My Blessings

I want to share my thoughts about how grateful I am for the gospel. I can't imagine my life without it. I am so grateful for my blessings and I know without a doubt that we have been led to where we are.

The members here are amazing and they are so sincere. I have never in my life had so many people ask me how I'm doing and when I respond with "good" they look closer at me and ask "really?" It's like they really want to know how I'm doing. Our home teachers have called to see how we are, they have come to visit, they have called to babysit so we could go on a date. It has been years since we had home teachers like that. It makes me want to be better. Our bishop and his counselors are so humble and kind. They have made us feel welcome and comfortable here. They have a wonderful spirit about them and we have appreciated that more than I can express.

I am so grateful for the plan of happiness and what it means for me in my life. I am grateful for my Savior and his Atonement. My testimony has grown so much in the last few months and I know without a doubt that I am a child of God and that He loves me. I know that he watches over me and is aware of things in my life, even things that I myself am not aware of. I am so grateful for the cleansing power of the atonement and the healing that comes from it. I am grateful I can find peace where the world would only offer me sorrow. I have never in my life understood the words Faith, Hope, and Charity like I have in these last couple of weeks. My life has changed so much and I am much stronger because of it.

I am grateful for the scriptures and the very real power that is in them. I love reading them. I love hearing them. I love sharing them with my husband, my children, my family and friends.

I am grateful for true friends who don't judge me and try to see the intent of my heart. I am at a point in my life where I don't have time or room for things that aren't real.

I am grateful for my family. For the joys they bring and the trials that I learn from.

I love the gospel. I love my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ. I want to be like them. I want to live my life so that I can have the blessings of heaven. I want to be a profitable servant of the Lord and know that I have done all that I have been sent here to do.

I am also grateful for callings and the opportunity that we have to serve and grow. I think so many times people take for granted the organization of the church. It is truly amazing. We learn so much more from serving than I think we realize. It prepares us for many things. I recently got a calling to be a Den Leader. I am so excited to work with Talden in his scouting. It means a lot to me and to him that I can be involved in that. Jez just got a calling to be a Seminary Teacher for the early morning seminary class of 4 high schools. I know this is a great blessing in our lives. What an amazing way to start each day! He goes from 6-7 a.m. Monday through Friday. Those kids are at such a pivotal point in their lives and Jez will have the opportunity to share his testimony with them about lessons he has learned in his life. He will really be able to increase his knowledge and testimony and I know that will flow over into our family. They are studying the New Testament this year so he gets to focus on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

There are so many things to be thankful for. I am glad I have this time to find out who I really am and what is most important to me.

My Personality

Your Personality at 35,000 Says...

Deep down, you prefer spending time alone to spending time with others. You enjoy thinking more than talking. You don't spend much time thinking about your place in the world. You are who you are - and people can just deal with that! Your gift is having a way with words. You know how to express yourself well. You are inspired by challenges. If something is hard to accomplish, you want to do it. You are happy as long as you are given some personal space. It's important for you to have your own private life.

The Personality Test at 35,000 Feet

I think this is pretty accurate. I really do like people and spending time with others, but I LOVE to read and spend quiet time alone too. I like sitting by myself and I like my space. I think I can have a way with words... it depends on how many times I proofread something... I have a harder time in actual conversation than I do when I write (and rewrite...). I love to figure out challenges. I enjoy puzzles and I like to read about things and then try to create stuff (web sites, designs, architecture, etc.). I do think it is important to have my private space. Very few people actually penetrate that. It's not that I try to hide things from people... I just think some things are not meant to be public information and I only share them with people I really trust and care about (aka Jez and my grrls). I can't stand random gossip so I try to avoid being the latest town news.

I just realized too that Shauntae posted about our grrls, but that some of you can't read her blog so you probably wonder why I spell it wrong all the time... it's not really a misspelling, just an inside story.

Jez's new favorite colors...

Black, White and Red...

I just realized that many of you may be wondering about our job search. We are excited about what we have found and hope that it will lead us in the right direction.

The first week we were here Jez got a job at T.G.I.Friday's as a night server. He loves it and has made really good money. The people also love him and he has already won awards for his outstanding customer service skills... he even has a "WOW" Friday's pin to prove it. :) I am glad he enjoys it. Being a good server is definitely a talent I do not possess.

The second job (career move) has been a little more frustrating. Jez would really like to get into finance, but unfortunately the financial sector isn't exactly thriving right now. We had a few job contacts lined up before we got here but unfortunately because of the economy those companies have put hiring freezes into effect. In the process of talking to different companies (UBS, Merrill Lynch, Piper Jaffray, Morgan Stanley, etc) the one thing that kept recurring was the advice that the best thing he could do to prepare while the market is bad is to find a job in sales and keep his eye on the market. He wants to be a Financial Advisor and they all feel that having a background in sales experience is really helpful when working with the clients. We considered a financial analyst job, but it really isn't the direction he wants to take since he would be sitting at a desk all day and never working with clients, and also the income is limited/capped and our family can't survive on that right now. So... he has decided to take a job in sales with Verizon Wireless. The company has amazing benefits that we are excited about (health, dental, vision, matching 401k, life insurance, full tuition reimbursement, etc. - With 5 children we need those things) and Jez is excited to finally be graduating from our Tracfones... :)

So for now the plan is to work both jobs and work on getting into the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. Jez would like to complete his MBA with a specialization in Finance, and then hope that the timing is better for getting in to that industry when he finishes there. If that doesn't work out he is excited about the possibilities of Verizon. The company has a lot of integrity and room to move up so it could be something he does longer term... I guess only time will tell.

So if you are in the market for some really great food, or a new cell phone... you know where to go... :)

Mmmmmm....

Work Phone

Personal Phone

Random Changes

Just in case you were wondering, this is still our blog I just changed the name and background. Why you ask?? First it is because I needed something brighter with more color. The other was pretty but started to look dreary. Second the title of our blog is not changed because I lost my faith, but rather because I feel we have used our faith to get us where we are and now that we are settling in I feel like my prayers have been answered. Those first few steps getting us out here were tough and I needed the reminder that everything would be ok. My faith is still as strong as it has ever been and I will continue to walk in faith, but I feel like I can breathe a little easier knowing that the Lord will continue to bless our family. Hopefully that makes sense...

By the way, I was hoping to get some email addresses. I have a lot of yours but not all. If you don't know if I have yours would you please email it to me?? My email is my first initial followed by my last name at yahoo.com. Thanks!

Born in the 70's

I got this in an email a long time ago from

one of my friends...

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE KIDS WHO

WERE BORN IN THE 1940's, 50's, 60's AND 70's !!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked

and/or drank while they carried us. They took aspirin,

ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a tin, and didn't get

tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, our baby cots were covered with

bright colored lead-based paints.We had no childproof lids

on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode

our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we

took hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or

air bags. Riding in the back of a van - loose - was always

great fun.We drank water from the garden hosepipe and

NOT from a bottle.We ate cakes, white bread and real

butter and drank pop with sugar in it, but we weren't

overweight because......

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day,

as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts

out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find

out we forgot the brakes. After running into

the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Play stations, Nintendo's, X-boxes,

no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies,

no surround sound, no cell phones, no text messaging,

no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth

and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We played with worms and mud pies made from dirt,

and the worms did not live in us forever.

We made up games with sticks and tennis balls

and although we were told it would happen,

we did not poke out any eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house

and knocked on the door or rang the bell,

or just yelled for them!

Local teams had tryouts and not everyone made

the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal

with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke

the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

This generation has produced some of the

best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of

innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility,

and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

And YOU are one of them!

CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others

who have had the luck to grow up as kids,

before the lawyers and the government regulated

our lives for our own good and while you are at it,

forward it to your kids so they will know how

brave their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the

house with scissors, doesn't it?!

Chutes and Ladders

On Tuesday we went to the "Chutes and Ladders"
park in Bloomington. It was fun but SO hot and muggy!

(90 degrees w/70% humidity)

Mall of America

Saturday we took a trip to the Mall of America.
It was fun, but a lot of work!
It is crazy how busy the kids can be...
And they wanted to do EVERYTHING...

(Underwater World, Nascar & Flight Simulators,
Theme Park, Mini Golf, Movie Theater)
which would only require one thing... a small loan. ;)

We did all the free stuff and ate lunch...

They met "Sharky" and "Cha-Cha"
(No picture of Cha-Cha - just a video that won't load)

Kids saying "Hi"

Julia

Theme Park

Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs - Collage - Morph

Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family search - Ancestors

Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs - Collage - Morph

Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Severe Weather

Growing up in Utah I haven't seen much of
severe weather in my lifetime, but I got to
see it today. Jez was getting ready to go to
the bank and a few other places when I just
happened to check the weather report...
We were in an orange alert and the interactive
map was showing the storm was headed our
way. I thought it would be a good idea if he
just waited 5 or 10 more minutes when all of
the sudden the screen was flashing red alerts.
Then the sky goes dark... it was noon and it
looked like 10pm... Um, ok maybe he should
wait until the storm calms down... then starts
the rain... wind... hail... and SIRENS! I have
never had to hide from the weather before and
here I am huddled with my kids in the closet...
Where is Jez??? Oh, he's by the WINDOW!
You know... the one place you shouldn't be
during a storm... anyway, he's saying "Honey,
you need to come look at this" "No thanks"
"No really, come look at this" "Ok kids... stay
put, I'll be right back" Jez is holding back the
blinds and all I can see is crazy wind, rain and
hail... but as I get closer I see the sky... can I
just tell you I have NEVER in my life seen the
sky that shade of GREEN!! Ok, everyone back
in the closet... lights flicker... power goes out
and it is PITCH black... glad we at least had a
flashlight. Ok, I know it sounds dramatic
but really it is kindof neat to see something out
of my ordinary. Needless to say, the storm
passed quickly and we were all ok, but I must
say it is quite an adventure.

First thing in the morning we are putting together
our "Severe Weather Kit." There are supposed to be
more storms tomorrow... Oh but one really great thing,
about 20 minutes after the storm passed our phone

rang and it was our home teacher! Just checking to make

sure we were ok and if there was anything we needed...

and to call if our power doesn't come on soon and he
could run over a cooler with some ice! How amazing is that?!?

I did not take this picture... it was online, but just for

visual effects... see how dark it is under the storm??
This IS the storm that passed by us today.

***Aside from severe weather... we are LOVING
our new dining table. We had Jez's aunt, cousin,
brother and his girlfriend for dinner on Tuesday
night and we all sat around and ate and talked.
It was great! Definitely an investment worth making.

Holiday Weekend

So I didn't have my camera this weekend,

but as a quick update...

Friday Jez's mom, dad and brother came visit.

We swam at the man made lake and our pool,

made fajitas (I know real American...),

and went to the fireworks at the lake.

We forgot chairs AND mosquito repellent

so needless to say we had a lot of fun. ;)

Next year we want to go to the Riverfront

and watch them over the Minneapolis skyline.

Then on Saturday Jez took the three oldest
and went to Lake Crystal (where his family lives).
They helped his mom with a few things and
then got to fish for the rest of the afternoon.
All the kids caught fish and were SO excited.
I wish I had been there... and with the camera. :)
Maybe next time.

Hope you are all doing well and had a great weekend too!

Kids in the Tunnel

Ok... here it is... I love Josie at the end...
Classic example of how important it is to
be the example you want to be...

Another Year Older

Today is my birthday and Jez and the kids
made a fantastic breakfast complete with chocolate milk,
hash browns, bacon and decadent french toast.

(French Toast, Whipped Cream, Bananas,
Hot Fudge and Cherries...mmmm)
This will look familiar to Shauntae and Michelle
since it is a Girl's Night Out inspired meal.

We also took the kids to the playground.

Here's a couple of videos we took.

Talden Spinning

Screaming Kids in a Tunnel...
video won't load, but I know
you are dying to see it
so I will try again in another post.

It's been a great day.
Thanks for all the birthday wishes!
And Happy Birthday to Jade and Nathan too. :)