What I Miss About Las Vegas...

I know some people have a problem with the lifestyle that is portrayed there, but honestly there are a lot of good people there. My family to name a few (and that's quite a few)! I really do get homesick. I have always loved being at home. There was such a peace in our home. I know that might sound crazy with so many people living there, but it's true. I miss seeing my mom everyday. Sometimes I just sit and wonder what that would be like... I think I would love it. My home was a place I always felt safe. Even though we were not a touchy-feely family( we don't hug and scream and all that nonsense when we see each other, we like our personal space), we love one another.

I miss hanging out with my sisters. When I'm here in UT I seem so happy and content, but honestly I miss my sisters. I wish I could call them up and go shopping, or just hang out with them and let our kiddos play. It stinks growing up!

The other thing I miss about Vegas is all the opportunities I had to share the gospel. You all know how I have had that burning desire lately. I have been praying to find someone to share "the good news" with , but my prayers have not been answered yet. It's really hard here. Our neighborhood, you're either active, or less active. I know there are a few families, but I don't have the opportunity to interact with them. I am not that comfortable with just knocking on their door and letting them know I have something great for them. Who knows maybe I should try it! It would be an experience that's for sure.

The UT culture is so different. I don't mean in a bad way (sorry my UT friends who read this blog). I remember visiting here from Vegas for baby blessings for my older brothers and when I would say where I was from, I honestly remember hearing GASP!!

One huge thing is the fact in Vegas I was different. I lived very different than a lot of my friends. That sparked their curiosity. That would lead to gospel conversations. I feel the same as everyone else here (again, not a bad thing I love you all Camille, Rachael, Jayleen, Jill, Shauna, Trina, Tami, Jennifer, sisters-in-law, mother-in-law, and anyone else that I may not know reads this). I don't know. I just like to stand out a little. Maybe I'm being too whiny. I have 5 fabulous children that I adore. I love my husband dearly. And I do have the best in-laws ever! I should count my blessings!

-How's that for a mood change? PMS!? TMI, I know!

Today I Feel A Lot Like...

Jenny Coleman (the mother on Where the Red Fern Grows)!!

Do you remember that movie and what she looked like? I always felt that she was one tired, over whelmed, and under appreciated woman. She even seemed a little CRANKY! Why, I even had the muddy dog run across my recently mopped kitchen floor!

Every well in my body is dried, especially the patience well. My poor kids. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. I'll pray for that tonight.

I added a story to the last posts. Sorry I wasn't able to do it yesterday. It is a cute one.

Does anybody know why sometimes blogger scrunches all the paragraphs together? It really annoys me!

Cute Kid Things...

Grace came home from church today with a list of her talents. She's so cute! I'm glad she knows and believes in herself.

Grace's Talents

1. gymnastics (she learned to do a back bend, that's her gymnastics)

2. I'm good at making friends

3. good at cooking cookies

4. I'm good at art

5. I'm good at cleaning

She came home with this cute little poem:

Every star is different,

And so is every child.

Some are bright and happy

and some are meek and mild.

Everyone is needed

for just what he can do.

You're the only person

who ever can be you.

One of the greatest truths is that we are all different and have our own roles to perform on earth. It is so important to find what those are.

Ryan wrote his very own talk for Primary. I got a little chocked up because I had forgotten to write it, but he said he wrote his own. It was a proud moment for me. It was so simple, but the gospel is that way! Here's his talk on baptism.

"When we are baptized, we're confirmed to be a member of the church. When you're baptized you make covenants to Heavenly Father. You get the gift of the Holy ghost, so you know when you do right or wrong by a simple feeling. One of the most important covenants is keeping the commandments. Being baptized is very important, it is the first step to having Eternal Life. I'd like to beary (I love it when they say that) my testimony. I know the church is true. I know Joseph Smith was a true prophet, and that Pres. Monson is the true prophet today. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

He wrote that all by himself, I promise I didn't help. What a good kid!

Becca and I were walking, quickley, to the restroom during church. I was in a "gotta get her to the bathroom" zone. I hadn't noticed what we had just passed, but Becca did! She stopped and ran to a LARGE (how did I miss it?) picture of Christ and said, "Mom, Jesus!"

"That is Jesus," I ackowledged.

"He's so beautiful. I like him, " she said. I smiled at her. I was glad she spotted him.

"He is beautiful," I agreed.

I think I do that too much in life. I get in my tunnel vision and forget to recognize His presence in my life. After all, it is because of Him that I am blessed everyday. I need to stop and recognize Him. Thanks Becca! They really teach us don't they.

MY New Book...

I try to read my scriptures everyday. I do pretty good, but I felt I needed something more. I don't have much extra time to do all that I want, but I feel I have a few minutes to spare reading a good, uplifting book. I love Sheri Dew and was in the store and found this one on the clearance table. Can't beat that!

It was the pick-me-up I desperately needed! This book was written to help you find the reasons you were sent here and to fulfill them. I have started a journal of my readings. Every quote that I like will find a spot in it. I am thinking that I want to start a separate blog for my quotes. I need some help to know how to do the labels, so I can add different topics. That way you can click on a topic and bring up all the quotes in that category. (Atleast one part of my life should be organized, better to be the spiritual side,right?) Can't wait to hear how and get started. Thanks so much!

I apologize in advance for my thoughts for the day. They will most likely come from this source. Hope you all like Sister Dew as much as me!

A Message for Oprah

The other night I had a dream that I was on the Oprah Show. It was a little fuzzy about the topic of the show, but I was CLEARLY explaining to her that we are all children of God.

I have no idea where this came from! I know Oprah believes in God. I think she is aware that we are God's children. The only thing is that I was so angry with her because she didn't believe in the pre-mortal life. I was trying to explain it to her. I couldn't understand the thinking that, "yes, we are God's children, but we did not live with Him before we came here." (I do not know if this is Oprah's true belief, just my crazy dream)

I am so thankful for this knowledge! I think it a true blessing to know where I came from. The revelation of the Plan of Salvation is one of the greatest, I believe. I couldn't imagine going through life (excuse the common phrases) not knowing "who am I," "why am I here," and "where I am going?"

I was watching Dr. Phil the other night. A young mother had lost her husband in a car accident. She was so, so sad. You could almost touch her grief. She knew of God and believed in an after life, but she didn't know the whole truth. She was unaware that her husband was fine, that her husband has a purpose on the other side, that her sweet family could be together forever. She was pregnant with their third child. It made her angry that her baby would never know her father. What a comfort the truths of the gospel are. I wanted to jump through the screen and hug her, tell her all about what I know to be true.

If I could have one wish, it would be to shout this from the roof tops! I think that's where Oprah comes in. I have had a burning desire lately to tell the world of the Restoration. Has anyone else been feeling this? I don't know, maybe I should write Oprah and let her know I had an "ah-ha" moment and everybody needs to hear it!

Update on Dustin

Yesterday, Dustin went and took the Physical part of the test. He did very well. He said that he was not at the very top, but he did better than the average guy. I'm glad he did so well. He can do 45 push ups straight, 38 REAL sit-ups (not crunches) in 1 minute, he has a vertical jump of 23 inches, and can run a mile and a half in 11 min and 27 sec. Way better than me! It took them three hours to do this part because 110 men came to try to get on.

Since he passed that part, he had to stay and take a 3 hr suitability test. He said the first two parts were pretty easy. They had to watch some clips on different situations and say what they would do and what they thought. Then they had to write up a police report of their own after watching the situation on video. The last part he is a little scared of. It was on some type of law. He had to put words in the blanks where he thought they might fit- he had never heard of the law and had a hard time with the words. I think he probably did fine. We are hoping and praying!

Even though we are taking quite a pay cut, I feel really good about our decision! Dust has always wanted to be an officer, but I kind of squashed the matter when it came up. It wasn't till lately he expressed some concerns he has that I thought maybe this is the job he was meant for. I was really scared about safety, money, things like that.

One day while I was driving and thinking about the matter, I had such an overwhelming feeling of love fill me and the words, "He will be great. He will move up fast, he will succeed," come to my mind. I started crying. How can I argue with that! I know what the Spirit feels like! I have felt peace from that moment since.

I am so grateful that Our Heavenly Father is so aware of what we are feeling and going through. I know He knows what is best for us and the path that is right for us. We just have to have the faith to trust Him and follow His lead.

Keep Dustin in your prayers. I know he is so nervous. He wants this sooo bad. Thanks!

This Thing Called Aging

I was looking for my Oil of Olay face scrub, the one that exfoliates and helps me to look younger. I couldn't find it! I was a little upset. I feel I NEED it, I am starting to get some fine lines under my eyes and on the sides. Not being able to find it, I had to settle to wash with my Cetephil.

It got me thinking those whole two minutes while I washed. Do I really need it that bad? What's wrong with getting older? Everybody's doing it! I feel 15 on the inside, so I can't look that old. Right?

I have been obsessed with these thoughts lately. Isn't getting older a good thing? When we are little, we can't wait to be a teenager. That is all I hear from Grace and Kate, "Mom, when I'm a teenager...". Then you are a teenager and can't wait til you graduate and go to college, or get married and have kids. When all of those have happened, you can't wait to be an Empty Nester! The goal is to get OLDER!

If so, then why do I worry about appearing older? Gray hairs are starting to come. I have toyed with the idea of breaking down and finally paying to have my hair dyed - not yet!

Have I not earned these wrinkles on my face, my stretch marks on my belly? Why can't I wear them with pride? Be like the men who brag of their battle wounds. I could say something like,
" Yeah I got this one from 8 hrs of labor. Oh, and this wrinkle on my face here, I got that from staying up all night with my babies." Each wrinkle, gray hair, or any aging sign for that matter, should come with a tag letting us know why we earned it. Kind of like a Certificate of Achievement because honestly that's what they are.

I think of all the "old" people I know. They are wonderful, good individuals that I admire. They are people I try to emulate. I view them as wise, talented, beautiful beings! They are not old wrinkly folks who need to invest in more anti-wrinkle cream. I want to be like them!

So, maybe it is time to just age gracefully. I wouldn't have to buy more exfoliating cleanser, right? I'll save myself a few dollars. Maybe, we'll see.

By the way, I did find my cream. Dustin has been using it! He is trying to appear younger for his cop testing. He is afraid of looking like the oldest guy there, as if that is a bad thing. It might give him an advantage. He needs to read my blog!

What's Going on in Dustin's Life

Dustin was set apart today as the Stake YM's 1st Counselor today. He will not be released as a High Councilor until the middle of next month. They need his help on a few things before he can be released. I feel really bad because he is going to be so busy. The kids have been asking for him all day today. He's usually done with meetings at about 2:00 on Sundays, not today. With both callings he has lived at the church all day. We'll probably see him around 8 or 8:30. I kind of got a taste of what the wives of our church leaders must go through, only on a lot less scale. It's hard having your husband gone. I couldn't imagine it going on for days.



For those of you who don't know, Dustin is planning to try to get on the Highway Patrol. He sold his bike on Friday to kick off the "getting out of debt plan". I don't think I need to convince anyone it was a sad day for him. He has until Tuesday to keep riding it, then it's gone. We will be selling the motor home in order to pay off the van. Then we should be set to be poor! He is having second thoughts after getting this calling though. We will have to pray and fast some more to make sure this is the direction we should be going in. I really think it is.

He ended up coming home early, so even though he was tired and didn't feel up to it, he had promised the boys some "Dad time". They wanted to play a quick game of Basketball. What a good dad!

(I started this post on Sun. Due to laziness and not wanting to type everything over, I decided to not mess with it, Pretend it is Sunday!)

A Fun website!!

My friend Tami introduced me to picnik.com. I had a chance to mess around. It was so fun play with all their stuff. Check it out. I'm still learning. It's a fun way to post pictures. I just hope they will print out alright.

Aaron's Birthday

Happy 9th!!

This post is quite late. Aaron's birthday was on Sept. 2nd. We did not celebrate it till Sept 6th. He had a fun birthday. He invited a few friends, we played games, and had a pinata. He was excited to have friends from his new school. Last year he didn't know anyone, so we let him have a friend birthday this year- we alternate every other year between family and friends.

Aaron is such a good kid. He has the emotional make-up of a girl though. He is very sensitive and loving. He is quite moody, but I think he will grow out of it.

He is my biggest helper with the girls. He was always excited about having a baby in the house. He keeps begging for a brother. I would, but his father is not cooperating! I love Aaron and all the funny, wild things he does. He is our "no fear" child. Always willing to try any new adventure! We are happy he is part of our family.

These stilts were his favorite gift. He received lots of Pokemon card, some shirts, Pirates of the Caribbean action figures, and lots of sidewalk chalk. We got him the stilts and a Kung Fu Panda Sword- very annoying sounds!!

A Strange Request!!!

After family night tonight, we were sitting down and having our ice cream. Ryan out of the blue said, "Mom, I want armpit hair," as if I was a magic genie and could grant his wish.

I laughed and said, "Sorry pal. I can't give that to you."

I just got a kick out of his request. When he actually goes through puberty, I doubt he will want all that comes with it. Apparently he has a friend who has a whole bunch. He was bragging about how hairy his pits were. BOYS!? My kids are growing up way too fast.

My New Haircut

I have been toying with the idea of cutting my hair for a while. I have been growing it out since February of '07. I finally got it past my shoulders! It was a lot of work and patience for me. A big accomplishment in my mind considering my hair was what my boys called "a boy's haircut."

After seeing my sister-in-law's cute new style, I wanted it even more. Thanks Audrey! So I did it. I chopped it off. It's not as short as before. Dustin told me he liked it longer. They cut 5 inches off! Usually I have to be careful when I tell them to cut 1 inch!

I really like the change. It was nice to have long hair again. I just found myself always pulling it back. I don't think that is an attractive style. I'm getting used to it. I have now used a flat iron. I was scared at first, but I'm getting the hang of it. I LOVE change!

Labor Day Weekend 2008

We went to visit Dustin's grandparents. They live "up in the mountains". We call it Grandma's Land. It was a fun quick get away from everyday life. The kids forgot all about TV and just had fun being with the family. We were lucky to come up with his parents and his sister, Wendy, and her family. We all had fun!

Family photo on Grandma's swing.

Ryan, looking for the perfect skipping rock. The kids love to stand on the bridge and throw rocks in the river.

Aaron shooting Cory's 22. I even took a turn. A favorite is to practice shooting skills. Aaron likes to collect the bullet casings. he came home with 82!

Grace on the riding lawn mower. They had a blast with these last year. She is sporting sunglasses she received from Dustin's Uncle Randy.

Kate throwing rocks off the bridge. A great way to pass the time.

Becca in the big tree swing. the little ones love this! Their dads get them soaring high!

We found this little guy while looking for rocks. We disturbed his home. He went searching for a new one.

Great grandparents, grandparents, and all the grand kids who were there. Dustin's grandpa wouldn't get in the picture. He was being a stinker.

Spending time with those Merritts you can end up looking like this!

We had such a fun day!