FHE Fun

Last night we had Kent, Johnice, and the elders over for dinner and FHE. After Aaron had forgotten that I had asked him to give the lesson (poor guy--I guess he has a little on his mind these days!), Paw Paw quickly gave us a short, but sweet lesson about giving. Katie was in charge of the activity, and boy was it entertaining. Luckily, I got to be the judge instead of participating. Thank goodness. It would not have been pretty. What was the activity? A Hula Hoop Contest! Here are some highlights.

Team 1--Paw Paw and Katie



He chose to do the 'skip it' instead of the hula hoop. He didn't actually 'skip it', but drug it around (quickly) behind him. He got high marks just for the entertainment value.



Fortunately for Paw Paw, Katie is the hula champion at our house. She could have gone for 30 minutes, but we asked her to stop because she had proven her skills, and quite honestly, just made everyone else look sad.

Team 2--Sarah and Maw Maw



Sarah is getting pretty good at hula hooping, and got high marks for doing so well and being the youngest competitor.



Maw Maw gave it a good try, and honestly, she kept it up longer than any of the adults. Way to go Maw Maw! You are such a good sport.

Team 3--Aaron and the Elders



Aaron chose to do the 'skip it', but played it safe and did it on his wrist instead of his ankle. And I was so looking forward to a good laugh from his performance.



Elder Dawe was actually a very impressive neck hula hooper. He also got high marks.



Elder Skeen, on the other hand, was no good at hula hooping. Bless his heart, he couldn't keep it up at all, but at least he tried.

And the winners were.......................Paw Paw and Katie!!!



Thanks Katie for such a fun and entertaining activity. And thanks to all of the contestants for the laughs and memories!

Just Daddy

I forgot to include another funny thing that Katie said on Sunday at church. At the end of sacrament meeting, President Newton asked me, Kent, and Johnice to stand up. He then said, "They are the only ones allowed to call the bishop Aaron. To everyone else, he is Bishop Young." When we sat down Katie looked at me and asked, "What am I supposed to call him?" I laughed and told her she could still just call him Daddy. However, she is trying to decide between 'Bishop Daddy' or 'Daddy Bishop'.

Confession--I'm In Love With My Bishop

It's still kinda hard for me to believe, but Aaron was sustained as Bishop of the Lake Charles Ward today. After President Crossley asked the new bishopric to come sit on the stand, Katie leaned over to me and asked, "So who is the new bishop?" I whispered back, "It's daddy." She then said, "How did he get to be bishop?" That is exactly what Aaron and I have been wondering. I guess we have both been in denial that this was going to happen. I was very excited at the thought of him being able to sit with us at church after five years, and he was pretty excited--to say the least--at the thought of being released just in time for hunting season. As soon as Aaron told me that President Newton had called and wanted us both to meet with him two weeks ago, my heart sank a little. I thought that maybe if I didn't go with him he wouldn't extend the calling to him. But I went and I am glad I did. I will never forget the feeling of peace I had as we talked with President Newton and the wonderful counsel he gave us. I will also never forget seeing the look on Aaron's face and his eyes well up with tears as President Newton read part of the letter from the First Presidency saying that Aaron's name had been approved to succeed Bret Jorgensen as Bishop of the Lake Charles Ward. It's very humbling to know that President Monson and his counselors have prayed over his name to know if he is who the Lord wanted to be bishop. Neither one of us hardly slept at all that night. We have laughed and cried a lot as we have discussed his new calling over the last two weeks. I know it will be hard at times, but I also know there will be blessings to make up for the hard times. Our family has been tremendously blessed as he has served as a counselor for the last five years. I knew when I married him over 8 years ago that I had made a good choice, but I have to say that I have been especially impressed with my choice as I have watched him grow during the time that he has served with three amazing bishops. He has such a great love for the gospel and for the people of the ward. He is such a great example to me and our girls. He truly inspires me and makes me want to be a better person. I love him so much and know that someday my dream of sitting with my husband at church will come true--just not today.

Daddy Daughter Date

Aaron took the girls on an unscheduled Daddy/Daughter date today. Since I hardly slept at all last night because of my yucky cold, my sweet husband offered this morning to stay home from his trip he had been planning all week to the lease to get his hunting areas ready for opening day of deer season in a few weeks. I told him he should go and I would be fine. He then graciously offered to take the girls with him, and I again assured him I would be fine. After all, I wondered how much he would be able to accomplish having them with him. But he had made up his mind and asked the girls if they wanted to go. They were so excited, especially Sarah, and quickly got dressed. They all loaded up and headed out at about 6:30am, made a pit stop at the donut shop, and then went to the lease. When they got home, they were all smiles and told me all about the fun time they had at the lease and how they couldn't wait to go back.



This girl is just like her dad, and loves all things outdoors.



Katie is more like me though, and likes the outdoors, but not quite as much as daddy and Sarah.
Aaron had the girls help him put food out for the deer, and get one of his deer stands ready. Here Katie is carrying the burlap that goes around the blind to keep you hidden.



Aaron put up this stand today and the girls climbed up to test it out.



Little cuties!



Has anyone seen Sarah?

As if it wasn't enough that he had taken the girls for me for half of the day, this evening he was more than happy for me to leave to go to the women's broadcast. I sure needed that spiritual boost. When I got home, I was amazed to find out that not only had he fed and bathed the girls, but they all had picked up the girls rooms, cleaned and vacuumed the family room, and then he cleaned the carpet. I'm not sure what I did to deserve such a wonderful husband and father, but I sure am grateful to have him in our lives!

Sicko

Yep, that's me.......I'm a sicko. This has been the busiest week I have had in a while, with doctor and dentist appointments, helping out with a baby shower, gymnastics, making cards, hunting for just the right fabric for my next sewing project, and tons of other miscellaneous errands. And it finally caught up with me yesterday when I woke up as Mrs. Coughing, Sneezing, Itchy/Watery Eyes, Stuffy Head, Porcupine Throat, Stuffy/Runny Nose Lady. I forged on yesterday knowing I had to do the things on my to do list, but today I cancelled the Box Tops meeting I had at school (I am the Box Tops Coordinator for Katie's school--don't hate me because of my title! hee hee) and, sadly, I also had to cancel my sewing lesson for today, since I didn't want to contaminate my instructor with my yucky cold germs. So, I'm trying to get some rest, but I have a hard time resting when I can't breathe through my nose, which irritates my throat even more. I hate colds!

Look What I Made!

I know, it's nothing spectacular, but I made 15 bean bags all by myself! It was so fun and easy, and the girls had so much fun helping me put the beans in them. I wonder if that counts as food storage. HA! Anyway, I'm moving on to my next project.........a baby blanket. For now, I've got to go make up a fun game to play with my bean bags for FHE tonight!

Sewing 101

My personal goal for this year was to learn to sew. My sweet husband bought me a sewing machine for Christmas last year, and sadly, it has been in its box since Christmas Day 2007. I have really wanted to learn to sew for a while, but I was seriously intimidated by the brand new, fancy (at least to me) machine, considering the extent of my knowledge of sewing is..........sewing on a button! Sad, but true. But today I got my first lesson from my friend and master seamstress, RaeAnn Sorenson. She was so nice and didn't even make me feel like a complete idiot for asking dumb questions. She began by explaining all the parts of my machine, how they work and what they do, and then showed me how to thread the machine, and then we just played around with it. She even gave me some 'homework' to have done before my next lesson next Friday. I am so excited! I think I am going to really enjoy my new hobby.

Sarah's 'Gold'

At the beginning of each year, we sit down as a family and set personal and family goals. This year as we sat down to talk about goals, Sarah kept calling it 'golds' instead of goals. So we just went with it. Sarah's personal goal was to start sleeping in her own bed. Not long after she had set her 'gold' we were in Walmart one day and she found a 'My Little Pony' that she really wanted. It was on sale, so I told her I would get it for her and she could have it whenever she reached her goal of sleeping in her bed. We had a few runs where she slept in her bed for a few days at a time, but for the most part, it's been a very hard goal for Sarah--and us--to reach. She has periodically asked if she could have her 'gold'--meaning her 'My Little Pony', and I stood firm that she could only have it when she slept in her bed for at least two weeks. Several times I have tried to give it away as a birthday present, but she would not let me and insisted that she would one day sleep in her bed and get her 'gold'. When I found out we would be having another baby, I quickly decided it was time to get serious. So when we got back from our trip to NC, I told her she had to sleep on her bed, or on a palate by our bed, or with Katie. For almost the entire month of August, she would cry and throw a fit, but we were mean parents and made her sleep on a palate by our bed. One night she got so upset that we would not give into her demands that she stormed out of our room and said, "Fine! I'm going to sleep somewhere else!" So off she went to Katie's bed and there she slept all night long. After that night, she would go back and forth between the palate and Katie's bed. But for the last week, she has slept in Katie's bed every night. So when she was starting to have a relapse last night and wanted to get in bed with us, I reminded her of how good she had been doing and told her how proud we are of her. My heart was softened and I told her she could have her 'gold' tomorrow if she would go sleep with Katie for one more night. So she did, and this morning, I gave her 'gold' to her and she has had the best time playing with her all day. She even took her with her to gymnastics. So tonight as we were brushing teeth and getting ready for bed, she said, "I don't have to sleep with Katie anymore since I already got my gold." What? Great, now what do I do? Luckily, I quickly said, "Oh yes you do! I'll take that pony right back to Walmart tomorrow!" So, guess where she is right now? In bed with her sister! OH HAPPY DAY!

Hurricane Party

We decided to ride out the hurricane at Kent and Johnice's house and have a good ole hurricane party. I'm so glad they invited us over because I think it helped the girls to not focus so much on the storm. We all had a great time together. And the best part was that we never lost power at their house, which means we slept comfortably.......well, as comfortably as you can with the ferocious winds and pounding rain that only started once we finally settled down to get some rest. (We did loose power at our house sometime in the middle of the night. I called our house around 10PM and the machine picked up. But when Aaron called at 5AM, it did not pick up. However, it did come back on around 11 today--thank goodness!) The girls slept well though, and had a blast having a 'camp out' in Maw Maw and Paw Paw's living room........



........until a bear came and attacked them inside their tent.



Luckily, he was a nice bear. And what fun is a hurricane party without a good game of 'Cootie'.....



......and checkers!



The girls also had a blast playing 'Go Fish', 'Old Maid', and one of my favorites as a kid, 'I Declare War!' We also watched movies and ate like there was no tomorrow. I think I gained 5 pounds.



This is our house before Ike.



This is our house after Ike. Just some small twigs and leaves on the ground. Quite different than after Rita. After Rita, our yard had tons of branches, two huge trees down, and also took out our privacy fence that went along the back of our property line. We have only seen a couple of houses with trees on them. So, not alot of wind damage here, but unfortunately worse flooding than with Rita, which did not affect us, thank goodness. There are 3 members in our ward, that we know of so far, whose homes were flooded though. My heart goes out to them. Here is the street to Katie's school.



Tons of water overflowed from the canal just before you get to Maplewood. We heard that it got close, but aren't sure if it actually got inside the school. I suspect she'll be out of school for at least a few more days next week. We were again spared from any damage and feel tremendously blessed and grateful.

Hurricane Stress

I guess we've been watching too much coverage of Hurricane Ike. Tonight during dinner Sarah said, "I think I need some chocolate and Jesus." A few minutes later she said, "Can we please stop talking about the hurricane? It's making me kinda scared." Poor baby. But at least she knows what the most important things are during a crisis--CHOCOLATE and JESUS!

Here We Go Again!

Another week, another hurricane, and an indecisive one at that. Last week it was going to hit the east coast, then southern Florida, then us here in Louisiana. We were so relieved when the 'cone of uncertainty' moved to just the Texas coastline, with the southern part of the coast as the new 'target'. Not to wish the hurricane on anyone else, but southern Texas is in a drought, so they really needed the rain. And then last night the 'cone of uncertainty' was again moved just enough to cover the southwest corner of Louisiana, which happens to be just where we are. Our evacuation plan to Houston will not work this time, since they will get pounded if Ike stays on his current path. We are hoping that Ike will stay on his projected path, and not follow Rita's. Ike so far has had a frighteningly similar path as Rita did three years ago. Rita was also supposed to hit around the Galveston area. So we went to bed thinking we would be okay, and woke up the next morning to a mandatory evacuation order because Rita decided during the night to head north and pay a visit to cajun country. We evacuated to New Roads, LA, which is a little northeast of Baton Rouge. It turned out to be not quite far enough, since we had pretty good winds and lost power there too. After hearing that our area was hit pretty hard, the girls and I got on a plane and headed to NC to stay with my family and Aaron headed back to help with the clean up. We had just barely got power two days before we returned home three weeks later. After three weeks of clean up, I was so not expecting to see all of the debris that lined each and every street in our neighborhood--trees and limbs piled everywhere that was as tall as or taller than houses. It was a while before things started to look normal again, and before businesses were open normal hours again. So hopefully Ike will be his own man, and blaze his own trail so we don't have a repeat of Rita. For now, we have decided to stay. We have food, water, gas, and the generator ready to go. So now, we wait for the morning report to see if Ike stays on his current course. If not, we are also ready to leave if we need to. In the meantime, I am anxiously awaiting my birthday on November 30th, which also happens to be the end of hurricane season!

All Is Well

Hurricane Gustav turned out not to be a major event here in southwest Louisiana. In fact, we just got some rain and a little wind and never even lost power. We feel very blessed, considering other parts of Louisiana were not so fortunate. We returned home late last night after the mandatory evacuation order was lifted yesterday morning. We left Houston last night in hopes of missing out on all of the traffic. Turns out lots of other people had the same idea. We still did pretty good though and made it home in only 3 1/2 hours (I know it could have been much worse--thank goodness for the DVD player and the snacks and water we had with us), as compared to the 2 1/2 hours it took us to get there Sunday night. We were able to squeeze in a few fun things in the two days while we were there, such as shopping for maternity clothes for me, practicing our aim at the 'Shooting Arcade' at the Bass Pro Shop, playing 'Lunar Golf' (which the kids loved!), riding the carousel, and raiding the candy store at Katy Mills Mall. Other than that, we just hung out at the house and let the kids play. The girls had a great time playing with their cousins and all of their dinosaurs, light sabers, and various other boy toys. A big thanks to Mike, Tiffany, Austin, Gavin, and sweet little Owen for their hospitality and the fun memories!