Oops! I did it again!

Yup, I once again opened my pie hole and said something that upset a LOT of people. I thought that maybe I had passed that point in my life where I had to check my opinion at the door whenever I walk into a room, literally and figuratively. I feel that everyone is entitled to their opinion on ANY matter in life. I also realize that I get my feelings hurt when someone says something that bothers me, but I try not to pull everyone else into it and work it out on my own. Once I've worked it out on my own and with whomever I need to, I'm good. Because I have upset so many people, I have grounded myself from commenting or updating on Facebook. My children have the same issue with opening their mouths and expressing how they feel and sometimes think. This flaw in our characters has caused many problems in our extended family. I apologize to those who have been offended by our opinions.

101 Things--Just for fun

So I came across his fun trivial game on a friends site and thought it would be fun to do! I am going to hilight in bold type the things I have done. Then in return, anyone who reads this has to repost and show everyone what you have, or have not, done! Enjoy!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Been to Canada
11. Bungee jumped
12. Worked at an Amusement Park
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Seen Mount Rushmore in person
101. Learned to play an instrument

I can't believe it has been two weeks since I posted anything. There hasn't been anything going on here to report about, nothing exciting any way.

We have all been sick with colds. Kaitlyn came down with it first and was only sick for a day with a fever. She stayed home one day from school, but returned after one day of rest. She spent the day on the couch watching Scooby-Doo movies and napping. Dave came down with it next. He came home from work with a fever and spent the next day resting. He still has a stuffy nose, but returned to work after one day of rest. Pam came down with it on Saturday, the worse case so far. She has run a fever and spent several days sleeping off and on. The cold has settled in her chest and she now has a cough that will be with her for awhile, she sounds like she's been smoking a pack a day for the past twenty years. Wendy came down with the cold next and last, she is resting and seems to not have had a fever.

Kaitlyn has joined the Drama Club after school. She is so excited about being in a play. The play will be "Sleeping Beauty" and will be put on the first of April. She will find out in two weeks what part she will be playing. She has been such a drama queen the past couple of years so this will be good for her. Maybe it will be an outlet for all of her energy! She is so cute!!

We did receive our household goods two weeks ago!! We were so excited to finally have all of our things so that we won't be so bored. We were disappointed to see that some of our souveniours from Italy had been damaged, but most everthing else was intact. Wendy has been amazing by helping, doing most of the unpacking. It seemed like Christmas in September. We have been getting some things ready to ship back to the US. Wendy will be returning to the US and all of her things and Aimee's (since she won't be able to join us after her mission) will be shipped back to the US.

Not much this week

This last week was pretty boring. We did venture down to Chievers Air Base to the commissary. Did I ever mention that it's an hour away from our home? Well, it is. It makes for a very long day. But we managed to follow our neighbor down so that we could stock up on American products and the food we love. Wendy and Kaitlyn went with us this time and were able to see that when we said it was a long drive we weren't kidding!!! We did some shopping in the PX, I needed to get a 220 volt crock pot for dinner on Sunday. Then lunch, yummy Kababs that we loved in Italy, didn't taste the same but the concept was. It was still yummy!! The commissary is pretty small, but it supplies us with our much needed favorite foods and our comfort foods. The family that we followed down left during lunch because we told them we could find our way home. The commissary has six, that's 6, registers, two of which are the self check registers. We watched the baggers while we waited in line and decided that we would bag our own. The cashier was suprised by my skill and quickness, I bagged groceries at our commissary at Holloman Air Force Base for several years as a teenager. I have skills!!! We had all our groceries bagged and on the cart before the kid could even get back from his last take out!!! Yes, I am that good!!! Any way, we left the commissary and proceeded to head for home. We live on the East side of Brussels. We ended up on the WEST side!!!! How we missed a turn is beyond me. I was so frustrated and agitated that when we got home and the groceries put away, I needed a nap!! My idea was that we should level Belgium, rebuild the roads on a grid pattern and then tell the people that they could put their buildings where ever they wanted as long as it was on the grid lines!!! Dave didn't think that was such a good idea since Belgium was here before we were. ;0)

Sunday was an interesting day as well. Church usually starts at 10am, but today was different, we started at 1pm because the other stake had stake conference and our building is said to be the largest in the Belgium. The building is actually a meeting house, not a converted house like in Italy. When we arrived at church, a half hour before beginning, there were still people from the other stake milling around visiting. It had rained all night and was still raining. The trees are starting to change colors a little and the leaves are falling in some areas, so there were leaves all over the church floor. Dave found a broom and proceeded to sweep up the leaves and vaccuum the chapel before our meetings were to begin. I had to teach Relief Society and I was extremely nervous since I have not taught adults ever in church!!! I guess I did alright, but I don't think they will be asking me again, which is okay with me.

School for Kaitlyn has been good. She is doing well and looking forward to next week when Drama Club begins after school on Tuesdays.

August 31 to September 5, 2010

Me and my honey!!

geese and ducks every where we looked

My girls, Wendy and Kaitlyn

the day was kind of smoggy, so the colors weren't as vivid as usual.

Another week has come and gone. I don't know that anyone is reading about our adventures, but it's okay because I am journaling more for our children now then for anyone else. This last week was pretty uneventful for the most part.

Last Monday was Kaitlyn's first day of school and the week went pretty quickly for her. She has a small class of 22 students. She has made a few friends and loves going to school. She is very excited about art and host nation classes. Host nation class is about the nation in which we live, she will be learning French and Dutch during this class. She is very excited about that. PE is on Mondays so I suspect Mondays will be a hard day to get her to go to school because she doesn't care for PE. But then again maybe this teacher is better than the teachers she has had in the past.

Thursday we were able to navigate our way to the Army Garrison where the clinic is so that we could get Kaitlyn's shots and allergy paperwork signed by the doctor. The clinic is extremely small and it took us three hours to get done with everything that should've only taken an hour at most. Oh well, it's done and she's good for a few years. She is a big baby! She cried and made herself sick. I don't remember the other girls being that over wrought about getting shots.

Saturday brought a lazy day for us. We went to the HUGE park in Tervuren. There are birds EVERY where. The lake I believe is man-made and full of ducks, geese, and some demon bird that we can't figure out. People walk and bicycle around the lake. It is a beautiful park, full of shade and lots of grass. Of course, close to the lake where all the birds hang out is full of "bird poop."

While we were driving around getting to different places this week we discovered something odd...there are NO stop signs!!! There are stop lights, but no stop SIGNS. You must always yield to the right no matter what. We thought Italian drivers were crazy, the Belgians are ten times worse!!

Sunday was another interesting day in church....everything was in FRENCH!! I don't understand a word, it's a good thing we have translators.

Today, Monday, Labor Day is a day off for the Americans, but all the stores in town are open. It's awesome. Dave is home from work, Kaitlyn is home from school and we get to do a little sightseeing maybe. I think we are going to go to the park this afternoon, just because we can.

The geese were going nuts about something, so we tried to get a video of them squackin'.

FAMILY A Proclomation to the World

I came across this blog, http://chocolateonmycranium.blogspot.com/ , and they are celebrating Family in September. What a GREAT idea!!! So I thought I would blog about family, my family, during the month of September. It's based on THE FAMILY A PROCLAMATION TO THE WORLD published for the world in 1995 by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's an amazing document!! I love it!! Our family has tried to live by its precepts and ideas the whole time we have been married, 23 years. The things that I write during this month are my feelings, opinions, and thoughts.





"Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children."





When we were talking about getting married we discussed how we were raised. We decided that once children started arriving in our family I would stay home to take care of them and give them the love and attention that they deserved. We had a few years where I went to work and our family fell apart. It was a disaster!! When I stay home and am there for the girls when they leave and get home from school, work, or out with friends, I feel happy and satisfied. Our family works that way. I'm there to help with homework, when they aren't smarter than me, teach them homemaking skills that I learned from my Mom and Grandmas. Now that the girls are getting older and starting to leave home, I hope that we have taught them well. I hope I have taught them to love being a Mom, a stay at home Mom.





Being a Stay At Home Mom, SAHM, seems to be a job that is looked down upon in society today. That bothers me. I see children who are left to there own devices each day, have everything they want without having to work for it themselves. I see families that are split apart, Mom lives in one house with the children and Dad gets weekend visits. Moms that work hard and are too tired to be Moms. Children having children because they are craving the love and attention that they themselves never received.





I LOVE being a SAHM. I got to teach my children to walk, talk, cook, clean, play. I didn't miss their first steps, first words, first tooth, first day of school. I saw the first real smile, got to feed them each meal, cuddle to read a good book. I got to go to each Parent Teacher Conference, volunteer at their school, help with homework, kiss the boo-boos away. I got to hear about their fears, joys, sorrows, heartbreaks, first dates.





Don't get me wrong, I understand that sometimes Moms have to work outside their homes because of divorce, disabilities, or because of a death of their spouse. But is it always necessary? Is it because the family wants more toys to occupy their time? Is it to pay off those overextended credit cards? We've managed fine on one income, a lot of families we know manage on one income so that Mom can stay at home. I've seen a lot of families ruined because of too much 'stuff' because Mom went to work.





I'm so thankful that I have a husband who works hard, sometimes long hours, and sometimes two jobs, to support our family. I've also seen him passed over for promotions because the boss has to fill a quota because a woman applied for the job. I've seen him discouraged because the other person had a better figure when he had more experience and education and seniority. My husband is a wonderful provider, he takes care of us, provides the needs of our family, and supports us all in the things that we do. He appreciates us as much as we appreciate him.

Bicycle Race Day, August 29, 2010, Vossem, Belgium, the race went right in front of our house!!

The officials to the far right and the lead car!! Here they come!!

A moped in the race too? Isn't that cheating?

Here they are!!!

There they go!!! I wonder who will win? Apparently the race was THREE HOURS long, I don't know how many times they went by our house. Wendy counted at least 8 times! We didn't make it to the "festival" in the village square because it was so drizzly and cold!!

This picture was taken from the master bedroom on the second floor through the screen on a cloudy, rainy evening. The pumpkins are in the garden of the neighbor across the street. The colors here are AMAZING!!!

The cows across the street enjoying their breakfast, while we wait for the school bus in the rain!!

Kaitlyn and Wendy getting Kaitlyn's school supplies ready for her first day of school!! "Mom, I'm scared to go to school. What if no one likes me?" We have this conversation EVERY year. She ALWAYS finds a friend!!

Kaitlyn's first day of school. Waiting for the bus, in the rain. Girl, where is your umbrella? Oh yeah, we haven't bought one yet!! Have a great day!!! We love you!!!

So this last week was a bit frustrating.

We discovered last week that we are on a different pay cycle and wouldn't get paid for another week!! No one bothered to tell us that. It's a good thing all of our bills had been paid before we left the states and we were able to buy enough food to last three weeks.

We had the water softener system serviced this last week and that was interesting. The system is fairly new so it shouldn't have to be filled as often as most of the softeners in the area. Five 25 kilo bags should do for 6 months he says. We will see. The water here is extremely harsh and so everything has to be serviced a certain way. The dishwasher, coffee makers, irons all have to have salt added to them so that they work properly. What a treat! The guy that came to service the softener was very friendly.

We have been trying to decide whether to send for our Lincoln Town Car or buy one here in Belgium. After realizing how narrow most of the streets are here we decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to send for our car. There was a lady at Dave's work that is PCSing this week and wouldn't be able to take her car with her, so she offered it to us for 1000 Euro, which roughly translate to $1300. It's a 1996 Honda four door, teal colored and runs pretty well. Because we don't have our Belgian ID cards yet we can't take possession of the car "legally" and register it in our name. But she was kind enough to let us take possession of it on Saturday night. It is nice to have the mobility and freedom to go where we want and not have to rely on others.

We have wonderful neighbors who where willing to take us to the commissary on Saturday. It is an hour drive each way, so it made a for a long day. The local grocery store is really good and has a lot of American products, or at least products that we are used to. We try to buy fresh fruits and veggies, milk and eggs, and fresh bread, all locally just because it is usually fresher.

(on the way to school)

Last Wednesday was back to school night at Brussels American School (BAS) and BBQ. The school has been under construction this summer, they have added new state-of-the-art music/art building, new gym/auditorium, and some other out buildings. The school is extremely small as far as enrollment is concerned, about 400 students from K-12. There is one class for each grade K-5. It is a good thing that we went because they had Kaitlyn enrolled in the 6th grade!! We got that fixed. We also found out that poor Kaitlyn has to have 4 shots by the end of September. She catches the bus right on the corner from our house. She starts school on Monday, August 30.

Friday we had to go to NATO to get our pictures taken for all the IDs we have to have over here. We had to be escorted EVERY where we went!! It was rediculous! Once we passed through security there are places, such as the library, bank, cafateria, gift shop, and gym, that we are allowed to use once we get our IDs, but not without our official IDs. Someone over at the Embassy had lost or deleted our pictures for our Belgian IDs, so we had to have those taken again as well!! The Belgian IDs must be approved by the Belgian government and it takes between six weeks and three months to have that done!!! UGH!!! Now we are two weeks delayed. (We have to have Belgian IDs in order "own" a vehicle.)

Wendy has decided that since the Beglian government won't allow her to stay as a dependent with us without enrolling and attending a government "approved" college she will be returning to the states in about two months. She will go back to Utah and live with her grandparents. That means we will be losing two children in a six month period. It makes us sad but at the same time we know that our children have to spread there wings eventually.

This is a park near our home, there are ducks, geese, cranes, and lots of trees!! Wendy took this picture on one of her walks.

This was taken in the village of Vossem where we live.
This is the village square on festival day. Lots of Beer tents!!

This is our home in Vossem, Tervuren, Belgium. The address is Hertstraat 3.

This is the street sign for the house we live.

Wow!! School starts in FIVE days!! I am so excited!! Kaitlyn might not be excited, but I am!! She will be in the Fifth Grade. I can't believe it! She is growing up so fast. She has seen parts of the world in her short 11 years then I ever did at her age. The school where she will be attending is very small, someone said it has only 400 students K-12. The school is so small that the graduating class last year was a whole 27 students!! I sure hope she gets a good education and is able to catch up quickly. When she advanced to the fourth grade she was a little bit behind, but that was because her teacher was getting ready to retire and failed to teach everything that they were suppose to have learned. So when we moved back to Utah in December she was even further behind. She had caught up enough by the end of the school year that she was able to pass to the Fifth Grade. She will have to work a little bit harder this year so that she can understand everything, but that's where Wendy and I come in.

I have tried to homeschool all the girls each year to help them through the year. Making sure that they learn what they are suppose to, but also making sure that they understand each concept. It helps me learn as well. This summer I haven't been able to do much homeschooling with Kaitlyn because of the move and all the uphevel we have had in our family. We also try to teach Gospel principles with these lessons. I think this year we will be working really hard.

We are all so bored right now because we don't have any of our things here with us. We have the clothes, iPods, laptops, a few toys, and a couple of books we brought with us in our suitcases. We are so used to having everything we want or need within our reach that this sitting around with nothing to do is driving us insane!! School will at least give us something to do, or at least Kaitlyn will have something to do each night, homework!! I just looked at the email that tells us when our household goods will be delivered by, October 4. What is that, five more weeks? UGH!!!

We miss our Aimee so much!! We have talked to her a couple of times on the phone and chat with her on Facebook and Instant Messanger almost daily. My parents say she is doing a lot better than we all thought she would as far as missing us goes. She is maturing and blossoming right before their eyes, they love it. I'm so glad that she is getting to have that one on one time with them. It's good for her too because she is learning to serve, something that she will be doing a lot of while she is on her mission. She is getting very excited about going to the MTC, learning a new language, and getting out there to teach the Gospel!! I hope she treasures the memories that she is creating with her grandparents, cousins, and aunts and uncles that she is spending so much time with. She was so excited because she went to the grocery store by herself, cooked by herself, and is learning all those homemaking skills that she let Wendy or I do for her. She never had the patience or desire to do those simple things, now she HAS to do them. I knew she could do it!!! Thank you Mom and Dad for supporting her and helping her during this time!!!!

Wendy is so ready to be doing something!! She starts school again next month, so hopefully that will keep her busy, but she wants to be doing other things. I hope that she is able to find those things to do that helps her to be happy. She has said a couple of times that she wants to paint, but everything is not here yet!! It also looks like she will have to return to the US in a year unless she switches schools and enrolls at a college that the Belgian government recognizes. She wants to stay with us until we return to the states, but is okay with having to return if she has to. We just want her to be happy. She wants to be involved with the Single Adults here, so hopefully she will be able to do that.

We will be getting a car this weekend for our use until we get our Belgian IDs. Every person that lives in Belgium must have an ID, in order to DO anything. We can't purchase a car until we have those IDs!!! It takes any where from 1 to 3 months to get those IDs!! We got our pictures taken for those IDs two weeks ago, but the lady that was processing the paperwork LOST those pictures, so we have to go do that AGAIN on Friday!!

The country is beautiful!! We love all the green!!! We haven't been able to see a whole lot because it is quite expensive to ride the public transportation, so we are waiting to get a car so we can go explore. Dave and I have been trying to take a walk every other night after dinner. This last weekend was the village festival. I have no idea what the festival was for, but we do know that it is help once a year in the village square for two days and three nights. We walked into the village on Saturday afternoon and again on Sunday afternoon. It seemed to us that the reason for the festival was for BEER. There are a LOT of beer festivals, breweries, and bars here.

The next three years we will try to keep everyone informed of our doings, trips, outings, and experiences by updating our blog regularly. I'm aiming for once a week, some weeks may be filled with lots of things and others may be filled with very little. In any event I hope our family will enjoy "seeing" Belgium through our thoughts, words, pictures and experiences. We will also try to keep Aimee's mission experiences here as well. Those of our family that read our blog please share with family members that don't have internet. If there are any special requests just email me... pam_crazy4xstitch@msn.com

Our Family -- Seperated

Well, it's been a little over a month since we last updated everyone, so I guess it's time to do so again.

This last month has been full of goings-on, hellos and good-byes. In July we spent much of the time getting ready for our move to Belgium, getting as much done as we could for Aimee's mission, and Dave's surgery.

Dave was suppose to leave for Belgium on the 18th of July, but the people at Hill AFB wouldn't release him until the first of August. That ended up being a good thing because he had to have a hernia repaired before we could travel. He did very well with the surgery, no complications and he was given the go ahead to leave on the 3rd of August (we were leaving on the 6th). The week following his surgery we had the movers coming to pack us out and ship everything. Did he fully recover before we left? NO!! He is still trying to do so a month later, but is slowly recovering. We weren't able to ship our car over because we couldn't get it to a port on the west coast.

Aimee was anxious to get as much done as she could before we left since she was staying with Grandpa and Grandma. She has surprised us all by doing so much of her shopping and getting ready to go to the MTC on her own or with the help and guidance of her Grandparents. She is anxious to get to the MTC and start intense learning and language training. She has spent much needed quality time with her grandparents, and I suppose she has been enjoying her tv time too. We were able to go to the temple with her for the first time, something we were afraid we weren't going to be able to do. What a wonderful experience!!

We left for the airport bright and early on the 6th, with many tears and hugs at the curb. I must say that it was a lot easier than I thought it would be for me. Dave on the other hand had a very difficult time leaving his little girl behind. The flight over the pond wasn't as long as when we went to Italy, but still long (8 hours from Atlanta to Brussels). We arrived in Brussels on the morning of the 7th and our sponser, Edwina, was waiting for us. She drove us to our new home which is beautiful and about a half hour from the airport. Once we got our bags put away, showered and cleaned up, we went off to the commissary. The commissary is an HOUR away from our home. We were able to get some groceries and then headed home. It was about 6pm when we finally got home and we ate, then headed to bed.

We met the neighbors on Sunday and they were able to give us the name and number of our new bishop, because their daughter babysits for them. What a wonderful surprise. We were able to get a hold of the bishop on that Monday. He came over that night with his wife and give Dave a priesthood blessing and helped to give me one. We also found out that the people that lived in this house before us were also LDS!! What a wonderful coincidence!!

Last Sunday we went to our new ward which is about half American/English speaking and half French speaking. We get to use the translator headphones for sacrament meeting!! The other meetings are seperated into English and French speaking classes. Wonder how that will work for the unity of the ward?

Dave has been in-processing since we arrived. We have to in-process the American Embassy, the State Department, the Army Garrison, and NATO! Very interesting!! So far the girls and I have only done our in-processing through the American Embassy. Next week will be everything else. We discovered last night, because today should have been payday, that we are now on a different pay cycle and won't be getting paid until next week. The Lord has truly blessed us because we only bought 2 weeks worth of groceries and we still have a week's worth left. Guess it pays to pay your tithing!!

Dave is learning the publis transportation system really well. He rides the bus to the Metro (Subway) to the Tram to the bus to NATO where he works. One system is run by the French and one is used by the Flemish/Dutch and one ticket won't work for the other. Makes for getting to work a bit expensive. All our American neighbors work at NATO and if they have to be to work at the same time, they carpool. I'm not too keen on the idea of riding all those places, but we have to do what we have to do until we can get a car. We have been looking for a car because our big Lincoln Town Car will NEVER fit on these roads, they are much more narrow than the roads in Italy!! Dave has found a car and hopefully the gal will work with us for making payments each month for about three months.

We have found out that Wendy will probably have to leave us the fall after she turns 21. The Belgian government has some stupid rule about foreigners being here as a dependent. She could possibly stay if she were to enroll in a college that the Belgian government recognizes, so we will have to wait and see. We hope she can stay, but if not, hopefully her grandparents will take pity on her and let her stay with them until we return to the states.

Kaitlyn will be going to the Brussels American School at the Army Garrison. She will be in the 5th grade. The school is so small that there is only one class per grade!! The graduating senior class for 2010 was a whole 27 students!! I hope she will get a good education!!

MISSION CALL

Aimee received her call yesterday!! She had intentions of opening that big white envelope on Thursday, because she didn't want to take away from Kaitlyn's birthday. But she couldn't do it!! It was driving her crazy! She did ask Kaitlyn if it was okay if she opened the envelope and Kaitlyn gave her permission.

Aimee has been called to serve for 18 months, beginning on October 13 when she enters the MTC, in the Cambodia Phnom Penh Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She will serve the Lord and teach His Gospel in the Vietnamese language!! We had no clue that she would leave the United States, but to Cambodia and Vietnam? WOW!! And learn Vietnamese!! Wow, the Lord has everything under control. He knows where she is needed and she will serve Him faithfully.

The mission takes in all of Vietnam and all of Cambodia. Only 2% of the population is Christian, the majority is Buddist.

AMAZING

My beautiful baby girl, Kaitlyn, turned 11 years old yesterday!!! I can't believe that it's been 11 years since I held that tiny baby in my arms!! She was so tiny, I was always afraid I was gonna squish her.

If you haven't heard our story about how we were blessed with her, here ya go.

We lost two babies after Wendy was born in 1990. The babies were almost half way here. We named both babies, Brandon Jay who died inutero at about 17 weeks in 1992, Peyton Nicole who died inutero at about 15 weeks in 1996. We went through a slew of tests in '96 and were told that we probably would never be able to conceive and carry to term another baby. Of course, we were very sad, but accepted the Lord's will. In 1998, Dave quit his job with Davis County Sheriff's Department and moved our family to Alamosa, Colorado. We settled into our new life in Dave's hometown and continued on with our lives. In the October I started feeling ill (morning sickness) and suspected that I might be expecting. I immediately made an appointment and it was confirmed that I indeed was expecting. We were shocked and excited all at once. At about 16 weeks we had an ultrasound and were told we were having a boy!!! We were so very excited. At about 18 weeks I went into labor, dilated to 2cm, and was scared to death that we would lose yet another precious baby. In order to save this precious one I was ordered to bed for the duration of the pregnancy, that's six months. I spent a lot of time at home, in the hospital and said a lot of prayers. At about 30 weeks we had another ultrasound and we were told it was a girl!! Holy Cow, which is it?! We didn't know what to plan for now!!! I had to receive steroid shots in order to mature her lungs in case Kaitlyn decided to come into the world before July 1. I had lost 50 lbs during my pregnancy, was on a very strict diabetic diet due to gestational diabetes. I had regular doctor appointments every 3 weeks from 18 weeks on. On July 3 I was released from bed rest and we proceeded to walk every night to move things along. We had a friend, Terry, who lived in our ward, Dave was also their home teacher, who was a nurse in the OB ward. She told us what day she worked and her schedule, she wanted to be there when Kaitlyn was born. On the morning of July 14, I started active labor and started bleeding. We called the doctor and the OB ward to let them know we were on our way. We arrived, got settled into our room, the doctor checked and sure enough we were having a baby today!! Terry, came in and said "okay guys we gotta do this by noon because that's when I go home." The IV was hooked up to me and the 'pit' was started at about 9 am. At 1130 my water broke, that was weird!! I have not had my water break on it's own with a full-term baby. Things moved right along and Kaitlyn Renee entered the world at 1235 pm on July 14!! She weighed in at 5 lbs and 1 oz. and was a tiny 17 1/2 inches long!!! My smallest full term baby. She was so tiny and perfect. Terry had even done a little service that day. She clocked out at noon but stayed with me and Dave for the duration. It was awesome!! She was even the first to hold Kaitlyn, and even gave her her nickname "Peanut". The nurses fell in love with our little miracle baby. Her apgar scores were great!! The following day, I went into surgery to have my tubes tied. After my surgery we were told that her billirubin was very high, 16. At 20 they do a blood transfusion. She spent the next 24 hours under the lights. Dave gave her a priesthood blessing and the next day (she was two days old) the billirubin dropped to 6. Most of the nurses were shocked. We were not.

We were so excited about bringing this precious little miracle angel into our family. We had worked so hard and been through so much to get her here. She was greeted with hugs and kisses by two older sisters, Aimee (10 years old) and Wendy (9 years old), grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles and a few cousins. We were all so happy to have her here!!!

Nine days passed with lots of visitors and many gifts. In the early hours of our tenth day Kaitlyn aspirated and had a second degree seizure. The paramedics were called and the 911 operator instructed us to do CPR and resuscitate her, Dave literally saved her life. We were taken to the ER in Alamosa where the doctors and nurses did everything they could to keep her alive and tried to find out what was wrong with this tiny baby. We spent three days in the hospital hooked up to IVs and monitors. We discovered that she had sleep apnea and were sent home with a monitor. After two weeks of the monitor going off every 30 minutes whether she was sleeping or not we decided to try our own monitoring. Kaitlyn slept on my chest for the following year and each time she stopped breathing all I had to do was touch her and she started breathing again.

Kaitlyn has been such a blessing to our family!! She has so much faith and hope that she keeps our family on the straight and narrow. She brought light, happiness and laughter back into our family. She was a gift from our Father in Heaven for all that we had been through over several years. She has so many people that love her and are grateful that she is a part of our family.

Kaitlyn loves her sisters and family more than anything in the world. She has a strong testimony of Jesus Christ and His Gospel. She reminds us constantly to have family prayer, scripture study, and family home evening. She reminds us to be good, not to swear, be nice to everyone, and to go to church. She loves to sing, dance, draw, read, play games with her sisters. She loves to learn and wants to learn to play the piano.

We love you, Kaitlyn!!! We are so happy that you are a part of our family!!

It seems that when it rains it pours

Everything was going according to plan, with only a few bumps. When Dave let his supervisor know that he had accepted a new job in Belgium and that they wanted him there on the 18th of July, the guy had a fit. Supervisor told Dave that he "needed" him until the first of August. Okay....we can deal with that. Then Dave started having pain in his groin area last week, We were hoping that it was just a pulled muscle, but today we found out that it is an Inguinal Hernia. Which means surgery before we can move to Europe!! We have an appointment with the surgeon on Friday.

What a busy weekend

We started packing our house last Wednesday and did the final clean today. What a busy week! I pushed and pushed myself to the point of severe pain just so I could get done everything I needed to get done. The last two days have been really bad pain-wise. Dave is an amazing man! He got everything moved out of the house and into storage, with the help of some amazing men in our neighborhood. Thanks everyone!!

We are still waiting for our orders. I had to fill out some paperwork because of my medical condition and get that sent back to Belgium. There is a medical clinic at the embassy with limited care, so I had to have my doctor fill out the paperwork saying that my prognosis was good and that as long as I continue with preventative measures I should be fine to live overseas for the next three years. Our moving date may be moved two weeks later, so it could be the first of August before we can all leave.

Aimee had her interview with the Bishop Sunday morning for her mission and tonight is her interview with the Stake President. Hopefully, that will be it so that her papers can be turned in tomorrow. It takes about eleven days for missionaries to receive their calls, so hopefully in the next two weeks we will know where Aimee will be serving the Lord!!

AMAZING!!!

It is amazing how the LORD works!!!

We have been waiting for notification on a job. Dave interviewed for a position overseas back in March and we were just notified officially today that he got it!!! We will be moving to BRUSSELS, BELGIUM the middle of JULY!!! How exciting is that?! Well, everyone but Aimee is going.

Aimee is still waiting to turn in her papers for her mission. She has everything done!! We are waiting for the final interviews and the Bishop to get his part done. I sure hope he hurries.

It appears though that Kaitlyn and I will stay here in the states until we get Aimee into the MTC and then we will join Dave and Wendy in Brussels. We are all excited about the changes going on in our family right now. There have been a LOT of them, I know!! But we have always said that we would go where ever the LORD wanted us and it's obvious HE doesn't want us here in Utah.

I'm Done!!

I am so discouraged and fed up with this ward!!! We went to the bishop for help for Aimee for her mission because we can't do it all financially and he won't help us!! All we would need is a little bit of help for about six months until we get back on our feet, but because we aren't paying contributions directly to the ward, he won't help. We have family members that are willing help us support Aimee, it's not a lot that we are asking for. I won't ever be stepping into this ward again! Dave is going in to see him Tuesday night to show him our budget and what exactly we live on each month, I really don't think it will alter his decision. He is even considering taking our recommends away!!! Who is supposed to go to the temple with Aimee her first time? We want to!!!! So it looks like we will be giving up the only 'luxury' we have...our home. We will be living with my parents for the next few months, so that we can support Aimee. That's how important her mission is to us and our family!!!



Will I let this affect my testimony as far as the Gospel is concerned? No!! I have a very strong testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the restoration, the priesthood, genealogy, and all that goes with it!!!



We have always helped and given when we could, to our family, friends, and even strangers. I don't understand why we don't get the help we need when we need it? All we can do is do our best!!! Some how this will all work out for our benefit and good.

Monday night we went to my parents for dinner and talked to them about everything that has been going on, cried a lot, and humbly asked if we could move into their trailer for the summer. With open arms they have embraced us and allowed us to move into their home. We will actually be moving into their home at the end of the month. It seems to be the answer of supporting Aimee on her mission.

Tuesday night Dave went to talk to our bishop and told him our plans. The bishop backtracked everything he had told us on Sunday. Now he says that our temple recommends were never in jeapordy, that, of course, the ward will pay for Aimee's mission. What can the ward to help us so that we would stay in the ward....too little too late.

I have NEVER had anyone make me feel so worthless, unworthy, and like such a failure, as this bishop has made us feel since moving into his ward. I haven't cried so many tears!

I do thank my Father in Heaven every day for the blessings HE has genereously given to our family. Sometimes I wonder if He is listening to my heartfelt pleas, and the He blesses me with what I truly need. I know our family will be blessed when Aimee goes out on her mission. I know that we have to show the Lord what we will do and sacrifice in order for her to go, and we are doing it!

I will not be bitter over what has happened or how we were treated in this ward. My testimony has been strengthened by this experience. I have learned how to be more loving, kind, genereous, and giving. I have learned again the power of the priesthood. I have once again learned just how much my family loves me and wants us to be happy.

Forgive me for my ramblings, I needed somewhere to write this experience down.

Not such a good month

Geez, Aimee decides to go on a mission and all hell breaks lose on the Holloway family!!! On the 16th, our 23rd anniversary, I ended up in the ER with an accute allergic reaction to something I ate. I still have no idea what it was, but suspect the peanut butter no-bake cookies (my brother is severely allergic to peanuts). The next week Dave ended up home with a sinus infection. I ended up having a bad reaction to the meds the ER doctor had me on for the allergy reaction, that ended up causing my fibromyalgia to kick into high gear. That next weekend I ended up so sick I couldn't get out of bed but to visit the toilet! Now this week Dave is sick again, I think it's food poisoning from something he ate over the weekend. Can we ever catch a break?

Dave did have a job interview the week he was home sick. We are praying like crazy that he gets this job, so far we haven't heard anything. The job is in Belgium, yes back in Europe!! We REALLY want to go back!! His job here is a joke, a co-worker treats him like crap and the supervisor does NOTHING about it!! He comes home EVERY night and complains, stresses, loses sleep and dreads the next day. I sure hope he gets another job!!

Aimee is still working on getting her stuff done for turning in her papers for her mission. We were hoping she would be able to go into the MTC in June, but it looks like it will be a bit longer than that. She has to have three wisdom teeth pulled!!! She is amazing!! Her whole attitude has changed, she is so much more calm and patient!!

When and Where Will She Go?

Our beloved Aimee has decided that she wants to serve the Lord by serving an 18 month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!! We are so happy that she has made this decision. She spoke with her Bishop last Sunday and he is in the process of gathering the paperwork and will meet with her again on Sunday. She will have to complete the Temple Prep class and then whatever else has to be done. We are hoping that we can get everything done quickly.

Aimee had enrolled at Eagle Gate College and was planning on attending beginning next week, but the Lord had other plans for her. She was under so much stress trying to figure out where she was going to come up with the money for school. She had gotten financial aid and grants to attend, but not ALL of it was covered. She hasn't been able to find employment, so she was really struggling and trying to figure out what to do.

Aimee is so much more calm and relaxed. We haven't seen her like this for a very long time. Now it's all just a waiting game and going to be very busy at our house for awhile.

WOW!!

Did anyone, besides me, notice how FAT I am? This last family picture is just throwing me for a loop! I realize that with life and age comes some issues, but I didn't realize just how much weight comes with mine. I keep telling myself that I need to lose some of the this weight so that I can better enjoy my life and my future grandchildren, but haven't really been motivated. I know I can lose it if I really want to, but I just need some help with motivation and of course sticking to it!! I remember when I was pregnant with Kaitlyn, eleven years ago, that I was on a very strict diabetic diet and I managed to lose 50 pounds while pregnant! I felt so good when she was born, but life took over and stress became my enemy. I gained almost, about 49, all of it back. While we lived in Italy I was able to lose about 20, but since moving back to Utah, I've gained it back!!! UGH!!! Would any of my blogging friends like to help me out, or help each other out losing that unwanted baggage?

Family Photos 2010

We took family pictures on Friday before Brian and Angela left to go back to Nebraska. Steve didn't have his children in time before the sun went down so we will be taking his family pictures in a couple of weeks. Here are some of the pictures.

It's Been a Crazy Week

Actually it's been a crazy 10 days. I did a little complaining in my last post about needing a friend and who shows up the very next day but my baby brother and his wonderful family!!! I guess the Lord was listening to my prayers after all, plus I had wonderful comments from some wonderful friends. I'm not the only one that seems to be having a difficult time with this last move, I have other friends that have gone through it as well. It feels so nice to know that I'm not the only one in the world who is going through this right now.

Any way, Brian and Angela and their 5 adorable children showed up on Saturday at 530 in the morning. I was actually expecting them on Monday or Tuesday, but they surprised even me this time. They live in Nebraska where Brian is stationed with Air Force. They decided to take their vacation now to get away from the snow instead of during the summer when it's blistering hot!! It has been great!! They stayed with us for two days and then went to stay with my Grandma. We were wall-to-wall people, but it was great!!

Last Saturday Brian baptised his second son, Pearce. It was such an awesome experience to be able to see my brother perform this sacred ordinance!!! It was awesome to see because I have been a part of their lives since Pearce was born. I was there when he was born because Brian was overseas somewhere. I was even there when their third boy, Britton, was born. Again Brian was overseas. I was even privileged to hold Britton when the boys were sealed to their parents. What an awesome experience that was!!!

After the baptism we all gathered at my home and had a BBQ!! It was so fun!!! We laughed so much!! The food was great. The first of Dad's steaks since we left for Italy. Oh man I missed those wonderful steaks!!!

Brian's children have taken a great liking to me!! The younger two children, Weston and Amaia, can't figure out if I'm Grandma or Aunt Pam!! They both keep calling me Grandma. It's so funny! It doesn't bother me at all, I see it as a privilege!!! They even give me lots of hugs and kisses!! The oldest boy is Tommy and he is 9 years old!! He is one awesome, smart boy!!

I LOVE THEM ALL!!!

With all this activity and excitement I have been dealing with the pain of the fibromyalgia. Today was especially bad since I was woken up at 2am from the pain. I haven't talked about the fibro here in my blog, but maybe I should. I deal with pain at verying degrees at different times of the day, every day. Sometimes the pain is so bad I have to take pain medication, today is one of those days. I've been laying on the sofa all day and catnapping. Sometimes I wish I could crawl into a hole a die, today is one of those days, but tomorrow will be different.

I did manage to finish two books today. When I'm in this much pain and all I can do is lay there, I read. I read a lot!! If you've been to my home you know how much I love books. I've read just about every book in my home and most of the books in my Mom's home. The books I finished today were "Setting Sail" by Grace Elliott and "Fearless Fourteen" by Janet Evanovich. "Fearless Fourteen" is a Stephanie Plum mystery, she is absolutely hilarious!!!! "Setting Sail" is an historical fiction about the Saints in England who migrated to New Zealand, very good story!