A teenager and a toddler

What great joys and blessings the month of November has brought! I can scarcely believe that my once "little critter" aka, Savannah is now a 13--an official teenager. Savannah, who at the wee age of two coined the phrases, "but I don't want to co-operate" and "I want to be frustrated". As precocious as she was cute, Savannah has always been a ray of sunshine in my life. In fact, when she was a toddler she would come into my room and wake me up with, "Mommy wake up! It's a sunny, sunny day!" Happy Birthday Sunshine-y Savannah!

Then there's Daphne, aka Daphzilla the Destoyer. I'm so happy she made it to the ripe age of two. Happy happy birthday! Daphne has definitely made my life more challenging, and rewarding at the same time. I like what Amy(the mom) says on Good Luck Charlie (our new favorite Disney show). When asked, "Why didn't you stop with 3 kids?" She replys, "Three was just too easy, three is for quitters!" Three was too easy and we needed to shake it up a little! Enter Daphne, result: life is not longer easy! But we still love and appreciate every minute of it. As President Monson recently counceled the Church: Count yout blessings! So we are counting our blessings every day and finding our lives richly blessed! Thanks be to God for these many blessings!

Why I Love Autumntime:

Haymazes! The kids love to run around and hide in the sweet-smelling hay.
Pumkins! I love carving them, smelling them and most of all: EATING them! So far this fall I've made pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cake, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin pie!
Hayrides! Especially at Johnson's Farm, where you'll lose your lunch and everything else you came with if you don't HANG ON TIGHT!
Fall leaves! We love to play "Ding dong the witch is dead" in the freshly fallen leaves. They smell sooo good!
Costumes! We all love to dress up. I made Daph and I tutus so we could both be fairies. This is our school fall festival--Holtoberfest.

Sick of being sick

Oh how I wish I could stop coughing and start feeling better.

I've been sick for 3 weeks. I just finished a course of antibiotics. Do I feel any better? No, well, maybe a little. But I think I've figured out my problem: There is no time to rest so I can GET better! I'm contstantly moving, constantly helping, constantly teaching, constantly needed for something. THERE IS NO TIME FOR REST! Even as we speak Daphne is whining at me to start a movie for her on the portable DVD player that has no charge and I have no idea where the cord is to plug it in. Now she found a pencil and is debating whether to draw on the wood floor or the wall. Oh, she found a book to draw in, well as long as it gives me some semblance of "alone time". If I try to tell her no it will only cause chaos and crying. Is it worth it? I think not! It's an old Calvin and Hobbes comic book, she's just adding more character to it's dull black and white pages.

Anyway, back to what I was saying. I should really be sleeping right now or at least resting on the couch. But clearly I'm not. I should really take better care of myself so there is enough to give back to the kids, but clearly I'm not. There's just too much laundry to fold, too much homework to help with, too many field trips to go on, too many dinners to prepare, too many piano and gymnastics and karate lessons, and not enough time to play with my kids, read to them, and to hug and teach them. So these are the things I choose instead of resting so I can get well. Maybe I will go take a nap, or should I do the dishes?

Now Daphne is playing hide-and-seek in my coat, I think I will go play with her instead.

Primary Changed Me

Once upon a time I used to care how clean my house was. And there was a time in my life that I really had to have everything organized. My kids only wore ensembles that I pre-approved. My floors were free of stains and debris at all times.

That was before. But about 29 months ago, the same week that I found out I was pregnant (again) I was asked to do something that I wasn't sure I was capable of. I was asked if I would be the Primary President in my ward. I figured this day would probably come at some point, but now?

I really wanted to have another baby, and had recently gone through 2 very painful miscarriages. Was I up to this challenge? I decided to make a deal with God. I told Him that I would do this if He let me have this baby. I know, I know, silly! Does God really make deals? But it my mind I was committed and so was He.

It was not easy. The pregnancy was difficult to say the least, and I ran a primary program one week before I gave birth. There were times that I wanted to quit, and many times that I cried. But I have been blessed in ways that I could not have imagined through serving in the church. Not only did I have this beautiful little girl, but my family has grown in strength and love. We have had troubles, but with each challenge came a blessing, a gift. Patience, to deal with problems. Hope to handle stress. And more strength than I thought I could possess.

So what have I lost? Well, for one thing, the urge to be perfect. I still wish my house was clean all the time, but now I know that it's okay if it's not. I've had to simplify my life to fit everything in. And in doing so I've learned to let go of some things that really don't matter.

But wait, there's more! This last Sunday I was substitute teaching in one of the Primary classes. In that class there is a girl that I've known for quite a while and wondered if she ever really wanted to be there. She never acted like she wanted to be there. I couldn't tell if she was listening, she rarely if ever participated. But after the lesson she said to me, "I feel really good right now. I didn't feel happy when I got here, but now I'm glad I came." I explained that by doing what is right and coming to church and listening to the council of the prophet, you are blessed, and that this feeling was the Holy Ghost telling her these things were true.

That one moment washed all my doubts away: whether she was listening, whether she cared. They are always listening. It may not seem like it, but they are absorbing something. It's the small moments like these that make it all worthwhile! If I could reach just one soul, then whatever the sacrifice, it's been worthwhile.

Adrenaline Junkie

I think you all know that I'm a pretty crazy person. I say things I shouldn't say and do things I shouldn't do. I'm not always careful, even though I try to be, and I get distrated easily. (That happens when you have 4 kids vying for your attention, one of them at the top of her very large lungs.)
A couple weeks ago I was backing out of my garage and looking out the rearview mirror to see how I was going to get around all the constuction cars parked on my street. If I don't angle my Big Red Car just right I will smack one of those other cars so carelessly parked behind MY driveway. So I was backing out and didn't notice how close the side mirror was to the garage when I hear a sickening S-M-A-S-H. The side mirror was literaly RIPPED off the car! Oh that's just GREAT! Just what I needed. (Nausea, rage and frustration commence.)
Now what I need is a new distraction. Something to help assuage my surmounting guilt. That's when I go and do something like this:





I stood at the top of the lofty platform, turned around, and without a care in the world, fell backwards into the open abyss. It was AMAZING, EXHILERATING, and BREATHTAKINGLY WONDERFUL! But this was not my first experience like this. I would do this every day if I could. I LOVE the rush. Let's face it, I'm an adrenaline junkie. What's next for me? Skydiving. Anybody want to go with me?

Family Reunion

We took these pictures at our family reunion in July in Powell Butte, Oregon. We haven't been ALL together for a picture in 8 years!


Bustos Family


All 23 in the Hubbard Clan


The Original Seven. Lori, Jill, Eric, Ryan, Kristen, Rett, Kathy
We had a smashing time! Love you guys!

A Blast From the Past

Kristen, my sweet sister and partner in childhood memories, was here last week with the rest of the family. We all had so much fun swimming, hiking, playing games and hanging out for our family reunion in Redmond, Or. (More details and pictures to come.)
So I was asking her if she remembered the most delectable taste I can think of from our growing up years: the elusive and delightful chocolate coconut muffin. She indeed remembers and cherishes the taste of the most exquistely wonderful muffin either of us have ever tasted. They used to sell these delicious confections at our junior high school in ol' Pleasant Hill years ago and neither one of us had consumed one, despite searching for them, these many long years. Well, a couple months back I was driving past this little bakery/cafe and decided to stop by and check for "THE BEST MUFFIN EVER" like I have done many a time at different places across the country in my search over the past 20-some years. And I found it!!!!!!!! It's called the Macroon Moon muffin and it's made at the Muffin Mill in Eugene, OR. When I informed Kristen that I had actually located the sought-after confectionary treat she was "over the moon" with joy and gladness!!!! We ran down to the Muffin Mill and cleaned them out! Then we indulged ourselves in lots and lots of scrumptious muffins. To share that long-lost taste with my wonderful childhood friend and sister can only be described in one way: It was complete and total BLISS!