My 40th birthday

I am 40 today! In celebration of 40 years of life I am going to start by saying I am grateful for the miracle of modern medicine. Without ultrasound Carter and I would not be here. I was 25 almost 26 when he was born via emergency C-Section. I am grateful for medical staff that spend all that time learning so I do not have to. I am thankful for the doctor who knew what Pagets disease of the breast was and sent me to a surgeon. (He was the third doctor I had visited) I am thankful for the people who spend their time finding was to cure cancer. The people who took care of me. We do not talk about the chemo process much but a few quick thoughts are due. I am thankful for my husband. It has been 10 year since we first chatted on hotsaints.com. Our first date was October 12, 2002 and we were married January 1, 2003. The reality of cancer came three months later. I am thankful that he stayed, he didn't have to. I am thankful that while I could do very little he loved the five children that were not his. I am thankful for levofloxacin. Chemo did not make me throw up, it crashed my immune system before the meds they give you to build up your red and white blood cell worked. So basically I laid in bed, prayed for a fever, took levafloxacin, felt better just in time to go back! But I am alive so I am thankful for chemo, too. 

I am thankful for my family, my sisters and sister-in-laws keep me laughing, and my brothers help when asked! I am thankful for my children: Kiersta who tries hard to keep her family fed and housed; Taylor who is really a marshmallow with a hard chocolate exterior; Martina who is my helper and does what I need done (she is going away soon and I will miss all the helping she does); Kielee who is rarely serious; Faith who is sweet and loves everyone; Carter who only wants to grow; Gabbie she also keeps the world laughing. I am especially thankful for Clarissa and Wesley. I had a dream when Ryan and I were first married of a curly haired blond little girl and a blond little boy about the same size. I marvel at the two of them everyday and the miracle that they are. 

I am thankful that my mom retired and moved into my basement. She keeps the teens laughing. She helps Faith say the things that should be said delicately politer then I adviser her too! She helps manage this crazy house full of teens.

I am thankful for my dad who is always willing to fix our car or advise us on how it should be done.

I am thankful for friends especially Tanya Sall, she helps me widen my perspective when it grows too narrow.

I am thankful for Shanna Hodges who lets me vent about teenagers and has been a great support when my husband was gone. 

I am thankful for my husband who I am very much in love with. He is the greatest man I have ever known!

I am thankful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance!

I am thankful to be 40 and not 16!

The FEVER

My husband has caught the FEVER! There is a junk/car collecting fever that runs in my family. Some of it useful and some of it not. My Grandpa Hall collecting things. He had two refrigerators in his back yard filled with sorted nuts and bolts. People who knew him stopped by his house before the hardware store. My father is a car collector, "I need this engine... But no it does not fit in the car that needs an engine, but it was a good deal." My brothers have similar car collecting habits. My husband will be purchasing a Merkur on Monday minus the top end of the engine! Glad he has a hobby car! He washed and waxed it before he put a cover on it and put it in the garage!

Laughing

My mother and I have been asked at our ward's women retreat to teach a workshop on "Laughing without Fear".  They are under the impression that we are funny. Martina contributed to that by telling them how funny my mother is at youth conference. Although they said it was the hat my mother wore to the Relief Society "T" party,  it was a toiletry had with almost all the "T" things she could find in the bathroom, that did us in. So I just want to say that any funny stories I know about you may end up in our workshop this weekend. And if any of you have any stories to add about my mother or other members of the Hall family let me know. We will be covering when my mom lost her car at the post office in Beatty, when she used her new pants to patch Merrill's pants, when the hatchback got sucked of my car driving down I-80, When Taylor got his new shoe suck out the window of the car at the beginning of the 20 mile construction zone so I could not pull over and find it, We may discuss Carter's former "art" projects in Brigham City, When Grandma Hall threw the clock in the swamp, and what happened to Uncle Bobby's ashes just to name a few.

Faithie

Sunrise from my roof!

Our day at the Rio Tinto Famly Day

We will Survive.

The children are going to survive the ward boundary changes!

My Flaneur Photos

Today we attended the funeral of Ryan's grandmother, Jewel Loder. Right before the family prayer I saw Wes bolt out the side door of the chapel. I followed expecting to find him in the hall. I made several rounds of the main level and could not find him. So I went downstairs, there was still no Wesley but I heard the elevator running and decided to wait. Sure enough when the doors opened there he was and he said,"Mom, I found you. You were in the basement. You were lost." He quite proudly took me back upstairs.

Quote that remind me of my girls!

She believed she could so she did! This is Clarissa....I know she is only 5 but the confidence she has is amazing. She simply thinks about it decides she can and sets out to do it.

Keep your heels, head and standards HIGH and No one can make you feel inferior without your consent (Eleanor Roosevelt). These are Martina and on her wall!

Always Remember, you are braver then you believe, stronger then you seem and smarter then you think (Winnie ther Pooh). Kielee has a hard time remembering how awesome she is!

“I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.”
― Audrey Hepburn This reminds me of my Faithy Cola. She is the steady one of my kids! but she is the most girly and she laughs and jokes and is a little more passionate about life. She a steady laid-backness about her I have come to appreciate.

You're off to great places. Today is your day. Your mountain is waiting. Get on your way! ~Dr. Seuss. This is Gabbie she is always thinking. She is helpful and doesn't know it but has great leadership skills!