Showing posts with label Netty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Netty. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

A Good Old Beaver Too!






I went to Woodbadge this last two weeks.  It is a leadership training program in the Boy Scouts of America.  I currently serve as cubmaster.

What a life changing experience this was for me.  When you get there they sort you into critters.  I am a Beaver.  I now have 5 tickets (goals) I am to work on for the next 18 months or less to complete the Woodbadge experience and receive my Woodbadge awards.

If Any of you can ever go, it is worth it!



Sunday, December 22, 2013

Christmas Newsletter 2013

It is that time of year again...I sit here reflecting on this last year...Wow what a year it has been.

One year ago this week we moved into our 1st home.  What a difference it is to live in a house and not in an apartment.  We are so glad we were able to do this last year.

Now onto what is going on with the family:

Irene will be 5 in Jan.  She loves going to preschool and is looking forward to Kindergarten next year.  She is the taller of the twins and loves horses, princesses, and playing with legos and playing games on Lego.com

Ruth and Irene are best friends.  The joys of being a Twin!  Ruth too loves Preschool and is looking forward to Kindergarten as well.  She is the smaller of the two and two loves horses, princess and playing with legos and on Lego.com

Jennilyn is our smart 1st grader and is 6 yrs old.  She is an excellent reader and is learning math and enjoying it.  She loves to play ballerina and she has a lot of the same interest as the twins with horses, legos, princess and such.  Of course they all share a room so that is not hard.

Dillon is our fun energy boy.  He is in 2nd grade and just turned 8.  Dillon was baptized on Dec 7th.  He is enjoying cub scouts and he loves legos.

This year has been a roller coaster for Annette and Dan.  Both of us have had some health scares this year. But we have had fun too.

The end of  January we found out we were going to have another baby and were very excited about it, but a few weeks later we ended up in the ER with Annette in so much pain.  They were trying to find out what was wrong and we heard the baby's heart beat, but then were told that it was another Tubal Pregnancy.  They took her into emergency surgery.  While they were there they found out that Annette had appendicitis and took care of that too.  Annette is doing well and is moving forward as a mother of 4 kids.

In  April Dan had a scare that took us to the ER with him.  He has had problems with High Blood Pressure for a few years, and they were having trouble getting it under control.  He started seeing a specialist this year and with a lot of hard work we now have his BP under control, but he is also now seeing a cardiologist and it has been determined that he has a mild heart condition called  left ventricular non-compaction.  This is a hereditary family condition.  As of right now we just keep moving forward as there is not a lot of things to be done for it.  He will continue to be monitored for it.  But he is doing well and has lost 30 lbs this year.

 In June Dan and Annette traveled to Minnesota to attend Dan's sister Annette's wedding.  While we were there we got to visit with many friends and family.  Dan's Grandmother also celebrated her 90th birthday while we were there and it was very neat to get to spend time with her.

The kids and Annette spent a week at Camp Tifi with Papa Jack and Nana this summer and we had a lot of fun.

In October Dan and Annette celebrated 9 yrs since they got married.

We had the chance of having both sets of grandparents come and visit us a few times this year.  Also Great-Grandparents have come too.

In September we had a chance to have all of Annette's sisters come to Utah and spend time with all of them, and have some of them come stay at our home.

We are loving having a house and having family come visit.

Dan is still working at Sportman's warehouse.  And has had a busy year with them.  Annette is still enjoying being home with the kids, she has started doing some babysitting.

This year we have really been blessed and watched over.

We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

From Our Family to Yours!

Love,
Daniel, Annette, Dillon, Jennilyn, Ruth and Irene

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Our Trip to Minnesota!

This last week Dan and I had the chance to go back to Minnesota for a few days.  Dan's sister Annette got married in the St. Paul Temple on Friday.  We then went boating on Saturday with our friend's the Hunt's and then went up to Floodwood, were we got to spend time with family on the Bolstad side of the family to celebrate Grandma Rene's 90th Birthday.  We had a great time.  It was wonderful to see Annette and Gabe get married, I have never seen her so happy!  At Grandma's birthday celebration, it felt like it was a goodbye, as that was probably the last time many of us would get to see her again.  On Monday morning as we leaving we were told that Grandma's cancer from 4 yrs ago had come back.  So we really don't know how much time we will have with her.  I am so glad Dan and I got to go and be there and spend time with her and the rest of the family that were able to come.

Thanks to my mom and dad and my niece Sammy for taking care of our kids while we were gone.

Here is some photo's from our trip.
Annette(Dan's sister) and Gabe, Congratulations! We are so happy for you!



It started to down pour rain as we went to launch the boat.  We got it launched and took a nice ride up the St. Criox River.  By the time we came back it was nice and sunny!


Annette and Dan


Annette walking along the side of the boat from the back to the front of the boat.


Annette and Marie on the front of the boat


Brent and Marie Hunt, Annette and Dan
Thanks for such a fun ride!

The Burke Family with Grandma Rene!  Happy 90th Birthday Grandma!

Grandma Rene with her 9 children: Dave, Janelle, Dawn, Nova, Laurie, Lana, Faith, Joy and Marlas

Thursday, May 30, 2013

New Hair Cut

I found out a lady at church has a salon in her basement.  I made an appointment and got a hair cut!  It has been a while since I last had my hair cut and I am happy with it!  Thanks Brooke for doing it for me!  My girls are now asking when it will be their turn to go get their hair cut.  It told them we will do it soon!  I love the new look!

Monday, February 25, 2013

Difficult Times

Life has hit us with a hard one right now.  We were excited and had started to tell people that we were pregnant again, when I started having some sharp pains.  I think I scared Jennilyn when she saw me having one of the pains shooting through my chest and couldn't breath.

Dan called a neighbor and they got one of their daughters who teaches the twins in primary over to watch kids  and Dan took me to the ER.  We had thought of going out of town for the weekend since Dan's niece Afton was getting baptized, but Dan really felt like we shouldn't go.  I was hard to convincing  that we should not go, but I am glad that he listened to the spirit after everything that went wrong on Saturday.

We got to the hospital and they got me right back since I was complaining of chest pain they did an ekg just to make sure I was not having a heart attack.

I had woken up on Saturday with a little cramping, but drinking water helped with that, but I stayed in bed and read a book.  Dan brought me breakfast in bed and later a granola bar.  Just as Jennilyn brought me some silverware to eat lunch with, I started having shooting pain that went right to my heart and I was having a hard time breathing.  I told Jennilyn to go get Dan.  Dan came up and I had another shooting pain.  I told him who he could call to come and stay with the kids.  I got my socks and shoes on and with the babysitter got here, we left for the hospital.

I told the Dr. that the first thing that went through my mind when I started to having these pains was the pains I had when I had a tubal ruppter in 2006 and lost my right tube.  My symptoms were not the same as then.

They had me have a chest x-ray and sent me back for a ultrasound.

They took lots of pictures and even got a baby heart beat, but the baby was not were it should be.  They told me they were going to do an ultrasound of my legs to make sure I did not have blood clots, but then when they came back in to do that they said no we are taking you back to the ER.  When we got back there, they told me that  my left tube had ruptured and that they were sending me into surgery.

When they got in there they found damage to my left ovary as well.  They took out the ovary, and left tube, but also found that my bladder  had grown up over my right ovary with scar tissue.  So they brought in a general surgeon to make sure all was well there, they took off a cyst that I knew was on the right ovary and sent it to be tested.  The cyst has been there since before I got pregnant with Dillon, but non of my dr's had wanted to do anything about it.  They took out my appendix too as it was about to burst.

The Dr told me that the type of cyst that I had was probably the reason that I had so many tubal pregnancies  and that it was a miracle that I have had the kids that I have had since it has been there from the beginning.

I stayed in the hospital overnight and came home on Sunday afternoon.

My mom and dad are here to help out and for that I am grateful for.  I am glad their schedule is such that is allowing them to be here for me.

As for now the only way I will be able to have any more children is to do invetrofertiliztion as I still have my uterus and one ovary.  My  other option is to adopt.

So for now our family is done growing, we will see were the Lord takes us as we have felt like there were more to come to our family, but maybe in a different way.

I feel the Lord is watching out for me and my family.  I am grateful that my husband listened to the spirit and not to what his wife wanted.

Thanks for all your prayers and love and support.

Annette

Monday, December 24, 2012

2012 in Review!

Wow 2012 has gone by quickly!

Dan has kept busy with his job, he did have to travel a few times this year including going to Alaska for the 1st time.

Annette has been busy as a stay at home mom, babysitting  and in July started delivering newspapers.  She was glad to finally quite when we got ready to move to our new home.

Dillon lost his 1st two teeth this year.  He is now in 1st grade and is 7 years old.  He is getting tall and is usually kind to his sisters most of the time.

Jennilyn started Kindergarten this year and is loving to learn!   Both her and Dillon are starting to read, and are doing really well.

Ruth and Irene have been busy this year.  They both finally potty-trained (yes no more diapers).  They are learning their letters and learning to write.

The biggest news we have is that the end of Sept we decided to start looking for a home thinking it would take us a while to get into one.  By the end of Oct we had an offer in and we closed on Dec 9th.
We moved our things in on Dec 15th and we finally got to sleep in the house on Dec 21st.  We are loving the space that we have as it is a  2 story home with a basement.  There are things that we are learning to fix as we go, and we are still getting settled in, but we are loving the home and it feels like it is our place.  Everything moved so fast that we felt like it was a dream in some ways.


We hope all of you have a great holiday and that the Lord will bless you this next year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Updated Family Pictures 2012

In September we had some updated family pictures done by a family friend's daughter who is studing to be a photographer     I thought she did a great job and  we will have to try and do one more setting with her before she leaves on her mission next summer.

Most of the people who read this will have seen the pictures on Facebook, but since my blog is also emailed to family and friends there are some of my favorites for you to enjoy!  A big shot out to Savanna Skinner for doing these for us!  (Yes Grandma and Grandpa this is Jean Skinner's granddaughter).


Dan, Dillon, Jennilyn, Ruth, Irene and Annette

Irene, Dillon, Ruth and Jennilyn


Ruth



Dillon



Irene



Jennilyn



Jennilyn and Irene


Jennilyn



Jennilyn, Ruth and Irene...I am going to blow this one up for their bedroom!



Our Family


Irene having fun with Mommy

Kids being kids

Irene


Ruth


Dillon


Jennilyn not wanting to do pictures anymore!

The kids were done by now!




Sunday, June 10, 2012

End of May Activities

In May the school district had a district wide sports day.  Dillon who had 1/2 day kindergarten got to go to school all day and participate.  He even got a school sack lunch for the day.  He was so excited to show me his ribbon's when he got home!





We bought Pass of All Passes to Seven Peaks owned places.  This allows us the fun of bowling, bumper cars, laser tagging, miniature golf, and also going swimming at Seven Peaks Water Park. 

The water park opened Memorial Day Weekend.  We decided since Dan was off on Monday we would go.  It wasn't too crowded and we had a great time!










 A random picture that was on my camra of the girls all asleep on the couch.  Dillon saw me taking the picture and he smiled for it!  

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Happy Birthday Annette!

 Today is my 34th Birthday!  I had such a fun day today with the family!  Dan told me a few weeks ago that he was taking today off!

We started off going and getting the girl's hair cut!  They look so good!





Then we went to the park for lunch of Pizza!  It was so good and the kids love using our Picnic blankets that I bought last summer!



We then stopped by my sister Wendy's house and she gave me the gift from my family.  I so needed the new cloths they gave me.  I am so excited to wearing the new outfits!  Thank You!  




A few weeks ago we bought what they call Pass of All Passes to one of the local Fun Centers in the area.  They have everything from water parks (with water slides), bumper cars, miniature golf, bowling, and soon Laser tagging.  As well as tickets to local collages sporting events, and some of the Minor League sporting events, even race car events here in our area.  These passes are good for one year.  They are a great deal! Even if all we did was go to the water park twice, it would have paid for itself, but since the water park doesn't open until Memorial Day  we decided to take the kids and go bowling for the first time as a family.  Dan and I enjoy bowling, but we have never taken the kids!  We had a lot of fun and look forward to going again really soon!



When we came home we we had left over pizza and spaghetti for dinner, and then Dan made me a rice crispy treat cake.  He did a great job, and the kids wanted to put the candles on!  (the cake is in the shape of a horse).



I truly did have a great day, and I could not have asked for a better day!  Thanks Dan and Kids and My family for making it so great!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Mother's Day at Church 2012

 I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and each Mother's Day you can usually plan on two things.  1.  The children sing some songs during the Sacrament Meeting 2.  A little gift to all the women in the congregation.  Usually the gift is a flower, or candy.  Last year I got candles with a nice poem, the year before a church DVD.  This year I got these:
A little Pearl Necklaces and a little Forget Me Not flower Grow Kit

And the Kids went up and sang Mother I love you, and  Mother Tell Me the Story.  They did such a great job!

Then the kids went to Nursery and Primary and made me these:

Hand shape flowers from Ruth and Irene
A wheel of how they love me from Dillon and Jennilyn

The wheels from Dillon and Jennilyn had answers to questions.  They were so cute.  Here they are:

They Say Happy Mother's Day!  I Love You!
And then you turn it to read what it says:
Dillon's Wheel:
My Mother is 10 years old and has black hair.
Her favorite Popsicle is... Blue
She Spends Lots of time ... Cooking
Her Favorite Color is .... Blue
She shows me love by...Hugs me
My mother is good at...tickling me
Her favorite chore is... jumping
If my mother were a superhero she'd be...Spiderman
Her favorite sport is...baseball
Together my mother and I like to laugh
My mother is afraid of ... Ghosts
Her favorite cake is... the cake she makes for me


Jennilyn's Wheel:
My Mother is 30 years old and has black hair.
Her favorite Popsicle is... Grape
She Spends Lots of time ... taking care of me
Her Favorite Color is .... Purple
She shows me love by...giving me hugs and kisses
My mother is good at...exercising
Her favorite chore is... All of them!
If my mother were a superhero she'd be...Wonder Woman
Her favorite sport is...I don't know
Together my mother and I like to...read books before bed
My mother is afraid of ... Spiders
Her favorite cake is... Strawberry


I loved getting these little gifts from my kids!  It was amazing well Jennilyn knows her mom at only 4 years old.  

Until Next year!

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Mother's Day

Tomorrow is Mother's Day.  And I am proud to say that I am a mom of 4 great kids!  This morning after my husband left for work, the kids and I just sat on the couch cuddling and they were telling me all about their dreams last night.  Now that I have a child in school, it is fun to see what he brings home as each holiday approaches.  Yesterday he brought home a little card with his picture on it and this questioner that they had him answer the questions to.  It is funny the way kids see things, and I loved the answers.


Side note:  My kids do not get medicine everyday, but when I tell them they need to take it, they usually take it with out fighting me!


I hope every Mom has a great Mother's Day!


Monday, April 23, 2012

Sad Times

This weekend has been a long bittersweet weekend.  On Wed, my wonderful Aunt Sharon passed away after a long illness.  I am grateful for my knowledge of eternal families and that we will see her again.  She is also with her dear husband who passed away 15 years ago.

Today was the funeral, but because of what I will talk about next, I was busy with the Doctor today and was not able to go to the funeral, but I did go to viewing last night and saw many people I have not seen for awhile. It was good to see everyone.

On Friday Dan and I were excited.  We were 10 weeks pregnant and were going to our first Dr's appointment.  we had started to tell family and friends that we were expecting a new baby.  We get to the appointment and they can not find the baby in the uterus.   After a bunch of confusion we got me squeezed into the radiologist tech for a more advance ultrasound.  They did find the baby but not were it was suppose to be.  It was on the right side by my right ovary. ( For those who don't know 6 years ago this week I had a tubal rupture, after thinking that I had miscarried the week before. )  This fetus they found this time was in the same area, were I have no tube.

There was no life sign, and today the ruling came back as a Ectopic Pregnancy.  I had three options, full surgery (6 weeks recovery), a scope to remove it, or using a medicine called Methotrexate which is a radiation medication given through a shot  that devolves what is left of the fetus.

I decided to go with the Methotrexsate and I will have to go back in for blood work on Friday and again next Monday to make sure that it is working.  If it is not then we will have to do surgery.

It has been hard on both of us as we have been looking forward to adding our family for  awhile now.
But we will be ok, and I am at peace that we will add to our family one day.

Thank you to all the family and friends who have shown their love in person or vie Facebook, or email.  It has been wonderful to know that we have so many that love us and support us.

Thanks You and love you all!

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Our Christmas Newsletter 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

This year has gone by so quickly and we are doing well.  Just a little update that of our family.

I guess we will go youngest to oldest....

Irene has grown and is talking so well.  She is also just about done with Potty training, and has done very well with it.  We love to hear her say each morning "Is it morning yet?"  Irene loves Princess and Dora

Ruth is growing and also doing well with her talking.  She loves her Belle doll and anything to do with Belle or Dora!

Both girls want to go to primary, but they don't turn 3 until January so they will have to wait another year to go.

Jennilyn is becoming a math wiz and she is only 4 years old.  Every time we go out she does the math of how many stops we have to make and how many we have left.  She loves her Barbies and her my little ponies.


Dillon started Kindergarten this year, and has really improved with his speech.  He loves Star Wars and playing the Lego games on the Wii.

Annette has been busy being a stay at home mom which she loves.  She has been enjoying learning to do crafts with her new toy that she got as an early Christmas/Late Birthday Present.

Dan has been busy with work.  He got to travel to Alaska, Mississippi and Washington State this year with work.  And to Pennsylvania for a computer certification class.  When he is not at work, he is usually studying to take more computer certifications.  Right now he is getting ready to take one in Jan and then one probably in Feb.

In July we traveled as a family to Spokane Washington, for Dan's brother David's wedding.  It was a wonderful event and we had a good time.  Dan had to travel back home to go back to work, while Annette and the kids stayed in Washington and went to the beach and had fun with Aunt Emily and Uncle Squire and kids.  They also got to spend a few days with Annette's grandparents and cousins in Kennewick.  Grandma Nova helped Annette drive back to Utah in time for Dan's cousin's wedding in Utah.

In August Dan's Grandma Burke passed away from cancer.  She will always be a part of our life, and we miss her very much.  Dan was unable to go to Minnesota for the funeral, so Annette went instead.  Papa Jack and Nana took care of the kids for the few days that she was gone.

As we come to a close of the year we think about the reason we celebrate the Christmas Season.  Christ came to earth to show us how to live and to make it possible for us to return to live with him again.  We are so grateful for the birth of our Savior and as we go through out this Christmas Season, we hope that each of us will remember the gift that was given to each of us from our loving Heavenly Father.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Everyone!
Love,
The Burke's

Friday, November 25, 2011

Black Friday 2011

I am recording this experience that happened to me for my kids to know what a adventure I had on Black Friday this year,  And just so you readers know, I did not get hurt and am ok.

I had told my sister W~ that I would go to Black Friday with her this year to help get the stuff.  Now just so you know I have done Black Friday a few times but it was not something that we grew up with, as our parents did not do it and I had not done it for 3 years when I was 32 weeks pregnant with the twins and went to Joann's with my mother in law (who I missed having with me this year!).  After talking with my other sisters we decided to divide and conquer at certain stores.  W~ and I got to Wal Mart just before 9pm.

Our closets Wal Mart is a smaller one, not a full super center.  Wal Mart did not close down so we were able to walk in and stand by our items.  At 10 pm they told we could touch the items we wanted.  I was right at the front of the display and reached down to get the two Wii Games that I wanted  and I got pushed down to the floor.  I couldn't get up because of how many people were crowded in on me.  I didn't get hurt other then when you bump your knee.  It was more scary then anything and it made me think of the stories in past years of people getting trampled to death.  But I got the games that I was trying to get and all was well other then being shook up a little!

 We got a couple of other items that we wanted and as we were standing in line back in the garden section to check out we noticed someone had put some cute Disney Princess Barbies in the cd bin, so we grabbed them for the girls for Christmas.  We were out of the store by 11pm and on our way home.

I got home and visited with my mom who had stayed the night so I could go out again in the morning and Dan could go to work.

I went to bed and got up at 5am and got to Joann's Fabric store and stood in line.  I was able to get the fleece that I wanted for the kids and then waited 1hr 20 min to get it cut. I really was missing my mother in law while I waited and was thinking of our shopping trip 3 years ago.  I even sent her text to let her know I was thinking of her!

Once I was cut (3 fabrics was all I had compared to peoples 25 or so) I walked right up to the cash register and paid and then I drove by Target which I knew there was a few items that W~ and I wanted there, but after Wal Mart we had decided to take our chances that there would be some later.  There was hardly any cars at Target so I went in.  I saw more employees then I did customers.  Target had opened at 12am.

I found what W~ and I had wanted and then a few other things to finish my Christmas shopping.  It was a lot less stressful waiting to go in 8 hrs after they had opened even though they might not have had the items that we wanted, but they did.

I was home by 9am and then the kids helped me put the lights on the tree and decorate the tree.

Now all my gifts are bought and I just need to finish making a few gifts and then mail the two gifts that need to be mailed out of state.

I am excited for the gifts that I was able to do for Family and Friends!  I really did try to think about each of them and what they might like!

I hope you all had a Great Thanksgiving and a great holiday season!

Annette

Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Update

Well it has been a while since I just updated on what our family has been up too!

Dillon~
The end of Aug Dillon started kindergarten.  He is in afternoon and gets to ride the bus!  He is such a big helper and is really getting good at writing his name!

Jennilyn~
Jennilyn is missing her brother while he is at school, but her and Mommy have been doing pre-school together at home.  She is really smart at math!  Jennilyn also turned 4 in Aug, and again is being a great helper with things here at home!

Ruth & Irene~
The Twins are being potty trained.  The 1st day was a disaster, but since then we have been having some success.  (Who knows, maybe we will have them diaper free before their Birthday!)  They are using more words and are getting so big.  I keep thinking that my babies are all growing up!

Dan~
Dan is keeping busy with work and studying to take the Security + exam that he was suppose to take this week but it got canceled and he has signed up to take it in Jan.  He has also started to study to take some Microsoft certifications that he is hoping to start taking exams for those at the begging of next year.  We finally got Dan a smartphone so now we both have cell phones which is really nice!


The sad news is that I lost my camera a few weeks ago and I am feeling lost.  I keep wanting to take a picture and can't.  My phone and I-pod just don't cut it!

I am hopping maybe we can find a really good deal with Black Friday or Cyber Monday on the camera that I want or at least one that will get me buy until I can save up enough for the one I want!

I hope all is well with all of you!

Netty

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Slice of Life #68: Beautiful YOU

This seems to be a tough one for my wife. Then again, it could be a tough "Slice of Life" for me as well on most days. A lot easier it seems to do what you do great and think of what you do wrong. So you see your faults and what makes you great is just lost in the clutter of life.

"How are generations later going to know about your terrific-ness if you never tell them?"

I must answer this first question with a simple answer. So the first thing that makes my wife beautiful is that she is a mother. A mother of four beautiful children. When I look at our children, I see evidence that they have a beautiful mother, even when she does not see it. From how they treat each other with please and thank you (when they aren't fighting like children do), to their beautiful eyes, healthy hair, and active bodies. And for each of those pregnancies, she has been quite healthy. For example, during the twins pregnancy, I suspect the doctors may have been willing to let my wife go to term without any panic, except Ruth was breach as the first baby. Some law or regulation or whatever dictated that they deliver a breach baby c-section.... So other than a breach baby, my wife had a very healthy pregnancy with twins no less while others we knew were being monitored closely with risk of bed rest. I think that healthy pregnancy speaks volumes, but that is just her loving husband writing here.

"What are your best features? Your eyes? Your legs? Your hair?"

If you ask me, I would say all of the above are great features of my wife. Sometimes I like to smell her hair. I realize that is the perfumes in her shampoo or conditioner, but that still speaks of the care she gives her hair. Not just a dandruff shampoo and done like I do. As for the other two features, please just take my word on it....

"What makes you stand out in a crowd? Is your laugh contagious, your smile warm, or your hugs sincere? Your ability to quiet a child in a grocery cart?"

Does four children in a grocery cart count? That does tend to stand out when so many others have only one or two.

"What tastes do you have? Is it your taste in music, your love of art, or picking good books to read?"

Romance. Definitely romance. Though, you must add in Harry Potter. We read those together. My wife had read the books that were out before we dated and married. She was collecting them. We then read them together as a couple, and it was a great experience to read the books as husband and wife. She also listens to books on CD. One such that isn't quite the romance is centered on some characters that are supposed to be Navy Seals. And, yes, there are some of her romance books on CD that I have enjoyed listening to. But I don't think I have ever listened to the entire one of her books from beginning to finish. So I mostly recognize the stories by fitting the characters and current plot line into the puzzle pieces I have previously listened to.

Almost forgot the LDS themed series, such as Faith of our Fathers and The Work and the Glory.

"What talents have you acquired (or would like to)? Cooking? Running a business? Home decor?"

My wife has her bachelor's degree in accounting. She is creative with preparing our meats with spices and marination, it doesn't always work out tasty but her successes far outnumber her failures. Soon as it becomes available, we are planning to purchase her a special cutting printer for crafts--I cannot think of a better way to describe it. It has a blade. It cuts out shapes. And it looks a lot like your desktop printer. And thinking of things she wishes to learn, my wife would like to go back and get a Master's Degree in accounting. Being the big, bad, mean husband that I am, I have a couple stipulations on that, the first being that we actually pay off her current student loans. For some reason I got this get out of debt bug, and I am grateful that she has been very patient with this different way of thinking. In fact, if I were to include another skill in here because her accounting, she has been very good at learning and applying a different method of money management. Under her improved skills in sacrifice, patience, and financial management, we paid off her car early and have not had a car payment since (even though we sold her car and bought a mini-van). We are paying off her grandfather. So we almost to the point that the loan we have left to tackle IS her student loan. Even when we hit a bump in our finances and I asked my wife to stay with it, that I believed she could fix the error, I was so pleased to be proven right. Not just because it brought us back current with our financial plan, but because I was pleased to be proven right about my wife. I believed she could and she DID. That was a great feeling. Now I realize that managing personal finances can be different for many of us as opposed to managing business finances. We can be great at one and terrible at the other. So I am hoping to learn to build a business. Why does my goal matter here? Because my wife told me once that it was her dream to teach future generations to be the business builders of the future (I forget what the organization was called that excited her so as a youth). See, that is the other part of why I am such a big, bad, mean husband. Not only do I insist that we pay off her student loans, but I remember her dream and I will hold her accountable for it when we have the means to make it reality. And since I envision her accomplishing her dream, I want her to be the best person possible to share and teach the entrepreneurs of the future. So I want her to achieve that Master's Degree and I want her to have experience. If I can build a business, then she wouldn't even have to wait for the kids to all be in school to start on that personal experience. Of course, being such a meany, I have no compunction against sharing one of my wife's dreams online for all to read. That way I can build a team of people to remind her that she has a beautiful dream, and to encourage her so that she holds on to her dreams.

Sunday, June 05, 2011

Slice of Life #55~Naughty, Naughty, Naughty

I know I have been naughty at times in my life, but there is only one big naughty that I remember that I really got in trouble for with my mother.

I was 13 years old and went to a Beehive II(church youth group) group sleepover party at one of our leaders house.  While we were having a good time, we heard something outside.  We had discovered that our leaders house had been "Dotted" (paper dots taped to the house).  We figured out one of the girls who did it was from the Beehive I class (age 12).  So everyone else wanted to get back at her and they decided to toilet paper her house in exchange for the toilet paper we had to babysit for two hours free for our leader, so I went along...we went and toilet papered this girls house and the Bishop's house.  Her father was still up and saw us do it and laughed since he knew what his daughter had done. 

The next morning we went and helped both families clean up the mess and invited them to breakfast with us.

My mom was so mad when she found out what we had done that my leader never did have me come and babysit to repay back the toilet paper.  And as a result none of the other youth groups were allowed to have a group sleepover.

Not my proudest moment, but it taught me a lot at the time, and I have never done anything like that again.

So there is my Slice of Life Naughty Story.  Hope you enjoy it!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Annette turns 33

Yesterday was my 33rd Birthday!  I started my day off by getting up at 5:45am and driving to Orem to pick up my nephew's Leo and Cole, so that my sister Alysha could go to work at 7am.  I brought them back to my house and was back in time for Dan to go to work.  I then did cereal with all 6 kids for breakfast.  I received a call from a sister in my ward wishing me Happy Birthday, and my grandmother called me.  I got lots of  Facebook well wishes.  When Alysha came she offered to watch the kids while Dan and I walked to Red Robin and have dinner.  While I waited for Dan to come home I scanned some pictures that Alysha needed.  When I came home Wendy was there with a beautiful and tasty chocolate cake with strawberries.  I then scanned more pictures for Alysha and talked with my dad and my mother in law before I went to bed.  I talked with my mom this morning as she had forgotten her phone yesterday and didn't get home until midnight.  I got cloths from my sisters and my parents and I got some add on's for the Wii Fit, that I have tried out already and love!

It was a good birthday and I am grateful for my family for making it a special day.


Saturday, May 07, 2011

Happy Mother's Day 2011

This week Dillon brought home a Mother's Day Card for me!  What I love is his attempt to sign his name!


And here is a collage of the rest of the card!



It is so nice to be entering into that time in my life when my kids will be bring home all the artwork or special projects for me!  I love all of my kids and can't wait to see what the future holds for us together!