We survived Christmas :)

Well Christmas has come and gone. I have to say it was wonderful to have 5 days off in a row and to be able to spend quality time just enjoying my kiddos for the last part of it. I survived being without them on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. They had a wonderful time with their dad. I kept myself rather busy with help from those who love me.

John invited me to his families Christmas Eve dinner. It was wonderful. I so enjoy being around his kiddos. I got to go to temple lights with them the week before too. They are truly great kids. After the dinner I went to visit with my mom for a bit because I was having a melt down without my own kids. Then it was off to my dear SASTER's (Melissa's) house. I helped her finish the blankets she was making. She was almost done by the time I got there. So I didn't do much. The kids all love their blankets that she made by the way. She is amazing. I took Michele for a little ride with me to get the Turkey from my house. I was being rather silly and she was shocked to see Aunt Melanie acting that way :) LOL....it was fun. John called to talk to me and that made me feel better too. Then Melissa and I did lots and lots of wrapping. We were delirious at that point and had lots of fun being dorks like we used to be together back in the day. It was wonderful. I miss being able to play around like that with my dear sister. By the time I got to bed it was 2 A.M. I spent the night there. Then it was time to get up before I knew it. I enjoyed watching Melissa's kiddos open their presents. Then it was time to get ready for Christmas dinner.

Before I knew it Davyd was calling and wanting to drop the kids off early before 2 pm. It was great. Then everyone showed up at Melissa's for dinner. It was wonderful to have our complete family together, minus Clint's girl friend Kimberly though. We missed her. John joined us. It was so awesome to have him there. It was raining out and so the kids had to stay inside. We had a great time. Then the kids begged to go home and they opened presents at my house. Davyd left Friday morning so I have had them all to myself other than having to go back to work today. It has been wonderful.

Yesterday was my baby's last day in nursery. She will be a Sunbeam next Sunday. She is so excited. I am excited for her but I am sad that my baby is so big. She really isn't a baby anymore as she will be 4 in March :(. Logan will be in Senior Primary too. My kids are growing up so fast right before my eyes. It has been a reality check to savor these times with them no matter how stressful day to day life is as a single mom. It will be over before I know it and these will be the times I look back on and treasure. I want to make sure have as few regrets as possible.

Well here I am up late again. Morning will come to soon and it is another work day. So I will end this. I hope that you all had a Merry Christmas and I wish you all a Happy New Year. Love Love and more Love! Love ya mean it, Melanie

So I can't sleep

Well I am up with my Meggy right now. She is running a slight fever and woke up because I can't sleep and I'm on the computer. LOL.......she is curled up next to me in the chair right now. We just looked at Aunt Lissa's page and she keeps having me go back to it so that she can see "Bamwhip" Lol. I am over here hysterically laughing. I keep asking what's his name.......and she says "Bamwhip" Oh well I will let her believe his name is that instead of Bandit.

She cut her hair on Saturday so Mom had to fix it and add bangs. You will take note that her hair was pulled back yesterday before we cut in bangs. She told me she has Dora hair now. So cute. I will post pics of it later.

Poor Melissa had all my kiddos today while they are on Christmas break. She is a lifesaver. After I got off work mom had us all the come over so the kiddos could make Gingerbread men. She always tells the Gingerbread Man story on Christmas Eve and has the kids decorate gingerbread men. My kiddos will be with their dad this year on Christmas Eve so she did it tonight for famlily home evening. The kiddos had a huge blast like always. Mom made hot apple cider like she did for us growing up around Christmas time. I loved it and the kiddos did for sure. I hope Melissa posts pictures of it on her blog.

Ok well we will try to go to bed now.....I have to be up for work early. At least I won't have to work again until Monday :).... Merry Christmas to everyone. Sorry my cards will be going out late this year. Love you ALL!

Before and after pictures

Ok so I looked for the worst fatest picture of me of course it just happened to have Davyd in it. This picture was taken in September of '06. I weighed 164 then. The picture before that is of me in October of '06 the weekend after my 30th birthday. The new picture of me weighing 124 was taken in mid November of this year. So a 40 lb difference. Today I was 123.5. I am so excited!!!!!!

Halloween was Awesome!

I was so excited to have my kiddos for Halloween this year. Davyd gets them on odd years and I get them on even years. Last year nearly broke my heart being without them on Halloween. We went trick or treating with Melissa, Will and their kiddos (AKA the Wizard of OZ family) LOL. Melissa did an amazing job on all of their costumes. She is amazing! My kids loved being with their cousins trick or treating. Of course, we went by Grandma and Papa's because mom goes all out every year. She cracks me up in her witch costume with her voice changer and all of her spooky decorations. She is hilarious and the grandkids love it.

Then it was off to visit Uncle Clint and Kimberly for a bit. The kids love Uncle Clint. Then John called and wanted us to stop by. Melissa came with me for a little bit. It was fun. After Melissa left the kiddos and I had fun with John and his kiddos. It is so great to watch 6 kids actually playing and getting along with each other. John was wrestling with them so they loved that. We really had the perfect Halloween this year.

Thanks again "Saster" Aka Melissa for making everything so special for me and my kiddos like always. Love ya!

Logan got baptized on my birthday!

Ok, so I realize I am way behind on blogging. Life is just crazy. Logan got baptized on my birthday on October 18th. It was wonderful because Logan and my niece Shalyn got to be baptized together. For those that don't know Logan and Shalyn grew up together from the time she moved out here when she was like 18 months old. I used to take care of her while her daddy was at work when I stayed home. I did that until after she finished kindergarten and "Shayin" and "Ogie" as they called each other did everything together for the first part of their life. So, this was no different and very special.

What made it even more special is that my Dad was able to come out for a visit from Missourri and baptize them. It was truly a blessed experience. My step mom, Doris, even got to come out this time. It was great. Logan was so excited to get baptized by Grandpa Charon.

Melissa was awesome and planned the whole thing and hosted a huge luncheon at her house afterwards. It was amazing. Melissa is amazing, as always, and can do anything. I can't tell her how much I appreciate everything she does for me. She saves my sanity literally almost every day in one way or another. This was no different. I was a little depressed at the luncheon with it being my birthday and well the realization that I didn't have a "normal" family unit for my kids was really bothering me that day. Davyd did come to the baptism for Logan and bought his scriptures so that was good. That coupled with me turning 32 and realizing that my life is not what I would have ever imaged at 32 and knowing that my Dad was leaving left me a little melancholy. So I apologize for being a brat Melissa. None of it was intended at you. Love ya!

Logan kept telling me that he made a special covenant with Heavenly Father. He says he always wants to choose the right and listen to the Holy Ghost. I am so proud of him.

LOl can life be any Crazier???

Hello all, I know it has been awhile since I have posted. My life is just incredibly insane. I am sitting here right now with the bushiest eyebrows. LOL Thought I would give you all a good laugh. Melissa and I ran out of time last night amist all of our frantic running around and so they are still not done. On a happy note...I am down to 132 lbs :) That's why I took this picture. Yea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I ran a fever for 6 days straight starting last Saturday. Yes, I still took some Ibuprofen and went to the scrapbooking convention on Saturday and to church on Sunday. You guys all know how stubborn I am. I finally went to the Dr on Thurs. I am so stubborn and I hate going to Dr.'s. Sinus infections are no fun. I am feeling better now with the antibotics. I still have a slight fever though. Strange. I missed work Monday because I was so sick I could not even drive. I was weak and dizzy to say the least. Davyd was in California for military stuff so he couldn't come get the kids from me. Anyway,my house was completely trashed by my kids that day. It is still pretty trashed from that day. Imagine 3 kids doing whatever they pretty much wanted all day long because I could barely get out of bed. Melissa did come by and put some frozen pizza's in the oven for the kiddos. That was a huge help. She is so awesome and a lifesaver. I went to work the rest of the week.

Anyway, I have spent a lot of time this week catching up with old friends. I could have stayed home and cleaned but I needed to get out and clear my head. It has been nice to say the least. Although my house is driving me crazy right now. I have a lot of stuff going on in my life right now that I won't even go into. Craziness to say the least. It is nice to get away from it all and get a new prespective on life. I am remaining positive though through it all and smiling all the way!

Yesterday morning when I was getting ready for work my iron was not getting hot. I needed to iron my clothes. It happened to be the same outlet the freezer chest is plugged into. So I opened the freezer chest lo and behold all of my meat was defrosted! Ugh I was already running late for work. So here I am dragging my freezer chest acrossed the kitchen to a new outlet. It must have been a funny sight. Anyway, Papa came over and got the outlets to work on that side of the kitchen. For some reason that whole side went out. He is the best.

Today, I will be taking my car in to get new tires as well. It has really been one thing after the other lately....I am still smiling though. I refuse to let life knock me down! :)

This is what I have been thinking this week all we can do is make the best of what we are given.....and do it with a smile. Never give up or quit trying....constantly learning and growing......we can not change how others feel or what they want...we can only change how we feel and react to others and the situations at hand while understanding and showing the uptmost compassion. Everyone has their own pain and perspective. We need to remain positive and not take it all so personally. It usually has very little to do with us. We can only be happy for the happiness that we have had...and when it is time to let go embrace the experience and look for what we have learned and how we can grow from letting go. Love fully with no regrets and when your heart is broken again realize that it will only make you stronger. Trust that that person that broke your heart never meant to do it. Feelings change. What is meant to be will be. Things will work out the way they are suppossed to relax and enjoy the ride In the end if you are suppossed to be with that person you will be :) I know pretty long!

Love you all...............keep smiling...........:) HUGS!

Going a little battty :)

It has been a little while since I have posted and lots has been going on. Davyd was out of town for awhile on military. With him being gone and then Amy Jo moving back to Texas the parenting schedule has been seriously disrupted. I find myself feeling a little batty and exhausted. No surprise that I ended up getting sick. It is a three day weekend and I am sick. Oh well at least I have an extra day to recover before going back to work.

Dating has been hard lately with me having the kids almost all of the time. I am so glad that John is such an understanding guy. A week an a half ago, on a Wed, I invited John to dinner at my house. I had the kids that night because Davyd was gone. I was a little concerned about how my kiddos would react to meeting John. They really like him. They tested me a little bit. Katelyn was the one that did most of the testing that night. John brought over stuff for banana splits. He is so awesome. All in all everything went very well.

Saturday of last week John had me and the kiddos over for a BBQ at his house. This was the first time that all six of our kids met each other. Also the first time that I met his younger two kids. I had previously met his oldest, Spencer. I really like his kids. They are so cute and sweet. His kids behaved like angels. My kids did some testing. This time it was my usually sweet behaved child, Megan, that did most of the testing. I think things went very well. My kids love his kids. They keep asking when they can see them again. Things were not crazy like I thought they would be with an 11 yr old, 9 yr old, 7 yr old, two almost 6 yr olds, and a 3 year old. Megan has really taken to John. She kissed him good bye even. She keeps asking to see him again. I wish I got to see him more lately as well. LOL. I did get a whole 3 hrs alone with him on Wed before I had to go get my kiddos. Oh well it is hard schedule wise. He is in California this weekend visiting with his childhood buddies. I am glad that he got to go. I sure miss him though.

This week at work was hectic. I spent half of the week cross training our Canada Service Rep Doc. I don't mind training but it does get rather crowded in a cubicle with two people and work flow gets backed up. Well I made the best of it as usual and laughed almost all the way through.

My kiddos are having some issues and are acting out since Amy's departure. I am trying to be loving and understanding and remain firm at the same time. It has been rather exhausting to say the least. Katelyn has been very angry and hateful. She keeps hitting Logan and Megan and yelling at me. Megan has been very clinging and whinny. She wants to be held all the time and won't leave my side. Logan is just hyper again. He had really overcome that and was calming down now he is bouncing off the walls again. We will get through this though. It is sad for them. Although, not as hard as the divorce for them it has been hard for them to experience the loss of another broken home. So sad for my babies.

Anyway, there was a lot going on during the week that I won't go into as well but I was determined to make it the best week ever. I know it definitely made things easier to handle with my positive attitude. :)

This upcoming week will be good. No work Monday. I have training on the last half of Thursday at work and I took Friday off for Katie's birthday. Katie's party is Saturday. I am so excited. I can't wait. Melissa is making one of her awesome cakes :) Love my SASTER!!!!! Oh and Davyd said he won't be working so he will have the kiddos on his usual nights Wed and Thurs so I will get to have time with John on Wed.

Anyway, I am learning more and more that our attitude and how we chose to deal with things can make a huge difference in our lives. Yes, things will still be hard but our attitude really helps. :) Once again, I am so grateful for all of the lessons I have and continue to learn. I am also grateful to be able to feel love and trust for someone in my life again. I didn't think I would be able to trust a man ever again. Yet, I trust John more than I ever have trusted any man. I didn't trust any of the men that I have dated and I never fully trusted Davyd either. Not even when we first got married. It is so wonderful to experience feeling trust in someone.

This week is going to be great :) Love to all of you!

Grateful to my Savior

Hello all,

You are probably all going to think I have completely lost it after reading this but I wanted to share. Today was truly an amazing day. I am so grateful to my savior for helping me overcome my bitterness and the hurt that I carried for such a long time. I am truly grateful to have that burden lifted from me. I have become so much stronger being molded in the Master's hands. I am blessed to have had these experiences to help me grow.

Davyd's girlfriend is moving back to Texas. She will be leaving tomorrow. I don't know if she will stay there this time. I have an inkling she will. Today when I went to pick the kids up she was saying goodbye to each of them. She was having a hard time and trying not to break down. It has been hard on the kids as well. Anyway, I realized that I don't have hard feelings towards this woman anymore and actually have compassion for her. Here she is suffering for making bad choices like we all do. I could see her as a person and not as "the woman that helped ruin my marriage". I hugged her and felt compelled to tell her that I don't have hard feelings towards her for anything. She broke down right there. I know she needed to hear that. I am sure that the guilt has consumed her for quite awhile. I know probably more so after getting here and seeing me and what type of person I really am. I also know she has a much better understanding of what Davyd is really like after living with him for a year and half. I thought there was no way that I would ever be able to say that to her. Let alone hug her. I know that it was through the help of my Savior. I have been praying since the divorce to be able to overcome the bitterness and anger and sadness. It consumed me for a long time. I know my prayers have been answered.

I know it sounds crazy to most but I feel so very blessed to have had my prayers answered.

To much going on

Yes, I so should be sleeping right now but once again I am wide awake. I get up at 4:45 in the morning and it will come way to soon.

The kiddos started school again today. It was a relief. It will be nice to have them on a schedule again and to not have them be so bored. My camera didn't work so I don't have any pictures this year :( I wasn't able to take the day off because April is still out on vacation. My boss did however let me come in at 9:30 instead today. Little Miss Katie is in all day kindergarten this year. She did the early learners pre kindergarten last year. She is going to be tall like her Grandma Jeanette and her aunties on Davyd's side. She towers over all of the little girls in her class. I am so relieved that she won't be short like me. Logan is in 2nd grade. I am excited that his teacher is a BYU graduate. He needs that extra influence :) They seem to be excited about their new school. I really think it will be a better school for them. I am sure it will be easier on Amy to only have to make a trip to one school as well. Megan had such a hard time with them all going to school. She wanted to stay with me and it broke my heart to take her to DAvyd and Amy Jo with her screaming for me. She was clinging on to me crying. I cried all the way to work because I knew I had to go in but it hurt to leave her. That is the hardest part about being a single mommy.

This past weekend was a long one with to much to do. Ricky was so very kind to do a brake job and oil change on my car. I don't know what I would have done without his help. I had Jack and Alex all day yesterday. Shalyn spent the night Saturday night. I love being surrounded by kids but am always exhausted afterwards I find LOL :) I didn't like missing church though. I don't have a car that holds 5 kids plus me though. Our home teachers were kind enough to come over and give Logan and Katelyn blessings for going back to school. My ward blesses me in so many ways. I am immensly blessed.

Yesterday was also a hard day. My dad called yesterday morning to let me know that my Grandpa Ralph had passed away. He is married to my Grandma Dee and so he is my Step Grandpa. Over the years though he has done nothing but treat us as real grand children. I will miss him very much. Such a sweet righteous loving man. I will miss his hugs and him telling me how proud he is of me and how much he loves seeing me. He was in a lot of pain though so I am glad that he is not suffering anymore. The funeral is in Arkansas and it is for Wed so there is not a way that me or my siblings here in AZ can make it.

My Papa is home. His diagnosis is congestive heart failure. That will never go away but it is manageable thank goodness. His blood sugar is not very well either. Today my mom was having problems with her blood pressure being really high and not feeling well so she was at the urgent care. They weren't able to find anythign that would cause any of it. She also has fibermyalgia. My real dad had a pacemaker and difublater put in last year. My parents are falling apart on me :(. I makes me so sad. They have all been such hard working people. None of them are the type of people that like to go to doctors either or be sick. They don't deserve to be suffering this much. It just hurts to watch them. They have all done so much for me. It has really made me think a lot lately.

Well I could go on and on there is so much more going on but I should really get to bed. I know that my family and I are so blessed. I thank the Lord daily for all that he blesses us with. I am so grateful to be a mother and even though I know my circumstances might not be the best I will be just fine with Heavenly Father's help.

Feeling blue......and anxious

I am feeling blue and anxious today. This has been a very busy and hectic week. Wednesday evening Melissa called to let me know that our Papa was not doing well and was told to go to the ER by his heart doctor. This freaked me out to no end. For those of you that know he has had two major heart attacks in th past. He had a triple bypass exactly 8 yrs ago.

While there, he decided that he didn't want to wait at the hospital anymore and signed a waiver and went home. They warned him that he would be lucky if he came back on a ventilator. He is so stubborn though. Melissa called to tell me this while I was out on my date with John. Papa would not listen to anyone. I was trying so hard to not wig out in front of John. None the less John is a smart sweet guy and could tell I was not ok. He asked if I wanted to go see my Papa and talk to him. I was reluctant because for those that know me I will at times avoid facing things like that. I go numb. I was numb but John was very sweet and drove me over to see my Papa. I am so grateful that I was with John at that time so that he could help me feel strong enough to go see my Papa. He really is a sweetheart.

When I got there Papa was laying on the bed and did not look well at all. I got in the bed next to him and hugged him. I told him how much I love him. I told him how much I appreciate him being such a good dad to me even though he didn't have to be. I thanked him for everything. I told him how much he means to me all the grandkids and begged him to go back to the hospital. He said that we all go through this and that sometimes it is our time to go. I have to say it freaked me out. I told him that I was not ready to lose my Papa that I needed him more than ever right now and so do the grandkids. He told me how much he loved me and some special things. It meant a lot to hear him say those things to me. He told me how much he loved my kids. He told me how special little Megan is and to protect her. He promised to go back to the hospital in the morning. I went in and talked to my mom for awhile and hugged her and told her how much I love her too. It was a special time. I don't get to tell them stuff like that in person very much and hug them.

Papa did go back to the hospital in the morning on Thursday. They are draining lots of water off of his chest right now and making him comfortable. They are running tests and we will know soon what the diagnosis and treatments are. I am praying that surgery is not involved.

Work was crazy today. April is out on vacation and that leaves Ilda and I to pick up the slack. It didn't help that we were both deliriously tired yesterday and today. We laughed a lot though. It was fun but hectic. Wednesday I went to the dentist during my lunch break. I never thought my life would be so hectic that I would be getting my teeth cleaned during my lunch break. There is always something. I am so glad it is Friday finally. However, this weekend will be crazy. Tomorrow is meet the teacher day in the morning. I have Amy's kids this weekend while her and Davyd are at drill. So they will be here at 5 am. I am already exhausted. LOL. My house will be trashed but I can do it :) I am just feeling a little overwhelmed lately. I had Shalyn last weekend and Monday on my Canadian holiday.

On a happier note, Melissa and I were able to go visit with Kimmy and Matt on Tuesday night. We both got to hold baby Jacob. It was so neat. Kim is such a good mommy already. Will watched all of the kids while we went he is awesome. I was so excited to be able to see my Kimmy. I hope that I didn't poison them with the dinner I made LOL. Melissa and I did eat with them and we were both ok so that is a good sign. LOL :)

I do have to admit though that Wednesday nights are awesome when the kiddos are at Davyd's. I miss them terribly but I need the break. John spoils me to death. He is so awesome. I am really enjoying dating him. It is so nice to find a guy that isn't a jerk for once.

I do have to admit that some situations that are going on lately have been flashbacks for me and have put me in a bit of a melancholy mood. I know that I have so much to be happy for though. I am trying to not let my past effect my thoughts about things that are currently going on in my life. It is hard though. Sometimes I am my own worst enemy when it comes to that. There are a lot of things going on that I won't go into right now. Still I find things to be happy about and to smile about. I am learning how strong I really can be. I am grateful for everything I have learned over this last year and a half especially.

Please say some prayers for my Papa. Love to everyone!

Saturday was bliss :)

Hello all.

Yesterday was a very busy but blissful day. My friend from church asked to take the kids in the morning, since they haven't been over to play all Summer long. I was excited because that meant I could go visit my Kimmy in the hospital. For those of you that don't know, Kimmy is my best friend. We have been friends since junior high and have been through way to much together. She is another sister to me. So the kiddos got to go to the Primary water activity and then over to play with a lot of their church friends afterwards. They were happy to.

I was so excited to be able to go see my Kimmy and her new baby Jacob finally. She had him Thursday afternoon and I was going nuts wanting to go visit them. This is her first baby and I am so very excited for her and Matt. Anyway, I was amazed to see her walking around like nothing yesterday when she had a full labor and then a c section. I was not doing that well after my first c section. Like always though she amazes me. She is so strong. She looked so beautiful. She was glowing in every way and already she is a wonderful mommy. I got to go up with her and hold little Jacob in the Nicu for a good 20 minutes. Kim had to step out for a bit so I was alone holding him. Yes, I was bawling, holding this perfect and so adorable precious baby boy that is a miracle. It was such an awesome experience to be able to share in my Kimmy and Matt's joy. My Kimmy is a mommy!

Well then it was time to get the kiddos and head over to my Mom's for her birthday party. She is so hilarious. She had a pirate birthday complete with a treasure hunt for the kids. The kids think Grandma is the coolest and she is. She dressed up like a pirate complete with a blacked out tooth and a pirate hat. Melissa made the most adorable treasure chest cake and mom had pirate decorations. I sure hope Melissa posts picutures. My camera is not working and I am very annoyed about it. No pictures of Kimmy and no pictures of my mom's birthday. Anway the kids were excited to find the treasure and to get McDonald gift certificates and candy from the treasure chest. It was a great day full of food, swimming, treasure hunting and being together as a family. I watch my kids and my nieces and nephews with my Mom and it reminds me of the times with my special Grandma's.

My lawn got mowed yesterday by one of the young men from church too. I am so grateful for everything that my ward does for me. They are awesome.

Anyway, the day ended with me watching Melissa's monkey's while she went to a scrapbook thing. It was an awesome day but even today I am still worn out from it. LOL and my house is thrashed because I didn't do any cleaning yesterday and my kids have been here more with their Dad being gone. Davyd is back now so this will be more of a normal week but still an exhausting one. Lots going on.

Anyway, I need to go get myself and my monkey's ready for church. Happy Sabbath everyone. Love all of you.

I'm falling fast for a blue eyed guy :)

Yes, I know. I swore that I was pretty much done with dating for awhile and here comes Mr. Wonderful. Isn't that always how it works? When you are not looking you find someone special. This guy knocks my socks off, LOL. He spoils me to death and treats me like royalty. We have such similar experiences in life that it is almost too strange, and his favorite dressing is blue cheese like me. Who can go wrong with that? LOL

Last night he made me a candle light dinner. Wednesdays nights are the only nights we are both without our kids so it has been every Wed for the last month. :) He even had a dozen red roses on the table for me. He barbequed the most delicious chicken and ribs and made grilled veggies too. This guy can cook. He remembered that I order my potato loaded when we go out to eat and so he bought bacon pieces and shredded cheese for my potato. He doesn't miss a thing. He remembers everything about what I do and don't like. He even reads my my space survey's and uses that information. For instance he read what my favorite type of food was so he took me out to eat that food the next time we went out. He even watched my favorite movie "The Notebook" with me. Oh and he is a total gentleman. Anyway.......LOL I am getting a little carried away. He calls just to tell me he is thinking about me. Can you tell I like him? We shall see where this goes and yes he is LDS for those inquiring minds that want to know. :)

Lol anyway sorry for the cheesiness it is just nice to find a nice guy to date after all of the weirdo's I have dated lately. :)

Saturday is a special day! :) LOL

Well Saturday was no different than any other Saturday in that I had extra kids. I always do. Usually it is Cody spending the night at Logan's request and sometimes William too because he feels left out. Sometimes it is Shalyn too but not so much lately. I also have Amy Jo's kids Jack and Alex one weekend a month while her and Davyd do Navy drill. Long story but she babysits my kids for me while I work so I watch her kids while she does her Navy Chief stuff once a month. It all works out good because her kids and my kids are siblings at their dad's house. Her boys are very sweet and I have learned to love them. Jack even calls me Mama because my kids do LOL. I bet Amy Jo loves that.

I had Melissa's 4 boys while she went to a friends graduation party. It still amazes me how much I love kids but I find that my patience level is not what it used to be now that I work and am not around them all the time. They all had a great time and so did I. You still can't see the floors in the kids rooms but I gave up. I will clean them tomorrow. Tonight is family home evening and yesterday was the Sabbath. Hahaha nice excuse heh? :)

When Melissa came to pick them up I told her about how my toilets were giving me grief. Well Melissa is our family handyman......LOL. She went to home depot to get stuff to fix the float in my bathroom and the flap for the kids bathroom toilet. When she was fixing the toilet in my bathroom the cooper flex inlet broke. She amazes me she went to Home Depot and figured out exactly what to get to fix it all. Even the guy there couldn't figure it out, Melissa sure could :) That is just how she is. Wish I had her talent. She gets it from my mom. She fixed both toilets and the inlet tube. My bathroom sink was clogged too because Megan put one of Logan's Spiderman experiment tubes down it. Low and behold miraculous Melissa got that out as well. It feels so good to have bathrooms that are in full working order again. Thanks to my dear sweet sister. Here is a picture of her fixing the toilet.

I cut my hair and my A/C is working

Well, I had been contemplating cutting layers into my hair for awhile, but I finally did it on a whim. I had a couple hours after work, before my date on Wednesday, and decided to go get it cut. I have basically had the same hair style since high school. It was time for a change even though it was not a huge one. Well, I love the way it turned out. It is amazing how a small thing like changing your hair style can make you feel so much better. My mood this week really turned around. The kids and I prayed and prayed about our air conditioning. My brother, Ricky, called one of his air conditioning buddies for me. His buddy asked what kind of filter I had in the unit. I have a thicker electrostatic filter that you wash out once a month. His friend said that those will cause your unit to burn out when they are working so hard here in the summers. His friend advised that I pull the filter out and turn the unit off for awhile. He said that it may have just frozen up because of the filter. I was so relieved to find that when I turned the unit back on after a couple hours with no filter it worked. It definitely needs to be recharged but it is working fairly well. Heavenly Father always blesses me as a single parent. I have seen him work in so many miraculous ways in the last year and aa half to bless the lives of me and my children.

Ugh

Well today my friends, I had the extreme joy of coming home to find that my air conditioner decided to quit working. It was 91 degrees in my house. So needless to say I have not been in a very good mood this evening. Still did the whole family home evening thing though. Thank goodness I have a window unit in my room so it is nice and oool in here and that is where the kiddos and I hung out for most of the night. I have no clue what I am going to do yet. I am not trying to complain because I am so blessed. I just live from pay check to pay check barely making my mortgage and now I have this. Can't really go through a summer in The valley of the sun without AC in your house with 3 kids. Not to mentiont that my brake light is on in my car too. Being a single mom is tough. It makes me mad when people act like I chose this for myself. I did what I had to do after I did all I could and I do the best that I can to support myself and my kids. So to those people I say don't judge me until you have lived a day of my life. I like how people at church act like I am an outcast because I am divorced. I don't go around telling people about what Davyd did so they have no clue. I didnt' want to be a divorced single mother of 3 kids but unfortunately that is the way things worked out. So one of the many lessons I have learned from all of this is to never judge anyone. Anyway enough ranting.

4th of July

I was so excited to have my babies for the 4th of July this year. Davyd had them last year and it was miserable. They missed out on all of the fun with their cousins last year. Melissa made sure that she went all out to make it special. She made goodie bags for all of the children and bought tons of light wands and glowing bracelets and necklaces for them . I had to work during the day because I process the Canadian stuff. After work I went to pick the monkey's up and we headed to Mom and Papa's for our family BBQ. We all had so much fun swimming and enjoying each other. It was a very hot day but wonderful. The cousins all had fun running amok and playing together and of course eating. Afterwards we went to go watch fireworks. I have to admit I am not used to be around so many children anymore now that I work outside of the home. They all have so much energy. I was a little stressed that someone was going to get hurt. No one did though and we had a fantastic time. The kids were completely worn out after it was all over. It was a wonderful day and I am so grateful that my family made it so special for my kids.