3-6-2011 WiR…

Monday is the day I used to try to schedule NOTHING.  It was my “get-back-into-life” day where I cleaned up from the weekend and took a deep breath before jumping into my week.  Now, it’s Ryan’s only day (other than Sunday) that he’s off work so it’s now the do everything I hate to drag all the kids to day.  Sigh.  SO, in line with that, 9:20am = Dentist appts for both boys.  Then both kids back to school, pick up the girls, run errands, come home & work around the house and yard (we had a truckload of chipped wood dropped in the yard to help stop all the erosion & it has to be spread), then headed out for a  PTSA mtg only to end early so we could all rush home in a huge storm with crazy winds.  Oh, how I used to look forward to Mondays….  Now I look forward to Tuesdays!

In fact, I can’t even tell you what we did Tuesday…I love those kinds of days.

 

Wednesday…what did we do Wednesday?  Well, I have a little list that I wrote beside me but in my old age I have no idea what I was talking about.  I wrote Birthday…and bought flowers?…last week I bought flowers for a friend for her birthday…was that what I was talking about? I have no idea…  (Hours after posting this I realized that “bought flowers” was when we went to Walmart and bought tulips for the yard…duh….got nothin’ on the birthday though…) (again…hours later…My mom surprised me after Scouts with presents and a birthday cake!  I wasn’t in town on my birthday and never got a cake.  She took Ella shopping and got me a beautiful bracelet and a gift card to go get some new clothes!  It was so nice!  -- I really did love it, Mom, honest…sorry I couldn’t remember what Birthday meant on my list…it wasn’t because it wasn’t special…I’m just getting older… Luv you lots!)

However, I do know that we had scouts, Sylvie made Ella a card and mailed it to her, and that the kids and I went door to door in our neighborhood asking our neighbors to help us out on a World Record Breaking food drive.  A local school has decided to attempt to break the record for the largest amount of food dropped off at one site in 24 hrs.  They tried last year and failed.  This year, they asked local LDS congregations for help and what do ya know!  We dove right in!  So far, our family has gotten 2 businesses, the high school, and many many of our neighbors to run food drives of their own or to simply donate to such a good cause.  We’re so excited to help out!  Nice thing is, not a single soul turned us down, everyone donated!

Thurday morning I rushed out early to go tour a certain Magnet Middle School that Corben is dying to attend.  First of all, it’s traditional calendar (Corben’s base school is year round) but the best part (s) are…it’s for AG certified kids (they make up over 60% of the kids), it’s an arts school so Corben can take Violin, acting, chorus, robotics, and even fencing!!  He’s supper excited about it but we only have a chance of getting in.  Our chance is a bit higher than some due to Corben’s AG Magnet status he already has but it’s still left up to a computer.  Sigh.  Pray Pray Pray!!

Thursday Evening = Brian Regan!  I’ve been keeping this secret for 5 MONTHS!!  I took both boys to see their favorite comedian!  I’m going for mother of the year.  All my local siblings were able to go and my mom!!  We were all a little worried Tammy might go into labor laughing but she made it through!

Friday….Ella’s letter from Sylvie came.  There was a lot of excitement in the air! lol

         

This was so sweet to me!  Ella went right away and made one for Sylvie and put it in the mailbox!  -- We spent the evening making a final run of the neighborhood for canned goods.  My neighbors are awesome!  -- We’re also very excited tonight because my sister, Tammy, is being induced tonight!!

Saturday started out just perfectly.  Welcome Jamos Colter!!  He looks just like Bean but with brown hair.  He’s gorgeous!!  Happy Birthday, Little guy!!

While Tammy was recovering my family was out bright and early sorting canned goods for the Food Drive.

We spent 4 hours sorting and loading everything onto the truck.  The young men (including Dade) headed out several times to knock on doors in nearby neighborhoods.  They were handing folks bags and telling them to fill it and set it on the porch.  Then the boys had a pick up truck running about 15 minutes behind them that was just getting the bags off the porch.  They did great!

After getting everything loaded and making sure it was certified (so it would qualify for the world record) we headed home.  Dade left soon after to work a shift at a Chick-fil-A up near the food drive where they were collecting canned items for free food!  What a fun way to get in community service!

So we stayed up late waiting for the totals to come in to see if we broke the record.  The record was 509,000 lbs and we were cutting it close at the end but the final count came to 559,885!!  Total collected by Latter-Day Saints?  Over 148,000 lbs and over $15,000 to purchase more.  We’re so excited to have been able to be a part of such a fun and giving event.  The Local Food bank gets all this great food but unfortunately it will only last them a week!!  Crazy, huh.

Sunday night I headed over to meet my new little Nephew!!  He’s so tiny!  Tammy looks great and everyone seems to be doing well.  I can’t wait to get my camera over there!  (Believe it or not, the pic below took 5 takes to get…either I kept talking, moving, etc. or the little guy would put his hand in front of his face!)

I think this is the perfect place to stop…