Wednesday February 8

So Port had a bit of a fever this morning, so we kept him home.

Then later on in the day it went up to 102 again.....

He has been super bored and TV isn't entertaining him!!!!!

I spent the day watching shows with him while finishing up the little project I had for my Beehives.

I am so happy I got them finished!

Dad took Cassi to get a baby tooth pulled while I picked Elsie up from school.

She went to Activity Days with Sierra, and had a fun time.

Dad helped Justin for just a little bit before he had to come back home so the big girls and I could leave to YW.

We did a little art class thing with the Beehives.

Painted flowers with watercolors.

I think the activity was a fun one.

I gave them all their gifts and they were so happy.

We had EVERY single girl there...including Avery because we called her!

I just love all of these girls so much!

It's a sad time.....but also a bit exciting with what is to come.

While I was gone, Dad sent my a picture of a heart shaped by spaghetti noodles he found while cleaning the stove top :)

So sweet!

Tuesday February 7

First of all, Happy Birthday to my mama!

So today it was snowing.

Yesterday almost all of the snow melted away!!!!!!

The snow was sure pretty, but the roads were terrible!

We drove down Locust Grove to do to school and there was a tanker truck stuck halfway up Amity.

Then a line of cars behind it and at the very end, a bus.

Well, I wasn't gonna wait in that line.

So I went straight to Victory and then around the Meridian, to come back on Amity the other direction.

On Victory there was a truck that had slid into a tree.

Back on Amity, that traffic on that was backed up almost past the school because they were trying to get a plow to the tanker truck and the now-stuck bus.

So I was able to pull in the school, take the kiddos in, and then I went back the direction I came.

When I got back on my hill on Locust Grove there was ANOTHER flatbed truck stuck on the hill!

But with no one going past the opposite direction, I could just drive around them.

It was just crazy!

I decided to just stay home and chill.

I have been making some gifts for my Beehives......

Tomorrow we will be having one last activity together.

I am feeling sad for sure.

But it is gonna be okay.

I kinda wish someone would call and tell me what is expected of me on Sunday!!!!!

I sent a text out to the counselor's wife that I know, and she said they were meeting tonight.

So we will see.

I finally got in the shower just before Madi got home.

While in there I got a call from the school nurse saying Porter was in there with a fever.

He came in from recess saying it was hard to breathe, she took his temp and it was 102.

She thought maybe he was over heated and had his rest for a bit, then took it again and it actually went a little higher.

So I came and got him.

He wanted to jump in the shower, so I let him.

That helps him clear the gunk in his lungs (which she seems to get more often than I like....)

I gave him some Ibuprofen and he cuddled up while I went to get Elsie.

When I came home I checked on him and his eyes were totally swollen and itchy!!!!!

They looked like his eyes did on Thanksgiving when we thought it was maybe the cat's fault.

I gave him some bendryl and tried to figure out what happened.

So I think I have a theory.

I think he might have an allergy to Ibuprofen!!!!

I remember Elsie was sick on Thanksgiving, and I think He was starting to not feel so well too, so I think I remember him getting some Ibuprofen.

And then today...the eyes didn't swell until after the Ibuprofen.......

Hmmmmm.....

A theory we will have to test sometime, when Dad is around!!!!!!

He desperately wanted to go to the Blue and Gold banquet tonight.

I told him we wouldn't decide until right before, and we would see how he felt.

He was doing good, and his eyes weren't terrible, so we went.

The girls stayed home.

He got a couple awards and got to hit the gong :)

And he got to pin a pin on me, which is just the cutest ever!!!!

He had a fun time.

It was also a sad time.

Being with so many people who we won't be with anymore.

Kind of bummed me out :(

*****

Dad had another good day playing, I mean, working with his new truck :)

It is keeping him busy, but he is loving it!

Monday February 6

I took Cassi in to her orthodontist appointment this morning once I dropped the little ones off.

They tightened up the front teeth even more, which she is feeling!

We also need to get that baby tooth pulled!!!!

So I scheduled an appointment on Wednesday for her to do that.

Then I went to Hobby Lobby to get stuff for this week's YW activity.

We are having activities this week with the old boundary people.

It will be fun to get one last hurrah with my Beehives :)

We are going to do a fun painting activity.

Then I cleaned up the house.....why does it get so messy!

Anyway.....

I picked Elsie up early to take her to PT.

She hasn't been for a while, so she was a bit of a stinker :(

But we did end up getting her to do some work.

She even jumped......but we CAN'T use the word jump, because she shuts down.

We had her step up on a step and then DROP down the other side, not jump :)

Ha ha ha!

Nice work Elsie!!!!

Then it was back home.....to kids fighting.

Of course :(

But it did get better, before the fighting started again :)

I met Sister Peterson at the church.

Since I am the only one in Shafer View, they told her she had to ask me to take anything from our closet that the new ward might need, like necklaces, PP books, etc.

It was fun chatting with her......

I know it is all gonna be good and okay.

I just love those ladies so very much!!!!!

And we ended the night with some Drama club practice with Elsie :)

I caught her singing her little heart out.

She will have the whole thing memorized and be able to do a one man show!!!!!

I love that she is having so much fun with it!

*****

Dad went back to work today.

And he got to play with his brand new fire truck!

He has been a very happy boy!

Sunday February 5

Had a curve-ball thrown at us today.

The bishop got up and told us that there would be a meeting this evening to discuss ward boundary changes.

:(

The whole day was rough...even though we didn't know what was going to happen, I kind of felt like we were going to be cut out....

In YW, each of us leaders had an opportunity to talk to the girls and bear our testimony to them.

This group of girls have been so amazing!

Like just the best!

I have loved being with them every week and learning from them and loving them!

Anyway.....

When we got home we stuck a roast in the Instant pot for about an hour.

The recipe would have taken 10 hours in the crock-pot.....

But just one hour in the instant pot.......it was amazing!!!!!

Definitely the way to go.

Then it was time for the super bowl!

Port and Cassi had a fun poster up and a few games set up to guess on who would win and what the final score would be.

Madi and I left shortly after the half time show to go see what the ward boundaries would be.....

And as I guessed, we were cut out :(

Well, we are actually still in the same ward.

But, the rest of the YW presidency were ALL in the part that was cut out :(

I am so sad.

I just love these ladies!

I have been so blessed with such amazing friendships with them.

I have grown from their testimonies and I have been blessed to have them as a part of my life.

Anyway....I have no idea how things are gonna go now.

I am excited to meet the new people that were put into our ward and to get to know the new bishop and bishopric.

But I still feel a little worried with what's gonna happen!!!!!

They told the other wards that they were released form their callings.....but the Shafer View was will keep theirs for now.

That leaves only me with the YW!

We have no RS president....no primary president.....really nothing in the way of leadership rolls except for a bishopric!!!!!

This Wednesday we are going to continue as was planned before the ward split, so at least that is figured out.

It is a new adventure :)

Thinking maybe this year I will try and take some family pictures on Sunday.

I took one of Dad and the kids and then He took one of me and the kids......then I merged them :)

Don't look too closely.....it is late, so I rushed it...

Porter drew this this morning before church.

I think he did such a good job!!!!!!!

Saturday February 4

Madi went babysitting this morning for our new neighbors and she had such a fun time.

They are some sweet little girls :)

The rest of us here at home got to work on Saturday morning chores.

Easily becoming a favorite day for me.

I just love when every room in the house is actually clean!!!!!

(Not counting the basement, yet!)

After lunch, the girls and I went over to the Young's house to make a Valentines craft.

Some way cute LOVE blocks.....

I meant to get an 'after' picture.

Elsie loved painting her own blocks.

She did a great job!

Dad and Port played some Nintendo together and also built circuits together with one of Port's kits.

I got all the laundry done.

I have come up with a system, and I think it will work.

On Saturdays, the kids bring their laundry downstairs, sort them into the right baskets (I help the little kids).

Then they take their clean stuff (from last Saturday) back up with them and put it away.

Then through the day, I get the laundry done and sorted and in baskets, waiting to be put away next Saturday.

Not a perfect method, but I have found that it is just the method we needed for our family to actually get the laundry done and not in mounds and piles on the floors!

Cassi needed to get some running shoes, and Port was desperate to get himself a Falcons t shirt for tomorrows big game.

So we decided to all go out as a family.

We ate dinner at Chick-Fil-A.

Then dad dropped Madi, Elsie and I at Plato's closet while Port and Cassi went with Dad to Big 5.

They found some shoes.....Cassi AND Port :)

But no Falcons t-shirt.

We got some fun finds at Plato's, so that was great.

Then we went to Walmart, thinking maybe they had some super bowl stuff.

Instead we got a black t-shirt and some iron on paper.

Port found the pictures and he wanted the number of Matt Ryan, and he told me what he wanted and where to put it.

He did a pretty good job :)

Little Elsie bug crashed hard tonight.

She was up at 3 a.m. this morning.

It was pretty ridiculous!

There was no way I was going to stay up, so I put 'Finding Dory' on for her and went back to bed.

At about 5 I woke back up to check on her and put on an American Girl movie for her.

Then i was back to bed.

I got up at 7 to wake Madi up to babysit and to workout.

She came with me to workout and watched 'Zootopia'.

I have no idea how she survived the day.

And she wasn't overly emotional or anything.

CRAZY!!!!

I told her she needs to NOT do that again!!!!!

Friday February 3

I got some stuff done down in the basement this morning.

Boxes moved around, laundry room kind of picked up......still lots to do, but it would be nice to get it all in order down there!!!!!

Dad and I went out for a late lunch.

We went to 'The Griddle'.

It was a nice place to eat.

Then we went to Walmart to buy a printer because ours has been broken and these girls need to have something to print their papers/homework on!

After school Madi got started on making a visual journal for her art class (I believe)...

It is very super cool already and she has just done the cover :)

Cassi got back on the treadmill, and pretty much rocked it!

I didn't get a picture of her though :(

She is thinking she might give cross country another shot........maybe........

Porter asked if he could have the old printer to take apart.......so we let him.

It kept him busy until dinner time and he still has lots more to take apart.

He is pretty sure he found the problem for me....but too bad it was mostly apart by that time :)

Ha ha ha.....he just loves seeing how things work!

This evening, Madi and Cassi went to the Meridian vs. MVHS basketball game.

Then they went out for yogurt and they are still hanging out with friends for a little bit.

Madi gets to go babysit our new neighbors (the ones staying at the Morgan's house) tomorrow morning, so she is gonna need some sleep!

Thursday February 2

The new treadmill got broken in today :)

I started out this morning with a nice run.

Port wanted to try it as soon as he woke up....he ran for 10 minutes!

Then after school, Madi ran and then Cassi went after her.

I would say it has been a good investment so far :)

I helped in the office today at school.

I just missed the lock-down drill by a few minutes!

We saw a guy come in that we didn't recognize.....then the principle said that we are supposed to have a surprise drill happen this week.

So she went to scope out the guy and while she was gone, the secretary sub told me I should go home unless I wanted to be stuck there longer than I wanted :)

So that worked out good.

Elsie had her first Drama club rehearsal today.

She has been so excited about the whole thing!!!!!

She came home with the music disc and was so excited to go over lines....over and over.

The closet up in the front room has come in handy for her recorder practicing.....and now it works just great to muffle the music CD she brought home :)

It is the perfect little 'studio' for her!

For Brent's birthday, Bubbles got him some Swedish rosette makers....but they hadn't been delivered yet.

Today we got them and decided to try it out after our dinner.

Oh, by the way, I made an awesome dinner......it was Broccoli beef, like from Panda express......it was a big hit!!!!

But the rosettes were a huge hit too!

I couldn't keep up with them eating them all!!!!!

Wednesday February 1

Port had an appointment with Dr. Allie this morning to see about checking his eyes.

He has been complaining about his eyes going blurry when he reads and getting a headache.

She agrees about getting his eyes checked and so I made an appointment to take him in next Thursday.

Madi had a think called 'Convergence' when she was younger....younger than Porter.

Where her eyes had a hard time working to converge together.

I wonder if it is anything like that????

Anyway, we will see.

I picked up the Nielson's from the airport today.

They just got back from Hawaii.......and it sounds like it was a beautiful time!

Then Dad and I went for a long drive to look at a treadmill we have been looking at.

We found out the reason it had been for sale for so long!!!!!!

It was about a 45 minute drive!

But we found a good deal on a nice treadmill and the people were very nice and we actually found a lot of connections with people we knew and places we have lived and professions......the guy used to be a volunteer firefighter.

And they just happen to be missionaries at the church orchards and I talked with them about bringing Youth out to pick fruit for an activity!

That would be fun :)

Came home and Dad and I made some potato soup for dinner.

Mad had bowling.

 Cassi went to her friend, McKenna's, house.

Elsie got her part and script for the play today.

She is very proud to be a Candy man kid and also a squirrel :)

Porter had scouts, which he is loving so much!

Then the girls and I had YW this evening.

We combined and the sister missionaries wanted to teach the girls what it is like to be a missionary.

We had separate rooms picked out for the girls to knock on.

I was chosen to be the person who slams the door in faces.

I wanted to play a part of a very disheveled mom......with a yappy puppy :)

So I wore Elsie's bathrobe, put my hair in some curlers, took a baby doll, a phone and Elsie's large stuffed puppy.

And I pretty much yapped like a dog all night or cried like a baby.

Some girls had no idea how to act!!!!!

They thought it was so funny, but didn't know if they should leave, try to help, or what to do!

I had a lot of fun with it......but my throat is sore for sure!!!!

Tuesday January 31

Last day of January!!!!!!

So so crazy!!!!

Got the kids off to school and few things done on the computer this morning.

We also got Madi's windshield fixed.

There was a small incident, involving a non-moving car...... :)

But that got fixed.

Dad stayed home from work.Still not feeling too well.

I left to go have a birthday lunch with Heather.

That was fun to get together with her and her friends to celebrate her and our friendship.

Thanks Heather......how come we didn't get a picture?????

I came home and Dad had showered and he felt a lot better.

We had talked about getting to the temple before January was over.

Today was the last day.

We had nothing else on the calendar, as long as the neighbors could pick up the little ones.

So we decided to do it.

Never shake off the feeling if you think you need to go to the temple, sick or not!

It was something that was very needed right now, for us.

Anyway, we got home and got pizza with the little ones 'Book It' certificates and a couple more for us big ones.

We did spelling and homework and baths and reading and still had time to watch some of "The unfortunate Events......." show we have been watching.

So I call it a successful evening.

A successful day!

(Except I have NO PICTURES!!!!!!)

Monday January 30

Not much happened today......

I went VT this morning.

That was nice :)

I also got some run-around errands done.

Boy, that just sounds boring.

Dad hasn't been feeling great...so we were kind of chill.

After school, Cassi and I made some apple fritter bread to take to our new neighbors, the ones living in the Morgan's house.

We also took them some farm fresh eggs :)

They are very nice and it will be fun to get to know them.

That was what we did for our FHE activity.

I am not sure what happened to the rest of the day!

I did get some laundry washed and sorted.

Oh well, maybe tomorrow will be more accomplished!