A Note

Last night I went to bed feeling discouraged. I suppose I was feeling sorry for myself because I was exhausted from lack of sleep. I had a mountainload of laundry waiting to be folded, my husband had been working late all week, and my teenage daughters were acting like teenagers. I went to bed wishing I could just "get a break". Yet, I realized that even if I had a break, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. In other words, I was having my very own pity party. Then today, Amy came home from school and handed me a folded up piece of paper. I teased her and said, "Oh, is this a love note?!" Fully expecting it to be something from her teacher. It turns out it was a love note - from her. This is what she wrote:

Dear Mom,

you are a great mom. I know you try really hard every day. You are a great example. I hope you know how much I apreciate you and your hard work. Thank you so much for showing me your love to me. thank you for helping me with my homework.

(heart)

Amy

It made me wonder, why did I have a pity party in the first place?

Good Advice

Today was 5th grade Maturation. After "the speech" and cookies, each girl was given a "goodie bag" filled with essential items. Later that day Amy, Abigail, and myself were returning home from having our haircut when Amy began to examine the contents of her "goodie bag". She pulled out the "Kuku Coco Butter"deodorant smelled it, examined it, and commented on its fragrance. It was then that Abbey offered this advice: "Amy," she said. "Only use deodorant under your arms." to which Amy replied, "Why?" With that, Abigail proceeded to tell Amy that when she was in 5th grade she realized that sometimes she was sweaty behind her knees. And sometimes during PE she was sweaty on her back . And sometimes during recess her arms were sweaty . So because deodorant "helps you stop sweating", Abigail came to this conclusion: she would put deodorant all over her body. The result: an itchy rash and an important lesson learned: "only use deodorant under your arms!"

Something That Made Me Happy Today

My sweet neighbor Brother Nelson (who is now in his 90's) brought me these beautiful Dahlia's today. They are from his flower garden. Flowers make me happy!

6:30am

A glimpse of the Estes' family this morning . . . I am sure Ruthie is getting a lot out of scripture study.

It's Going to be a Great Weekend

I am really looking forward to this weekend for many reasons. It means my husband will finally be home from his business trip (he had to delay his return an extra day). It also means that I will get a break from teaching eleven 10 year olds ( half of which are very rumbuctious boys, who I think are funny, but make me tired) in primary. And it is Conference weekend!

Unfortunately, Steve's aunt passed away Thursday and his parents will be traveling to Northern California to attend the funeral. This means that we will not be able to get together as a family and Grandma (Mom Estes) will not be making her decadent cinnamon rolls. (an Estes family tradition on Conference weekend). I know the college grand kids are very disappointed. So, I did invite them to our house and told them I will bake cinnamon rolls, and try my best to make them as good as Grandma's, but there are no guarantees. I figure if I have a lot of icing anything will taste good.

But I think that it will be a great weekend even if the cinnamon rolls are a flop, just because we get to listen to the prophet and apostles. I look forward to hearing their counsel and attempting to better myself and strengthen my own testimony. I look forward to being reminded that we have a divine purpose and there is an eternal plan. I look forward to hearing testimonies that we have a Savior who atoned for our sins and a Heavenly Father who loves us. It will be a great weekend!

This One's for Mom

Here you go Mom. Serving it with the cole slaw is a southern style bbq sandwich, if its not your thing just leave it off. I used a pork loin roast (from Costco), not a shoulder pork roast. And thank you Paula Deen

BBQ Pork Sandwiches

Ingredients Dry rub: 2 tablespoons salt 2 tablespoons black pepper 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar 2 tablespoons paprika 1/2 tablespoon cayenne 4 pound shoulder pork roast 2 cup apple juice 1 cup apple cider vinegar 2 tablespoons Worcestershire 1/2 tablespoon liquid smoke 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder 6 soft hamburger buns with seeds Bbq sauce Cole slaw

Directions Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Mix the dry rub ingredients in small bowl. Sprinkle dry rub all over the pork roast, pressing into the pork. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Combine liquid ingredients and the garlic powder in a medium bowl and pour into a large Dutch oven. Place pork in the oven and tightly cover with aluminum foil then lid. Roast for 4 hours or until fork tender and shreds easily. Brush the roast with cooking liquid every hour. Remove from oven and let stand until cool enough to handle. Shred the pork with a fork or tongs into bite size pieces. Serve on hamburger buns topped with bbq sauce and cole slaw.

Is it Possible?

Today Eliza got a letter in the mail. It was in a long blue envelope, with a return address I didn't recognize. I thought, " Who could be sending her a letter and why?" Then we opened it up. Eliza was being invited to a Stake Bapism Fireside for all children turning eight years old by December 2009. For a split second I thought that they had made a mistake. Eliza is not turning eight years old! Then my stomach dropped and my heart ached a bit. Yes, she is turning eight, on July 10th!I felt my throat tighten up. Eliza is growing up. Eliza who was my "baby" for almost five years. My sweet, chubby, lovable baby, who would snuggle on command. My baby who didn't fight me when it was time to sleep, but instead would lay her head on my shoulder. I loved every second of it! I had always longed for a really snuggly baby and I got one with Eliza. I am not one to get emotional when my kids go to preschool or kindergarten. They are always so excited to go, so how can I not be excited for them? But thinking of Eliza turning 8 tugged at my heartstrings today. It won't be long before she doesn't need me to hold her. It won't be long before she realizes her mom doesn't know everything. And it won't be long before she's gone. Everyone use to tell me to, "enjoy it while it lasts". I think I get it now.