Braces and Going to the Temple

Mario became the 4th member of the family to get braces in the last four years.  A friend from church is the orthodontist on base and he agreed to put braces on Mario, all free compliments of the Air Force.  Mario had braces and the headgear as a teenager but he broke his retainer and so his teeth quickly became very crooked again on the bottom.  In fact, we pretty much had the same bottom teeth.  But I had mine fixed 4 years ago.  He looks like a teenager again and we make fun of him every chance we get.  Poor Mario.  I am super excited for him to get them off in a year.  He's having a lot of regrets getting them but I think in a year, he'll be very grateful.  Besides, when it's free, who can resist?!

I have taken on another tutoring student.  The mother is persistant and was able to get her public school to agree to let me come in during the school day to tutor her (because we are both busy in the evenings.)  So come next week, my days may be filled with lots of tutoring. So as I reflected on the fact my free time was dwindling quickly, I thought that I really should have taken more advantage of going to the Temple on Friday mornings (the only weekday morning it is open) while the kids are at school.  Mario and I love to go in the evenings together but I feel bad leaving kids and also I don't really consider going to the Temple a date night.  I guess that's dumb and I should be really appreciative that we can go and it is so close.  Our goal was to go weekly, but lately we seem to get so busy.  We are really only able to make it once a month usually.

But anyway, I woke up Friday morning determined to go to the Temple for the 10 am session.  I got showered and dressed to go.  I had a few errands to run after taking kids to school and before the session.  While running errands, my cell phone calendar alert went off.  Oh no!  What did I have scheduled?  Visiting teachers coming at 10.  Darn.  I really was so excited about going to the Temple that morning.  I thought about calling them and canceling, but I decided that I shouldn't take that opportunity from them.  I went home and waited and waited and waited.  By 11 am, it was apparent they weren't coming.  I decided to go to the noon session.  I jumped in my car and realized that my Temple clothing were in Mario's car and that car was at the mechanic.  Darn.  Well, I would do Initiatories instead.  I got about 10 miles down the road and decided I better call the Temple and make sure that there was an open slot.  No such luck.  Darn again!  I wanted to cry as I drove home.  I felt certain that Satan must have been trying to keep me from going to the Temple that day.

After being home for a few minutes, my VT called and offered a very sincere apology.  She had to take her son to the ER for a shoulder injury.  Of course, I couldn't be upset with her.  Even if she didn't have a good excuse, I have forgotten in the past too.  I was determined to make it to the Temple that day.  Mario convinced me to wait until this morning to go.  So I got up early and left.  Mario wanted to go with me but he had just gone on Wednesday night with the youth.  I told him that I really wanted this time to go by myself and not feel rushed to get back outside to call the kids and make sure they hadn't killed each other yet.  He agreed and he planned a morning of chores for the kids.

It was wonderful having that time alone in the car driving the half hour to the Temple.  I put on some soft church music and reflected on how blessed I am to have such a wonderful husband that treats me so well and that I love so much and also my four beautiful children that Heavenly Father has entrusted us with.  I love each of them so much and I am trying to be the mother that Heavenly Father wants me to be.

I loved my time in the Temple.  I loved that I could take my time in the Celestial Room to pray.  I am so grateful that Mario and I took the time to think out this move to Omaha.  We are so blessed to have a Temple so close.  I feel we were wise in our decision to move here.

I want my children to know that there may be days like yesterday where it seems like there are many things keeping you from going to the Temple.  Don't give up.  Make it a priority and just go.  No matter what...It will be worth putting the wordly things aside for the moment.  You can't get that same peace anywhere else.

Pot Of Gold and Lamborghini

The boys wrote these in school.  Do you notice what they have in common?

I think I like Nate's the best because I'm missing Hawaii these days as we are still having winter weather in the middle of April here in Nebraska.  We got teased with 70 degrees last week.  But it sure didn't last long.  We had lots of freezing rain and snowflakes the last couple days.

What a blessing to have lived in paradise for 3 years.  If you consider Guam to be a paradise too, then that would make 5 years in paradise.

Grandma Bay, Amish, and General Conference

My parents came the day before Easter and were planning to spend a week and a half with us in Omaha before heading out to Utah for their mission.   Mario and I were planning a short getaway to Kansas City and to Jamesport, Missouri to visit the Amish community.  But my grandmother was hospitalized and then released but needed around the clock care.  So my parents needed to head back to take care of her in Missouri.   They plan to cancel their mission and stay with her until they can convince her to move back to Florida with them.   They headed back to Missouri on Wednesday morning and by Wednesday afternoon, I decided to head down with the twins to visit my grandma too since I haven't seen her since last July.  

It was a long 6 1/2 hour drive and I hate driving.  My sister teases me that I took 4 days to travel from Tucson to the Grand Canyon a few years back.  The boys and I got in at 8:30 that evening and were able to spend a few minutes with her before heading off to the hotel.  Then we went back and visited her the next morning before we went to Meramec Springs that is just down the road from her home.  The boys had a great time at the park.  Then we went back to my grandmother's house and visited a couple more hours.  It was so good to sit and visit with her.  I have such fond memories from my childhood of going to her house to spend the night, picking berries off her bushes, and also going to eat Sunday dinner at her home during the years they lived close by.  I thought that she looked great considering all that she had been through with having to be hooked up to oxygen and the recent hospital visit.   It was sad to say goodbye but she looked so good, that I am confident she'll be around for a while longer.

I decided that I better break the trip home into 2 days so we left late that afternoon and drove up to Independence, Missouri and visited the church sites there.  We got a hotel and the next morning we toured Liberty Jail.  The boys and I really enjoyed our visit at the jail.  There was a strong Spirit there. After the jail, we took off for Jamesport to see the Amish.  I am obsessed with the Amish.  As a child, I was obsessed with  the Mafia so anyone that criticizes by Amish obsession should just appreciate that I am no longer into watching Mafia movies.  I love Amish books and the people in general.  I love how they are so forgiving.  I love how they don't have to deal with all the trash that we have to deal with today in modern society.  They are such simple, loving people.  Mario always jokes that I am ready to convert.  Ha!

The boys were excited to go with me to visit their community.  We arrived with no plans or agenda.  We pulled into the tiny town and I saw a few Amish buggies and a few stores, but they looked very "English."  So I found a pamphlet at City Hall and called a tour guide.  He met me about 30 minutes later and took us on a tour of the whole town.  We quickly found out that there aren't many Amish within the city limits.  You have to travel a couple miles out of town to see all their farms.  We watched the children play baseball at recess.  We visited an Amish thrift store.  I thought about buying an Amish dress and telling Mario that I decided to convert.  But Zach found a vest that he wanted so I bought that instead.  I found one for Eric too.  We went to a couple bakeries and bought lots of yummy treats like donut holes, cookies, and pies. Everything was so fresh and good.  We went to a furniture store and one day I plan to buy some (when I have my Venice home paid off) and we aren't moving every couple years.  The furniture is pricey but so beautiful. The only thing I bought at the furniture store was a wood cutting board.  I bought some baskets at one of the bakeries.   The boys got so excited when the first couple Amish people spoke to us.  They thought they talked a little funny.   To me, it was a dream come true to visit their community.  I wish that I could have been there with Mario, but the boys were a good substitute.  After bringing home some of the baked goods, Mario got excited to go there himself.  So hopefully we'll be able to make it over there before we leave Omaha in a couple years.

Today was filled with conference talks at my house.  I remember when I was a kid, I didn't enjoy conference. My parents only made us watch the Sunday morning conference.  As an adult, I look forward to conference in April and October.  I can't get enough of the talks. I need all the advice I can on being a better wife, mother and Christian.   What a blessing to have the Priesthood on the earth and to have inspired leaders to give us messages that are perfect for our time.  I love cuddling up on the couch with my paper and pen (and lots of conference snacks-picked out by Eric this year). So as you can see, I pretty committed to my church.  Despite what Mario thinks, I am not converting to Amish anytime soon.  

 

Easter Prep

This year I decided to make homemade treats with and without the kids for Easter baskets. Here are some of the things we've been making in preparation for Easter. There will be no chocolate bunnies in their baskets this year. Hope they aren't disappointed.

Fortunately Erin's Sunday School teacher,who happens to be the Bishop's wife, has reminded us to focus on the true meaning of Easter. She is in the process of writing a children's book on the last week of Christ's life on Earth. She hasn't published it yet, but she made copies of it for each member of her class and so we have been reading it each night for our scripture study. What a powerful book she has written. I'm so thankful that Erin is blessed with this wonderful teacher. Erin loves her. She has five young children at home but still manages to find time to put together these incredible lessons each week.


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Pinewood Derby Pictures

I actually used my good camera (instead of my iphone) to take pictures at the Pinewood Derby.  When I came home and downloaded the pictures to my computer, I realized the pictures from last year's derby were still on my camera.  So I checked my blog, and sure enough, I never put the pictures on there.  So, here are derby pictures from the past 2 years.  Last year, the boys tied for 4th place out of about 30 boys.  This year, they didn't do as well.  Never, ever have we seen such a competitive group.  Bishop Webber's sons took 1st and 2nd place this year.  Last year, his son took 1st place as well.  So, he obviously must own the Pinewood Derby Bible, as seen in the movie-Down and Derby.  Mario booked an early flight and made it home in time to see the boys compete.  He missed last year because he had already moved up here to Omaha.  So it was great to have him home.  Notice the difference in Zach's uniform from last year compared to this year.  Too funny and reminds me of his big brother, Eric.

May 2012

May 2012

2013 Zach's iPhone

2013 Nate's Batman

Zach's 3rd Place for Bears 2013

Beautiful Loaf

I watched a cooking show when I couldn't sleep yesterday morning. It was a show with tips on making wheat bread. I have been making wheat bread for years but decided to use some of his tips. The family loved the bread last night and Mario and Erin fought over the leftovers this morning. So I made 3 more loaves today. Wish Sister Park was in our neighborhood so we could bring her a loaf. We miss her and Brother Park. They were so kind to our family when we lived in Arizona.

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Our New Home

Mario flew to Florida last Wednesday and closed on our new home.  He originally wanted to send me to do all the paperwork and as much as I would love to get a break from the cold weather in Nebraska, I wanted no part in finding new tenants for it.  Landlording doesn't sound the least bit fun to me.

The sellers close on their new home the first week of April so we decided to be generous and let them stay in the home until they close so they don't have to move twice.  That may have been a mistake in hindsight because now we may have to pay cleaners to come in and clean because we won't be there to do it ourselves.  The sellers agreed to clean it well but who knows what standards they use.

We originally set the rent at $1700.  That would cover everything including all the taxes, insurance, lawn and pool care. But we didn't have a lot of calls about the property at first so we dropped it to $1675.  Now we will have to pay the optional flood insurance out of our pocket.  We still weren't getting a lot of calls so Mario was ready to drop the price by a hundred or two hundred dollars.  I told him no way.  Be patient.  I was confident that we would find a good renter sooner than later.  When I told Erin that Mario wanted to drop the price she said, "Just wait.  You'll find a good renter just like us."  That was good encouragement from our 13 year-old.

Mario got a call on Sunday from a parts manager of a dealership that was transferring down to Sarasota.  He asked to see the house on Monday.  So Mario showed his girlfriend/wife (not sure which one) on Monday afternoon and she gave him a $500 deposit to hold the home for them plus the $70 required for criminal and credit check.  Mario ran the checks and called all the references.  They came highly recommended by everyone he talked to.  So they move in April 6.

I feel like March has been a stressful month and now I realize that Mario and I stressed for nothing.  We have been so blessed.  I am hoping that if we can keep a good renter in the property, we will be able to pay off the mortgage by time he is ready to retire in 5 years.  It will require me to stick to my budget though.  So I might not be taking any fancy vacations (cruises) for awhile.  But being debt free is so important to us, it will be worth it.