Thoughts and feelings for today........

I'm feeling........

• happy to be so blessed! I have beautiful, (mostly) sweet children, and they are healthy! I can be thankful for that each and every day.
• excited to be using my new computer! It's so advanced and spiffy compared to our old laptop. I can't stop using it!
• a little buzzed from too much Diet Coke. ;-)
• so amazingly touched by the Atonement in my life! No matter how bitter and painful life can be for a time, it can be made so joyful again because of Jesus Christ. He knows me, He loves me, and His love for those around me is so comforting when I'm not enough for them.
• content to be here, now.
• somewhat appreciated - by people outside of my family. I was asked to serve on the School Improvement Council earlier in the year, and then yesterday the Title I staff requested that I be on their Parent Advisory Council. I don't even know people around her very well, so it's surprising. I guess they think I have something to offer, and I hope I can make a difference in some small way in education even though I'm not teaching anymore.

I'm thinking.....

• about starting a Square Foot Garden. Thanks, Natalie, for suggesting it. Check out this website if you're interested : www.sqarefootgardening.com
• about my little Mallory, who fell pretty hard on the sidewalk last night and has badly scraped up knees. It hurts when she tries to sleep on them. Imagine -2 yr old falls and gets her worst "ouchies" yet, 6 yr old sees the blood and starts to pass out on the sidewalk next to me.....thank goodness Brad was with me on this walk because we were each carrying a child back to the house from the park. So sad....I just want to make it all better.
• how much I love to visit your blogs, everybody. You each inspire, entertain, and fulfill me in your unique ways.

Does this cheer sound familiar?

Okay, I debated about sharing these pics, but there is a funny story behind it. (and I edited for modesty's sake.) Mallory picked out a basketball potty seat, pull-ups, and a stool for potty training time because she wouldn't use the potty seats I already have. For the first couple of days she wanted to sit on the potty all-day-long!! Nothing would happen of course, but she was excited. (That has passed, by the way. Potty training is at a stand still. Ugh.) So, anyway, Mallory says she needs to potty, and I sit there with her to monitor her progress -- she likes to tear off toilet paper when I'm not watching and waste it -- I'm encouraging her and Bethany joins in...."Push it out! Push it out! Waaaaay Out!" She starts making this face and straining her little neck, holding onto her potty seat handles, and I just had to grab my camera. I was trying to make sure I took shots of only her face, but that was difficult. So, I hope these aren't offensive pictures.....I just found them hilarious. (Oh, and this was the only time so far that she actually succeeded in NEEDING any toilet paper, so I think the cheer worked. heehee :)

( I hope this isn't too tasteless. I was hoping to spread some laughter. :) Check out all the new posts below....does anyone know why I can only post 5 pics per post? I could have condensed all my Easter photos into one post, but I had too many pics to share. )

Easter Egg Hunt

I said my parents' driveway looked like a car lot that day...7 vehicles, I think,

and eggs were hidden on many of them.

The spring flowers had come up and it was a sunny day, but it was cold!

More fun pictures from Easter

"Here's our loot, Mommy!"

Uncle Daniel reading to my girls. (Jaxson climbed up there before long.)

"Cheese!" He's always ready with a smile, but moves so fast!

Sizing each other up....not too shabby!

Remember? I said he's fast!

Easter Pictures

Posing Easter Morning

Mallory tries to get Jaxson turned around.

The little ones are so interested in each other....it cracks me up.

Egg coloring time....look at her focus! :)

Waiting patiently...

What's been happenin'....

I know it's been a while since I posted, so I'm just going to start with a rundown of recent happenings here for the Bennett family.....

• Brad was organizing a Stake Men's Basketball tournament set for April 18th, and although it was lots of fun for the guys, we are glad it's over with! He was on the phone and the computer quite a lot trying to communicate with all the wards and set up the tournament brackets, etc. The best part about the whole thing is that it gave our friends, Chris and Deb, a reason to come visit for the weekend. Chris and Brad used to get together and play ball quite a bit in NC, and it was so amazing that they drove all this way so that the guys could play some ball together again. They are some of the sweetest people we've ever had the pleasure of knowing, and this is the second time they've visited us here in WV. We're so grateful for their friendship.
• Does anybody else feel like all we do as school parents is fund raise? The PTO at Bethany's school just finished a Krispy Kreme doughnut sale, so I'll be delivering those tomorrow evening. We also had Longaberger Bingo, Applebee's Pancake Breakfast, and the school carnival is next weekend. And all of that is in the same quarter! In the fall we had a big sale, too! Whew! I just wish our government had education figured out better, so that parent organizations didn't have to take on such a burden to provide the schools with needed improvements, materials, and technology. Our PTO provides almost double the dollar amount of what our county board of education gives to our school.
• I finished my root canal at the end of March and had my teeth cleaned today, so that makes 5 or 6 dentist appointments in about a month and a half for me. Whew! Dental work has to be at the bottom of my list of things I don't enjoy.
• I've been saying for about 2 months that I'm going to get Bethany's hair cut off again, but I procrastinate the actual doing of it. We'll get it done soon, I think. (another 8-10 inches)
• I went to the temple with my sister last month and it was wonderful! My kids were a-okay at home with Daddy and I was able to just take my time and do a couple of sessions. The DC temple is about 4 hours away from here, so it takes quite a bit of planning to get there. I'm hoping to make it there again soon. It's so rejuvenating to do the work and spend any amount of time in the Lord's house.
• We spent Easter at my parents' house this year, and it was so nice to be there with my family. We colored eggs, hunted eggs, went to church where I was able to attend Sunday School, and enjoyed our time together. I'll post some pictures.
• I've worked it out with the principal of the school so that I can bring Mallory with me to volunteer more often. That way I get to help out in the library or something, and I don't have to find babysitting. She's a good kid, so I'm thinking it should work out just fine. I'm glad to be a little bit more involved.

Today...

Today, I'm feeling the effects of being a little older and a little less in-shape than I would like to be. Why? Because I finally tackled a painting project, our guest bathroom, yesterday, and my body aches....thank you for Motrin. Ok, our downstairs bathrooms were painted two different shades of peach/orange -- very unappealing for 2009, probably lovely for about 1985? (I wish I'd taken a before picture, but I'll post one later of the other bathroom.) So, I had to prime it with a primer-sealer-protector stuff, which by the way does not wash off your skin very easily -- I'll know that next time. It dried throughout the afternoon, and when I put the girls to bed I went back and painted the trim. Have any of you ever painted a closet door that has all of those little slanted slats in it? That took most of my time, but by 11:00 last night I had the trim done and had washed out my rollers and brushes and pans, etc., sat down and watched the American Idol shows for this week. (What a season, right?! So much talent!) Today, I'm working up the courage to now paint the walls with my new can of Dusky Taupe, but I think I'll wait until the girls are sleeping again. (I'm a neutral, earthy-tones kind of girl. Then, I can change anything in the room and keep the paint, right?)
I'm even working up the courage to go buy this flooring I saw at Big Lots to use in my bathrooms and kitchen, so I'm measuring and trying to decide if I can do it myself....I'll probably have to recruit Brad's help for that, though.