November 1-
Happy first day of November! I worked on de-junking our closet. There's so much more to be done. Curtis & I each had a good day. I took E to her art lessons. Curtis took E then M out for daddy daughter dates. We watched a movie after the girls were in bed. We saw, 'The Book of Life' at the Sugar Creek 10. It was a really different kind of movie. Overall a good show. I'm glad we could have a date night together. :)
November 2-
Fast Sunday. Today I'm grateful for the opportunity to fast and to attend church and have the sacrament. I am grateful for sacrament every Sunday. I'm always especially grateful for Elder Magana and the translating he does so I can undersand the testimonies and talks that are being shared. (Because of children, I don't get to hear as much as I'd like...but, this too shall pass.)
November 3-
Election Day! (Curtis and I voted early!) Since Thanksgiving is this month, our FHE's will be about gratitude. I shared an old email with my family about gratitude and told them that that's what we'll do this month. The message that I read shares a different perspective on how to be grateful and what to be grateful for. Ex: Thankful for dirty dishes, it means we have food to eat. I'm thankful for the noisy alarm clock, it means I can hear. I'm grateful for dirty clothes, it means we have clothes to wear, etc. For our activity we watched, "The Andy Griffith Show". It's a cute show.
November 4-
Curtis took Clara to preschool. I went to do Zumba at church, however that didn't last long due to a screaming Nancy. :( Instead, we came home and I worked on decluttering more. After the bigs got home from school I had a much needed and much appreciated chiropractic appt. It was overdue too. I am grateful that E and M can be helpful with their little sisters when needed. Election results: Republicans win! Today was a good day for a ride too! I rode down to Hobbs State Park and back and met a fellow rider over at Pig Trail HD for a little celebration party. I'm also grateful for decent weather so I can go for a motorcycle ride.
November 5-
De-junking the house really has been great. I'm certain that I'm reading this book at the right time in my life. If I'd tried to read it any sooner, it probably would have been harder for me to let go of all the stuff that I'm letting go of. It turns out that the author of the book, Don Aslett is LDS. He makes plenty of sense when it comes to decluttering/dejunking.
November 6-
Ha! I knew that there were Parent-Teacher conferences going on at Clara's preschool, but I didn't read the note to see that there was no preschool. Sheesh! Oh well. At least I got the conference out of the way and then Clara was able to have friends here. Jessica Fuhriman brought her girls Annalise and Korinna here to play for a while. It worked out great! The girls played and I was able to get some more dejunking done. Yay for friends and play dates! In the evening, I was able to go to the baby shower for Lela. She recently had a cute boy! Her husband is so excited to have a son. The Ellingsons are a cute family. It was good to be out and visit with friends.
November 7-
First Friday on the Square. Today's first Friday is also Toyland. The weather was perfect! I took Clara and Nancy to the square to check out all the fun. Then we played at the park for a bit. Clara was in a strange mood and didn't want to play, initially. After we left the park, I stopped at Jackie's for a bit. She is a Jamberry consultant now. She seems to be enjoying it, so far. That's good. After some play time, we got home just before E and M did. When they got home, I took a nap. Then it was time for Girls Night Out at Tavola Tratorria for the Mardee Party! I'd never eaten there. It was good food and good company. There was a good group of ladies there. (Mardee, of course, Tara F., Jill Smallwood, Jessica Fuhriman, Aj C., Carissa Smallwood (Jill's sil), Wendy, me, Kelcy W., and Cynthia T.) Good times!
November 8-
A busy and good day. I took E to her art lessons and unloaded some stuff at the Samaritan store. (local thrift store) Curtis picked E up from lessons. Curtis made chili for our neighborhood Fall Festival. And, he won the chili cook-off. :) The weather was very accomodating for the fall festival. I think we all had a good time. When we got home, Curtis took a nap. (He had gone for a motorcycle ride previously in the day) Elders Magana and McKenzie came over for dinner later. They had gone to the temple. I really do enjoy having the Elders here for dinner. They are good guys. B/c it's a small ward, we are able to feed them more often than if it were a bigger ward.
November 9 -
Honestly, I'm feeling kind of rough today. I know that our (mine and Curtis) 'love tanks' are low. Because of that, I'm feeling frustrated with myself mostly and a little with my children. Overall, I'm grateful for my husband and all that he does to try and support me and lift me up. He really is good with our girls too. I know too that Curtis and I balance each other. There are times when I've thought, 'what would he do without me?'. Prob more often than not, the thought is, 'what would I do without him?' I'm thankful for Heavenly Father and his plan for us. I need to remember to continue to trust Him and know that ALL we are able to do and ALL we have is from Him. My eternal thanks be to an ever loving God.
November 10 -
Thankful I was able to take E to her foot appt on the motorcycle. I'm also thankful that E is ok with going to the Dr.
November 11-
Despite my frustration with my children and myself (especially M), I am grateful for each of them. I really hope and pray I can be the kind of mother they need. At this phase of life, it's so hard to know.
November 12-
It is nice when there are days and times when E and M can help with C and N. I'm thankful for those times. :)
November 13-
Kind of a busy day. Mer had an appt with Dr. Debbie after school and I went to the Vold Vision event in Fayetteville. I'm so thankful for how helpful Dr. Debbie has been for me, E and M. FYI, the Vold vision event was to see if I could win free lasek eye surgery. I did get to watch someone else have lasek surgery. That was crazy. (btw, I didn't win. oh well.)
November 14-
Gaby and I went to visit a sister who just had a baby. Her name is Sis Vazquez. So basically, everything was in Spanish. A different experience for me. Despite my inability to understand much of what was being said, I could feel the spirit and that was very helpful and much needed. Clara was able to have a play date with Camilla later in the day. She had a good time. :)
November 15-
Curtis is so good to me. He took all 4 girls to a matinee. They saw Big Hero 6. I was able to get a bunch of files in the trash or recycled. I'm thankful that I'm able to get so much stuff out of the house before we move.
November 16-
I'm grateful the kids did so well in the Primary program. We had Elders Magana and McKenzie here for dinner after church. McKenzie is being transferred all ready. (bummer!) I'm thankful to have known him. I hope he'll continue to do well in his mission. I'm grateful we can have the missionaries here for dinner so frequently.
November 17-
I finally got our Malibu into the dealership for recall repairs. Fortunately and thankfully, they were able to provide a shuttle ride for me home from the dealership and back again to get the car once it was repaired. Curtis also provided a good FHE that evening.
November 18-
Ruth Straube is expecting a baby girl next month. Kate Charlesworth and a few other friends had a baby shower for her. I car-pooled with Wendy to the party. It was nice to see sisters I don't get to see very often.
November 19-
It was a sunny day and Gaby and I were able to go visit teach Courtney. We had a nice visit. I'm thankful for VT-ing. I'm also thankful for the excellent friend that Julia B is. After sending her an e-mail, she gave me a phone call. It was so good to talk with her. :)
November 20 -
Today, I'm thankful for the opportunity to take dinner to the Clive family. Mardee and Spencer are in Little Rock with their new baby Calvin. Mardee's mom is at home with the other kids. It's fun to make dinner for other friends and families b/c I know they will appreciate it. :) [on a side note, we hope to know something about Curtis' job by next week. Chicago or St. Louis?] Ps, Today history was made. Not only did I buy Jamberry nails, I also had Jackie help me do a manicure! I honestly can not remember the last time my finger nails were done.
November 21-
Curtis took E to get a gift for a birthday party, then took her to the party. I'm thankful he can be such a helpful daddy!
November 22-
Curtis and I went for an afternoon date and had lunch at Chuy's. It was tasty. That evening, Rogers 2nd ward had a Thanksgiving activity. It was rather fun. There was good food, horchata (yummy!) and Sis. Clark put together props for a photo booth. She's fun! Despite not understanding my hispanic brothers and sisters , I have come to love them. They are kind and happy people. :) On a side note, we had Tabitha Koster with us. As we were parking at the church, Clara was telling Tabitha that we were attending, 'my church. They have brown skin and talk different. They aren't like us.' It was so cute the way she said that! I'm just grateful that she's 4, and it's ok for her to say things like that.
November 23-
Today, I'm thankful for the opportunity to play for sacrament meeting and to sing with the choir. After church I got to Skype with mom and dad. We had a good chat. It was almost good motorcycle riding weather, but it rained, hard! It's ok. We need the rain too.
November 24-
The girls are out of school and they are getting haircuts. Some may say, 'that's brave', but truly it was out of determination. They needed haircuts and I'm glad it went better than anticipated. Though, Clara's hair and Nancy's hair is prob very uneven, at least they got haircuts. Then M and C were able to go play with friends in Bella Vista.
November 25-
Today, I took the girls to Fun City. We were supposed to go in the AM, but some stuff came up, and we went around 2. The girls seemed to have a good time. I'm grateful we had that time to have a little fun there together. :) Btw, Curtis told me he accepted the job offer in Edwardsville. Finally! This job deciding thing has been a long time coming.
November 26-
Happy day before Thanksgiving! I was able to get some baking taken care of. E and M have been helplful with C and N. Curtis brought home some bbq from Dickies for dinner! yummy! Earlier, M had an appt with Dr. Debbie. She has been really helpful for me and my girls in the time that we have been seeing her. We started seeing her just before I was prego with Nancy. I'm thankful for Dr. Debbie Smithyman. I hope to be able to find as good a therapist (if not better) when we move. Curtis bought a Roku 3 for us. It came yesterday. I must admit, it's pretty cool.
November 27-
Happy Thanksgiving! This will be our last Thanksgiving in this home. Earlier this week Curtis accepted the job offer in Edwardsville, IL. (It's NE of St.Louis) We'll be moving there in January. No firm date yet. It'll be a bittersweet move. I'm not necessarily looking forward to leaving, but it'll be neat to be somewhere else for a time. This job is only an 18mo - 2yr role. Curtis says we could be there for up to 3 yrs. Either way, we'll just take it a day at a time. Mom and dad were planning to follow us there, but the short time span isn't beneficial to them. They'll stay in their FS home after their mission. I am grateful for my parents. They have been truly helpful to us. :)
This evening we'll have Thanksgiving dinner here with Elder Magana and his new companion, Elder Christensen. Elder McKenzie was transferred last week. I love these missionaries!
November 28-
We did not do any Christmas shopping in the madness of Black Friday. However, we did get some things taken care of around the house. I worked with M to dejunk her room. It went better than expected. After the girls were in bed, we went out to a movie. We watched, 'The Mazerunner' (Not knowing anything about the book/storyline made it rather confusing.) Basically, it was a good day & I'm thankful for it.
November 29-
This will be our first & last time to host a Chandler Family Thanksgiving in our home in Bentonville. It was so great having a good portion of Curtis's family here. The weather was fantastic too! It turned out great! We had plenty of good food, plates, cups, silverware, etc. Good times with the Chandler & Petersen clans. (Jaren & Jordan came.)
November 30-
The last Sunday of November. I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve in primary as a teacher and as music leader. It has been tricky at times, but I am grateful. I'm also grateful/thankful for the chance to do a small group special musical number with some sisters in B'ville 1st ward. Wendy asked me to play piano for them. Wendy, Ruth, Erin & Lela will sing. They are singing, 'Do you hear what I hear?' It's a nice arrangement. :)
