First talk, Nat living with me, new, old ward

    Sunday I gave my first talk in church, EVER.  I was very surprised that I wasn't really nervous. I talked about having patience in God's timing.  It was really fun giving my talk.  I felt like I really prepared and I hope I did a good enough job and maybe helped a couple people. Curtis spoke too and he did really well.  I love when he speaks in church because that's the only time he cries.  Other than when he is giving a blessing.  It is so cute.  He is such a great guy and I am really lucky that I have a husband like him.
   Having Natalie, Aaron, and the boys living with us has been such a blessing.  The boys always keep up on their chores and help out with the kids without even being asked.  It is fun having somebody to make dinner with every night.  Saturday was a really fun day.  Even almost everyone is a little sick, we all worked together to clean up the yard, set up the tramp, and Aaron and Curtis built a fire pit in the yard.  It was nice because it felt like old times again.  It was also nice to see Aaron up and at it for a little while.  The suck was out and it felt so good.  Later that day Ivy and I went over to Grandpa's and he shook the pecan tree so Ivy and Aleese could pick them up.  I think they were picking them up for about and hour.  It was cute to watch.
    I love being in my old, new ward.  It really feels like home.  I grew up in this ward so I get to see all of the people that taught me every week.  The spirit is very strong in the ward and it is just has some great people in it.  My mom teaches the marriage class and it is pretty fun.  Dad, Cori, Sheena and Ryan, and Curtis and I all attend the class.  At first it was strange having family in the class and having my mom teach but now I really love it.  I must not know myself at all because I thought that I would hate being back in my home ward too.  It is really funny how things work out.  Oh and nest month Natalie and the boys are switching to our ward.  This is all to funny now I am writing it.
    Satan does this thing to me that really bothers me.  It took me years to realize it wasn't really me thinking these things.  Every time I followed the spirit and say something that I was prompted to say it haunts me.  Satan keeps putting it back in my head trying to make me feel embarrassed and trying to make me analyze every little part of it.  It used to work and it would eat me up for days.  I would feel like I said something wrong or I offended somebody or made myself look stupid or like a liar.  I am so happy I can recognize it now.   He tried doing it so I prayed and I feel a lot better.
  I am so excited for spring.  I want to do a flower bed out front and I can't wait.  I also want to set up Ivy's play house and landscape around that.  I have so many ideas my head hurts. 


    

Update on Aaron

Thanks for all your prayers.  Aaron's liver numbers are coming down and he is feeling a little better now.  He has something called Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis.  It is something that causes inflammation and scarring of the bile ducts and the liver.  They put a stent in him to open up a bile duct tube that was swollen shut.  Someday he will need a liver transplant but for now he seems okay.  Thanks again for your prayers.  They really helped.

Prayers for Natalie, Aaron, and Family.

I just wanted to do this post to ask everybody to please mention Natalie, Aaron, and their two boys Bradley and Morgan in your prayers.  They are going through a very hard time right now.  Aaron's health has taken a very serious turn for the worse.  His liver is not functioning right and he is very sick.  Please keep positive thoughts and prayers coming their way.  We are just not ready to lose him. Thanks.

Mom and Dad, Crazy neighbors, and a little update.

     I know that somebody has to do the job and I am so happy Dad did, but I am so happy he isn't in the bishopric anymore.  It has been so nice having him around at family things. He so upbeat and has tons more energy.  My parents are in another honeymoon stage. It is so cute. Sunday at church they were talking about how nice it is to sit by each other again and they kept laughing during the sacrament song. When I turned around to jokingly tell them to be quiet, they had the biggest smiles on their faces and my mom was just cuddled up to my dad.  How sad that some people don't get to see their parents together like that when they have grown.  That is definitely a blessing I have never taken for granted.  
     On Sunday we had the best time.  Sheena and Ryan are living with my mom now and they invited everyone over for a Mexican feast.  It was such a great time.  It felt so much like the old days when everyone used to come to my parents every Sunday.  River was laying on the floor and my mom and dad were laying on each side of him just playing.  He was pretty happy about it and they looked pretty happy too and really content.  After a couple hours Curtis and I took the babies home to go to bed then I went back over.  Natalie, Sheena, Cori, Ryan, and Brian were all over for a couple hours.  The kids were around and would pop in every now and then. We sat around talking for awhile about some of our memories.  Some were memories we all share and some were just personal memories.  It may sound dramatic but Sunday was one of the best days I have ever had.  It just felt like home. 
     I love my new house.  This house is something I thought I would never have in this life.  It is our dream house.(not that is is huge or extremely extravagant) It is an okay size but it's really open so everybody has to run into each other all day.  The kids love it too. They ride their bikes on the tile and room hop.  It is really amazing to be here with our little family all complete in the house HOME they will grow up in. 
     Our neighbors are completely out of their minds. Haha, just kidding Mom,Sheena, and Cori.  None of your neighbors can even begin to compare to mine. (except yours Heidi). Living by family has been really awesome. The kids house hop a few times a week.  A lot of the time we end up looking like bad moms because we will call each other trying to figure out where our kids have gone.  When we are out of something we can just borrow from each other and don't have to run to the store on a whim.  Natalie and Aaron are moving in this month too.  We will only be missing 2 siblings and you never know, they could end up here too.  There is an empty lot between mine and Cori's lot.
      We stopped foster care.  It was the best decision we could have ever made. As soon as we were finished Curtis blessed the house and it has the best feeling now.  It's strange not knowing what a negative impact something has on you until it's gone.  We are doing so many things we used to love doing that we didn't even know we had stopped.  Like going to visit Curtis's family as much as we would like to. It's not that I am against foster care or anything.  It's just you hit a point where you can't give anymore.  We feel so much better since we stopped and the kids are so happy.
     Health, for the most part, has been on our side this year.  I really hope it stays. I have spent the last year in a frenzy worrying about every huge or minor sickness my children and I have had. My main goal this year is to concentrate on health and not on sickness.  This is a huge challenge for me.  Every day presents itself with a new reason to worry when I let it.  Heavenly Father knows that I have done my part worrying, researching, and just trying to keep us from getting sick this last year.  He knows I have been pushed to the point where it can't be in my hands anymore.  I have complete faith that he will reveal what needs to be revealed and let rest what needs to rest.  I have had an experience to let me know that it is okay for me to just rest my mind for a minute and refocus.  So I am and I am so happy to do so.