taking a deep breath

Today I realized that I can be Primary President and everything is going to be okay.
At 8:30 this morning (1/2 hour before church) I had 2 teachers call and say they wouldn't be there, one of which had to do Sharing Time. So with Garin's help (XOXO) and some inspiration I threw a great Sharing time together and it all worked out fine. The kids were even amazingly reverent. I feel really blessed today.
I learned today that there is only so much I can do and the rest Heavenly Father makes up for- thank goodness.

Poor Riley

I feel so bad for Riley. In a final attempt to rid her of Strep she has had to take this awful antibiotic. It kills almost everything good and bad, we have to take small precautions to make sure she doesn't get other various infections. The worst part of it all is the taste she has to endure. I can't even imagine the flavor, I've only had to smell it. My best description of the smell is the worst cherry scent you can think of mixed with poo-- yes POO!. The smell is enough to make you gag or even light-headed. The first few times she took it it was hard for her not to throw up ( she has to take it on a full stomach). We have system now that seems to help.
1. A few drops of lemon juice- to distract her tastebuds.
2. Throw back the medicine- with lots of jumping around.
3. Drink gulps and gulps of water.
4. End with a piece of gum.

She is more brave than I, she barely complains. I think she really is hoping to not be sick anymore.

Flutter on By Claire is Turning 5!

On April 12th Claire celebrated her birthday with her friends. It was a butterfly party. We learned about the lifecycle of a butterfly and played a game that went along with that idea as well as "weed, weed, flower" (duck, duck,goose). They did a craft and had snacks. It was a fun time for them but tiring for me. Thankfully, my friend Gretchen helped.

The day after Claire's birthday we were all surprised by the early arrival of our new cousin Emma. That was a fun surprise and we enjoyed visiting her at the hospital. It has just been a crazy few weeks that seem like an eternity. Riley has been fighting Strep ( 3 times in 7 weeks) as well as others fighting colds and earaches. I've just been put in a Primary President and that has kind of thrown me for a loop. I've never served in Primary accept for the past 3 months as a teacher and know little to nothing. I'm sure it will be fun and I'm always open to ideas ;) Of course there is always school and house work too. Somedays I just want to curl up with a book or movie and do nothing else. Maybe one day...at least I can't say I'm bored.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I have been too busy to post! I'm sad because I haven't been able to check out anyone else either :( So by next week I should be up and running again. Hope everyone is doing well and having a great time!

New Do's

Amellia and I got haircuts the other day. She had been asking for a few weeks to get it cut short again, so when I went to get my hair done she secretly asked Grandpa to do her hair too. He asked first of course. So we got matching layered a-line bobs. She feels very stylish now, she loves to be fashionable. The next day she asked me if little girls could get colors in their hair like I do. She wasn't very happy when I told her she had to wait until she was at least 16. Apparently she can't grow up fast enough.

Borrowed Design

My friend Shaina posted a layout on her blog that I thought would be fun to use as a 'template' for a layout of my own. Here is my result.

Lazy Blogger

So I admit it, I've been a lazy blogger. By the time I read all the fun on everyone else's I'm just kind of done and need to move on. I have decided if I want to read I need to post. I always get these ideas of what I want to post and then never do it. I need to exercise will power.

Here is my catch up for March.
We had a fun day at the zoo. My friend Gretchen and I convinced our husbands to take the day off and go with us. It was so much more of a sane and fun experience than last year when we went and lost children at various times of the day. Afterward we treated ourselves to lunch at Famous Dave's. I was happy the kids were still pretty well behaved after such a long day- except for the moment Olivia felt the need to scream at the top of her lungs for no reason.

For Easter this year the Easter bunny came on Saturday, it helped make 9am church the next day and the spirit of the morning go a lot smoother and peaceful. One sad thing in the chaos- no pictures :( I did get one of them with their gifts from Marme and Papaw though and have already scrapped it.


Easter afternoon we went to Garin's parents house for dinner and an egg hunt with the whole Redding clan and to celebrate Bill's 60th birthday. Our cousin Brandi had the idea to let the kids decorate bags to use in the hunt. They loved it, some of them dumped their eggs out when they were done to keep decorating.


I made the birthday cake and Garin picked the topper- a pinata. I was big and crazy but fit the personality we all love so much.

Lastly we had a visit from our friends the Weber's that live in Phoenix. We all had a good time staying up late and just hanging out. The kids had a great time and Max got all the walks a dog could dream of, I think that was there favorite pastime.


So with all that I'm kind of tired and have been laying low- well as low as possible.