Done!! Just in the "nick" of time!!

I finally finished Nicholas' Christmas stocking!! Shawn's family has ones his grandma made and she taught me how to make them. They take forever to make but are so cute. I finished it just in time for Santa to fill it!!!!!!!

Santa Clause is coming to Town!!!!

Santa came and visited at our preschool today!!! He came in to see the kids do thier Christmas program. It was so fun to see all the kids get so excited, they had lots of fun!! Nicholas was so excited he was one of the first to jump on his lap.

Oreck Vacuum Giveaway!!

Go over to www.trying2staycalm.com to win an awesome vacuum!!

Congrats to Madison!!!!

Yeah Madi!!!! Madi is student of the month for December! We went to a ceremony last week at Taco Time, at 7 am. They had a breakfast there. They gave her a certificate and some coupons for free stuff and a KJH pin. Her English teacher got up and said a few things about Madi and how wonderful she is. (I already knew she was wonderful!!) Good job Madi!!!

Donny is a Winner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I knew he could do it!!!!!!!! My Donny won!!!!!!!!!

My Gratitude Journal

Thanksgiving is now less than a week away. Lately I have been noticing on facebook that a lot of people are writing down things they are Thankful for. As I have been looking back at the year and thinking of all the things that has happened to us, I can see how easy it is to stop and get stuck in the self pity mode. This year has been a tough one. Almost comical in a way. I can't believe how much can go wrong in one year.
Here we go: Shawn losing his job in January. Oscar gets ran over by a car. The TV breaks. The oven breaks down. The water heater breaks down. The iron breaks. ( That's a big deal in this house, Shawn loves to iron his clothes. P.S I'd do it for him, but he doesn't like the way I iron) The key to the car breaks in half. The dishwasher broke. The cabinet was starting to fall apart under the kitchen sink. there are a few other house problems we need to deal with. Constantly telling the kids no I can't buy you that because there isn't enough money right now. My brother calls me and invites me to go to Billy Joel's concert and then it gets postponed. The list could probably go on and on.
But after writing this list, I realize how much worse things could be. I truly am thankful for all the things I have been blessed with.
I am so thankful for my Savior and all that he has done for us. I am thankful to be a member of his Church and to have the Gospel in my life.
I am so thankful for Shawn and all that he does for this family. He works so hard everyday and comes home so tired and then he goes to school. He makes a lot less than what he was making and he works so much harder, and he never really complains about that. I am thankful he has a job. I am so thankful that he is a great handy man!! He is able to fix most all the things that breakdown in the house. I am so thankful he can do all that it saves us probably a ton of money. I love to watch him play with Nicholas he is a great Dad!!
I am so thankful for my kids. Madison is always writing me the cutest notes and She leaves them on my pillow. Scott is fun to watch Star Trek with and Nicholas, well, he is just so full of fun and happiness and so much love!! I now realize how much I needed him in my life.

I am so thankful I have a house! I love the luxury of having a warm place to sleep and having a bathroom and electricity!!!! ( a lot of people in the world don't have that kind of luxury)
I am so grateful that I live in this beautiful country!! I am grateful for a great family!!
I have wonderful sisters I can talk to and they are there for me when I need them. I have a wonderful Mom and Dad. My brother is Nicholas's hero!! He loves him and talks about him all the time!!
I have great in laws!! Shawn's Dad and Mom are always there to help out whenever we may need them!! They are so awesome!!
I am very thankful for my ward. I have a lot of good friends I have made.
This list can go on and on forever!!!
When you start to think about how much your life has been blessed it becomes overwhelming to see how wonderful things really are. The bad things or the things that are not going right in your life seem to get smaller and are just a little inconvenience. I think I will start a gratitude journal and write down a few things everyday to help keep me positive and not focus on the things that are going wrong. I know that will help me from getting stuck in that self pity mode!!

Vote For Donny!!!

Donny needs our help!!!! Vote for him tonight!!!
1-800-868-3405

My New Job

I am now a working Mom!!!! I haven't had a job for like 15 years!! I get to work at the Reach Preschool. The best thing about the job is that I am able to take Nicholas with me!! I am finding out however, that Nicholas is a handful at preschool. He wants to play all the time and just do whatever he wants. I have to remind myself that he is only 2 and the other kids are 5. You wouldn't believe how 18 4-5 year olds can totally wipe you out! It seems as though I am constantly talking very loud!! Oh yes, and I am always singing the preschool songs. I get them stuck in my head!! Working with Miriam is awesome!! I can't believe how much I have missed her living next door. It has been so fun working with her. The kids are so cute too!! They are fun to talk to and hear all their funny stories. There are a few kids who are a little out of control but for the most part the kids are so fun. It was nice to get a paycheck too!!

Dancing Donny!!!

Ok people!!! Its now time for Dancing with the Stars!!! Yeah I have been waiting all summer for this show to start! Watching Donny !!! Yeah my favorite thing to do!!! He is so cute, especially when he is dancing. I hope you all are watching it. Make sure you vote for DONNY!!! He is doing good so far and has danced very well. (I totally knew he'd be good, he's good at anything!)

He has some competition, but he is a great dancer so he should do well!! I totally wish I was the one dancing with him! Make sure to vote at the end of the show on Mondays!!

1-800-868-3405

More pics

Hancey Family Reunion

Sunday was my Hancey family reunion. We went up milcreek canyon and spent the day there. It was fun to see everyone and to catch up on how everyone is doing. I showed everyone (well, the girls) how to make duct tape bags. My family has a lot of really crafty people so needless to say those bags turned out so cute!!! I want to make a new one! I didn't get a chance to make one because I was helping everyone. Shawn of course ditched most of it and went fishing. Well, we had fun!!!

Happy Birthday Madison!!!!

Happy Birthday Madi~!!! Yeah!!!! I am so excited for her to turn 12!! Now she gets to go to Young Women's with me!! This will be a year of changes for Madi, she is starting Junior High!!

Next will come the girly stuff, hair make-up, boys----- wait NOOO!! No boys yet. She's way to young for that!!

Happy 17th Anniversary!! (wherever you are!)

Today August 22, is our 17th wedding anniversary!! 17 years!! It doesn't seem like it has been that long. This year Shawn is gone to somewhere in Montana working. He will be gone until next weekend. Its kinda sad that we won't be together this year for our anniversary, but then again we didn't even celebrate last years.

Girls Camp Rocked!!!!!

Ok, I loved Girls Camp!!! I must say it was one of the best Girl's camp I have ever been to!! It was so much fun and spiritual too! I great combination of both! I really need to be there to listen to all of the messages that were given.

The theme this year was "He Loves Me". Each ward was assigned a flower and Our ward were the Callalilies. Callalilies mean ideally pure and beautiful. We loved that. We each got a backpack with a journal and a flower pen. Our color was Hot Pink so we called ourselves the Hot Pink Ladies! It was fun!!

The first day we play some "getting to know you" games together as a stake. We played human fuse ball. That was fun!! We did alot of cheers at camp. By the last day I was cheered out! That night we had a guest speaker come and talk about her experiences with her health issues and how they had affected her. She was great. You coul really feel the spirit so strong!

The next day was hiking day! I stayed at the cabins and read my donny book. The hike was about 3 miles and was up hill. I knew I wouldn't be able to make it and it would be way to embarassing to even try. The girls seemed to have lots of fun though. We made crafts! Now anyone who knows me, knows I love to make crafts!! We made note cards and magnet boards and a few other things. That night we had a concert by Greg Simpson. He was so awesome! I loved his music. He sang and talked about his experiences. After the concert we went back to the lodge and there was a chocolate fountain waiting for us!! Talk about yummy!!

The next morning we had workshops by the Stake. They really went to alot of work and I really enjoyed listening to the talks. That afternoon we made duct tape bags. They turned out so cute and were lots of fun to make. That night we had the Stake President come and talk to us.

Oh, The food was faboulous!!! So yummy!! The first night we had an Asian buffet!! I've never been to a girl's camp where they have fed you so well!! Tin foils dinners, salad bars and bajion mexican buffet were all great too!

I think the best part of girl's camp is sitting around the fire just talking and being with the girls. I loved playing the games with them. Ok, yes I do get to involved with the games, but that makes it all the more fun!! (remember girls, what happens at girl's camp, stays at girls camp!) The best night is when we have testimony meeting and share our feelings with each other. You really get to know the girls on a completley different level when your at girls camp. We have some truly awesome girls and I love all of them!!! I was so glad I was able to go and be there with the young women and it was so cool that Madi was able to come too!! I was so busy having tons of fun and having spiritual uplighting moments, I completley forgot to even take any pictures!! Bummer! But the memories will live on forever!!!

Sunday Night Dinner

OH my what a night! I made roast, potatoes, cooked carrots, delicious squash from the garden, salad, homeade rolls and yes, homeade Cinnamon rolls!! I don't know why I go to so much work to make a nice meal on Sundays when I know no one appreciates it. I have to call and call out for everyone to come to dinner. tonight Shawn refused to come and eat. I think he should have a least given me the courtesy of at least coming in to sit at the table with the family. He say's he hates my roast and never wants to eat it again. Well, when the budget is tight you need to eat what you have available in your freezer!! If one of the kids pouted like that he would have made them eat it! He said I was being ornery so he didn't want to be around me. You think?! whatever! Next sunday He's making dinner!

I'm A Winner!!

I won the portable DVD player at Trying to Stay calm!! This is so exciting!! I cant wait to get it!!
Thanks Shauna!! you are the best, I love you!!!

Ivins Reunion

Last weekend we had an "Ivins Reunion". A group of us who grew up in Ivins in the 80's got together. We had a lot of fun times growing up in Ivins. We seemed to be a very close nit group of friends. It was so awesome to see everyone and to find out what they have been up to. The highlight of the reunion was Gitarzan!!! I must say, it is a lot different 20 years later! But still just as awesome and funny!!! Gitarzan (for those of you non Ivins gang) is the lip sync the Ivins guys ( pics below) did that won every competition they were in! I hope we make this reunion a yearly event. It was so fun!!

Lagoon

Thanks to Scott and his job at Lagoon, we were able to get family passes for the employee day at Lagoon!! It was so much fun!! My sister Sarah came with us. I had so much fun holding her little baby while everyone went on rides. I didn't even realize until I got home that I only rode on one ride! Nicholas had so much fun riding on the kiddie rides, especially the cars! We had tons of fun and cant wait til the next employee family day!!!

Boating!!

The Young Women went boating a few weeks ago. We have had to put it off because of all the rain we got in the first of June. We finally went and the weather stayed good. We did have a wind storm we had to wait out but other than that it was great. We had a lot of girls come, which is so awesome!! I wish they'd come to ALL the activities and not just the fun ones!! I stayed on the beach while the girls went out on the boat. I'm not to crazy about being in a boat on the middle of the lake, or how fast they go. Nicholas had so much fun playing with Cooper. They were having a water/mudd fight! It was so funny watching them. I must say I think Cooper was getting the best of Nicky. He was dumping muddy sand all over him and then Nicky would try and dump water on him. We had a ton of fun!! I think the young women did too!! Its really hard getting pictures of the girls waterskiing, especially when you cant see far away.

Happy 4th of July!!!!

Hope you all have a great day!

Giveaways!!!

Okay!!! you guys have got to check out my cousin Shauna's blog!! http://trying2staycalm.blogspot.com/ She has the most awesomest giveaways!!!!
Right now she has a Rosa fudge giveaway and also a cold stone icecream giveaway.
She is a very sweet person and is so funny!! Check out her blog maybe you could win!!

YW/YM Repelling Activity

Here are the pictures from the YW/YM activity. I was not going any closer to get better pictures..It was too scary.

My little Pumpkin is Planting Pumpkins!!

I was watching Shawn working in the garden (making sure he does it the way I want ) and this is what I saw... How cute is that!!

Pictures

Here are some pictures to make you smile!

My Friends giveaway

Check out My friend Nicoles giveaway!! I love her blog, she always has some cool stuff on there!!
http://ourcozynest.blogspot.com/2009/05/my-big-giveaway.html

Scott

Last week was Scott's final Choir concert. It was good and they had a surprise guest George Dyer! He is a popular singer here in Utah. he sings on Broadway. He was fantastic!! Anyway I was so glad to see Scott in the choir. Last Saturday he went to the new STAR TREK movie. If any of you who don't know, my son is a huge Trekkie!! We watch Star Trek reruns every night.
Well, he got all dressed up in his Star Trek uniform and had his tricorder and phaser gun to go to the movie. I took him there with his two friends and dropped them off, apparently having your mom go to the movie with you is totally uncool, at the movies. When I picked them up after the movie, I was surprised to hear Scott say how he HATED the movie. His two friends thought it was great. I can't wait to see it..I like that Chris Pine. He is a cutie!! I'm going to take Scott with me and give the movie a second chance!

Madison

Last night we went to Madi's orchastrea concert. She has been playing the violin for 6th grade. She has stuck with it throught the year, even though she wanted to quit. The concert was so crowded. I can't believe they tried to fit 6 different elementary schools in the gym. What a joke! It was so hot and crowded it was very hard to spot Madi among all the other kids. Last week she also had her 6th grade program. I took so pictures of her and I think they turned out pretty good, despite the little brother who is a camera ham!!