LESSON #1....NeVeR take things for Granted!

The statement that..."you don't appreciate something until its gone"...holds true for me, right now more than ever.

We have a heater that circulates water through copper pipes and then into baseboard heaters in each room. Last week the circulation pump on our heater quit working....so it wouldn't circulate the HOT water through the pipes, resulting in a COLD house. We called someone to come and fix it. He came and was able to pound on the pump a bit and get it going again. He said that the pump gets full of hard water deposits and then it quits working (but the pump being 20 years old and just wearing out, plays a big part into that too). There is no quick fix for it other than to replace it. So he was going to order us one and then said that he would come and replace the pump when it came in....but for the time being the heater was working, the pump was pumping and we had a warm house once again. THAT is until yesterday (1 week later) when once again the pump quit and we had a cold house.

My dad came to the rescue with an electric heater that he let us borrow (did I mention that I have the best dad ever!!!). It's called an EdenPURE...which heats like a charm!!! I honestly think that it would heat my entire upper level all by itself (and that's alot of space). It so efficient...and extremely quiet. I can't believe what a wonderful little machine it is. I think we might have to invest in one (or two)

of these awesome machines

in the near future. We also had a couple of other electric heaters that we have spread throughout the house to keep things from freezing and to keep us warm. So until we are able to get our heater running again...we will be relying solely on electricity to keep our house warm.

...and when our heater starts running again, I VOW... NOT to take it for granted. I am so VERY grateful that my sweet dad that let us borrow his AMAZING heater and that we also had a few to spread around...but there is nothing like our big burly heater to keep the house warm and snugly...day in and day out.

The "Frosting on the Cake"?...its in the eye of the beholder!

"WINTER"

...depending on where you live and who you are....could be most enjoyable or most depressing. If you are an avid follower of my blog, you know how I feel about the subject of

"Winter!"

BUT

after the fog lifted this morning and the blue sky

came out for a very small "peek"....

there was "FROSTING"

all over my little world

and I have to admit...EVEN I thought

IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!

(AND that says a lot)

Some say that the "Frosting" is the best part of the cake...and today- I would have to agree!

Pay offs and ReFLecTioN~

I love living in a small little town, where everyone knows everyone (pretty much) and the little things that happen in our town...are the BIG things to us. I had the privilege of attended the Region 16 Drill Team competition this week, (which was held at our high school) where our little home town high school team took 1st place for the seventh year in a row. It was thrilling to watch as the girls got out on the floor and gave it their all. I was impressed by the talent and

abilities that they have. You have to be a dedicated team to get the pay off in the end.

Congratulations 2010 Talons!!!

My love for the drill team started several years back when my oldest daughter, Daynalee, was just starting her freshman year in high school. She had worked her tail off and made the drill team just to find out that they might cancel the program at our school because of the lack of a coach. She begged and pleaded that I go in and apply for the position. I laughed...and then laughed some more. I didn't know ONE THING about drill team, let alone coaching. I grew up playing basketball...not dancing. ALTHOUGH...I always wished I could have done dance...(but that's another blog post). SO, because I loved my daughter so much and wanted to see her have the opportunity to do something she had wanted to do for so many years, I went in to the principle and applied for the job! (which still surprises me that I had the guts to do that!) After talking for awhile, and having the principle ask me about what kind of experience I had with dance and coaching and what I expected (money wise) to make...I told him that "first of all, I was shocked to hear that I would/could make any money at all...I thought it was completely volunteer, second..I didn't have any experience coaching or dancing- but I would be willing to learn and I would work hard and do what it took to have a good team.....and THEN, he said that I had THE JOB! After having "bravery remorse" and coming to grips with what I had just taken on, I jumped in feet first with my eyes WIDE OPEN. The girls were very sweet and patient as I learned the ropes of this new job. Over time it got a little easier and alot more fun. We started out having practices after school for 2 hours, but I later moved the practice time to 5:15am. We started out having 8 girls on our team and later ended up with 12-14... and other years even up to 18 girls. We started out with girls who only came to practice when they wanted to and later ended up having every girl to every practice....It was definatly alot of trial and error. The first year was tough and I wondered how in the world I was going to be able to coach when I didn't know anything about what I was doing but I studied alot, read alot and watch alot of DANCE! I had some awesome girls on the team that also wanted to have a coach that knew what she was doing...so they helped me out immensely. After 3 years of coaching and seeing improvements every single year...alot more winnings at our competitions (than losses), much more commitment and dedication from the girls and alot more excitement from new and upcoming girls about wanting to be on our team...we finally hit the jackpot in January of 2004. We won our (my teams) first Region Championship. We had worked tremendously hard and I think we deserved to finally win it. We went into the State Competition with high hopes and alot of enthusiam which carried onto the floor as they performed each and every routine. I was THRILLED BEYOND MEASURE as they announced the STATE 1A Drill Team Champions for 2004 as...DHS, our little home grown, home town team, where most of the girls hadn't even

had a stitch of dance experience before coming

onto our drill team. This was the first time that DHS drill team had EVER won a STATE CHAMPIONSHIP. It was so exciting for the girls as well as myself!!!! One win led to yet another years win, and then another...the so the story goes- the drill team has gone on to win every single year since then.

I retired after 6 years of coaching because of some health problems that I was having at the time. The only thing that made leaving my team even a "little bit" okay with me, was that the girls were getting a awesome coach that would work hard with them and continue to strive for a winning team. Our wonderful choreographer has also continued on with the team and has continued to choreograph championship dances for the team as well. I miss coaching, when it comes to the close of the year where the team is competing and all of the hard work is finally paying off. I miss the close relationship that I had with each one of the girls as team members, but also as individuals. I miss their laughs, their smiles and most of all their friendship. I miss them coming over to my house to sit and visit. Coaching, for me, was more than just "morning practices, performances and competitions"...it was a lasting friendship and relationship with the girls that I coached. I loved them like my own children.

As I watched the 2010 DHS drill team win their 7th Region Championship in a row..

I reflected on the feeling that I felt as a coach those many years ago when we won.... the wonderful "HIGH" that comes from the WIN....It's the pay off for early morning practices, hard-VERY HARD- work, stress that seems like its going to last forever and best of all... a whole lot of fun.

That experience in my life is one that I look back on with a smile. I don't know how I ever did it..I don't know how I managed to stay sain...but it is an experience that I enjoyed and wouldn't trade for anything.

Good Luck at STATE this weekend

2010 DHS TALONS!

All in a week.....

Its been a long week. The sky has been gloomy and grey...its been cold and glum...and I am so very ready for spring to come. (probably along with the rest of the world). Although...my week had a nice break in it....Deron and I took a quick trip to the city. Deron knew that I needed a day away from my normal routine and out from this miserable cold. So on Tuesday I got a call from him at work, he asked if I wanted to run away with him. What a great idea!!!! It was so nice to get out. We went to Orem and did a little shopping, mostly wandered, then went to dinner with Jack and Dayna and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I think I love the time just sitting and visiting with my hubby during our ride to and from our destination as much as anything. I always love it when he calls and just "whisks" me away for the day...it was alot of fun. I could NOT believe how much warmer it was out there compared to here, at home. We were bundled up in our coats, me in my gloves my 3 layer of shirts and a scarf, when we left home. When we got to Orem...we got out of the truck to discover that it was WARM!!!! Wonderfully warm!!! We've not been out of the high teens- lower twenty's (17-25 degrees for the high) here at home, for weeks now and it was 40+ out there. I felt like I was in a heat wave. We didn't

wear our coats ANYWHERE!...it felt like a little taste of spring....at least to me. It was "almost" hard to leave and head back home. BUT...we had to bet back to "real life" and the next day....

On the way home from Orem, Cameron texted me a picture of his new look....A great big SHINER...awarded by someones elbow in wrestling practice. He said that he was bringing his head up as someone else was bringing their elbow down!...He is always covered in bruises and bumps during wrestling season, but I think this is his first real black eye. It looked worse as the days have gone on...but I didn't get another picture. This one just shows it the day it happened...its really black now. AND that just started the ball rolling for the week.. Friday brought pain and agony as I ran into a wall and broke my toe. My poor little toe has been broken 3 times now...so you would think that I would be use to it. But every time I break it, I remember how bad the "little thing" can really hurt. I guess I should learn my lesson and wear shoes in the house, but...I don't, I still run around like its summer...with NO shoes. Needless to say, we've had a "painful end" to our week, but we're looking forward to a better week to come, one that hopefully includes a little more sun and a little less pain.

PS...Please don't judge my feet...I am very well aware of their ugliness....

Old AgE and the JoY of seeing again!

Once upon a time there was a little girl.....with a cheesy grin and curls in her hair. This little girl grew into a teenager, a galky, goofy teenager....with a "perm" in her hair like all the other girls.
Then this teenager grew up to be a mom~ a mom with 6 kids...keeping her busy day and night.
...and then this mom...well, she grew up and got older, and older and older~
....and OLDeR... to the point that she now has to wear reading glasses!!!!! OH SO NOT COOL for the girl who never wanted to grow OLD!!!!! In my book, there are certain things that are constant reminders that I am getting up there and that my youth is slowly disappearing~ 1. I forget things..I walk into a room with the intent of doing something, getting something etc...by the time I get into that room I have forgotten the reason that I went in there! (yes, I've been doing that for a LONG, LONG time), 2. The constant popping up of wrinkles. Try as I might, they won't stay away. I used to like to pull my bangs back...not anymore, the wrinkles on my forehead look like furrows in a corn field. 3. When people refer to the 80's as being "retro"...and I remember it like it was yesterday! 4. I can remember when we didn't have computers, cell phones or microwaves! 5. Things sag that aren't supposed to sag...need I say more?!...oh the good old days when I was young. I didn't appreciate my youth like I should have and NOW~ just one more thing to remind me that I need to start hunting for the fountain of youth.... having to wear reading glasses!! I remember when my mom had to start wearing reading glasses and I thought then that I hope that day never came for me. Well, I put it off for as long as I could...but when I got to the point that reading was more of a chore (trying to squint and pull the book forward and back) than anything else, I decided that glasses were a must.

BUT...on the brighter side, I love being able to read again...

seeing is an important part of living...

.......and old or young, I want to keep LiViNG!

A StAr Is BORN!....at least in our eyes!

This week Cameron was the "STAR" in our house! He had a wrestling match on Wednesday night where he pinned both of his opponents! It was quite an exciting night!!!! This is only his second year on the high school varsity wrestling team and he is still learning...But this year he has already seen more wins than he did the entire past year of wrestling. Its fun to watch the big beaming smile come across his face as he gets up from pinning someone, especially if he put up a good fight and was evenly matched with his opponent. We are proud of Cameron whether he wins or loses because he always does his best. He works hard and never gives up. Cameron has very good coaches that not only teach the boys to work hard, work fast and do their best, but to be good sports as well. As a mom, it makes me feel good when I see my son pat the back of one of his team mates, wishing them luck or giving his opponent a "manly" hug after they finish up their match. Cameron keeps the "fight" on the mat and once its over, its over...he gets up and lets them know they are still friends. He is very thoughtful and kind and it makes me feel good knowing that he isn't a bully or one of the "mean guys". He's a good kid with a big heart and I am really happy to call him my son!!!!! I love you Bud!

Way to Go Cam!!! You did an AWESOME job!!!!

Makes you stop and think...doesn't it?!

I was walking on the treadmill this morning and was scrolling down over the DVR list of shows that I had taped. I needed something to keep me motivated and interested for an entire hour. I came across, and decided to watch "The Biggest Loser"...It was the first episode for this season, so they introduced all of the contestants and told their stories. As I listened to them tell about their struggles with weight, I cried. I reflected back on my life and my constant struggle with my weight. NO..I have never been obese, BUT I have been over weight for most of my life, to some degree. I have been teased at school, teased at home as a teenager, and I have always felt very inferior about the way I looked. I remember having to get on the scales in the 7th grade in front of the entire class (boys and girls) and having my weight announced to everyone. When I got off...one girl came up to me and said "YOU WEIGHED "WHAT"? Isn't that ALOT!?"...from that day on I vowed to NEVER let anyone know how much I weighed again. It was mortifying...then as I sat there and watched these contestants stand on the scales in front of their peers, towns people and family, I felt their pain in a very small way. It had to hurt, it had to be humiliating and yes, probably a little motivating...BUT painful none the less. No one knows of the struggles these people have had, the struggles anyone that is over weight has had. No one has the right to judge. Being an over weight person before, I know that I judged myself badly enough that I didn't need others talking behind my back, in front of my face or to anyone else, about the way I looked, what might or might not have gotten me into that position and how I could diet and be so much happier. WHY not love ME for who I am, except Me as ME and leave the criticizing to Me....because heaven knows that I was and AM my own worse critic and I don't need someone else to make me feel like dirt...I can do that all by myself. Weight doesn't make a person likable or un-likable...the way someone looks doesn't make them who they are. My heart broke as these "Biggest Loser (girl) Contestants" talked about how they had never had a boyfriend, or loved anyone before....no one took the time to really get to know who they were. Maybe they are an amazing person on the inside....its sad that we sometimes look at someones size and THEN determine what kind of person they are....doesn't that show what a shallow society we really have? Its no wonder that so many young girls/women think that anorexia is the way to go. A person is a person no matter what size, shape or color of skin that they have. I think that what it all boils down to is the old saying that we have heard our entire lives..."Don't ever judge a book by it's cover, open it up and see what's inside"..... you might just be surprised!!!!

Happiness...what is it?

When Deron I were in Salt Lake last week we went and browsed around Barnes and Noble for a couple of hours. Its one of Deron's favorite places to shop, window shop or browse. I like to go too, but I would rather shop for other things if I were given a choice...you know, purses, shoes, clothes...etc...BUT... as we were wandering around I was picking up a few books and reading a little bit about them. I ran across one that was about the "Power of Happiness" and its effect on a person. I don't remember the title of the book, but what it said inside stuck with me, and will hopefully make me a better person. I suffer from seasonal depression and have really wanted to be able to be free from this awful plague for a long, long time. I know that its NOT "all in my head" like some people tend to think...its a very real thing, but I also know that my own happiness is up to me. One of my new years resolutions is to "TRY to be more Happy". In this book that I was reading, it suggested to do this by starting a "Happiness Journal", purchase a notebook, journal or binder of any kind and each day write things in it that make you happy. The author also said that on days that you aren't so happy, to read through the things you have written in the past. This may or may not lift your spirits, but acknowledge that its okay to have good days AND bad days....and to ALLOW that to happen. The problem becomes when we are having too many bad days or having them more often than our happy days.

So, I asked myself..."What makes me Happy?" I am hoping to find out. I am going to try to live more in the moment and try to concentrate on the good things, the happy things. I am going to write down each and everything that I can that brings me happiness. Some will be the little things, some might be the big things...but they will be MY happy things. People are different and everyone can easily have a different definition for the word "happiness", and each day the definition may or may not be different from the day before. It all depends on the circumstances of ones life at that moment. The dictionary defines "Happiness" as: "attainment of what one considers good, good fortune, pleasure, contentment and Joy." I love the feeling of being happy. When I reflect on some of the things that have brought me happiness, I recall the feeling that I had at that moment and why that particular thing made me feel happy then.

I am excited about this "Happiness Journal". I am excited about the changes that I am hoping to make in my life this upcoming year and excited about being a better "ME". I am going to try and "Be happy right now, and not worry about tomorrow, until tomorrow!"...and we've all heard the old cliche' that....."tomorrow never comes!"

Wish me luck...I will let you know how its going from time to time~

Holiday Hoopla Day #5 and #6...going out with a SpLAsH!

"Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity."

After a long night of New Year's Eve celebration, "Holiday Hoopla Day #5" consisted of a little "sleeping in". I am not a "Sleep in" kind of person, my body doesn't allow such luxuries, so I was up by 6:30...but the rest of the family slept in until 9:00 am when I finally woke them up, made breakfast and had everyone clean up their rooms before our day got going. Deron and Cameron were going prairie dog hunting with some friends and me and girls opted to take the day completely off from chores (other than what HAD to be done) and lay around and watch movies all day long....stay in our PJ's the entire day and eat popcorn and New Year's Eve leftovers. By 11:00 am I had the boys out the door and on their way, popcorn popped and we were off for

a day of R&R. It was really nice to just "do nothing". Its not a life I could lead on a regular basis, but it was really fun for a day. We watched Disney's "UP", "Poseidon", and "Ever After". It was great to just lay around on the couch and veg, not one of us complained. When the boys got home, we had a dinner of "leftovers" and then Halle and I went and "tempted" to watch the new "Ice Age" movie...but we fell asleep...you know, from all of our hard work that we had done all day *wink*....after waking up, we headed off to bed for some much needed rest (ha ha ha).

Day #6...which was meant to be the biggest and best of the week, and we were hoping it would go out with a big bang!

After all, the Christmas break was going to be officially over and everyone would go back to "real life" come Monday morning. Todd and Dana joined us for our last day of celebrations as we we went to the Rec Center over in Vernal for a little "warm weather fun" of swimming, rock climbing and splashing around.

After the Rec Center we went out for Chinese,

one of our families favorites. Everyone ate to their hearts content at the Canton City Buffet, feeling overstuffed and tired as the day drew to a close. Looking back on our big "Hoopla" week, I think everyone had a great time. We all made many wonderful memories and did things that we can talk about and reminisce about for years to come. We spent time together as a family, strengthened our relationships and friendships

with each other and grew closer together as a family, those things are irreplaceable to me. Nothing in this world could be more important than the bonds and ties that we have with our families...at least in my book. A strong family can help you get through alot. You always know that you have someone there to lean on, as well as someone to count on. Those kinds of bonds don't happen "just because". Those are the kinds of bonds and ties that have to be strengthened, as well as mended from time to time....and the "little things" that we do are the things that keep our family tight and together. I want my kids to always have "good memories" that tie them together, things they can talk about, laugh about and draw upon long after I am gone as they sit and visit and remember "the good ol' days".

"Life is precious and time is a key element. Let's make every moment count !"

Holiday Hoopla Day #3 and #4...Bring it ON!

Wednesday we had decided to stay home and enjoy some R&R while watching "Harry Potter and the half blood prince". We had seen it in the theater but we enjoy watching movies again on DVD as well. Santa, as well as family, gave us many movies to enjoy and we have loved watching them during the Christmas Break. I like to just snuggle up on the couch with a warm blanket and some popcorn (popcorn ANYTIME) and watch a good movie. For some reason its very relaxing to me and often it puts me right to sleep. I know, then I miss the movie, but that's okay...its usually one that I've seen anyway and if not, I can always watch it again.

Thursday was the BiG New Years Eve Party. Living in a rural area does have a few draw backs at times, especially when it comes to the "entertainment category". There has never been much to do around here, let alone on New Years Eve, so years ago we started our own New Year's Eve tradition. We have a big New Years Eve family shabang, with LOTS of food (junk food of course)to snack on all night, and then we play games until the new year arrives at midnight. This year, as I am still fighting with this bronchitis thing, we scaled our party down quite a bit. Deron didn't want me to be working hard and cleaning and cooking all day, plus have the big clean up to do afterwards

(don't think that I could have done all the I usually do even if I wanted to). So we just invited our kids and Kim invited her best friend over. Usually we have all of Deron's family here as well (which we missed)...but there is always next year. We ate and ate and ate... We played cards until all we were seeing were numbers...we also discovered the Audrey (Kim's friend) and Dana are excellent card players. We already knew that Dana was great at games because she has been fierce competition for awhile now. It was a fabulous night. There was alot of laughing, alot of groaning (because of a bad hand of cards) and cheering as the new year rolled around. Cameron wanted to go to the New Years

Eve dance at the church, so he wasn't at our party, but he had a great time meeting new girls and dancing the night away. Erik had made his own plans and Dayna and Jack had made plans as well. Even though we didn't have our entire family under one roof to bring in the New Year, we enjoyed the wonderful company that we had...Good food and Good people always make for a great time.

I can't say that I am sad to see 2009 leave...it had many ups and and just as many downs. It doesn't bother me at all to have to say

"Good Riddens" to it.

I am grateful that I have such an amazing family, Dear friends and for the many blessings that are mine.

I am looking forward to 2010...although, I am going in feet first,

with my eyes wide open

and

just hoping for the best!