A year in review

So I know this amazing blogger that I like to steal ideas from (Thanks Sarah) and she had this questionnaire on her blog that I thought was really interesting and wanted to share my thoughts. So, here it goes:

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?

Went on a houseunting trip with NO children, moved to MD, had 4 boys, moved close to family.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I did not keep my resolutions perfectly so I made them again and am hoping for better results this year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Umm, me! Ashley finally had a boy! Yippee Ashley! Jana finally had a girl! Oh the spoiled fashionista!

4. Did anyone close to you die? My dog, Ogden. We'd had him for 9 years and it was very sad to lose him.

5. What countries did you visit?

HAHAHAHAHA That's funny!

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?

Sleep.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

April14th?- we closed on our house and found out our dog had been hit by a car and killed.
May 28th -I welcomed into our family Elijah Aaron Griesmyer.
July 3rd and 4th-tons of family were here for Gabe's bday, 4th of July, but mainly and most importantly Eli's blessing!
Nove 20th-21st-I assisted in bringing Wyatt Joseph Johnson into the world.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Surviving the move, Gary's new job with its stresses, juggling 4 boys, being called to Primary, and trying to maintain happiness and sanity.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Every time I yelled at my children, got frustrated at my husband, and did not follow the Spirit.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I somehow broke my wrist (don't know how but the Xray's said it was fractured!)

11. What was the best thing you bought?

A house! It's 2x the size of the one in TX!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Zechariah's! Thanks to some helpful medication, he has been in control of his emotions and actions 90% of the time which has given me room to relax and breathe.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

Obama and all the other liberals in Washington that are trying to take away my freedoms!

14. Where did most of your money go?

Housing and food--it is SOOO expensive here!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Fitting into my pre preggo pants :)

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?

There are a lot actually. Mainly pop songs that me and the kids like and sing all time.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? a little of both

b) thinner or fatter? thinner I was pregnant this time last yr

c) richer or poorer? We make more money but we spend more too

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Laughing, playing, and letting go

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Cleaning and taking the weight of the word onto my shoulders

20. How did you spend Christmas? Christmas Eve at Aunt Nancy's with the Griesmyer fam, Christmas day with the Griesmyer fam at my house, the week after with the Johnson clan in Syracuse, NY.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009?

Yes. Every time my children would smile at me or laugh with me or my husband held my hand and spent time with me. Over and over again I fall in love with the 5 most amazing men on earth!

22. What was your favorite TV program?

So you think you can dance.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

No. Hate is a really strong word. It takes just as much energy to hate someone as it does to love them. I'm working on the love thing instead. :)

24. What was the best book you read?

The Twilight saga. I know it's stupid but true. Kristen, why did you have to ruin the movies for me???

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Ammon plays the drums!

26. What did you want and get?

Lots of things: shoes, clothes, house, stroller, household pretty-pretties, etc.

27. What did you want and not get?

It's personal.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

I don't know! I can't think of one.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I threw myself a Wonderwoman party/going away party and loads of friends came! It was awesome!!!

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Less stress and responsibilites.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?

hide the pooch, hide the pooch, what do I have that will hide the pooch?

32. What kept you sane?

Faith, humbling experiences, serving in Church, Gary.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

They pretty much all disgust me.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

Healthcare

35. Who did you miss?

My dad.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

I have met so many amazing people here in Waldorf. I am so grateful to be here. The loadies in my ward are exceptional! I am especially grateful to be living so close to Gary's Aunt Nancy. She is a jewel.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.

Do your best, leave the rest, angels do not more. I'm still working on it!

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

I'm not perfect, no I'm not. I'm not perfect, but I've got what I've got. I do my very best, I do my very best, I do my very best each day. But I'm not perfect and I hope you like me that way.
-Laurie Berkner

Christmas miracles

OK, so I am a few weeks behind, I formally apologize. I will try to do better. Yes, this blogging stuff takes FOREVER but I will perservere because I don't journal and this is so much more fun! Plus, I've started to recieve some comments which is fun so I'll keep it up!

This Christmas was filled with miracles:

The first lesson I learned was a renewed love for and strengthened testimony in my Savior, Jesus Christ.

This winter has proven to be very tight financially. When things are tight, I get down and depressed. I ended up saying "Screw it!" and whipped out my little credit card. (a HUGE no-no!!! since we've been debt free for 3 years!) Well, two weeks before Christmas, my van decided to quit working while I was driving it home from church. What a blessing this turned out to be! This caused my DH and I to sit down, talk about finances, talk about things we hadn't been saying (ummm, was it really the credit card I needed? I think not.) We were humbled by this threat of not having a van, not having any money to buy a new one, and the credit card debt we(I) had incurred. This scare brought us to our knees together. We prayed that our van would be ok and that it would not be anything major and that it would last us at least 6 more months. We put ourselves and our own pettyness aside and sought out the Lord's will and council. (Yes, I know this is what we should be doing all the time but sometimes, we don't) Jesus says; "Ask and ye shall recieve, knock and it shall be opened unto you". Why then do we not ask? or knock? Well, I was humbled-greatly! I had my van towed to this great repair shop in Waldorf after taking the advice of the tow guy. It was full of honest, nice, and competent people. They told me it was just the serpetine belt that slipped off and I got my van back for only $58! I could not believe it! "O ye of little faith" My van is a 1999 Dodge Grand Caravan with 180,000 miles on it. I thought it was toast but our prayers were answered and it is still going strong! We were able to drive up to Syracuse for the blessing of my new nephew, Wyatt, and hang out with my family in beautiful, snowy NY. Our van got us there and back and is trucking on and on!

Miracle number 2:

I won't go into much detail or disclose the identity of the individual, however, a person whom I have not seen or talked with in 15 years felt impressed by the Lord to send our family a monetary Christmas gift. It was not much money by today's standards. However, like with the van, I was humbled by the gesture. I was frankly shocked, in awe, and felt humbled and somewhat unworthy. You see, I had been very down. I tend to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders and not ask or allow anyone to help me. This time though, I actually got to the point where I did ask for help and didn't receive it the way I thought I should. I desperately needed to know that someone out there knew me, loved me, and was willing to serve me. This came in the form of a friend whom I have not communcated with in over 15 years. When this person contacted me and told me of his prayerful inquiry as to who he should serve this Christmas and when he told me of the revelation he and his wife got and my name was in it!-I felt the Spirit so strong! I knew that Jesus was aware of me. I knew He knew me, my struggles, and my thoughts and feelings. Better yet, my testimony of His love for me was tremendously strengthened. I am grateful for this servant who was willing to be an instrument in his hands to bless my family, my life, and my testimony.

Lesson learned?: I will pay it forward based off of this

Zechariah sledding

Snow storm

Today we had a massive snow storm! It has already dropped 2 feet of snow. The boys went out this morning and had a great time and came in after 45 mins. It was cold and it was coming down fast and hard! Here are some pics of my adorable kids all bundled up:
Here is a picture of our gorgeous backyard:
And here is a pic of Gary cleaning off the trampoline so that we could take it down so that it didn't break with the weight of the snow. Yes, it should have been done the day before but it wasn't.I had thought ahead and bought the kids waterproof hats and gloves, snowsuits, snow boots, and wool socks so they would be ready for the snow. I, on the other hand, do not own these items but will be purchasing them asap! It's ridiculous that I won't buy myself anything even if I need it! Thank goodness for Gary's military gear-he was completely covered when it came to snow and outdoor gear! Now we just need a snow shovel :)

Karma bites me in the butt

Have you all seen My name is Earl? I think that show is SO funny. I Love Jaime Pressly and Jason Lee but I also like the message about karma. Do a good deed and good things happen, do something bad and bad things happen.
OK, so karma has come back to bite me in the butt. Yes, it is true. I am not an innately bad person. I try very hard to be nice and kind. So, why the title?
I have friends who write blogs, facebook comments, and call me on the phone and discuss their children's many messes and destructive tendencies. I would listen to them and say things like, "that sucks", or "Oh my goodness", or "I am so sorry" but you know deep down I'm wondering "Where were you when your child was smearing poo all over the toy room wall?" "Why did you have a permanent marker out anywhere that a child could get to it?" and so on and so forth. Yes, my judgments may have been silent but they were there. And then I had Ammon...
This child is adorable and sweet and SUCH a MESS!!! He gets into everything! I am on him all the time. He has a room full of toys but would rather prowl around the house opening cabinets, pulling out cleaners, and spray them all over the place. Or he'll open cupboards and pull out 2 butter knives and use them as light sabers (he has toy light sabers on the floor of the toy room!) or as drum sticks, or as swords. And if he decides he is done eating or drinking he will just throw it all on the floor! Without warning and no matter how many times I make him clean up his mess! The other day I asked my husband "Whose demon spawn is this?" And then I went into the kitchen where my hubby had been fixing himself a glass of OJ. The cabinet door was opened from where he got his glass, the pitcher of OJ was left out on the counter, and the fridge door was opened. Seriously? Do you want to commit me to the insane asylym??? I am trying to mellow in my old age. The house is not nearly as clean with 4 boys as it was with 2 and that's OK! But I am also trying to teach my children responsibility and the value of work. Holy cow! If Ammon doesn't send me over the edge of a cliff, my husband will! Thank goodness for my OCD Zechariah who helps keep the place clean and in order and for my sensitive Gabriel who can't stand for me to be upset at him and therefore, won't make the mess in the first place. Ammon, on the other hand, could care less. He was put here on this earth to bring happiness to others and to be happy! He really does make me happy! And he sure is happy getting into my stuff! :)

Zechariah loses a tooth

Zechariah finally lost his very 1st tooth! He is almost 7! Two weeks ago Zechariah came home from school and we were talking about something when I noticed that his teeth looked weird. I asked him to open his mouth so I could get a better look. I saw purple around his bottom tooth. I asked him what was wrong. He said "nothing, it's just kinda wiggly" I said, "You have a loose tooth?!" All excitedly. He was like, "Yeah I push on it at school" I said, "Show me!" and then he popped it out. Just like that! No, forewarning, no drama, nothing! I was shocked and so was he! He couldn't believe it just came right out! My baby is growing up!

Playing catch up

Yep, it's been a while. I am playing catch up. There have been so many times that I have blogged in my head about numerous things but have not gotten to the computer to do it. Now, I don't even know when these things happened. Am I lame or what?

I'll start with trimming the Christmas tree. The Sunday and Monday after Thanksgiving I pulled out my Christmas tree and started trimming the tree. Here's a little of the goings-on.