I took Novalie ice skating for the first time today.  She loved it!  It took her a little while to figure out her balance and movement, but she caught on.  She fell a lot in the beginning.  I felt bad for her and was worried with her falling so much, but she actually said, “stop worrying so much!”  I couldn’t help it.  The ice is hard!  By the end of our time skating, she was able to go around the whole rink without falling.  We will have to squeeze in a couple more trips to the ice rink before they close at the end of March.  We had a lot of fun!

My new hobby is making t-shirt dresses.  They are so easy, so cute and the possibilities are endless.  I am trying to feel confident enough to make some with matching hair bows to sell on esty.  My bows have gotten a lot better and more professional looking lately, so maybe I am almost there. 

Novalie has been asking me to make her a horse t-shirt dress, so today I finally had the time.  It turned out super cute! 

A couple months ago, I thought…why not t-shirt nightgowns?  Do you know how much a nightgown for a little girl costs?  It is ridiculous!  I made this one for Novalie with an old t-shirt that was too short and the fabric cost me $2.50.

Isn’t it fun and cute?  Novalie loves it too!  I have made her 2 flannel ones as well.   

Different subject now.  Novalie asks me almost everyday how many days are left until we go to SeaWorld.  She is beyond excited!  We all are.  2010 has been an emotional roller coaster so far and I don’t see it stopping just yet, so when June gets here, we will be way overdue for a vacation.  I made this poster today to help Novalie visualize how many days are left and it is fun to countdown to something you are looking forward to.  She was excited when she saw it after school.  Cheers to SeaWorld.

Someone asked me recently, “Don’t you just want to have your very own child?”

Face red instantly.
Sweating profusely.
Blood boiling.
Can’t breathe.

If anyone ever says that to Novalie or in front of Novalie, they better prepare for World War 3. I will take you down. Hard.

If you give birth to a child in the covenant, that child is sealed to you. If you adopt a child, you take them to the temple and have the sealing ordinance preformed. As soon as that sealing takes place, that child is no different than if it was born into the covenant. Sure, it is important how they came into this world. It is part of their story, their history. They have another family out there who loves and adores them. However, that child is just as much yours as if you gave birth. If you think different than you should go to the temple and do sealing ordinances a hundred times until that belief and testimony is formed in your heart. Sealing power wins over blood. It is that powerful. If you ever try to tell me my child is less mine because of blood, I will spit fire on you.

I will spit fire on you. Got it? Good.

Novalie has been riding her bike everyday after school the last few weeks while the weather has been nice. She has been riding her bike for 2 years now without the training wheels, but we don’t live in an ideal bike riding town (dirt roads) so she hasn’t had that much practice. The last few weeks, however, she has been riding with a lot more confidence on the dirt roads. Last night she wanted to ride all over town, so I ran behind her (way behind her) in case she fell. She still turns too sharply sometimes or hits a rock wrong. I was completely out of breathe and begged her to stop! She was nice to her old Mommy. Today, her and her friend where riding around the park where I could see them. Novalie asked if she could go for a ride up and down the streets through town. I let them go as I nervously waited at the park and took slow steady breaths. I was just certain that she was going to crash and be hit by a car that didn’t see her lying in the road. That didn’t happen…phew! I did get a glimpse of a picture I have always had in my head of Novalie heading outside, gathering with her friends and playing the day away in the warm summer sun using the outside world as their playground. Then, calling her in after a long day to clean up and eat dinner. She is almost to that age that I could let her do that without having a panic attack. I said almost. I am working on it. For now, I am going to buy a bike for myself because I see lots of bike rides in our near future! I love, love, love that summer is almost here! I am counting down the days.

The last 6 weeks have been hard. I have found myself asking on a daily basis, “O God, where art thou?” I have been faced with a situation that I didn’t think I would have to face for many years into the future. I knew I was not strong enough to face it. I didn’t want to face it or accept it. I didn’t have a choice. I knew I had to for my daughter. I cried my heart out unto the Lord that I couldn’t do this and I needed strength that I knew I didn’t have. I immediately felt His arms around me and His love lift me up. Amazing how that always happens. If you ask, “O God, where art thou?,” He is going to answer with, I am right here by your side and won’t leave. Never fails! Isn’t that amazing?! That doesn’t mean it isn’t hard, because it was oh so hard and still is, but at the same time, there is a peace that calms my heart that everything is good and as it should be.

I read scriputres like this one:
“My son(daughter), peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

“And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high.” D & C 121:7/8 and I am blessed with feeling this peace in my soul. It really is a small moment and if I endure it well, the possibilities are exciting. Life is hard. However, with Heavenly Father holding my hand with every step I take, it is easier and I can endure it well.

President Monson’s talk from last General Conference, “What Have I Done For Someone Today?”, was among my top favorite talks from last conference. It was a talk that I really took what I heard and applied it to my daily life. What a great question to ask yourself every morning….What can I do for someone else today? Not only did I apply it to my daily routine, but I was able to encourage Novalie to look for something kind that she could do for someone everyday at school. I drive Novalie to school for several reasons, but one of them is to say the same phrases as she is getting ready to go into school……be a good friend, be a good student for her teacher, choose the right, stand up for yourself, walk away from bad situations, don’t follow friends that are making bad choices…..YES I basically say these things every single morning. Annoying right, but it will be so ingrained in her brain that my voice saying one of these things just might save her one day. I added to this list, look for ways to do something kind for someone else. Then, during her bedtime routine, we talk about if she found anything kind to do for someone else during the day and she never says no. She truely has a kind heart.

We got out of the habit after Christmas break of this. (Not all the other things, I still say all of them). Today in Relief Society, we had a lesson on this talk and I was so happy! I can’t wait to start again tomorrow and get back in the habit. Even with me not reminding Novalie for the past month, she still does kind things.

On Friday, she told me about a choice she had to make at school and she felt happy that she made the right choice. Her best friend, Lily, got hurt during recess and had to sit out the rest of recess. Novalie said she was in between Lily and another friend, Nicholas, and Nicholas was wanting to keep playing the game. Novalie said she went back and forth in her head, stay with Lily or play with Nicholas, stay with Lily or play with Nicholas. (This is exactly how she told it to me.) She said she knew it was the right thing to stay with her hurt friend so she wouldn’t be all alone during recess, so that is just what she did. Then she said Nicholas followed her and sat with them too. So, she was doing something kind, being a good friend, being a good example and choosing the right. I was very proud of her. She tells me stories like this often, but I thought I would share one here.

This next week is going to be a LONG week for me, so I was so thankful for the reminder today to look for ways to serve others. If I do that, then hopefully this week will fly by which I need it to do. I already have a list in my head of things I will do tomorrow for others. I am grateful.

Here it is Christmas Eve and those Christmas cards that I kept thinking, I’ll get to them tomorrow….well I have run out of tomorrows. Luckily I have this blog so…..I wish you all a Merry Christmas! I hope you all find JOY this Christmas. I hope Santa Clause finds you because I still BELIEVE!

What is it with kids and their winter coats? This is the scene everyday at the bus stop or when I pick Novalie up from school. Kids looking worn out with their coats dragging on the ground behind them. Today my temperature widget said it was 8 degrees when I went to meet Novalie at the bus. She had her coat on today, but she is usually one of the kids dragging it behind her. But, half the kids still had their coats dragging and it is 8 degrees! I just don’t understand it, but think it is interesting all the same. I have asked Novalie about it on several occasions and here are some of her answers: “It was hot on the bus, I didn’t have time to put it on, my backpack wouldn’t fit over it, I thought it was funny to just put the hood on, I was being silly, it gets in the way and I forgot to put it on.” Usually the majority have their coats off, so I wonder if they get together and boycott the coats. Or if they have a dragging the coat assembly at school. I know they don’t, but it is just one of those things I want to understand, but probably never will.

It reminds me of the scene in Christmas Vacation when Rusty is walking through the mall with his coat hanging down around his arms. Now that I understand. I think everyone has been in the mall sweating bullets and walked around with their coats like that. I never take my off, I would rather just suffer and make everyone around me grumpy because I am so grumpy from being so hot. Why not just take the coat off? So, I can’t get a coat on my child and I won’t take my off.

On another subject, I am so thankful today that I have a home to keep me warm from the bitter cold. I pray for those who aren’t so lucky.

Novalie had all of last week off school. I was so grateful and happy to have her home with me. I also had forgotten (how little time it takes) how much work and energy it takes to keep her entertained all of her waking hours. That made me be thankful for school and keeping her busy for the majority of the day even if I wish I could be at school with her. We did have a fun time and stayed up much too late every night which made Monday morning this week a challenge.

We decided to stay home for Thanksgiving this year. I just needed a break and didn’t feel like traveling anywhere. It was quiet and nice and we spent a lot of time together just the three of us. Here is a run down of what we did. Novalie had 3 playdates, we went swimming twice (once with friends and once as a family), saw Planet 51 which was cute, went to 2 WSU volleyball games which I got instantly addicted to, the library twice, many craft projects, arcade, park several times, played lots of card games (Novalie and I did), played various games such as Sonic, Super Mario, Wii (I don’t know what else…this was mostly Kevin and Novalie). One of the greatest things was that Novalie actually slept in until anywhere from 8:45 to 9:45. She never does that even if she goes to bed late so it was a real treat to sleep in.

Monday morning came much too quickly for me. Now it is back to schedules and craziness for the next three weeks! It is going to be a busy busy month for me, but I can’t wait to have Novalie home with me again for 2 weeks this time! Joyous!