7 Crazy Clarks

New Years Resolution - Spend less time in Crazy town!

2012-01-17T10:07:00.000-07:00

This is a super big year for the Clark family. Lots of growing up, and life changes are on there way! I dont want to miss a second of it and I am sick and tired of being tired and run down, so I here the way I am doing it.

I am lifting weight 3 days a week and doing cardio 2-3 times a week - this does something to my brain that kicks me out of the depression stage along with the following:

1- Daily Vitamins - I use Melaleuca

2- Whole food B vitamins ( made from animal liver ) Yes they are as sick as they sound, but they are working. - helps with depression, mental clarrity, weight loss - etc. a girl's best friend.

3- Iodine - for a healthy Thyroid - healthy thyroid = healthy hormone levels = less crazy

4- Krill Oil - Mental Clarity, gets rid of any inflammation ( I have a lot from working out right now) and the omega 3's balance out the overload of omega 6's ( from Corn) that I tend to overload on. Too much corn in my body leads to inflammation and memory problems.

5- 8 hour so of sleep so I can wake up excited about the day. ( which only happens with the above supplements and working out or I would be tired if I slept for a week.)

6- Minimum Intake of sugar and empty carbs. - I love them but they make me sluggish and fat!

****** I have been doing this for over a week now and here are my results ******

I wake up before my alarm ( unheard of) I'm motivated to do stuff ( by stuff I mean being a mom and a housewife) I have been living in a fog, and it is like the fog has been lifted and everything that used to take all my mental energy and focus in a day, I can get done in an hour....so crazy.
I leave my house - lol- I have dejunked my bathroom, and my laundry room, and my closet, and they have stayed clean!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am just taking it one room at a time, and then I have out in those rooms because the rest of them make me want to scream.

I am doing my bedroom last, because I used to hide in there, and now it is the messiest room in the house and I dont want to be in there at all! Woot to me for using a messy room to motivate me.

I am remebering that I am an awesome person with things to offer the world. Feels good to do it without medication!

The road to sucess.

2011-04-13T08:06:00.000-06:00

This month's Theme - The road to sucess is full of bumps and the occasional dip.

I should change it to Lumps not bumps, the worse part about building muscle is you can feel the fat so much better sitting on the muscle......gross. And as for the dips, you know who THEY are, I swear if one more person tells me I am crazy for doing this I am going to scream. That ought to simplify what is worong with this world ina nutshell, no one wants to anything hard, or that involes self control or sacrifice.

I have lower body today, and I pushed myself so hard on monday I can still barely move. I am praying for the motivation to get myself to the gym.

I have a pair of bright Yellow heels that are mine when I lose 5 pounds, and as much as I hate weighing myself because the scale isn't moving thanks to my muscles, i should have said inches when I made the deal. Stupid 5 pounds.

This is the hardest part for me. I am sore and tired, and I am not losing weight, and the muscles in my body are full of water. I am getting bigger instead of smaller. I know it goes away, and in the next few weeks I am going to see some changes. I am not discouraged just impatient, and I have to keep reminding myself it took two years to do this to myself, so if it takes a year to undo this mess I am doing great things for myself.

Uhm Ouch!

2011-04-08T07:11:00.000-06:00

I am finally done going through my carb withdrawls, and have got my body into a pretty stable ketosis state. (If you are wondering what Ketosis is - in a nutshell it means your body is getting it's energy or fuel from fat stores instead of the instant energy provied by empty carbohyrates) I am still a little run down, but I am going to attribute it to the fact that I can't move without hurting somewhere. It's the good - I worked my muscle out- kind of hurt, but pain is pain and it tends to make one not want to move.

I love getting to this point because my body no longer screams for me to put garbage in it. It always helpful to the weight loss process when your body is working with you.

I have of course gained a bit of the weight I lost last week back due to muscle, but I can already see my stomach flattening out a bit. I don't really care what the scale says other than for reference. If you are not doing weight it can be a great tool, but a tapemeasure is my best buddy.

My biggest setback...I hate to eat. I find it inconvenient.

Today is upper body again, whoooooo hooooo my favorite. I cannot stand working out my lower body, it make me mad to think i have to do it again in 5 days...even when I was in the best shape of my life, I hated it.

Oh an in case this blog entry bored the crap out of you......i wrote it for me. :)
Later days,

Kami

Eating healthy is hard- but not for the reasons your thinking.

2011-04-06T09:08:00.001-06:00

So I have cut out empty carbs, and preproccessed foods from my diet. So no chips, candy, crackers, little to no fast food, no sugars, breads. Do you know how hard it is to eat enough calories when you cut that stuff out of your life? Hard!!!!

I ate a marinade chicken breast, pinapple, broccoli and cauliflower, and I still had less than 400 calories, well it would have been 400 calories if I had been able to eat it all. I ate 3/4 of it and I was so full I had to stop or empty myself of the previously comsumed calories....I had a small snack 2 hours later 100 calories, and when dinner rolled around I was still so full I almost cried when I had to eat.

I am going to have to get some avacados and sugar free peanut butter, and nuts, or add more butter. Something to get my calories up... People who diet are stupid. If you eat good food you don't have to worry about ever being hungry again.

Someone asked me why I was on a diet and I laughed. I am not on a diet I just stopped eating the stuff that was killing me...(except one meal a week that I can eat whatever I want)

No if I could just figure out some cardio to do that i don't dread.

Sometime Utter Horror is the best Motivator

2011-04-06T08:57:00.000-06:00

I have been trying for 2 years now to find the motivation to get back into shape, and no matter what I have done it just doesn't stick. I have tried paying myself, I even have a 15 year reunion this year and not even that has been enough to motivate me. I think we all have to have some driving reason to do something we don't want to do. Well I finally found mine.

I knew I had gotten fat, and I could see how heavy I was but I was still only mildly disgusted. Phil and I have been teaching a couples dance class which has been a blast except for the mirrors everywhere ....you would think that would have been a motivator right?......Nope I can just look at my face and my feet...I think those are cute. At the end of the session We made a video that is a quick review of the steps so our class can pop it in if they forget a step.......you guessed it, that was my horrifying moment of true awareness. it wasn't that I was fat, I already knew that, it was the stuff I edited out...me walking away from the camera to ready position.....I had that nasty fat lady butt. I don't know if I can describe it....it's the one that your body makes all kinds of jiggle creases and bumps when you take a step. That jiggly fatty bouncy butt you could feed a family of four off of.

I processed it eternally since my sweetheart was sitting next to me while I edited, but inside I was a wreck....I don't see that angle of myself, and he has been looking at it for years...... :(

So it is the beginning of week #2 I am down 2 of the 30 pounds I need to lose. Now 30 pounds may not seem like a lot, but I am under 5 feet, and I carry most of my weight in my lower body. 5 pounds can be a full pant size for me.

Goblin project. #4

2011-04-06T08:06:00.008-06:00

Here is the finished project. It took forever to post it I know, but better late then never right? I was so busy making costumes for my other kids I ran out of time for some of the cooler accessories I wanted to make., I turned out all right in the end though. I dont have any picutre of me making the hat, and you wouldn't want to do it the way I did anyway. I just started sewing pieces together and pinning and ticking until it was somewhat how I wanted it. Then I sewed the edges of the hat, vest, and some leather patches I sewed on on my pants ( which you can't see) with artificial sinew. The costume was about 20.00 total as I had to buy more liquid latex. I wish I could pind the pictures I took of my pants. They turned out super cool, If I come across them I will update this blog

I was feeling kind of bad that no one came and talked to me at the party, but I found out later that no one knew it was me, and I scared the crap out of most people....That is my definition of a perfect costume. Halloween is in 6 months, and I need new ideas for this years costume....anyone?

Project: Troll / Goblin Costume #2

2010-09-22T00:01:00.004-06:00

I decided to start with the leather vest. Here are the two leather jackets I got for 3.00 each.

If you have money to go out and buy leather, you can skip this part, but if you are cheap like me and have more time than money I took a seam ripper to the leather coats. I am going to ue the smaller pieces for my hat, and the buttons will go on my vest See the big pile of leather pieces?

As I was taking the jackets apart, I realized I could keep pieces in tact so I didn't have to sew them later, I also cannot sew, so this helped a lot. I cut these peices out because in the middle there was this really ugly western pattern, that I cut away. Then I sewed these two pieces together, and trimmedit to a vest shape. I am going to distress this so I was not to worried about how nice it looked. I also changed the plan for how he vest will look, It was so easy to do it this way, so I am not going to make a patchwork one.

Here is the back panel from the same coat. I folded it in half and cut out the two vest pieces, I made a bad patter by tracing a shirt that I had. I liked the idea of the seam running down the front, a later on I am going to make this looked peiced together.

Two front pieces, that I attached to the above back panel, trimmed it to fit, and then sewed it together. I didn't worry about sewing it nice, since I want it to look like a goblin or troll sewed it, which incidentaly is the same as me sewing....coincidence?

Here is the basic structure of the vest finished. I still have to sew some on accents, and distress it, but that will be for another day. Yeah Me!!!

Project: Troll / Goblin Costume #1

2010-09-17T20:46:00.009-06:00

I love halloween. It's a great time to use your imagination, and change the way the world sees you for a day. It is also a time of year when people spend 30-40 for cheap ugly costumes, If I am going to spend 30.00 on a costume, it bettermake people stand up and take notice.

This year my costume is going to be a troll/goblin/hobbit looking costume..I am calling it a troll, but it looks nothing like the long point nose demon looking creaters that came up when I googled trolls, and goblins.

Here are my idea sketches...note that I am not an artist, these took me all of 10 min, and were not meant to impress anyone except with the general idea of what I hope to create.

Side Profile - Helmet / hat, makeup ideas
I don't know why this keeps loading sideways, you'll just have to crank your head

Front View

Back view

Back View

I wanted the vest, and hat to be made out of leather, but leather is ridiculously expensive. I went to the thrift store and bought two big leather coats. They only cost 3 bucks a piece since they were missing buttons and had ripped liners...perfect. I am going to take them apart, and use the leather to make my costume. I am not sure what I am going to do for the pants yet. They are probably going to be some aged white capri's I got from the salvation army for a dollar.

I bought a large pair of pointy ears for less than 4.00, and a big nose for around 3.00. I already have latex, nose putty, and makeup that I will use for my face from previous years

I have the shirt already from previous halloween costumes (pirate, and mountain man) This is a great tip for saving money. We have basic a basic white dress, black dress, capes, and such that can be used as wedding dresses, vampires, witches, zombie's, zombie brides, etc.

So far total spent:

6.00 - leather coats

1.00 - white capri pants ( maybe)

4.00 - ears

3.00 - nose

------------

14.00

The goal is to stay far below 30.00, I will post more pictures as I begin my costume.

First Day of school

2009-08-26T08:39:00.012-06:00

I have never been so excited for school to start . This was a crazy summer. The mosquitos were so bad we didn't go outside much, so I am pretty much nutso. The kids were way excited...well except chase because he is 11 and he dosen't get excited about anything.

Alora is in 2nd grade this year, She is pretty excited to be back in school, bu none of her friends were in her class, so she is a little sad about that.

Brooklyn is in 4th Grade this year, and she is so excited. She loves school, and she is the most excited about having access to the school library everyday.

Chase is in 6th grade. He is way to old to be having his picture taken, and I could only get him to smile when I told him I wouldn't come to the middle school next year and take pictures of him on the first day,

We had breakfast together as a family at the school, and then said our Goodbyes. Boston was pretty mad that he dosent get to go to preschool until next month. Poor Talli she is going to have no one to play with.

I have been busy being a mom, and I am trying very hard to lose weight and get my body healthy again. I stil love my sunday school calling, and I love the kids I teach. We have been blessed with a great ward.

It is starting to get cooler here at nights, which means less(ish) mosquitos, but it also means winter is coming. This winter is supposed to be worse than lastan I can't even imagine that.

We sure are thankful for a job and the great town we live in. North Dakota doesn't have much to offer, but the people here make up for a lot of that.

Hope you are all doing well. We Love you.

I am amazing because I can kick my own butt.

2009-05-08T07:53:00.004-06:00

Boston was laying by Phil yesterday, and he said, "Dad I am amazing" when Phil asked him why he thought he was amazing he said, " Because I can kick my own butt!" We laughed about that for a while, and then I realize my son had given me a great life lesson.

So my theme of the month is: I am amazing because I can kick my own butt.

No one can change my life for me. I have the power inside of me to change things, so I will. Little actions can result in big changes. In my religion we believe that part of the purpose of life is to learn to overcome the carnal side of your nature or the natural man. I have been overcome more than been the one doing the overcoming more often than I would care to admit.

When you get one of those ahah moments and everything clicks into place, and it seems so simple you wonder why you never put it all together before. So today when I went outside and it had rained all night ( I hate the cold and wet) I could only glory in the smell, the chorus of birds, and the fact that my struggling lawn got a good drenching.

Little actions:

A good attitude full of gratitude
Simplify my life life - I did a lot of that when I cut down the internet and the television time.
Fill my life with little joys

I realized that while I may never be amazing at something, I have the same amount of time as everyone else and how I spend it is my choice. So all the time I was wasting surfing and watching live stream video, I am teaching myself to play the Irish tin whistle, I am keeping a journal, I am getting my house organized again, I am spending time outside everyday, and I go fly my power kite once a week. I am also taking the time to read stories with my babies and play more with my kids.

So I am trying not to beat myself up about letting myself be overcome by the world, and losing that precious time, Plus I am counting the kicking my butt as my exercise for the day. :)

I hate hard decisions, they're hard.

2009-02-04T08:51:00.003-07:00

We all have things that we need to change in our lives. Most of us are aware of them, but choose not to make the changes for one reason or another. Other times we realize that we have to take immediate action no matter how painful or difficult it is going to be. I am at such a crossroads.

I realized that I am spending an enormous and unhealthy amount of time watching movies and television show. I knew I was watching too much, but when I realized how many hours in my week I was giving up I was devastated. I love TV so this is a painful discovery for me because I know for now I have to quit watching it completely. Cold turkey for my addiction.

I know all the reason to stop watching TV are great ones, more time with my kids, and my house will definitely benefit from it. Also cutting out the media garbage I have been feeding myself a daily dose of, along with more time for spiritual growth.

I used TV to euthanize myself from all the drama and trials of the last 2 years, and now I am in a place I can recognize it for what it is. A huge waste of my life. So this next month is going to be hard. I have to start thinking again. I remember the me that loves to be actively engaged in an activity, but finding her inside this lazy mind and body is the trick.

When I told my kids no more computer (we have no actual television) I expected howls of rage and dismay, they surprised me. First they made sure I was included in this scenario, and Second they started filling my day up for me with outings and books they wanted to read together.

The part of me that doubted I could do this was instantly eradicated. My kids have been needing me, we have all been suffering. I am still worried.

Does this mean I will never watch TV again? Of course not. What it means is that until my life is in order, and full of actual life, I will just say no.

Notice that I didn't mention how much TV I was watching. That would be the shame and denial part of it all. I refuse to calculate exactly how much time I was devoting to my TV God. I feel guilty enough without knowing the exact number. So wish me luck. I am now going to shut down my computer to avoid backsliding. Love you all. Hope you don't think less of me.

25 Random Things About Me!

2009-01-28T10:30:00.004-07:00

One of my friends did this on her blog, and I loved reading little things about her that gave me an insite to who she is now. So to those of you who read this, if you do the same, let me know so I can read it too. So here we go.

1. I love to cook, but I am a very messy cook and dirty a ridiculous amount of dishes, well every dish right now since I am living with the bare minimum until my stuff gets here.

2. I lose and break stuff frequently. I had to replace my cell phone 3 time last year, and have just lost another so if you are trying to get ahold of me...sorry.

3. I love living where it is freezing cold because I can use it as an excuse not to shave my legs or go anywhere i don't want to go.

4. I am a terrible driver, but when I go home to St George I always feel much better about my driving skills.

5. I love to sing and listen to christmas music all year long.

6. I buy gladware so I can throw it away when I clean out my fridge instead of washing them.

7. I can't wait to go back to school, I want to take all the classes that interest me and non of the stuff that dosen't. Though I can't think of anything I wouldn't want to learn. I get dumber every year.

8. I love Williston because the garbage cans and trucks have their own little streets so I don't have push take the can out to road in the snow on garbage day.

9. I love heights and the feeling of falling.

10. I used to be terrified of the dark, but I started watching paranoral investigation shows a few years ago and it went away. Weird

11. I suffer from claustrophobia but only if I can't move my legs or arms.

12. I love the smell of bleach

13. Sometimes I wear air freshener for perfume.

14. I love to lift weights, but I hate cardio....running is for when people are chasing you.

15. I wear stilleto knee high boots instead of snow boots. I never slip on ice and shoveling snow is easier.

16. I have a terrible terrible memory. Seriously it's terrible.

17. I love to laugh, and I think I am hilarious. I try to surround myself with people who have the same sense of humor...that is to say people who find me hilarious.

18. I love teenagers. They still know how to enjoy life, and they don't have to plan their fun 2 weeks in advance.

19. I only wear cheap jewlery I find at dollar stores or on deep discount. ( see #2)

20. I love music. I love the power it has to make me laugh, sing, cry, and the way it can bring back a memory, or a taste, or a feeling. It feeds my soul.

21. My favorite color is Black. Always has been, even when I was a little girl.

22. I love to do sudoku, kakuro, griddlers,and logic puzzles.

23. I never played pretend, it made me uncomfortable, still does. I would rather be doing something real like climbing or building somthing.

24. I have been married to the love of my life for over 11 years. He taught me how to enjoy life and embrace change. Plus he let me pretend to be the boss, it makes me happy,and it makes his life easier.

25. I try to have nothing on my schedule. That way I can get everything done and still have time to be spontaneous. Life is too short for stress.

Love you all!

On Cloud Nine!

2009-01-25T15:33:00.002-07:00

We have lived in North Dakota for over a month now, and I have been anxiously awaiting a calling in church. I have been terrified that they would put me in the Primary. I love children, but I live in a primary and I look forward to going to church each week for some spiritual growth. That said I would of course willingly accept a primary calling if it was given to me.

So back to the anxious part. I asked the bishop 2 weeks ago if I could please have a calling. He said he had a calling in mind for me but other things had to happen first. Then he asked me and Phil to speak in church the next week. Phil of course ended up being called into work and I had to fill the time myself. I think I must be the only person that gets excited when they have to speak for a longer period of time. It was the Kami Clark hour. I got to talk and no one interupted me, a dream come true for a Mother. Everyone told me what a great talk I gave, this is why I love Williston, people are so easily impressed. Apparently I am a genius and never knew it. Haa haa.

Most of you know how much I loved my calling as a sunday school teacher for the youth, and how much I love and miss the kids I left behind. Sundays are hard for me beause I feel like I have a huge hole in my heart and it aches more on Sundays. So I have been scouting out the current sunday school teachers, and letting it be known how much I miss my last calling and how much I love the youth.

Last week there was a Preisthood meeting in Minot ( about an 1 1/2 hours away) and Phil was supposed to go down for a interview with the Stake President ( who lives 4 hours away) Brother Romaro asked me if he was going to be able to make it to the interview ( remember Phil got called into work) so I gathered he also had an interview. Now Brother Romaro is one of the current Sunday school teacher of whom I have been scouting out. I was giddy with excitement,the Elders Quorum President just got called as the Ward Clerk ( Enter a nervous Phil) So I figure there are now 3 Stake callings opening up, and Brother Romaro's job is up for grabs. I think back to the comment by the Bishop that they have a calling in mind for me but other things had to happen first. Can you come right out and say, I would like this calling please and thank you? I have just been keeping a little prayer in my heart.

Today I got called out of Relief Society and I was asked to teach course 14 and 15. I started bawling and laughing and sort of jumping up and down. I was so excited. Poor Brother Lamar, he probably thinks I am nuts. I am on cloud nine. He said they are kind of a rowdy, struggling bunch and they may be a little difficult, I just smiled. Those are my favorite kind.

So out of everything thing I have been through these last two years, this is another one of those assurances that the Lord knows me and loves me. I don't know if the youth need me or not but I sure do need them. So yeah I am on cloud nine! I love this place. The Lord is preparing Zion all over the world. I always thought it would be in one place but I find he moves us from one gathering to another. This is an amazing place.

Phil has blossomed. He is keeping the missionaries busy, he is loving people into the gospel as only Phil can. The only thing missing here is our loved ones. North Dakota would be perfect if you were with us. Need a job? People are desperate for employees here. We love you all so much.

For those of you who are from St. George: Remember when Spring Break would fall in March and all these people would come down and go swimming when it was 70 degrees outside? I thought that were nuts. Now I get it. It was in the high 30's to low 40's last week and we were running around in jeans and t-shirts. It felt like spring. That is a 70-90 degree diffrence from the weather we had been experiencing. My sister Tylia said "One good thing about it being so cold that your nose hairs freeze, is you just have to stick your finger up your nose to trim your nose hairs. I am still laughing. We have found a home here. We miss you all, but we are home, and thats a great feeling.

Christmas 2008!

2009-01-12T09:01:00.004-07:00

The day we arrived in Williston it was -50 degrees with the windchill. Phil called me to tell me that a plane had caught fire in Denver on the runway and he wan't going to make it home that day> The only plane accident on a us airline in 2008, and of course it happened on the runway of the airport Phil was in while I was trying to move myself and 5 kids by myself. The roads were so bad we didn't arrive at our new house until 8 p.m.

I got the car unloaded and the kids back in the car by 8:45 pm at headed to Mcdonalds, we grabbed a hamburger at the drive through and headed to Walmart. I had forgotten the time change so of course it is really 9:45. So with 5 kids, and two shopping carts we bought, all the food, air matresses, and cheapo kitchen ware we would have to have to survive. Since the next Day was the Sabbath it had to be done then. Brooklyn crawled under one of the carts and fell asleep the other kids and myself were almost in tears by the time we got done. I left my wallet in the car sat with the kids on a bench by the cashier while she rang my stuff up and I ran out to get my wallet and move the car by the front door. People just leave their cars running while they go shopping, weird but when my car barley started and was freezing cold I figured out why.

We were finally done and when I pushed the carts outside, my younger kids started screaming because the snow was blowing around and it felt like little pices of glass when it hit you in the face, the carts were getting stuck in the snow in the parking lot and we couldn't get them to move. I scooped up my babies and got them in the protection of the car....meanwhile Brooklyn is still conked out at the bottom of the cart oblivious. I had literally draged her from the cart and into the car, she never budged. I then had to load the two overflowing carts into my car alone because no way was I letting those kids out in that again. With that ordeal out of the way we headed home.

Everyone got into the house as fast as possible, we had managed to rouse brooklyn enough for her to walk inside, everyone got there jammies on and there teeth brushed while I blew up air mattresses and found the sheets to make the beds. Finally everyone was in bed, and I got to go back outside and bring everything in. Happy Happy Joy Joy! I put away everything perishable, blew up and made my bed, and stumbled into bed at 2:30 a.m. A blessed unconciousness!!

The next morning I woke up at 8:40 am and it was pitch dark outside...apparently since we are so far north the sun doesn't come out until 9:00 a.m. WEIRD! Church starts in an hour and 20 minutes, everyone is dead asleep and our clothes are buried in a pile of chaos on the front room floor. So at 10:00 am we piled in the car leaving behind clothes strung from one end of the house to another breakfast on the kitchen floor ( no table) and all of us trying to look we had showered, the night before. ( you can't go outside with wet hair here because your hair will freeze and it can break off...seriously break off!)

We got there 15 minutes late, and with less than 100 people in the room they noticed us arrive. Just in case they didn't notice us, Talli turned off the lights during the Christmas Program. Seriously! The people opened their arms to us, and were thrilled to have us there...so I am glad we went though everything we did to get there.

Phil arrived late that night, and had the time off for Christmas so we just spent time together as a family. By Monday someone one in the ward had brought us a Christmas tree and lights, a table and a couple chairs, and a arm chair for the front room. Someone else had left us money, which we used to outfit the kids with snow pants and such for this weather, and a microwave. It was such a blessing.

2 days to go, and I have too much stuff!

2008-12-17T13:28:00.005-07:00

I have 2 days left until we begin our journey to our new home in North Dakota. My sweet friend and adopted sister Melinda was going to help me move last night, but she had other things she had to get done, so instead she sent her sweet husband Randy with the best gift anyone could have given me....4 of my boys from church. Gavin, Kit, Tyler, and Erik came over and loaded everything up before YM. It was so great to see them one last time. :)

So most everything is in the storage unit, yet there is still all this stuff in my room. I have spent the better part of this day packing and unpacking. Trying to figure out how to make a pile of stuff fit into my car. I have been know to be ingenious when it comes to this kind of stuff, but this may be more than even I can handle. I have a tiny trunk, lots of kids, and lots of stuff.

I guess we could leave our hygiene products behind, and only take one change of underware. Who needs pillow and blankets, or makeup, or even clothing. I may have to end up mailing them to myself, but I am going to try everything to avoid spending one more dime. I figure every penny I save will buy me warmer clothes :)

Saying Goodbye Makes Me Cry - 4 Days To Go!

2008-12-15T12:40:00.008-07:00

Only 4 days until head out. It was -80 degree with the windchill in Williston this morning, this does not excite me. I am getting a block heater installed in my car today, for those of you who, like me, have never lived anywhere really cold, this is a devise installed by your engine block that plugs into an outlet and keep your gas and other liquids from freezing so it will start in the morning, gah! That is not promising.

I had to say goodbye to my sunday school class on sunday, and just writing this makes me want to bawl. I will miss them so much, I will continue to pray for them, that are the most amazing teens ever, and they are a force of strength. Thank Goodness for facebook, we can still keep in contact. Here is a picture of my class. I am missing a bunch of them, but I will take what I can get.

It is a lot easier to say goodbye to the adults in my life. They are going to be the same(ish) the next time I see them but so much can change so fast when your young. They will move on, and thats the part that makes me sad and happy.

Got a storage unit today for the last few things I can't cram into the one I have now. Melinda and her family are helping me move everything tomorrow. Weds will be finishing the laundry, and thursday will be packing the car, and two days worth of clothes. Friday we will grab our overnight bags, pillow and blankets, and head to school. As soon as the bell rings we are outta here. My sister Lacie is letting us sleep at her house, and then we will be off to Williston Sat. Morning. Huray!

Santas Lap and Dead Snowmen!

2008-12-13T08:40:00.007-07:00

We went Ooohing and Ahhhhing the other night (looking at christmas lights) All of a sudden Alora shouts look at the dead snowman. She is so funny.

The kids and I went to our Ward Christmas Party, and they got to sit on Santas lap.

Talli was not impressed until she saw that candy cane, he could have been any crazy, but as long as he gave her that candy cane she was happy!

Boston was less hesitant. When Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas, he said...That Candy Cane. He was all business until he handed over that cane. Then we got a smile, oh yeah and he wants a bag of balloons....I love this age.

And this is what remembering the Christmas party Starts in 20 minutes looks like.

Brooklyn and Alora have got this drill down. Tell Santa's helper what you want for Christmas in case he lost your email. Better safe than sorry. We want a $10 fur real friend, and an Ipod? 17 months makes a big difference.

Chase was a great sport. He wants an mp3 player with video capabilities. :) They grow up so fast.

The kids are excited about having a homemade christmas this year. We are making a tree and ornaments from paper( our is burried in storage), and we are buying only the things we need. Like Warm Clothes :) So if we don't get you anything for christmas, know we love you and we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Christmas Caroling with the Youth!

2008-12-13T08:21:00.007-07:00

My Sunday school class invited me to come Christmas caroling with them on Tuesday for their YM/YW activity so we could spend some more time together before I had move. Okay first of all talk about feeling loved, I was on cloud nine. It is always nice to know the people you adore feel the same way about you. Second of all, It was frickin freezing, a nice reality check that the clothing I currently own is not going to cut it in North Dakota. The third thing I learned is there is a temperature where you can't sing because it is too cold, and your vocal cord go on strike...good to know. Here are some pictures

6 Days and Counting!

2008-12-13T07:59:00.002-07:00

6 days until we leave for North Dakota. People keep asking me how I am feeling about moving...If I am nervous or excited. I haven't actually felt much of anything or taken the time to figure out how I am feeling anyway. So I decided to do it and and here we go.

1. For the first time in my life I am moving somewhere I don't know anyone. That scares me. I need people. I have always made friends pretty easy, but there is that scared little girl inside of me that worries that no one will like me.

2. The house we are moving into is the size of our first apartment when we got married The Dungeon) . Yikes!!! So that converns me, and moving there with no furniture, beds, or kitchen table will be interesting ...like camping but in a house. :)

3. I am moving somewhere that is not predominatly mormon, also another first for me. This one I am actually a little excited about. The lds community tends to take itself too seriously and forget that you can't be perfect in this life. God wants you to be happy and not to beat yourself up all the time over your inperfections, keep improving, growing, learning, but don't forget to enjoy the journey. We are such a blessed people to be living here and now in this free country.

4. I am worried about my kids adjusting. we are moving into a small school of only 250 kids. That is less than 25% of our current schools population. This will either make it easier or harder.

5. Saying Goodbye. This is hard for me. Especially to my Sunday school classes,past and present. They are the best kids ever. Most of my best friends are between 13 and 18 years old. These kids remind me how life should be. Laughter makes all the other junk you have to deal with in this life easier because you know there is joy and hope. So to my friends and family I am leaving, know that I love you, and I tend to keep friends forever so your stuck with me, and to my friends that I have already parted with in the past, I am so glad to have you in my life even if we only talk once a year or see each other rarely. I love you and think if you often.

6. We get to be together as a family. This is number 6 but it really is the number 1 reason it is all going to be okay. This has been a tough year, and the fact that we have a job, a roof over our heads, and the chance to be together, makes it all okay.

So I guess I would have to say I am nervous, sad, scared, worried, and unsure, but most of all I am happy, and I have faith that it is going to be great! Cold but great!

Counting Down The Days!

2008-12-08T14:15:00.003-07:00

We have just 11 days left until we head to North Dakota. I have been very busy sorting stuff, throwing stuff away, and trying to figure out how to pack my car that is already full of people with enough stuff to live for 6 weeks until our stuff gets moved. I considered renting a small trailer, but too many people freaked me out about it. So I will just have to get creative, which is Code for I am to broke to buy anything that would make it easier. :)

We have had a lot blessing these last few weeks. We all sat down together and picked a day to move. Dec. 19th - the last school day of the year. We planned to just live in a hotel because housing there is so scarce. Phil was really worried about having a home for us, and then the news came that the hotels didn't want anymore families living in multiple rooms for long periods of time. Phil also got a call that he would be leaving for 3 weeks to go to the truck driving training center on the 4th of Jan. Just 15 days after we moved there. Still we planned to go. Poor phil was feeling so stressed.

We had the opprtunity to go to St George for Thanksgiving, but Phil stayed in North Dakota. We sure missed him, but his choice offered us our series of miracles.

He got a call that a spot opened up for the training center, and the people who were next in line had gone home for Thanksgiving and couldn't get back in time, so he was in... Hurray! He will get back to North Dakota the same day we get there. Perfect timing, only now he had only 4 days to find us a place to live. We are moving to a ward full of great people. When they found out that someone in the ward had a rental opening up they informed phil and helped make it happen. So we have a 3 bedroom apartment to move into. It is small but it is a home. So many other little miracles have been poured out on us these last few months.

So here is sit packing and trying not to overthink. We are leaving behind some great friends and family. We are moving to a place I have never seen, where it is -30 for weeks at a time, without anything, and without knowing anyone. Strange how knowing we will be together makes it better. Well - back to packing trying to figure out how my kids are going to breathe when I am done packing the car. Later Days

Whoa Whoa Whoa Ya Boat?

2008-11-03T12:18:00.004-07:00

Weeping Angels & Daddy's Princesses

2008-11-03T11:16:00.010-07:00

I spent an hour today doing the older girls hair for church, and they were so excited, then we walked out side and it was pouring rain..of course it was! We snapped some pictures for daddy to see his princesses. I told them the angels were weeping because of their beauty, they just giggled and said I was silly. Church was sooooo long today. I am going to be so glad when we are all together again and can go together. It is tough to do it alone.

For some reason when I see this picture I hear this little prayer in my head

Now I lay me down to sleep

I pray the Lord my soul to keep;

Should I die before I wake

I pray the Lord my soul to take.

Maybe because the only time she is this angelic is when she is sleeping?

Candy Bandits

2008-11-01T20:02:00.010-06:00

The kids and I had a blast at our church party tonight. We had a chili cook off and then the kids went trick or treating from room to room. Our costumes were created out of desperation and begging from generous friends and other suckers we hit up. Chases costume was the only one we bought, ( from a bargin bin) It was a ninja costume which he thought was la-a-a-me so he turned the vest from the costume into a biker vest, added a bandana and an eyeliner beard and whalla...a biker. Which is of course the opposite of lame.. what ever that is. For the first time in forever ( aka a long time) I had no costume, so I gave myself a black eye and a bruised cheek bone and went as "attacked by nijas" It was a hit with my sunday school class, who have a strange fasination with ninjas ....of course everyone else was just confused, or not cool enough to get how awesome I am

Big Brothers drool, Little siblings rule!

2008-11-01T19:16:00.003-06:00

So my kids with the help of their adopted cousin Kit, duct taped Chase to the wall. There was a lot of laughing and giggling in the house. Chase was amused till he had to pry the duct tape from his flesh and arm hair. Then the giggles subsided a little bit.... not enough that the rest of them weren't jumping up and down shouting my turn.... my turn. These are the moments that make it all worth it. :)

It's cool to be drug free!

2008-10-28T18:45:00.005-06:00

The kids had a "cool" day at school today, They are celebrating how cool it is to be drug free. So I snapped a picture at school before the bell rang. Apparnently this is what cool looks like. Whodathought?

Halloween Pumpkins

2008-10-28T17:30:00.024-06:00

We carved pumpkins last night for family night. It was a gooey slimey mess, but we had fun. Most of the kids are big enough to clean and carve their own. Boston pick this really ugly one out that look more like larry the cucumber then a pumpkin, and when it came time to carve it he insisted that he picked it out for his little sister and my pumpkin was the one he picked. That was drama in itself, so all I had to do was take a picture of my amazing jack o lantern with him and he was extatic. I will now give pictures so you can ooh and ahh at my amazing pumpkin carving abilities.

Chase and Alora did their own pumpkins and brooklyn was totally grossed out by the entire process, so she had help from anyone she could talk into it. Talli just had a good time running around and checking things out. We had a pumpkin gut throwing fight, but no pictures due to the icky messy. On a side note dried pumpkin insides have a glue like quality. :(

And of course a picture of me with my pumpkin!

The kids wanted me to add pictures of how cool their pumpkins look in the dark for Phil since he won't get to see them lit up. We miss you Daddy!

This last one is bostons green cucumber pumpkin that did an amazing humpty dumpty impersonation, alas we were no more skilled than the king's horsemen.

Brooklyn's Baptism

2008-10-12T16:07:00.007-06:00

We had a great day of celebration on the Spetember 13th. It was our 11th anniversary, Shelton's 8th Birthday ( my nephew), and Brooklyn and Shelton's baptism day. We got to go down to St George, and that was a lot of fun ( especially after the sun went down, we are so acclimated to Idaho) Brooklyn got a doll and some scriptures from Gramma Sally and Papa Bill, she is so proud of them.

Goodbye Daddy!

2008-10-12T15:41:00.007-06:00

After getting so much grief from family and friends I finally sat down and started a blog.

Phil was offered a job in Williston, North Dakota, and we couldn't pass it up. He left this morning for a month and a half of training. The rest of us will follow as soon as we can find housing for our big family. It may take a while because of the housing shortage there. It was hard to say goodbye, and it is going to be really hard for the kids especially Talli since Daddy is her favorite!

We are living with my Kenny and Kayla ( my sister) and her 4 kids. Bless them for opening their home up to our crazy, noisy, destructive family. We are both looking forward to getting our own space back again, and not have to listen to 9 kids all day. We thank the Lord above for school!!! I will try to add a few more things later! Love you ALL!!!!