Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I need to send a shout out of thanks to my wonderful daughter Bailey. We have company coming this weekend and she has known that I have desperately needed to get the spare bedroom cleaned up, but have found no time. Yesterday, she cleaned the entire room. It looks wonderful! I had asked if she would pick up the things she had gotten out and she did the whole room. She will never know how much I appreciate this until she becomes a mother herself. Bailey thank you so much, I am so proud to be your mother! I love you!

A hunting we did go.....

So these pictures are out of order, late getting posted, but at last I've gotten my computer to cooperate. I've been trying to post these pictures every few days since Dec. 23 and my computer would not upload them. I think I've finally figured it out, so here they are and now maybe I can get some others posted sooner than these. We did have a great time and the proof is in the pictures!

Life is a whirlwind

First, to all those moms who seem to be able to do it all, I admire you. I don't see how you do it, but you are my hero. I feel like I can't keep up with my pretty basic life. Life has been a whirlwind since the week before Thanksgiving, and I don't know when it's going to let up. It started by me going with some friends from work to the midnight showing of Twilight and I don't think I've caught up since. It was a lot of fun and a great movie, but I've been spinning out of control ever since. Bailey and I worked at the Jubilee of Trees that weekend and also again on Monday with Bart. A couple of days to recoup and it was Thanksgiving. Thanks to Bart's sister Jolene for hosting, at least I didn't have to feel the pressure of that. Bart and I got up Friday at 4:30 am to participate in the madness of Black Friday, not because we enjoy it, but because we are on such a tight budget this year (like most people). We did get a few things bought and then I headed off to work a full day. On Saturday we made our annual trek to get our Christmas tree. We always have a great time and this year didn't disappoint. We didn't think we were going to have any snow, but boy were we surprised! I think there was more snow on the ground and trees than any other year. We found our tree quicker than normal and were able to make a snowman, including an extra beanie for his hat. Bailey named it Herman, so it could be a boy or girl. By the time Sunday of that week rolled around, Bailey wasn't feeling very well. She ended up staying home Monday and Tuesday from school. Wednesday we went to our nephew Kyle's allstar football game. Even though Bailey stayed home from that, she ended up missing school again on Thursday. Friday was the ward party and I was so relieved when it was finished. One more thing to cross off my list. Saturday morning Bart and I left to Salt Lake to attend my annual Christmas work party. We left Bailey at a friend's house, with plans to be home by 4 pm Sunday so Bart and Bailey could participate in the Stake choir program. The party was a success, but Bart started getting sick in the night. I let Bart sleep in until 10:45 am, but we had to leave the hotel by 11, so we loaded up and headed out. By the time we got to Orem, Bart was throwing up. Needless to say, it was a long ride home for him in the back seat of the Escape. We made it home by 4, but all those weeks of practicing with the choir didn't pay off for Bart, he was unable to participate. At this point, I wasn't feeling so well and Bailey went to choir with Grandpa while Bart and I stayed home. Bart and I stayed home from work on Monday and slept pretty much the whole day. Bart was back to work Tuesday, but I stayed home and slept for one more day. By Wednesday, I was doing much better, and we had basketball practice (Bart is coaching) and Bailey's band concert to attend. By the time Thursday rolled around, I was looking forward to Bailey going babysitting and Bart being gone for a prior commitment, so I could work on some much needed housework. My evening was spent decluttering the kitchen and dining room table. On Friday, Bailey went babysitting again, so Bart and I went and finished up the last of our Christmas shopping! Saturday we had tithing settlement, dance recital rehearsal, basketball game at 4 and dance recital at 5. Somewhere in this madness, I did manage to get my primary lesson planned, but I'm not exactly sure when. Have I mentioned that my Christmas tree still isn't decorated? It's supposed to happen sometime tonight, maybe after the primary meeting. If you have read through all this mess, then you will see why kudos go out to all those women who seem to get it all done much better than me! And if you're wondering why I haven't been blogging, now you know. I will post some pictures of the annual Christmas tree hunt, but it will have to be in the middle of next week, since a primary meeting and a Christmas tree decorating party are waiting for me! Ta ta for now!