My slide show

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Back Problems

I guess I have graduated into the world of back problems. Does that mean I am getting old, or just trying to fit in with the crowd? I saw the doctor today and he so kindly informed me that this is something that doesn't go away forever. Why do so many people have back problems?
I exercise, and I am careful when doing so, and I know how to pick up things correctly. What causes us to lose cartilage? These are questions I am going to look into while I am trying to rest my back.
In the meantime I may post some more pics of the kids since I'm getting used to my new iMac. Yes, after 8 years of using our uncle's second hand computer, we finally broke down and bought a nice Apple computer. We love it, even though I'm just beginning to learn about all that it can do.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Catching Up

Our new house
Our kitchen as it was getting filled with stuff!
Our old bedroom
Our old kitchen (after IKEA cabinets!)
I need to update myself and those I love on current events. I felt today the importance of keeping daily notes and spiritual moments in my (our) life so that my future generations can know who I was and what life was like. Yesterday I finished watching Emma Smith:My Story, and I learned a lot from it. I recommend seeing it to learn more about the Gospel and to gain insight into your own life. We wouldn't have the knowledge to watch that movie if Emma and others had not kept a journal.
The past week has been challenging since I threw out my back on Thurs. morning. Up to that point, my life was very busy teaching and going to the gym in the mornings, playing with my kids and trying to unpack a box in the afternoon, working at A.C. Moore, and since last week I started a temporary Census job. The first week of training was very difficult. It was 8:30-4:30 for 4 days. That meant I had to find some generous people to watch my kids for me, and it also meant I hardly got to see them at all for the whole we
ek. It really made me appreciate the time that I normally do have to spend with the kids. We have spent this last week trying to get back to normal, somewhat. I am going door to door for Census work, but that's just for the next 5 weeks or so.
Since Thurs., I have spent a lot of time resting on the couch. I've had time to read and spend more time with the family since I couldn't work. It was frus
trating by the 2nd day that I couldn't clean my house and unpack and organize like I wanted to, but I loved just stopping everything. It's interesting what stress will do to your body and when your body tells you to just "stop." I hope to soon be able to quit A.C. Moore, even though it is only 2 days a week. Working 3-9 every Sat. makes me miss a lot of family stuff.
I've learned that my family is the center of my life, and that makes me part of who I am. I am working on my patience right now. We sang Love at Home in church today and I think we need to sing that every day. I want to put that lettering on the wall somewhere where I can see it every day. I also want to be better at kneeling while saying my morning prayers. Sister Hansen commented today that she says prayers all throughout the day (as do I), but if we show that respect for our Heavenly Father by kneeling first thing, he will appreciate it more and maybe bless us more. Someone else commented that Pres. Kimball said once that we should say our morning prayer before we take our first bite of food. I always think about food, why would I forget to say my morning prayer?
So about our family. The move was okay. Moving out Tues. night was horrible. It was raining and freezing cold, and the truck wasn't big enough.
And I wasn't as prepared as I thought I would be. I got burned out at the end and should have asked for help. Plus, not having moved for 7 1/2 years and having 3 little kids, I didn't know what to expect. So Mike and I spent the night taking stuff up to my parents house. By 8am Weds morning, we were loading the very last load in the car and frantically cleaning the house. I ran around and took pictures and quickly said good-bye. I only got emotional up in the boys room. It wasn't really how I had imagined saying good-bye to our first home and the home we started raising our children, but at least it's over. And Weds. was a much better day (besides being exhausted). Mike w
ent to our new house to take a look around with our realtor while I dropped the younger kids off at Jamie's and Hayden off at school. We met at the realtor's office at 9am to go through both settlements, which went smoothly, I may happily say. After picking up all the kids we went to our new house. Serena had been pretty emotional with all of the changes the previous several days, but when we got to our home, the kids started running around everywhere, laughing and playing together. Mike drove the moving van here and as soon as he did, neighbors started coming over to introduce themselves. Men from our new ward showed up to help us unpack and share in some pizza on our back patio area. I received a confirmation that this was the right move, that we will be happy here.
Now about the kids:
Serena is saying new words every day and is still working on potty training. I have started to get a little impatient, so I think I may start putting her in big girl underwear soon and let her learn from mistakes. She's got the first part down, she just needs to get the poop part!
Hayden has had a fairly easy transition from West York to Suburban. One of his friends from church is in his class, and he has a really nice teacher. The only thing he has complained about is the stuff they are learning that he has already learned. But he just started working in the gifted program for Math and English, so that helps him to feel more challenged.
Connor is still as passionate, emotional and as crazy as ever. Still climbing and jumping off of anything he can find. I can't wait till we get a nice play set for them in the backyard with a rock wall! I am also hoping to get him into gymnastics or something that he will enjoy and burn off some energy. We tried signing him up for t-ball with some of his friends from the Y. We went to the first practice and he decided in 30 sec. that he didn't want to do it. No matter how much talking and persuading we tried, he had made up his mind. He definitely knows what he wants!