You Will Be Freed

March Madness...Meeting and Apostle

It's a completely full month with appointments, projects, school....

Ella will be turning 6 next month which is so crazy for us!!  Our baby is growing so fast.
People have been asking about John's neuro appointment too so here's the update:  We're waiting on an EEG at St. Jo's scheduled in April, then we'll be able to see some of the activity his brain is having.  Seizures are quite common with autistic kids, but we'll see.

DID YOU KNOW?  Autism Awareness Day is April 2nd.  On April 1st and 2nd, people all over the world will be participating by wearing BLUE, the official autism color.  You can also replace your outdoor lightbulb with a blue one to show support!  The NY Empire State building will even be participating with blue lights.

Learn more about it a http://www.lightitupblue.org/

We decided to skip vacationing for spring break and work around our house. Our goal lately has been to make our home more like the temple, so we began with the floors.

We began replacing our frisee carpet. It was very worn and stained. Maybe you can't tell in the photo but trust me, it was nasty.  We've only been in the house for 5 years, but with kids and pets it was time to toss.

 

Adam and I replaced the family room carpet with a new pad and beautiful Shaw loop and cut pattern carpeting.

We ripped out carpeting in the front room and bedrooms and began installing laminate flooring which we love.  We still have 3 more rooms to do and it's a LOT of work!  Removing baseboards, cutting, hammering...whew!

A sneak peek of the floor in the master bedroom - still not completely finished though.

We also had a visit from Elder Andersen and his lovely wife (celebrating their 36th wedding anniversary while visiting)!!

He came and spoke at our stake conference which was amazing.  Adam and I sat 3rd row for the adult session (thanks to Algers for helping us with seats).  Elder Andersen came around the benches (out of his way) to shake our hands afterward.  I didn't know what to say to an apostle, but I asked him if he gets tired of shaking people's hands and he said in the most humble of voices "No, I love it." 

I cannot explain how much I learned from this wonderful man AND his wife.

The next morning we got ready early to be seated 1 1/2 hours before the session started.  Elder Andersen was talking with the youth so Adam walked John over to him. 

He said "What's your name??"  and John (with his gel combed hair and black suit) responded "John" in a very clear voice (which is quite unusual seeing that we were in a crowded room).  Elder Andersen looked right at him and said "That's a GREAT name."

I asked John if he could feel the spirit and he was in awe.  With a big smile on his face he said he felt the Holy Spirit way, way a lot.  Ella was a little shy so she stood and watched from a distance with me.  She kept saying "I see him!" and asking "Does he know my name??"  She was particularly impressed with Sister Andersen, as all of us were.

We knew what a blessing it was to have an apostle come and visit. 

I'll treasure this experience forever.

What a WONDERFUL March!

Anniversary

10 years of worry and wonder....

... ups and downs ...

... teamwork ...

... adventure ...

and 10 GOOD years of slap happy giggles.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks speech at Chapman University School of Law

I enjoyed this speech given by Elder Dallin H. Oaks.  In my mind, religious freedom in a pluralistic society is fundamental.  More specifically, it is our country's foundation.  Suppression or imposition on religious expressions because they are inconsistent with the non-religious practices of others will inevitably lead to the moral decay of societies. 

Apostolic Visit

In a couple of weeks (March 19-20th) our stake will have the opportunity to hear from Elder Neil. L. Andersen.  Elder Andersen is one of the Twelve Apostles.  Our family is preparing to hear his message and we are so excited for this special visit.  We know how blessed we are.  In such a large world, it is a very special occassion to hear from one of these special witnesses of Christ.

I know there is additional adversity surrounding our area prior to his visit.  We've been trying to stay spiritually focused for this event by reading scriptures and praying.  It will be a great opportunity I'm sure!

Neuro and Little Lady

Our long-awaited neurology appointment for John is on Friday!  We've been waiting for this one for 3 months now.  Both the eye surgeon and psychologist thought it would be a good idea to visit the neurologist to see if John is having migraines or seizures.

I'm a bit nervous for the appointment and we hope to have some answers for these staring spells.  I hope to catch one on camera.  John has been working really hard in school and with his routines.  Life just keeps on going and we have high expectations for this little guy.

Ella has a cold so I kept her home today...garlic oil in the ears and vitamins!  She's such a good girl and she's been learning more about John's autism lately.  She is developing excellent sister-skills, watching for John's symptoms, talking with him, and saying "Hands Off!"  Her reading skills are excellent and she's one of the smarties in her class.  Still, I think her busy life is wearing on her a bit so she should relax with cartoons and pleasantries for the day. 

Adam and I are plowing through school (sometimes barely passing classes, but getting the work done and moving forward).  We're up late every night zoned into our assignments learning as fast as we can.  I don't feel like any moments of our days are wasted.  We're trying to make each minute count towards a happy, successful, spiritual family.

I'm trying to keep the Good Life blog going, hoping to meet some people with similar life experiences.  It's been a great/fun project.  Some videos I don't post because I haven't had time to edit.  I'm trying to prioritize each day. 

P.S. - We have a new hamster named Junior, but we keep forgetting his name so we call him "Hammy".  He is a very naughty hamster, biting fingers and such.  But the kids love him and he seems happy to have escaped the pet store.

That's all folks!

Blog...no Facebook

I love checking all the family blogs out there!  I check on my friends and family member blogs - some of them daily.  Sometimes I find friends through other blogs too and catch up by reading what everyone is up to. 

There are a few blogs that I love the MOST because they always have cute ideas or great things to say...so I visit these blogs more to get new ideas, whatever.

I haven't set up the "follower" gadget so I just go to my blog and click on all the little blog links on the right side.   

I have to say, NOT having Facebook has been one of the best decisions Adam and I made.  Not to be a downer but...that program was chaotic to get rid of.  Facebook would email us every day asking if we wanted to come back, sending us spam, and emailing us saying our friends miss us.  UGH.  I guess the extensive efforts to delete the account (after over a whole month of trying) wasn't a clue for the Facebook employees.  They actually tried to lure us back on.  Needless to say, Facebook is out of my life now and my time is refocused on self and family improvement...not "one-upping" my friends' comments.  Come on, you know you do it. :)  Don't even get me started on Twitter. 

Instead, my personal GoodLifeAnya blog has been sufficient to air out my thoughts quickly using goofy videos without being so distracted by the latest gossip, political debates, complaints, and dare I say...potential ex-boyfriend friendship requests.  Who needs that?  Is that rude?  Ah well.  Just keepin it real. 

Sorry for the bashing.  I know I'm more out of touch with the world now.  I know there are great things about FB.  I also realize social networking and gaming is where our society is moving.  But I'm "all set" with my blog and our family blog for now.  What are your thoughts?