Whoa! Did Mother's Day Pass Without Me Mentioning It?

So Mother's Day isn't my most favorite day. It's not that I have anything against being a mother or celebrating the institution of motherhood; it's just that I always feel all oggie and creepy about my own performance as a mother. Thankfully, I LOVE being a mother and I can't wait to be a mother to even a few more kids, but dang if I don't feel every misstep on this "wonderful" day. Okay, enough of the masochistic guilt trip.

Dylan provided me with some very amusing mother's day gifts. One was a "Mommy Grass Head" (you can take that however you want) and the other was a Cookbook. I loved the cookbook because Dylan described how I made his most favorite dish.

Here it is:
"My favorite dish is Hamburgers. Mom flats the hamburger with her hands. She has blood on her hands so she has to wash them. She puts hamburgers on the grill. She heats the grill to 40 degrees. She flips them. They are ready when they are brown. I like cheese on my burger. I am like a mouse."

One point for my hand washing, one point penalty for my lack of proper cooking practices, triple point bonus for son's use of an analogy! Pretty sweet mothers day overall.

Here's some pictures...

Super excited to give me his gift.


Me in Grass Head form.


The Cookbook.

Merry Month of May

May is an important month for us. Owen and I were married in May and Dylan was sealed to us in May. Here's a pictorial trip down memory lane:



Our Wedding Day


Sealing Day





Cutie Patutie

Update...

For those of you who care, I'm pleased to announce that we found a place to rent! It really was an opening of the windows of heaven situation because of the multiple circumstances surrounding the whole process. I guess our new landlord literally just put the rental sign up minutes before we called. She likes dogs, doesn't even charge a pet deposit; is excited about and encouraged my gardening desires; will be giving us a washer and dryer (not usually something she does, she just "felt" that we might need them and is paying to get the washer repaired for us before we move in) and was looking precisely for people like us to rent the place. What's more, it is located in one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Lubbock quite close to Tech campus. The highest rated elementary school in our school district is literally two houses down from our house as well as the second best park in Lubbock; the one that we frequent for it's cool playground and tennis courts. Seriously, we were surprised to find a rental in such a neighborhood. It's that nice. I'm sorry if it sounds a little braggy but it's a complete miracle for us! Thank you to those who prayed for us. I have no doubt that the Divine arm of mercy was extended towards us in this experience.

And so it goes...

First off, this is not a mothers day post. It's just an updat on the housing situation. Yesterday, we were

Not so bad

Okay, I realize that I'm a dramatic soul who possibly reacts too strongly to stress. I thought I would follow my whine with a "Thankful Thursday" moment.
1) I'm thankful for live mariachi bands playing at the wal-mart. Sweet!
2) I'm thankful for boot wielding firemen who were collecting money for charity at the stop lights.
3) I'm thankful for a son who says in a very cool way "Let's Roll." when it's time to get out of the car at the grocery store.
4) I'm grateful for the abundance of chihuahuas that exists in Lubbock and how adorable they all are- especially mine.
5) I'm thankful for the comforter that guides us and helps us feel at peace when things seem to be going wrong.
6) I'm thankful for prayer and quick answers to prayer.
7) I'm thankful to have a worthy priesthood holder in my home who can deal with the drama.
8) I'm thankful for blogs and people who show support to me when I'm being a whiner.
9) I'm thankful for a return to good health and all of the abilities that I have.
10) I'm thankful for the scriptures that guide and comfort us when we need it.

Whine Alert!

This past Sunday, things were going well... until the same psyco who came after Owen on Thanksgiving day was at it again while O was walking the pooches. Lame! We've been having several problems with our neighbors of late. Things that are too awful to relate in words have happened to all of us, and it's gotten to the point that we feel that we need to move to a safer location. It's a shame. We love the house we're in. The Landlords are the best we've ever had, we're right next to the best park in Lubbock and super close to the University. But when your personal safety and well being is threatened too many times, it's time to move on. House searching is tricky here because there are basically three categories:

First are the student apartments that are unarguably awesome in every way, but also harbor super hard core partying young people. Not family friendly.

Second comes the reasonably priced homes in crack whore/ bandito neighborhoods (aka 90% of Lubbock) where the living conditions become a study in patience, perseverance, and extreme tolerance for those who are not cw/b's .

And lastly there are the " we might as well get a mortgage" houses that have a rent that you either have to be stupid or really desperate to get away from the cw/b neighborhoods to be willing to pay the exorbitant prices.

Whatever.
I'm just frustrated today. No luck in finding a place to live. There's a part of me that wants to just get a tazer for each of us and just stay where we are! So in honor of my self-pitying and frustrated state, I made a sound track to get it out of my system. Enjoy the whining folks! :)

Romance is...

...bowling with the family! We had a great time celebrating our love by knocking a few pins down. Here's some pictures of our fun: