I want...

...my kids to grow up and have a forever family of their own.

...a more comfortable mattress, but I don't want to have to downsize.

...to be liked. I know that is kinda cheesy, but I really feel like I don't fit in most places, and that people would would rather me not even be there.

...Angela to stop pulling out her hair. She has been doing it on and off since January, and I want to be able to put pretties in her hair again.

...to own a home of our very own.

...to live closer to my extended family, but not have to live somewhere hot in the summer.

...to move somewhere that has a lot milder summer weather.

...Michael to be done with his nursing degree already, so we can move somewhere with milder summers.

...thinner calves and ankles and thighs and butt and...

...to be more spiritual.

...to be able to go to the temple more often.

...to travel. I love going places, and would love to be able to go everywhere I want to.

...a more reliable family vehicle so we could travel more often.

...my kids to be more reverent at church on Sundays.

...a cleaner house. And, with that laundry and dishes that magically do themselves.

...to not want so many things.

...to be like Jesus.

We have been ordering from Schwan's for a few months now, and we are hooked! They can be a little more expensive for some of their food items, but their quality and customer service are the best. And, for the most part, their price are reasonable. Not to mention you order online and it is delivered right to your door by a smiling face. We LOVE our Schwan's delivery man, Terry. He is always so polite and interested in how our family is doing. Over the summer, he would actually joke around with the boys when he carried our bags into the house.

Their ice cream is what they are known for, and it is to DIE for. But, did you know that they have a huge assortment of other frozen food? We have stopped buying canned vegetables (corn, peas, green beans, etc.) all together. All we get now are the MicroSteam vegetables and other vegetable blends. I have also been ordering our "date night at home" dinners from them, and it is like eating restaurant quality food for at least half the price.

If you haven't already, you should try them out. I promise, you wont be sorry you did. And, when you do, let me know what things you liked.

Angela's 2nd Birthday

Twelve little ladybugs made for birthday food.

Along came the Bickerstaffs...

and mmmmmm were they good!

An angel for my angel

After many hours of tedious stitching, I have finally completed my Divine Nature project. She is gift for my sweet girl to hang in her bedroom. My grandmother made my sister, my cousin and me each an angel, and now I have passed on the new tradition to my daughter. Who knows, maybe she will have a daughter to make an angel for someday too.

She is called the Starlight Angel. She sweeps in through the window to watch over the little child that is sweetly sleeping in her bed. Her cloak sparkles with stars as though it is part of the night sky. She wears a shining star in her hair and her gown shimmers.

I would hope that we all have an angel to watch over and protect us. Maybe not with with wings and made of stars, but someone who loves us more than we could ever know. 

Busy, busy, busy...

Wow! Everything has just been so busy lately. I have been rushing to finish my Divine Nature project by Angela's birthday deadline on Sunday. I will post a picture when I am finally finished. I have Tae Kwon Do two nights a week and Mutual on Wednesday nights. And, now that school has started I am helping with homework, signing planners, and rushing to get everything done that needs to be done before 8 o'clock bedtime. Michael has decided on a career change that will involve him going back to school, but will insure a more secure future,as well. On top of everything else, a new calling @ church that will be taking even more of my time, prayers and effort. But, at least being busy keeps me out of trouble.

I scream, you scream...

Those that truly know Angela, know that she has a serious sweet tooth. She can smell sugar from anywhere in the house. There is no sneaking a sweet treat without her finding you and insisting that she "want that". One of her all time favorites is, of course, ice cream. 

Usually, we still feed her when it comes to this special treat, or she will feed herself a mini ice cream sandwich. But, when we went to Braum's after picking fruit on Saturday, Michael insisted that she was able to eat her ice cream by herself. And, so, here is her adventure with eating ice cream all by her self.

Summertime

I don't know. I feel like I am in a slump. I know I should be happy that it is summertime and my kids are home from school. I should be grateful that I get to sleep a little bit later in the mornings. I should be excited that there are no pressures to get dressed in a timely manner or dress others either. That we get to lounge around in our jammies a bit longer. But, I'm just not.

My kids get bored easily and there isn't anything to do around here. Not to mention, it is WAY too hot to do anything anyways. I can't do laundry later than around lunch time because the dryer will heat up the house. I don't want to cook anything because it is too hot, and there is only so much you can do with a microwave. When the afternoon heat begins, I just get grumpier and don't feel like doing anything.

Maybe there is something wrong with me. Summer is just not as fun as it was when I was a kid. There isn't any excitement in it anymore. I grew up in Colorado. I could actually go outside and play at any hour of the day and not get heat exhaustion. I would ride my bike all over the city I lived in with my best friend. We would go to the store or visit other friends. There was always something to do, and it was very rarely too hot to go outside. And, if there ever happened to be a day that was just too hot, we would take a drive up into the mountains and it would be at least ten degrees cooler there.

I am probably just homesick for my friends in Texas. Our kids would play together inside on hot afternoons, and we would talk and hang out. I don't have any friends like that in Oklahoma. The people here are just not as friendly. Don't get me wrong, they are nice and all, but they just aren't as social. The problem is definitely mine, because I am just not an outgoing person. It is hard for me to make friends, and when I get lonely, I just close up. I need to put myself more out there for people to befriend me, but I really cannot see that happening, because stepping out of my comfort zone terrifies me.

Well, enough of my ranting and anti-summer talk. There is less than a month to go, and we have a bunch of movies in out Netflix queue.