SUPER BUSY LIFE!

For those of you who think stay-at-home-moms don't work as hard as you do, I say PHOOEY! I feel like I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off!!
Recently we celebrated Blaykes birthday. It was an intimate little family celebration. We bought him a bike, helmet set and movie. We had cake and ice cream. We were going to have friends over, but I didn't feel well. It was fun though. I am beginning to realize that "kids need" for lotsa presents stems from us always BUYING lotsa presents...Hmmm...Go figure!
We also celebrated Woodys birthday. That ended up being quite a celebration. That weekend, we went to a ward park clean up and a ward bbq/softball game. Sunday we had friends over for Taco Soup and games. That was a BLAST! On Monday, our friends upstairs had a bbq for Labor Day, and we ended up going to that...Even though I had a TERRIBLE cold. That was fun too. The best part was that Woody had 3 days off! (He normally only gets 1..Sunday...)

Other happenings? We started school. It is going REALLY well. I love it. Cierra is moving right along with second grade work. And we are having a great time doing Story Of The World. We both LOVE IT! If you are homeschooling your child...Well...Shoot....even if you aren't...You should get it, and read it with them. We are studying Ancient Egypt. We have made white crowns and later this week, we will do sugar cube pyramids. How lucky am I?!
Blayke is doing preschool. He knows his alphabet, so we are focusing on the phonics part of it. Hopin' to get him geared up for Kindergarten. I was so frustrated..I scoured the 'net for hours on Saturday, looking for the PERFECT preschool curriculum..(I was going for *free* because I am cheap.) I couldn't find ANYTHING! I was ready to throw in the towel, and BUY a curriculum....And I got a text from a good friend with a link to THIS: http://confessionsofaslackermom.com/ It is an LDS based preschool curriculum.....FREE! WOOHOO! I almost cried with happiness! It was exactly what I was looking for. I supplement it with some things from other sites, but for the most part, it is what we are using.
Konnor is growing so fast. He is 17 months old and recognizes his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, head, belly, fingers and toes. Last night, I told him to go get me the book Goodnight Moon, and he walked over to our bookshelf, and picked it RIGHT OUT!
Maybe I am biased, but I think my kids are GENIUSES!!

In other news, I am babysitting 2 little girls. One only comes on Monday. They are so good. And so fun. The kids like having them here, and so do I. I also got a calling in Church, and apparently Heavenly Father REALLY thinks I need to be with kids. I am going to be a primary teacher of 5 year-olds. I am excited. (I will admit, though, I was really looking forward to Konnor going to nursery next month so that I could enjoy my classes.... But I am a feather duster!)

Woody is VERY close to having his trailer ready, and handed in his 2 weeks yesterday! YAY! We have another potential employment opportunity that could come with housing, but it doesn't open until December, so we are going to get the truck on the road, keep a prayer in our hearts, and when that time comes, make the decision of whether or not to hire someone to drive, so Woody can have an 8-5, Monday thru Friday job, or to keep him in the truck. (Isn't being a growed up soo much fun!?)

We are still in our lil' apartment, but, hey, IT'S HOME! We are so blessed. I am so thankful for our apartment.

Life is good here! Will be back in Idaho in December and am super excited for it!

Why I'm here..At least...Part of it.

I live in Watford City, North Dakota. Never heard of it? Neither had I until about a year and a half ago. It is an hour from the closest Wal Mart and church. We drive 3 hours to attend the Temple or go to stake conference. I am 800 plus miles from my family.
Naturally, the question has come up, WHY?!
Sure, there is the employment thing...North Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation.. Plus the jobs here pay DANG good.
I could do what a lot of people are doing, and move back to Idaho and Woody could come home ever 2 or 3 or 4 weeks. NOT an option. We like seeing him every night.
Still, if you have ever experienced a winter here in ND, you will continue to ask WHY?! It is a whole other world here. Sometimes I feel like I have moved to a foreign country..Sometimes a foreign PLANET!
This story does in fact have a point. Woody and I have often felt that the Lord wants us here. We don't know specifics. (Don't know that we ever will).... Well, this last Sunday, during Relief Society, our RS president was giving the lesson and said, "A lot of us are here, without knowing the reason. I believe the reason, at least part of it, is that we weren't being who Heavenly Father needed us to be when we were back where we came from." (Most of us here are in the same sort of situations.) Now, I pondered this...And then I pondered it some more. How true is this statement?! I mean, to stay active here takes work...like...a lotta it. If you wanna participate in most activities, you drive an hour. We woke up at 5:30 am this past Saturday to attend a ward park clean up.
If you were previously just doing just whatcha had to to get by.....If you move to good ol' North Dakota you will go one of 2 ways...You will either find yourself putting a lot of effort.....a lot of sacrifice...into being an active member of the Church...or you will find yourself sliding on the slippery slope of inactivity. There isn't a lot of room for that in-between-do-just-what-you-have-to-do-to-get-by thing here. <I feel like I am now, finally, 10 years after baptism, willing to do the work to becomethe person Heavenly Father needs me to be. It does take a lot of work. It isn't always easy to get up, get ready, drive an hour, go to meetings, drive an hour home. Especially because it is Woodys ONLY full day off in the week.
I know that I am here because it was actually the best way for me to become the woman, wife, mother and Daughter of God that I need to be for the eternities. And, I am THANKFUL for that, and even more thankful that I know it.