our bus in a sea of bus chaos was not. I had zero voice by my second class and felt horrible. I came home as soon as school was out and tried to rest. This is not easy for me. I am not a good napper. I always feel like I need to maintain my supervisory role in the household. I did not sleep well. About four this morning I decided that I was not going to school. That in and of itself is painful. Preparing for a substitute when you feel well is a chore, imagine when you feel badly. I got it done, and John got up and helped me. He took my stuff to school for me, and my teacher team helped with the rest. As usual, I do not have a substitute, a tradition in Midland. So I am sure that is going great, but I will try not to worry about it. Am I going to go to the doctor? NO!! Because if I do then I will sit in the waiting room for three hours, wait for medicines at the pharmacy for a couple more, and by then it will be time to go back to school to infect all the others. My day of rest that I prepared so long for at four this morning will have been a total waste. I choose to rest in my home. Hopefully, it will work. I do have to say that as the supervisor of my household, the other members of my home are required to go to the doctor. This rule does not apply to me.

On another note, the week after Thanksgiving John spent some time in his doctor's office, the emergency room, and an overnight stay in the hospital. That Tuesday night he started vomiting violently, if I do say so myself. Just some background info. John has juvenile diabetes, Addison's disease, low thyroid, anemia, and a few other items. So if he gets sick at all, we need to be concerned. I called in to his doctor and got him in as soon as they opened Wednesday morning. They know to make room for him. I went on to school because remember preparing and getting a sub is torture. The doctor's office called the school and needed me immediately. So I left my kiddos in the hands of about five helpful adults. John's blood pressure was 58/40. The nurses thought that the blood pressure monitor was broken b/c they had never seen one so low. John was very dehydrated. When you get dehydrated your blood pressure drops. When you have Addison's disease your blood pressure is low anyway, so together this equals "not good." They kept him several hours on iv fluids until his blood pressure returned to normal. They checked for several other things while we were there, I'll spare you the details, but decided it was probably the infamous stomach bug that had been going around. Then they sent us home, and we were to check his blood pressure every 15 minutes. John rested at home, while I checked his blood pressure every 15 minutes. There is not alot of time between to get much done, by the way. Anyway, about the time some nice people brought Noble home from school, John's pressure was dropping fast. I called the doctor's office, and they said that if it dropped below 90 to take him immediately to the emergency room. It did, so all three of us went to the ER. Our home teachers came and gave John a blessing (thank you), and I began preparing for a substitute, Ugh!

He is doing much better, but it did take eight iv bags to allow his body to maintain its blood pressure. It also took several steroids to make up for what the adrenal glands don't produce (Addison's disease) and a couple of days of rest. I have also been given direct instructions as the supervisor of my home that John is to be taken immediately to the ER if he is vomiting. His body is just not able to maintain itself in an adrenal crisis. We are once again lucky to still have him. His patriarchal blessing does promise that "he has been blessed with a strong physical body, one capable of carrying the burdens that are placed thereon." Which continues to be a faith builder for me because there are many burdens for him to endure. I often marvel at him because I do not think that I would be able to bear them. Apparently, even though Addison's disease is rare, it is as equal in importance in receiving medical care as walking into the ER with chest pains. I have been instructed to demand that he be seen immediately, even becoming a nuisance. After all "the squeaky well gets the grease," and I am not this type of personality, but I will do it for "Juan in a million."

So Christmas - - - - - - it's almost here, and I need to have some Christmas spirit. This has become a hard time of year for me, and I really want to overcome that. We have been struggling through three years of John working two jobs, and I think that is part of it. I have experienced the loss of three pregnancies at this time of year, and I know that that is part of it. I have spent alot of time feeling sorry for myself because I have to work, that I don't have the number of children that I have hoped for, and that I don't get to spend several days a week with friends or family. So as I reflect on years gone by, I really want 2009 to be a great year. I know that there will be struggles because there always are!! I hope to take Noble on some sort of real family vacation. I hope to be able to appreciate more that I have Noble and to give him the attention that he deserves. I hope that John can quit working his second job. I hope that I will like to go to the grocery store and cook for my family. We'll see about that one! I hope to continue my excitement about our new home. I hope to build better friendships because I know that they are vital to the enjoyment that I seek out of life. I hope to make some time for myself. I hope to go on regular dates with my husband for the first time in a lot of years. I hope to do a better job in my church callings, visiting teaching, testimony sharing, and temple attendance. I especially hope for good fortune and health for my family and friends. I hope that this is the year that all of us have dreams come true.

Thanksgiving 2008

We had a fun family Thanksgiving this year at our new home in Midland. Noble wanted us to make friendship bracelets, so we did. Noble and Jake had a blast riding bikes, shooting each other with Nerf guns, tickling and wrestling, and eatting cookies. Jake tried out Guitar Hero. He also sported his Spiderman costume with his new friend, "Scarecrow." We played cards. We went to see Twilight. We ate lots of yummy food, and everybody prepared their own specialties. The guys helped work on my studio. We took our traditional family Thanksgiving pictures. We even did a little shopping. My mom and sisters helped me get a little more home decorating done. It was a lot of fun, and I hope to host again next year.

1st Annual Christmas Village Lighting Ceremony

I have been waiting a long time for a house!! Not just a home for my family, but also a home for my collection of "little homes." Since we bought our home in February, we have been hoping for shelves to be able to display the Christmas village. Thanks to an early Christmas present, I invite you all to the first annual Christmas village lighting ceremony. I have been collecting Department 56 Snow Village pieces since 1995. My first piece was the Mt. Olivet Church. I really like them, and it has been fun to receive pieces in honor of special memories. Each one has been labeled on the bottom, so that I can remember when and why I received that piece. Over the last several years it has become a chore for me to put up each year. I have become sort of a scrooge, but this year was different. John and Noble helped me, and we had a lot of fun this afternoon assembling the "village." We drank hot chocolate and listened to Christmas carols. I shared with Noble the stories behind each piece, and he had fun accessorizing each home. John wired the backs of the shelves, and it made it super easy to get everything plugged in and lit up. For the first time in alot of Christmases, I felt my old Christmas spirit begin to return. Here's hoping I can drive the Christmas scrooge out of my life forever.

Selfish Plea for Friends!

I would like to propose starting a book club or joining one. I know that some of you have been doing this, so I am either inviting myself to join yours, or I am willing to host the first one in my home. So let's see?!? How do these things work?? Do we read a book a month?? Any suggestions for the first one?? I would be willing to host the first "book club party," if that is what they are called on Friday, January 30.

This is really a selfish plea to help create better friendships for myself, so who wants to be my friend!!!

Update on "Alex"

Noble continued to have a rough day. He even refused to be part of our upcoming 6th grade PTA program. The program is about WWII, the Holocaust, and the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, something that Noble is consumed with learning about. His bedroom decor is WWII. I must say I was a little taken aback and beginning to become concerned.

When we got home after scouts this evening, Noble checked the mail. He had a letter from the White House. Yes, the White House, how is that for timing!!

Several weeks ago, our current president, President George Bush, a republican, you may have heard of him, planned to visit Midland. Noble saw this as an opportunity to schedule an interview with him for his political tv show. Needless to say, Noble experienced another republican disappointment when the president did not return his emails and letters to appear on his segment of the show. You see, his political rival on the show has met President Clinton. So Noble felt like an interview with President Bush would one-up his democratic friend. Yes, "Alex" is capable of having democrats for friends. He tries at times to be non-partisan.

The envelope contained a letter from President Bush thanking Noble for inviting him to be on his school's tv show. It also contained a few photographs. I was really hoping that it would invite Noble out to Crawford sometime late January, but no such luck. It did though renew Noble's love of government, and I believe that perhaps his political depression has begun to heal.

I for one recognize the fact that this election was incredibly historic, and it speaks volumes for the progress that has been made in our country. I will allow our president-elect his opportunity to be a leader, and will reserve judgment until he has had some time to settle into the office he rightfully earned, after all, this is the United States of America - anything is possible. I hope and pray that Mr. Obama is man enough to fight for the things that he has promised. I hope that he is honest and has integrity. But I do live in America, and I have the right to expect my dreams and wishes to be possible as well. So I'll be watching and paying close attention, after all "Alex P. Keaton" lives at my house. This is in the Lord's hands, and He sees the big picture, and I really wish that I could see it because I'm a wee bit nervous. God bless you all and most especially God bless the United States of America!!!

Alex P. Keaton

I don't know if you remember the show "Family Ties" or not, and I know for a fact that Noble has never seen it. We often refer to Noble as "Alex P. Keaton." Our child is a red-blooded Republican through and through. John and I pride ourselves on being open-minded, but Noble will bleed and die Republican. He came to the Earth this way! We have not brain-washed him in any way. He educates himself, and truly believes that Republicans are simply what is best. He even spear-headed a political talk show on our school tv station, the Tiger Morning News. It airs on Thursdays and is called Daybreak Debate. You can find it at http://www.midlandisd.net/pease/site/default.asp.

Tonight has been an interesting night at our house. Tears have been shed, and answers to questions are only coming as some kind of caveman grunting sound. Our child has spent more time in the bathroom than anytime on record. He is moping around.

It was his turn to offer family prayer tonight. It was a doosy of a prayer if I may say so myself. Our country was extremely blessed tonight, from the economy to the war in Iraq. Our new president was not mentioned. I am afraid that Noble has slipped into a political depression. He thinks that there must have been some mistake, and that the electoral college should be investigated.

Now being the goodly parents that we are, we explained to "Alex" that we would support the office of President. We made him repeat President Obama a couple of times, and I thought that he might just vomit. Again we explained that the President of the United States deserves our respect, and that we would allow Mr. Obama that opportunity. We told him that if people gave him a hard time about it, to simply say that he supports the President of the United States of America.

Noble is not buying it. I believe he is in the denial stage of this depression. The most we could get out of him was a quiet, "We'll just see," as he walked slowly down the hall to his bedroom.

So whatever your political views, just know that there is at least one 11-year-old that hopes very much to restore the presidency to the Republicans. He'll be eligible to run in the year 2032, so let the campaigning begin. Vote Noble for President!!

Einstein Lives

As you can see, our child is brilliant!!!! Doesn't he make a great Einstein???

Have you ever seen such a cute Einstein??

I went as Rosie the Riveter, since I am teaching WWII in social studies right now.

Noble opted to go good ol' fashioned trick-or-treating with his good buddies from school. The best part is when we get back, and they start the trading process. Noble just loves it because it makes him feel like he's got two brothers to bargain with.

Noble's Rite of Passage

An eleven-year-old's last sacrament presentation.

One of my favorite talks from President Monson during this last General Conference was the one titled, "To Learn, to Do, to Be." In it President Monson talks about a letter he received from Theron W. Borup. This letter talks about how Brother Borup had a desire to live his life in a way that he could always have the Holy Ghost. He wasn't sure when or why he would need it, but he wanted to be prepared.

During WWII, Brother Borup was an engineer gunner on a B-29 bomber. Because of heavy enemy fire the crew had to bail out of the plane over the ocean. As he was parachuting down to the water's surface, he had some trouble opening his life raft, so when he hit the water he began to drown and then passed out. He came to momentarily and cried out, "God save me!" Again he tried inflating the life raft and this time he was successful. Once it had folded out he rolled over on top of it too exhausted to move. He floated for three days with his crew. Then a storm came up with 30 foot high waves that almost tore the rafts apart. Another three days went by with no food or water.

That evening they saw a submarine that they thought had come to search for them. It totally missed them and passed on by. As the submarine left the area, he heard the promptings of the Holy Ghost, "You have the priesthood. Command the sub to pick you up." In a few minutes the submarine was along side them. When they were on deck the captain said, "I don't know how we ever found you, for we were not even looking for you."

I learned from this story that as long as you live worthy to keep the Holy Ghost and honor the priesthood that all things are possible. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Noble will turn twelve in April and receive the priesthood. I often hope and pray that we have prepared him for this rite of passage. Today as he told the story and bore his testimony, I saw a four-year-old boy dressed as Adam the Prophet for his very first primary presentation. That little boy was very frustrated during that first program because he wanted to be Lehi instead. I have seen him participate in 8 different programs. He has learned many songs, though, he only sings them at home. I have watched him sway back and forth to the music, much to the chagrin of his primary chorister. I have been amazed at his ability to speak fluently and with emotion in front of a large congregation. He has incredible timing in his talks and often improvises for comedic affect. I got rather teary-eyed this morning, as I relived his primary years. When he finished, he looked so grown up in his jacket, white shirt, and tie. He looked almost ready to be a deacon, a young man growing up so very fast.

I'm an Esme!

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

You are thoughtful and care very deeply for your family. A loving home is of great
importance to you and you always try to make people feel welcome. Although you have a great capacity to love, you also have a great capacity to hurt, so at times you can be
sensitive. You're firm when you need to be, but people trust your judgment and
appreciate the kind way you always handle things.

Super Blog

School is off and running. We just finished our first six weeks, and I cannot believe it. For once, I am not wishing the school year to go quickly so that I can get to summer. I am trying to savor each day and as many moments as possible. After listening to conference today, and especially President Monson's talk, I know that I need to slow down and concentrate on my family and building special moments with them. Life is just so darn good at getting in the way. I always feel so inspired after conference, with a strong desire to get everything in order. I need to learn to keep that desire all year long, or at least for six months at a time. I am sooooo excited to have Noble this year, and I want so much to remember every detail. At the same time, it is always so crazy for this working mom to figure out how to balance it all. I have sooooo much to do each evening and even more on the weekends. It just never seems to stop. I want to spend time with my family, but John works every Friday and Saturday at his second job. He tries hard to spend time with us on Sunday, but by the time church is over and he has eatten, he is usually so tired!!! Noble has homework. I have papers to grade, lesson plans to write, science labs to practice and plan, laundry, a house to clean, the dreaded grocery store trip, two church callings, which I love, but must prepare for, and anything in between. In the meantime, I would love to be reading a book, scrapbooking, daydreaming, gardening, decorating, or any other things that are all about me. I also need to love and nurture my adorable eleven-year-old son who is growing up so fast, and I feel like I am missing so very many opportunities to just be together. Ugh!!! Can anyone relate???!!!? ; ) I didn't even mention friends!! I don't know what to say about that. I know that I can be a good friend, but it seems to be last on my list. It can be a lonely existance without them.

The day after my last post my mom passed out while visiting a sick friend in the hospital in Odessa. She was on her way here to help alleviate my decorating woes and help me paint my china cabinet. She decided to stop and see a church member from Alpine who was in ICU. She is that kind of person!! We are really glad she decided to act on her prompting to pay this sister a visit because she passed out and landed chin first on the hospital floor, breaking her bottom jaw in half and separating the two jaw bones that connect to the top jaw. Rather scary and anxious times. She is now the proud owner of two titanium plates and a mouthful of wires and rubberbands. She stayed here with me for the rest of the week after her surgery. She was nervous about being in Alpine so far from anyone that could help or answer questions until she got used to her mouth full of metal. I took the week off from school, and totally loved being able to take care of her. It was a nice change. She celebrated her 60th birthday the day after she got out of the hospital. We celebrated by blenderizing a few things so that she could sip them. Yummy!! Another great thing about her being here with me, was that I got to see how many wonderful people care for my mother. She received numerous flower arrangements, meals, cards, visits, emails, and phonecalls. She still has a ways to go, and it is taking some time to adjust. We are still not sure why she passed out, and have some additional testing that will be done to look into that. She is a strong and loving woman, and I am so glad to be her daughter.

Noble got to go on his first 11-year-old campout. It was in one of his leader's backyards, but the boys had a blast. He had so much fun, and learned alot. He also got to finally go to the CAF Air Show with Chief. He has been several times before, but really wanted to go with his grandpa. They had a good time, and he bought another airplane to go with his collection.

We are slowing but surely working on some things in our yard and in our house. We are hosting Thanksgiving and are trying to have some of it ready before our guests arrive. It will be fun to have my family in my home for this holiday. It is hard to believe that it is already October.

Happy Fall Y'all!!

Sublett Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Genelogy - Family history research

The "other" Noble

Noble has been working on an "All About Me" project in his language arts class.
I thought it would be fun to share with friends and family.

Live long and prosper.
A big shout out to our family in the Boise area, as well as, Uncle Kim and Aunt Sandy making us very proud serving in Zambia, Africa. Go Broncos!!

First Day of Sixth Grade!!!

It's here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Noble is in the sixth grade!!!! Ugh! Hooray!! Boohoo!!! Yippee!!!

I have such mixed emotions about this year!! The sixth graders always cry like huge babies at the end of the year, and it is quite a sight to behold. I just want to announce this right now. I will totally be bawling my eyes out on the last day of school this year, so save the date, and come on over to watch the spectacle. One of the most exciting parts of this year, is that our principal put Noble in my homeroom class. I didn't think that she would do this, but she said that she starting thinking about it from a mother's perspective. She thought it would be such a memory for us to finish his elementary career together. I couldn't agree more. I know that not all parents can agree to this set up, but I for one am going to cherish every moment of it. I will finally get to attend his Christmas and Valentine's parties. I will be able to watch how he learns and interacts with others in a classroom environment. I will be able to soak up every final elementary moment. I love it!!! He seems to be ok with it, too, by the way. Another great mother/son pair had this same situation when they were in school. My wonderful grandmother, who inspired me to become a teacher, had my dad in her homeroom - in the sixth grade!! How cool is that tradition!?! Can anyone even top that!!!???!! Don't even try!!!! We rock in our family!! If you thought that I was in love with my child before, just get ready, because he is the best student ever. Best child, best student, who could ask for anything more!!! I love ya, Noble!!

Bart and Grandma's Furniture

My grandmother passed away unexpectedly at Thanksgiving a few years ago, and I miss her alot. Before that she moved in with my aunt and uncle. She was in great health, but needed the company and I am sure to be kept an eye on. She decided to give several of her things away since she would no longer be needing to furnish an entire house. I received several pretty things that I love. My cousin, Bart, and his wife, Julie, received my grandmother's dining room furniture, which consisted of a table and chairs and a china cabinet.

My cousin, Bart, passed away this year on January 1st after a very brave and courageous fight with brain cancer. He is dearly missed. He called last year in October and told me that he and Julie wanted me to have grandma's furniture. At this point we knew that his battle could not be won, but were hoping for more time. What do you say to something like that? I asked if he was sure, but that I would be honored to have it. His reply was that he knew that I would continue the tradition of family time around the table, and that I would share the memories of those who had sat around the table in years past.

All the cousins were hoping to gather at Bart's horse ranch after Christmas to spend some time together and help around the ranch. You see, my cousin Bart, has a huge heart, and ran a theraputic horse ranch for children. He was amazing. When my grandmother passed away we stayed out there with him for a few days, and he was so patient in helping Noble to learn to ride a horse. He had a talent and a love for serving others, and I am so proud to call him family. We visited Bart at Thanksgiving when we knew that things had made a turn for the worse, and again at Christmas. These visits were very brief, and his immediate family was extremely watchful and concerned. They took such great care of their husband, son, cousin, and brother. I will cherish being able to visit with him for a short time, and to see him smile.

Bart and his horse, Woody

Bart and Noble at the ranch - Thanksgiving 2005

I promise, Bart, and Grandma, to take very good care of the furniture. I will tell stories and share memories as I sit around it with others. I feel very humbled to have been asked to care for it, and will do so with love. I hope that you like what my mom and I have done with the table. Bart, there is a light stain that I could not quite sand down, but I feel like it was meant to stay. It is probably a ring left from some kind of horse mixture, and I love it. I sit on that side of the table, and I look at it every time I sit down. Grandma, underneath the table is the date 1958, perhaps that is when you bought the table. I dedicated the new paint job to the two of you, and I recorded that on the underneath of the table right next to the date. I hope that this furniture will be a special memory of you both, and can be passed down for generations to come. Thanks, Mom, for all your help in painting and stenciling the table. It was really special to work on this project together.

Blanco River Settlement Reunion 2008

John's aunts and cousins got together in Blanco for a family reunion. It was a lot of fun, great food, card games, and lots of swimming. It was so good to see everyone again, and we all hope to get together again soon. We floated the Blanco and Guadalupe rivers, and everyone survived. The Guadalupe had several sections of rapids, and Noble had a great time maneuvering the rocks with his cousin, Justice. The boys fished a little bit, and built a dam to try and catch some more fish. We lit sparklers and had smores one night. The day we were to leave we surprised Noble with tickets to Schlitterbahn, his favorite place on Earth. We had a blast, and he was so surprised. We spent the night with cousins, and then meandered back to Midland through Johnson City and Fredricksburg. We stopped and visited the LBJ ranch and museum, and then piddled around Fredricksburg a bit. On the way home our back tire lost its tread and busted the tail light. We got to drive home on the spare, but felt very blessed to not have experienced any additional injury. We were driving 70 mph when the tread separated from the tire, and could have flipped. Thanks Heavenly Father for watching out for us!! We had a lot of fun, and enjoyed each other's company

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Happy 15th Anniversary

Fifteen years ago today, John and I were married in my parent's backyard in Alpine. It was very beautiful. My mom had worked especially hard on her already beautiful yard. In fact, she called me earlier this week to let me know that the crepe myrtles were blooming just in case there needed to be a wedding. So many people that we loved were there to take part in our special day. It was a day that I will treasure. I cannot believe that fifteen years have passed. We have had many wonderful times and few struggles along the way, but we have stuck together through thick and thin. I love John very much, and I am so thankful for our eternal marriage. A few years later, on my birthday, June 9, 2000, we were sealed together for time and all eternity. I am thankful for the time in between, and for those who were an eternal inspiration for us.

I just thought that I would reflect on the size of my waist in this picture.

John and I went on a two week honeymoon to Cozumel and Cancun, and a stop at Coba in between. Good times!!! We had so much fun, and got to travel back to Cozumel with some really fun friends a few years ago. : )

I found this picture with the others. This is my senior prom, Uptown Night 1990!! John and I have been sweethearts since I was sixteen. Isn't he just the cutest thing you ever did see. Check out his curls!!!

Las Vegas

John and I got to go to Las Vegas. John won a trip through his work. He has actually won this trip several times, but we decided to go this time. We really needed a trip together to get away and relax. We had a great time! We ate, relaxed, and walked quite a bit, but had a wonderful time together. It was so nice to see John away from Farmers during the week, and Lowes on the weekends. He deserves a rest after three years of working two jobs!!! Viva Las Vegas!

Entry Way!

I sanded and painted my blue cottage mirror red today. I think it looks pretty good. I also found a really cute table to use in my entry way. Little, by little, decorating is coming along. Now I need to find some cute stuff to put on my table and to hang around my mirror. I am thinking about maybe a vinyl saying of some sort. Any ideas?

Noble's Stripes!!

Noble has waited since age four to decorate his room!! We have rented for the last seven years, and have not been allowed to paint like we like to. Now we OWN our home, and we can do whatever we want.

This is the beginning of a WWII themed room. So all you civilians keep checking the blog for updates on the mission.

We are really proud of our stripes. I was afraid there would be drip marks everywhere, but we were linearally successful. It is all in the taping! There was also alot of measuring for the first stripe, but once we got the first one done, we were in business! July is Noble's turn to decorate and organize his room.

Let the fun begin!

Baseball, Friends, and Fireworks!

We went to see the Rockhounds play last night. We met some friends, cheered on the home team, had great weather, and watched some fireworks. It was really, really nice to get away for a little while and enjoy good company!! Thanks for coming guys!!

Friends!!!

Fireworks!

My guys!! The love of my life!!!

New Furniture! Yahoo!

Isn't it cute??

We are slowly but surely working on things in our new house!!! It is really exciting to be able to decorate and paint however we want!! Stay tuned for more interior decorating documentation!! Thanks for your help Mom!