BREEZY FIELDS

Yes, we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the two women from the Northwest. They have been delayed a day and it dang near killed my kids but they are living and they are coming. I gave myself an early Mother's Day present and hired a company to come vacuum, dust, mop, and scrub my bathrooms and as much as I hate spending money on something I can do and might even do better, it has been a huge relief. I hit meltdown point the other day and that was the result. But... I have been able to work on other projects that I haven't been able to get to and I haven't been a total stress case with my kids, good all around. I swear, by the time I make meals, clean up meals, get kids ready for school, do Jane's school, change diapers, run to soccer, etc... it would take me two days to do what they did in an hour and 45 minutes (there were two of them). Mike told me at the beginning of the deployment that I should just get someone but I am too cheap. However, I've dro...

It's not hell but you can sense it from here Don't anybody choke on their fine home cooked chicken broccoli casserole now. I am actually going to sit down and blog. Dave, Anne, Brent, Kimbo, Tom, Dad Happy Birthday. I think I missed every one. I am still missing all the nieces, nephews and in-laws. Shame on me. I wish I could have sucked down some oysters with you. Brent and Buffy, congrats on the boy that is soon to come into your home. I was extremely happy to hear that news. As for my condolences to the family for the loss of our sweet Grandma, I think we are all happy to know she is happy and has returned with her loved ones and free of the pain and confusion she was plagued with in those later years. Still, I know it is a tough time for Dad and his siblings to see a woman who meant so much to them pass on. I finally recovered from whatever it was that hit me and went out today only to be greeted by a large riot I had to quell because the Iraqi Police had arrested one of th...

I was supposed to sub Sadie's class today, Sadie and I have both been very excited all week. She made sure I had a treat, told me she was going to sit right next to me and be very good. We had it all planned out. Well today there were so many crying kids in nursery that Ellyn was getting upset so my friend Cori, who is in the Primary Presidency decided that she would take Ellie up to sharing time. This was a plan we had been working on for awhile but it was going to be after they had two teachers for Sunbeams. So I didn't know Ellyn was coming up and Cori didn't know I was subbing. Still, Ellyn was doing well, even with me there, staying with Cori, looking at me with a little wonder in her eyes, but happy. Then they did Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes and Ellyn came running, giggling back to me. When it was time for me to go teach Cori took her and minutes later she was screaming bloody murder. I finally sent Sadie down to tell them to bring her to me but it was to...

My beautiful sister called a few months ago and told me that she and Pa thought the family should run/walk Sean's Run from Autism, a 5/10k taking place in Portland in behalf of our little Ellyn. So Meags organized it with both sides of the family and Saturday morning our amazing, wonderful family met together and ran/walked for Ellie. Cory made t-shirts for everyone and I have to say they are very stylish. So on the Stinchfield side Kenn, Adina, Buffy (baby Noah in-vitro), and Buffy's mom Terry participated. Barb had been planning to do it but after finally finding out that she had a stress fracture in her foot she was obviously out of the running (hehe). So she volunteered to run Adina's kids to all of their games so that Adina could run. On the Bennett side it was mom and dad, Brinders and Julia, Cory and Meagan and the four cutest nieces and nephews ever (in a tie with all the others of course) Jack, Bennett, Wil, and Hazey Mae. We had several first placers in the...

Mike e-mailed me yesterday and told me he was okay but that he was sick and being admitted at the clinic. I can't remember the last time Mike was really sick and I know what it takes for him to miss work(I don't think he ever has), so I was pretty worried all night last night. He called this morning and sounded horrible but he was back in his room, fever down. no longer dehydrated. Two of our good friends were able to give him a blessing yesterday. What a comfort that is to me, to know that these men have each other and that they have the priesthood there with them. I am so thankful for good men that honor their priesthood, what a blessing. Mike called again tonight and he sounded much better, he is going out again tomorrow of course. Nothing like a little fever and 115 degree weather to make you feel like crap. Today was a busy day. A good day as well. I was able to get up earlier than I have been lately thanks to my two youngest sleeping pretty well last night. Ellyn slept al...

Yesterday we had soccer with a nice but easy and kind of disorganized coach. He was kind of making drills up as we went and he already quit. We were going to have him for half the season and another coach on the other half. Now that he has quit we at least have one coach for the rest of the season; now we are more steady. He is more disciplined and put together. He concentrates more on what we need rather than the regular; learn how to pass, dribble, and you know, the regular. Does that make sense to any one? We have practice 2 times a week and a game once a week, not always on post. The coach said we might go to Hohenfels and Bamberg and out on German soccer fields. Cool! Right? Well I just felt like righting out my excitement and I need to go to bed. Love you all, Jane

That's going to be my title I think, when I just want to do a couple of random things. First, today Sadie slipped on a toy in the kitchen. She was bringing Sawyer to me and she fell so hard it hurt her stomach and made her cry but she didn't let go of her little brother. Today at the soccer field I was talking to my friend Jasmine and watching Ellyn very closely as she ran all over the empty middle soccer field. She was loving the wind that was really blowing this afternoon. All of the sudden I saw Sadie sprint from her practice over to Ellyn yelling "Mom, mom, Ellyn, Ellyn," as she took her by the hand and started looking for me. What a caring, beautiful kid. Jane watched Ellie this morning while I went to a Dr. appt. I came home to find a little pony tail in Ellyn's hair and a big smile on her face. She left the pony tail in all day and it was so cute. Jane had her first soccer practice today. The coach thought Jane said that she DIDN'T know how t...

F u nn y R e l a t i v e Sarcastic, funny, cute. Those are the words that best describe my aunt Ellyn. She is one of the best aunts I have. I have many good aunts, but without doubt, she IS the funniest. What makes her the funniest? Who knows? It could be her sarcasm. WAIT. It is. There was a time at my grandma's house when my cousin asked what cheesy meant. Well, since I am obsessed with High School Musical, she told him High School Musical. She said it just to bug me. (Get it?). So, yes she is the funniest aunt I have and I love her for that.

H AIRCUT I remember looking down at my white tennis-shoes as I was dramatically stomping down the street with my cut curls in my hand, sobbing over and over again, "My curls, my curls!" My mom had wanted to cut my hair into a bob and once I saw my friend Caitlin's haircut, I finally agreed. As soon as I told my mom, she ran to get the scissors. I liked it after I stopped throwing my fit and after it was cut, but, boy I guess that was what I would call a dramatic tragedy for me.

Yes, it is true. We woke up to four inches of snow this morning. Beautiful fluffy flakes. It really made me want to ski or snow shoe or something wonderful. Sadie and I did throw a few snowballs at each other at the bus stop waiting for the bus that was half an hour late and would not drive down into our subdivision. By afternoon it was indeed 50 degrees just as the forecast said it would be. Crazy. So that was all I got done yesterday. I had a Leadership Training meeting that I had to help teach for Primary up in Nurnberg last night. Those kinds of things really stress me out, luckily the subject was "The importance of using scriptures to teach." Okay, something like that, I can't figure out how to say it correctly. It's almost 1 am. It wasn't lucky that I got that subject either. I asked if that might work since I was giving a talk on Feasting on the Words of Christ and I could prepare both. It does actually happen to be something I have strong feel...

Here is a little of everything I have wanted to mention- Sadie has really been worried about things that will kill you lately. We have on video Sadie totally freaking out because she touched my sink after I told her not to touch the sink but before I could tell her it had been filled with Drano. She was screaming and crying because she had "touched poison two times." The other time was several weeks ago when she asked if it was okay to eat paint and I told her- no, that it was poisonous. Again, hysterics, because.... yes, Sadie and peeled up a piece of paint, rolled it into a ball and had eaten it. So tonight might be the best. Tonight she asked me if she could die if a booger from your nose fell into your ear and you couldn't get it out. She is close to tears so I have a feeling this has actually already taken place- I'm smart like that. "Sadie, how did a booger get in your ear?" "Will it kill me?" "No, but how did it get there?...

I thought I had out maneuvered "Awkward American Day." Pretty much every time I go out into our German community I have awkward situations arise. Mostly dealing with trying to park and unload my giant American SUV. Jane and I went shopping in Amberg with Sawyer today, while the girls were in school. My Honda was in the shop getting the belt replaced so we took the BMW. All the way there I kept reminding myself to turn off the headlights when I parked. We got to Amberg, zipped into a little parking spot with plenty of room on either side, got out the umbrella, put on the front pack and went off to shop. It was pouring rain as we walked to the Markplatz, which was unfortunate because all the vendors were pulling their stuff inside and one of our missions had been to find a scarf with a German motif to send to Mike as a gift for his interpreter's fiance. I didn't want to duck in and out of shops in the pouring rain (note- it was not raining when we left) so we w...

Today we finally had a good day. We went over to my friend Ann-Christin's house for lunch and then from there we all went to a little animal park. There are so few rules here for kids, it's so fun. They were having a great time climbing on rocks and up hillsides, throwing rocks in the river, feeding the animals. It was just what they needed after a long week inside. Sadie was so worried because the kids only speak German. I told her it would work. It started out rough but by the time lunch was over there were no barriers, Sadie and Sariah were running around hand in hand. Ellyn also had a great time, she stayed out of her stroller almost the entire time. In fact, she pushed her stroller the last half an hour or so. Mike called soon after we got home. He finally has internet in his room again. It's always so good talk to him and now we can ichat too. Last night I did my work out at 11:30 because I didn't want to miss, but I know I won't get down there tonight and I a...

My first post to our family blog. About 7.5 months to go. In the midst of wondering what my immediate future holds as far as Hawk Company command and thinking about all we have to do to secure an assignment which will hold the best for Ellyn and the family. Things are starting to warm up here but we did have a little rain today. I am in charge of a large area and there is no shortage of things to do as I am out and about. Wish I could talk more about the specifics but you all know the deal. We live on an old Saddam Hussein era Army base surrounded by a current Iraqi Army base. There is one picture of Saddam with a Mickey Mouse face now. I will have to get out and take some pictures. I had a wondeful visit with the family. I could not ask for a better group of people to go through life with. Mike

Yesterday we got some sunshine. It was still cold but the girls got out on the trampoline and we went for a walk. Jane and her friend biked on post and went for ice cream and to the library. She checked out a "teen" cookbook and last night we made red beans and rice and cornbread (done almost completely by Jane) and carrot/coconut/pineapple salad (made with my incredibly speedy food processor that I got just for my Deceptively Delicious Cookbook that I haven't used yet). Elly loved the red beans and rice and they were dang spicy. I dished her up seconds and thirds and then she reached over to my plate. We also used our special flour and soy milk so she could eat the cornbread and she loved that as well. Sadie liked everything- sort of. I was making her eat her carrot salad and she did not want it. I said "Come on Sadie, this was one of my favorites when I was a little girl." She looked at me with this kind, understanding, I (as in Sadie) am the parent, you are t...

Yesterday morning I woke up kind of early and was checking my email. I didn't get anything and so I decided to make a plan/time line for the day. I really think it is actually kind of fun. Last night Shyah came over for a little while and played rock band and ate dinner. Then after that me and Sadie had a sleepover with ice cream and Harry Potter. It was really fun. Today I biked on post with and got ice cream and went to the library. It was a lot of fun. Daddy, I love you. How is it there? Love, Jane

I loved listening to conference Saturday and Sunday night. I especially loved the Sunday afternoon session. Um...I'm going to copy and paste what I e-mailed to my dad. It's too easy. Great sessions today, especially the last. I loved Elder Bednar's talk on prayer. I have really been trying to focus on making my prayers more meaningful of late. A sister in our ward shared something she learned on her mission a few Sundays ago. She said to ask Heavenly Father what we should pray for. It seemed a little bizarre but I was intrigued. I tried it a few nights ago and immediately had about four very distinct impressions fill my head of things I should pray for. Some were just things that had slipped out of my regular prayers and others were things that I should have thought to pray for but hadn't. It worked again last night as well. Plus, now those things are more in my mind throughout the day and I can say little prayers. One of the impressions was that I sho...

1. Sadie, what is your favorite book? Pigeon books 2. What is your favorite scripture story? The Joseph Smith story where he sees God and prays. 3. What is your favorite color? pink 4. What is your favorite song? This Love (maroon 5) 5. What's your favorite outfit? dark jeans and new flowered shirt 6. How many hours are there in a day? um...24 7. What is your favorite food? Tomato soup 8. What's your favorite thing to do? go to birthdays 9. What's your favorite holiday? all favorite holidays 10. What is two plus two? 4 11. What is 8 plus 8? 16 Sadie was helping me come up with questions and she didn't want what she liked anymore. 12. What is your favorite day in the week? Wednesday, cuz that's my birthday. 13. Who is your favorite character? Giselle's prince Edward, he's hilarious- and the chipmunk. 14. Who is your favorite princess? Giselle 15. What do you worry about? My family, that you guys might get hurt. 16....

My purpose in starting this is to create a treasure for my children and grandchildren. Now that I know blogs can be made into books I have found the answer that works for me. A way to journal, scrapbook, what have you, all wrapped up in one. This will be a canvas for my children to share their thoughts, experiences, and pictures as they grow. I am incredibly excited. President Spencer W. Kimball said: “I urge all of the people of this church to give serious attention to their family histories, to encourage their parents and grandparents to write their journals, and let no family go into eternity without having left their memoirs for their children, their grandchildren, and their posterity." So we will go forward. Mike made up the title and I love it. Thank goodness, I had absolutely no creative juices flowing in that department. I checked out the Lynyrd Skynyrd lyrics on line and there weren't any bad words and it talked about liking Georgia peaches and I have to ag...

Mom, Thank you so much for setting up the blog. It is really great. Last night I went over to Abbey's house and had dinner and watched a movie. The movie, (Mr. Beans Holiday), is hilarious. I love the part when he gets the sea food platter and does not know how to eat anything. He eats the whole crab. Last night I fell asleep on Sadie while we were watching Enchanted for our sleep over after we had played super smash brothers. Daddy, I love and miss you. Hope you have a great day. Love, Me

Today is the first day of Spring Break. It started out last night rather inauspiciously, with Sadie sent off to bed at about 7:30. The kid was a basket case. Hopefully we will have fun despite the weather and the decision to stay home vs. going somewhere warm, with cousins, etc... Okay this is all for now. Errands to run, groceries to buy. Just a little test. Blog out