Why?

I'm going to do a little bit of ranting, so bare with me here. I have two wonderful, beautiful, caring, smart daughters. They have fun with each other, they do fun things together, they have shared some great experiences and some horrible experiences in their lives. They are great friends to each other and try really hard to let others into their circle. They have had some great friends. But since moving here they haven't been able to make any friends that they could hang out with. They live by the standards of the church, they have had great achievements with their talents, they are GOOD girls. Yet, each time they try to include other kids in their activities, ie. movies, game nights, they get stood up, shot down or just plain left out.

Aimee is the Young Single Adult Rep. for our ward and she has made plans for activities for the singles in our small ward. Granted there aren't that many singles, but they should be supporting each other and bonding together. Several activities Aimee has planned there has been NO ONE show up. That makes her feel like a failure, and wonder what she is doing wrong. Did she make someone mad, not include someone in something? Come on it's not that hard to participate.
Wendy is always willing to help ANYONE out with ANYTHING. She is so fun and loving to everyone she meets and wants to have friends, but for some reason she and Aimee both are unable to make friends with those LDS kids.

What brought this on was that some of the singles went to Rome for a couple of days with a couple of singles that were visiting a family in the ward and Aimee and Wendy weren't even asked if they would like to go!! Aimee and Wendy are both so hurt. They have tried to be friends with the three from the ward that went and have tried to include them in activites, but they get kicked in the teeth. They so feel like outsiders here, never included in anything outside of their callings. They are so frustrated!!

What do we do as parents? Especially when we are treated the same way by others in the ward. I know I'm just complaining and probably only seeing the negative stuff, but it has happened in several wards we have lived in. We aren't a military family, but we have moved quite a bit in our 22 year marriage. There have been four or five wards where we have felt at home, but since Aimee and Wendy have become teenagers we have been out in left field and not felt a part of any ward.

Awesome and Not so Awesome gifts

This is a couple of days late, but hey the 'Not so Awesome' gift that my Kaitlyn gave me has kept me sleeping and very tired. She was so 'kind' in giving me her COLD!!

I received a package in the mail from fellow blogger Shauna and loved it! A booklet from a talk the Gordon B. Hinckley give at a Relief Society General Conference. It's great. A photo album for the photos I never develop!! LOL, but it now gives me incentive to develop them. A book mark for the numerous books I am reading, I always need a bookmark. An a friendship card wishing me a happy birthday. Shauna, you are so sweet and kind. I can't wait to get back to Utah and maybe get to meet you in person. Thanks again for the gifts and your thoughtfulness.

Yesterday we received a box from my Mom and Dad. There were things in there for everyone, but the important stuff was for me!!! Two new blouses and hotpads that my Grandma made for me.

Grandma is VERY talented, she crochets, knits and sews. She is the one I get my talent for crocheting from. I'm so glad that that talent was passed down to me. I can't sew a straight line to save my life but I can crochet and cross stitch beautiful things.

We went to the markets in Maniago and Aviano on Monday and Tuesday so that I could get more yarn. I love yarn. There were awesome colors and beautiful textures. I can't wait to make them into beautiful things.

Thank you everyone for all of your sweet messages for a great day!! It sure makes being away from home so much easier!!!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to ME!!!! Yes, it is my 41st birthday today!! Do I have any idea what we are doing today? Only that we are going to Maniago for the market so I can buy crochet thread, yarn, ribbons, buttons and whatever else I want. I am excited because I get to do the same thing tomorrow here in Aviano. Dave took today off to spend the day with me and take me to the market. Tomorrow Wendy has the day off and she is taking me to the market in Aviano!! Am I spoiled or what?

I'm such a baby

I discovered this new show, GREY'S ANATOMY, and I love it!! I was watching one of the episodes from season 2 last night and started crying!!! The episode was when Cristina miscarries. I cried so hard. You see, it has been ten years since I had Kaitlyn and had my tubes tied for health reasons, I had a miscarriage almost two weeks ago. We had NO idea that I was even pregnant, well, I suspected, but just pushed it aside. Any way, I thought I was okay with it. Besides I will be 41 years old next week and have had so many health problems the past couple of years that I don't think I would have done very well with a pregnancy, but still. I cried for yet another child lost, that I couldn't hold in my arms. You see I lost two babies mid-pregnancy between Wendy and Kaitlyn, and I miss them very much because I wasn't able to hold them in my arms either. And today is also the thirteenth anniversary of losing one of those babies. Dave has always been so good to me during these times. He just holds me and lets me cry and listens when I need to talk about it. I love you Honey!!

I am so grateful for the children I do have and I know they truly are miracles in my life. The each bring something unique to our family and all bring great joy to our home. I don't know what I would do without them in my life. Some days I wish they would all move out, but at the end of each day, I am so glad that they are still under our roof. I love them so much!!

Special Day

Today is my Mom's birthday!!! Happy Birthday, Mom!! My Mom is a wonderful person, she has become one of my best friends. We may not have always gotten along and at one point in our lives we actually hated each other. But NOW she is very dear to my heart and I don't know what I would do without her. I have been able to tell her things and share things with her that I can't with anyone else. I love her so much. We have shared lunches, games, movies, and chats. We've also shed tears and sorrows with each other. I really miss being able to go to lunch and a movie with her. Our birthdays happen to be five days apart so we usually have a girls day, lunch and a movie. I've missed doing that with her the past couple of years because we have been here in Italy. I LOVE YOU MOM!!! Have a great day.

New Projects

I have some friends who have had or are expecting babies real soon. My friend Mauri had a baby girl and so I made this yellow dress for her baby. The dress takes me about 40 hours to crochet and embellish. The booties take about 5 hours. This dress and booties are made from Italian crochet thread. It is very soft and light weight and comes in beautiful colors.











My other friend, Debbie, is expecting a baby girl in April. They are so excited about this surprise addition to their family because they have a daughter that is twelve!! I for some reason feel close to Debbie and her family so I made a blessing gown for their little one. The gown is made with cotton crochet thread and took we about 80 hours to crochet and embellish. The booties took five hours. Aren't they adorable?

The home version of the Musical Wicked

Aimee loves the musical 'Wicked' she goes around singing the songs as often as possible. She decided to play around with Kaitlyn the other night and sing the song Popular. They were so cute. Kaitlyn was such a good sport about the whole thing having to be the 'ugly' girl who needed the makeover. But as you can see my girls are no way near being ugly.

These are the characters in the play singing the same song.

No Aimee isn't choking Kaitlyn, she's showing her how to hold her head high.

Pay It Forward

Here's how it works-the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well-before you leave your comment here, write up a Pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going. Sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift! Remember that only the first 3 comments will receive a gift from me, so be quick! This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like your gift.
2. It'll be done this year ( some time).
3. You will have no clue what it is going to be.

Good luck and have fun!!