Random Thoughts

My friend Sheryl posted this on her blog and I loved it! I meant to post it last week and forgot until Kaylee put it on her blog. I laughed just as hard reading it for the second time. ENJOY!

Random thoughts from people our age...

-I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
-Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know" feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?
-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.
-There is a great need for sarcasm font.
-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.
-How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.
-Was learning cursive really necessary?
- Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".
- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".
- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"
- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.
- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
- Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.
-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.
- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.
-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'
-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dang it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?
- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.
-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I’d bet you anything that everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

Etc.

These pictures are long overdue because I lost my camera cord and just barely found it. So here goes...

These first pics are of my friend's little girls.
Lily and Savana Brisolara

Adele Evans and Lily

Our "breakfast for dinner" after Lily's and Maycee's blessings.
Marianne and Tina in the kitchen- THANKS GIRLS!

Doug holding a very dirty Gideon- he was playing in the fire pit when I wasn't watching.:)

Mom and Lily

Steele went with Wes to a conference and had a blast needless to say!
Gideon LOVES Lily. He also loves her swing. In fact he has pulled her out of it to get in it. Poor girl!This was our October project- Paving our front porch and landscaping our yard.
I think the boys enjoyed having a sand box for a day, in fact Steele keeps asking me to pick up the pavers so that he can play in the sand again.
More pictures of the finished project to come.

My happy little girl! This was on one of the few cold days we have had in AZ.
The Crew!

Now these next 3 pictures are old, but I just found them.
These are 3 of my favorite kids!
Rylee Shirley, EmmaLee Washburn and Steele.

Steele's first guitar clinic! It was AMAZING!

The Zoo with the Shirley's and Michelle and Abigail.

And last but not least, our most recent family picture at Halloween.
I LOVE THIS BUNCH!

October

October, what do I say. This has not been one of my most memorable months. It seemed as if the burdens just kept piling on all month long! However, things eventually turned around and this has been a good, no, a great week.
Last Sunday, October 18, Lily was blessed by her sweet Daddy. Wes gave such a beautiful blessing with so many wonderful promises. I can't even begin to express my gratitude to him for his worthiness to hold the priesthood and bless all 3 of our children. Lily's dress was amazing, thank you Mom! And thankfully we didn't have another "dropping" incident, with the way things were going this month I was fully expecting a repeat of last time.:) Afterward, we had family and friends over for a waffle bar dinner. It was excellent! I honestly think it was one of my favorite family gatherings yet.
Then on Wednesday, after a lot of persuasion from Wes, I got my hair done. I didn't want to do it because the brown was free to keep up and blond hair is expensive. I explained this to Wes many times and told him the only reason why I would go blond again was for him...his response, "Sound like a good reason to me." So I did it and guess what he LOVES it and so do I. He keeps telling me it reminds him of when we first started dating. The coolest part, he's acting like he did when we first started dating- I never knew hair could do so much!Last night Wes and I had a date night. I love date night. I used to love it when I was single, but it's so much better now that I'm married.:) We went to the Cornish Pasty Co. It was so yummy, I'm sure I gained 5 pounds. I got what they call the Pilgrim. It's basically a Thanksgiving dinner stuffed into a bread pastry and baked in the oven. It was so delicious and got me all revved up for the holidays!
Finally, as I was reading in the Book of Mormon this week, Alma talked about turning to the Lord and that through your faith your "burdens may be light"- it's true. All that has happened this month brought me to my knees and by turning to my Heavenly Father I found peace in the Atonement. This week only made me realize that more. Although October started out to be a crummy month, my burdens were lightened and it's turning out to be a very memorable one!

What Is Important and What Is Not

Wes and I had a little trial this week. Let's just say it involved a misunderstanding, $1600, a lot of frustration and quite a few tears. I prayed hard to find some reason that this would have happened and a way to fix it, but I don't think I was praying for the right things. I should have been praying for peace and showing my gratitude that all we lost was money.
As I left my house yesterday with Gideon in my arms the thought came, "At least I still have my children and Wes. It's only money and what is $1600 going to mean in the eternities? Nothing." I will be honest, it still stinks, but President Monson says, "I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon this earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not." Perhaps this is just such a lesson for our little family.
We are here on this earth to gain experience, not to "get gain" as it says in Book of Mormon. I have gained a little more knowledge and a little more experience from this and was reminded that money is not everything, even if the world would have you think so. I also know I have a long way to go and each trial/experience only reminds me of the long path ahead of me. Thankfully we have all of eternity to learn, because I'm going to need it.:)

PS- I'm so excited for General Conference. This is my favorite time of year, I feel like it kicks off the fall and holiday season! Nice weather- here it comes!

Anti-Depression Video

I posted this on my Facebook Page, but thought I would post it on my blog as well for those of you who don't have Facebook. This video will make your day, in fact it almost makes me want to have quadruplets just so I could experience moments like this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hooid1LJ9Kc&feature=related

Wes

WARNING: Lots of PDA in the following post, stop now if you don't want to become "love-sick".
Most of you know Wes and some of you know him pretty well, but no one knows him as well as I do.:) So let me tell you a little bit about what you might or might not know...

1. Wes is an AMAZING cook- he definitely has me beat and I'm okay with that because I would much rather clean up than cook.
2. Wes is always trying to do better. Every time he comes home from a church meeting he says, "I can do better." Yet in my book he has most things in order and is doing great, but thankfully he is humble, a quality I lack and am learning from him.
3. Wes is the BEST Dad...well at least I think so and so do his kids.:) If you could only see the way his boys watch out the window as he leaves in the morning, only to return to the same spot to wait for him to come home. Steele's reaction is the best, he literally runs to Wes screaming,"Daaaddyyy" the whole way until he reaches Wes' arms. It's the highlight of my day to see my children and husband so happy.
4. Wes is a romantic. Let's just say the honeymoon isn't over.:)
5. Wes is a great friend. Every where we go people know him and love him! I'll never forget one of his friends telling me that I had the "coolest" husband. I agree.
6. Wes is a dreamer. He always has big ideas and big plans. Who knows, maybe some day he will be made famous by making drums or playing them. Either way, I fully support his dreams.
7. Wes LOVES UFC. In fact he is watching a fight as I am writing this, otherwise we would be watching Law and Order together here at home.
8. Wes is a teacher, but not just any teacher a PE teacher on the reservation. That is not an easy job, but he works hard and is providing a great life for his little family.
9. Wes likes to sleep. This shows his relaxed side and although it was hard for me to get used to at first, I enjoy taking naps whenever possible. (I was never a napper before I met Wes.)
10. Wes loves me. I know this because he shows me and tells me every day! I'm a lucky girl!

Those are just a few of the MANY qualities of my amazing husband. Thank goodness we have forever together because I don't know what I would do without him. So here's a shout out to Wes... I love you, I love you, I love you.

Big Plans

Lily will be 3 weeks old tomorrow which means it's about time that I start working out again. Wes and I decided that this time around part of our workout schedule will be a training program for a half-marathon. There is a half-marathon on January 30 in Queen Creek that we plan on doing, it's called the London Run, check out the website- www.londonsrun.org.
I'm questioning whether or not I can get back into running shape in 5 months, but it's been so long since I've trained for anything that I really want to try. Plus, Wes said he would do it with me and I can't pass up having a running partner.
So with that said training starts tonight. This first few weeks Wes and I will only be walking, but after that we have a somewhat rigorous training schedule that will look something like this...

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
1	3	Rest	3	3	Rest	4	Rest	13
2	3	Rest	4	3	Rest	5	Rest	15
3	3	Rest	4	3	Rest	6	Rest	16
4	3	Rest	5	3	Rest	8	Rest	19
5	3	Rest	5	3	Rest	10	Rest	21
6	4	Rest	5	4	Rest	11	Rest	24
7	4	Rest	6	4	Rest	12	Rest	26
8	4	Rest	5	4	Rest	9	Rest	22
9	3	Rest	4	3	Rest	8	Rest	18
10	3	Rest	3	Walk 2	Rest	13.1	Rest	21.1

It should be fun. I simply need to keep thinking of the Nike slogan- JUST DO IT! So here we go- wish us luck!

Candy Thief and Other "Stuff"

I walked out of the bathroom yesterday to see Gideon sitting in the corner of my room very intent on getting into something. Well it didn't take me long to realize what he had found...Dots...

Trying so hard...
Just a little more... Yum...

These next pictures are not for the faint of heart....let's just say I've been inducted into the "Mommy Club" again. I wish I could have gotten Wes' face on camera, it was priceless!

Children

I love nap-times. Today while Gideon was asleep I laid down with Steele. It was a bit of a battle at first, but he gave in and eventually crawled up next to me so he could cuddle with Lily. After he fell asleep I had the opportunity to lay there and ponder. The house was quiet and I knew I had better take a chance to enjoy it, so I didn't move.
As I pondered I looked over at Steele and started to cry. (I'm sure the after-pregnancy hormones didn't help.) I understood at that very moment why my sister has 6 children, why my mom has 9 children and why some people have 18. They are wonderful! They are sweet, forgiving, teachable, honest, loving, pure, innocent and God-like. There is nothing better than to see them learn and grow and yet I am humbled every time I lose my temper and they are so quick to forgive me for it. I know I am blessed and although chaos awaits me at every turn and I at times I feel like I'm going to lose my mind, I still know that I love my children and that they love me.
On my Facebook page I have a quote from Elder Russel M. Nelson that was taken from a talk he gave at a conference in the Netherlands on Families. He says, "Our children are our wealth; our children are our strength; our children are indeed our future!"
I feel like this says it all. I am not a rich woman when it comes to money especially now that we have three children that have monetary needs. However, each child is a wealth untold and I have three, making me very rich indeed!
As for strength, thanks to my children I have become better at praying and reading my scriptures because I know that they are watching. It says it all when you turn around and your 3-year-old is bowing his head over a bowl of cereal in the morning and silently praying.
Finally and possibly my favorite, "children are indeed our future". I know that our posterity depends on us having children. How sad would it be to grow old without having someone to love you. Plus, our children bring grandchildren and from what I understand, grandchildren are the best!
I guess to summarize this entry, I love children- every shape, size and personality and "happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them."

Welcome Lily Mae

So the story goes a little like this...
Tuesday I had a non-stress test scheduled for Lily. She failed (I think I am going to have to have a talk with her about getting better grades). So they sent me over to the hospital to get induced.
At about 1 am they started the pitocin. We tried to keep things slow because Dr. T would be on at 6 am, but she decided she was ready. I started pushing around 5:20 and she got here at 5:34 am. Things went really well. Wes was the BEST coach. Always rubbing my back when the contractions got too bad and talking to me to keep my mind off the pain. I did get an epidural at about 4:30, I probably could have done it without, but I decided I would rather enjoy the delivery than be in pain. However, I did find out that Banner Desert will let you labor in a bath, so next time I might try that...sounds relaxing to me.
It's crazy to think we are now a family of 5, but I'm loving every minute of it. The boys love her, Wes loves her and I love her. I seriously am so blessed!
So here she is... my little sweet pea...Lily Mae Filhart 7lbs 5 oz and 21 inches long born Aug 19...

A Few Projects

It has been a few months since I have posted anything on our blog, but this entry will explain and show why.
This is Neal Palmer and Steele. I love Neal, he is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. He came over a few weeks after we moved in and helped us clear out an old tree in our backyard. Steele had a blast watching him and then getting out in the midst of the damage. These are two of my favorite pictures of Steele and Neal working on the tree. (It was a monster.)















These next pictures are of our biggest project- our kitchen. Other than a little electrical and plumbing help (and an occasional extra man to lift the sink and countertop) Wes and I did this all on our own. I would put the cabinets together (we had to start from scratch) and then Wes would hang them.
We also hung the door. The old opening had to be torn out and we put the new door and frame in a few days ago. It took a good hour and a half to do because neither one of us had ever done it, but after installing cabinets, lights, a toilet, wood flooring, baseboards, trim, etc. we realized we could at least learn how to hang a door.:)

This first picture is a before- we had old avacado green sink and appliances with cream cabinets and blue trim. Let's just say this kitchen hadn't seen a facelift since 1960.
I designed the kitchen with some input from others (it took me months) but after much planning we moved the fridge down the wall, added a pantry on the other side of the fridge (thank you Karen) and extended the countertop to have a bar. It was well worth the work and wait of not having a kitchen for a few months because I love it now. My favorite part of all, my country sink, it is HUGE!
This has been a tremendous blessing for us as well. We have truly seen the hand of our Father in Heaven as we have been blessed with things we wouldn't have been able to afford and also with good friends who were willing to help us out.

These last pictures are of our living room. I still have to get curtains and hang a few more things, but other than that we are done in there as well.
So here's the before...And the after....
There will be more to come. We have actually finished the boys room and the dining room, but I need to take pictures. We still have to re-tile our guest bathroom and put a new toilet in, but other than that it's almost done as well. So hopefully I will have some more projects to share soon.
Thanks to all who have helped and supported us as we have worked so hard to make our house a home. I can't wait to have everyone over for games and a BBQ! And a special thanks to my hubby who spent his entire summer working on the house...I love you!!!