Back to School

This week was the first week of school for both Tyler & Jordan. For the past month I've been trying, without success (so far, at least), to get Jordan changed over to track 1 instead of 2. I met Jo's teacher, Mrs. Johnson, & she seems nice enough. I'm just not in love with track 2. They're in school barely long enough to get them used to being in school the full day & then they're on break. They go to school next week & the week after & then they're off for 3 weeks! How ridiculous is that!? Grrr...

We made it through our week of parties, though. :) Ty had a neighbor friend stay the night last night. They were very respectful & quiet, which was nice since we already had a few extra bodies sleeping in the house. Hayleah slept in our room since Vickie & Keith were sleeping in her bed (she sleeps on our old queen bed in the play room....she won't sleep in a crib) & she managed to wake up 6 times last night! That's not counting the times she woke me up with a little foot to the my face. Needless to say, I'm exhausted today.

We got all the present opening on video & Logan was really funny. He got excited about a pair of Batman socks Vickie gave to him & started hopping around & whooping it up & running around the house in excitement. You can imagine the response when he saw the remote control car she got him! LOL

Thursday night, amidst all the chaos, Dave & I made it to the Temple. What a nice experience. :) We dropped the kids off with Vickie & Keith so they could watch them while we went, which was nice of them. I love the staff at the Las Vegas Temple. They really make you feel safe & loved. It's probably that way at all LDS Temple's, but this one is especially dear to me.

While at the Family History Center last week, a lady told me about a program called PAF Insight that is just amazing. It's one you have to pay for, but it automatically links up to Family Search & will search the IGI for you with just a click of the button, instead of you having to type it in. HUGE time saver!!

Happy Family History hunting! :D

Taking a breather

We've been trying to prepare for company this morning & I'm ready for a break! There's always more to do than you originally think, it seems. This time is no exception. That's alright though. My mother-in-law, Vickie, & her husband Keith, are headed down this way from Reno tomorrow. We haven't seen them in a while, so it'll be good to see them.

Next week we have 4 birthday parties to celebrate! Tyler will be 14 on Tuesday, Jordan will be 6 on Wednesday, & we'll also be celebrating Logan's birthday (he'll be 3 but not until Sept. 14th) & Vickie's birthday while she's here. To top it off, school starts on Monday, which is a bummer because there's just so much going on already. I certainly enjoy life at a little slower pace than this, but what a nice way to stay busy. :)

Casting SALE!

If anyone is interested in doing any castings of their children, or even the whole family together, I'm offering a special deal for my fans (see, I haven't lost my sense of humor ;~) ).

For the next month, I'll be offering 40% off all castings for parties!!

I'm trying to raise enough money to take some classes next month, so every little bit helps.

If you want to have a casting party with 4 or more participants, I will come to your home at no extra charge & you will receive a free casting (up to a $40 value) for booking the party!

If you aren't able to get a party together, you'll still be able to receive a 25% discount on all castings!

I'll also be offering the same discount on gift certificates. These are perfect for wedding, baby shower, & birthday gifts, as you can imagine.

If you know of anyone who might be interested, please pass this along.

Lots of love!

Education

Do you ever want to go back to school? I thought I did. Well, I still do, I'm just put off by the cost of doing so. I really want to learn energy healing. I have had my foot in the door for years, I've just never really pursued it. Lately I've felt a fire for it again. I called one of my favorite LDS mama-run, local shops, Well Rounded Mama, earlier to see if my Diva Cup had arrived yet (yes, I know...tmi) & their resident Reiki Master happened to answer the phone. We had a good, long conversation & it seems she's willing to work in trade with me. :D How cool would that be, I ask myself!? :D :D

I've always been drawn to energy healing, I didn't know it had a name until about 5 or 6 years ago when my sister-in-law introduced me to it. This would be the kooky one with all the crazy ideas like home birthing, home schooling, education before vaccination, etc....most of which I've since come to accept & appreciate & even implement in my own life. I guess that kind of makes me the kooky one now. ;) I've always been one to try to swim upstream, so to speak. I've always tried to fit in (sometimes too hard, when I was much younger) but never quite did. I was always a tree hugger at heart. LOL

I've learned, over the years, to stop trying so hard & to take those names I'm sometimes called & embrace them. I really believe it's a compliment to be called a tree hugger now. :) I find I'm still pretty reserved, not letting too much of "me" be known by very many people. This little snippet puts me pretty far out there, I'd say. That's alright. This is cyberspace, after all...it's so much easier to be open here. I'm sure one day I'll be completely comfortable in my own skin. ;)

Las Vegas

I got to thinking tonight about the people I've had the opportunity to get to know here in Vegas. The few in particular I had in mind are Las Vegas natives....born & raised here.

Now it's no secret this is not my home, nor will it ever be. But after some consideration, I think I need to start looking at things from a different perspective. I'm always so focused on the things I wish were different here. For instance, I hate the fact that there is a billboard or four on every corner in this town, advertising everything from when & where Donny & Marie will performing to when & where the upcoming auditions for some new strip tease show will be held. Not to mention scantily clad women, if they're even clad in anything! That really gets under my skin!!

Okay, I can see I'm headed in the opposite direction of where this was meant to go, so I think I'll go back to where I started with this thought....the people.

The few people I know who were born & raised here are some of the most amazing people I have ever met. They are talented, smart, faithful, kind, helpful....I can't say enough good things about them. They are the kind of people I am proud to associate with. So, in a place where sin is so prevalent, how did they wind up this way?

Two of my children were born here. Whether or not they're raised here is up to the Lord. I find myself thinking about how these friends were raised here & managed to stay on the right path in their lives.

It makes sense that where there is much sin, there is also great faith. I think our valley is overflowing with it....faith, that is. I've lived places where the atmosphere is so different from here. Small town, mid-west, USA. I can see how the lack of sinful opportunities can sometimes lead to apathy. Thinking about it, it seems like a place like Las Vegas can be an opportunity to grow ones faith. There can be no fence-sitters here. Either you choose to follow our Savior, or you don't.

I like that about Las Vegas. As for the rest, I still wish things were different, but I will take what I can get. And stronger faith isn't a bad trade off for a few offensive billboards. :)