Two weeks ago my van began to overheat. It has sounded a little funny and there was no heat blowing out of the heater so I meant to take it in to have it looked at but put it off. That day I had no choice but to take it in. I was told that the radiator had a leak and that it was almost empty. That would explain the weird noises and the lack of heat. I went back home and talked to CJ about it. He said that we didn't have the money to get the radiator fixed until January so we should try to patch it with some StopLeak first and hope that it would last a few more weeks.
I put the StopLeak in and hoped for the best. Yesterday I was driving one of the girl's friends home in the van to test the radiator now that it was full again and the patch should have been in place. I got to the girl's house just east of the High School and my battery light came on. I dropped my head and silently asked myself what else could go wrong. I turned off all power draining devices and drove down the street to the Auto Zone that is close to my house. I asked the worker to test my battery. He hooked up the tester and while it was testing he looked to the area where a lot of steam was coming off the engine and said, "You have a pretty good leak going on there." I was so frustrated because that meant that the patch didn't work and now we would have to find a way to get the radiator fixed or be without a van for a month. He then told me the results of the test were that my battery passed. Thank goodness for tender mercies. However...my alternator failed. Ugh!!! Now I definitely couldn't drive the van even if the radiator patch had worked.
To top the day off, when I got home Dakota was sitting on the couch in tears. This was a day that she had been looking forward to all week. Her friend was taking her horseback riding. Seeing her tears I thought, maybe she didn't get to ride a horse. That wasn't it, she did in fact ride a horse. The problem was that her horse got spooked and while it was running she fell off. Poor girl. Her arm she used to break the fall was hurting really bad and so was her head. I took her to Urgent Care to be checked out. Thank goodness for tender mercies again. Her arm was not broken, it only had a bad sprain and she did not have a concussion only a stress headache from the fall. She was ordered to take it easy for a few days but given a clean bill of health.
When CJ got home from work I told him I had good news and bad news. I started with the bad news and said, "The bad news is...there is no good news." Then proceeded to tell him about my day. He just shook his head and said, what now. Knowing that there wasn't much we could do right now, we just went about our day trying not to worry about it until Friday when he didn't have to work and we could talk about our options while the kids were at school.
Later that night the most tender mercy of all came with a phone call. My dad was calling to tell me that he was sending some Christmas money for us to get the kids and CJ and I some presents since he knew that with all of our troubles lately we would be struggling to get the kids anything. I tried very hard not to cry because the kids were sitting right there listening to my every word. Then he said that he knew we were having troubles with the car and that he wanted me to find out what it would cost to have it fixed and he would help us to be able to get if fixed asap so that we weren't without a vehicle, especially since it is winter time. This time I couldn't hold back the tears.
With all that was going wrong I knew that everything would be okay because I am loved very much by two fathers, my wonderful father here on earth and my Father in heaven. I am so grateful for both of them and for my wonderful mothers too.
Lest you think that I am complaining, I promise you I am not. This is frustrating and sometimes just venting your frustrations can help to put them in perspective and release the stress, which it has done in this case. : ) We have been having good times too, going on fun activities, spending time together as a family, decorating the house and so much more. My kids are happy and healthy and we are so very blessed. I know that the Lord blesses us with tender mercies every day and I pray everyday in gratitude for the mercies that I don't feel like I deserve but the Lord loves me and sends to me anyway. I love my family and friends so much both near and far. I am so blessed and I can't say thank you enough.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Monday, December 8, 2014
Island Party
One of CJ's friends at his work invited out family to her daughter's 5th birthday party. Our Saturday was pretty busy so we weren't sure who would be able to go to this party. CJ was hoping we all could make it because his friend has spent a lot of money on the party and was worried that no one would show up.
The party was up in West Valley City which is an hour drive north of here. When I looked up the address to find out where the party was it turned out to be at the Hale Center Theater. That night was opening night for their annual performance of "A Christmas Carol" and I wasn't sure if that is what we were going to do for the party. It would be really nice though since I love that play.
The night worked out well (except for bad traffic and a lack of parking spots that made us 25 minutes late, ugh) and our whole family was able to make it to the party. Yea! I forgot to bring my camera so I'm sorry there are no pictures, especially since it was so beautiful. When we got to the theater we went to a room on the side that they rent out for parties (I didn't know they did that). The theme was from the Disney movie "Frozen" and the decorations were wonderful. We sat down at a table in the front and looked at the food tables. WOW!! There was a ton of food, everything from a whole roasted pig to tons of candy and a chocolate fountain for desert.
The little girl's mom is Samoan and her dad is Tongan so it was full of all the traditional island foods. The person who blessed the food spoke the prayer in Tongan and it was so neat to hear. Then after everyone had their food they had some island dance companies (also family members) perform several traditional island dances for entertainment. We all enjoyed their dances so very much. During one of the performances a 70ish year old lady got up and started dancing with the dancers. You could see the happy memories of dancing as a young girl on her face while she danced. She was just as graceful and beautiful to watch as the young girls dancing. While eating desert the birthday girl and her 3 year old cousin dressed in island costumes and performed the sweetest little island dance for us. It was so cute. Lizzie took some video of the dances with her ipod. We all enjoyed the evening so much.
For me the best part was Alexander. He was in his usual funny, but serious, mood. First he asked me where Melanie was (I didn't know who she was at first) and I asked him why he needed to see her. He very seriously told me that she was his friend and she was going to marry him when she got older. Trying not to laugh I asked him if he had told her this news and he said, "I don't think so but we will be married." It turns out that Melanie is the daughter of another person that CJ works with and Alex had been to her house many times for parties and get togethers and Megan had gone over to her table to sit and talk to her. Then the DJ started playing music for everyone to dance to. A rap song came on, music that I do not listen to because I am not fond of it, and Alexander couldn't help but start to bust a move. He just started dancing to the music moving his whole body and occasionally going into slow-mo for a minute and then back to his crazy dancing. Everyone was cheering him on. It took me back to my childhood and reminded me so much of my brother Matt who would always start break dancing at parties while the crowd cheered him on. It was so fun to watch.
The evening was so much fun and everyone enjoyed themselves. I can't help but wonder how many more of these fun parties we will be able to go to as a whole family. The girls are getting older and their schedules are so busy that many times we are not able to go as a whole family. Plus Lizzie will soon graduate and will be off doing her own things and Rebecca is not far behind her. I am cherishing each and every time we get to spend together as a whole family. I love my family more than they will ever know.
The party was up in West Valley City which is an hour drive north of here. When I looked up the address to find out where the party was it turned out to be at the Hale Center Theater. That night was opening night for their annual performance of "A Christmas Carol" and I wasn't sure if that is what we were going to do for the party. It would be really nice though since I love that play.
The night worked out well (except for bad traffic and a lack of parking spots that made us 25 minutes late, ugh) and our whole family was able to make it to the party. Yea! I forgot to bring my camera so I'm sorry there are no pictures, especially since it was so beautiful. When we got to the theater we went to a room on the side that they rent out for parties (I didn't know they did that). The theme was from the Disney movie "Frozen" and the decorations were wonderful. We sat down at a table in the front and looked at the food tables. WOW!! There was a ton of food, everything from a whole roasted pig to tons of candy and a chocolate fountain for desert.
The little girl's mom is Samoan and her dad is Tongan so it was full of all the traditional island foods. The person who blessed the food spoke the prayer in Tongan and it was so neat to hear. Then after everyone had their food they had some island dance companies (also family members) perform several traditional island dances for entertainment. We all enjoyed their dances so very much. During one of the performances a 70ish year old lady got up and started dancing with the dancers. You could see the happy memories of dancing as a young girl on her face while she danced. She was just as graceful and beautiful to watch as the young girls dancing. While eating desert the birthday girl and her 3 year old cousin dressed in island costumes and performed the sweetest little island dance for us. It was so cute. Lizzie took some video of the dances with her ipod. We all enjoyed the evening so much.
For me the best part was Alexander. He was in his usual funny, but serious, mood. First he asked me where Melanie was (I didn't know who she was at first) and I asked him why he needed to see her. He very seriously told me that she was his friend and she was going to marry him when she got older. Trying not to laugh I asked him if he had told her this news and he said, "I don't think so but we will be married." It turns out that Melanie is the daughter of another person that CJ works with and Alex had been to her house many times for parties and get togethers and Megan had gone over to her table to sit and talk to her. Then the DJ started playing music for everyone to dance to. A rap song came on, music that I do not listen to because I am not fond of it, and Alexander couldn't help but start to bust a move. He just started dancing to the music moving his whole body and occasionally going into slow-mo for a minute and then back to his crazy dancing. Everyone was cheering him on. It took me back to my childhood and reminded me so much of my brother Matt who would always start break dancing at parties while the crowd cheered him on. It was so fun to watch.
The evening was so much fun and everyone enjoyed themselves. I can't help but wonder how many more of these fun parties we will be able to go to as a whole family. The girls are getting older and their schedules are so busy that many times we are not able to go as a whole family. Plus Lizzie will soon graduate and will be off doing her own things and Rebecca is not far behind her. I am cherishing each and every time we get to spend together as a whole family. I love my family more than they will ever know.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Alex-isms
Alexander is such a funny little boy. All of our kids did and said funny things when they were small but the girls love the things that he does so much they wanted me to blog about them so here they are.
Alexander's language:
Fire Place Man (fireman)
Glubs (gloves)
Treasure Hunt Pack Pack (any back pack he puts on his back)
Back Pack Man (Pac Man)
Ssmarshmellows (marshmallows)
"Ouchya go" ball (Out Ya Go) It's a bowling ball he rolls out the door saying, ouchya go.
"Ouchie" ball (A pool table ball.) We think he gave the ball that name because he smashed his fingers between two of the balls not realizing how solid and heavy they were. Now when he talks about those balls the look on his face when he says the word ouchie is too cute.
"And that's the truth of my rules."
"You broke my secret."
"I love my birthdays. I take them VERY seriously."
Names we call Alexander:
Alexander
Alex
Lex
Xander
Xander Man
and the ones that he likes us to call him:
Sportacus (from Lazy Town)
The Guy (from Spy Kids 3) when ever I call his name he reminds me that he is "THE guy".
Alexander's language:
Fire Place Man (fireman)
Glubs (gloves)
Treasure Hunt Pack Pack (any back pack he puts on his back)
Back Pack Man (Pac Man)
Ssmarshmellows (marshmallows)
"Ouchya go" ball (Out Ya Go) It's a bowling ball he rolls out the door saying, ouchya go.
"Ouchie" ball (A pool table ball.) We think he gave the ball that name because he smashed his fingers between two of the balls not realizing how solid and heavy they were. Now when he talks about those balls the look on his face when he says the word ouchie is too cute.
"And that's the truth of my rules."
"You broke my secret."
"I love my birthdays. I take them VERY seriously."
Names we call Alexander:
Alexander
Alex
Lex
Xander
Xander Man
and the ones that he likes us to call him:
Sportacus (from Lazy Town)
The Guy (from Spy Kids 3) when ever I call his name he reminds me that he is "THE guy".
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Water Bath or Pressure?
Something I have always wanted to do but am totally terrified to try is canning. I'm not so scared about water bath canning as I am pressure canning but still I am afraid I will do it wrong and make my family sick because of it. I knew that I would try it one day so I have attended many classes on caning and I have been buying the proper supplies little by little. For the last few years I would buy a box of jars and some extra lids when I could (and when they were not completely sold out). Last year I took the plunge and bought a pressure caner and this year I finally got the proper water bath caner. I had plans to use these items but for the most part they just sit collecting dust because of my fear of using them and the excuses I told myself to keep from actually taking the plunge in to caning.
Well, the time to take the plunge has finally arrived. On Monday I found 20 pounds of ground beef at a fantastic price and bought it with the intention of canning it. I couldn't let this meat go to waste so I watched some videos about how to cook ground beef, dusted off the pressure caner and took out a box of jars. I had to brown all the meat first and that took forever. I followed the instructions as best as I could, praying that I was doing everything right and especially that my caner didn't blow up on me. I was a nervous wreck the entire time. After 5 hours of work I finally took the jars out of the caner and set them on the towel to cool for the next 12 to 24 hours. It was 2:30am at that point. I looked at the mineral covered jars (we have uber-extreme hard water and the little vinegar I added to the water did nothing) with disappointment for what looked like a bust of a first canning job and went to bed. I could hear each jar pop with a loud sound that I figured could only be a sign I had done it wrong. I had bad dreams about my canning job all night. When I went to check on them the next day and test the seals, to my surprise only one jar did not hold a proper seal and all the other jars looked exactly like they were supposed to. I did it!! I left those jars out all day so that I could admire my handiwork. That 19 pounds of ground beef (we ate one for dinner) yielded 12 pints of about 1.5 lb. of meat each. Satisfied with a job well done, and completely exhausted from the experience, I then packed up the pressure caner and moved it downstairs to the storage room, to be rested for a good long while. We left the one jar that didn't seal in the fridge so that we could eat it for dinner in a few days. The texture was not as I had hoped but with spices it tasted just fine. I am proud of myself for putting up some meat in our food storage. We have plenty of wheat but no meat so this will be a nice addition.
I thought my canning days were done for the season but tonight I was given a bag full of ripe apricots. Although I was still exhausted from the last canning experience I couldn't let this opportunity to can some apricot jam go to waste. I again got out my Ball canning book and looked up apricot jam. To my relief, this is one that only needed the water bath method of canning. That should be a snap after what I went through with the meat. I started preparing the apricots and then stopped to cook dinner. After dinner I began the canning process again. This one may have had a shorter cooking time but the set up took just as long. This time it was only 3.5 hours until I was taking the jars out of the caner to cool. I was totally nervous. I got 5 full 1.5 pint jars of jam done and had about 3/4 cup of jam left over that I put into a spare jar and let cool for immediate use. Again I was not sure of my success. It didn't take long for the small amount of jam to cool enough to try. I dipped my spoon in for a tiny taste. I couldn't believe it...it was perfect!! It was the perfect consistency, and the perfect balance of sweet and tart. It tasted great! All the kids had a taste and they love it too. I am so proud of myself!
This time the caners are going away until the next season but with my new found excitement I am going to look in to buying a dehydrator. I can still put up food with it but without all the fear. Here's to building our food supply.
Well, the time to take the plunge has finally arrived. On Monday I found 20 pounds of ground beef at a fantastic price and bought it with the intention of canning it. I couldn't let this meat go to waste so I watched some videos about how to cook ground beef, dusted off the pressure caner and took out a box of jars. I had to brown all the meat first and that took forever. I followed the instructions as best as I could, praying that I was doing everything right and especially that my caner didn't blow up on me. I was a nervous wreck the entire time. After 5 hours of work I finally took the jars out of the caner and set them on the towel to cool for the next 12 to 24 hours. It was 2:30am at that point. I looked at the mineral covered jars (we have uber-extreme hard water and the little vinegar I added to the water did nothing) with disappointment for what looked like a bust of a first canning job and went to bed. I could hear each jar pop with a loud sound that I figured could only be a sign I had done it wrong. I had bad dreams about my canning job all night. When I went to check on them the next day and test the seals, to my surprise only one jar did not hold a proper seal and all the other jars looked exactly like they were supposed to. I did it!! I left those jars out all day so that I could admire my handiwork. That 19 pounds of ground beef (we ate one for dinner) yielded 12 pints of about 1.5 lb. of meat each. Satisfied with a job well done, and completely exhausted from the experience, I then packed up the pressure caner and moved it downstairs to the storage room, to be rested for a good long while. We left the one jar that didn't seal in the fridge so that we could eat it for dinner in a few days. The texture was not as I had hoped but with spices it tasted just fine. I am proud of myself for putting up some meat in our food storage. We have plenty of wheat but no meat so this will be a nice addition.
I thought my canning days were done for the season but tonight I was given a bag full of ripe apricots. Although I was still exhausted from the last canning experience I couldn't let this opportunity to can some apricot jam go to waste. I again got out my Ball canning book and looked up apricot jam. To my relief, this is one that only needed the water bath method of canning. That should be a snap after what I went through with the meat. I started preparing the apricots and then stopped to cook dinner. After dinner I began the canning process again. This one may have had a shorter cooking time but the set up took just as long. This time it was only 3.5 hours until I was taking the jars out of the caner to cool. I was totally nervous. I got 5 full 1.5 pint jars of jam done and had about 3/4 cup of jam left over that I put into a spare jar and let cool for immediate use. Again I was not sure of my success. It didn't take long for the small amount of jam to cool enough to try. I dipped my spoon in for a tiny taste. I couldn't believe it...it was perfect!! It was the perfect consistency, and the perfect balance of sweet and tart. It tasted great! All the kids had a taste and they love it too. I am so proud of myself!
This time the caners are going away until the next season but with my new found excitement I am going to look in to buying a dehydrator. I can still put up food with it but without all the fear. Here's to building our food supply.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Funny Little Man
Alexander has always had a very good vocabulary and been very good at communicating. I don't think he ever did "baby talk". I love talking to him because the way he talks to me is so mature that it is hard to believe such a little boy is speaking to me. If I say a word to him and he doesn't know what it means he will ask me what the word means and then try to use it in a sentence. It is amazing to watch.
I just have to share my most favorite thing he said recently. It isn't so much what he said but the way he said it that just makes me laugh every time.
Alexander and Megan had some friends over and the friends wanted to go play in the snow out in the back yard. Megan quickly got her coat, boots, and gloves on so that she could play in the snow. Alexander didn't want to take the time to put any of those good winter items on. He didn't think he needed them. I let him know that without shoes and a coat he would get very cold, very fast and it wouldn't be fun. He again assured me that he was a big boy and he would be just fine. His older sisters tried to plead with him too because they know that I speak the truth. He insisted on playing the way he is and went out the door with a smile and a, "see you later Mom." His sisters looked at me with a dumbfounded look and I just said to them that he would find out soon enough what we were talking about. They just shrugged and resigned to wait.
Two minutes later the back door opens. Alex steps just inside the door and stands there with this serious look on his face and doesn't move a muscle. He looked at me and matter of factly said, "Well, THAT was a bad idea." He told me that it was cold and that it was not a good idea to go outside without a coat and shoes. Without another word he walked into his room to get the right winter items on and then went back out to play. I laugh every time I think about it and now when someone makes a mistake and they feel silly we just look at each other and say, "Well, THAT was a bad idea."
I love that little man sooooo much!!!
I just have to share my most favorite thing he said recently. It isn't so much what he said but the way he said it that just makes me laugh every time.
Alexander and Megan had some friends over and the friends wanted to go play in the snow out in the back yard. Megan quickly got her coat, boots, and gloves on so that she could play in the snow. Alexander didn't want to take the time to put any of those good winter items on. He didn't think he needed them. I let him know that without shoes and a coat he would get very cold, very fast and it wouldn't be fun. He again assured me that he was a big boy and he would be just fine. His older sisters tried to plead with him too because they know that I speak the truth. He insisted on playing the way he is and went out the door with a smile and a, "see you later Mom." His sisters looked at me with a dumbfounded look and I just said to them that he would find out soon enough what we were talking about. They just shrugged and resigned to wait.
Two minutes later the back door opens. Alex steps just inside the door and stands there with this serious look on his face and doesn't move a muscle. He looked at me and matter of factly said, "Well, THAT was a bad idea." He told me that it was cold and that it was not a good idea to go outside without a coat and shoes. Without another word he walked into his room to get the right winter items on and then went back out to play. I laugh every time I think about it and now when someone makes a mistake and they feel silly we just look at each other and say, "Well, THAT was a bad idea."
I love that little man sooooo much!!!
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