HELLO!

AW MAN! So much has been going on these days....it has been a whirl wind around here. To fill you in, I had a blast with my family in October as you could tell, but I was ready to get back to my "insane" normalcy. Let's see..... November came in a flash and before I knew it it was Thanksgiving. I decided for the first time I would take it slow and stay home for most of the day and then go to Geoff's family's feast for a couple hours and then go back home and let me tell you how refreshing it was not having to worry about anything more than rolls and a bunch of deviled eggs. I have been listening to myself and recognizing when I need to slow down, speed up or just not do anything at all! I am getting tired of appointments already..for me, Geoff, Eve and Manti. Everyone is healthy- we are thankful for that. We are just trying to get through the day and not fall apart, me anyway. I have been on meds for a little while and they have helped more than I EVER would have dreamed!!! It makes me so grateful for the blessings of resources that are out there for us when we are in our time of need. YES, there are still some bad days, but for the most part I am doing a lot better. I am going to my Lord in all things and giving what I cannot handle to my Savior. How thankful I am for the knowledge of the true and everlasting Gospel. It is a sad day for me because I taught for the last time in Relief Society and it was heart breaking because I so loved my calling even though it required so much of me. When called, at first I though how could I teach? I am learning from so many others! I need to sit and receive direction from other's lessons..why me? And then a surge of calmness took over and the Spirit instilled a sense of motivation that I COULD do it! It was right and more than anything I have learned that with the Spirit by my side I can do anything no matter how hard it may seem- that is what faith is all about...accepting God's will and not ours.

So after Thanksgiving my baby turned 2 on the 30th. It makes me sad, but I am realizing that it's alright for time to move and I need to start rejoicing in it. I take baby steps. We had so much fun with our little family and the grandparents ONLY at Manti's monster birthday party. It was so fun to not have the stress. It was amazing to actually sit down and experience the party with my kids. I honestly have never done that really. We started off in the dining room with it all decorated and everything monsters. I thought how appropriate it would be to read a few monster books with my crazy monster mask on. It was so fun! My kids loved hearing the stories and then we all played 3 monster games..bone toss, monster match, and monster bingo. What a blast! And the cake...G had a great idea with this cool pan set I got him for his birthday one year. He teamed up with his mom and made the coolest monster ball cake, fully decorated with layers. The best part of all is that I didn't have to worry about making it..I was at work- how stress free is that?! We hung out and enjoyed our company together.

The next day after Tiger's bday we went to sunny KONA, HI ! It was kindof a surprise gift from G's parents with free air miles and 2 hundred dollar bills in a happy 9Th anniversary card! Oh they gave it to us on Manti's actual birthday which was on a Monday, but we celebrated the party the night before on Sunday. I was working a long shift and they came in for Manti's birthday for kid's eat free night and handed me the card and said that's you tip! lol NICE!!! I was not expecting that at all. They also helped us get in touch with a family friend so that we could stay with her for next to nothing. I had such a glorious time and we so needed it! It really made us think outside of the box and how much life there is to live and what we want to do with it. I felt like a kid again. So in short we are thinking of some drastic changes and we will see how it pans out. I could go on and on about this trip and how beautiful it was...in the 80s the whole time, sunny and looking at that gorgeous blue ocean. I honestly dream about it almost every night since I have been back. I did have quite a hard time adjusting back into the cold weather. I have never been on a trip in which I did not want to get off the plane. If it weren't for my kids..ha,ha. I actually was a little sad that they could not enjoy the beauty of the ocean for themselves.

This holiday season I am going lower stress....not so many decorations and only 1 tree. I am however doing the Christmas party at my house this year for the very first time ever! Something that is really nice that Geoff's family does is soups, sandwiches, appetizers, finger foods and deserts..oh did I mention deserts? lol I look forward to vegging out, playing games, seeing my kids' smiling faces as they open gifts and most of all the family memories that will be created.