So Long Fat Girl

Let us be honest...some of us spend a great time thinking/worrying about our weight. I have been concerned about mine since I was about two years old. My answer to that in high school was to eat like a pig and live on Mountain Dew. My version of exercise was dragging main and occasionally getting out of my car to flirt with boys. The big dread for me was PE. Stand in a line, have your weight announced to what felt like the world and then they would pinch my over abundance of fat with that pincher thing. Then the real torture...testing our athletic skills. It was my nightmare, honestly I would dream about it for weeks. If I remember right they wanted you to run around the track one mile...four laps seemed like forever. I think I walked the whole time and was always the last one in. As for strength and stretching I was the least strong and the least flexible. This isn't just exaggeration, I really was. I was thinking about that this morning...I still worry about my weight and my athletic ability, but now I know what to do and I try hard to do it. I still have a gut, and that just may be a part of who I am, but this I know the me now weighs less than the teenage fat girl, the me now would be laughing that we only had to run one mile and would be begging to run a few (or 10 more), the me now could kick the crap out of the teenage fat girl that I was and that feels pretty darn good!

Sorry, He's Taken

I am all in a state of twitterpation (if that's a state anyway). On Friday morning I woke up determined to be positive. Weekends have been a little hard since we started building the house because adorable hubby spends them all at the house. So Friday has sort of become like a Monday to me. I was giving myself the pep talk in my head, "come on Heather, your husband is off building you a brand new house, face the laundry with courage." Then I realize someone is looking at me. Turns out is my husband. Now usually the man is way gone before I realize that morning has hit (he is an insanely early riser). But, there he was. Then he says to me, "ask me again how I would spend my last day." I asked him a week ago and he said, "don't ask me today." I didn't know what he was talking about, just thought he was being weird. So I say, "how would you spend your last day?" He says, "me and you, nobody else and we are doing that today." After trying to figure out what he is talking about I finally realize that he has a room in Salt Lake, babysitters for ALL of our kids and that in just a couple hours we would be off for 27 hours all alone. Sigh...he is the best. We had the best time! We shopped for furniutre and had long talks, we laughed ourself silly when we couldn't figure out how to get out of IKEA and then when we did get out we were in fog so thick that we were making up horror story scenarios that were hillarious....anyway...let's just say that 27 hours is going to keep me smiling for a long time to come!

Gracie Gordon

We all need a little perspective. I was patting myself on the back for making it through the winter in a tight spot with all of my healthy children surrounding me. Today I found out that the daughter of some of my awesome adoption friends passed away. Let us remember and be thankful that we have our children here, that when they are sick we can take care of them and that we never take one minute for granted. Thoughts and prayers to the Gordon family who have endured more heartache than any family should be asked to endure.

And the Award Goes Too...Me!

There are some real courageous and resourceful people out there. Mother Teresa changed the world with her tenderness. Gandhi led a revolution with no violence. Men and women have trudged through the snow with rags wrapped around their feet in order to stand up for what they believe in. I would like to nominate myself as a person of courage for not completely losing it while living in a small rental, in the winter with my five sons. Yes, that's right I nominate me. Obviously I am being a bit fecesious here, but go with me will you? The children are clearly losing it as well. Issac became so annoyed with me that he dropped (threw?) a tinker toy can at my toe punching a hole in my toe nail (you wouldn't think what would hurt, but it does). Jamen is so fed up with school that I have a really hard time getting him out the door and yesterday he slammed my finger in the door (on accident) coming in again, though he was supposed to have left for school 20 minutes earlier. In an effort to stand up for the rights of mothers everywhere I have evicted my children's toys from my living room! That's right, I have a dream. I have a dream that I can walk through my living room and not get an army guy stuck in my toes! I sent all the toys to the room that they will now share with the baby. Let's face it he was the only one getting his own room around here and that just isn't equality now is it? So today they have every toy in our house on the floor of a room that I can't see! I am pretending like the house is clean everwhere. So today I nominate myself for a woman of courage and resourcefulness. I am sure that you will agree. Now there may be some argument on weather or not I have lost it and so therefore may not qulify for my award, but let me tell you...I am perfectly normal...REALLY!

Phase #5 Hole Progressing Beautifully

Well look at that, I really don't think I can call it the hole anymore! I have been calling the house the "other woman" because Lyndon has been so in love with this project, but now I am loving it as much as him! I squealed like a stuck pig when they had the tub in, now sure it was actually just sitting in my "bedroom" but was I excited! The plumbers, heating dudes, and electricians are on it now. I ordered lighting, fixtures and my wicked awesome cupboards this week. This is too fun. I can't even imagine how I will feel when there are walls!

A Mother Of Influence

Well, I have been working hard to keep fighting. It can be a full time job not to fall into a pit of rescue heroes and not be able to get out, especially in the winter when that and every other thing in this house is not put away....but it is a New Year and I am a new woman (or at the very least committed to be more like the one I used to be). Many of you will not be surprised (and I am sure my husband will be thrilled) to hear that I ruled out going back to school. I have lots of reasons but the biggest is for the moment I am needed here, not just part of me but all of me. I am reading a book called Mother's of Influence (fabulous) and I was touched by something that was said about Barbara Bush, "because Barbara Bush chose motherhood over a career, she gave the world two sons who have served America with honor." Now I know I have offended a whole lot of you. My democrat friends would argue that the men of honor thing is a bunch of hog wash and my working pals would say I am judging them for not being home...Now, now girls this is not what I am saying at all. First off to my democrat pals...The Bush men may not be perfect, but I think we can do worse and perfect or not they have chosen to serve America to the best of their abilities. And to my working friends, my friends that go to school and just my friends who don't feel good about being home all of the time...I am talking about me here, just me no one else. I feel like the Lord wants ME to be a mother of influence. I mean he gave me 5 healthy boys and a busy husband, I may feel useless at times but there is some major possibility here for greatness. No it probably isn't my greatness, but it is their's and that is going to be the focus of the majority of my life. Not that I will stop educating, I just need to educate myself for the time being. I want to set a precedence with my kids for just being "here". I want them to say to their pals, "well, we can go to my house, I know mom will have food." It would be so easy for me to go to school, so easy to travel the world feeding the hungry, I could leave tomorrow on a full time mission. But, I am needed here. I have a family to educate, feed and teach the gospel and that is what I am going to do. But, no more of this half here half asleep mom. As another one of my favorite running songs says, "I'm a survivor I'm not going to give up!" Wish me luck!