Semiprecious and Family

Fall Flew By!!! It's almost time for a New Year!!!

2011-12-28T17:45:00.000-08:00

Fall is just a crazy time of year. Out of all the crazy times, November and December are two months full of family, fun, Holidays, and work work work!!! We were soooooo blessed to have my sister and her family visit for Thanksgiving!!! The Harrisons came to Texas and we had a blast. Erik and Skyler were able to stay for 1 week while Julie and Johnny got to stay for two!! We had a great time just enjoying family togetherness. Seriously!! Skyler and Avery are inseparable when they are together and I love watching the two of them play. Their personalities are so similar so they get along really well and enjoy taking turns. A couple of little divas, those two. Johnny gets cuter every day!!!! I can't believe how much he has changed just since summer time. Even after having three of my own, it is surprising to see him look so different after just a few months. All of his cute rolls and noises, and babyness!!! Johnny was blessed while he was here which was very special for all of us. Wish they could have stayed forever!!!

December has been a blur. I would like to slow down this time of year and enjoy spending time with my family more, but it always feels rushed. Something I need to work on! So nice to have my parents close by for all the festivity. They are such huge helps to us and we all enjoy their never ending selflessness. We are enjoying our last week of Christmas break right now, then back to reality. Here are a few pictures from the last few months....

Honey Badger don't care.....but Dozer does. "Thanks for the wrapping paper, Stupid!!!"

October Fun

2011-11-07T16:52:00.000-08:00

I'm so behind I'm adding another post this week. We had so much fun in October!! Check out the pictures and I will comment about each one as I go.....

Addy had a little get-together with some of her friends. I am so impressed with all the young men and women in this picture. They have fun spending time together and being themselves in a positive, upbeat, and completely friendly way. Check out their carved pineapples. We love you Psyche!!!!

Hurray for the Exby family!!! Dan, Cortney, Owen (O-Dog), and Evan (Easy-E) came down to TX and stayed with us for the Halloween weekend. We love this family so much and we're so grateful for the time we got to spend with them. Dan and Cortney are so fun to hang out with and we loved seeing the boys and how they are growing. Where are we going, Cort????? Plan! Plan! Plan!!

Love these Halloweeners!!!

The next 2 collages are mostly Halloween fun. Aidyn had some of his buds over to trick or treat with and Addy went to a party with Bailee as "Zombugs". The Moffits came over and joined us for some Halloween festivities. Look at those three adorable Littlies, Avery, Brooklynn, and Sydnee!!!

Fun with O-Dog.......Aidyn and his cute friends did such a good job of entertaining Owen. They played baseball with him and even offered to be the balls themselves!!

Hurray for Truplups!!! These three and their new baby sis, Bailey, get cuter every time I see them. NOM NOM NOM!

Avery, Katherine, and Sydney enjoyed a pumpkin patch outing a couple of weeks before Halloween. When the weather proved to be ridiculously hot for fall, we headed to the snow cone shack to cool off. We are so blessed to have so many wonderful families around us. All of my kids have amazing friends who have been raised by parents with good values.

Lake Powell 2011

2011-11-05T17:48:00.001-07:00

Wow!! I am sadly behind!!! Fall is my favorite time of year in Texas but it's also the busiest with sports, school, activities, and all that jazz. We had the most amazing opportunity in September and I don't want to neglect blogging about it
!!! Our friends, Sam and Jaimee Moffit, invited us on the trip of a lifetime. Every year they go on a couples trip to Lake Powell Utah with a group of their closest friends. They have a HUGE, GORGEOUS, ENORMOUS, BIG, REALLY LARGE houseboat that up to ten couples take out for about 5 days to enjoy all manner of water sport fantasticness. It's GIGANTIC!! Seriously, I didn't know houseboats were that big. John and I were priviliged to meet some of Sam and Jaimee's closest friends. Namely, Heather and Brian Hotchkiss, Samantha and Joe Cheeney, Celene and Brandon Allen, Sara and Buddy Haws, Katie and Chris Lindley, and Mandy and Ryan Shaw. These people are some of the neatest and most hospitable we have ever met. They were kind enough to let us party with them and to take part in the joy that is Lake Powell. I never knew you could do so many things behind a boat!!! I waterskiied a little growing up. I've knee boarded once or twice. I've been tubing. But to see some of the coolness these men and women could do behind a boat took my breath away!!! Wakeboarding with a giant sail???? Flying through the air on a chair!!! Surfing behind a boat!!!! Yep, it's all true. These activities and more were part of this fantastic experience. Wow. Sam and Jaimee have some amazing water sport talents. Seriously, these people could be pros. This was an experience I will treasure forever and never forget!!! Thank you to everyone who made it possible!!

Seriously. 6 guys behind a boat???? I have never seen that many different style of behind-boat-coolness happening at one time. Real men of genius!!!

This is what I'm talking about!! I mean, all of these guys could do circus like stunts that i would expect to see in some kind of water show at Sea World. Crazy!!!

Random awesomeness in this picture collage.

Lake Powell Ladies lookin' mighty fine!

We were boating one day and stumbled across this group of people cliff jumping. Highly illegal at Lake Powell above 15 feet!!! As you can see, the jumps these crazies made were well above that. As law abiding citizens, we watched from our boats in awe at their bravery/stupidity/fun-having.

These last two collages are pix from our visit to the Anasazi ruins. Lake Powell has done a really nice job preserving this Lamanite dwelling area. Walking where they walked was very cool. I highly recommend visiting this site if you ever get to go to this heaven on earth destination.

More Picture Fun from Summer 2011

2011-08-26T19:30:00.000-07:00

Happy 11th Birthday Aidyn!!!

4th of July celebration at the Moffit's house

A trip to the Dallas World Aquarium. I love this place!!

Summer 2011 in Pictures

2011-08-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

They speak louder than words, right?
Here are some highlights from our trip to California. It was soooooo fun to meet my new nephew, Johnny, and spend time with my sister, my BIL Erik, and my sweet nephew Skyler. I love and miss you guys!!!

Our Not Bummer Summer

2011-07-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!! We are keeping busy this summer!! From the Cayman's to CA, the kids are having a blast. We are in Cali right now visiting my sister and her family. They had a new baby on April 1st and this is the first time we have been able to see him!! Baby Johnny is a tiny little bundle of adoreableness. I will post pix from our trip in the next few weeks. Below I am posting some pictures from Avery's dance recital, FHE fun with Gma and Gpa on Lake Lewisville, and a few of Addy and her friends gearing up for A-Kon.

Hey Mohn! We are back from the Caymohns!

2011-06-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a relaxing, yet fun trip to Grand Cayman. From snorkeling to beach bummin' we made the most out of our great little island getaway. Check out some of the things we did and the places we saw:

The Cayman Turtle Farm has been in operation for over 40 years! They have helped grow the population of these beloved, adorable creatures and keep them from becoming endangered. At the farm, you can interact with the turtles by holding them, feeding them, and even swimming with them. AhhhH!!

We went snorkeling every day while on Grand Cayman. You can snorkel right off the beach anywhere on 7 Mile Beach and see tons of sea life. This was my favorite beach and snorkeling spot, Smith's Cove. I loved the beauty of this beach and saw such a variety of creatures while snorkeling...from squid to huge parrot fish, this spot is hard to beat unless you go out to the reef.

govenor's beach was a recommended snorkeling spot that we didn't see much at. We did however, have lots of fun in the sand that day.

Cayman Kai is on the North Side of the Island and the farthest point to drive from where we stayed. We wanted to check out the "quieter" side of the island and see how it compared to the west side where we were staying. We snorkeled this beach off the very tip of Cayman Kai, called Starfish Point by the locals. We obviously found a lot of starfish!! The area was beautiful, but we decided that our favorite part of the island is just south of Georgetown-the area that surrounds Smith's Cove.

This is the portion of 7 Mile Beach that we stayed on. It was right outside our condo and a nice place to relax and swim. The white sand, temperate water, and forever view are hard to beat on this beach!

We chartered a boat for a day and did a little fishing, some snorkeling on the reef, and visited Stingray City. Fisherman used to clean their daily catch on this sandbar and the rays began to flock to the area for free meals. When they see boats heading for the sandbar, the rays continue to follow the boats in anticipating a feeding and they are usually right. Squid is delish!

We had a blast and highly recommend this vacation spot for a close, carribbean getaway. The total flying time from Dallas was less than 4 hours. A Family of 5 can easily spend 5 fulls days enjoying the beach, water sports, and the other activities that this little island offers.

A Spa-rific Diva-tastic Fashion-ista 7th bday party

2011-05-01T16:20:00.000-07:00

Happy 7th Birthday Avery Sue Bob Joe!!! Avery celebrated her 7th bday on the 28th. Our out going, exhuberant, fun-loving, fashion-forward, lovable, baby diva is getting so old!! We had a hard time deciding what kind of party to have this year so we combined some of Avery's favorite things and came up with the Spa-rific, Diva-tastic, Fashion-ista Birthday party of awesomeness!! 12 of Avery's friends came over for a day at the spa, fun games, glamorous make-overs, and some serious freeze dancin'. Addy and 6 of her friends dressed up our master bed and bath like a real spa from treatment centers to relaxation zones to refreshment centers. They worked through the entire 4 hour party as spa techs giving facials, massages, manis, pedis, and make-overs and breaking only once for the build-your-own dessert crepe bar. The little girls were very touched to be so doted on by the big girls. Fun was had by all! Check out the pictures from our big event...

CATCHIN' DUCKS

The Funny Things Kids Say....

2011-03-30T11:41:00.001-07:00

You know what, I miss these so much!!! My kids are getting older and they hardly ever make those blissfully ignorant comments that children make as they are growing and learning any more. I went to lunch with some friends today and we were talking a little bit about the funny things kids say and it made me a little nostalgic. Avery will pop out a hilarious statement every once in awhile and our girl talk made me think of a recent conversation she had with her friend Reagan while driving to a soccer game in our car. They were talking about Michael, Reagan's little brother who is a toddler, and the subject of babies came up. All of the sudden, Avery casually says to Reagan,
"Did you know that babies are born out of your vagina?"
Reagan with a look of absolute horror on her face, "What???!!!! No they're not!! Gross.......what's a vagina?"
At this point Avery opens her eyes really wide and points to her private area. Reagan stares at her like she's crazy and says, "you mean you poop the baby out???"
Avery says, "No, no, no, your OTHER private down there." Reagan is very skeptical about this and so she asks me, "Coach, do babies really get born out of your private?" I have been sitting there listening, trying not to laugh, and hoping that they will change topics before I am asked to comment on the discussion subject of babies and vaginas. Reagan has obviously not covered this territory with her parents yet, so I'm a bit hesitant to enlighten her any further. So much for remaining invisible...I had to quickly figure out how to spin this in a positive light. I tell Reagan, that yes, babies are born out of vaginas and it's actually not gross, but very, very special. God made women with the special ability to bear children and this is part of that miraculous process. When you first receive the baby-comes-out-of-the-vagina information, it may sound yucky because our bodies are sacred and we don't talk about our privates with other people. But once you are married and old enough to consider children, you appreciate the dynamics a lot more. Then, I instruct her to ask her mom if she has any further questions on the subject. Also, I remind Avery that when we first had the baby convo, I told her it wasn't a topic she should discuss with her friends because not every body has that convo with their parents at the same time. Many parents will not appreciate their child receiving their how-to-baby information from another 6 year-old. She can come to Dad and Mom to talk about it any time, no problem. But no one else. Avery is very "ah shux" about the situation, she forgot of course because we talked about this last year and she didn't remember me telling her it was a mom and dad only topic. I guess I will need to start reminding her quarterly what topics are and are not on the list of appropriate friend-telling information. She's pretty cute.

Not much new in Stevensville. Kids are all great, having my mom and dad here is beyond great, the hubby is great. Life's just pretty great. We have been having wonderful weather and enjoying more outside time the past few weeks. Avery is our outdoorsy child so bike riding and roller blading have been good entertainment. John has been traveling less and we all love the extra John time. During spring break we went out to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Refuge and that was, as always, entertaining. If you have never been to Fossil Rim, check it out at www.fossilrim.com. It is the biggest African wildlife refuge in the western hemisphere. And who doesn't like feeding giraffes!!! The kids are anxious for pool season to begin and Avery is already planning are bday swim party for the end of the month. Here comes summer!! Yeeeeeha!!!

Our Harry Potter Adventure of AWESOMENESS!!!

2011-02-23T12:24:00.000-08:00

John really out did himself this year at Christmas time. For my "big gift" he purchased a trip to Orlando for our whole family so we could visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. He scheduled the trip for the weekend of my birthday!! How fun/awesome/amazing/thoughtful/stupendous is that!!! We had such a blast. Above you will see the Stevens' children on the bridge to Hosgmeade standing in front of Hogwart's. Let the magic begin!!

We spent 2 days in Universal's Islands of Adventure and the vast majority of that in HP land, as we referred to it. The creators of this amazing theme park area really out did themselves on everything from Zonko's to the Hogwart's Express. The original set designers from the movies helped with the creation and layout of the park and it's just spectacular. However, I think those narrow streets are going to be quite crowded during peak season!

Look!! It's Hogsmeade from the top of Flight of the Hippogriff! Avery loved this ride because it was one of the few roller coasters she could ride on the trip due to height restrictions. Come on!! My sweet 6 year-old who would ride ANY ride, and she can't ride em' all. Sheesh. Each of the 3 rides in HP land were lavishly decorated with all kinds of decor and props to make the rides feel even more wizardesque. All 3 kids enjoyed choosing their own movie replica wizard wands as well. Addy: Sirius Black, Aidyn: Ron Weasely, Avery: Hermione Granger.

The 3 Broomstick's restaraunt was spectacular inside and out. The food was decent, the ambience was exeptional, and the prices were as expected for the fair in an amusement park of this calibur. And the Butterbeer!!! MMMMmmmmmmm what a recipe these Universal people have cooked up. This stuff is the real deal and you won't be dissapointed. Imagine extra creamy cream soda with a butterscotch flavor and a delicious frothy head that lasts. Dreamy.

Addy, Aidyn, John and I LOVED The Dragon Challenge. This hanging double roller coaster boasts a Tri-Wizarding cup themed walk-through with all the bells and whistles. The Red Chinese Fireball Dragon coaster and Blue Norwegian Ridgeback Dragon coaster start off together and zoom through all sorts of swoops, twists and turns. The result is a super high speed, fast, enjoyable ride. This was definitely one of the best hanging roller coasters I've ever ridden.

Flight of the Hippogriff if a great rollercoaster for those under 44 inches. Avery adored this ride and enjoyed going on it several times. The big kids humored her, kudos to them. The bowing Buckbeack was my favorite part.

For you Harry Potter buffs out there, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey will definitely be your favorite ride of the trip. The line is a bit unfortunate, but well worth the wait! Once you get inside Hogwart's you are thoroughly entertained; the set is spectacular!! We are talking awesome props like the house counters, a room full of pictures that actually move and talk (one wall representing each house), impressive holograms including Dumbledore, Harry, Ron, and Hermione that look very real (Avery was fooled), and a room where it actually snows!!! In the picture below where you can see the candles floating, if you look closely you can see blurs in the air. Yep, snow. Sooooooo cool!!!!

The ride itself is equally spectacular. This ride includes watching a 3-D animation screen while the car you are in actually moves around (a lot) and there are props in between the animation (dragon, dementors, and spiders oh no!!) that really scare the snap out of you!! For those of you who get motion sickness, beware!!! I almost puked on this ride (I'm hoping that was due mostly to the fact that I was getting over a cold and still very congested). Take your dramamine an hour before riding and don't be drinking any Butterbear during that hour!! The second time we rode, the ride was stopped for vomit-mopping. Nice!! Still worth the wait!!!

After 2 days of Hogwart's, Hogsmeade, Olivander's, Honeyduke's, Zonko's, Dervish and Bang's, the Owlery, the 3 Broomstick's, and all the utter fabulousness that the Wizarding World had to offer, we explored other areas of Universal Island's of Advnenture and Studios. Addy and I left VERY reluctantly. Above you can see us enjoyoing some dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park area.

More Jurassic fun. There was a neat adventure area type fort in this part of the park that was pretty much like a gigantic jungle gymn. Rope bridges, climbing areas, slides, nets, Aidyn was in boy heaven. One of the rope bridges is pictured below.

The Mummy Ride in Universal Studios was really well done. If you have ever been on the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland, it has that sort of feel to it but it's much scarrier!! There are some great robotic special effects as well as fire! Lot's of fire! Avery was super sad she couldn't go on this ride, but after I got off, I was glad she wasn't tall enough cuz it definitely would have scared her.

Speaking of Avery being scared....Jaws!! This ride is a classic and I am pretty sure Avery just about wet her pants when that silly fake shark popped out of the water and started gnawing cable. She grabbed on to my arm for dear life, burried her head in my arm, and told me to tell her when it was over. So cute!!

On our last day in town, we spent our time in the Magic Kingdom. That place never gets old. This was our 4th visit as a family and the kids love the Disney magic each and every time. We had a day to ride all our favorites and those included Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Pirates of the Carribean, Buzz Lightyear and just a handful more. When I next wish upon a star I will wish that next time we travel to the Magic Kingdom, Disney finally decides to offer unlimited fast passes for those whose name begins with the letters STEV

A few travel tips for those headed to The Wizarding World in the near future:
1-Don't even bother during peak season. I would imagine that they will have to put a cap on the # of people allowed into this area of Universal. The streets and shops were over crowded in February.
2-Yes to Fast Pass!!! This Universal upgrade is well worth it. Let me break it down for you: pay for one day in the park plus fast passes for everyone, ride all the high profile rides and see the park in one day OR pay for two days in the park for everyone and enjoy standing in line 75% of the time. Duh.
3-Don't bother with Olivander's. The line is OBSCENE!!! You will spend half your day waiting in it. And once you get into the store (7 at a time only) only one person is selected for the wand to choose them deal. If you are that one person, maybe it's worth it. If not, SUCK!!!
4-We all agreed that Universal Island's of Adventure was great fun, and that Universal Studios was a bust. There are only a few rides in Studios worth riding and the rest is mostly mediocre eye candy. Don't bother with the park hopper. Spend your time in Island's with a fast pass and enjoy the FUN park.
5-The 3 Broomstick's is a must. Of course, you will pay more than you want to spend but the experience is worth it. And yes to Butterbeer!!! The fish and chips and turkey legs are both delish.
6-If you are on the fence about this experience because your whole family is not into Harry Potter, get off!! Addy and I are die-hard Harry fans. Avery and Aidyn like the movies and John could care less. Well, we all loved it. I think I might even be able to get the hubby to read the books after this experience. Maybe I'll ask for that as a Mother's Day gift. Love you all!!! Thanks a million, honey for these great memories.

Happy Birthday Addy Lurline!!

2011-01-31T10:29:00.000-08:00

Yes, I accept that I have a teenager. Can you believe Addy is 13 today!!! My sister is pregnant and asked me the other day what the most important piece of advice I could give her was. I have thought about what I would say to her for a few weeks and I still haven't responded. Well Nuber, this is your big sister's advice: My first most important piece of advice would be to teach your child to know and follow Jesus Christ. Parent your child as Christ would. In other words: love unconditionally, be slow to anger and quick to forgiveness, teach your children to choose the right. My SECOND piece of most important advice would be to enjoy every single moment you have with your child at every age. Spend every possible moment you can with this tender, amazing spirit. Enjoy the good and the bad, the happy and the sad; it will all be over much too quickly. 13!!!!

I am so blessed to have Addison in my life. I get teary eyed just thinking about the important role she has played in our lives since day one. We were NOT planning on a baby so soon. At age 21, I was still focused on me, me, me, and my wonderful new husband. We wanted to finish school, travel the world, make our fortunes, and then perhaps somewhere along the way, have a child or two. When I found out I was pregnant about 3 months after we got married, I was TERRIFIED. I felt completely unready to have a baby. I didn't know a thing about caring for a newborn!! After Addy was delivered at UVRMC in Provo, UT, I couldn't believe that the staff was just going to let me leave the hospital with this tiny little human!! No tests to pass, no credentials to show, no certifications required! I was going to take home the most important responsibility of my life, and all I had to do was deliver her into this world. Seriously, I was shocked by that.

Addy was such a great baby. At about 6 months old, she was such a joy I wanted 5 more like her. I knew at that point that I was put on this earth to serve my family as a wife and mother and that there was nothing else I would rather be doing. What a blessing staying at home with my children has been. I couldn't believe how much I loved my sweet daughter!! I didn't think it was possible to love anything or anyone as much as I loved her. Then, 2.5 years later Aidyn was born and a miracle occurred: I loved him just as much!!! I realized that your heart doubles in size with each child you bare. I also realized, that after having a baby as colicky as Aidyn, that one more was what I could handle.

Addy has always been wise beyond her years, amazingly intelligent, ultra cautious, and an artistic savant. She started talking at about 12 months, but didn't start walking til 18 months. I remember driving in the car on the way home from the grocery store one day when I was pregnant with Aidyn. Addy was about 2 and she pointed at something and asked me if it was blue or purple. I told her "Indigo". She thought about that for a split second, then replied, "Mommy, Indigo is a country, not a color." Even though she was incorrect, I knew I had a precocious, extremely smart child on my hands.

Over the years, some of my favorite inherent blessings, abilities, qualities and talents that Addy has exhibited and continues to exhibit are: a close relationship with her Heavenly Father and Elder Brother, Jesus Christ, the ability to soak up knowledge like a sponge, her passion and awesome talent for drawing and the arts in general, her love of music, her unconditional love and tolerance of everyone and everything, her social skills, the good choices she continues to make, her ability to focus on what matters most and to exclude outside worldly influences, her leadership skills, her quick mind, her soft, kind heart, her internal beauty, her compassion for animals and humans, and her testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Addison is an amazing individual. I know that she was sent to our family as an example of God's love, to provide us with a beacon of righteousness, and to show us the values of inner strength. I am so proud of the young woman she is becoming, and so blessed to call her my daughter. I love you Addison!!

Merry Christmas Y'all!!!

2010-12-12T16:19:00.001-08:00

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FOR REAL!!!!!

2010-10-14T11:22:00.001-07:00

ANYONE HEARD THIS? Remember when the moron speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi, made that incredibly stupid statement, “we have to pass the healthcare bill in order to see what’s in it”? Well, here is just another little tidbit of what is actually in it!! Hurray!!!!
Dhimmitude -- What does it mean?
Obama used it in the health care bill.
Now isn't this interesting? It was used in the health care law.
Every day there's another revelation of what Obama and his fellow Democrats are doing to our country.

Dhimmitude -- I had never heard the word until now. Type it into Google and start reading. Pretty interesting. It's on page 107 of the healthcare bill. I looked this up on Google and yep, it exists. It is a REAL word. Amish and others are excluded, including Muslims. I think I could become Amish a whole lot easier than Muslim.

Word of the Day: Dhimmitude
Dhimmitude is the Muslim system of controlling non-Muslim populations conquered through jihad. Specifically, it is the TAXING of non-Muslims in exchange for tolerating their presence AND as a coercive means of converting conquered remnants to Islam.

ObamaCare allows the establishment of Dhimmitude and Sharia Muslim diktat in the United States . Muslims are specifically exempted from the government mandate to purchase insurance, and also from the penalty tax for being uninsured. Islam considers insurance to be "gambling", "risk-taking", and "usury" and is thus banned. Muslims are specifically granted exemption based on this.

How convenient. So I, as a Christian, will have crippling IRS liens placed against all of my assets, including real estate, cattle, and even accounts receivables, and will face hard prison time because I refuse to buy insurance or pay the penalty tax. Meanwhile, Louis Farrakhan will have no such penalty and will have 100% of his health needs paid for by the de facto government insurance. Non-Muslims will be paying a tax to subsidize Muslims. Period. This is Dhimmitude.

Dhimmitude serves two purposes: It enriches the Muslim masters AND serves to drive conversions to Islam. In this case, the incentive to convert to Islam will be taken up by those in the inner-cities as well as the godless Generation X, Y, and Z types who have no moral anchor. If you don't believe in Christ to begin with, it is no problem whatsoever to sell Him for 30 pieces of silver. "Sure, I'll be a Muslim if it means free health insurance and no taxes. Where do I sign, bro?"

To check it out on Snopes click here: Health Insurance Exemptions.
Painful Fact # 2
Another tasty tidbit of the health care bill not widely know is how they will finance the health care for the poor.
In 2013 the bill imposes a 3.8% federal sales tax on all home sales. An example is $7600 on a house that sells for $200,000. Your sales price includes commissions to the sales people, appliances purchased with the house, if you select a home warranty etc. All will be taxed.
Conveniently this does not go into effect until After the next presidential campaign and election.

What's new in Stevens' Land

2010-10-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

Nothing really. That's an honest answer. I feel like I should post something because it's been awhile, but I have been so busy with every day life that it's hard to get a moment to sit down and think about writing a blog post. We had teacher conferences this week so Avery and Aidyn got to get out of school at 12:50 every day, and we have all enjoyed that. It's nice for them to get some extra time to themselves. I was so thrilled to hear that both of them are doing great in school, listening attentively, and following directions. Now if I could just get Avery to do the last two at home......We are all running different directions and fall is in full swing. The kids all love their activities and I love being able to watch them enjoy having fun. Addy is doing great as well, though there are no teacher conferences at the 7th grade level. She has had a stressful start to her school year and I hope that once volleyball season is over, she will be able to feel a little less anxious.
Unfortunately, we ended up having to give our new puppy Gizmo up. Sad face!!! We tried really hard to work with him and overcome the challenges he had because of deafness. Once he began to get aggressive with the kids though, I realized I was out of my league. Aggressiveness is a very common trait in deaf dogs because they are easily startled and overly protective/defensive. Thankfully, the breeder I purchased Gizmo from, Curly's French Bulldogs, found a wonderful women who lives in Houston who has been training deaf Frenchies for 13 years. She has two living with her now, and was thrilled to take Gizmo into her home and give him the training he needs and deserves. I am so happy that he will get what he needs from his new person and have a life with other dogs that he will be able to relate to better. I miss him, but I find comfort in knowing I made the right choice for both Gizmo and my family.
Have a great October!!!

Back To School!!!

2010-08-23T15:21:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of the 2010-11 school year. Addy is in 7th grade, Aidyn 4th, and Avery 1st. All 3 were fairly excited to go back due to end of summer boredom and I am happy to report that all 3 had a wonderful 1st day!!! Addy is enjoying the challenges of middle school and seems more mature and responsible every day. She gets to try out for the volleyball team tomorrow so send her a shout out on Facebook! She will also be continuing with piano. Aidyn is sooooo glad to have a "nice" teacher this year and very positive about 4th grade. He will start playing for the Lantana Golf Academy in 2 weeks and has also started guitar lessons. Avery is just thrilled to be back at school. She is my social butterfly and enjoys hanging with her peeps. Hip-hop and soccer are on her to-do list this fall. John gave each of them their back to school blessings last night so we can't go wrong!!

Also, I would be remiss not to mention the newest member of the Stevens' clan. Gizmo Sirius Stevens is our new baby Frenchie. After it was clear that I would need a distraction to get over my Cooper, John bought me this little fella! He's sweet and sassy all rolled into a cute-albeit deaf-package. Yes, that's what I typed, deaf. He can't hear a thing. We didn't' know that Gizmo was deaf when we bought him and neither did the breeder we bought him from. We accept this new challenge!! Bring it on!! We love him and he's part of our family so we will do our best to accommodate his handicap and make him feel comfortable in our home. Gizmo has already bonded with Dozer and is blissfully unaware that he is different from the rest of us.

Coming up in about a week we will be celebrating Aidyn's 10th birthday so I'd like to add a few words about his awesomeness. Aidyn is our favorite and only son. His birthday is August 31st and we went to a fun zone type place with video games, mini golf, and race cars to celebrate with his friends. Just yesterday. As far as I know, everyone had a great time. Let me mention a few of my favorite things about Aidyn. He is the kindest boy you will every meet. Aidyn never has anything bad to say about anyone, he doesn't judge people by the way they look, talk, by how intelligent he thinks they are, by where they come from, or any of that nonsense. He gives everyone the benefit of the doubt and easily forgives. He is super obedient. John and I never have to ask him twice to complete his services, turn off the TV, pick up after himself, or lend a hand. Aidyn loves God. He never complains about going to church, about reading his scriptures, about offering prayers, or any other Gospel related activity. I am continually impressed by Aidyn's charm and witt. Last night I was at a forever long soccer meeting to get my G liscense in order to continue coaching the Pink Tornadoes. A few hours into the meeting I get a text from Aidyn that says, "How's my favorite mom doing??". We traded texts for a while and I had a smile on my face for the rest of the evening. Aidyn is also creative, intelligent, hard working, humorous, friendly, even-tempered, and he can always make the best out of any situation. He is such a blessing to our family for all of these reasons and more. I enjoy talking to him regularly because he will tell me anything and is always eager to share tidbits about his day, his interests, his current exploits, and his personal achievements. I love my Hug-E-B!!!
Happy 10th Birthday, buddy!!!

RIP Cooper

2010-07-25T20:51:00.001-07:00

At the end of June, we experienced a family tragedy. My special baby boy, Cooper-Teddy Stevens passed away. This is a hard tribute to add to my blog, but it would be selfish not to document how special Cooper is/was to our family. Cooper was the most tender-hearted, loveable, angelic, and loyal dog I have ever had. Cooper was my best friend, and almost like a fourth child to me. Loosing him is the hardest trial I have had to endure so far in this life. I am grateful to have spent 3.5 wonderful years with him and will treasure all of those memories for ever. I look forward to the time when I can see him again. I know Cooper is happy and being well cared for in his new home.
This has been a very difficult transition for our family but everyone is moving on and we are trying hard to dwell on the happy memories we have of our sweet cooper. Our family and friends have been so thoughtful and supportive and we appreciate all the love and well wishes. I will miss playing paw-paws, the times Coopie would actually cuddle on my lap, his pink snortelly nose, and his complete devotion the most. My favorite memory of Cooper is probably the day I got him. I had wanted a French Bulldog for ages and didn't think John would ever concede to having a small(ish) dog in our home. He is NOT a small dog guy. I was really convinced that having a Frenchie was never an experience I would enjoy. John surprised me Christmas of 2007 with Cooper and I was completely shocked, thrilled, overwhelmed, etc. Cooper lived up to every expectation I had for a dog and is irreplaceable. I miss you and love you Coopie Doo-doo.
Love Always,
Mom

Mommy Daddy Time

2010-07-25T20:24:00.000-07:00

Hurray!! What married couple with chidren DOESN'T love mommy-daddy time? Crazy ones that's who!!! John and I just got back from a wonderful 3 day Royal Carribean cruise to the Bahamas that was a much needed and very relaxing get-away. Incidentally, it was almost the same cruise we sailed on our honeymoon so especially meaningful for the 2 of us. We were lucky enough to travel with 3 of our favorite couple friends from our KC stomping grounds: Corie (Jane)and Mike (Extreme Thrust) Crabtree, Cortney (Small Bills) and Dan (Baby Boy) Exby, Laurie (TripleX) and Todd (PG13) Furstenau. What a great group of amazing people. We are so blessed to have friends of this caliber (and truly shocked that they actually let us hang with them).

Our first night in Miami we loaded up on seafood at Bubba Gumps and Cortney coined her famous phrase, "Save your breath, we don't drink" when addressing our lovely waitress. Awesome!! We spent the evening on the roof of the Marriot hotel playing dominos by the pool, watching an amazing lightening storm. We left for our first port on Friday evening and woke up to beautiful Coco-Cay Saturday morning. On Coco-Cay we enjoyed massages, snorkeling, and some CRAZY wave running. BTW Dan, you are now an 8. The high speed wave running adventure was through 3-4 foot swells which made the trip twice as fun. Corie and Mike totally ate surf during the first run and John and I got to enjoy the view of the wipe-out since we were riding behind them. Great show!!

We spent the next day in Nassau where the Crabtree's and Furstenau's shopped on Bay Street while the Exby's joined us for a sting-ray adventure on a small island called Black Beard's Cay. What a neat experience!! A small group of us tendered over to the island and spent 2 hours swimming with, feeding, and HOLDING!!! 15 sting rays in an inclosed area. Wow! If you ever go to Nassau, don't miss this excursion!!

I am grateful for the fun, the adventure, the comedy, and the memories made on this great trip! Next adventure, here we come!! My mom and dad were kind enough to fly in from CA and watch our kids so it was extra nice not to have to worry about them at all. Thanks mom and dad!!!

Fun in Florida

2010-06-29T20:30:00.001-07:00

Orlando was great! We were able to visit the Magic Kingdom, Discovery Cove, Busch Gardens, Typhoon Lagoon water park, and Sea World. Our favorite was Discovery Cove where we were able to swim with a dolphin, snorkle with fish, rays, and skates, interact with tropical birds in the aviary, feed rays in the ray pool, and enjoy relaxing on the lazy river. Discovery Cove tickets are all inclusive so from the moment we walked in, we were in a resort like setting with everything we needed for the day including great food. All we had to bring was our swim suits, and clothes to change into for later if we wanted. What an amazing place!!! Enjoy some pix from our trip....
Busch Gardens:

Discovery Cove:

The Magic Kingdom:

Typhoon Lagoon:

Sea World:

Winding Down

2010-05-25T10:49:00.000-07:00

All the craziness of 3 children and their many activities seems to be....dare I actually put this out there....winding down-for at least a few months anyway! We will trade school, volleyball, soccer, dance, and Jiu-Jitsu, for swimming, summer camps, and VACATION!!! Hurray!!!! We are all so excited!!! The Pink Tornadoes Soccer Team finished with 8 wins 1 draw and 1 loss. We felt pretty good about that! Go team!! We had our soccer BBQ here a few nights ago, did a little post season celebration swimming, and awarded trophies. I am so blessed to be able to work with this great group of little girls. I love it! Addy's 1st season of competitive volleyball is over. The girls had a great time playing together and Addy really enjoyed her team mates and coach. Her final tournament games were last weekend and she is soooooo glad to have a break. Next year she will be able to play for the school and I think I am almost as excited as she is. I heart volleyball AND Addy so it's a winning combination. Aidyn was D-O-N-E done with Jiu-Jitsu 6 months ago, but unfortunately for him, he was not officially done until this month. This sport has been challenging for him and he has put up with it well. I am so proud of him for sticking with the routine and not complaining (too much) about finishing out the year. He really learned a lot and the experience has helped his confidence athletic ability wise tremendously. Avery's Jazz/Hip-Hop class finished up last week as well. Her dance company, Turning Pointe Dance, performed their season recital on Saturday and it was Avery's first time dancing on stage. She loved it!! She was sad that their was only one performance. That girl can shake her booty with the best of em'. Gets it from her dad. Her swim birthday party was a big hit. We had a huge crowd of kids come to celebrate our Goo turn 6. Luckily, we also had several parents stay to help out. I will plan better in the crowd control department next time. Hope everyone is enjoying the craziness that comes with this time of the year! I know I'm ready for a break. Enjoy some pix!! I forgot to add one more thing! We had our first brush with a Texas snake this month. Dozer, our tri-pied Frenchie got bit right in the face by a Copperhead. Poor baby!! He ended up in the doggie ER over night and was extremely swollen, but has lived to chase critters again. I am posting a pic of his swollen-osity.
Dan and Cort, I put the last pic up for you and as a tribute to Spartans everywhere.

Avery's 6

2010-04-28T16:53:00.000-07:00

I can't believe she's already 6! Watching my kids grow up is such a bitter-sweet experience. I know I have the opportunity to spend forever with Avery, but she will only be 5 once! Out of all 3 of my kids, Avery has the most spunk and the greatest love of being in motion. She loves dancing, singing, playing soccer, roller-blading, monkey bar swinging, swimming-you name, she'll try it. I am hoping that trait doesn't turn out to bite me in the rear when she's a teenager. Last weekend John and I were looking at some old home movies. We found one of Avery at about 18 months dancing around, shaking her little booty, showin' us her moves. The cuteness is overwhelming!! She was a mover and a shaker even then.

Avery is very curious and that usually works out ok. She's the child I wouldn't be surprised to find running around outside naked, coloring on her walls, or playing with the stove just to see how it works. Thankfully she hasn't tried any of those. There was the time she covered her whole room with vaseline though...

I love that Avery's almost always smiling and happy, carefree, and ready to have fun. She requires the least audio stimulation via TV, video games, or computer of my 3. She would rather be outside playing, inside playing, anywhere playing.

I can't get enough of this little girls puffy cheeks and will be sooo sad when she outgrows them. When I tell her about my cheek woes, her response is, "Mommy, I will still be beautiful and you can still puff my cheeks even when I'm big. Look, I can puff yours and you're old". If I could box and sell the way those cute, velvety soft cheeks feel between my fingers along with the joy that pinching them brings me, I would be a rich woman.

The little birthday diva is having a pool party this Saturday with her friends in the backyard. We are going with a luau theme. I picked up the decor and favors today and decided a pinata would be fun. When Avery got home I showed her the party stash and she, of course, thought the pinata was the best part. "Mommy!! You got me a pee-yata! That's so nice!!" Ahhhhh! She's six and she still has a cute word. I will cherish "pee-yatas" for always. We had a little semi-family celebration for her tonight with a small cake and gifts from her siblings. John is away on unavoidable business and Avery was so sad he couldn't be here that she hugged my leg and cried while we sang her happy birthday. She loves her daddy so much!! He sent her flowers and she was tickled pink, but there is just no substitute for the actual Daddy. At 5, there are few good excuses for Daddy missing your 6th bday, even if we aren't celebrating until Saturady.

Avery: "Mommy where's Daddy! Isn't he coming to my birthday???!!!"

Me: "He's in another state, Avery! Arizona is like 20 hours away driving, and 3 on an airplane. Daddy's boss says he has to stay and make his presentation. You don't want Daddy to loose his job right? And anyway, your party isn't until Saturday and he will be home for that AND your Toys R' Us date Friday night."

Avery: "But.....isnt Daddy coming to my birthday?"

I guess I should cherish the few years I have left before she grasps the concepts of space and time.

Oh yeah, listen to the first song on my playlist before you go. I hope all my kids "dance" and I hope yours do as well. Life is too short not to! Enjoy some Avery moments....

Spring Fun

2010-04-14T13:21:00.000-07:00

Hey Y'all,

Can you believe it? We've been busy!! During March and April we have had family visit, holiday festivities, the typical run-around-town, and we have added a new family member. Ross and his new wife Laurie visited us during our spring break so it was nice for the kids to be able to get to know their new Grandma. We went to the JFK memorial, the Fossil Rim Safari, the Dallas Temple, and who can resist the Bass Pro Store!! All of us enjoyed spending time with Ross and Laurie and it was such a neat experience to share a temple session with them. Gator, Amy Sue-Beth Joe-Ann, Clementine Begonia, Cleburne Cletus Jr. the 3rd, and Lil'Gipper hope to see Pa Ross and Ma Laurie again soon. In between visit from grandparents, we were thrilled to welcome the VanOrman family into our home for a fun sleep-over. We miss our Kansas friends a ton and love it when they come visit. Seeing how the kids have grown and watching our children enjoy each other so much is always bitter sweet. We were sad to see them go so soon. We love you Karina, BJ and family! After the VanOrmans headed back home to Kansas, my Mom and Dad flew down from CA! We had so much fun! They got to spend Easter here and loved running to and from all the grandkid activities. Our days were spent house hunting-yes that's right folks, house hunting-and what a blessing it would be for our family if they were able to move down to TEXAS!!!! Mom and Dad ended up putting offers down on 2 houses and we are waiting to hear back from the builders...pray for a move friends!!! After living away from them so long, having them close will truly be a miracle in all of our lives. In the afternoons, they got to see Addy play volleyball, Aidyn work his Jiu-Jitsu magic, and Avery dance and play soccer. And you will be surprised by this, but our evening were spent on the train...that's the Chooch train for all you domino fans out there. A visit to the Stevens' home is never complete without a friendly game of chooch to rouse the competitive spirit of our guests. Happy spring everyone!! Enjoy the pix of our new Holland Lop, Fuzzy Lumpkin. You can call him Lumpy.

Busy in pictures....

2010-03-13T17:25:00.000-08:00

Life just keeps getting ahead of me. I wonder if that will ever stop happening. Probably not. Oh well, here are some fun pictures of what we've been doing the last 6-8 weeks.....

Addy's 12th Bday party:

Avery's Kinder field trip to the Science Enrichment Center at UNT:

Rock and Roll Valentine's Tea Party:

matching hearts game

Tea Party Pop Stars-A little freeze dance, a little balloon stompin', a little cootie chasing, and a lot of fun:

Thanks Danielle for these great pictures!! My friend Danielle Andrus is a GREAT photographer and she came to the party to help out and take photos for me.

Addy is our Volleyball Star:

John and I took Avery and her BFF Zaida to see Taylor Swift last night. She LOVES Taylor. This was a first concert for both of them. We all had a blast. Taylor can really put on a show and all the little girls just ate it up.

Confessions of a Harried Housewife, Chapter 5

2010-02-22T10:13:00.000-08:00

This may appear as a very naive post to many readers. But I've always been a little on the naive side so don't be embarrassed for me. I'm just wondering, how many of you remember reading in the parenthood/motherhood books about how life changes so dramatically in unexpected ways when you have children? And I am not talking about going from not changing diapers to changing diapers or any of the regular every day rearing that all of us partake in....ok..... maybe some of that. Is there a book out there that details the mental, emotional, and physical toll that being a wife and mother takes on us? Collectively? If there is, name it in the comments!!! It should be required reading for anyone considering marriage and parenthood.

Not that I would change a thing about my life or the decisions I've made regarding my eternal partner and family, but wouldn't it have been nice to be more prepared for it all? To know that when we signed on as a wife and then a mother that we were agreeing to lose ourselves in the lives of others for the next 50 years and beyond would have been valuable information, at least for me. I would have liked to know that after bearing children our minds and bodies would be forever altered-that instead of just having to worry about our own selves and the stupid decisions that we make, that we would give a piece of our hearts to each of these people whom we love and worry about their decisions and safety as well.

My kids are 5, 9,and 12. They are blessings in my life beyond my expectations. Each of them is unique and wonderful and interesting to me. When I plan my calendar for the week every Sunday night, it is their lives I am plotting out now. What activities do we have EVERY night this week? What will we eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner MTWThF? What will I need at the grocery store? Which nights will John be home? What will my FHE lesson focus on? What is my cub scout den meeting plan for Tuesday night? Have I sent the right reminder emails out to the right people? What drills and activities should Avery's soccer team work on Thursday? Where can I fit some time in with John? Should I try and do my Visiting Teaching this week? Do I need to pick up the dry cleaning? What time are the soccer and volleyball games this Saturday? Will I be able to drive for volleyball Monday or Thursday? Which day are the kids buying lunch this week? Am I taking Aidyn to Jiu-Jitsu this Wednesday or Avery to dance? Does everybody have their homework finished? Are there dentist, orthodontist, doctors or other appointments I need to account for? Have I checked all the backpacks?????? On top of the every day schedule details, I have to be on my toes for the unscheduled as well. Did you eat your vitamins? Did you brush your teeth? Did you take a shower? Did you say your prayers? Haven't you already played 30 minutes of video games? If you are playing a computer game then your room is clean, right? Did you wash the dog? Did you feed the dog? Did you put away your clothes? Did you complete your services today? Have you been reading your scriptures? Do you need help with that? or that? or that? or that? Don't forget to do your homework. Don't forget to practice piano/guitar/whatever!!! Don't forget to work on your Bear requirements! Don't foget to work on your overhand serves! Don't forget to practice your dribbling! Don't forget to eat a healthy snack! Get ready for school, get ready for soccer, get ready for jiu-jitsu, get ready for Young Womens, get ready for Cubs, get ready for dance, get ready for church, get ready for LIFE!!!! Sometimes, just preparing our kids for the day ahead is challenging let alone paring that with arming them for their futures. Mind boggling, I tell you!!!!

So where, in all the LIFE, does that leave us? I'll name a few of my favorites: we are left with exhaustion, saggy boobs, hormone imbalances, stretch marked skin, thyroid disease, milk duct infections, back pain, varicose veins, memories of activities we once enjoyed and had time for, pangs for a waistline that is gone forever, and lost brain cells-whether actual or perceived!!!! Is it hard to not feel sorry for ourselves? For me, on some days, your darn right it's hard!!! But on most days, the "me" we give up is worth the "them" we gain, right? Is there anything on earth more rewarding than watching your children grow up beside a man you love and knowing that you can be with all of them forever? I haven't found it yet and don't expect to. I did the math and figured I have about 25 years to enjoy my children in my own home from Addy's birth, until Avery leaves for college. I don't want to let one minute of this precious time pass me by.

What do you do when you've got the "mom blues"? On the days I feel like there isn't any "me" left, I try to do something for myself; mani, pedi, hot bath, hair appointment, hubby massage, hobby indulgence, shopping-I can usually find a decent pity party companion. On the days I feel lost and unprepared for life as a stay-at-home mom I get down on my knees and thank God for the blessings in my life that allow me to be just that. Then I pray for comfort, peace and a renewed focus on forever. I love my job. I always wanted to grow up to be a mom, I just never knew exactly what that meant. Thanks Heavenly Father for answering my prayers.

12 Great Years....

2010-01-30T15:05:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Addison Lurline!!!! I can't believe you are turning 12 tomorrow. I want you to know that I love you so much, that I am more proud of the young woman you are becomming with each passing day, and that you are beautiful inside and out. Thank you for being such an amazing daughter and friend. Here's to Eternity!

I Love Five

2010-01-22T14:32:00.001-08:00

Last night I was putting Avery to bed and I laid down by her for a few minutes. We chatted about the mysteries of the universe. She said to me, "Mom, sometimes when I take off my socks, my feet feel brand new. Does that ever happen to you?" Soooo cute!! I wish she could be 5 forever.

I went to lunch with my GREAT new friend Kim today. I feel like we have a lot in common. It's really nice to sit and talk about daily life and compare notes with someone who's so down to earth and positive. Thanks Kim! I had fun.

Taking a breath....

2010-01-10T18:40:00.001-08:00

After a very busy holiday season, January has been a welcome relief. We celebrated a wonderful WHITE! Christmas here in Dallas. Grandma Stevens visited and it was nice to have her as our guest. The kids were thrilled with snow to play in and keep praying for more. I had an "inner" nose job on December 15th to help with some sinus issues. I can honestly say that post surgery, I was the most uncomfortable I have ever been and the recovery was completely suckish. At this point, I am almost completely healed and sooooo happy to be able to breath again. Hurray for unblocked sinus passages! The gifts that keep on giving!! The jewelry businees was awesome this season and I'd like to send out a big THANK YOU to all of my new and loyal customers.
I don't have much going on right now besides the usual and that's soooo nice. Aidyn is busy with Basketball and Jiu-Jitsu, Addy is still playing volleyball, and Avery has started a Jazz/Hip-hop class with spring soccer right around the corner. John has enjoyed a productive hunting season and our freezer is stocked with lots of good eats. Both him and Aidyn head out to the lease a few times a month and love the time they get to spend out there together. Tis the season to catch up on scrapbooking!! Have a great 2010 everyone!

November 2009

2009-12-01T07:37:00.001-08:00

In addition to good citizenship, you might also be interested in our November 2009! We had a great Thanksgiving holiday. We were blessed enough to have our very good friends Dan and Cortney Exby visit with their sweet baby, Owen. Could he be more precious???? We spent a lot of time playing "chooch", enjoying each other's company, cooking, and eating. We also spent some time shopping and site-seeing. Cortney was the best help ever with our delicious Thanksgiving meal. Dan did a mean job of football watching with John-the manliest manly men activity on this festive day of manly men activities. All were sad when the Exby's had to return to KC on Sunday morning. But life happens, ya know?

Last night for FHE, we drove over to the Gaylord Texan Hotel in Grapevine for the Ice show. Every year they have a wonderful display of ice sculptures depicting "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", in addition to a giant ice slide. OH, it's cold in there! 9 degrees to be specific. But upon entry, you are given Parkas to keep warm and we also came prepared with hats and gloves. The ice sculptures were beautiful and the slide was fun, but the experience was definitely over priced. Must be inflation. Darn money elves!

Aidyn earned his yellow and black belt this month in Jui-Jitsu and is very excited about that. Avery is currently soundly invested in the fabulousness that is Taylor Swift. Her mp3 player is never far away and if you want to here her sing "Pictures to Burn", "Love Story", or "You Belong With Me", give her a call. She asked me the other day if we could go to Taylor's house and meet her and I had to explain Hollywood Status to her on a 5 year-old level. So she asked me if we could call her intstead. My message was obviously not clear. All the kiddos are anxious for Christmas and hoping to be on Santa's Nice List. Avery got to meet Santa last night at the Gaylord and was just tickled by that experience. I will say their Santa is impressive! Real beard and everything! Hope all of you have a great holiday season! I don't know if I will be able to post before Christmas as this time of year is very busy for me but I will do my bestest!

Sound Money

2009-12-01T07:28:00.001-08:00

We had an amazing lesson in Sunday School this past weekend at my church. Sal Frisella, a local college professor spoke to us about good citizenship. I know that as a member of the majority, I have the same feelings about our current government situation as many of you. What feeling you ask? Well, in a nutshell, we are being seduced into the ridiculous belief that the current administration is heading the right direction with our economy and that the constitution that has always served our country well needs "revision". I say, BULL CRAP! And I really need to say it more frequently. I am a big fan of congressman, Dr. Ron Paul. He is an intelligent, conservavtively minded individual who continues to vote only for legislation that can be supported by our Constitution-without revisions. Please read the following article (just one of many fabulous and oh-so-true idealogies found on www.ronpaul.com) and be enlightened. I choose to post this article first because the way the Federal Reserve handles money could very well be the downfall of our country.

Sound Money
Henry Ford once said, “It is well that the people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.”

Are you confused by all the talk about monetary policy, fiat money and inflation? You’re not alone. Bankers and politicians have worked hand in hand for many decades to obscure their activities from the public. They hide behind elaborate structures designed to inflate the money supply while creating the false impression that they are looking out for our best interests.

Inflation is a very simple concept to understand: More money = less value. It may seem contradictory but it’s very straightforward.

For illustration purposes, join me on a brief journey of the imagination. One beautiful morning, you wake up and realize that you own twice as much cash as you had just last night. Magic money elves entered your home and bank account and simply doubled your entire cash assets. You’re now twice as wealthy (or half as poor as the case may be).

But you soon realize that the same thing happened to everyone else in the country. The money supply (total amount of money) has doubled! It’s just a one-time event and your regular income remains the same… you just got lucky this one time. It’s okay to dream, so stay with me.

What happens next? If you’re like most people, you probably start spending. You buy things you always wanted to buy but couldn’t afford. You pay back some debts. You buy stocks. In other words, you put the new money into circulation. So do most other people in the country.

Demand for many products increases because a lot more people can afford them now. Consumers are buying so much stuff that some shortages occur. To protect themselves against these shortages, shops and businesses decide to increase their prices. They know that once prices go up, fewer people will be competing to buy the same products, and the situation will be back to normal.

As a side effect of these higher prices, shop owners start earning higher profits than usual. They have more money in their bank accounts, which allows them to increase their spending. They will invest in new stock or expand their business. They might pay out dividends to their investors and bonuses to their employees, allowing these people to buy more products as well. This additional demand puts even more pressure on other shops to increase their prices.

A few months later, prices of almost everything have gone up. Suppliers and manufacturers are faced with the same threat of too much sudden demand from their clients so they too decide to start charging more.

You went on a one-time buying spree and look what happened! Your income stayed the same, but after a few weeks you can suddenly no longer afford the products you used to buy all the time because all prices in the economy have gone up.

Naturally, you demand a higher salary from your employer. If you’re self-employed or in business, you have to charge your customers more money just so that you can maintain your standard of living. Everyone else is in the same situation. Higher prices keep spreading throughout the entire economy, and it’s getting more and more difficult to make a living.

Can you see how this lucky one-time incident which at first seemed so exciting was extremely harmful not just for you but for the entire country? You briefly had a good time but now you’re worse off than before. In our story there are now twice as many dollars in circulation, but your income remains the same and each dollar you earn is worth only about half as much as it used to be. You’re really hoping for those money elves to come back.

As a matter of fact, some people, companies and banks have managed to develop an inside connection to the “money elves”, allowing them to receive new money into their bank accounts whenever they want to. The money is officially a loan (credit), but they know they never have to pay it back… they just “roll it over”, i.e. take up even more debt. With all that easy money in their accounts, and after hearing on TV that stocks only go up and that real estate prices will continue to rise forever, they tend to get a bit lightheaded and start making bad investment decisions. They know that if anything happens to their investments they will be bailed out by the government, so they do not hesitate to take huge risks with their new found “wealth”.

Let’s stop dreaming and look at the reality of things. What if I told you that these “money elves” do exist and that they spring into action not just once in a lifetime, but every couple of weeks? And that they repeatedly give money to their closest friends, but not to you? That prices are going up because the total amount of money in circulation increases, but that you’re missing out on all the fun?

Well, that’s inflation at work. Who benefits from inflation? Only those who are at the top of the pyramid and receive all that new money directly from the source. As you might have guessed by now, the source is the Federal Reserve, and its recipients include the government which “borrows” a lot of new money each year, without any intention of ever paying it back. Another beneficiary these days are failed banks that are being “bailed out” for the good of the “economy”, or defense contractors that receive money to build up our military so we can have a constant presence all over the world and fight never-ending and unnecessary wars. There was even a huge number of small-time beneficiaries who received consumer loans and sub-prime mortgages they would never be able to pay back.

What, then, is fiat money? It’s exactly what we just talked about: money that can be inflated or increased at the push of a button at the say-so of a powerful person or organization. Nowadays most dollars are just blimps on a computer screen and it’s extremely easy for the Federal Reserve to create money out of thin air whenever they want to.

If our money were backed by gold and silver, people couldn’t just sit in some fancy building and push a button to create new money. They would have to engage in honest trade with another party that already has some gold in their possession. Alternatively, they would have to risk their lives and assets to find a suitable spot to build a gold mine, then get dirty and sweaty and actually dig up the gold. Not something I can imagine our “money elves” at the Fed getting down to whenever they feel like playing God with the economy.

As you can see, inflation and fiat money are very seductive and beneficial to those at the top, and very dangerous to everyone else and the nation as a whole. That’s exactly what Henry Ford was talking about. He knew that every country that relies too much on fiat money is ruined sooner rather than later.

There is only one possible solution to the inflation problem: Stop creating money out of thin air. But we’re already in such a mess that the only way to have a real impact on the money supply is to increase interest rates so that people pay back their loans and borrow less money from the banks, which decreases the amount of money in circulation. However, higher interest rates might very well crash the economy. So the Fed’s current “solution” to overcoming inflation is… creating even more of it.

Fiat money is a dangerous addiction. Even if the Fed found a way to stop inflation, as long as the current system persists the temptation will always be there to resume pushing the easy money button. That’s why we need to get back on the gold standard and eliminate the Federal Reserve altogether.

But that won’t happen “before tomorrow morning”, as Henry Ford said, or even this year. Ron Paul believes that the first step towards monetary freedom is to allow open competition in currencies. Once gold and silver are allowed as legal tender and can be sold without sales tax, everyone can use them to store their wealth and to pay for the things they want to buy. The Federal Reserve will finally have a very compelling motivation to stay honest and maintain the value of the dollar because if they don’t, they will simply lose all their customers.

Ron Paul has been an advocate of the gold standard and open competition in currencies for many years. He is the Federal Reserve’s most outspoken opponent in Congress and has frequently questioned Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke about the Fed’s actions.

Join the Ron Paul Revolution and help us put the Fed where it belongs: into the history books and out of our financial lives.

Happy Fall Everyone!!!

2009-11-06T14:00:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics from our fall spooktacular and recent family picture shoot. Thanks LeeAnn!!! www.widynphotography.com for the best photography Texas has ever seen!!!

A Dream Come True

2009-10-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

I have loved Bono for many, many years. Since I was 14, U2 has been one of my favorites. Their inspiring music spans decades and reaches out to people of all ages. The humanitarian work that they do changes lives every minute of every day. This is a band that makes a difference. They don't just sing about the unification of our world in all things, they work to make unification and change happen.

Considering my passion for this band, it is strange to think that I have never before last Monday night, seen them in concert. I was some what of a ooncert junkie as a teenager and young adult. But the elusive U2 concert was always just beyond my reach either location wise or financially. I'm not sure how many times they have toured during my life, I'm just amazingly grateful to have finally seen them live. I know I'm a wife, and a mother, and a thirty-something, but I still get a little crazy when it comes to good music.

Bono completely sold out the new Cowboys stadium here in Dallas. There must have been a million people there, it was insane. And with the Muse opening???? Hello!!! Heaven on earth! The musically gifted Matthew Bellamy of the Muse got the party started. What a genius! He is so talented!! The crowd was ready when U2 took the stage and the experience was sureal for me. I know I'm 14 here, but I swear seeing Bono and the Edge right there in front of me, live, in person.....words cannot describe the feeling. Mesmerizing! Euphoric! Phenomenal! My Dallas BFF Pam joined me for the evening and we had such a blast. U2 played just about every one of my favorite songs. Seriously, if I could have picked the music line-up for Bono, the concert couldn't have been more perfect.

Kudos to my wonderful husband and his phat connections for getting us fab seats. I love you Babe!! This is one of the best gifts you've given me. Enjoy some concert pix....

September...Wow!

2009-09-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

We had A LOT of fun during the month of September. From Aidyn's birthday party to Animefest to Disneyland we traveled near and far for fabulous adventure. Words are not sufficient so I will let pictures do the talking!

One excellent tidbit I will mention. After reading the story below you might wonder, "why would she mention that over everything else???" Do you really want to know? Story first:

Aidyn received his Wolf at our pack meeting this month. He was very excited and I am so proud of him for the enthusiasm he was able to muster as he worked to complete all of the Wolf Achievements. But I was MOST proud of the comment he made at pack meeting while the cubs were playing an intermission game. Award ceremonies without games make for very dry meetings, you know. Each den was given a bucket with a letter on the front of it. All of the boys lined up behind their bucket and each one took a turn running up to a pile of misc junk at the front of our staging area and trying to find something that started with their letter. The Webelos had A, the Bears (us) had S, and the Wolves had B. Well the boys thought this was great fun and were running back and forth like crazy trying to accumulate the most items in their bucket. When Aidyn took his turn, he ran to the front, searched through the pile, grabbed an item that he decided started with the letter S and ran back to his den. He's holding up this character and all of his teammates are yelling at him, "AIDYN!!! NOOO!!! What are you doing!!!! That's and astronaut! ASTRONAUT STARTS WITH THE LETTER A!!!!!"

Aidyn smiles jubiliantly (like he knows this great secret he's about to reveal)and yells back, "No it's a SPACEMAN! You know, a Spaceman? Haven't you ever heard that song???" Here he shakes his shaggy little head impatiently and says to no one in particular, "It's a song about alien abduction".

He was shocked that none of the other Bear Cubs new what he was talking about. I mean come on! Are we the only worshippers of the amazing Brandon Flowers and his lyrics of awesomeness? Surely not.

So really, I am not sure why I mention that story instead of glorious recollections of the Happiest Place On Earth, or descriptions of the utter wierdness that was Animefest. Be honest with yourself though, doesn't that inspire you to go rock out with your kiddos RIGHT NOW to the Killers?? I know I'm gonna!

Pause for dramatic effect........................

Ok, I don't want you to be dissapointed. You've been expecting more than Fond Crazy Amy Rememberances From the Cub Scout Vault. A taste of the Mickey experience? The California Screamin' screamin? The thrill of Fantasmic? The Bibbity Bobbity Boo Makeovers? The Fabulous Stevens Family West Coast and Texas togetherness? The joy and magic of cousinhood? I can deliver some of that here to you in cyberspace, as well. We had such a great time seeing our family from Oregon, and in all honesty, that was a much higher point this September than my Killers' moment. How we miss family!!! Richmond, Caroline, and Jessica along with their sweet families were able to make the SO-CAL trip, and Ross was there for the fun as well. The kids absolutely LOVED seeing their Stevens' cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandpa. Families are forever you know, and being together at the Happiest Place On Earth was a little slice thereof. Que slideshow!

Fun with Friends

2009-09-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun with the Crabtree's and Dan when they visited! Mike made this awesome video of the Stevens' backyard experience.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ1Fmb0c_nQ

THANK YOU!!!!!

2009-09-12T17:28:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to post a big, heart felt, sincere thank you to all the protestors that marched on Washington this morning to protest the Obama health care reform plan and deficit spending crisis our nation faces. Thank you for your bravery, for giving of your time and resources, and for speaking for the silent majority. You are my heroes!!!!

Read it and Weep

2009-08-28T18:11:00.001-07:00

My Dad sent me this....rings quite true!!

Letter from Procter & Gamble Exec to Obama

Please read, even if you are an Obama fan. It is legitimate, written
by respected, Lou Prichett, formerly of Proctor and Gamble. Lou
Pritchett is one of corporate America 's true living legends- an
acclaimed author, dynamic teacher and one of the world's highest
rated speakers. Successful corporate executives everywhere recognize
him as the foremost leader in change management. Lou changed the way

America does business by creating an audacious concept that came to
be known as "partnering." Pritchett rose from soap salesman to
Vice-President, Sales and Customer Development for Procter and Gamble
and over the course of 36 years, made corporate history.
_______________________________________________________

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

Dear President Obama:

You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike
any of the others, you truly scare me.

You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you.

You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy
League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no
visible signs of support.

You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth
growing up in America and culturally you are not an American.

You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll.

You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus
don't understand it at its core.

You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others.

You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned yourself
with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to publicly
denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail.

You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America '
crowd and deliver this message abroad.

You scare me because you want to change America to a European style
country where the government sector dominates instead of the private
sector.

You scare me because you want to replace our health care system with a
government controlled one.

You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly
capitalizing on our own vast oil, coal and shale reserves.

You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose
that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of
living in the world.

You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics against
certain banks and corporations.

You scare me because your own political party shrinks from challenging
you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals.

You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider
opposing points of view from intelligent people.

You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both omnipotent
and omniscient.

You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do.

You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the Limbaughs,
Hannitys, O'Relllys and Becks who offer opposing, conservative points
of view.

You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.
Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will
probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.

Lou Pritchett

TRUE - CHECK:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/youscareme.asp

This letter was sent to the NY Times but they never acknowledged it.
Big surprise! Since it hit the internet, however, it has had over
500,000 hits. Keep it going. All that is necessary for evil to
succeed is that good men do nothing. It's happening right now.

Back to School!

2009-08-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

Well, it was back to the ole' grind today for my three kids and me. Yep, that's right THREE. All three of them are in school full time this year!!! Crazy!!! I have no idea what I will do with myself. Ok, I have a few ideas but until I win the lottery, I'm going to have to do a little more brain storming. I thought about going back to school to finish my degree but...do they have a major in Shopping with a minor in VISA and Mastercard available at accredited colleges these days? Ha!

Addy started Middle School today! She is a 6th grader. Man that makes me feel old! In this day and age when couples are having their first kid at the age of early-thirty-something, I am sending mine to middle school. Addy is really excited about middle school and I am happy for her. She is intelligent, kind, and beautiful inside and out and I know these qualities partnered with her many talents will serve her well. She dropped the "a boy at school asked me out today" on me while I was signing endless back to school paperwork. Are you kidding me??? Already???? She promptly told the KID, "sorry, I'm not dating until I'm 16". That's my girl!

Aidyn was pretty lukewarm about going back to school. He descried his day as not very fun, but "pretty ok", which for him means normal. At the beginning of every school year I have to remind Aidyn that he isn't going to school to "have fun". He is going to school to learn and if there happens to be a little fun had along the way, he's darn lucky! We use a version of the same psychology for church on rough Sundays. Anyway, he was lucky enough to get some of his friends in his class, he really likes his teacher, and I will be absolutely SHOCKED if he has anything but a fabulous year......of learning of course.

Ahhhh Avery. My little baby all grown up and going to Kindergarten!!! Here in Texas, it's full day Kindergarten and sooooo weird for me! 7 hours is a long time not to have any kids at home. Avery has been excited to go to Kindergarten since our first conversation about it last spring. During the summer she regularly asked me when she would start. Can you believe she is my first child to be excited about going to school? She wanted to walk in all by herself today until I finally convinced her that since she didn't know where her classroom was, maybe Aidyn could show her? Big brother is entirely more cool than "mom". When I arrived to pick them up, she was beaming; her famous ear-to-ear grin just plastered on her face and she couldn't wait to get home and tell me ALL about it. When John asked her what she learned at school today she said, "PE". Awesome! Oh, and true to her little fashionista self, she was already planning her outfit for tomorrow before bed this evening. So cute!!!

John gave each of the kids their annual Back to School Father's Blessing last night. Such a comfort for all of us. Having the Priesthood in our home means so much to me and I am eternally grateful to my husband for being a worthy holder. Addy remarked on how this annual Father's Blessing helps her to feel "ready and at ease" about returning to school. Aidyn asked how much longer before he could have the Priesthood and if he could start baptizing people as soon as he got it. Whoa there tiger! And sweet Avery; she smiled up at her Daddy when it was her turn with so much admiration, feeling like such a big girl and ready to conquer the world (or at least the first day of Kindergarten) and said, thank you Daddy, I love you. Aren't kids the greatest?

5 Endangered Freedoms

2009-08-20T10:39:00.000-07:00

If you aren't worried about the Obama Administration's health care reform plans, read the fine print. The deception is subtle and dubious. You'll find that a lot of cherished aspects of the current system would disappear.

"In promoting his health-care agenda, President Obama has repeatedly reassured Americans that they can keep their existing health plans -- and that the benefits and access they prize will be enhanced through reform.

A close reading of the two main bills, one backed by Democrats in the House and the other issued by Sen. Edward Kennedy's Health committee, contradict the President's assurances. To be sure, it isn't easy to comb through their 2,000 pages of tortured legal language. But page by page, the bills reveal a web of restrictions, fines, and mandates that would radically change your health-care coverage.

If you prize choosing your own cardiologist or urologist under your company's Preferred Provider Organization plan (PPO), if your employer rewards your non-smoking, healthy lifestyle with reduced premiums, if you love the bargain Health Savings Account (HSA) that insures you just for the essentials, or if you simply take comfort in the freedom to spend your own money for a policy that covers the newest drugs and diagnostic tests -- you may be shocked to learn that you could lose all of those good things under the rules proposed in the two bills that herald a health-care revolution.

In short, the Obama platform would mandate extremely full, expensive, and highly subsidized coverage -- including a lot of benefits people would never pay for with their own money -- but deliver it through a highly restrictive, HMO-style plan that will determine what care and tests you can and can't have. It's a revolution, all right, but in the wrong direction.

Let's explore the five freedoms that Americans would lose under Obamacare:

1. Freedom to choose what's in your plan

The bills in both houses require that Americans purchase insurance through "qualified" plans offered by health-care "exchanges" that would be set up in each state. The rub is that the plans can't really compete based on what they offer. The reason: The federal government will impose a minimum list of benefits that each plan is required to offer.

Today, many states require these "standard benefits packages" -- and they're a major cause for the rise in health-care costs. Every group, from chiropractors to alcohol-abuse counselors, do lobbying to get included. Connecticut, for example, requires reimbursement for hair transplants, hearing aids, and in vitro fertilization.

The Senate bill would require coverage for prescription drugs, mental-health benefits, and substance-abuse services. It also requires policies to insure "children" until the age of 26. That's just the starting list. The bills would allow the Department of Health and Human Services to add to the list of required benefits, based on recommendations from a committee of experts. Americans, therefore, wouldn't even know what's in their plans and what they're required to pay for, directly or indirectly, until after the bills become law.

2. Freedom to be rewarded for healthy living, or pay your real costs

As with the previous example, the Obama plan enshrines into federal law one of the worst features of state legislation: community rating. Eleven states, ranging from New York to Oregon, have some form of community rating. In its purest form, community rating requires that all patients pay the same rates for their level of coverage regardless of their age or medical condition.

Americans with pre-existing conditions need subsidies under any plan, but community rating is a dubious way to bring fairness to health care. The reason is twofold: First, it forces young people, who typically have lower incomes than older workers, to pay far more than their actual cost, and gives older workers, who can afford to pay more, a big discount. The state laws gouging the young are a major reason so many of them have joined the ranks of uninsured.

Under the Senate plan, insurers would be barred from charging any more than twice as much for one patient vs. any other patient with the same coverage. So if a 20-year-old who costs just $800 a year to insure is forced to pay $2,500, a 62-year-old who costs $7,500 would pay no more than $5,000.

Second, the bills would ban insurers from charging differing premiums based on the health of their customers. Again, that's understandable for folks with diabetes or cancer. But the bills would bar rewarding people who pursue a healthy lifestyle of exercise or a cholesterol-conscious diet. That's hardly a formula for lower costs. It's as if car insurers had to charge the same rates to safe drivers as to chronic speeders with a history of accidents.

3. Freedom to choose high-deductible coverage

The bills threaten to eliminate the one part of the market truly driven by consumers spending their own money. That's what makes a market, and health care needs more of it, not less.

Hundreds of companies now offer Health Savings Accounts to about 5 million employees. Those workers deposit tax-free money in the accounts and get a matching contribution from their employer. They can use the funds to buy a high-deductible plan -- say for major medical costs over $12,000. Preventive care is reimbursed, but patients pay all other routine doctor visits and tests with their own money from the HSA account. As a result, HSA users are far more cost-conscious than customers who are reimbursed for the majority of their care.

The bills seriously endanger the trend toward consumer-driven care in general. By requiring minimum packages, they would prevent patients from choosing stripped-down plans that cover only major medical expenses. "The government could set extremely low deductibles that would eliminate HSAs," says John Goodman of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a free-market research group. "And they could do it after the bills are passed."

4. Freedom to keep your existing plan

This is the freedom that the President keeps emphasizing. Yet the bills appear to say otherwise. It's worth diving into the weeds -- the territory where most pundits and politicians don't seem to have ventured.

The legislation divides the insured into two main groups, and those two groups are treated differently with respect to their current plans. The first are employees covered by the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974. ERISA regulates companies that are self-insured, meaning they pay claims out of their cash flow, and don't have real insurance. Those are the GEs (GE, Fortune 500) and Time Warners (TWX, Fortune 500) and most other big companies.

The House bill states that employees covered by ERISA plans are "grandfathered." Under ERISA, the plans can do pretty much what they want -- they're exempt from standard packages and community rating and can reward employees for healthy lifestyles even in restrictive states.

But read on.

The bill gives ERISA employers a five-year grace period when they can keep offering plans free from the restrictions of the "qualified" policies offered on the exchanges. But after five years, they would have to offer only approved plans, with the myriad rules we've already discussed. So for Americans in large corporations, "keeping your own plan" has a strict deadline. In five years, like it or not, you'll get dumped into the exchange. As we'll see, it could happen a lot earlier.

The outlook is worse for the second group. It encompasses employees who aren't under ERISA but get actual insurance either on their own or through small businesses. After the legislation passes, all insurers that offer a wide range of plans to these employees will be forced to offer only "qualified" plans to new customers, via the exchanges.

The employees who got their coverage before the law goes into effect can keep their plans, but once again, there's a catch. If the plan changes in any way -- by altering co-pays, deductibles, or even switching coverage for this or that drug -- the employee must drop out and shop through the exchange. Since these plans generally change their policies every year, it's likely that millions of employees will lose their plans in 12 months.

5. Freedom to choose your doctors

The Senate bill requires that Americans buying through the exchanges -- and as we've seen, that will soon be most Americans -- must get their care through something called "medical home." Medical home is similar to an HMO. You're assigned a primary care doctor, and the doctor controls your access to specialists. The primary care physicians will decide which services, like MRIs and other diagnostic scans, are best for you, and will decide when you really need to see a cardiologists or orthopedists.

Under the proposals, the gatekeepers would theoretically guide patients to tests and treatments that have proved most cost-effective. The danger is that doctors will be financially rewarded for denying care, as were HMO physicians more than a decade ago. It was consumer outrage over despotic gatekeepers that made the HMOs so unpopular, and killed what was billed as the solution to America's health-care cost explosion.

The bills do not specifically rule out fee-for-service plans as options to be offered through the exchanges. But remember, those plans -- if they exist -- would be barred from charging sick or elderly patients more than young and healthy ones. So patients would be inclined to game the system, staying in the HMO while they're healthy and switching to fee-for-service when they become seriously ill. "That would kill fee-for-service in a hurry," says Goodman.

In reality, the flexible, employer-based plans that now dominate the landscape, and that Americans so cherish, could disappear far faster than the 5 year "grace period" that's barely being discussed.

Companies would have the option of paying an 8% payroll tax into a fund that pays for coverage for Americans who aren't covered by their employers. It won't happen right away -- large companies must wait a couple of years before they opt out. But it will happen, since it's likely that the tax will rise a lot more slowly than corporate health-care costs, especially since they'll be lobbying Washington to keep the tax under control in the righteous name of job creation.

The best solution is to move to a let-freedom-ring regime of high deductibles, no community rating, no standard benefits, and cross-state shopping for bargains (another market-based reform that's strictly taboo in the bills). I'll propose my own solution in another piece soon on Fortune.com. For now, we suffer with a flawed health-care system, but we still have our Five Freedoms. Call them the Five Endangered Freedoms."

To read more on the Obama Administration's subtle, dubious deceptions, go to:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7886780711843120756
It is worth your time to watch this video.

Educate yourself on what is happening in this Nation. Brush up on your Constitutional Rights. Stand up for yourself, your family, and your future. How have we let this national and world crisis escalate???

I ask Ron Paul, can't we just secede????

Where did the summer go???

2009-08-14T18:17:00.001-07:00

With only 10 days until school starts, I can barely believe that summer is nearly over. Oh sure, here in Texas it will be summer until early November, but the fun ends just a little bit for everyone when school starts. Aidyn and Avery are SUPER excited to go back. Avery asks me on a regular basis if she can go to school "tomorrow yet?" Aidyn can't wait to see his friends. Addy, on the other hand, is a little apprehensive. Middle school is going to be different, and Addy doesn't get a long real well with different. She is a little nervous, but as usual, I am sure that after the first day is over, she will come home beaming like always, wearing her post first day "school is cool" smile.

We have been buuuuuuuuuusy these past few weeks. We went to San Antonio for a week as a family and hit all the major family fun parks down in that neck of the woods. 6Flags, Sea World, the SA zoo, Schlitterbaun, and the Alamo. In late July, the heat and humidity was awful. The kids were pooped not 15 minutes after we started each activity. We still ended up having a good time, but all in all, the vacation ranked well below our expectations. Note to self, we officially vote Schlitterbahn as the worst vacation destination on the planet. Not only was the place a total dump, but even on a week day, the crowds were beyond long. 2 hours into our Thursday visit, we had gone down 2 mediocre slides and were at the front (very front!) of the line for slide 3 when the weather turned. Rain starts pouring down, the powers that be decide to close the park, no rain checks, no refunds, $160 down the drain. Wow. We were shocked at not only the lack of organization and knowledge of the Schlitterbahn staff when the rain started and chaos ensued, but also at the horrible customer service. The ticket booths literally closed all their windows and the workers inside wouldn't talk to guests. NEVER GO THERE!!!

Bright spots on our vacation: Grandpa Ross joined us and it was great fun for all of us to see him. The San Antonio Zoo was really nice and I would rate it as the top attraction we visited. Togetherness as a family is not easy to come by in weekly format, and that alone made the trip worth it.

Last week the kids and I headed to the San Francisco Bay Area to visit my family. I was born and raised in the area and my family still lives there. We were privileged to stay with my sister, Julie, her husband Erik, and their daughter Skyler. We also spent some good quality time with my parents, my brother, Brian, and my sister-in-law, Lori. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to see my parents as happy as they have ever been, my brother and sister both married to 2 of the best people I know, and life moving on, getting better every day. Family is such a blessing and I love mine! I am grateful to have amazing relationships with both of my parents and my two siblings. 3 cheers for forever!!

One of our favorite outings was to San Francisco. My kids have never been and it has been several years since I myself have made my way across the Bay Bridge. My generous brother Brian and his wife Lori rented a party bus for the day. For those of you who do not know what a party bus is, think giant luxury bus complete with wet bar (which the kids loved), party music, and a fabulous driver. We rode the bus to the cable car station. From there we rode the cable cars to Pier 39 and then the party bus to the California Academy of Sciences. Both destinations were very fun. The museum was a little crowded, but still very cool. By and large, the kids thought the party bus was the best part of the trip. They sang, they danced, they partied. We all had a blast. When the kids and I boarded the plane for home, Avery sat down next to me looking a little forlorn. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "Nothing.......I just really wish this was a PARTY plane". Awesome! Thanks family for a wonderful trip! It was so great to see all of you and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. I can't wait until we can go back!

The Plan

2009-07-13T13:08:00.000-07:00

You gotta love Robin Williams......Even if he's a little nuts. Leave it to Robin to come up with the perfect plan for our beloved country. What we need now is for our UN Ambassador to stand up and repeat this message.....

Robin Williams' plan...(Hard to argue with simple no nonsense logic!)

'I see a lot of people yelling for peace but I have not heard of a plan for peace. So, here's one plan.'

1) 'The US will apologize to the world for our 'interference' in their affairs, past & present. You know, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Tojo, Noriega, Milosevic, Hussein, and the rest of those 'good 'ole' boys', we will never 'interfere' again.

2) We will withdraw our troops from all over the world, starting with Germany , South Korea , the Middle East , and the Philippines . They don't want us there. We would station troops at our borders. No one allowed sneaking through holes in the fence.

3) All illegal aliens have 90 days to get their affairs together and leave We'll give them a free trip home. After 90 days the remainder will be gathered up and deported immediately, regardless of whom or where they are. They're illegal!!! France will welcome them..

4) All future visitors will be thoroughly checked and limited to 90 days unless given a special permit!!!! No one from a terrorist nation will be allowed in. If you don't like it there, change it yourself and don't hide here. Asylum would never be available to anyone. We don't need any more cab drivers or 7-11 cashiers.

5) No foreign 'students' over age 21. The older ones are the bombers.. If they don't attend classes, they get a 'D' and it's back home baby.

6) The US will make a strong effort to become self-sufficient energy wise. This will include developing nonpolluting sources of energy but will require a temporary drilling of oil in the Alaskan wilderness. The caribou will have to cope for a while

7) Offer Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries $10 a barrel for their oil. If they don't like it, we go someplace else. They can go somewhere else to sell their production. (About a week of the wells filling up the storage sites would be enough.)

8) If there is a famine or other natural catastrophe in the world, we will not 'interfere.' They can pray to Allah or whomever, for seeds, rain, cement or whatever they need. Besides most of what we give them is stolen or given to the army. The people who need it most get very little, if anything.

9) Ship the UN Headquarters to an isolated island someplace. We don't need the spies and fair weather friends here. Besides, the building would make a good homeless shelter or lockup for illegal aliens.

10) All Americans must go to charm and beauty school. That way, no one can call us 'Ugly Americans' any longer. The Language we speak is ENGLISH...learn it...or LEAVE...Now, isn't that a winner of a plan?

'The Statue of Liberty is no longer saying 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses.' She's got a baseball bat and she's yelling, 'you want a piece of me?' '

Let's get this man a meeting with the President!!!

Nuber Comes to Texas!

2009-06-20T19:49:00.000-07:00

My little sister, Julie Ann Tymn-Harrison, came to visit us in Dallas this past week. We had such a blast! She is a go-go-goer, so we went! Enjoy this slide of the cool stuff we did!

PS-I miss my family!!!

OMG!!! Where have I been??

2009-06-11T11:17:00.001-07:00

Ahhh life. It just doesn't slow down, does it? Here are a few things we've been doing....

Swimming EVERY DAY

Everything really IS bigger in Texas. We didn't just have a school carnival to end the year, we had a school Renassaince Festival. Hello! School functions of this magnitude here actually profit in the tens of thousands of dollars. Who'd a thunk it? Addy was a awarded a special honor for her entry in the Blanton Renfest writing competition. She got to be a member of the royal court, serving the Queen of Renfest as a Lady in Waiting. She was even knighted! Go Lady Addison!

Just over a month to go!!!

2009-06-10T20:42:00.000-07:00

Yes......it's true. I am an insatiable Harry Potter geek and I am totally counting the days until movie 6 comes out (July 15th for those of you wanting to mark your calendars!!!). John makes fun of me on a regular basis so I haven't yet told him that I've officially joined the fan club AND purchased tickets for the London premier. I'm so dressing up in my Gryffindor cape and I'll be flashing my hand whittled replica Harry Potter wand as well. I haven't decided whether or not to wear my radish earrings or lightening bolts...but I'm definitely going with the snitch necklace and trademark Harry Potter glasses. If I can get my hands on a realistic looking Firebolt, I'm definitley going to pack that, too.

Ok, not that big of a Harry Potter geek. But I am excited about the movie! I've loaded my playlist with tracks by this hilarious band called "Harry and the Potters" and I'm going to leave it up for awhile. You don't have to be a fan to enjoy the music cuz it's dang funny.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!

2009-05-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

I love being a mom. It's my favorite job in the world. I am so grateful for the opportunity to stay at home with my kids and raise them myself. I feel blessed every day. Cheers to all the stay at home mom's out there! I hope you feel as blessed as I do. The following slideshow is dedicated to Grandma Tymn and Grandma Stevens who do not get to watch first hand their sweet grandbabies grow-up. We miss you, love you, appreciate all you have done for us, and wish you a VERY HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!! These photos are courtesy of LeeAnn Widyn, my fabulous friend and professional photographer.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!!

2009-05-01T20:51:00.000-07:00

We can hardly believe our baby girl turned 5 this week! Avery had a very memorable birthday month. Grandma and Grandpa Tymn came all the way from California to celebrate Avery's special day. She adored being doted on and getting extra love and attention from Gma an Gpa for a whole week. Come back you guys!!!

Today, Buddy the horse and his petting zoo friends came to our front yard for a fabulous pony ride and petting zoo party! All the girls dressed like princesses and the boys like knights. They were beyond cute. I can't remember the last time I saw so much squealing, giggling, and jumping up and down. To top off the celebration, Avery's BFF Zaida is sleeping over tonight. They are two peas in a pod and will definitely be trouble when teenagers. Crazy girls.

Enjoy some pix from our fun with my Mom and Dad and Avery's 5th Bday!!!

Confessions of a Harried Housewife, Chapter 4 : Proud Parenting Moments

2009-03-05T14:54:00.000-08:00

Life is pretty normal here in Stevensville. We had a wonderful 80 something degree day today and the kids made me heat up the hot tub so they could "swim". They seriously played in that thing for 2 hours! Kids. Aren't they great. So I pledged a few postings back to keep up with the funny things my kids say and I've got a couple of goodies in the last week. The first one stems from John's and My self's desires to enrich our children's lives by introducing them to some classic comedies. Your idea of classic may be a lot different then ours. We are teaching them to appreciate movies like "Goonies", "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure", "Tommy Boy", and 2 of John's personal favorites, "Ace Ventura Pet Detective" 1 and 2. We watched these two last weekend and our kids LOVED them, especially Aidyn who is currently trying to master the ever so sexy Ace Ventura walk. They walk around saying "Bumble-Bee Tuna" and "Shicaca" and "All Righty Then" and most people just look at them strangely. I think to myself, "Ahhh, aren't they precious!".
For those of you who are a little shaky on your Ace Ventura trivia, let me refresh your memory with some brief movie facts: In Ace Ventura 1, Ace is trying to find "Snowflake" the Miami Dolphins team mascot, a live Dolphin, who has been kidnapped. In Ace Ventura 2, Ace travels to Africa to find the missing "Shicaca"-an albino bat that is sacred to a tribe that lives there. While he is searching for the Shicaca (I just love saying that) he follows two suspects to a secret meeting in a fake rhino. Yes, a fake rhino. Ace controls the rhino from inside it's body using levers and buttons and when his cooling fan breaks down, he becomes incredibly hot and sweats like a beast. He takes off ALL his clothes, but it's still not enough-he has to get out of the thing. When he tries to open the door, the handle breaks off, so he desperately goes searching for another exit. He finds a tiny hole in the rhino's behind that stretches open the more he pushes and pulls. As he is pushing and pulling his way out of the rhino's arse, a tour shuttle shows up and a family of four steps out.
Mom says, "Look children! The mother rhino is giving birth!"
Everyone else, "ooooooh, ahhhhhhh, Ohhhhhhhh"
They all watch expectantly for several minutes, first in glorious anticipation and then sort of dumbfounded, and finally completely horrified. The mother and daughter are all but puking when Ace plops out on the ground naked and in the fetal position. The camera switches to the boy (approx age 8-10) and with a huge grin on his face, he yells, "COOL!". Yeah, pretty cool. Aidyn thought so, too! In fact, so much so that the following Monday at school, he shared this special scene with his 2nd grade class during sharing time. So proud! He came home that afternoon and said,
"Guess what mom!" and loving that he wanted to tell me something about his day, I put on my biggest interested mommy smile and replied,
"What bud!" and he said,
"Remember that part in Ace Ventura when Ace is stuck in the rhino and he climbs out through the rhino's butt, and the boy says 'cool'?" I'm thinking in my head-where on earth could this possibly be going-so I say,
"Sure that was funny,....and a little disturbing." And Aidyn says,
"It was 'cool' and I shared that with my class during sharing today!" He is very excited and feeling quite pleased with his successful retelling, I can hear it in his voice. I am feeling a little shocked and at the same time trying my hardest not to laugh uncontrollably. I take a deep breath and calmly say,
"Really, wow. How did Ms. Martin like your story?" Aidyn thought for a minute, and then replied,
"Everyone else laughed pretty hard, but Ms. Martin didn't say anything."
Yeah, surprising. I waited the rest of the afternoon for a call from either Ms. Martin or the principal, but luckily, we were in the clear(:

John is out of town this week and yesterday he called while Avery and I were in the car. I talked to him for a few minutes, Avery talked to him for a few minutes, and then we said bye and hung up. A few seconds later, John calls back but when I answer the call, no one's there. I have a ring set for John's calls so I can tell when he calls without having to look at my caller id. Avery recognized his call tone and said, "Mom, did Daddy's butt just call you?" It was seriously awesome. I love that commercial.

Hope Y'all are well and happy!

Super Bowl 43

2009-02-05T20:07:00.000-08:00

John and his good Bro, Josh, went to Tampa for the Super Bowl this year. I heard it was fab. Here are pictures of their fabulous time. Word up.

Oh, and he also saw and anteater. Neat!

Addy had a birthday Shout HURRAY!

2009-02-05T19:44:00.000-08:00

Addy is 11!!! Our baby Duba is growing into a beautiful young woman at the speed of light, right before our eyes. She is amazing in so many ways and we couldn't be more pleased with the great decisions she is making in her life. I love her independent spirit, her tendancy to go her own way, her uniqueness, her artistry, her desires to achieve greatness, and the way she smiles when she accomplishes a goal. I admire her incredible faith most of all. We love you Addy! Keep up the awesome! Enjoy some pages from Addy's first year!

a

and 11th bday party!

Confessions of a Harried Housewife, Chapter III

2009-01-22T17:05:00.000-08:00

So, I pretend like I have this thriving, ubiquitous blog readership that anxiously awaits each installment of my lil' pet, Harried Housewife chronicles. This dilusion actually brings me quite a large amount of joy. I told one of the 4 members of my blog fan club today that I was going to be posting a CHH (that's txt abbr for Confessions of a Harried Houeswife) like it's this fabulously awaited event and she's was like, "I'll totally be checking!". Wow. Thanks Liv for allowing me that brief moment of basking in my own spotlight. As always (always being the last two chapters)I will need to give you a little background into my previous life as a PTA mom. It will be a VERY brief history.

When we lived in the NW, I served on the PTA board for 2 years. For someone lacking the ability to say the word "no" to those in need (or pretending to be) this was a very unwise position to be in. I spent hours and hours of my time at the school and supporting the school that were absolutely spent on worth while projects and undoubtably benefited the school tremendously. One person can make a difference, people, I totally believe that. However, the problem I did not forsee was that the time I would spend helping out at the kid's school, would not be directly spent with my kids. Nobody in our household really benefitted from the time I donated. Try explaining volunteer work for "The Greater Good" to a Kindergartener. In the end, I decided that any PTA work I did in the future would be on the classroom level ONLY. I'd been on a ROLL with my "Room Mom Only" mantra for about 18 months. Feeling really good about it, too! Well, my poor neighbor is on the direct path to Room-Mom-Only-hood this year, my loyal readers. To protect her identity, we will call her Lisa and bless her soul, she is a right good person! She willingly agreed to chair our school's RenFest (no mere carnival for the Noble Knights of Blanton Elementary!) and it's a big job. Everything's big in Texas. Have I mentioned that in previous blogs? Well you've surely heard, whether from me or some other brilliant source. We aren't just talking cars, football, and hair. We are talking PTA, volunteer work, and school functions. So the Renfest is a huge undertaking that we are estimating will cost no less than 10K to do right (and big). Lisa is about the most upbeat, kind-hearted, smilin' all the time gal a woman could hope for as a neighbor. The drawback-it's pretty much impossible to say no to her for someone like me. Of course she needs help with this project because it's like putting on a huge festival for a town not just a school. In a weak moment, I agree to chair the Corporate Sponsorship sub committee. In lay-speak, this pretty much means The-Begging-Local- Businesses-for-Money committee. I know, it's so not me. It's so not the kind of job you want to give someone who will take no for an answer the first time. And yet, here I be. Lisa, if you're reading this (cuz it's uber popular now), I love you and you should take none of this personally.

It all began here....
Step one in my money-grubbing plan of attack: send out sponsorship letters to at least 400 local businesses asking quite politely for Renfest money in return for advertisement at Renfest. I start this task by web researching local businesses for my top 500 choices. I looked for businesses that do not offer a product because we will be soliciting those lucky folks for silent auction gift basket items! After I've compiled my list I began typing up all the address labels. This is time consuming, as you can imagine, and I spent quite a bit of time doing it. During one afternoon of mindless typing, the kids wanted to have neighbor friends over and I was fine with that....at first.

It's a good idea to check on your four-year-old regularly when they are playing alone or with others. It's an especially good idea to check on your four-year-old when things get really quiet. I'm typing and listening and hearing nothing so I decide it's a good time to check. I walk the 30 feet to Avery's room and what do I find? Her and her friend (we'll call her Claire-who is 6 and Lisa's daughter) are sitting on Avery's bathroom counter with a full sink of water, emptying hair detangler, hand soap, and Method bathroom cleaner into the mix. Our conversation plays out as follows:

Me: "What are you doing!!!!!
Avery and Claire simulatneously: "We're making stew."
Me: "Stew! Are you kidding me! This is a really bad choice, you guys! You can't just mix random cleaners and soaps and hair products together! It might be toxic! It could produce deadly fumes! Argh!
Claire: "We're just trying to have fun"
Me: "Ok, fun. Well there are lots of fun things to do in Avery's room, in the playroom, OUTSIDE...if you need help finding something fun, please let me know. In the meantime you guys are forbidden to go into the bathroom for anything but toilet use."
Avery: "Sorry, mom."
Me: "Ok, me too, now go play."

typing, typing, typing, typing, typing, typing, typing, typing, typing, typing, typing, typing........
15 minutes of typing pass by......

Addy: "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!! CLAIRE AND AVERY HAVE LOCKED THEMSELVES IN THE BATHROOM AND WHEN I ASKED THEM WHAT THEY WERE DOING THEY SAID 'something seeeeecrehhhhhhht!!!!!"

Crap. I'm gonna totally kick some butt. Why is it when you need your kids to be anxiously engaged in a good cause the most, the exact opposite happens? I race in there with my meanest mad face on and bang on the door till Avery opens it.

ME: "WHAT THE HECK!!! DIDN'T I JUST TELL YOU GUYS THIS WAS NOT OK???"
Claire: "We're just making stew."
Avery: "Sorry, mom."
ME: "You are so busted, Avery, go to your room and I'll be back to deal with you in a second. Claire, get your shoes and socks on and head home. I'm totally calling your mom about this one."

Avery is sobbing and Claire is feeling embarassed and pretty much running for the door. Not only have they continued to spray Method bathroom cleaner into the "stew", but they were also spraying Windex, and adding a little Method toilet bowl cleaner as well. Sheeeesh! I was so angry. I couldn't believe that a) the two of them would deliberately disobey a direct order on such an important and potentially dangerous activity, that b) they found additional cleaning supplies in Avery's bathroom (usually they are only in Aidyn's and Addy's bathrooms but when Aidyn cleaned Avery's bathroom that week he left them under the sink) that c) this was happening a mere 15 MINUTES after the original incident!!! and that d) I hadn't checked her bathroom for cleaning supplies the first time around. Duh! My cool was beyond lost at this point. Avery get's a spanking for this one. She has maybe recieved 2 others in her lifetime but this situation definitely warranted a memorable paddle. After she has been punished, I close her door and lean up against it with a sigh. I hate making my kids cry. I walk down the stairs, call Lisa and inform her of the afternoon's activities. Claire went home and told her mom that she got in trouble for playing with water in Avery's bathroom. Not exactly. After our convo, I go back up to Avery's room and patiently talk to her about the bad choice she made and why it's dangerous blah blah blah. Here, she drops the bomb:

"Mom, will I be in more trouble if we tasted it?"

My eyes immediately bug out of my head and I feel a little bit whooosy. Isn't this every parents worst nightmare?

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN TASTED IT!!!!"

Ooops, I said that a little too loud, now she's crying again. I have to reassure her that, no, she won't be in trouble, but mommy REALLY NEEDS TO KNOW what she means by "tasted" and exactly how much she tasted. I carry her down to the kitchen, give her a glass of water, and start searching the phone book for Poison Control. While I'm doing this, Lisa calls and says that Claire has admitted to "tasting" the stew as well. She is apologizing over and over for her daughters behavior and I'm thinking..."Uhm, she's 6. It's totally my fault! I am the responsible adult! I let this happen under my roof!!! Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!" So I start apologizing profusely and Avery is standing there, in the mean time, bawling,

"I don't want to die!".

My neighbor ends up calling poison control and to make this long story short, since there was very little cleaner and a lot of water, the girls should be fine. Evidently, "tasting" the stew meant dipping a little doll sized spoon in and then licking the spoon to see if the "flavor" was improving with each added element. Yummy. I really had to try to think like a 4 and 6 year-old to understand that thought process. A solid 10 days later, I am happy to report that both girls are fine and no one has died. Go me! So can YOUR kids come play tomorrow(:

This is "butt"

2009-01-15T18:06:00.000-08:00

Here's a little funny diddy to brighten your day. I just love the funny things kids say. I wish I would have done a better job of writing down all the cute words and comments my kids said through the years. Not too late for Avery, though! So picture sweet Avery playing with her new store front she got from Santa. It's this cute little mini market with a cash register and food baskets and of course, play food. One of the food items is an empanada. For those of you who don't know what an empanada is, I have conveniently cut and pasted the Wikipedia definition below:

An empanada (not to be confused with the Portuguese empada, which is a different dish) is essentially a stuffed pastry. The name comes from the Spanish verb empanar, meaning to wrap or coat in bread.

To further your knowledge, Avery is holding her lil' play empanada in the picture below:

She fancies herself quite the pretend play chef and likes to shop at her store then come home to fix meals with her ingredients. This particular evening, she felt like cooking dinner for Aidyn, who was paying absolutely no attention to her whatsoever while watching an all encompasing episode of "Drake and Josh". Here is Avery's completely one-sided conversation:

"Aidyn, what do you want me to make you for dinner....pie or butt?"

(brief pause for response from Aidyn.........................................)

"This is butt."

Here she holds up her lil' play empanada. Kind of looks like a butt, right?
Ha! HAAAAA!!! HAAAAAAAAA!!!
Ok, it was so freakin' hilarious. I laughed for like 10 minutes. Are you feelin' it? Are you laughing histarically? Maybe you had to be here, but it was funny.

Top 10 Things I Learned and/or RElearned in 2008

2009-01-01T18:32:00.000-08:00

10) Moving is hard. Moving twice within 1 year is painfully hard.
9) In the face of tragedy, strong faith and the support of those who love you are the balm that begin the healing process.
8) Women are, surprisingly, never too old to believe popularity matters.
7) Forgivness is not an action that requires two people.
6) Friends love you despite of who you are, not because of who you are.
5) Children can start to learn the value of hard work at the age of 3.
4) The most important item to consider when planning ahead is the end result of your actions.
3) My kids are amazing, resilient, examples that I learn from whenever I pay close attention.
2) No matter how hard one tries to do what's right, there will always be people who somehow see the wrong in their actions. (why! Why! WHY!!!) You just have to keep on, keepin' on.
1) Being loved by a man who is (almost) always right, is the biggest blessing in my life.

So, Happy New YEAR!!! Did you have a good holiday? We have had a very busy November and December. The jewelry business kicked into high gear the last 7 weeks and I have barely been able to keep my head above water. I finally ended up setting my Etsy shop to Vacation Mode because I was feeling overwhelmed and needed some time with my family. What a blessing it was to our family to have John home most of December!

On Christmas Eve we were invited to dinner at our friends, the Gibbons', home. We had a delicious meal, opened some traditional gifts and enjoyed an evening of game playing and good laughs. Starting over again in a new area for the second time in a year has been challenging for us all and we are so grateful to people like Becca and Randy who make an effort to reach out and pull us into this new ward family we have joined in Dallas. Christmas Day was actually very relaxing. After opening gifts, we stayed in our PJs for the day, did a little sleeping, had a yummy ham dinner, and spent quality family time together.

The last few days have been spent in Kansas City where we have been happily visiting friends and enjoying New Year festivities. The VanOrmans had a crazy fun party at their home last night where we were able to see many of our favorite friends. We played a little Rock Band, toasted 2008 babies born and conceived, healthy children, old friends, new friends, new jobs, loved ones, God, our country, and all good things, and just had an all around fabulous time.

We are thinking of all of our loved ones at this time and pray that God will bless you with good health, strong faith, and much prosperity this year. We love you!
Here's to your happiness!

Today, Aidyn got baptized.

2008-11-29T19:07:00.000-08:00

Hi. It's me, Aidyn. Today I got baptized. I got baptized at my church. Now I'm a full member of the Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. My family came to see the event. My mom, sisters, dad, Grandpa Ross, and Rich came to see me. Also, the Knights were there, Dallon and his mom, a girl from my Primary class named Maja Lorimer and my Primary teacher. There were some other people, too. And my Bishop. The water was warm and then it changed to cold, and it kept changing. It wasn't that deep. My dad baptized me and confirmed me. He only dunked me for about 2 seconds. When I came out of the water I felt like a new person. Now that I'm baptized and confirmed I have the Holy Ghost with me. The Holy Ghost helps me do the right things. That's all for now.

He is a man of few words, but perfect none the less. Aidyn has always been so easy going and good-natured. He's always been mom's special boy and we are really close. What a blessing it is to see my son make the choice to be baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Today while we were on the way to Costco to get his Baptism Cake (a family tradition) he talked to his Aunt Nuber on the phone. She asked him why he wanted to be baptized and Aidyn replied, "Because Jesus wants me to." I am grateful that he has such a desire to be like his older brother, Jesus Christ and to obey his Father in Heaven. I can't believe he is getting so big. Addy said the opening prayer, Grandpa Ross gave a wonderful message on baptism, Bishop Liddell talked about the attributes of the Holy Ghost, and Uncle Rich gave an extremely sweet closing prayer. Today was a day I will always cherish.

Dear Aidyn,

Today I felt the spirit as I watched you make one of the most important choices you will make in this life. I felt the spirit warm my heart and testify to me that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is on this earth, and that our Heavenly Father loves us. As your mother, I feel blessed beyond measure to be given the opportunity and challenge to raise you in these Latter Days. I promise you I will always do my best to teach you correct principles, and to give you the time, attention, and love you deserve. You are and always will be my most special boy. Thank you for being you.

Your Loving Mother,
Amy

We had a fun November. Madeline and Katie came down from Overland Park, KS to visit us the weekend before Thanksgiving. We did some shopping at the mall (which, shockingly, both Madeline and Addy love) and then went to the beloved Dallas World Aquarium on Saturday. These two cute and crazy girls stayed up til the wee hours of the morning chatting, gaming, and being best buds. We love those Connors! They are the best kind of people and ALWAYS welcome to come stay with us ANYTIME!!!

This past Tuesday, Aidyn had his first pack meeting with his new pack of cubs! He recieved his Bobcat award. We were so proud! He is very enthusiastic about Cub Scouts and is already making plans for which badges he wants to earn. It's like Pokemon, only real!

Progress

2008-11-13T16:25:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah, it's fall. Time for pumpkin pie, football, leaf turning, long sleeves, family togetherness, and......swimming? If you live in Dallas, y'all, you betcher Long Horns and Levis! With the pool nearly finished, and the weather still between 75 and 80, the kids think it's time to don the suits and jump in for a splash. Our pool is in the final stages meaning it just needs to be filled up, cleaned up, and tested. When we got home from the Dr.'s today (flu shots, yippy!), Addy and Aidyn ran out to watch the mesmerizing water-filling. Oh the joy that water coming out of a hose brings to children. Come to think of it, I need to get one of those corded spayers for my shower...my kids would want to shower every night!!! The cleanliness!!!! Anyway, they both immediately started wading in the water and before I knew it, Aidyn was pulling on his swim trunks and slapping on his goggles. Let me point out that the water is only about 1 foot deep right now. But that didn't stop him! Sometimes I watch my sweet children and wish I could get back some of that innocence that makes the simplest activity so exciting and fresh. Pause for nostalgic memory. I couldn't help but snap a few shots. Did you know it takes 24 hours to fill a pool up??? How crazy is that! I had no idea. BTW, Avery fell asleep in the car on the way home and was napping on the couch during the fun.

Speaking of the older A's, both of them brought home straight A report cards yesterday! I am so blessed to have kids who enjoy school and have a desire to do their best educationally. I thank my Heavenly Father for that every day. Addy's teacher told me at teacher conference last month that Addy actually reads at a high school level AND that in all his years of teaching 5th grade (9 to be exact) he has never had a student with her language and reading abilities. BOOOYAAAHHHH! Go Addy! Aidyn is also readying amazingly well. In second grade they chart student progress with each report card (we get 6 a year). The chart come home with the report card and shows progression starting from a 1st grade reading level up to a 5th grade reading level. Progress is charted by words read allowed per minute paired with accuracy. His teacher explained to me that upon his first reading, Aidyn had already scored off the chart so she would probably not send the chart home again. Redunant. I'm so proud of both of them. They are great kids and really, really try their best 99% of the time. Household opportunities to serve falling into the 1% best trying margin, and we are working to erase that percentage all together! Check out our pool progress! When are YOU coming over to swim?

Confessions of a Harried Housewife, Chapter 2

2008-11-10T16:49:00.000-08:00

I am not perfect nor have I ever claimed to be (much). But sometimes, my behavior is so spectacularly un-stellar that I even disappoint myself. Now that the Inner-Circle has been enlightened on Monkeys and Ass-Goblins, I am confident that not much I say or do in the realm of non-mainstream disciplinary action for my children will surprise you. Today's incident will rate in the top 10 hall of fame Worst Moments of Child Rearing for me, myself, and I. Really, this Harried Housewife Moment ranks up there.

All weekend I was sick with a virus. John brought it home last week and was sick for a day. I get it and I'm nauseous for 4. Nice. Bitter. Saturday, I had committed to a shopping outing with Addy. With high hopes of mother/daughter bonding time, the two of us planned to head downtown and explore the posh Northpark mall sporting the likes of Oilily, Neiman Marcus, Salvatore Feragamo, Anthropologie, Armani Exchange, BCBG, Dooney and Bourke, Hannah Anderson, J.Jill, Urban Outfitters, William Sonoma, White House Black Market, and about a billion other tres fab stores that just oozed boutique-ee scrumptiousity (i made that up). Amy joneses for shopping trips of this caliber. Amy joneses for her daughters to jones for shopping trips of this caliber (okay, someday I hope to get to the point in my spiritual growth where I no longer jones for such trivial and materialistic placation-just not there yet). BTW my shopping weakness is the reason I have a lingerie collection rivalling any Victoria's Secret model's. Love is the only language John speaks after a 5 hour trip to a mall like this one and the receipts to make it reality. Ok, you are catching my drift. For me, this is a day made in heaven. And Addy was actually ecstatic! She wanted to go! She picked an outfit to wear the night before, she talked incessantly about it for several days, she was on fiya. I wake up Saturday morning and I'm fully afflicted; so miserable that I actually don't want to go shopping(shocking! I know!). Bitter. However, being the selfless mother that I am, I slap on my mall jeans, new Charlotte Reusse blouse, and spike heel boots, pop some Ibuprofin, program the tele-nav and we are off. Inevitably we have a fabulous time and spend way too much money (and I am frankly a little worried about that since John couldn't pay me ENOUGH money to don the lingerie later that evening in said stricken state). When we get home my head is ready to explode and not from uber shopping vibes. I feed the kids dinner, wash my face, and hit the sack. Oh yeah, first I studied my Primary lesson cuz I had to teach a CTR5 class the following morning in Primary. Ugh.

CTR5 class. This is my new calling. I love it! I love being in Primary-it is my favorite place to serve in the church. Watching the seeds of young testimony sprout is second to none. Because I have been traveling the last few weeks, I have missed my own ward meetings for 2 consecutive Sundays so even though I am sick-QUEASY sick-I will go to church and teach my class Sunday morning like a good Mormon girl. Isn't guilt grand? Of course, the whole morning I am a complete stink-pot, I am grumbly, I am bitter, I am exhausted. All I want to do is crawl back into bed with my puffy allergy face, my nausea, and my fatigue, pull the covers over my head and sleep the blessed sleep of the undead. I don't know how it works at your house, but at my house, I am the Sunday Morning Motivator. I get everyone up. I get the church clothes on the church goers. I get the breakfast on the table. I get the Stevens' train out the door. Yay me. If Amy doesn't set the alarm, we all stay home. Chalk that up to my sum-of-reasons-to-be-bitter for the weekend. Church is "fine"....accept I thought our Primary Program was the weekend B4. I told my kids not to worry about memorizing their parts cuz we would be in Kansas; I told the Primary Pres we wouldn't be there so not to plan on my kids or myself participating. Durning the presentation we sat in the foyer and listened to the beautiful music and I watched my poor sweet children singing the songs they had worked hard to learn all year...to themselves. Yay me. Sigh. After church, I went home and crashed for 3 hours. So tired. So annoyed. So bitter.

John wakes me up by climbing into bed and announcing it's "his turn". Turn? I didn't realize taking turns was part of the bargain when one of the two parties was SICK. I get out of bed (bitter bitter bitter) and head out to the kitchen to start dinner. Oh, and I still feel like crapola. After dinner, I have work to do. Yes, I typed work. It's the Sabbath and I am working and I will not pretend like that's unusual. Didn't I preface this post with "not perfect" verbiage? Don't JUDGE ME! My hobby is my job and I have an order to mail out that needs to be packaged. I also have some necklaces I have to redo because I strung them wrong in the first place. BITTER. At least I have Dexter to keep me company. Michael C. Hall, you rock my bloody world. Ha! John has sequestered himself in his man-room watching football, so I do the bedtime routine and get the kids down. BITTER. I think he might have helped a little...it's sort of a blur at this point and I would totally loose your sympathy if you start to think he was being in any way helpful, so let's just stick with me as the martyr here. The ailing martyr. I pack school lunches (bitter) and go to bed.

Monday morning, today, I wake up at 6:30, the usual time to get the kids up and ready for school. Bitter. John is gone by that time-he had an event in Houston with his team that was not rescheduable even for a sick wife. Later, I found out it was a golfing event. Bitter! Allergy face, nausea, fever and all, I get the kids ready, feed em', cloth em', make sure their faces are clean, their teeth are brushed, they have all the necessary paper work, and drive them to school. They are totally learning that I am ridiculously annoyable when ill. Does that stop them? Not really. The bitterness has hit an all time high. Since, being a woman I haven't completely processed my feelings of bitterness yet in an effort to evaluate them, I'm freaking DONE. I just want to go back to bed and wallow in my misery for an hour or two. Sick and me, we just don't get along. I don't have time to be sick. When I get back home, I get Avery breakfast (at this juncture I'd like to point out i got her EXACTLY what she asked for-make a note) I tell her to watch her shows for a little bit because mommy's sick and wants to lay down for a while longer; I drag myself to the guest bedroom. Oh! The guest bedroom, you ask? I can't sleep in my own bed because my sweet four year-old joined us in the middle of the night, then proceeded to PEE all over me and the sheets and the comforter at about 4 in the morning. Bitter!! I was doing laundry a lot earlier than I had planned. BITTER!!! The stink of pee and the feeling of nausea are not complimentary. The joys of motherhood, right? Ok, so I go to lay down and within 5 minutes, Avery is screaming she wants "BROWN CEREAL" (which translates to Cinnamon Life). "BROWN CEREAL BROWN CEREAL I WANT BROWN CEREAL MOM GET ME BROWN CEREAL DID YOU HEAR ME I WANT BROWN CEREAL WWHEN ARE YOU GOING TO GET ME BROWN CEREAL ARE YOU COMING YET MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM I WANT BROWN CEREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!" Sigh. This stretches on for 10 minutes or so.

Me from the guest bedroom: "Avery, I am sick, I am tired, I've been peed on....I just want to rest for a little bit. Did you finish your breakfast, because if not, no brown cereal."

Avery from the family room: "I don't want this breakfast. I want brown cereal. COME AND GET ME BROWN CEREAL. BROWN CEREAL BROWN CEREAL BROWN CEREAL BROWN CEREAL BROWN CEREAL BROWN CEREAL." She's yelling this, hence the capitalization. I am thinking deliriously to myself, "Is she mocking me? Is that a sing-song cadence I am detecting in her mockage?? Is she part of the conspiracy striving to drive me absolutely mad?????!!!!"

Pulse.....is......excalating........skin.....is......turning...........green!!!

I am soooooooooooooooo DONE (and bitter). My heart is racing, my hands and legs are shaking, no amount of counting to 10 and taking deep breaths is going to stop me from making a major parenting faux pas at this juncture. Avery is still ululating (LOUDLY!) for brown cereal. I throw back the covers, leap out of bed, toss my sleeping mask across the room, and storm STORM out to the family room. I punch the tv off, and boy, looking back I am sure smoke was coming out of my ears. I grab my child by the arms hoist her into the air and scream,

"THERE WILL BE NO MORE BROWN CEREAL FOR YOU IN THIS HOUSE FOR THE REST OF MY GOD GIVEN LIFE!!!! BROWN CEREAL IS EVIL, BROWN CEREAL IS POOP, BROWN CEREAL BE DAMNED!!!! AND YOU ARE GOING TO YOUR ROOM FOR THE REST OF THE DAY YOUNG LADY! CAN'T YOU GIVE ME A FREAKING BREAK! I WANT TO REST BECAUSE I AM SICK! SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK SICK! AND YOU DON'T CARE! NOBODY CARES! (bitter) CURSE GERMS AND BROWN CEREAL!!!!AGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!"

I drag her up to her room (crying of course), toss her onto her bed, slam the door, and storm back downstairs where I first throw the sheets in the dryer and the comforter in the wash, then retrieve my sleep mask, and finally fall down on the bed. Huh. Immediately, I am sobbing. Wow. It is not very often that I am this completely ashamed of myself. How often do you dissolve into tears because you have acted like a complete schmuck to your 4 year-old? After about 2 minutes, I run up the stairs to Avery's room, nestle her into my arms and tell her how sorry I am.
"Mommy made a really bad choice to treat you that way. Mommy is feeling really sick, frustrated, and BITTER and I treated you badly because of it. That was wrong. That was a big gigantic mistake. I'm so sorry. Can you forgive me, Avery? I love you so much and I am so, so sorry."

Instantly, she forgives. Hugs, kisses, tickles, smiles, all of the good things that make parenting genuinely rewarding. I am always learning the most simple and yet completely profound lessons from my children. Forgive=Happiness

So if you are a woman, you have read this and are thinking, "Gosh, why are men so clueless? I mean when we are sick, they should pick up the slack. They should take care of the kids. They should do the laundry. They should cook the meals. They should get the kids up and ready for church and school. They should offer to teach the Primary lesson. They should wait on you, hand an foot, because that's what they would expect you to do! Where is the intuitiveness!!!???? Where's the homemade chicken soup!??!?!?!?!??

Indeed.

If you are a man, you have read this and are thinking, "Why didn't she just tell him what she wanted him to do?"

DOUBLE Indeed.

Fun Times in KC

2008-11-07T23:02:00.000-08:00

Whew! It's been a busy past few weeks. The holidays are officially upon us, my friends. I spent the weekend before Halloween with my wonderful friends in Kansas City. Karina and I traveled to "Time Out For Woman" in Omaha and found the conference, frankly, a little dry. The conversation, food, shopping, and girl talk could not be beat, but having heard such good things about this traveling production, I can only describe our experience as, "The Not So Joyful, Kenneth Cope Show". Leading a Joyful Life is the actual theme for 2008 TOFW, but it was all pretty mundane info that I was not super inspired by. I wanted new and fresh! There were a few really great messages, stress on the few. I would like to mention highlights of the notes I recorded, but since Karina and I evidentally took EXACTLY the same handful of notes, you can totally go to her blog and read up. No need to be repetitive. Definitely check out Cherie Call, an up and coming LDS musician who's work is original and refreshing. DEFINITELY check out "The Parenting Breakthrough" a wonderfully insightful book by Merrilee Boyack (one of the speakers who could not be there, most unfortunately). Karina recommended her book to me and I have literally consumed it. She has an amazing program for training your children to be high functioning, confident adults that will change your life, and the lives of your children for the very best. Seriously, if you are a parent, do not miss this read. I will be posting pictures of the system our family has created from this book in the next couple of days. Prepare to be inspired!

Karina was a great hostess and it was so much fun to stay at her home with her great family for the weekend. I got to see many of my favorite friends and I really, really enjoyed myself. Weekends with the girls are much needed and so few and far between.

Halloween weekend was also spent in KC! This time, the whole family ventured up to the Sunflower state for good times with friends, parties, candy, and spooky fun. Addy stayed with her BFF Madeline, Aidyn with his BFF Aaron, and Avery stayed with John and I in our hotel, but spent every day with her BFF Mia. I got to hang with Olivia most of the weekend and it was fabulous. We mostly let the kids pull us in whatever direction they wanted to go. The Connors went all out and threw Addy and Madi a Halloween party with all of their mutual friends. What a blast! The Hortons held Aaron's bday party on Saturday night (his actual bday is in mid-November) so Aidyn could be there-how amazingly swell is that! Avery got to go to Friday playgroup, and Sue Hafen had a cute little Halloween luncheon for the kids-crafts and all. On Halloween Eve we went trick-or-treating with several of our friends, as families, and it was great. GREAT! Going home was bitter sweet for all of us and we hope to return soon. Love you, KC friends!!! MISS YOU!!!!

Rock the Vote, People

2008-10-29T21:08:00.000-07:00

The Ant & the Grasshopper in 2008
Two Different Versions! Two Different Morals!

OLD VERSION:

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his
house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and
plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper
has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY:
Be responsible for yourself!

------------------------------------------

MODERN VERSION:

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his
house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and
plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and
demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while
others are cold and starving.

CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering
grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a
table filled with food America is stunned by the sharp contrast.

How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor
grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody
cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy Being Green.'

Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where
the news stations film the group singing, 'We shall overcome.' Jesse then
has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.

Nancy Pelosi & John Kerry exclaim in an interview with Larry King that
the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for
an
immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Hillary and Obama go on national television agreeing that the plight of
the grasshopper is the fault of George Bush.

Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act
retroactive to the beginning of the summer.

The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green
bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is
confiscated by the government.

Barack gets his old law firm to represent the grasshopper in a
defamation suit against the ant, and the case i
s tried before a panel of federal
judges that Bill Clinton appointed from a list of single-parent welfare
recipients.

The ant loses the case.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of
the ant's food while the government house he is in, which just happens to
be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow.

The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house,
now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once
peaceful neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY:
BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOURSELF!!!

Yay Fall!!!

2008-10-20T19:37:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhh pumpkin guts. A sure sign that fall is well under way. Here in Dallas, we are still wearing shorts and t-shirts so it's a lot different than what the past 10 years have conditioned me to. I love it! We usually carve our pumpkins the Family Night before Halloween, but since I will be off on my Awesome Adventure next Monday, we decided to do it this Monday instead. The pumpkins will certainly rot before Halloween gets here, however, since we won't be here to smell their awful stench, we don't care! Viva KC! The kids love carving pumpkin, as you can see. Addy did an amazing rendition of Mr. Cooper (who turned 2 yesterday, btw! Happy B-day Coopie Doo-Doo!!) Aidyn is way into Batman so he carved a Joker pumpkin and a bat, and sweet Avery. She of course wants to be involved with whatever Addy and Aidyn are up to and they are kind enough siblings to allow that. So kind! I really don't give them enough credit sometimes. She can find the girly in any make-believe. When Aidyn plays Spiderman, Avery is Mary Jane. When Addy plays Sonic the Hedgehog, Avery is Cream the Rabbit. When Aidyn plays transformers, Avery is McKayla. When they all play Lego Batman, Avery is Poison Ivy or Harley Quinn. Since Batman is the in thang at our house right now, John helped Avery with a Poison Ivy pumpkin. Her only requirements were as follows: "I want her to look pretty...and can you make her have a green dress and red hair, too???". Sorry Avery, but we aren't even sure we can do pretty. She was really more interested in the pumpkin guts anyway. Check out our creations!

Pumpkin Patch Pictures

2008-10-16T10:56:00.000-07:00

Just for the record, the pumpkin patches in KC and Dallas ain't got NOTHIN' on the ones they do in the NW> It's sad, really. Where are the giant corn mazes? Where are the giant hay slides with potato sacks to ride on, that literally SHOOT you out into a pile of hay? Where are the petting zoos? Where are the acorn houses (ie: little log cabins filled up inside with acorns-like a ball bounce-but so much less gross for some reason)? Where are the hay rides? Where are the reasonably priced pumpkins? Where are the helicopter tours? Where are the trains? WHERE ARE THE FREAKING DONUTS AND APPLE CIDER???? Ok, so admittedly, some of the pumpkin patches in KC and Dallas may have one or two of the afore mentioned elements at any given patch. But I want them all in one place! I want pumpkin patch fabulousness! There weren't a ton of things I liked about living in the NW. In fact, I can name 3: The Stevens' family, Kerry, and AWESOME PUMPKIN PATCHES.

And the Winner IS!!!!!!

2008-10-15T16:39:00.000-07:00

Thank you all so, so much for helping me with my market analysis experiment. This drawing was super helpful and fun. I will definitely start doing these on a regular basis, so keep checking the blog for more drawings to enter. Drum roll please!!! The lucky winner of the holiday pendant contest is...oh wait...you probably want to know which pendants were most popular so here are the results:

#1 most voted for: Believe, number 9
#2 most voted for: Joy, number 6
#3 most voted for: POE, number 1 (missed the tie for second by 1 vote)
#4 most voted for: Tree, number 5
#5 most voted for: Bells and Jolly tied

And the winner is.........

STEPHANIE DATE!!!!

Hi Stephanie! Thanks for entering and congratulations! Please go to my eboutique,
www.semiprecious1.etsy.com and choose your pendant and pendant accessory. You are welcome to choose one of the seasonal designs, or a custom pendant. After you have made your selections, email me at semipreicious1@live.com. I look forward to mailing you some beautiful, custom jewelry!

Much Love,
Amy

The Drawing is TOMORROW!!!!

2008-10-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

Hey Ya'll!!! If you have not yet voted for your favorite pendant, today and tomorrow are the last days!!! Scroll down a posting or two to find the pendant designs and leave your vote for your top 3 in the comments section. Tuesday night I will draw a name for a free pendant and pendant accesory. If you are the lucky winner, you can select the pendant of your choice, with the necklace of your choice to wear it with. I will post the winner on Wednesday. So practice your voting skills, you'll need them soon enough.

Much Love,
Amy

Confessions of a Harried Housewife, Chapter 1

2008-10-09T17:27:00.000-07:00

All right so everybody does these different things on their blogs like Flashback Friday, What's on the Menu, the 20 questions with one word answers thing....it's all good and I love to read em'. But I want to do something non-main stream. Shocking. I want you to get to know the real me; the me that my husband and kids have to put up with on a daily basis. The crazy-scary Amy that comes out when my nerves are fried, I'm at my wit's end, and my sanity is all but gone. The Amy who, as she sits here typing this, has a 4 year-old trying to crawl onto her lap to play dolls and/or press keyboard buttons, a 10 year-old who keeps "hey mom" ing every 15 seconds for "look-at-me's", and an 8 year-old who is chronicling his sorrows of missing pieces to his Jengo-Fett minifig. Sigh. Life as a mom, right? Ok, so maybe this frustration I'm currently feeling doesn't happen daily exactly, but it definitely happens on a regular basis as a wife and mother. If you are disagreeing with me right now, you are on some seriously high-end Prozac (and you should call me with your doctor's #). When I'm feeling overwrought, I get a little sassy and I do mean things. In my book there is a fine line between mean and harsh teasing and I looooooove to walk that line when I'm in a mood. Let me give you a little bit of background information about each of my kids to help you better understand my motivation for this evenings harried-housewife-mean-thing:

Addy Stats: age 10.5: Positive Character Traits: super intelligent/super Gospel oriented/super good friend/ super charismatic/super creative...
Not So Positive Character Traits: super whiny when tired/super drama queen on rare occasions (also when tired)

Aidyn Stats: age 8: Positive Character Traits: super sweet/super giving/super fun/super good friend/super mad lego skills...Not So Positive Character Traits: seriously, I can't think of any, but he can be a little gullible. He's the easiest kid ever, knock on wood.

Avery Stats: age 4: Positive Character Traits: super out-going/ super energetic/ super social/ super kind...Not So Positive Character Trait: likes to push buttons when she is bored/tired. Beep, Beep.

Ok, so don't think I'm a horrible mom for pointing out more flaws in Addy than the other two. Actually...think what you want, it's a free country. Bottom line, she's very vocal when annoyed and getting close to pre-teen years means that vocality is increasing. Hence, chapter 1....

We are driving to Aidyn's basketball game tonight which means 20 minutes of fun car time. John is out of town so it's just me and the kiddies. Avery is in her car seat singing a song, totally typical, she loves to sing. At four, she hasn't been vocally trained and all though I thoroughly enjoy hearing her sing, Addy does not. She asks Avery several times to stop, stop, STOP. I am talking on the phone to my friend, Karina,trying to schedule some much needed girl trip time and trying to ignore the dispute, hoping they will work it out. Finally, Addy screams at the top of her lungs, "Avery!!!! STOP IT!!!!" at which point, I politely excuse myself and get off the phone.

Dialogue:

me: "HELLO!!! I'm on the phone!!!"
Addy: whimpering "She's so annoying! I asked her to stop singing like a million times the nice way and she won't stop!!! She's just doing it to annoy me!! It's so frustrating!!!"
Avery: "But I just like to sing"
Addy: super mean "No you don't, you just like to be annoying".
me: "Ok, Addy, enough. Avery, you have been singing for 10 minutes. Take a break. Addy, learn a little patience. Avery can sing if she wants, she's doing it because she enjoys it, not because she wants to drive you crazy."
Addy: super whiny "But she is driving me crazy."
me: "Sigh. Addy, learn a little patience. Avery, if someone asks you nicely to stop doing something, it's polite to stop. End of conversation, let's play the quiet game."

Quiet Quiet Quiet

We get to the basketball game, Aidyn joins his team, Avery and I sit down to read some books, Addy starts reading her book.

30 seconds later

Addy: super whiny voice "Mom, can I go somewhere else and read? It's too loud in here."
me: "No, Addy, you have to stay with me. I want to watch Aidyn's game and I can't see him if I leave with you."
Addy: super super whiny voice "I hate coming to his games. It's sooooo boring."
me: "He's your brother, you need to support him. Remember that Zac and Cody episode we just watched? How Zac totally supported Cody by going to watch his speech even though that was ultra boring?" (you might want to add watching Disney sitcoms with your kids and then referring to them as life lessons to your repertoire of fine parenting skills)
Addy: super super super whiny voice "UUUUUGGGHHHH!!! I just hate this!! That buzzer is so loud and everything is just LOUD! I want to leave! How long do we have to be here anyway!"
me: "Games are 45 minutes. Just read your book and it will go by fast"
Addy: you get the point "MOM. Can I please just go right outside the gym door??? The noise is driving me crazy. I can't concentrate on my book."
me: "I said no-not safe, not happenin"

more arguing about loudness and leaving.....

10 minutes later

Ok, I have officially reached my melting point at this juncture. I hate to argue more than just about anything else. I'm not good at it and I tend to give in easily. Addy is the queen of negotiation in the form of arguing (she gets these mad skills from her daddy). She will make a great defense lawyer someday.

We are almost to the mean harried housewife part. First, let me clue you in on a conversation that we had earlier that day while walking home from school. Addy is talking to her friend Olivia about a search and rescue operation she took part in while visiting Vancouver, WA last month. A boy about her age with autism was lost while camping with his dad. Olivia asked Addy what autism was and Addy asked me to explain it. So I tried as best I could to explain that autism is considered a mental illness where those who suffer from it have a hard time with social interactions and communication. Most of the kids I have met with autism are great kids, highly functioning and extremely smart.

This is where the mean comes in....read on if you dare.....

Back at the basketball game I am fed up and ready to kick Addy in the rear. Can't I have a moments peace to enjoy my sons ever-so-slowly budding basketball skills??????

Dialogue:
me: "you know Addy, your senses are really easily overwhelmed. That's a symptom of autism. This has been happening more and more frequently lately, especially the noise thing. Maybe we should make an appointment with your doctor to see if you need to be tested."
Addy: super worried voice "you think I have autism?!?!?"
me: "Well don't act all bent about it, I mean I just worry when you get so freaked out about stuff like this (I really do, actually)."
Addy: super super worried voice "you think I have autism?!!?!!?"
me: "I'm just saying that if you are constantly feeling this overwhelmed by loud noise, maybe we should see if there's something to it."
Addy: super super super worried voice "you think I have autism?!!!?!!!?"
me: "I didn't say I thought you had anything, I just said maybe we should look into it."

Ok, so that totally shut down the complaint fest. On the one hand, I felt really good about that cuz I could veg out on basketball in peace. On the other hand, I felt like a total schmuck for resorting to that type of manipulation to get Addy to shut it down. I admit that it took several minutes before I started feeling like a schmuck. And just for the record, I don't think autism is something that should be made light of or joked about. I have fully disclosed that I was mean; this is my form of therapy/admitting I was wrong. I am being honest about my weaknesses.

Ok, it's not exactly "monkeys" or "ass goblins" (past harried housewife tactics), but it was pretty close. I pinpointed what I knew would bother her, and I totally used it as a weapon to my advantage. Pretty crappy, right?

When I got home I apologized and told Addy I was a big fat donkey, and that it was totally wrong to do what I did. I then spent some time reflecting on finding "Joy in the Journey"
(go to this link and watch for President Monson's talk on finding "Joy in the Journey" for clarity on that fabulous quote: http://www.lds.org/conference/languages/0,6353,310-1,00.html)
and admonished myself for feeling like my life was anything but pretty darn awesome.

Thanks for reading.

GET FREE STUFF

2008-09-29T20:32:00.001-07:00

Free stuff in the form of AMAZING JEWELRY, that is. Here are my pendant designs for the holiday season. Choose your top 3 favorites, email them to me at semiprecious1@live.com, and you will get your name entered into a drawing for awesome and attractive jewelry! Yes, awesome AND attractive! You can choose your favorite pendant and a matching sterling silver necklace to go with it. To pre-select your necklace (cuz ur totally gonna win!!!) go to www.semiprecious1.etsy.com. Here are your the pendant designs......

Thanks for your time!

What A WEEK!

2008-09-28T15:45:00.000-07:00

Hey Ya'll,

We are finally moved in and feeling slightly more settled now that everything is unpacked. Whew, it's been a long hard week. John and Aidyn were visiting family and friends in the NW from Tuesday to Saturday which left the girls and I (ok, so me) to get-r-done. If you know me at all, you know that a)I can't stand to sit around and do nothing b)I can't relax when there is a load of crap to get done, and c) chaos completely overwhelms me. So you will not be surprised to read, that all that's left to do is hang the curtains and put up a few pictures. In the immortal and always appropriate words of London Tipton, "Yay me!".

In just the handful of weeks we have been here, I have found out that two friends from back home in P-town live within a short drive from our new home! Lisa Anderson Stubbs lives in Frisco and Lisa, I just want to say that I was at Ikea last week thinking of you. Email me soon so we can get together!!! In addition to Lisa, I just noticed a comment on my last post from another old friend. Actually she is a friend of my sisters whom I used to baby sit. Hi Jenny! It was so great to get your comment! I can't believe you live in Highland Village! We are seriously neighbors. Lantana is about a mile west down the 407 from you. Email me at semiprecious1@live.com and I will give you the scoop. We really love this area!

I didn't do a quote of the week last week because I was too crazy busy. I just finished a book that had a couple I could use, but I am going to go with an Ensign quote in tribute to my BFF, Kerry. She was going to come and visit this week, but she is so sick being pregnant with her 3rd child, she can barely leave her house and had to cancel. So Sad!! A week or so ago on her blog she posted about missionary work and the pressure we feel as Latter Day Saints to be missionaries. I had literally the day before (or maybe 2 days before) read a great article in the September Ensign on missionary work. I like this article for the simplicity of the message I took away from it: missionary work is not something that you choose to do as a member of the LDS church, it is something that you are doing all the time be your example good or not so much. Of course there are other ways to be a missionary, but the example we set is probably the most influential on a daily basis. Anyway, read the article, it's called "Be A Missionary All Your Life" by Elder Quentin L. Cook. The non-preachy ones are my favorites. And here is the quote by this inspiring elder, "Missionary work is not just one of the 88 keys on a piano that is occasionally played; it is a major chord in a compelling melody that needs to be played continuously throughout our lives if we are to remain in harmony with our commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ." I even gave you one with a metaphor...now that's love people.

And for your weekly viewing enjoyment, here are a few pics of Addy as a mini-munchkin I recently re-scrapbooked digitally. Oldies, but Goodies! Can you believe she's 10.5? Oh, and that's not Addy getting married, btw. That's my adorable brother and his gorgeous wife, Lori. It just happened to be on the same page as the Addy scrapbooking for some reason.

What Kind of Shoe R U?

2008-09-28T15:36:00.001-07:00

You Are Sneakers

You are creative, funky, and forward thinking.

You are cool, but you are still approachable.

You are stylish and edgy, but you aren't a slave to fashion.

You tend to put your own spin on trends.

You tend to have a fast paced, busy lifestyle.

Not a lot of people can keep up with you!

You should live: Near nature

You should work: In a job that keeps you on the go

What Kind of Shoe Are You?

Quote of the Week

2008-09-15T17:39:00.000-07:00

I've decided to add a new element to my blog. It's no biggie, but it's representative of who I am, so like it darn it! I love to read and always have. Reading is one of my guilty pleasures at this phase in my life. You probably don't know this about me and it's kinda silly but I keep a book in my purse and read whenever I have a spare moment: at long stop lights, while I wait to pick my kids up from school, if I am waiting for an appointment of any kind, when I exercise, while my kids swim in the pool, when I have time before I fall asleep, any other period of seconds or minutes that is unoccupied by other responsibilities. I think I read about 1 book every 10 to 14 days because I love literature so much. Right now I am reading "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak. It's excellent and was recommended to me by one of my best friends and fellow book connoisseurs, Olivia Wallace. Good choice Oli! My quote for this week is:

"In years to come, he would be a giver of bread, not a stealer-proof again of the contradictory human being. So much good, so much evil. Just add water."

-Death
"The Book Thief"

Do you have a favorite book? If you do, I would love to read it! Leave a comment to this post that includes your favorite book and why you liked it. There are only two rules to follow: First Rule-check my Shelfari book shelf and make sure it's NOT something already on there. Second Rule-it can't be a book from the Twilight series, people (just in case you are cheating and not checking my shelfari). We all love that series. The fabulousness is known. Recommendations are my favorite way to find the next book I will read. I still remember the first recommendation I ever got from a friend. One of my best friends from high school times, Amanda Teare, recommended "Follow the River", an amazing piece of American historical fiction. I have since read that book 3 times and love it each time I read it even more. It remains one of my very favorites of all time and rests as a permanent resident on my non-virtual bookshelf. Thanks Amanda! So leave your favorite as a gift to me. Thank you in advance!

Our Lil' Dancin Queen

2008-09-14T18:34:00.000-07:00

One More Week!

2008-09-13T18:32:00.000-07:00

We had our first walk through on the new house this past Thursday. Nothing major to finish up, just odds and ends so we are still set to close on the 19th of September. Since I have had numerous requests for pics, here are few I took this evening....

Before the house visit, we went downtown to the Dallas World Aquarium. It was our second visit since we have been here in DFW. What a cool place. They have a great variety of animal life both land and sea. Avery was really hoping to see some buffalope (buffalo). But unfortunately, she had to settle for Karin and Oswald, the giant river otters. Here is a video we made in the car on the way to the house...Bummer. It's too long. If your video clip is longer than 100MB, you can't publish it on Blogger!!! That's kinda sucky. Oh well, it was way cool. Sorry you will miss it. If I had video editing software on my laptop, I would totally shorten it for you, but Windows Movie Maker is the closest thing I have and it won't work. Here are some awesome pics of our awesome aquarium adventure instead! I will take a shorter video clip tomorrow and post it in the evening because I feel guilty now for getting you all excited about big fat nothing.

Ahhh, animals are so fun. I just love em'. If my allergies weren't so crazy bad and animals didn't poop, I would totally have my own zoo/aquarium. Maybe someday I can have an OUTDOOR zoo/aquarium and I could hire someone to clean up the doodoo. Hey, a girls gotta have a dream.

The cute manatee you see in the upper right pics just came right up to the glass. He sat there and watched me take pictures of him for like 3 minutes! I was so flattered! One of the 3 toed sloths was out for viewing but he kept his little face hidden so the only pics I could get were with him tucking his face down in his lap. Still pretty cute! Addy loved the burrowing owls the best, Avery loved the jaguar, manatees, and giant river otters, and Aidyn loved the monkeys, snakes, and crocodiles. Ginormous crocodiles! John is a fan of the jaguar and me, I love the river otters and manatees. I could sit and watch them all day long. I know, easily entertained.

In Stevens' news this week, Avery continues to love dance class. She can shake that booty with the best of them. You should see her learning to shuffle-ball-change! It's precious! Aidyn started baketball and continues to amaze John and I with his utter lack of athletic ability. He can run like the dickens but that kid cannot catch a freakin ball to save his life. Oh well. Maybe he'll be a track star. Addy insists on swimming and piano so she will have to wait until the pool is done and we have a new piano to start her extra curriculars. I think we are looking at mid to late fall for both. Cooper is his normal loveable Frenchie self. I have decided that he needs elongated soft pallet surgery and I'm not very excited about the amount of money it's going to cost me to pay for that. Sigh. John is on a diet and back to the gym-anyone wanna take the over under on how long that lasts? I give it 2 weeks tops. Hope y'all are well!

Kickin' it on a Saturday Night

2008-09-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

So, I am sitting here goofing around on Facebook, checkin out the friend blog scene and it's just amazing to me how fast time goes by. I found a couple of old friends on Facebook and checked out their blogs and just have to say that BLOGGING ROCKS!!!! What a fabulous way to catch up with people and not have to pick up a phone. In the not too distant future, we will rely on phones less and less. That is my prediction! Write it down somewhere and save it cuz it's going to be a famous quote. Oh and just for the record, 50 billion pictures is kind of an exageration. I know I'm affectionately known as the "crazy camera lady" in certain circles, but really, it was more like 40 billion.

Random Thought: Cody Teare, if you ever read my blog, I just want to say that your wife has awesome taste in literature, music, movies, and shopping destinations. I don't know her, but I love her.

Here is a little funny story about the birds to your left. I am finding that there are some really smart people that live down here in Texas. While we were at the zoo on Labor Day, we approached these two macaws and a couple of ladies were talking about them as we walked up. Imagine this conversation taking place in very southern accents-it will be funnier-think Jeff Foxworthy but chics:
Chic1: "Ahh, Chic 2, them birds are sure pretty. What kind do ya think they are?"
Chic2: "Well there's a sign right here that says Birds of Peril, so they're Birds of Peril."
Chic1: "I don't think I've ever seen Birds of Peril before, I like em."
Chic2: "Yeah, me too. Kids. These here are Birds of Peril. Let's go see some more."

At this point Chic 1 and Chic 2 walk away with their 2 smaller chics. John and I are really having a hard time holding it together because all though we have never seen "Birds of Peril", we are pretty sure these aren't them. So we walk up to the sign and it says, "Birds in Peril" and it's the title for the article that follows about rescuing macaws from the rain forests that are being depleted in South America. At that point we bust out laughing. I mean the guy that called the meerkats weasels was funny, but Birds of Peril? That was HILARIOUS. Maybe you had to be there.

This weekend was pretty uneventful. John had a friend in town so he spent the majority of his time on the golf course. I had big shopping plans: Gymboree, Home Goods, Hobby Lobby, then possibly a splurge at Striderite, but realized there is absolutely nothing I need at any of those places right now. Generally that fact would not stop me, but I have done so much post tramatic move stress shopping in the past few weeks that I REALLY don't even know what I would buy. Crazy, I know. Wow. Just rereading that is shocking. John saw "Tropic Thunder" and I'm a little jealous because he said it was fabulous. I will definitely make him see it again with me.

Aidyn's 8th birthday was on Sunday! He is officially the age of accountability. We aren't going to baptize him until November because several family memebers want to come down and join the festivities. His special day was a little anti-climactic because we had already celebrated with his friends before we left KS. But we did find this great restaraunt to eat at not far from the new house called "Life's a Beach". Kinda catchy. They have great food and a super huge area with a massive sand pit for the little kids and a volleyball net for the not so little kids. We loved it!

Oh, here is some good news!!! Not only is my BFF Kerry coming down at the end of September for a whole week, but the season premiere of "Dexter" will take place while she's here so we can totally watch it together!!!! I am super excited. If she could only be here for the "Twilight" opening, life would be perfect (ok, if Olivia and Karina could join her then it would be really extra completely perfect;).

Addy had a really good week at school this week. The sporadic crying seems to be ebbing. Her teacher gives out an award every week based on performance and behavior called "Knight of the Week" (btw their school mascot is the knight). She got the award for this week! I thought it was pretty awesome considering it's the first "Knight of the Week" award given in her class. We celebrated at Bennihana's this evening. Her choice. PF Chang's was booked.

Avery started dance on Friday and loved it. She is completely in her element with tap or ballet shoes on her feet. There was an ear to ear perma-grin on her face the entire 45 minutes. I will post some pics after I take them next week. She also started preschool this week which was almost as exciting as dance. Getting ready for all day kindergarten meant putting her in an all day preschool class to prepare so she does that twice a week. It wears her out of course, but she loves it. My lil' social butterfly.

Aidyn is his normal awesome and attractive self. By the way, there's no charge for that. He encourages Addy to suck it up on a regular basis, plays with his lego minifigs, tells me random Star Wars facts about random Star Wars characters, and is just mom's sweet guy. I always tell him that I can count on him for whatever I need, and it's true.

By the way, if they could somehow start an elementary school program for boys where learning and Star Wars were incorporated, the results would be PHENOMENAL. They could call it, "Jedi Problem Solving", or "Let the Force Read with You", or "Anakin Can Spell, and So Can You", or "Young Padowans Unite" something like that. I should totally invent it....maybe for the Wii.

Anyway, hope y'all r doin good. This is the longest post ever about random stuff, hope you didn't get bored:)

Labor Day Fun at the Forth Worth Zoo

2008-09-02T18:33:00.000-07:00

Hi its me Addy! ;) We had a great day at the zoo! Oh my gosh! It was so cool!! The orangutans were so funny!Like this one his face is so weird.We got to see them swing on the ropes too.My mom took like 50,000 pictures so im only going to put a few on here.anyways the gorillas were cool because they came up to the glass and stuff so we got to see them.We also saw a this cool owl (i love owls!) called a milky eagle owl.(top right corner)We saw the giraffes and mom just had to take like 50 trillion pictures of the baby giraffes.But we got to see the lion and a coyote. We had alot of fun! I hope we can go again i loved it!anyway i guess im done and hope to blog again! talk to you soon!

The Stevens' Family in Dallas

2008-08-24T15:05:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it and it has been a tough week for all of us, mostly Addy though. Texas is where we ultimately wanted to end up so we can't complain that Heavenly Father has answered our silent prayers and blessed us with this opportunity. But none of us thought it would be quite so soon after moving to Kansas. We all miss our friends dearly, especially Addy who literally cries spontaneously several times a day because she misses Madeline so much. It's so hard to find a pea from the same pod, then have to part ways. My heart goes out to my sweet daughter and it makes me so sad to see her unhappy. I pray every day that she will find peace and make some new friends quickly. I know Madeline is not replaceable (which I would never even suggest!) but I hope Addy can find someone she likes even half as well.

This week was full of errands, sign-ups, and lots of running around. God bless tele-nav! It has been a life-saver this week. Since our house won't be ready until mid-September, we are staying in an apartment until that time. It's not ideal, but it's only for a few weeks and the kids are being really understanding in that regard. We go check out the house every couple of days to see what's been done, and that's fun to see. We went over today and all the tile has been put in as well as trim work painted, granite set, fence up, and lighting fixtures in place.

Our new ward here in Dallas is the Lake Cities Second Ward. We met so many great people today at church and the kids were thrilled to spend a few hours with kids their age. All 3 were greeted very warmly and seemed to enjoy new teachers and classes. We even got a dinner invite for this evening! Much to our children's dismay, John and I were too exhausted to accept.

All 3 kids have met their school teachers for next year which got them enthused to start school Tuesday. Well, Avery won't start til next week, but she is the most excited of all 3. She will

start preschool and you'd think she was going to Disneyland the way she talks about it.

I got great news on Saturday as well!!! We are pregnant with our fourth!!! Just kidding. That wouldn't actually be great news cuz I'm so done. But I really did get great news. My Kerry is coming to visit me at the end of September!!! It was the best news I could have possibly recieved yesterday after such a crazy, exhausting, and emotionally trying week. I got her text and seriously almost cried. Kerry is one of the those amazing people who lifts your spirits without even trying. It is harder to make friends as you get older and I feel so blessed to have forged the strong bond of friendship that Kerry and I have at this point in our lives. She is like a sister to me in all the good ways. She is just so awesome and even though she is pregnant with her 3rd (BOY!) and will be going into her 6th month, she is coming to visit us. You are the greatest Ker, I love you!!!

Amidst the chaos last week, we were able to do a few fun things. The pool at the apartment is super fun and we did some swimming. We also made a trip downtown to the aquarium. It was awesome! The kids had a blast and there was quite a variety of animals both land and sea. We particularly enjoyed the manatees, river otters, and butterflies. Check out our pictures!

Love you all and will post soon!

Our New Texas Pad

2008-08-01T13:41:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics for your viewing enjoyment....The first is the "Chooch" crew minis, Jack and Avery passed out on the couch due to late night parental-gaming-blisss. The second is Avery and her BBF, Mia. The third is Avery and her new baby pony, CC, fresh from the DFW. The fourth is going on record as the best picture of me EVER! Is that hot, or what? We were lighting off fire-works in the church parking lot.....I mean um, some, um random deserted parking lot out in the boon-docks of Missouri with no Christian orientation and Cortney caught this sassy shot of me enjoying my sparkler a little too much. NICE! And 5th, Addy and her BBF Madeline at the same random unknown parking lot post fourth of July celebratory event. Good times, people, good times!!!

Well, John and I spent a very long weekend in Dallas looking over at LEAST a million different houses. Ok, maybe 50, but it really felt like more. We finally settled on one of the first that we looked at. We just didn't want to rule out any options! Our house is nestled in the beautiful master-planned community of Lantana. Lantana is just North of Flowermound. I'm adding a link so you can check it out:

http://www.lantanatexas.com/

As sad as I am to leave my friends here in KC, it sure feels good to have some direction. Here is a link to the model home of our builder, Newport Homes. Take the model tour (it's in green on the far right side of the page with a little house icon). The floor plan is the same as our home, but the elevation is a little different: http://www.newporthomebuilders.com/neighborhoods.php?id=1

I listed a bunch of furniture on Craig's List last night and my phone has been freakin ringing NON-STOP. I have literally sold almost everything I posted in less than 24 hours. I must have priced stuff way too low. Go Craig's List! It is most awesome.

Hey, guess what else! I have decided to have my dining furniture faux painted a distressed off white. I am really excited! Hopefully it won't turn out completely heinous.

Oh, and I just finished the most hillarious book ever. I really like Christopher Moore even though the language can be a little rough. So if you are offended by a few f-bombs here and there, you shouldn't read this book I am recommending even though the awesomeness is off the charts!!! It is called "You Suck" (a vampire love story). Seriously, I was laughing the entire time I read it. He is the most enertaining author I have ever experienced. If you want to check it out, I picked it up at Costco (my shopping haven). You know it's an addiction when all the cashiers call you by your first name.

Finally we know

2008-07-16T20:50:00.001-07:00

Well, it has been a long and grueling summer of wondering "are we" or "aren't we". First we were, then we weren't sure, and it seems like it took forever to go through the process with relocation to get a buy-out. Then negotiations with Sprint and finally we are here. We found out yesterday; we finally have clarification that we ARE moving to Dallas. There are definitely some mixed feeling going around at our house. As glas as we are to have an answer, we are all really, really bummed to be moving away from this area right now. We had really hoped that we would get at least another 2 years here. But we have been praying since March that the Lord would lead us in the direction we need to go so we have complete faith that Dallas is the right move. John and I will leave next Thursday to go house hunting and the kids will stay with friends. We aren't sure when the official move will take place. Definitely by the 3rd week of August, but I am hoping to get us down there by the first week of August. The kids start school on the 25th so we need to get out booties in gear. Pray for us to find a house on this upcoming trip. Please pray that all the other relocation procedures go smoothly for our family as well and that there are no more hang-ups. Since this is our second relo within a year, we just want to get over with and move forward. All right, enough sad stuff.

We had a super fun fourth of July! The local minor league team in KC is called the T-bones. They had a game on the 4th so we went out there with our friends, the VanOrmans. When we got there, the GA seating we had purchased tickets for was completely filled. There was absolutely no where to sit on the lawn where we were supposed to be. But, thanks to some awesome sweet talking by Karina, we got the best seats in the house. We sat right above the dug-out for the entire game! The kids absolutely loved it and I got some great pics I will post. After the game, we got to watch an amazing fireworks show! They let off the fireworks from the Nascar stadium which is right next to the ballpark. It was one of the best displays I have ever seen. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Happy Independence Day!

Texas, Here We Come!

2008-06-05T15:58:00.000-07:00

Did I portray sufficient enthusiasm with that title? We are not feeling super enthusiastic about moving, but are happy to finally get back to the Lone star State. Our move will probably take place the first week of August, possibly the last week of July. I sort of want to just get it over with, but at the same time, I want to maximize the time the kids have with their friends here, and I want to do that as well. I guess we will see. A lot will depend on when we find a house. John and I will most likely head down to Dallas in the latter part of June. We have heard a lot of good things about the area from people who have lived there.

Tonight we are on tornado watch. That is one thing I certainly won't miss about KC. It's crazy to me that people live like this every "tornado season" which is essentially May through September. I no likey. The weather forecast says that 9-16 tornadoes will touch down in the Kansas City area tonight. Better get my camcorder ready.

We joined Lifetime Fitness this week. It's a health club that's more Midwest. It hasn't quite hit the East or West coasts yet, but everywhere in between. They have pretty much everything including a restaurant, full service, spa, and indoor/outdoor pools with water slides. The kids are loving it. The exercise equipment and classes are top notch. Luckily, they have Lifetime in Dallas as well, so our membership fee will transfer.

It's nice having the kids out of school and some warm weather. They have been enjoying the giant inflatable water slide we got at Costco, and loved the Lifetime pool when we went the other day. We are hoping to go camping this weekend, but we'll see what the weather does.

Hope all of you are happy and well!

Not Much New...

2008-05-12T19:03:00.000-07:00

John and I got to enjoy more Hawaiian sunshine last week while in beautiful Maui. We totally met Hyde from "That 70's Show"! Since I forgot my camera, I have no pictures EXCEPT the picture the photographer took of me and Stephen. Pretty sweet, right? No swimming with sea turtles, no Spinner Dolphins pirouetting by the Katamarran, no beautiful sunsets on the beach, just me and Hyde hangin out. A big thanks to the wonderful Wallace family for taking care of our kiddies. They did a great job and the kids didn't even seem to know we were gone. Ok, that's not entirely true, but they had a great time with the Wallaces. John and I had fun, too.

We are still in limbo about our move. We have decided that if we are "allowed" to go to Texas, we will move, but if Georgia is our only moving option, we will stay. The staying strategy is kind of a gamble, but we really don't want to move all the way to the East coast. Kansas is already far enough away from our families.

Avery celebrated her 4th birthday on April 28th. Yeah Dolly! Here she is with two of her friends, Sage and Mia, at Pump It Up. She bounced around with 7 cute little girls for 2 hours and had the time of her life. Being the center of attention is where it's at.

Addy and I attended the Bon Jovi concert at the Sprint Center in downtown KC on April 23rd. It was awesome! We got to sit in the Sprint suite with fab seats and free eats. That Jon can still shake his thang! We both had a blast.

The kids only have 2 weeks of school left and they are pretty stoked. I am pretty stoked. Sleeping in until 9 for 2.5 months!!!! Sweet!!! I can't think of anything else exciting. Kerry, it you read this, I am sorry for not calling on your birthday. For some reason, it just totally hit me that your birthday was last week while I was out of town and I am feeling really guilty and lame right now. I should definitely call you in the very near future....like tonight.....or tomorrow. I saw on Lex's blog that you got 2 more cats and I'm feeling a little bit hurt about that...I will never be able to have a sleepover party at your house now):

In Loving Memory

2008-04-23T13:55:00.000-07:00

Our dear friends, the Ortiz's, lost their beloved father and husband last Friday morning to cancer. Joe battled fiercely for many months and is remembered for the loving, kind-hearted, selfless man he was by all who knew him. Please remember Lisa and her 3 young children in your prayers. They miss him very much.

Moving On?

2008-04-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

Well, we found out last week that Sprint wants to transfer us to the South. WHAT???? If that was your reaction to this crazy news, it was the same as mine! John has recieved a promotion and he will now cover the southern US. Sprint is asking us to move to Atlanta, but since we have always wanted to get back to San Antonio, we are hoping to go there instead. We probably won't know for sure until some time in May, but I will keep ya'll posted. Pray for Texas! We love Texas! It's warm there! The kids are not happy because they have made such great friends here, but they are coping well. Anyway, nothing else new, but here are a few pictures to keep you entertained!

Just a few more....

2008-03-18T23:56:00.000-07:00

More fun in KC

2008-03-18T23:50:00.000-07:00

Here's a few more...

Here's what we've been up to in KC

2008-03-18T23:47:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Lot's of people have asked me about my digital scrapbooking hobby. Lot's of people have also asked me what we've been up to here in Kansas City. Well, have a look at both!

the polka dot girls

2008-03-09T23:18:00.000-07:00

MORE MORE MORE!!!

2008-03-09T23:15:00.000-07:00

More Wedding Bliss

2008-03-09T23:10:00.000-07:00

The Wedding!

2008-03-09T23:01:00.000-07:00

Our Beautiful Addy

2008-03-09T22:52:00.000-07:00

Fun with Aidyn

2008-03-09T22:46:00.000-07:00

Fun with Avery!

2008-03-09T22:33:00.000-07:00

Beach Fun

2008-03-09T22:18:00.001-07:00

Good Times in Hawaii

2008-03-09T21:51:00.000-07:00

Aloha! We are back from our fabulously fun Hawaiian family vacation. I tried to do without the illiteration, but I couldn't help myself. My brother and his girlfriend of 10 years finally tied the knot! Yeah!!!! And they were kind enough to do so on the island of Kauai. We had a blast hanging out with my family and enjoying all the amazing things there are to do in this tropical paradise. Check out our adventures!

Semiprecious Designs News

2008-03-09T21:42:00.000-07:00

Hey fans, I am shaking up my jewelry making a little. Stay tuned for new styles, lines, and some serious streamlining. It's needed, trust me. Above are a few sneak peeks of what's to come...

Semiprecious1 and Family

2008-03-09T21:26:00.001-07:00

Hello! Weclome to my blog. My name is Amy Stevens, but you can call me Semiprecious1. I am a wife and mother of 3 with a heavy need to create. I am lucky enough to be a stay at home mom where I can personally raise my own children, emotionally support my husband, John, and enjoy my favorite hobbies, jewelry and Digi-Scrap. I have been married to my wonderful husband for 11 years and we have 3 amazing children: Addison (girl) 10, Aidyn (boy) 7.5, and Avery (girl) almost four. They are all angels....I really mean that! Currently, we live in the Midwest after spending the majority of our lives on the West Coast. So far, we like the Kansas City area! There are great people, lots of things for families to do, top schools, great shopping, and beautiful topography. Here is KC, I have also been blessed to find the KC Etsy team! We are a group of crafters with a love for handmade items. Our common thread is Etsy, http://www.etsy.com/. We have teamed up to support each other in our endevors to build our personal buisnesses and to promote the handmades market. Visit us on Etsy by using "KC team" in a search, or visit our blog at http://www.kcetsy.com/.