July *09

Without even asking I am stealing a fabulous idea from my former roommate's blog (and let me tell you, Linz, it won't be the last!). She does a monthly report on her family and then on each person. I love this!

Our Fam

Janie and Meg spent the first few days of the month heading to the Chiropractor's office after a little accident at the end of June (we were rear-ended on I-15 on the way to get Janie's brace from Shriner's Hospital). We both needed a bit of adjustment but thankfully nothing serious. We spent the 4th of July with the Hunsakers. We hit the Kaysville parade. It's basically a bunch of businesses advertising and school groups performing. I think people come for the nostalgia of it and the chance of catching free stuff. I caught some beads and Jason caught a neck tie, so it seems we did well. Janie was enthralled with the fireworks that night until the neighbors started setting off some really loud ones and we had to go in. The next week Janie brought a little something home from nursery (we think) and by the end of the week we all had it! I can't ever remember being sick in the summertime before and it was very strange and lasted forever! I felt like we should be staying inside and kept having to remind myself that it wasn't cold out. This was the worst two weeks to be sick. We missed a cousin's baby shower, a cousin visiting with her new baby, a play at the Hale Center Theater, our next appointment to get Janie's brace, and Meg had to miss most of Girl's Camp. The next week we finally got the brace. Meg's brother Kurt is coming home from his mission in August so we had to return the old '95 Chevy S-10 pickup to the Hunsaker's. That truck and I have been through a lot together (thanks to my dad!)--up to Ricks College, down to Utah Valley State College, and with Jason to various workplaces in the past two years. Anyway, this meant we had to get a new car, and we had to look at something that will be able to tote a wheelchair, strollers, etc. (But no vans.) We were blessed to find an '06 Highlander in great condition with low miles. I just have to take a moment and say

*thank you!* *thank you!* *thank you!*

to my sweet husband. He was able to sell some watches that he was awarded when he was with Wyndham to get most of the money for the car. Though he would have liked to have a more fun car to drive around in, instead he found us a car that will hopefully fit the future needs of our family. Thank you, sweetheart! At the end of the month we traveled with my family to Manti for the Ernest and Nora Mickelson (Meg's mom's side) reunion where it was fun to see cousins that I now know better through blogs and facebook, and of course, got to see Janie's great-grandma Nora, the 97-year-old matriarch of the family who is loved by all who know her! I think we figured out that Janie is #84 out of 100-something great-grandchildren (and still counting!)

Jason

Jason quit Worldmark by Wyndham in April to start his own business with a few people he met at Worldmark. Starting his own business has always been something he has dreamed about and he has learned so much. Not long after that, another business opportunity presented itself and he has chosen to pursue it and actually combine the two ventures somewhat. His current company is called G5Nexus and it is a marketing company. A company or business will give them a target demographic of who is most likely to buy that company's product (a certain income level or marital status, for example.) G5Nexus is paid to then find and send these "qualified" people to presentations put on by these various companies or businesses. Jason works really hard and is always doing things that just amaze me. Businesses are slow in the get-go and this has been a challenge and sometimes stressful for both of us, but I'm grateful for Jason's hard work and admire his courage to chase dreams. Jason is the Physical Facilities Director in the ward. What? Setting up chairs or something, right? Not so. He is in charge of getting the members to come and clean the meetinghouse on Saturdays every third month. If they don't show, guess who gets to clean it? That's not really part of the calling; technically we aren't supposed to clean it. But, you know, *we all have work, let no one shirk* (including me.) We could use the blessings anyway, so I try not to complain. Or be too mad at the no-shows.

Meg

Meg is still in Young Women's (secretary), and is pretty sure it's because she's not grown up enough to be in Relief Society. In many ways I feel like I have been able to learn things "this time around" that didn't really sink in when I was a young woman going through the program. I am grateful for the opportunities it has given me to learn and grow and even face some fears. Right now I am working on trying to keep my life organized and more balanced. I get overwhelmed fairly easily and when that happens I shut down and go into some strange hyper-procrastinating, mope-around-the-house mode and then I get nothing done. Through some study, prayer and reflection, I am finding that I need more structure to help me stay focused. I made a little chart to help me know what needs to get done each day (it's really more of a glorified to-do list). I know it sounds totally hokey, but it has helped me so much! When I find myself feeling frustrated at how much I have to do, I check my little chart and it reminds me of what I need to do/can do in the next hour or two, and though I almost never check off everything on my list on any given day, I look at my chart and see how much I did get done and it helps me feel like I was actually productive! Through my little "program" I have gained (or regained) the conviction that reading scriptures, exercising and early to and out of bed are things that have a very big effect on the rest of my day and that if I can give up some things to make time for those to happen it affects everything else for the better. I am a night owl so getting to bed early is one of the hardest things for me, but I'm getting better.

Janie

Janie is teething, so she has been pretty irritable this month. Add being sick, visits to a chiropractor and adjusting to her brace = not a very fun month. She is the queen of scary bedhead--her hair is so crazy in the mornings! She loves to watch "Little Leaps," this little Leapfrog DVD program she got for her birthday. She especially loves the one with "Thomas and Friends." (This is what I put on for her so I can do her hair each morning.) Her cousin Ammon has a blanket with Thomas on it, and we laid it out in front of her and she kept leaning over it and studying it and holding it. She also got a little jewel ring from the pinata at the Mickelson reunion. Her daddy put it on her finger and was telling her how beautiful it was. She would hold out her hand and admire it. One day I was looking for my wedding ring and said to Janie, "Where is mommy's ring? We need to find it." (Please tell me I'm not the only mommy who talks in third person!) Janie looked down at her hand, saw nothing there and then looked back up at me with wide eyes, babbling emphatically several times as if to say, "Where's MY ring??? Mommy, my ring! Where is my ring?" We went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House with some of Jason's family. I was so excited for Janie to be able to see it, since I don't think she sees it when we drive by. Sadly, she kind of fussed all through it. But it was really special to be there together as a family, and when we were in the sealing room I whispered the song "I love to see the Temple" to her (which she loves) and she calmed down. She seems to like going to nursery, though whenever we ask her about it she looks at us like she has no idea what we're talking about. She loves her grandparents and always wants to be held by them the moment she sees them. Her smile and her dimples are still *irresitable,* just in case you were wondering.