I got my shoes!

Today the girls and I went up to Yreka(30 minutes north) with David to do some shopping for work. When we came home I was distracted by getting Carson and Callie to piano and getting homework out of the way. David was expecting a package today or tomorrow so when I saw a package up against the door I assumed it was David's. I brought it in and tossed it on the table. I told David that his package had come so he started opening it. After a minute or two of dealing with the buzz of children talking David said, "Did your mother send you these?" I said, "What" and went over to see what he was talking about. When I saw the shoes I said "I got the shoes, I got the shoes." with my voice growing louder and a little higher in pitch.
In the beginning of September, while reading Christy's blog I was so generously reminded to check out the Ryka offer. Since entering I have received a weekly email telling me I hadn't won anything. And today I find shoes on my door step. What a surprise!!After a minute or two, I was still stunned, David told me to try them on. They fit perfectly and were so comfortable. You know what this means now? I have to start running!

A blustery day

On the 9th of October it was overcast and very windy. I picked George up at 3:30 and came home. While in the living room I heard some wood cracking. I was waiting for the roof to fall in. When that didn't happen I checked the deck and everything looked fine. I went around the house and saw the neighbors shed had been hit with a tree. The grey tarp to the left is part of our property. Our neighbor comes up every once and while so they weren't around. That is their little log cabin and the shed was right next to it.

I called David and he called the volunteer fire department to check for any gas lines or electrical lines. They came out and checked for any immediate dangers. There were none. They put a tarp over it till they contacted the owners. The realtor that is trying to sell the house we are in came out after hearing it was our place. I informed him it wasn't and he told me the owners live in Redding, an hour away.

The firefighters told me it was a dead tree that fell. It was right in the middle of the cabin and the shed. Cracking wood is one of the worst sounds. I'm just glad it wasn't our house. I later hurried to go pick up Carson and Callie from choir.

Some of our daily views

Here is a map of where we live. Yes I drew it. The mailbox is about a mile from our house. Along the way we pass a private lake that is fenced with a tall fence and barb-wire. We have seen turtles, ducks, jumping fish, swans(2), and a crane.

This is us driving next to the private lake. It is off to the left of the van.
<------ that direction.

This the view from the road of Mount Shasta. I stuck the lens through the chain link fence.

This is Mount Shasta on the 3rd of October. Three days earlier it was bare of snow. This is also the view from our deck. I zoomed in some with the camera.

Here is Mount Shasta on the 14th of October. Shasta is usually covered with clouds so I seized the opportunity of a nice clear day to take a picture.

Here is Shasta on Sunday the 21st of October. All week it was under clouds getting a nice thick blanket of snow.

This is another spot that we pass daily.

An accomplishment

Lucy said her first prayer all by herself at lunch today. For a long time we couldn't get her to repeat what we had said for a prayer. I asked Ginger to help her and she insisted doing it on her own. She said, "Heavenly Father, (pause) day, (pause) please bless food, (pause) please bless food, (pause) thankful hotdog, (pause) Jesus Christ, Amen." I love those little prayers.

Our annual pictures

We finally did it. I totally missed Lucy's 18months picture and barely got her 2 year picture done. Ginger was over due as well. I decided I would take the money for school pictures and get them all done at once. It was about even in price. And now I have a picture of all of them together. We are hoping to get a family picture in November.

I decided to take them to JC Penney's in Medford,OR. Its about an hour and a half away. Upon getting there we made a stop at Fred Meyers to find something that matched for Ginger to wear. They were actually having a really good sale. (75% off the lowest clearance price) I found that shirt and sweater that totaled $6. Then Carson kept whining about what I made him wear. He said, "Why do I have to look nice? Why can't I look cool?" I told him he could look for something on the sale rack. He found a the green jacket. It was $8. He was so excited. I told him that he had to wear the shirt I picked out for most of the pictures but he could change for a few of his individual shots. We finally got to the studio and things went pretty well through the shoot. Lucy was tired so it took a lot to get her to smile. By the time we were all done and had order our pictures Lucy was crying and everyone needed to get some energy out. It was about 4pm and Lucy had not had a nap yet. So we got in the car and drove another 30min. to visit David's parents. David's mom had pizza waiting for us which was really nice. All day we had eaten cookies or snacks that wouldn't mess up our clothes. After awhile we headed for home to see Daddy. It felt so good to crossed a huge thing like pictures off my to do list.

Callie told me I needed to get a picture taken.
I was not planning on it but thought I would try it.

Lucy is becoming so independent. The other night at dinner, referring to the meatloaf, Lucy said, "I don't like it mommy. I don't want it." Everyone laughed at the table. She then said, "I don't like it. It's not funny." She speaks really well and says some really funny things. She loves to say hello and does it with so much energy. And she loves to help me stir everything.

We all love it when the missionaries come over but Ginger seems to really like it. The other day they came over for dinner. We ate, had dessert, and had our message from the elders. Afterwards we all knelt for prayer like we do for family prayer. Ginger slides right in the middle of the two elders and kneels down. After our family prayers it is a tradition to have a family hug. Ginger was thinking ahead! As soon as the prayer was over she stands up and yells "Big hug". We all start laughing and tell her no. She's pretty smart.


George has really developed a love for reading. He does so well at getting his homework done as soon as he gets home. He is looking forward to going to the pumpkin patch with his class at school. George has also developed a desire to eat healthy. Sometimes he will turn down treats or snacks. Or when he comes home from school and I check his lunch he will have eaten everything but his cookies or gogurt. If I could be so disciplined.

A few weeks ago David was laying down with George before going to sleep. They were talking pretty deep. George was asking questions about the end of the world and when all the spirits would be born. Really deep. Anyway as they were talking about Heavenly Father, George tells David I feel like I am going to cry. David tells him that that feeling is the Holy Ghost telling him things are true. George really enjoyed that experience and tries really hard in his prayers to make them special. A couple of times after a prayer he would ask me if I was crying.

The other day the phone rang and David answered it. David said it was for Callie so I called to her. She talks to her friends from church so I thought nothing of it. I was getting dinner ready so I left the room but could hear. "Hello, okay. Bye." I stopped her and asked who was on the phone. She quickly said, "I don't know." I said, "What did they say?" She said, "They said, you dared me to call you and I did." I asked her if she dared someone to call her and she said no. For some reason I didn't push it anymore. Usually I would pound them with questions till the truth came out. That night I was putting the girls to bed and I had just gotten Lucy and Ginger in their beds and hoping they would stay there without getting out. As I'm getting ready to leave the room Callie says, "Mom, can you and I go and talk in the bathroom. I was a little frustrated because doing that would stir Ginger and Lucy again so I ask her if it was important. She said yes so I told her that I would come to her bed and we could talk about it there. She said okay. So beside her bed she told me that she had lied about the phone call. She did know the person on the phone and it was a boy that she had dared him to call her. I asked her if he was a nice boy. She said yes and that he was really funny. She was really nervous telling me all of it but when she was done she said, "I feel much better now." I told her I was glad she was honest and it always feels better to tell the truth.


Sunday after church Carson informed us that he put his arm around a girl in his primary class 6 times. I asked him if she said anything to him. He said "she just looked at me". Around the 5th time I guess she said stop it. He said he only did it one other time after that. We had a long talk.

Doesn't he look COOL in his new jacket!