Thumbs down. I really miss singing, and the holidays are approaching (Christmas carols!) So I went to the ENT monday, to find out why I've had no voice since April. I almost always get a little raspy during allergy season because I'm always always pregnant or breastfeeding and there aren't any safe allergy meds to help the drainage. This year, however, I lost my voice in the spring and it never came back. So off to the ENT I went. It was not a comfortable experience to have a scope fished through my nose and down the back of my throat. Yuck. Results were what we assumed they would be: nodules on my vocal chords.
Are you picturing Brittany Snow from Pitch Perfect right now? "I have nodes." Hahahaha! It's the first thing my ENT joked about, too. Luckily, I don't need surgery. But I do need to start allergy meds as soon as Sloane stops nursing, and at the same time, take
10 days of complete non-verbal (apparently whispering is worse than yelling?)
vocal rest. No talking? Like
at all? Impossible
. Aaron's going to love it! ;)
Who can get away with not speaking for 10 days? Not I, said the cat. But I will try.
2) Running
I ran 6.5 miles on Saturday morning with Kasey and Chris Mains. It was challenging and wonderful and the best I've felt physically in a very long time thanks to great ladies, great conversation, great weather, great perseverance, and a great trail. Trudging up that Crystal Bridges trail is empowering, and flying back down is just a rush of all good feelings. I am so thankful that my body can do amazing things, and I recognize Saturday's run as a gift from my creator.
3) Study Still using this study guide and still really enjoying it. Reading scriptures never gets old, but I was due for a different study style. This is great!
4) Serving
Our callings are going great and challenging us just the right amout to keep us balanced. I'm trying to serve as often as I can and recognize the times its ok to pass.
Then I subbed in primary this week and the lesson told the story of the Good Samaritan. I felt a stirring that perhaps I relate better to the Priest or Levite man lately. Too often, I cross on the other side to avoid adding anything else to my plate. I resolve to act when I feel prompted to serve, and trust Heavenly Father to increase my capacity. The "all is well in Zion" mentality is a pride trap to help me justify my offering. It's not my lace to judge who needs help or why they help. If service is asked and I can do it, I will.
5) Trying
This happened in our way to the van on Sunday morning of the primary program. Luckily I had a 15 minute buffer for my 15 minute buffer and managed to clean both boys and change clothes arrive at church before the opening hymn. I slipped in it and when I fell to the floor we all just laughed. What a morning!
7) projects
The deck. I started sanding after school, yesterday and only got about halfway done in the hour before Sloane woke up, but it's (so far) going quickly and easily and (haha) smoothly. I'm hilarious.
The greenhouse.
Seeds are sprouting! Pics coming soon! My awesome steal of a deal garden beds turning out to be a bust, though. The wood is warping and they're already coming apart. They'll work for this year, but you get what you pay for, I guess. We'll have to invest in cedar or other hard wood another year. I'm taking a "field trip" up to my retired sawyer buddy, Glenn Beck, at his homestead in the next week or so. I might see if he's got anything in his yard. Bummer that my recycled beds aren't holding up. It's still a beautiful sight out my window on this rainy autumn morning.
The chickens. 5 of the 6 are now laying. Hip hip hooray!
It's currently Corbin's chore to collect eggs from the nesting box, and wash them in the kitchen sink. Sometimes, Soren helps, as evidenced by what I find in my bathroom, or his closet, or the front yard. I hope I don't not find one, I'll be in some stinky house trouble.
The rocks...this will take awhile. It wasn't on my agenda to landscape right now, but the rock finally became available, with no guarantee of when it would be available again (they've been out for several months.) So we went for it and behold the 19 tons of River Rock in my driveway. Oops! I maaaay have under estimated how many rocks are in "one load".
So, how do you eat an elephant? One wheelbarrow at a time. Send your poor teens to my house. I'll happily pay them to move some bites out of this massive rock mountain!
Paint. I purchased paint for the front door (went with a yellow color called Yarrow) but I'm not going to paint the door until the deck mess is done.
The guest room (aka dumping ground) is finally getting cleaned up, now that all of my Rhea Lana items are in bins for next week's sale. Look mom and Lynda! We put actual bedding in "Grandma's Room."
The Garage. I'm trying to purge stuff so I can park in there again when we get the deck furniture out of there. Oh and move the rocks out of the way! Our driveway is currently barricaded! Haha!
I put a dozen items on the front porch and posted "freebie friday" on a church community facebook page. Everything was gone in 24 hours. One man's trash is another man's treasure. It brought me joy to see a cute young couple expecting their first baby high five one another as they carried away the blue changing table from Soren's room. I bought that little table at a garage sale in Boise, just weeks before Reese was born. 11 years flies by.
8) Appointments
I have at least one doctor, dentist, well visit, orthodontist, or parent teacher conference every day for 2 1/2 weeks straight! I'm one and a half weeks in and have already missed a parent teacher conference. Simmer down, schedule. Here's cute Corbin at the dermatologist receiving a treatment for a virus on his hands.
I ran into Robin in the waiting room at another appointment. He tried to make Sloane laugh and terrified her, instead. She cried through the doctor appointment and he felt awful. Poor Robin, only trying to help.
9) Likeness
My aunt Tami texted this picture of me (age 3) with my Grandpa (Sam Tenney). I see Corbin's face and Soren's hair in me, and a little Quincy in my grandpa. My children are so lucky to live in a world with a camera in their faces to document their almost daily lives. Film used to be saved for special occasions (and was very expensive to develop) when I was young, so I only have a few dozen pictures from my early childhood. I'd never seen this one before, and I love it. My grandpa was such a good man. So good, I'll say it twice, because it's the best way to describe him. He was such a good man.
10) Fall Soccer is over.This was the best season, yet, for our family. Good weather, not a terribly over scheduled soccer night, we were blessed with early Saturday game times, an enthusiastic player, and cheerful siblings, still willing to spend Monday nights on the field supporting their brother. That said, I'm ready to pack the jerseys and cleats up until spring. Great season, Corbin!!
11) Into the closet
I've lost 40 lbs of the 50+ lbs I gained while pregnant with Sloane (Donuts!). She's 9 months old and I am happy with where I am. I've never been one to pay attention to numbers as long as I have energy to live and my jeans fit. My pre baby jeans don't fit (not even close). I bought bigger jeans and haven't looked back. It's time to get rid of everything that is too big, and everything that will always be too small. Clothes that don't fit don't deserve the closet real estate. I recently told a friend who is struggling with this, "you are of greater worth than just your physical appearance." I believe that to be true, and don't keep anything that preaches otherwise. Clothes are an expression to help you feel like you. Time to declutter.
I'm also loving the idea of a "dream board" of sorts. I have all these great quotes and verses that I get on handouts at church, or lovely cards/notes from friends. I want to keep them, but they aren't really serving a purpose if they're shoved in a drawer. When I put up a bulletin board in the girls' room, they immediately covered it with pictures and things that make them happy: a swim team ribbon, a picture of Jesus, a family photo, a Polaroid with friends, a magazine cutout of their favorite american girl doll, artwork, our family theme on scrapbook paper, etc. I need to do this. I love it and I think my closet wall is the perfect place for a dream board. But instead of a dream board, it's my reality board. Not things I wish for, but realities I am thankful to have. I am living my dream, and I believe gratitude is the antidote to pride.
THEN Aaron and I went to the movies on Saturday night. I think this is our first movie together since Meet the Mormons, and before that...maybe another year!
We saw War Room. Of course it was cheesy, with ok acting. But we wanted to support the genre, and tell the movie industry thatAmericans will support the genre so they'll create more clean, uplifting films, and invest in talented screenwriters and actors.
Anyway, the movie involves a woman who totally empties her closet to create a peaceful place to pray. I was already on this line of thinking when I started cleaning my closet out last week. Remove distraction, create a place where I can dress myself in gratitude at the start and end of each day. I hadn't thought to pray in there. I don't intend to empty my closet, nor do I believe I must write out my prayers or be at any kind of altar to pray, but I am intrigued by creating another peaceful space to ponder and be free from distractions while I talk to Heavenly Father. Cheesy or not, we all need a "war room", where we declare satan our enemy and create a battle plan of more righteous living.
I'm going to spend the gratitude-month of November adding to my...I'm not sure what I will call it yet-board, and I think I will hang it in my closet.
12) mr independent Makes himself a bowl of oatmeal every day. He spills it everywhere. Everywhere. He gets the water from the (yup! Power gag) bathroom sink. Whatever man, thanks for making breakfast!
Today, he put a leftover donut in my hand and said, "Here. It's good for you."
Yes, Soren. Yes it is!
