The Homeless Man

So...tonight we went to dinner at The Blue Iguana with some friends. Parking is always tricky downtown and as we pulled into what we thought was a parking lot a homeless man was walking and signaled to us to go around...not sure what he was telling us to do but we backed out and found another parking lot to park in. We went into the restaurant, waited for our turn to eat and then visited and had a great time. Casey ordered the Burrito Grande-it was huge-IF he finished it we got a free dessert-he's always up for a challenge! I am sure he could have finished it but I begged him to save it for lunch tomorrow. He was being so thoughtful to try to get a free dessert for ME since he doesn't really like dessert but we were stuffed! :) We had all filled up on their awesome chips & salsa and ate as much of our dinners as we could. We got our to go boxes-one for his Burrito Grande and one for my cheese enchilada with no onions, no lettuce, no tomatoes because that's how I like it!!!
As we were walking back to our car the same homeless man was sitting by the sidewalk with his "Hungry & Homeless please help" sign and I felt a little guilty. I thought of a story Hilary Weeks tells on her blog about watching somebody give their leftover food to a homeless person and what an impact that had on her. That in her mind she would be afraid that it might have germs on it so they wouldn't want it...but when they are hungry they really don't care if your fork touched their bite. They are just hungry. SOOO...I approached the man with my 2 leftover styrofoam boxes. I peaked inside to make sure I was offering him MY leftovers instead of Casey's. I was expecting a little bit of a spiritual experience. That I would be serving my Savior by serving this man. That he would not be hungry anymore and that this little gesture from me might make a difference in his life. So not what happened!
He looked at me and said, "I have 3 of those in my paper box over there!" and he pointed toward the road. I was a little shocked and looked around to see what he was talking about. I said, "No, sir, it's a cheese enchilada and it's really good." I opened the styrofoam box so he could see his dinner he should be excited about. I of course had to get closer to him-he really didn't smell very good and he had snot (or something) rolling down his mustache. He really looked so cold! He repeated, "I already have 3 of those in my paper box over there!" I looked again to where he was pointing-I could see a garbage can and a recycle box. At this point I didn't know whether to laugh or cry-I was so confused-and I was alone with this man who I was pretty sure wasn't sober. Casey & friends were not there with me-they continued walking and were probably wondering what I was doing! I told him good luck and left. Funny-maybe if 3 other people had given him their dinner he needs a new sign-maybe one that says "I need money."

I laughed really hard-especially as I was telling the story when we got in the car. We had to drive by him when we left. THAT is when we realized there was a "Free papers" box by the recycle and garbage cans and that's where he put his food others had given him. The "Free Papers" box was really his fridge! We all started to laugh when we figured that out.

In all seriousness I know we are blessed when we serve. I wish my food could have helped this man and I hope I won't be afraid to approach someone another time if I feel like I can help them. I have been blessed with so much and am grateful when I have an opportunity to share with others around me-my time, my talents, my "stuff". Times are tough for so many right now and I believe we will all become better as we lighten eachother's loads. I know as we seek to serve our Heavenly Father we will be given opportunities and those opportunites bring us closer to Him. THAT is what life is all about!

Seriously???????

This is to prove that we REALLY DO have pencils to use...we even have a pencil sharpener! :)

I was sweeping my kitchen today and trying to get the house all caught up for the weekend while my kids were at school. I swept up this little beauty and started to laugh...all by myself...not unusual! I started to wonder who this pencil belonged to and why it was still around~I'm pretty sure it's served it's purpose and now it's time to move onto a new pencil. Then I looked at it again-how in the world did someone even sharpen it to this point???? That would take determination! After school Shaylee claimed the pencil...her explanation..."It's fun to write with!" I guess we need to get out more, you know, find some REAL entertainment! haha Sometimes I think my kids are weird. I wish I could say it was not because they are like me...I really do think they are hilarious! :)

Way to go Shay!!!!!

Cute Shaylee came home from school the other day with a certificate-she hadn't taken the time to read what it says-she just handed it to me with her huge stack of papers she brings home every single day (Can I say this makes me CRAZY??? I hate the do I keep it or throw it away?-I just shove it in the basket in my cupboard and hope to decide later. Lame.) Anyways, it was for Outstading Performance on the Iowa Tests back in the fall. Apparently she scored in the top 10% nationally in Math!!! Yahoo!!! I was just seriously feeling so guilty because I have been SO SUPER BUSY and felt like I needed to be spending more time with her with her school work. You know-spelling words, flash cards, I used to be really on top of this and now I am not. Shaylee needs that extra "push" with school work~she's our social spazzy kid that keeps us all smiling and always lets us know she loves us. School work has never been easy for her. I am proud of her for scoring so well AND grateful for the reminder that certificate was to me that maybe as a mom I am doing ok. Even if I'm not they will survive, right???

Sawyer's artwork....

Sawyer was drawing a cute little mouse every day...I think it's fun for him to draw something people can actually recognize. He was really proud of the mouse he could draw! The new thing? A BUTTHEAD! Look closely. It probably doesn't help much that we laugh but we all thought it was pretty dang funny. Tomorrow? Probably not so funny!

Tubing at Soldier Hollow

Mom with Alyssa and Jaycee.

Clint & Jaycee being pulled up the hill.

Shaylee being pulled up the hill. Look at the look on her face! :)

Me & Casey heading down the hill.....

I totally made fun of Casey's coveralls...I told him if anyone needs a mechanic on the hill they'd be set! :)

The crew heading down the hill!

Sawyer....he had such a great time!! I thought he'd be terrified but he loved it.

Our family minus Sawyer...he was already on his way up the hill!


On Saturday we went tubing at Soldier Hollow with my family...we had such a great time!!! That is our style of tubing, they pull you up the hill and you slide down. No hard work climbing hills dragging your tubes! I was surprised at how well our kids did-they are usually afraid of everything but they had such a great time. What a great memory! We'll definitely be going back next year!

Valentines Dinner

Cute Kendyl with the menu-pretty fun to try to figure out what you're going to get. I'm such a picky eater it gave me a tiny bit of anxiety-Casey said I should ask if I could make special requests like I always do when we go out to eat.

This is true love-me eating with the utensil Casey ordered...it's a good thing we didn't know until the end or he so would have traded me! :)

Our waitresses...they even had cute aprons to make it "official". What great leaders they have!

Casey and I with our cute Alyssa...she's growing up too darn fast!

For Activity Days Alyssa's cute leaders helped them prepare and serve their parents dinner for Valentines. SO super fun! We had to order from a mixed up menu-our food, utensils, and napkin. I ended up with a garbage bag for a napkin and had to eat with a spatula. I would probably lose a few pounds if I ate with a spatula every day...that's pretty tricky! :) It was a way fun night and Alyssa has been so excited about it. The funny part is at the end of the night we figured out that Casey is REALLY the one that ordered the spatula! Dang it! I had ordered the same utensils as lots of people and Casey's the ONLY person who marked he wanted "sunny side up" for his utensil. Pretty lucky for him~he got to eat with a normal fork. It's a night we'll always remember! Thanks Alyssa (and Tonya!)

Welcome Home Grandpa

Casey's huge family. I love how NOBODY told me to button up my shirt! :) I'm always the dork even in this huge crowd! haha

Jaycee telling grandpa The Pledge of Allegience...so sweet.

Sorry Casey & Jaycee--I suck at taking pictures! The kids were so excited to see grandpa!

Grandma and the kids with the signs they made...Shaylee's cracked me up-"Welcome to America and Goodbye Iraq!"

Casey's dad has been deployed this last year and came home Sunday. The homecoming at the airport was awesome! It was great to see all of the support for the soldiers and to be able to witness the sacrifice so many have made for the freedoms we enjoy. I hope my kids will always have more of an appreciation for the blessings we have living in America after missing their grandpa for a year!

My Little Sophie

Jaycee is a TINY BIT OBSESSED with Mama Mia. She doesn't just watch it every single day atleast 5 times. And she doesn't just know every single word to every single song. But she also has to reinact the entire movie as she watches it and she sorta flips if you interupt her and she has to rewind the dvd because she missed a part. She has to have an envelope with papers inside for the part when she mails the invitations to her dads...she has to wear a swimsuit (in the picture it's underneath her shirt because Sophie always wears it under her shirt), she has to have a diary just like Sophie...so stinkin funny! She really thinks she is Sophie! The only part that makes me sort of uncomfortable is she loves to say, "dot, dot, dot!" That's her fav!

*just an fyi...you all know Jaycee...I did her hair this morning before we left the house-the second we got home she ripped it out and changed her clothes just like always. I try to make her look cute! I also wish I could have gotten a better picture-she gets ticked when you take a picture so she's still ticked I took this one-it will have to do! :) What a girl!

When I'm a Grandma...

Today Jaycee and I were driving down the road alone...I LOVE one on one time with my kids!!! She asked me who her kids were going to be when she's a mom. Then she asked me who her friends will be when she's a mom. Then she said, "Mom, when you are a grandma I will be your friend!" Love that kid! What a funny comment-she thinks way too much!