Summer business

Wow how summer goes by so fast. School started this week and so much has happened.

Gigi's New Do!

That's right yesterday we took Gigi to get a hair Cut. We donated 12 inches to "wigs for kids". Well It is cut I just have to mail it now. Gigi said she wanted her hair to her shoulders. So after much deliberation and back and forth between if she wanted to cut it or not we decided to go ahead against Daddy's wishes.

Last year we where going to cut it and I just couldn't do it. I guess I am just tired of all the fits about her getting it brushed and how staticy and tangled it gets with the weather out here. I was not sad at all to see it go. Daddy however had a very hard time. He insisted that she didn't look like his Gigi anymore and teased her about it. I reminded Gigi that he does that because he loves her.

She sat so still while they brushed and pulled and cutted. I think she liked her hair right away. Her eyes sparkled and she seemed pleasntly upbeat and excited. We stopped to see Aunt Heather and cousin Brielle before school. After school she said all the girls liked it but the boys didn't say anything. I told her boys like long hair. She also asked If she looked like a chick, which propted well what do you mean? Have people been calling you chick? So then we talked about what people might mean by saying she looks like a cute chick or a hot chick. Then we laughed about how silly it would be if when she sneezed she said cheep or if she had feathers and we both laghed and laughed. She thought that was very silly. All in all I think she really likes it. I really do think that is adorable. I hope that My feelings are not overshadowing her feelings.

Gratitide Tree

So we had a little scripture and devotional this morning about Gratitude. I decided that we would have a gratitude tree. I cut some branches from the tree outside and Gigi and I hung paper clips all over it. Then we added notes of things we where thankful for to the tree. I told her we could add things we where grateful for, any time through out the day and that every night at dinner we would write something we where thankful for. So at Thanksgiving we will have a tree fullof all the things that we love and cherish. The first one put on the tree where people in our family. It is a great idea I think however I am unsure of how long it will last due to the cat eyeing the branch as soon as I brought it in the house and the several attempts already at eating it. This ought to be an interesting adventure.

Our thoguhts have been turned to Katie as we get ready to remember her birthday tomorrow. We do not have any special plans but will probably make a cake. I think I will write down some memeries and work on her scrap books. It has been three and half years since she passed away. Amazing how time just keeps right on moving.

Today I had my sister come over. She helped me rearrange Gigi's room. It was fun to have little ones. I can't seem to get enough of their cute little smiles and sweet voices. How precious little ones are.

Ha Ha Ha Halloeween, Oooooh!

So tonight we carved our pumpkin. We got the biggest one at the store about 2 weeks ago and we finally decided that it was time to carve it. Gigi drew the faces and we all decided that a mean face was what we wanted. Okay so we didn't vote at all. Gigi made the decision. And I just went with it. It looks great!!! I think this is the first year I carved a pumpkin with a sharp knife because I never knew that carving a pumpkin could be so easy. Who knew that a sharp knife made all the difference. Gigi has decided to be a witch and mom is too. those pictures are to come.

A beautiful Sunday!

Today was Kayden Darrel Christiansen's baby blessing. I am a proud Auntie of two now. It was so fun sitting in sacrament meeting with all the family. We took up three rows with Jeff's and my sister's family. I watched as the little ones where passed from Grandma to Aunt's and uncle's then to Grandpa and back through each member of the family. I really enjoyed hearing their testimonies about families and I felt really blessed to be part of a wonderful family, and live so close by again. I have so enjoyed being close to my side of the family again and enjoying the fun and games. But most of all I enjoy talking with and being silly with each of my siblings.

This week we will be moving into our new apartment here in Logan Utah. The idea that we are back in Logan is really quite strange to me. It is the same in many ways and yet in some of the same ways it has changed. For example though I new so many people from high school, I only occasionally run into a friend from growing up. Mostly it has been the same moving here as it is to move any where new. You still have to meet new people and make new friends. The bigest advantage to moving some where familiar is that you have a basic idea of where everything in town is. So our apartment is a tiny two bedroom apartment. However I think it will do fine for now. There are nice amenities. We have a pool and jucuzi. There is also a play ground and BBQ pits.

Gigi has gotten all her shots so now we can register for Kindergarten. She was not so excited about getting them but she was such a sport about the whole ordeal. One of the shots was a MMR which most of you know really hurts for quite some time. She didn't complain at all. She did notice when it finally stopped hurting later that evening. We went and checked out her school and played on the playground this last week. She is pretty set for school now thank you to Grand-Daddy and to Grandma Boggs's for sending all of her school supplies and of course the cute outfits too. Gigi picked out what she was going to wear the first day and then the following three days. We spent a whole afternoon writing her name on all of her school supplies. . She even has picked out a lunch box though we are not sure how often she will be using it.

Living in Utah

So we have been in Utah for three weeks now. We have secured an apartment and Chris has started a job. We have met some new friends. We have put the apartment on hold because Chris interviewed in SLC this week. So We are still in limbo as we wait/decide what we want to do and where we need to be. We have done some fun things since we have been here. Chris and I hiked to white pine about a 7 mile round trip and camped for the night. We got to try out some of our camping gear. It was so beautiful and full of wild flowers. I picked a beautiful bouquet for Gigi on the way down the trail. Gigi got to play with Grandma Anderson she went to the Parade and swimming. So much fun.

We have also had a new family member come since we have been here. Gigi has a new cousin, Kayden. He is a cute little peanut. Gigi loves it when we go visit or they come over. She is such a big help with both Brielle and Kayden. In fact he decided to come while we where in Oregon visiting my Grandparents. We went to the beach and saw Cameron come home from his mission too. It was such a pleasant trip visiting with family and enjoying playing games and eating home made pies all week.

Of course there was the fire works too. Which we went to Utah State Stadium to watch the fire works. So cool. It was Gigi's first time seeing them live and she was mesmerized. There was also a jet that flew right over our heads and really surprised us. Still we had so much fun with everyone. We had homemade chocolate chip cookies and played games while we waited for it to get dark.

Started a new JOB

Well as of the first of this year I have started a new full time job at a day care. I am a preschool teacher of the 3 year old class room and currently have 18 children in the class if everyone is there. I do have another teacher with me and since I am new she does most of the lesson plans. However she has been a little stressed and has decided to move into a float postition this last week. Needless to say it has taken some adjusting. There are three little ones that I found if I can keep them occupied the class runs a little smoother. Howeve it is not always possible to keep them occupied. I try to remember to play and love them and let go of the little details that they are still trying to remember like staying in line and keeping their hands to themself. some days are eisier than others. But it pays the bills for now. It has required a lot of energy even though it is something I am good it at it is a new situation and an everyday thing. Any way that is what is new with us in St. Louis.

Book of the Month Suggestion!!!

"When Your Body Gets The Blues" -- Marie-Annette Brown, Ph.D., R.N.
Light=Energy
Three basic things to do to enhance your energy, mood and motivation.

Get 20 min. brisk walk in the Sunshine. The key being the Sunshine.
2o minutes of excersize.
And Vitamin Supplements.

Make a Smilebox greeting

Wow Six Months in St. Louis.

I can't believe it has been six months since we have moved here. It seems strange to be in this area. I spend time wondering what I am doing here and what possible purpose there is for me here. We have gotten into a regular routine with work for us.

We have decided to do a Joy school program again this year, which we are doing with one other mom. It has blossomed a new friendship for both the girls and the moms. We have really enjoyed it. We are finishing up a unit on the Joy of the Earth. Which I have so loved. We are getting ready for a Halloween party and have a new friend from the gym joining us for the party. Hopefully they too will join us for Joy school. We will see.

Chris's early work time and the fact that we are now sharing one car means I am up at 5:30 am nearly every morning. I have been very consistent at working out during this time when I drop him off and have to be at work myself. I am once again working at a fitness center day care. Gigi gets to come with me. So she has been getting up early too. I am proud to say, I am finally loosing all the weight I put on from the move. It has taken two months of consistency to finally see a change. Yea!

In addition I have started to get my energy back. I have suffered from low energy and small amounts of depression at times. Thus making it very difficult to play and entertain children. I have started to really enjoy watching Gigi play again. I think I missed a lot of this when she was younger as Katie's needs prevented it. I am extremely happy to be feeling more exuberance for life again.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Make a Smilebox invite

Halloween Fun

Gigi has decided she wants to be a lion for Halloween. And was very antimate about it. But then it changed and this last week it has been a ladybug, a fish, a princess, the Hulk(She really wanted to paint her face green.) and now we are back to a lion. We haven'tfound any lion costumes but I did find a tail and made ears. Then we painted her face today. So cute. And it only cost $6.

Sabbath Day Observance Dilemmas

Unfortunately Sundays have become a day of dread for my husband and me. The struggle is this… finding a common ground for our family to celebrate and worship on the Sabbath. My husband was raised that recreational activities, shopping, and dinners out are perfectly acceptable things to do on your free day. He respects my desire for family time and worship however the challenge is finding the activities that will allow us to spend time together enjoying the day rather than fighting about what is acceptable.

Where Chris views Sundays as restricted, I find I have to compromise the Sabbath activities to accommodate family time. Being in a part member family and living with family members who do not desire to worship more than church attendants creates a special kind of challenge. Things like the TV being on constantly, family members wanting to go out to dinner, recreational activities like spending time at the pool all may include family time but seem to miss the worship that a Sabbath day should carry. Chris's big question is when I am praying and reading scriptures every day, "Why should you spend your entire Sunday reading scriptures and praying? Don't you do that every other day?" Though there are many more things to do like genealogy, writing letters, and visiting the sick. These do not seem to be activities Chris is very interested in. Occasionally we will take walks together as a family. Frequently extended family will come over however that does not mean that a TV would be turned off and it most certainly means that someone is going to suggest going to dinner.

Most certainly it creates a problem every Sunday. We either do things separately or fight over something to do as a family. So frustrating. My big goal is to work out a better way to worship as a family on the Sabbath.

St. Louis, The Arch and Family!

The move has been interesting. It has gone very smoothly. We have settled in and have a regular routine. We are comfortable and have been enjoying ourselves. Yet I still feel a little out of place. While the cost of living is much cheaper and much less of a stress, we are still looking for good jobs. Many of the things I want to see happen like our own place, having insurance, and a new baby are all contingent upon a good job. So I am trying to be patient and just enjoy the space that I am in now. I think about what I should be doing with myself and am not sure what I need to do more or differently. Still I feel that I should be doing something more. I find myself stuck in a boring routine. Thinking I have more spare time available I should be more productive. But what should I do with that time?

I find with Gigi being older and moving into a new stage of life, she requires less time and attention. She is also so excited about Daddy and hanging out with him. She wants his help all the time. I am able to sit and observe her a lot more, like I did when Katie was first little before Gigi came a long. Oh how life changes.

Wow I can hardly believe it. Life has changed so much in 6 years. We have all grown in so many ways. Gigi is now 4. She was so sad to celebrate her birthday so far away from her friends. We where at the grocery store a few days before her birthday and she saw a girl with red curly hair. She said to me "Mom I want to invite her to my birthday" with my reply " Honey you don't even know her" it dawned on me that she was missing her good friend Carmen back in Maryland. We really miss our friends. Good friends are a rare gift.

Though people are very nice I am not sure that I have found my spot here. I still do not have a calling. I have met quite a few people but have not really clicked with anyone. I find myself searching for conversation topics and hoping that we can be good friends. I walk into relief society and feel like there is no one my age. And though Age is relative. I wounder where are all the ladies that are in my stage of like. I like the primary. I think that maybe I should get a calling there again. I find it takes about a year to really start feeling comfortable with your new place. I forgot how it feels when you first move into a new area. We have met with each of our sisters we have been assigned to for visiting teaching. They are all quite nice. All seem to have lots of family close by.

Having so much family close by has been fun. We have enjoyed days at the pool, BBQ's, many birthday dinners out, and of course family dropping in at random times. It is nice to have family close by again. We have found some parks that are close and also taken Gigi camping for her first time. We have enjoyed lots of fun summer actitivites. For the most part people seem to be more layed back. It is different but we are getting used to it here.

Dentist assistant!

Today Gigi and I went to the dentist. We where both such good patients we each got a token and picked rings out of the machine. Gigi was such a good help they asked if she wanted to stay and be their assistant. She said no. When they asked if she was going to be a dentist when she grew up she said she was going to be a librarian like antie Shelly. We had fun hanging out this morning. We even stopped for breakfast afterwards.

A Valentine Tea

Well We hosted a Princess Valentine Tea at our house we had 11 princesses and one dragon come for tea. Gigi had such a wonderful time serving all her guests.

Who says you have to rake leaves to play in them?

Yesterday we invited a friend to come play and we decided to walk her home. On the way we found an extra quanity of leaves near the sidewalk. And before I new it the girls had put down their things and where jumping in the pile, and throughing them in the air.They decided to scoop a bigger pile of leaves together. We took turns barring the girls in the leaves then finding them. The weather was warm and the sun was beautiful. We all had such a wonderful afternoon playing in the leaves.

More Candy Please.

Happy Halloween!!! We went trick or treating with a few of our favorite neighbors. There Was a Lion, a Monkey, Strawberry Short Cake, Snow White and my princess. Gigi was even excited about me taking pictures. I am such a privlages mommy, my little one said I could take her picture. We went around our court, down the street and back. We started with pictures infront of our house by the pumpkins at 6:30 pm. then preceeded down our street. We ended about 7:30 yeah. Of course the candy was dumped on the flour as soon as we walk in the door. Not a surprize to me but perhaps to any one else who might have witnessed... Daddy starts collecting his candy and Gigi jumps in to protect what she wants. Guess what she grabbed? Not the chocolate candy bars, not the suckers, but the animal crackers. He He who would have thought. Gigi is just not a candy girl. In fact the other night for our ward trunk or treat Gigi came home and picked pretzels out of her pile of loot. That night she was not even interested in getting the candy but in chasing after her friends Kate, and KennaDee. Then at the very end she finally let me take a picture.

Thoughts of Autam

It seems that Autam is just one of those seasons that you become very much aware of how life changes. What beautiful changes we experience in life.

Both Gigi and I have had some very big changes this month. I have gone back to work full time and in turn Gigi has started school. I think that it has made life speed up as each day seems to go by even faster than before when we spent everyday together. We seems to have adjusted just fine. Gigi quickly found a new friend Elizabeth that she constantly talks about all the things that they have pretended that day.

The roll of a women has many names, Ithought it was very interesting that Heavenly Father choose that as daughter as the most important. What a wonderful gift he has given us as he reminds us of who we are and what our potential is in that simple title. Eaven more amazing is the thought that this life contains all that we need to learn to be like him.