Emotion Overload

Goodness gracious, I have certainly been riding an emotional roller coaster this week. Tomorrow is Matthew's funeral and my body seems to be gearing up for it. I thought I was doing okay, but every time I talk about it I well up with tears. I have cleared my schedule, except for the funeral tomorrow because I know I'll be a wreck and will most likely end up with a killer headache.


Our ward is putting together a book of memories about Matthew (his dad used to take him to all the Scout activities with him, so the teenagers all knew him well too) so the kids and I made our pages yesterday. I think both Landon and Whitney's pages are heart-breakingly sweet. I think seeing the finished book, complete with pictures, will induce a laughter-through-tears kind of cry fest.


Our family went to the church last night to help put together hygiene kits for a Humanitarian Mission to the Dominican Republic. There was such a good turnout that we put together over 400 kits in 30 minutes! It was awesome to be a part of it and to see how much good can happen when people work together.


I received some more good mail this week that has definitely lifted my spirits and made me thankful for blogging friends.


Mandy sent me this beautiful card with a really nice note inside. Thank you Mandy!!


Amy W. sent me this itunes gift certificate online, what a nice surprise that was. Thanks Amy!!!


Laurie M. sent me this very cool card she made using postage stamps (great idea), some gardening gloves (reminiscent of our first meeting) and some fortune cookies for the family. I hope these fortunes come true. Thanks Laurie!!!


Whitney's fortune said, "You will soon receive help from an unexpected source." I interpreted this as our family would receive help. I hope this doesn't just apply to her at school or something, ha. The cookies went over huge with Whitney of course.

I'm going to Michelle's house today in place in of tomorrow's Creative Friday. Randy the groove buster is home today so this is really for the best.

**Do you get bad headaches when you cry a lot?
Does your ward do humanitarian projects?
Has a fortune cookie ever been right for you?**

I need to focus...

I have been rather productive today, especially considering that I've been feeling scattered and unfocused. I helped at the school for an hour this morning, did 2 loads of laundry, vacuumed the house, dusted, emptied the dishwasher, partially cleaned the garage (aka my nemesis), filled my car with cardboard and cans to be recycled (which Randy dropped off for me, woohoo), had a marathon phone call with Amie, have made some good mail birthday stationery, made 2 doctor's appointments (our insurance runs out soon), and an appointment for my car to go into the dealer for a recall notice. Phew!


On Monday, Randy and I went into Whitney's class for an hour while the teacher appreciation breakfast was going on. We had the kids make cards for the teacher, read a couple books and made sure they wrote all their spelling words. Since it was St. Patrick's Day all the kids were concerned about wearing something green, so Randy ended up drawing shamrocks on all their hands! They think he's the greatest.


Randy and I were looking at the kids' artwork and trying to figure out which picture was Whitney's. Can you figure it out?? We guessed right.


Whitney took her own sweet time making her card for her teacher. She is very serious about her artwork. I was so pleased.

On Tuesday...


Lori and I had our weekly lunch at Thanksgiving Point. It was oh so tasty. I love bread bowls and soup. I ran Lori back and forth to work 3 times that day since her car was in the shop. It's a good thing I'm so fond of her.

We really need to take our self-portraits before we get in the parking lot...duh.

Last night was my acting debut at our Enrichment Night. I tried to take a self-portrait of me in my shawl, but I was in a hurry and my camera wouldn't focus properly so I didn't get one. The night went really well and I didn't die of embarrassment.

Now for an Operation Cheer update...


Wende sent me this very thoughtful package which included a $20 Target gift card, darling stationery, vinyl lettering phrase, Hershey's kisses, and two darling notebooks to be used to play "tag" with the kids. Her note explained that she did this with her kids as a way for them to ask questions and write things that they may not be comfortable talking about. I think this is such a great idea, it's like a circle journal for me and the kids. Thanks Wende!!!

Kacey sent me this very spring-like package with a Sonic gift card (yum), some tea lights, binder clips and a cute Easter notepad. Thanks Kacey!!!

My sister-in-law Amy sent me two handmade notebooks and a $30 Target gift card and a nice note. Thanks Amy!!!


Jane sent me a Walmart gift card so I could go buy some spring flowers and gardening supplies, along with a nice note. Thank you Jane!!! I have to clean out the flower beds first, but I'm actually starting to feel like I'm ready to get out there and get my hands dirty.


Andie sent me this package and wrote "Project Cheer party crasher" on the envelope. That's so sweet. She sent me one of her favorite conference talks and a nice note. Thanks Andie!!!


Elizabeth sent me this replacement magnet for the one she sent me a few weeks ago that got lost in the mail. Thanks Elizabeth!!!

Linda didn't know anything about Operation Cheer but went ahead and sent me all these fun Easter treats, so nice. Thanks Linda!!!

Heather sent me this nice package and a kind note. She's always so good to me. Thanks Heather!!!

Totally unrelated but I'm wondering--does anyone prefer writing with blue ink as opposed to black? I keep buying big packs of Uniball black pens and end up with a couple blue and red pens but never use them. I'd like to share them if you're interested.

Happy Birthday Liz & Rachelle!!

**Which picture do you think is Whitney's?
Do you like writing with blue ink?
Do you like bread bowls?
Are you busy this week?**

Mom Date, Bizarre Neck Pain & More Goodness

I recently added parent/child dates as one of the prizes in the kids' marble basket. I set the price at 50 marbles and couldn't believe how excited they were. Whitney didn't hesitate to cash in for a date with Randy (of course, he's rock star dad).


But this week she condescended to cash in for a date with me. We went to see The Spiderwick Chronicles (really good, though possibly scary for nightmare-prone kids), shop for jeans without holes in the knees, and get some dinner.


Riding the escalator at the mall multiple times was a great highlight for Whitney.


Here is our self-portrait. Whitney has recently taken to wearing a bow in her hair. I told her I think she looks really cute with it like that and she said, "I know, that's why I want to wear it." Ha.

Last night while sitting at our RS book club I noticed that my neck was really hurting. I thought it was just my usual tense neck, but as the night went on it hurt enough that I knew it was more than that. I don't know what is going on (stress perhaps?) but it is still hurting 29 hours later. $%#@

Operation Cheer continues...


Tasha sent me me this cute card and a bunch of gold coins to help change my current luck. Thanks Tasha!!


Lara rendered me speechless today (that seems to be happening a lot lately) with this huge shipment of Operation Cheer goodies. I could not believe it. She sent two boxes of padded envelopes (different sizes) woohoo, an enormous bag of Cadbury eggs, Dove chocolate eggs, a journal and 2 sheets of stamps. Good heavens! Thanks Lara!!


Michelle sent me (which is guilt inducing to have her pay for shipping) this heavy envelope full of goodness. She got me new Jammie pants because she recently saw the very tattered pair I wear. She also sent gift bags, flower seeds, my favorite popcorn, a cd and some fabulous smelling Sweet Almond lotion and bath gel. Wow! Thanks Michelle!!

Surgery

I had more surgery yesterday as part of Operation Cheer, and must say this is the very best kind of surgery to have.


The doorbell rang and I found my mailman standing there with this huge stack of mail. I thanked him profusely. He is very nice, but you'd think he and I would have a closer relationship than we do. I need to do something nice for him.


Kim Sue sent me this box of goodness. She's really too sweet to me and just sent me an Easter stamp last week. She wrote in the card about how she feared she wasn't writing anything particularly great, but that hopefully just knowing she's thinking of me will be enough. I'm happy to say it is! I don't know Kim Sue in real life, she lives in Mississippi, we've only met through our blogs. Thanks Kim Sue!!


Nikki sent me this very thoughtful package which definitely lifted my spirits. You guys probably don't know this, but Nikki and I know each other from our Stake in Michigan. We would see each other at Girl's Camp and Youth Conference each year, but were brought together again on blogs after her sister found Kristi's blog and eventually led them to mine. How crazy is that? I haven't seen her in about 18 years. This is such a thoughtful package, complete with fixins for my favorite snack (chips and dip), homemade artwork, the word gymalicious, and a really nice note. Thanks Nikki!

She emailed me this hilarious photo from a Youth Conference in 1987ish. That's me with the shiny teeth, big bangs, foxy perm and only one neck and chin! (Nikki isn't in this picture.)


Chanel sent me a $10 gift card to Target and this sweet list of 10 reasons I make her smile. Reading something like this is definitely a form of therapy for me. I seem to be battling some serious negative resistance these days and it's really doing a number on me. I will be hanging this up for some daily reinforcement. Thanks Chanel!!

Shawna sent me a nice note and some stamps. It's comforting to know that as our the contents of our bank account dwindles I will still have lots of postage for sending things. Thanks Shawna!!


Patsy sent me these very cheerful postage stamps and a gift card for Cafe Rio. Patsy said that whenever she goes there she thinks of me. Thanks Patsy!!


The biggest box ended up being for Whitney from Lauralee and her girls. They kindly sent Whitney a slew of clothes they've outgrown. Whitney was super excited and actually wanted to pose with each item as she took it out of the box. Lauralee included 3 packages of Famous Amos cookies for Whitney (notice that's what she reached for first) along with many shirts and several pairs of pants. Thanks so much!!

Thank you everyone for helping me through this crappy time. I go back and forth from feeling like I'm fine and don't deserve any of this, to want to retreat to the cozy and never come out again. Yesterday as I experienced waves of negativity I kept thinking of the things I'd been sent and how unfair it would be for me to give in to these feelings when so many people are going out of their way to cheer me up. Thank you!

**Has blogging reunited you with any old friends?
Do you love little pictures drawn by friends?
Do your kids love hand-me-downs?**

Birthday Game Night & Operation Cheer

On Friday evening we celebrated Adam's birthday with the family. Normally this would involve ALL the family, but the entire Eagle Mountain branch of the family (parents and Robyn's family) are under quarantined with a nasty illness, so this gathering only involved Lori, us, and Adam's family.


This is when we were singing our birthday song to Adam, notice how Bella got into it (she and Whitney are wearing heinous dance costumes from my childhood) and is point for the "to you, to you, to you" part of the song.

"Happy, happy birthday
may all dreams your come true.
Happy, happy birthday
to you, to you, to you, ole!"

Adam's favorite dessert is pecan pie so that's what we made for him. Randy actually made it (since he was available during the day) and it turned out really well. Notice the very cute pie plate Michelle gave me for Christmas.


We took two self-portraits at the end of the night, this was the first one. I think it's hilarious. I find that the mistakes and super close-ups that result when taking self-portraits are often my favorites.

We had a great night which involved some ab-workout type laughter. We played SCUM for a long time and I never made it out of the SCUM seat (last place position). I tried to ask for help and said to Adam, "I don't know why I can't move up in this game" to which he replied, "Because you're not a good SCUM player at all." Ouch, but true.

I finally opened my boat load of Operation Cheer good mail on Saturday, it felt like my birthday!


Liz sent me a nice note, some cards, 3 spools of darling ribbon and some Cadbury Eggs. Thanks Liz!!


Laurie M. sent me these cool envelopes and some very cool, oldish stamps. These are the kind that actually require licking and are valued at .32 cents each. Her note says "Someone with a postal scale can surely put these silly, old stamps to good use!" I can definitely do that!!


Amanda L. sent me this cute package decked out in ribbon and full of shamrock confetti (which managed to surprise me twice). She sent me a package of the self-adhesive ribbon she uses to stick on good mail envelopes (very cool), some .1 cent stamps, a Dove candy bar because it's good for the soul, and a $20 gift card to Target. This was all seriously thoughtful and very cheering. Thanks Amanda!!


Natasha sent me a nice note and a sheet of postage stamps. I'm noticing a bit of a postage-theme here and I must say I love it. Thanks Natasha!!


Lisa sent me this big box full of all things wonderful. She included presharpened pencils, peanut butter m&ms, Cadbury eggs and orange creme kisses (all candies I love), Purell hand sanitizer (which I also love), Mint Mojito gum (fabulous), a $20 gift card to Target because "Unemployment cannot stop us from our beloved store." She also included this wonderful photo card with a really nice note inside. Thanks Lisa!!


Kristi sent me a copy of one of her favorite Conference talks, along with two packages of my favorite candy bars and a really nice note. She decorated the envelope so cute and wrote on there that this is the 3rd time that envelope had gotten used (impressive). Thanks Kristi!!

I don't know who organized all of this outpouring of thoughtfulness, but I'm very grateful for it. I kept thinking about it all weekend and know that as I experience waves of job-loss panic and sadness I will remember this thoughtfulness and be buoyed up. I feel like I have my own personal cheerleaders all over the world and I just need to listen to them when moment like that hits. So thank you to all of you who comment and say such nice things and who send me words of encouragement and fun presents! It's humbling and boosting at the same time!!

**Do you sing a different version of the birthday song?
What's your favorite birthday dessert?
Are you good at SCUM?
Have you been buoyed up by blogging friends?**