GETTING READY...

...for Halloween!!!

Even in Australia where they don't really celebrate Halloween we are getting ready! Costumes almost done - Cooper's is going to be AWESOME!!! That is all I am going to say, you will have to wait until after Halloween for me to post pics!

Rylee on the other hand couldn't wait to wear her "princess dress" She wore it two days in a row last week and cried when Kev took it off to put on her pjs at night. Then she was sad when I told her that it had to be washed. It is now clean and hanging up waiting for the big day!

Grandma Susan sent us some cards in the mail. Each kid got a green back - they think they are rich. LOL!! They will be big spenders when we get back to Utah. She also had an eraser in each card for the kids. Rylee has been carrying hers around since we got the cards yesterday afternoon. It has even taken a swim in the bathtub. It is now safely stowed in her Dora purse.

REALITY CHECK...

Since people keep asking here is an update on the job hunt. It is going to be HARD!!! Kevin's boss called the VP over one of the jobs that he has applied for to put in a good word for him. They had many more applications than they had anticipated. That is the nature of the beast as people have lost countless jobs or are looking to improve their current status in a company. These are the first jobs coming up in Salt Lake so they are getting tons of applicants as well - that's what happens when a job freeze ends in a recession.

This is going to be harder than we at first thought. I was worried about this. When Kev found a job in Australia and we moved here I knew it would be hard to get back to Salt Lake. We didn't just get transferred in the company, he found a new job and we relocated here. That means we won't just get transferred back either, we have to find a new job to get relocated. People like Utah and they don't want to leave. Some of the jobs coming up do not have relocation available, which means that if Kev gets a job that he really wants and they won't pay our way back we have to come up with the money to do so ourselves.

I am trying really hard not to worry about all of this, but it seems to be weighing down on us a bit. Sleepless nights and stressed out kids are not helping. Madi doesn't want to move back to Utah. She is worried about leaving her friends here - totally understandable. Of course we know that in the times we live in she can communicate with them easily and stay in touch. She will make new friends and adjust well once we get settled. It doesn't matter how much we tell her this she isn't sleeping well. She is tossing and turning for hours after her lights are turned out. That is how Madi deals with stress - always has been - she doesn't sleep well. Cooper doesn't want to go back to Utah because we have to sell the Wii and all his hard work will be lost. I know it sounds a bit silly, but he is worried about it. I told him that we can always take this Wii, get an adapter, and still use it in Utah. If we want more games we will have to buy another Wii.

So the job hunt is still on and any extra prayers would be totally appreciated.

CRAZY HAIR

Today was crazy hair day at school - need I say more?

Too bad we just buzzed Coop's hair.

Magic was achieved with lots of tiny elastics and a can of blue tinted hairspray.

Success and two crazy kids.

2nd WHITE DRESS

My mom couldn't come to Madi's baptism, but she wanted to be part of it anyway so she made Madi a white dress to be baptized in. Then she made another special dress for her as well. Madi loves this blue dress and wears it almost every week to Church. I took some pictures of Madi in her dresses that didn't turn out very well and haven't had a chance to attempt again. My mom keeps bugging me about seeing pictures of Madi, so during school holidays we went over to the temple and the surrounding grounds and took some pictures. The white flower in her hair was something that she wore around her wrist when she was blessed. She wore it in her hair on her baptism day as well. Then she she is married she will wear it again. Thanks to my mom for making Madi feel extra special on her day and making such lovely dresses for her.

HUGE NEWS!!!

I am going to sell my digital scrapbooking designs. I can hardly believe it. I am super excited and nervous as well. I will be selling at Digiridoo Scraps. Exciting as well because it is an Aussie based scrapbooking site.

I made my first full kit! Introducing Fairy World. I made this kit for my two girls. With wonder and imagination fairies are alive in our home. We see them at the grocery story, inside our home, and in the trees outside. We even have a fairy world in our garden. I love the imagination of a child and wanted to capture this for my girls. Go here to my shop to pick it up! If you go to my scrapping blog, Stacy's Back Door Designs, you can also get a freebie alpha to go with this kit.

I made two LOs with this kit in honor of the girls who I made the kit for. Here they are!

TODAY

- My chest still hurts. I guess it is getting better I can't really tell. I've been told it can take up to two weeks to get better. I just don't feel very good. Now my neck and back are hurting because I am compensating for the chest pain. UGH!
- My mom told me to eat honey - I hate honey. I think it stems from her making us eat honey and vinegar when we were sick as kids. Honey is a natural antibiotic. I hate it. So I got me some honey and lemon herbal tea - it's not so bad.
- My house looks like WWIII - that's what happens when you don't feel good.
- I did not make my bed and haven't all week.
- I haven't put on make-up all week either.
- At least I am not in my pjs at noon.
- I just went outside to check on the kids - you should see the front yard. UGH!!! Weeds everywhere - it looks bad, really bad. Oh well! It's not my house.
- One of the jobs Kev applied for went down today - yeah!
- Now we wait and see what happens - not so yeah!
- I have put up three loads of laundry on the line - that feels good something is getting done.
- I have some exciting news about digital scrapbook designing, but I can't share it yet.
- I really want Cafe Rio - they should really come to Australia. Seriously there is no good Mexican here they would make a killing.
- The kids are playing nicely and it sounds lovely. School holidays are more than half over.
- Everywhere I look I see something I will have to sale before we move back to the States - the fridge, the waching machine and dryer, my hair dryer, lamps, two TVs, the Wii, our car, Kev's scooter, the list goes on and on. Double UGH!
- I need a new style - or at least not the worn out mommy look. Seriously a good hair cut and some cute clothes would do wonders for me.
- At least the sun is shining and I got a package in the mail yesterday from my sister - in it are two really cute necklaces for me. Boy does Julie know me well!!!

THE WAITING PLACE...

...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

These words written by Dr. Seuss kept running through my head yesterday as I had the longest waiting day of my life.

Let me start at the beginning. I have been sick for a month now. It all started out with the flu and progressed to the point where I lost my voice - remember that post? (read it here if you want to). I had a cough and a cold and then finally at the beginning of last week I started to feel better. YEAH!!! Well that was until the middle of the week when I got a pain in my chest. It felt like someone was sitting there no matter what I did. I started to think that my infection had moved to my lungs, but since my cough was getting better I thought it would go away in a few days. Then yesterday morning, when I went to hang up some clothes on the line, I realized that I was short of breath. I decided to take myself to the Medical Clinic and see a doctor. Maybe I have walking pneumonia or something.

Here is where the waiting begins.

It was a Saturday - they don't do appointments on Saturdays just walk-ins. That's fine I can wait while Madi was at a birthday party. I dropped her off and drove to the shopping center where the Medical Center is located. Soon all the people who were there before me had gone in to see the doctor and then a few started going in that had come after me. I inquired at the desk - I had been there an hour and a half by now. She said that I hadn't told her I had come back. WHAT?!!! I hadn't left. I was sitting quietly reading my book. She said I was next and kept apologizing. I will admit I was upset now.

I finally got in to the room to see the doctor and he asked me why I was there. I explained my history and he listened to my lungs. Then he gave me a blow. You don't have an infection. I think you have a collapsed lung. Your right upper lobe isn't filling all the way with air. You must get an x-ray TODAY!!! Unfortunately radiology here closed at 12. It was 12:30 now. I had to go to the ER. This is where my frustration began - if only they had gotten me in when they should of I would have saved myself so much time.

I called Kev, and yes there were tears. I was scared. A collapsed lung? How does that happen. Luckily for us Charlotte was home and came to watch the kids. Madi is still at her b-day party and I arranged for a mom to bring her home.

We went to the ER. Needless to say I spent six hours at the ER. They did a chest x-ray - everything was clear. WHEW!!! That was a relief. However, still a mystery as to the pain in my chest and the shortness of breath. I do have a family history of heart disease. Then came an EKG and blood work, and a lot of waiting. That was scary. They were ruling out a heart attack even though my only risk factor is family history. Waiting for results and wondering if something is really wrong is not fun. Everything came back normal and it was diagnosed that the cartilage between my ribs and sternum are inflamed. Due to my being sick for so long. Rest and pain meds is all I need.

While it was comforting to know that I was okay, it was a frustrating day. The waiting place is no fun. Kev missed the broadcast of the priesthood session at the Stake Center and Charlotte, bless her heart, missed a party. On the bright side it happened on a day when we had nothing to do for most of the day. On a Saturday when Kev was home. And nothing is really wrong.

Today we were supposed to go to the Stake Center and watch the Conference broadcast. We decided to sit at home and listen to it on-line instead. It is nice to sit around listening to prophets and apostles and realize how blessed I really am.

THE UNKNOWN

I do not do well with the unknown. I like to know the direction my life is going and what is in store for me. I hate the times in my life where I don't know what is going to happen next. I do know these times have to happen. Life can't just continue on in the same direction all the time. That would be boring, and we wouldn't be able to experience all the joys and happiness Heavenly Father has in store for us.

Right now we have a lot of the unknown in our family. We know that our time in Australia is coming to an end. Kevin and I both feel that it is time to go home. We feel like we have come here and experienced what we were meant to experience. Met wonderful people and our testimonies of the Gospel have grown tremendously. It is time to go back home - to the comforts of Utah.

Our landlord has informed us that they want to move into the house we are renting in March. That is our time frame. March really isn't that far away. For the past few months Kev has been looking within AMEX for a new job in SLC. Nothing had come up, and I mean literally nothing, until a few weeks ago. Now jobs keep popping up every couple of days - not that he is qualified for all of them. He has found a few that he is going to apply for this week. Any prayers you could send our way would be appreciated.

That means that it is real. The change is really coming. I am not sure how I feel. I am happy to go home, but sad to leave Australia. We are now just waiting. Waiting to see what the Lord has in store for us. What path we are going to be led down this time. I am not good at waiting. I am trying, but I am not good at waiting.

SIMPLIFY

I believe in a life that is simple. I do have a lot of projects going on, but I try really hard to keep everything simple. Sometimes that doesn't happen and I feel overwhelmed. Lately I feel like the world is coming apart. Too much to do and too little time. So last week on a very (and I mean very) warm day Rylee and I went to spend an hour at the park. Just the two of us while the others were at school. It was such a simple pleasure. I need to remember to simplfy. Life is so much better when it is simple. At least my life.

This little fellow followed us in the bush all the way to the park. Never seen a rooster in the bush before. It was a little strange.

Who wouldn't love to spend a few hours with this litlte girl?

What goes up must come down...how? Rylee is our climber. She loves to climb. She can get up, but not always down. She scares me sometimes.