Thankful Thursday

1. Productive days. Today, I was able to clean (almost) the entire house while Jeff was at work. I cleaned the bathrooms, swept, vacuumed, and did the dishes. I also did all the laundry. I didn't dust (are you surprised? - I hate to dust) or mop the kitchen yet, but I can do it tomorrow. Anyway, I also had a meeting with my Primary counselors, made a cake for a funeral, and installed insulation in our attic. Okay, so I didn't install the insulation. Kelly Insulation did. If any of you have Rocky Mountain Power and Questar Gas, you should look into this program. (See #2.)

2. The free attic insulation program. Basically, Rocky Mountain Power and Questar Gas will give you rebates if you install insulation in your attic. But there are companies that will install it, and they charge you the amount of the rebate. They do all the paperwork for you, and when you get the rebate, you send it to them. Easiest home improvement project ever. Okay, so maybe we would have actually come out ahead if we had done it ourselves and kept the rebates, but you know what? I'm all for easy.

3. The chance to make a little extra money. All these little side jobs that Jeff and I do have been a great blessing.

4. Stable jobs in an unstable economy. Jeff works for the IRS, which is not going anywhere anytime soon. And I work at a hotel, which must have someone on the desk 24/7.

5. Missionary challenges. The elders came over to our house the other day, and they gave us a challenge. I won't go into all the specifics, but it has already made a difference in our home - to me, at least. As we continue with this challenge (which is a 21-day project), I am really looking forward to seeing what happens.

Introducing....

The newest member of our household:

Yes, I know it's goofy to be so excited. But I am. Right now I'm sitting here NOT hearing it run, and it is running! It's not completely silent, but it's MUCH quieter than the old one, and it has a delay setting, so I can set it to begin in the middle of the night.

And as for the other, more important members of our household:

Faith has found a love for playing the piano. She pulls herself up to it and grins and gets so excited as she pounds away.

And she LOVES bathtime. She gets down on her belly and swims. It makes me nervous, because she's still so little. But she's so stinkin' cute when she does it, that I just watch her closely, and let her go at it.

Michael is still struggling to eat his food, as you can see:

But we're very happy with the progress he's made. I must say, though, that the day I can take him to Wendy's and have him actually bite into a hamburger and eat it - I think that will be the best day of my life up to that point. Sadly, I'm really not joking. Dealing with his feeding issues may very well be the biggest trial of my life up to now. It has certainly brought out the worst in me, and has made me face some of my greatest weaknesses. But it has also taught me patience and perseverance and a bit of creativity. And it has given me a desire to help other parents and children who are on this same path. I tell myself every day (during my pity-me moments) that no child, and no parent, should have to deal with this. But now the challenge is finding the way to help. I don't want to be a feeding therapist. They haven't done much for us, to be honest. So I'm beginning to consider approaching it from another side - whether it be from a psychological standpoint, or nutritional, or maybe from the natural healing side. All I know is that "the system" has failed in Michael's case, but I don't believe that kids like Michael can't be helped. It's a matter of finding the right avenue. We're going to try some things that others have suggested to us, and if he progresses, maybe that will shed some light on where I should put my focus.

On a lighter note, Faith obviously has no feeding problems, except maybe that she isn't a very tidy eater.

Good News!!

I'm so excited. I just got hired at the Ogden Athletic Club (click here to check out this facility). I work one night a week, from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m., helping to clean the Club. And instead of getting paid, my family gets a membership to the Club!!! Yay! I'm hoping this will help me reach my goal of exercising 4 days a week. Instead of that nice hourglass figure I once had (a LONG time ago), I now look more like a tumbler. As in, the tumbler glass that you drink out of - you know, that's completely straight and has no shape whatsoever. Blah. I need help. Is it because I'm 30 now? Everyone says your metabolism changes, and in my case, it sure seems like that's what has happened.

And more good news! We bought a dishwasher today. I found one on KSL that is less than a year old, and it was $125. Jeff picked it up this afternoon, and I'm so excited to get it installed and be able to run a dishwasher at night without having to shut my bedroom door and cover my head with a pillow. I need to stop looking at KSL, now, because I just saw another one that was only $75..... Help! I've become addicted to bargain hunting!!

It will be nice to not have chunks of rack rusting apart and falling out. It's kind of hard to load the dishwasher when you don't have much of an upper rack left.

Just wanted to share a bit of my excitement today. Dorky, I know. :)

Thankful Thursday - on Friday

Okay, I'm a blog slacker. I haven't posted in a whole week, and I missed Thankful Thursday (again). So here we go.

1. We got to meet Averie yesterday! Yay!! She's beautiful and sweet, and I am so happy for Callie and Gary.

2. We went to dinner at Olive Garden this week - TWICE!! I love their salad and breadsticks and alfredo sauce. Just thinking of it makes my mouth water. Sweetie, want to go to lunch tomorrow?

3. Faith's one-year check-up went well. She is in the 95th percentile for height, but only in the 50th for weight. What? My fat little girl is only in the 50th percentile?!? But as Jeff and I discussed today, our fat little girl is not fat because of French fries and fish sticks and chicken nuggets and other fattening goodies. So maybe that explains how 50 percent of 1-year-olds in the U.S. are fatter than she is. I must say, that blew me away.

4. We got our tax refund today, after which I promptly made a large payment to our credit card. No fun plans with that refund. But at least we are (much) closer to being out of debt. Within four months, we should have nothing left but our mortgage and one car payment. And by the end of the year, we should have the car paid off as well and have a good chunk in the savings account. That's the goal, anyway.

5. We're going to the Bar J Wranglers tomorrow night. That's always fun, except I have to admit that after you've seen them so many times, you know all of their jokes and stories. Still a good time, though.

Do these things HAVE to come in threes?

1. Our car started to smell of gasoline. The smell was so strong that I would get sick driving even very short distances. So Dad and Tom fixed it while they were here for Faith's birthday party. (Thank you, thank you, thank you.) Pricetag: about $70.

2. While putting the kids in the car to take them to the doctor, Jeff pointed out that my tire was flat. Completely. Since we were running late, I made the wise decision to drive on the flat tire to the gas station, where we pumped it up before we went to the doctor. While I was inside with the kids and the doctor, Jeff put the spare on. Later, I took the car to Jerry's to have the flat fixed. But apparently, I ruined the sidewall of the tire by driving on it flat, and had to buy a new tire. Pricetag: about $75.

3. Our dishwasher is dying a drawn-out and noisy death. It was on its last legs when we bought the house, so I guess we should be happy it lasted almost five more years. Pricetag: $100-$400, depending on if we buy a used one on KSL and install it ourselves, or buy a cheap model at RC Willey and have them install it. Anyone know how to install dishwashers?

At least none of these things will break the bank. But it's annoying that just when we feel like we're getting ahead, little things start adding up. You know?

And I know I should stop at three, but:

4. The water heater has started leaking. I think it's time to sell the house. And the car.

The Crud

My kiddos have RSV. Both of them. They've been congested and coughing a lot for a few days, but a couple days ago, I heard Faith making a crackling noise under her breath when she breathed out. So I took them both to the doctor yesterday. Fortunately, they're both about three days in to a five-day illness, and neither one is serious. They're both getting enough oxygen to their blood. The doctor said just to run the humidifier all the time, and as long as they seem happy and are eating okay, they'll be fine. She told me some things to watch for with Faith and her breathing, and said to keep them both away from other kids for a few more days. So, sorry Callie, but it will be a little while longer before we can come see your new addition. But I'm sure you'll agree it's better this way.

Faith's Party

Our little Faith is turning a year old tomorrow. I can't believe it's been that long. We had her first birthday party yesterday, and just invited family. It was fun. Mom and Dad and Tom came, as well as Richard and Anna. So it was small, but that's just fine. Here is a picture of Faith's cake:

Here she is checking it out while we sang Happy Birthday to her:

The little flower in front was for her. At first, she was a little unsure of what to do. She kind of picked at it.

Then, when she decided it was good, she just went for it.

A balanced diet is cake in both hands, right?

Anyway, it was fun to watch her eat the cake. She got some cute clothes and a musical bus from Grandma and Grandpa Sabin, and a soft fleece blanket and a giraffe she can ride on from Grandma and Grandpa Hansen.

Callie and Gary couldn't make it to her party, because Callie had her baby (YEAH!!!!) on Saturday morning. But they came up earlier in the week and brought her a super-cute outfit. Riley and Nikki also couldn't make it, because it was Nikki's first week back to church after having Keely, and she had to teach the lesson. We missed them all, but we'll see them soon (hopefully).

And here's a picture of Michael tied up in the ribbon from her presents:

And here's me, Michael, and Faith, with her new blanket. Jeff got some photos of her playing peek-a-boo with it, but they were too dark to post. She loves this blanket. Today when I put her down for her nap, she wrapped it around her and snuggled into it and went right to sleep. Thanks, Mom!!

Effective advertising

We have had an older big-screen TV in our back room in the basement for a long time. Someone gave it to us a while ago, and after a short period of using it, we have just been storing it. I asked Jeff if we could get rid of it because it was taking up so much space. He gave his permission only after I promised we could get a new TV when we get a new house and somewhere to put said TV. So I listed in on KSL in the free section.

And how long do you think it took for someone to call me? Five minutes? No. Four minutes? No. Three minutes? No. Within a few seconds of posting the ad, my phone rang. "I live in Roy and can be there in half an hour. Can I come get your TV?" I said yes and gave directions, then hung up. The phone rang again. "Can I come get your TV?" No, it's already been promised, but if he doesn't show up, I'll call you back. The phone rang again. We didn't answer. By the time I got back onto KSL to cancel the ad, the phone had rung probably five times, and 9 minutes had passed since posting. 45 minutes after posting, the TV was out of my house and on its way to another home, which has a little boy who is SO excited. He was jumping around in our driveway while his dad and Jeff loaded it up. He could have had it home and hooked up in time to watch the Superbowl. I love KSL.