When life gets you down

Do you ever have those days when life seems to weigh you down?

Things that are sad happening in the world, dissapointments, discouraging things, frustrating things that make you mad, you talk to others that are dealing with money troubles, relationship troubles, worries about their children and difficult diagnosises that mean a life time of diminished health. Your heart breaks and you pray and wish for everyone to feel comfort and to somehow get through tough times to times that are better and at the same time you feel the weight of sadness. 

But life is funny. It's always changing. If you're up you know eventually something will knock you down again and if your down...hang on because eventually things will get better. It always does even if it's just your capacity to deal with it.

So our ups and downs....

Up: We loved that Taylor came up with a brilliant plan to bring some life into a Language Arts assignment by creating a video instead of a boring presentation.

This video was dreamed up on the day before it was due. (how nice)

So mom went to the dollar store to try and find something to represent Odysseus's bow and arrow.

We ended up with a pool noodle and a plastic baseball bat.

There was makeup, and costumes and it was a fun time.

I was proud of Taylor for coming up with it, directing it and editing it all before mutual. He was excited to go back to show the class and especially his study group what he came up with. I was excited because this is one of the classes that he's trying to pull his grade up in and he needs every point.

Here is the youtube link to their video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1TSdieNM8Y

There are supposed to be suitors that are trying to win Penelope's heart but they have to string this special bow...none of them can do it until Jacob comes on the scene.

The next day he went to turn it in.

Down: The program he used for the video didn't work on the teacher's computer. No one got to see it, it's now to late to turn it in. They had to use another team members boring power point which words all blended into the background and he thinks they'll get a bad grade.

Taylor left Ashley's grass skirt from Hawaii in the backyard after making the video. We came home to it being destroyed yesterday.

Up: So that stinks but the next day I got to text Taylor in the middle of the day to let him know that the chinchilla had her babies!

It was so sweet Jeff came home to see them and we texted Taylor pictures of them. They are about the size of hamsters and oh so cute.

Baby number 1

Baby number 2

Baby number 3!

Up: Tuesday while Taylor was at mutual Jacob was at a band concert. (he informed me the day before)

He is excited to go into advanced band next year.

He was also very excited about ASB next year and being able to help plan and attend the school events. I was happy that he was following in Jeff's footsteps (he was the president of his junior high). I thought it would be a great experience for Jacob.

In order to get into ASB he had to turn in a letter and have it signed by all his teachers listing his grades. He wrote his letter (which I quoted last time) and then got his teachers to sign it...then forgot to turn it in. The teacher over it is strict and won't accept it late.

Down: So ASB is now out.

Up: Ashley had her friend Daisy over after school on Wednesday to go with her to Girls Activity Day.

I was busy but when she wanted to make bracelets I thought I'd stop and help the girls. I got all the stuff out and then Ashley wasn't interested and kept going back to the TV. Daisy wouldn't do it by herself. I asked Ashley if she wanted to make a bracelet she said "No I probably wouldn't wear it."  (true, there is a drawer full of stuff I've tried to make her and she never wears it)

Down : So I made Ashley come back so she could make a bracelet for one of her friends. She got a pile of beads together and said "Mom you make it." I sighed and started to help. Then right before we had to leave for activity day Ashley tried to help Daisy measure her bracelet and all the beads fell off to the floor. Daisy told me to just make something and give it to Ashley to bring tomorrow. So I left the house a mess and we went to activity day.

The girls made cards for the missionaries.

and english muffin pizzas. I think more peperoni was eaten than pizza but the girls had a fun time.

Down: Ashley had a stomach ache after eating too much peperoni.

She didn't eat dinner.

Up: But her friend Daisy would like to come back again.

Down : The next day was wall to wall appointments. I picked up Jacob at 11:00 for a dentist appointment to get his and my tooth drilled.

I tried to bring in his shot record to the office so they would stop calling, writing and e-mailing about him needing his whooping cough vaccination. She looked at his card, nope he didn't have it. 

So I had to tell him that not only did he have to get his tooth drilled he was going to have a shot later in the day at Taylor's doctor's appointment.  

The up-side was the dentist dimissed me and said my tooth wasn't bad enough to drill. He had been out of town and his assistant right out of dental school had diagnosed me. He's more conservative and said my tooth might stay that way for 10 years before it gets worse so he was going to leave it. Whew.

Jacob's cavity was small enough that it was drilled quickly without novicane.

Later that day Taylor had an appointment for his pediatrician and x-rays on his legs. They still aren't getting better and we don't know whats wrong :(

While we're in the room Jacob finds out he needs not one shot but 3!

Not a happy camper.

I wasn't a happy camper because according to some new policy instead of just giving Jacob the shot (which they've always done before) they made be go back up to the front, pretend that Jacob had an appointment and sign him in and pay $25.00 more dollars. Of course I didn't know this until it was yelled to me by the nurse from outside the room  in a very irritated manner after waiting in the room for 20 minutes for someone to bring the shot in.  I guess the nurse was bugged (probably for not setting up a proper separate appointment to get a vacination) because she wouldn't look at me the rest of the time and sent someone else in to take care of Jacob.

Before the nurse wrote me off for the day she let Taylor and I know that he'd better run down to get his x-rays because it was going to be a horrendous wait. 

While we were at the doctor's I was able to arrange a carpool for Jacob to go to the last Miller skate night for his school...but he had to be home to get picked up in 45 minutes. I called Jeff and luckily he was at a store not too far away so he came and picked up the two younger kids so they wouldn't have to wait and Jacob could be home in time.

When I went downstairs to go wait for Taylor....he was already done. Sorry Jeff, what a waste.

Taylor and I got home with 25 minutes to spare before we had to go to his Track Awards ceremony.

The upside was getting to eat dessert and see his friends. We sat at the table with the Merrils who is a neighbor we home teach and visit teach but goes to another church. I was glad to see her so I could check and see how she was doing and she was glad to see someone she knew to sit with. The rest of the table was students.

The down side was 2 1/2 hours of non stop talking from Coach Corona :)

And also the dissapointment of a track season cut short by injury and the frustration that Taylor felt at still not feeling better and not knowing what is wrong.

I've had my own dissapointments these last couple of weeks. More than one opportunity that seems promising, exciting and the next direction for life to be snuffed out before it began. Just enough time for you to get excited about it, just enough time that you are forced to mourn for what is not to be.  Not once, not twice but over and over. I know how dissapointment feels and the feeling of "Now What?" Again this is life.

I read one of the talks from this last general conference about patience and pain, both physical and mental. "The Atonement Covers All Pain." Great article that helps put challenges into perspective.

I also keep thinking of the tag line thats in all my nephew's letters home from his mission. "Keep pressing forward it's all we can do."

One last down: Taylor is taking an online health class and it's been really hard to get what he needs done finished. He has to have all his tests proctored by his science teacher which means he has to go into her class before school and at lunch to try and take the tests he needs. He keeps forgetting and so I've been trying to find creative ways to remind him.

Literally he forgets right after you tell him, text him and have Jeff remind him.

The only thing that has worked is having his friends remind him once he's at school and distracted yet again, and me writing all over his lunch bag so he (and his friends) see it when he pulls it out of his bag.

Yesterday me writing on his lunch sack didn't work.

He said he never got it out of his bag but just pulled his food out one by one. (I'm thinking because he didn't want his friends to see it and tell him to go and take his test.)

Up:  Neccesity is mother of invention (and creativity)

No excuse for forgetting today....

Not only is it written on his bright red lunch sack...

Notes are attatched to every on of his food items...

like his pretzels...

sandwich

"testy" peanut butter crackers.

drink...

and dessert.

Fruit

Either he'll laugh or he'll be really bugged at me.

So Taylor got home. I asked him how his lunch was. "Funny"

Did you take your test. "No, the teacher wasn't there."