September Happenings

Life always seems to get busy and the blog takes a back seat when that happens.  I don't have a lot of time during the day or night and there have been a lot of things happening lately.  When all of a sudden I look at the calendar and realize that September is almost OVER and I haven't posted once.  Time has been getting away from me.  Being a mom of 2 young kids it's easy to see how that happens.  The only time I get at night I usually end up finishing the cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, or other various things that didn't get done that day or the 3 days prior.  There is very little time for me.  But this morning Jason is taking a nap and Lydia is feeling a little sick and is calm watching a movie so I thought this is a great opportunity to catch up on at least a little before the every 2 min of calling "mom" arise!

MOM
At the begninning of the month I got a text from my brother Dave informing me that mom had broken her ankle and dad was taking her to the ER and that more info would be sent out when they have it.  I immediatly called my little brother Matt to find out what in the world was going on.  Well, my dada hadn't gotten home from work yet so my mom was still at home.  I talked with both of them and found out that my mom put her leg on her cedar chest in her bedroom and lost her balance and fell over on her carpet.  She knew that she was hurt but didn't know how bad.  She was going to get up on her own but had a strong impression to look first.  That was when she saw the damage and started calling to Matt who was thankfully awake at 9am.  He got her up and on the couch and called dad.  When I talked with her she was a little out of sorts but seemed to be doing alright.  The surprising thing was that she was in very little pain so the guys took that opportunity to take pictures before they got to the hospital.  When they got to the hospital they kept trying to offer her pain meds but she was saying she was alright.  They took x-rays and found that she broke her leg, ankle, dislocated her ankle and tore her tendons.  All that damage from a little fall (her bones had been tested a few months prioir and the Dr said they were in great shape for a woman her age).  Can we say freak accident??  Obviously she needed surgery.  They were going to put her ankle back in place when she was under anesthesia but because she wasn't in that much pain, the Dr decided to put in in place while she was awake.  Mom said it was painful but not terrible.  Surgery went well with a 7 in plate and 11 screws holding her ankle together now.  I can't say enough how grateful I am for modern medicine.  Mom can't walk for 3 months and will have some intensive physical therapy but should make a full recovery.  I was of course going nuts being here in Texas and not able to do anything or help out in any way.  Thankfully I posted it on facebook which alerted family and her ward who all have pitched in to help. 

MATT
A couple weeks after my mom broker her ankle Matt came to Texas to work until Christmas.  It was talked about before the accident so was not a huge surprise when my dad called up and asked if we could still take him and if he would be able to get a job here.  I told him yes and that we were going to Dallas that weekend depending on how soon he wanted to send Matt.  So he bought a ticket and we picked him up from the airport that weekend.  He was happy to get away for a while and found a job at Cheddars as a server.  They were taking forever to train and hire so in the 4 weeks he has been here he has worked a total of about 10-15 hours.  Crazy!  But as time went on he was feeling like he needed to go home and help.  Things have been really hard with my parents since he left (unexpectedly so, we had talked about him staying to help but my parents felt they would be okay and he needed to come).  Well the promptings finally got the best of him and he made the decision to go home.  Kelvin will take him to Dallas with him next week and he will fly home.  He has had some great experiences here and got to do a lot of work with the missionaries which was perfect to get him started.  While we are sad to see him go, I am happy that he will be home to help.

Callings
We both got callings this month as well.  I was called to be the nursery leader and Kelvin was called to be the Young Mens 1st counselor.  When the Bishop extended me the calling you could tell he was bracing himself for me saying no.  When I said yes he was so shocked that he forgot to give Kelvin his calling and he had to go back on a Wed night.  He kept asking me "you will?"  I guess that is a calling that is turned down a lot.  Well primary in general is turned down a lot.  They are always asking for 2 or 3 subs every Sunday.  It's sad.  I will admit I was a little sad when I got the calling.  I mean I am with little kids all day and then go to church and am with little kids then too.  I need spiritual nurishment and was afraid that I wouldn't get it.  I am having to find it in other ways which has been a little difficult.  It's been okay so far.  I don't have any assistants so every week there is someone new who has volunteered to be in nursery for the day.  We have about 11 kids and we really need 3 or 4 people in there but will be lucky to get another person to accept the calling.  It's been extended a couple times already but was turned down.  But, I have put the kids on a schedule and it's going well.  Kelvin goes on his first scout campout this weekend and he is actually excited.  He will do great in Young Mens and has already been enjoying it.  There are about 8 young men all together so they just have one big class instead of breaking up into quorums which makes teaching hard which such a wide range of ages.  He had to teach last Sunday and he said it went great which I am sure that it did.  He is a really good teacher. 

Those are a couple of the big things that have happened.  I will be doing a few more posts about the kiddos and of Lockheed Martin's Family Day so stay tuned!!!

Gregory's Memory Lane

Today we took a trip to Tyler, TX and toured Gregory's old stomping grounds.  It was oddly enough a last minute decision but I have been wanting to see the town and we didn't have anything else going on that we couldn't push back.  We are so glad that we did because we had a great time and the kids did amazing! 

First stop was the house he grew up in.

Apparently they chopped down a large tree in the front yard which made Gregory sad but it gives you a better view of the side of the house where Gregory's old room was.  His dad turned the garage into a room and an office.  Gregory got the new room on the back corner you can see pictured here. 

Next was a visit to an old friend.  We saw Natalie (Hill) Murdock and her 2 year old girl, Jordan.  Jordan and Lydia are about a week apart and had a lot of fun playing together.  She and her husband are moving to Midland next week so we just caught her.  I met her for the first time and really liked her.  It wasn't one of those awkward meetings where the person who wasn't there for the growing up is ignored.  She was really cool and we had a great time at her house.  We forgot to get a picture with her. :(

We then drove by his old schools.

High School

Intermediate School

Gregory was practically giddy as we were stopping and all sorts of memories were flooding back to him.  It was fun to see. 

Next stop was his favorite place to eat.

Lunch was great and the people were even more so.  When we came in and paid for the buffet, one guy asked us what pizza we liked.  We told him and he went back and made us a specialty pizza with what we asked for.  It was super nice!  Then one of the manager ladies couldn't get over how cute Jason and Lydia were.  She told us if we ever needed a babysitter to just drop them off with her and she would be happy to oblige.  It was sweet.  Small towns really are nice!

We then made a stop to see Nelda, a great aunt of Gregory's.  She had been in the hospital recently and we thought we would say hello.  She wasn't home, but I did get to see where Gregory played a lot.  His Granny lived on the same piece of land and they would visit all the time and play in the large pasture there.  I loved seeing the places he has talked about.  In the back pasture, they had horses and Gregory took Lydia to see them.

As we were driving we passed by an important building.

Gregory's dad built this church and it is a dome building.  Basically it is structured so if a tornado or really bad storm come through, the shape of the roof will protect the building and the wind will blow right over (think aerodynamics).  While others will be torn apart, the dome will stand.  This is my first time seeing a dome in person, and one that my father in law built was even better.  I've seen the golf ball ones in magazines and stuff, but these were actually nice and didn't look bad at all.

And our final stop was to the Tyler Rose Museum.

It was gorgeous!!!  Tyler is the Rose capital of the world and their garden was amazing.  Since it is summer, the roses are not in their peak but even so it was pretty.  We will definitely be back during the festival in October when they are at their best!

And what would a fun trip be without souvenirs?

My very own two dozen Tyler roses!! 

We had a great time and the kids did so well.  It's fun to have Lydia at an age where we go fun places and she really enjoys herself.  We are excited for our future adventures!

My Singer

Lydia loves music and singing.  I catch her singing to herself a lot.  Well on Monday we were planning on going to the zoo, but Jason got really sick.  We spent all morning at the Dr's to find out he had a stomach bug that was going around.  The poor kids woke up at 5am screaming and couldn't sleep on his stomach.  I help him in my arms and rocked him until about 8am so he could get some sleep.  He wouldn't eat and was just miserable.  Well, he scared me so bad with his screaming that I called the Dr and got him right in.  I don't usually take the kids to the Dr when they are sick because usually it's just a virus and they can't do anything anyway.  Unless it seems serious or they would need an antibiotic, I usually just treat them at home.  I was worried when Jason was inconsolable and acting different.  Thankfully it wasn't anything serious, but the Dr did say that the stomach bug brought back his acid reflux.  That was why he couldn't sleep laying down.  Made so much more sense. 
Later that afternoon when he seemed to be feeling a bit better, we were in the kids room playing and I was showing Jason something and then I heard some singing and a "Yee Haw".  I looked over to find this....

Even when he is sick he is still a happy little guy!

Lufkin Zoo

Yes you read that right.  The small town of Lufkin does have a zoo.  Kelvin heard that it was pretty good so we thought we would check it out.  It was $40 for a family pass for a year or $5 for adults (the kids were free).  We went for the family pass as we thought it was something that we could really take advantage of.  That was such a smart move!!!
The zoo was a pretty decent size and they had all the basic animals there.  There were peacocks roaming around everywhere which was pretty cool plus with it being such a small town, there was practically no one there.  We went with some friends from church and work and their little baby girl last Friday.  It was great because Lydia could run around and I wasn't worried at all about her getting lost.  We got to get up close to the animals, we didn't feel rushed, there was plenty of room to roam around, it was just great.  It opened at 9am and we were there right on the dot which was good since it is Texas and it is Summer!  They actually came from Georgia and said that the humidity that day was just like it is in Georgia.  The zoo was definitely a hit and I will be taking the kids there during the weeks when Kelvin is working to get some exercise for me and some fun for them.  It's a win win!!

She had just gotten caught trying to sneak past the ropes!

Not so sure about the seals.

"Wow!  This is cool!"

She loves her Daddy!!

 

 

I still can't get over how curly her hair is!

Now this was cool.  They have a learning program for kids and a bunch of 10 year old's made "animals" out of cardboard and then the zoo workers put them in the Lion and Jaguar cage with their meat.  The lion was lame and just found the meat and then took it off the cardboard.  The Jaguar on the other hand attacked the cardboard.  He pounced on it, tore it apart with his teeth, dragged it in the water to drown it, etc.  It was pretty amazing to see.

"Giraffe!  Giraffe daddy, look!"

The classic Lion's mouth water fountain.

There was a train there that was actually used in Lufkin in the 1920 that was donated to the zoo.  They painted it up and put it on display.  It was HUGE!  I didn't know trains were so big back then.  They are not that big now days.

After the zoo we went on a train ride.  It was only $1 and they took you all around the zoo, over the lake, and into the woods.  It was well worth the $1.  Lydia loved it.

When we pulled up to the zoo we found a couple fun parks for kids to play that would be great for a picnic lunch.  Well one of those parks was about 20-30 feet from the shore line of the lake.  I thought that was pretty cool until I saw this sign.  Can we say scary?  I guess the alligators don't bother people unless they are provoked so no one is too concerned about it but it still made my toes cringe a little.

What's With the A/C?

When we got back from Dallas on the Sunday before last, we had set our A/C to 80 while we were gone.  When we turned it down to 75, nothing was happening.  Yes the thing was coming on, but the apartment was getting hotter instead of cooler.  After about 2 hours of letting it try to catch up it still wasn't making any difference so I called maintenance (It was 83 at that point).  He checked everything out and called the actual A/C company who came and said that it was a 2 person job to fix some hose or something that wasn't pushing enough air in the apt.  So they left us with a very hot apartment and 2 kids that needed to go to bed.  So I got them dressed in very cool clothing and no blankets with the fan turned up on high.  Surprisingly, they both slept pretty well and the apt did cool down by the wee early morning light. 

The next day I came out of the kids room from putting Jason down for a morning nap and there was a man standing half way in the door and my apt.  He said "Oh sorry, I didn't know anyone was going to be in here.  I guess I should have knocked."  Ya think!!!!  Kelvin had forgotten to lock the door on his way to work so it was open.  That won't happen again though when I told him what had happened.  Well, the guy came BY HIMSELF and did something to the A/C.  He didn't even tell me that he was the A/C guy or what he was doing or anything.  He just kind of walked in and then left.  I was so stunned that I didn't even think to ask him what he did.  I figured he was with the A/C guys because of his uniform.  He was a bit of a jerk though and left a huge mess of my bathroom where the unit was.  Kelvin said he was a jerk the day before too.  So I guess the 2 person job was just a line to not have to work after hours.  Whatever.  It's done and the A/C still doesn't work great but when I called my apt manager about it, she was being all snooty about it being amazing that I could get my apt at 78 with how hot it was outside.  And she call the A/C guys to come out again, but they would have to charge us for the visit.  Have I said that we don't really like our manager?  We've never had one that was so insolent and condescending.  Oh well!  It's only for a year right?

All ready for bed in a light sundress!

Kelvin loves how this kid sucks his toes.  He thinks it's so cute.

Dallas Surprise!

A few weeks after we moved in, Kelvin had to go back to Dallas to work on a Mon and Tues. So we decided that the whole family would go.  We left on Sunday night and when we got to his parents house, Maritza was crying and grabbed Jason.  I thought she was still sad we moved so far away, but found out shortly thereafter that Krystal was going to be coming home from her mission on Tues or Wed on a medical release.  We were hoping that it would be Tuesday so we could be there but alas it ended up being Wed and we had to be back in Lufkin so Kelvin could be at work on Wed morning.  So just 2 days after we got back from Dallas we pack up and head out again.  We got there late on Thursday night but they were all still up and got to hold the kiddos.  Lydia was half awake and excited about "Krissy" being home.  Jason was jsut thrilled to have someone make silly faces at him.  This was the first time Krystal met Jason becasue she left 1 week before he was born. 

The next few days were great as we got to talk with her and spend time together.  Friday night we went to Lisa's for dinner and the whole family was back together for the first time since she left.  I must say that I love how Lydia and Isabella play together now.  Before they had more of a rough time because of the age difference, but now that Lydia is getting a little older they seem to have more fun together.  Their favorite thing is to go to Isabella's room and play dress up.  In fact I went to check on them once and they were all dressed up in their fancy clothes and having a Tea Party.  It was so dang cute!

Then on Saturday the extended family came over for a welcome home lunch for Krystal.  We got to stay until after Sacrament meeting on Sunday when Krystal recieved her plaque.  We were sad to leave since we only got a few days with her but we are so happy to have her home and are impressed with her service to the Lord through all she was struggling with at the time.  We love you "Krissy"!!

Another Year of Savings

So about a year ago I did a post about making laundry soap.  Well, I just ran out and made some more.  There were 2 different types of soaps you could choose from and so this time I thought I would try the other soap and compare.  So far I haven't noticed much difference, but I did also find a recipe to make liquid soap and I think I might try that next and see which of the three I like the best.  So here is to $20 and almost a years worth of soap.  Although, I do laundry A LOT more now than I did when I first made the soap so it might only last 8 months or so.  We will see.  Either way, it's still a lot of money saved.

 I also found out that you can use regular vinegar as a Fabric softener. I was curious about this so I tried it and it really does work. It gets any film from soap left on clothes off and doesn't make your clothes smell at all. I put about 1/2 cup with a few drops of essential oil in my washer (you can use a downy ball if your washer doesn't have a spot for softener). I'm going through vinegar quick, but it's cheap and I've liked the results so far.