THANKFUL THURSDAY

I have been thinking a lot about what or who I am thankful for today, and I will start with one of the most obvious picks. I am very, VERY thankful this day for my youngest child Jay Clayton.

He is a wild ball of energy, a "terrible two" and a handful, to say the least. He has been known to write in permanent marker on my walls and doors, smear lipstick on my floors, and break eggs in my piano. He also has a very special way of getting on my very last nerve, causing me to yell and shout.BUT, with ALL that said and done, he is my baby. My last born child and the baby boy I spent every pregnancy waiting for. He is the light of our home, the best little brother ever and the sweetest little stinker a mommy could ever love. Jay has piercing blue eyes that he got from his Grandpa Barton, and a cute little mischievous smile that he, more then likely, got from me. He makes my days happy and BuSy!I have felt for quite some time that Jay has a special role in his life. I knew he was coming from the time I was pregnant with Aubrey. He is meant for something great in his life, I can feel it. He has shown a great appreciation for sympathy and approval. He is always looking for ways to comfort and help. I look forward to the time when we find out all the great things he will be.
I am so thankful this Thursday for my littlest rascal, Jay....

My new approach

I love having a blog. I like updating it, changing the background, reading other peoples' blogs, and checking for comments. But, I have come to a rut in the road. I often find myself knowing that I should update it, but usually feel like I don't have much to say that is worth reading about. SO, my wonderful, sweet, awesome and smart sis-in-law, YES, you Eva!, introduced an ingenious idea that I am now officially stealing. =)

Spiritual Sunday... all about my beliefs, what I learned at church, good quotes, and testimony.

Memories Monday... digging deep and reliving memories from my past. Some good, some bad.

True Confessions Tuesday... honest, bare, truthful, how I REALLY feel and do things.

Wordless Wednesday... no words allowed, just a collection of pictures that mean something to me.

Thankful Thursday... looking for and recording things that I am grateful for.

Family Friday... an update on the happenings of our family and extended families.

Special Saturday... we all know that 'Saturday is a special day', and I don't really know what, or if I will, write on each Saturday, but if I do, I will be sure to make it "special"!

Stay tuned for my different approach to blogging. I am pretty excited! Thank you for the wonderful idea Eva, and thank you for letting me steal it. =) First entry will be tomorrow, Thankful Thursday...

Denial

I admit that I am in denial. I am in denial that my tree is changing colors, my mornings are a bit colder then normal. I am in denial that my grass is fading, and my legs feel cooler in shorts and flip flops. I am in denial that summer is leaving me. It makes me sad and depressed, and makes me want to cry just thinking about all the LONG hours of being trapped inside because of the snow and cold. I refuse to put a "fall-y" background up, so this Halloween one is as close as I can get you.

I already miss summer....

Bad Luck

Stitches have made a comeback. This time they are on ME. And they HURT. This will be a short post, because it is rather awkward and time consuming, chicken pecking, with my usable hand.

So, for those of you that don't already know, I was hand washing dishes on Saturday afternoon. I was washing a glass and it shattered, all while my hand was inside. OUCH!!! and other naughty words too. I finally found a friend that was home to watch my kids while I went down to the doctors office. I now have five stitches on my left, middle finger knuckle. It cut all the way to the bone, so I am on pretty strong antibiotics too.

I will add other news and updates later, but as of now, I have had enough chicken pecking...

Updates

I realized yesterday that I haven't updated my blog in a while. It's not that things were not going on... HECK, there is always something going on... I just enjoyed looking at my sweet husbands' birthday blog for me! He really did sneak that one in, and I was very pleasantly surprised to see he had done it! What a great guy!

Anyhow, other then my birthday recently and the big baptism bash for Nathan, life has calmed down a bit. The kids are doing well in school, Betsy and Jay are still both taking naps conveniently right after Emily gets dropped off at afternoon kindergarten, and once or twice a week I will grab a nap too. AHHH! Miraculous, I know...

David had been AWOL a lot lately. He is pretty busy with his new calling, Elders Quorum President, and then on the days or times he is not doing that, he has been doing a lot of work out on the reservation, where he is gone for 3-4 days at a time. I sometimes feel like a single mom, and sometimes just about lose it, but so far I am still sane, and the kids are all alive and well, so that is good. =) He started 8 credits of schooling, but unfortunately he had to drop his classes. The financial aid was never processed, and because school is kinda pricey, we couldn't pay for classes and books on our own, so he had to drop. GRRRR!!!!!! Maybe next semester NPC can get their act together, and we can try again. (can you tell I am kinda miffed at NPC right now?!?!)

Yesterday at church I realized how VERY much my priorities are off. I spend far too much time wasting time. My life is filled with lots of time wasters, and I am culling back and focusing on the things that REALLY matter. My marriage, kids, and the gospel. That is all that REALLY matters. More time focusing on them, less time wasting my day away. So with that being said, I will say goodbye. =)

29 Years and Counting (by David)

About 10 years ago I met the prettiest thing she came waltzing into the place I worked at EA with the biggest smile on her face, I was hooked!

Since then she has brought more happiness and meaning into my
life than any one man deserves.

She's the only woman I know who can look gorgeous after puking
from sea sickness.

and the only woman that could bring the five
most precious children into the world.

Valerie you have brought so much happiness into my life and our kids lives
you are the only person that could do this.
We will always love and appreciate you!

Happy Birthday!!!

OuR LaBoR dAy!

This will not be a post of pictures and stories of family, BBQ's, and fun, unfortunately...

THIS is what we did for our Labor Day....





Apparently the on-call doctor was "unavailable in Snowflake, so you need to just take him in to the ER." BOO HISS! So Nathan and I headed up to Show Low. Well, SiX hours and six stitches later we got home. NOT the way to spend a holiday.

Maybe next year I will have pictures of family, BBQ's and fun....


**UPDATE: The stitches are in his neck/chin area. A sibling was chasing him, and he tripped on his shoelace, coming through the back door. He hit his face on the frame of our open sliding door. It didn't hardly bleed, and he hasn't complained a bit since about 13 seconds after the doctor sewed him up. He was such a good sport. =) **