Middle Child Syndrome - Yeah Right!

So I got thinking earlier about the whole 'middle child syndrome.' Let me tell you, there is no such thing! I remember when I was about 12 or 13, I was on a trip with my mom and sisters, and in a motel room one night we were watching 'Mad About You.' And it made some comment about the middle child syndrome (this was the first my sisters and I had heard it). And there's Lacey exclaiming "So that's what's wrong with Candice!" While at the same time I was like "What?!" And I have given this 'middle child syndrome' much thought. And you know what? THERE IS NO SUCH THING! This is not a syndrome. Let me refer to my trusty Webster's New World Dictionary on the definition of 'syndrome'. It reads "a set of symptoms characterizing a disease or condition.' I have heard people say that the middle child envisions themselves getting the least amount of attention. There is no envisioning here. When it came to my family, Lacey was put on a pedastal because she was older and more mature. And Tamra was the baby, so therefore was spoiled. And then there was me. I hardly got away with anything, my parents had higher standards set for me. You might think it's all in my head, but it isn't. For one, Tamra and Lacey were allowed to date before they were 16, I was not. I got grounded for going to track practice. When I was younger my parents made me allow Tamra to play with my friends and I, and once when Tamra had a friend over and I was really bored and asked if it was ok to play with them, she said no, so I went to my mom (the way she always did whenever I said no) and my mom told me to leave them alone. So it's not a syndrome, we middle children are just truly not noticed as much as the other children. Trust me, I know of what I speak. So there's my little rant of the day.

See here? I'm convinced I was crying because I was being picked on. Notice the way I'm being man handled? :)

A Winter Wonderland

Because of the freezing temperatures of last night, this is the world we woke up to in the morning. It was a winter wonderland. As I was driving to my visiting teaching appointments I was just in awe. I had forgotten how much I love the way the trees look with frost clinging to them. I hate the cold, especially freezing temperatures, and especially when I don't have heat in my house. But it's worth enduring the cold for views like these.

Small Blessings

So the furnace is working now! Hurrah Hurrah! The previous owners did some really weird things with the wiring and a whole lot of other things. They are at this moment getting the thermostat hooked up. We are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel! And my house is much warmer than it was when I woke up this morning. It was below 50, I think I may have already stated that in the previous post, but whatever, there it is again.

Now I love taking long showers. And when I have to hurry and take a short shower, it's still considered a long shower by most peoples standards, according to my husband anyway. And I often run out of hot water by the end of my shower, or at the very least, starting to run out of it. But this morning while my house was absolutely freezing, I'm not even going to comment on how cold the tile floor was in the bathroom...oh wait, I just did mention, oh well, it was very cold. So as I was saying, while the house was freezing, I had a glorious hot shower that never ran out of hot water, never even started to run out. And it was the same length of time as they normally are. I think Heavenly Father took pity on me. :)

So I must give thanks to Him for this small blessing :) Thanks ever so much!

The icicle speaks again...surprised I haven't frozen to death here

So that idea didn't work. For some reason the furnace wasn't getting enough oxygen or something. So finally at about 7:30 they all left. Saying they'll have to come back tomorrow (which is now today) and have tech support out here to figure it out. Apparently they have never come across such a problem house. So we went without heat last night, minus an electric heater. It is about 50 degrees in my house at the moment. When I first woke up about an hour and 15 minutes ago, it was colder than that. The thermostat only goes down to 50 but the little hand thing was below that. Of course they felt horrible that they couldn't figure it out and left us with no heat, especially since it turned really cold outside last night. So I'm sitting here freezing and hoping they'll get here soon to work on getting it up and running. I have visiting teaching at 10, so Tyler will be here so I can go do my thing, and I can't wait to go so that I can be in my warm car. And I bet the homes of the sisters I'll be visiting are nice and warm.

Does anyone know about what temperature hypothermia sets in? I think I'm nearing that point. :) But I am pretty sure that the temperature in my house is the same as my fridge. When I opened it, I didn't feel any difference.

Brrrrr Colder still

So far it has been 8 1/2 hours and still they aren't finished putting in the furnace! Apparently my house is arranged weird so the guy had to get 2 more guys here to brainstorm on what to do. Finally figured out where to put the pipes and they are working on that now. I am even colder now than I was earlier. It's around 58 degrees in here. Brrrrr. WHEN WILL THIS AGONY END?! I AM FREEZING! I'M ABOUT TO BECOME AN ICICLE!

Baby it's cold outside...and it's seeping into the house!

As of this moment a new furnace is being installed in our house, so of course no heat is on. I am desperately hoping it won't take long (Tyler tells me 6-8 hours, but I am hoping for a miracle and it will be really quick). It is starting to get really cold in my house, and of course it snowed last night, so it's colder outside today than it has been for the last week. Figures. And I can't light the pellet stove because I have no idea how to start it. I think the igniter thing is burnt out. I can't wait till we get a wood stove next year, those are much simpler. Cheaper too, since we get our own wood. Tyler said, when he came to look at our furnace and show us what kind of furnaces they have at Plumb Line, that our furnace was the worst he'd ever seen. Granted he hasn't been working there long and says he's only seen about 80-100, but ours was the worst. He later told me that when he showed the pictures of our furnace to all the guys he works with, their eyes went wide. So apparently it was really bad. (For those of you who are unawares, Tyler is my brother-in-law).

With this new furnace we'll be saving about $800 a year. Sweet! I like to hear that. Of course we got like the most expensive furnace, but we'll also save the most with it. Really it was a better deal in the long run and we plan to be in this house for quite a few years, at least.

Oh I'm so cold!

Woman

I saw this quote that Tammy had posted on facebook that I absolutely love!

Woman was created from the rib of man. Not from his head to top him, nor from his feet to be walked upon. She was made from his side to be his equal, from beneath his arm to be protected by him...From very near his heart to be loved by him.

Believe

My best high school bud recently shared a quote with me by Jeffrey R. Holland. She and I are going through the same trial of unable to have children and this quote has helped her a great deal. It's one that really helps you have peace with your lot.

We must go forward. God expects you to have enough faith, determination, and trust in Him to keep moving, living, and rejoicing. He expects you not simply to face the future; He expects you to embrace and shape the future - to love it, rejoice in it, and delight in your opportunities. God is eagerly waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams; just as He always has. But He can't if you don't pray, and He can't if you don't dream. In short, He can't if you don't believe.

How true is that. Even through our trials, or maybe especially through our trials we still need to have faith and go on with a happy heart. Some days that is far from an easy thing to do. But if we believe our Heavenly Father will carry us through, then we can get through. And some day, perhaps not necessarily in this life, he will bless us with the righteous desires we hold in our hearts. I am so thankful for this knowledge and for the testimony I have of this. So thank you Keira Lee for sharing this quote with me!

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STOCKINGS

Shalum and I started decorating for Christmas yesterday! And we hung our stockings!


Shalum was saying we need to take his stocking over to my mom's so she can fill it instead of filling the one she has for him.




I guess I haven't been very good this year :(

This made us laugh so hard when we saw the giant stocking and decided to do this. In fact we laugh every time we see it. And it's the first thing you see when you come into our house. Bwahahaha

Thanksgiving

Ok so this year we went to Yerington to see some of my family. And it was so much fun! Both of my sisters were there, dad and Joanna, Aunt Tammy and Uncle David, Grandma, and cousins (I'm not in the mood to list all of them right now, so you'll just have to do with cousins). I have not laughed so much in a long time. I actually had a sore throat by the end of the night. I love getting together with family. We played games after dinner, which was a blast. Dinner was delicious! And I had sweet potatoes for the first time and they were soooooo yummy. I feel I was cheated the first 27 years of my life! :) Here are some pics of Thursday




Larry's daughter, Shelby, and my sister Tamra. We all thought it was funny they were wearing the same sweater.


My dad and Aunt Tammy (although not in that order)


My cousin Zach. And Uncle David looking on wondering why his son is such a dork (Shalum would say it runs in the family, and I think I'd have to agree :])




Rachelle, Shelby, Sarah, and Kenni Lynn




Sister Lacey and my Grandma :)









My cousin Larry and my dad. I was trying to get them to smile but they were being difficult.


Ah ha! I am triumphant!










Zach is 20 years old and 6'8" and still growing!

Scare

We had such a scare last night. My 15 year old nephew, Harlon, was out in the desert around the town on his dirt bike. He headed out at about 3pm and the bike broke down at around 5pm, I think, and he was quite a ways out, not even entirely sure where he was. Kerry, his mother, had gone out looking for him for a couple of hours, but it started getting dark and she wasn't entirely sure where she was plus she almost got stuck, so she headed back home to her other kids and let the deputy look for him. She couldn't get a hold of Shayne who was out at work on night shift, fortunately when she called Shalum, also on night shift, was right there so she talked to him. He tried getting a hold of Shayne but with no luck. Shalum called me about 9pm telling me a little bit and told me to go wait with Kerry. I was there all night. The deputy would call every once in a while to see if we'd heard from him yet. Harlon had his cell phone but the battery was starting to die at 6pm when he was first talking to Kerry. It finally died at I think about 10 or 11. In fact Harlon at that time actually saw the cop's lights, but the phone died right when he tried to call the cop (they had been talking off and on up until that moment). The cop was some distance away with a ravine between them, so Harlon couldn't get to him. Harlon didn't have any food, water, flashlight, nothing. Fortunately he had a sweater, not a thick sweater, but at least he had it. I finally fell asleep about 6am on Kerry's couch. Woke up when Shalum showed up at 7am. And while we were trying to figure out what to do and Kerry was on the phone with Shayne who had just found out and was on his way home, Harlon called. He had turned the phone off during the night hoping to get some power later on, and fortunately he did. He told her he was on a road near Osino and then his phone died. So Shalum and I headed out (but there are a lot of little roads in Osino), Shayne also headed that way when Kerry called him back. Fortunately the road Shayne had taken took him straight to Harlon. The poor kid was tired, hungry, thirsty, and a bit cold, but alive. That was a long awful night. I am just so grateful he's ok.

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I did this one last year, but I thought it was so funny with Shalum's face I decided to post it again

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New Calling

So I got a new calling yesterday. 2nd Counselor in the Young Women's Presidency! I am so excited! I love love love working with the youth, escpecially the young women. I haven't had a calling with them in almost 2 years. I was really missing them. Just 2 weeks ago at linger longer two of the girls were saying they wished I was still in Young Women's with them, and I agreed with them. Then when I got called I was like Sweet! I had this calling before for two years. I couldn't stop smiling yesterday at church. I didn't get to be in with them during the meetings because they needed me to teach my primary class this last time, which I was fine with. I wanted to say goodbye to my little CTR6 class. I'm going to miss them, but I'm excited to be with the YW. And apparently they're all glad to have me back! It's always nice to know you're loved. :) I love it when I'm put in a calling that I like!

Fortune Cookies

Heavenly Father really has a sense of humor. Of course, I already knew that, but this just confirms it. Shalum and I went to the temple yesterday. Before we go I usually get in really bad moods (all Satan's work, of course, if it weren't for him I would probably be the sweetest person. Just saying :]). So I get in these bad moods and the night before we went, I was in one of those bad moods. I was ranting and raving at Shalum. While I was doing this I opened a fortune cookie that was on our kitchen counter. I read the little paper, and just started laughing. Shalum was all "what, does it describe you perfectly?" I said "I don't want to tell you." It had said 'Be calm and collected, peace is a virtue.' So then, even though I was laughing, I was still a little annoyed at him. I grabbed the other cookie and said "this one's for you" and as I opened it Shalum said "does it say something about putting up with your wife?" When I read it I started laughing again. His read 'Every adversity carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.' And there was Shalum making his protein drink with this know-it-all look on his face and said "Even the Chinese know." It effectively got me out of a bad mood. So I say, Heavenly Father has a sense of humor. He works in funny ways sometimes. :D

What's been happening this year

Ok, it's been forever since I posted anything. My apologies. Let me tell you what's been going on this year...beginning of April Shalum and I went to Arizona on vacation with Shayne, Kerry, and their kids. When we reached Ely, we hit a blizzard, and of course Shalum and I brought our charger that didn't have 4-wheel drive, or even all terrain tires. So we were snowed in. We thought we would have to stay there til it cleared up and just head back home. I was in much need of a break, so was nearly in tears over it...ok I admit, I did shed a couple tears. But fortunately, or should I say unfortunately :), Shayne and Kerry said we could travel with them. So that's what we did. 9 of us in their excursion for 14 or so hours there and back, yeah that was fun. But we really appreciated them for that, because like I said, I really needed that vacation. And of course a few miles outside of Ely, the roads and weather were great, but according to the weather channel, there was supposed to be another storm the day we were heading back home. Any way we all had a blast, we played miniature golf, went to a couple national parks.

Lets see...in June Jace and Caitlyn got married. woot woot! and Kimi and Matt got married same month. another woot woot! I also had a family reunion in June, down in Ely. Saw some family I hadn't seen in years. In July we went to Delta for the 4th. Saw Shiloh and Joy and their kids. We hadn't seen them in, I think, 4 years. So that was fun. Also saw Tammy and her boys, and also Shawdo and Shalum's parents. That was a fun few days. One of the days a bunch of us went out on the desert, found some old mines and did a little shooting. Towards the end all the teen boys started complaining about how hot it was. They're a bunch of babies. They were constantly using the words epic, legit, intense, and ridiculous. So Tammy and I mocked them the whole day.

And lastly, we bought a new house! I am so excited. It is such a nice house and I love love love the yard! It's 3 bedroom, 1 and 3/4 bath, 2 living rooms, a garage!, and of course there's a place for Alice. We wouldn't have bothered looking at it if it didn't have a place for her. :) And it only took us 3 months to close! Yeah! Let's talk about frustrating! But in the end it finally happened, and I am over joyed!

Pictures and a video of Tammy shooting one of Shalum's guns to follow.