Cheap Date

Valentine's Day is meant to bring some cheer in the middle of a dreary winter.  We usually make a pact to not get each other anything, but we usually go on a date.

This year after a long week at work, we opted to stay close to home.

We started by taking the pups on a long winter hike.

 Then we went to Jeromesville to the Pizza House to pick up one of our favorite pizzas.

 We snuggled on the love seat and watched a video.  It was a great night in.  I think I enjoyed myself so much more than going out in the crowded restaurants.

 Even Tina, snuggled in.

Today, is our Ward's annual Cheap Good Night Out.  Fancy name for Chili cook off.

I decided to make some mac and cheese to go with us.  Dakota shredded all the cheese for me while I was making dessert for the social and to have the youth over to our house Sunday evening.

We enjoyed our dinner and the company.  It was a lot of fun talking.  After dinner the members of the ward do silly skits.  This year the Young Women did a movie theater skit that was really cute.  At the end the audience chooses the winner by the loudest applause.  It came down to the YW and...

And the winner was...

 

The missionaries!  The boys did a hillbilly skit and the one in the red hat played a banjo.  It was way cute. 

I'll Go Inside Someday; He Went Inside Today

 

In Primary, the children sing a song, "I love to see the temple, I'll go inside someday."

Today, Kota went inside the temple.  Not the first time, but the first time to receive endowments. 

 For information on temples click here.

 

For me, today brought unexpected joy.  Not that I didn't think I would be happy, but just for some realizations.  1. My children are beginning to choose for themselves to take the next step.

2.  The atonement can change lives, even bring someone back from the bottom of the barrel.

3.  Families really are forever!

4.  Heavenly Father knows us better than we know ourselves.

5.  Dakota is starting to show adult qualities and is going to be fine.

 

Today, Dakota was surrounded by family and his ward family in the temple.  He was enveloped by a support system of people that helped us raise him.  Scout leaders from the past, primary and seminary teachers, a YM president that loved him through a tough consequence from a bad choice, the current bishopric, an aunt, the spirit of out-of-state family that couldn't be there, and finally the thoughts of great-grandparent's who were represented.  I think he had a small army around him. 

 

Small miracles come to those who serve the Lord.  As we have been scurrying getting all the things together for Kota's mission and checking off the things that are necessary to have finished.  We are being blessed as a family.  Each time we have left to go shopping for mission supplies or clothes we have found great bargains.  Entire suits regular priced $400 for $100, white shirts for $10.  The ladies at the register are so impressed that a 19 year-old can choose to go on a mission they give an extra discount.  T-shirts for $2 for preparation days and exercise.

 

I can not express the joy I feel or the emotions that are coursing through the veins today.  I love every part of my faith.  I know this is the place for me.  I know families are forever and the temple is the place to make it happen!

 

Snow Day take 7

 It has been a snowy winter here in Ohio.  It has been a long time since I've seen this much snow.  So much snow and subzero temperatures that we have had a lot of snow days from school.  This year I am not upset by all the delays as Kota is counting down days to his mission.  Each snow day is a gift of time with him because the guy he works for stays home with his boys on snow days.

The puppies were snuggled in after taking a long walk in the deep crusty snow.  Worn out.  

Kyle said. We are having a salt shortage in Ohio so roads were a little worse than normal today.

 

Big piles of snow are around the house.  Tina was just taking on of his long winter's naps.

 

Me, even though I did not go to school I got caught up on my mountains of paperwork.  In the business world anyone with this amount of paperwork would have a secretary.

 

Kota is getting in some of his favorite episodes before abstaining from TV for 2 years.

We have been enjoying family time so much.  I am grateful for the extra hours with the young man.

Yellow Tail eww

The highlight for me trying a sushi restaurant with our friends the Bryant's was this fish tank.  It was neat to see the puffer fish.

Although sushi is never something I like, my family loves it.  So we followed the Bryant's up to Fairlawn to The Yellowtail Japanese Sushi Bar.  Kota was brave enough to eat truly raw sushi, but Kyle and Kayla usually go for machi rolls.

Kyle's plate.

 Kota's plate.

Kayla enjoying her food.

I ventured out of my comfort zone and tried two different kinds of machi rolls.  It was okay so I tried a third and it grossed me out.  I don't like this enough to eat it anymore.  But the ice cream at the end made it okay!

As far as my January more like him goal I am learning how to be in my scriptures more.  With Kota's pre-mission assignments he is reading a lot of scriptures and he asks if we want to study with him.  I am thoroughly enjoying every minute of this time.  We have been frequenting the men's department at JC Penny's to get his mission clothes.  My favorite deal so far is a white dress shirt for $4.  

Worst Part about Cold Weather

The worst part is taking these cute puppies outside.  You know the feeling when all the moisture in your face freezes?

Can you see how much they've grown.

I think these pups are helping me with my goal to be more healthy.  They require us to move even if it's too cold and even if we don't want to.

They need us to love them, play, and frolick.

Most of all they are going to keep me busy when one little chick leaves the nest.

They will still need taken care of.  Even when it's too cold.

They Called Him on A Mission

It was a week of checking the mailbox again as Bishop told us that Kota's status changed to assigned. Kyle and I had an appointment at the temple and Kayla was babysitting Friday.  We literally had minutes to change and head out.  Friday was the night the letter came.  Kota had to wait until we got home from the temple.  At 10:30 last night we all gathered in my mom's living room with Robin on the phone, my aunt Cyndi and Dakota's MN adopted family the Sonensthal's.  He opened the letter and read: Utah Salt Lake City South mission.  (Information on missionaries Here.). He was surprised.  The more he thinks about it the better he likes it.  I need to soak in the time with him.  We have raised a missionary, who knew?

Staying Warm in the Frigid Weather, Well Sort of

Crazy sort of a day today.  It was so cold in my bedroom this morning that I stayed in bed reading forever, because of no school due to the below zero temps and crazy negative wind chills here.  When I crawled myself out of bed to grab a shower and face the cold I noticed the thermostat was at 51 degrees.    So I called my knight and asked him what to do.  I take my freshly showered self to the basement to play with the furnace.  I flipped the switches as directed to no avail.

Mind you this sort of thing happens to us just about every year.  We have learned the gauntlet of things to do before we call in the professionals.  We learned that lesson after having a $100 house call to remove a spider web.  After flipping the switches and checking the filter the knight had to come home from work for a stint.

So the knight came home and found the pipes that vent outside from the furnace was all frosted over.  He used the blow dryer to clean it out and the furnace fired right up.  No spider web this time.

 So now the house is climbing up one degree at a time to get us back to our toasty 65 degrees.  Boy Am I grateful to have been home to notice, and to have the electric heater my mother-in-law bought us a couple years back.  This could have been so much worse.

So I spent the rest of the time working on a warm dinner of soup and homemade bread.

I have put a dent in my internship catching up on paperwork for services already rendered this school year.  I have already clocked 92 hours outside my school day.

Lastly we have been engaging in scripture study with Kota at the lead.  He has been studying the preach my gospel book and wanted us to join in.  He has been leading our study.  It is interesting to watch the mighty change of heart and the youthfulness start to melt into adulthood.  It is a slow process, but it has begun.