There's nothing like February! First little spots of spring start to rise up giving us hope that the cold will leave soon. The cute little groundhog talks to us and we heed what it says (kinda silly, right?). Plus Valentines day! The day we celebrate how much we love each other. Well, the Hemby's had a rough February when it comes to being sick. I think a lot of us did, and it was NO FUN AT ALL!!!!! My boys all got sick the Monday before Valentines Day, and Matthew as well. The 2 boys threw up once and were fine. Matthew threw up several times that day and was not doing well at all. I managed to skip the illness that day and clean and sanitize the whole house. In case I DID have to vomit I like to do it in a clean and sanitized toilet. I did feel a little nauseated that day, but managed to keep a little something in my stomach to keep that at bay and it was alright. The boys still wanted to go to Grandma Gwen's for Valentines like we had planned, so I took them up there on Tuesday, Feb 13. I was feeling a little bit queasy, but was alright and I drove them up there. Was also able to take care of a few things for our van while I was up there and see family. It was a fun time. I got to see some of my nieces and play while their mom helped to replace the spark plug wires on Baby, our mini-van. I made it home that night to go to an interview with one of the bishopric and they extended a calling to work with the 10 year olds. So, I will be doing that now. Hopefully it will help me to be better at the church stuff and actually preparing a lesson! That should help with FHE's at our house.
Valentines day was HORRIBLE! Matthew had to work, but I was off and we were going to celebrate at home doing date night and something fun. However, we didn't get to do that because I was sick all day. I never did vomit, but I was so sick I was crying. I was just so emotional, and it probably didn't help that girl problems hit me at the same time. It was a giant mess. Matthew was so wonderful though and ran a bath for me and helped take care of me so I wasn't so horribly miserable. It took a few days to get better, but I did. Then we all got sick again with colds, and Matthew and I had other issues, and it has been just a barrel of laughs at the Hemby house. Fortunately the boys haven't had it so badly. And we've had a lot of family time together, so that's great as well.
We also found out that we got a bonus at work! It was so nice to have that since it helped us to pay off some things and do and get some other fun things as well. The Tax return we got was pretty decent, and we paid off things that are finally off our chests and we can work towards the rest of the debt. One of the things that I got was a new set of PrismaColor pencils and a few new coloring books as well. I'm really excited to try them out and to have something that I am working at and developing and also to keep me sane during the times that are hard. Raising 2 very active and smart boys is taxing sometimes. :) So, I've been experimenting with different ways to color things. I have a Nu Skin Coloring book Matthew got me a while back from work and I have tried some different things. That way when I start coloring in a book I care about it will look stellar, hopefully. All part of the developing part of life right now. It's been really fun to do this, and to see how the colors come together. Focusing on what I'm doing, the lines, the blending, the colors used; all that meticulous detail keeps my mind focused and keeps me from feeling overwhelmed with life. It has been very good for me I think.
The boys have been so happy and just playing and having fun. I have really seen them come together and act like brothers. They have their squabbles just like any kids do, but they also play well together and have fun. Michael will be going to school this year so I have tried looking into getting that taken care of and also helping the boys with reading and learning time. They are doing really well and I hope that they feel like they have fun and do fun things. They do REALLY awesome things with Grandma Gwen. So, I'll try to get some of that posted as well. That's all for now, so hopefully I'll get some pics posted soon!
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Sunday, February 11, 2018
January 2018
January always feels like a time of new beginnings for me. Each year I make New Years resolutions and some years have been great, and other years I have failed miserably in accomplishing the things I set out to do. That doesn't mean I won't or don't still try. Sometimes though I feel that it is hard to try. Sometimes I just feel like things aren't going the way I hoped/wanted and I just can't anymore for a while. Then I realize just how wrong a statement that is and I pick it up and keep trying, all the while berating myself and feeling guilty that I didn't just stay strong in the first place.
This year has been especially hard for me. Not even sure why. I remember the beginning of 2017 and everyone had put these status things on social media that 2016 was the worst year possible for them. I actually found that 2016 was a good year for my family, a good year for me. I felt I actually accomplished a lot and that even though I failed at times I didn't beat myself up about it. I was ready to have that kind of year again in 2017. However, plans do not always go the way we want them to, and I have had to learn some things again, and start over in a different way in 2018 because of the things that happened to me last year.
We started trying to get pregnant again last year. I worked at it for several months and then decided to take a break to work on my body again. With LOTS of work and the help of a prescription I was able to lose 15 lbs in 3 months. It doesn't seem like much, but I'll be grateful for anything I can get at this point. This is one of the points of hardship I dealt with. It isn't even the most devastating thing that happened to me last year, but it's something I feel I can talk about. I'm still not pregnant, and we haven't really tried to get pregnant again because of certain circumstances that we are dealing with first. I just feel a little lost, and I'm trying to get some things in order that I know will help, and trying to get myself back in line with what the Savior wants me to do. Going to church has been hard. Dealing with 2 kids that are as active as mine are is a daunting task for someone like me. I'm not the most patient person on the whole planet and having my children constantly making noise and making me feel exposed in the presence of God and all the people in the ward makes me feel like a horrible mother and like it isn't even worth it sometimes. I definitely know that it IS worth it, but sometimes the thoughts get the better of me. I have been trying harder the last few months to get them to church, and to help them to have the same type of upbringing that I had, and I know that I have been failing. I am resolving to do better, but the guilt of the past is what is eating away at me. I know that there are things I can do to fix this in me. I have been trying to study more in the scriptures and the words of the prophets. I am trying harder to have family prayer. I am trying to have family time set aside for FHE and it is really hard when you aren't used to doing that. One thing I can say for my boys is that they are so good to help remind me when we need to be praying, and reading scriptures and doing the things the Lord would ask of us. They are so very good and I am so grateful that I was able to have both of them, and that they are helping me in my life and in the hardships I've been having.
The beginning of Dec I put in at work to move to the End of Month team. That means I am only required to work the 2 last days of the month. I don't need to go every single day anymore. I can let them know which days during the weeks I am available if they need me and I can always pick up more shifts if needed. So far it has turned out alright. Is it a little bit more strained with money? Of course it is. But we are still making ends meet and with tithing and offerings being paid I feel that it will be ok. When I made the decision I was SOLID and sure about the decision. I still am. I know it is better for me to be with my family. I know that it is better for my marriage as well. There are so many blessings to come out of this. Sometimes I don't see that and I only see the things that are hard. So, I think I need to have a jar that I put something positive in everyday. That way I can see all the positive things happening to me and being grateful for those instead of dwelling on things in the past that don't matter now and I can't change. I need to keep moving forward and I hope that this helps me to be able to do that.
One of my New Years resolutions has been that I am going to try writing in my blog again, at least on a monthly basis and try to include a few photos and things that we are doing together as a family. I have been trying to do more things that are educational with the boys. Michael is learning the sounds to all the letters and he has learned to count to 20. He also can spell his name and is trying to learn how to write it out! We are working on going up farther from there. He also loves to have reading time and learning time, loves puzzles and coloring with me. I have taken up coloring again and it is a great way I've found to bond with the boys. Ammon is learning to count, has learned his colors and shapes and is now learning his letters. He is learning how to change his clothes himself and we will soon be getting ready to try potty-training with him again. They also both love doing projects with Grandpa Roger. They helped him build the deck for the hot tub and they both LOVE swimming in it. They always come home with another tool for their toolbox. It seems they have more tools now than Matthew! Michael even told Grandpa Roger that his dad would be ok with him having a drill! LOL He can't have a drill at his age, but it's cute that he feels that way. They both are also very excited because we have booked our trip to Disneyland for this year! It is meant to be a birthday gift and Christmas for both of them and us. Also to kind of celebrate 10 years of being married this year in June. I plan on making them quilts for their birthdays because they got new bunk beds for Christmas and they have bedding, but not a quilt that finishes that for them, so we are looking at doing that soon. Ammon is really starting to come out more with his language skills and talking and he is LOVING Mickey Mouse! We can definitely see that he is starting to like things for himself and not just because his brother does. Sometimes they are so cute together and play so well. Other times I swear they are single-handedly trying to start WW3. But they are so great most of the time and they are becoming great friends. It's a great blessing of being raised with a sibling so close in age.
Something else I have been trying this month is to try different and new things in the kitchen I haven't tried. Mostly focused on baking and learning those skills. I have tried a few things and I hope that I can get better at them. I would love to go to school for it one day and learn all the science behind everything. So hoping that will be in my future sometime. I have also taken to reading a little more and coloring. Things that I can use to keep my hands busy that help me to develop my talents and learn new ones. Matthew also found a dance studio that has dance classes for adults on Wednesday nights, so I might look into that, depending on if it is expensive or not. :)
Sorry this post is kinda disjointed and weird. I will try to do better in the future, just wanted to make sure I could get SOMETHING posted. Something is better than nothing. So, here is to having a great year, and being able to do the things that are the most important in life. Hoping for a great year!!!! :)
This year has been especially hard for me. Not even sure why. I remember the beginning of 2017 and everyone had put these status things on social media that 2016 was the worst year possible for them. I actually found that 2016 was a good year for my family, a good year for me. I felt I actually accomplished a lot and that even though I failed at times I didn't beat myself up about it. I was ready to have that kind of year again in 2017. However, plans do not always go the way we want them to, and I have had to learn some things again, and start over in a different way in 2018 because of the things that happened to me last year.
We started trying to get pregnant again last year. I worked at it for several months and then decided to take a break to work on my body again. With LOTS of work and the help of a prescription I was able to lose 15 lbs in 3 months. It doesn't seem like much, but I'll be grateful for anything I can get at this point. This is one of the points of hardship I dealt with. It isn't even the most devastating thing that happened to me last year, but it's something I feel I can talk about. I'm still not pregnant, and we haven't really tried to get pregnant again because of certain circumstances that we are dealing with first. I just feel a little lost, and I'm trying to get some things in order that I know will help, and trying to get myself back in line with what the Savior wants me to do. Going to church has been hard. Dealing with 2 kids that are as active as mine are is a daunting task for someone like me. I'm not the most patient person on the whole planet and having my children constantly making noise and making me feel exposed in the presence of God and all the people in the ward makes me feel like a horrible mother and like it isn't even worth it sometimes. I definitely know that it IS worth it, but sometimes the thoughts get the better of me. I have been trying harder the last few months to get them to church, and to help them to have the same type of upbringing that I had, and I know that I have been failing. I am resolving to do better, but the guilt of the past is what is eating away at me. I know that there are things I can do to fix this in me. I have been trying to study more in the scriptures and the words of the prophets. I am trying harder to have family prayer. I am trying to have family time set aside for FHE and it is really hard when you aren't used to doing that. One thing I can say for my boys is that they are so good to help remind me when we need to be praying, and reading scriptures and doing the things the Lord would ask of us. They are so very good and I am so grateful that I was able to have both of them, and that they are helping me in my life and in the hardships I've been having.
The beginning of Dec I put in at work to move to the End of Month team. That means I am only required to work the 2 last days of the month. I don't need to go every single day anymore. I can let them know which days during the weeks I am available if they need me and I can always pick up more shifts if needed. So far it has turned out alright. Is it a little bit more strained with money? Of course it is. But we are still making ends meet and with tithing and offerings being paid I feel that it will be ok. When I made the decision I was SOLID and sure about the decision. I still am. I know it is better for me to be with my family. I know that it is better for my marriage as well. There are so many blessings to come out of this. Sometimes I don't see that and I only see the things that are hard. So, I think I need to have a jar that I put something positive in everyday. That way I can see all the positive things happening to me and being grateful for those instead of dwelling on things in the past that don't matter now and I can't change. I need to keep moving forward and I hope that this helps me to be able to do that.
One of my New Years resolutions has been that I am going to try writing in my blog again, at least on a monthly basis and try to include a few photos and things that we are doing together as a family. I have been trying to do more things that are educational with the boys. Michael is learning the sounds to all the letters and he has learned to count to 20. He also can spell his name and is trying to learn how to write it out! We are working on going up farther from there. He also loves to have reading time and learning time, loves puzzles and coloring with me. I have taken up coloring again and it is a great way I've found to bond with the boys. Ammon is learning to count, has learned his colors and shapes and is now learning his letters. He is learning how to change his clothes himself and we will soon be getting ready to try potty-training with him again. They also both love doing projects with Grandpa Roger. They helped him build the deck for the hot tub and they both LOVE swimming in it. They always come home with another tool for their toolbox. It seems they have more tools now than Matthew! Michael even told Grandpa Roger that his dad would be ok with him having a drill! LOL He can't have a drill at his age, but it's cute that he feels that way. They both are also very excited because we have booked our trip to Disneyland for this year! It is meant to be a birthday gift and Christmas for both of them and us. Also to kind of celebrate 10 years of being married this year in June. I plan on making them quilts for their birthdays because they got new bunk beds for Christmas and they have bedding, but not a quilt that finishes that for them, so we are looking at doing that soon. Ammon is really starting to come out more with his language skills and talking and he is LOVING Mickey Mouse! We can definitely see that he is starting to like things for himself and not just because his brother does. Sometimes they are so cute together and play so well. Other times I swear they are single-handedly trying to start WW3. But they are so great most of the time and they are becoming great friends. It's a great blessing of being raised with a sibling so close in age.
Something else I have been trying this month is to try different and new things in the kitchen I haven't tried. Mostly focused on baking and learning those skills. I have tried a few things and I hope that I can get better at them. I would love to go to school for it one day and learn all the science behind everything. So hoping that will be in my future sometime. I have also taken to reading a little more and coloring. Things that I can use to keep my hands busy that help me to develop my talents and learn new ones. Matthew also found a dance studio that has dance classes for adults on Wednesday nights, so I might look into that, depending on if it is expensive or not. :)
Sorry this post is kinda disjointed and weird. I will try to do better in the future, just wanted to make sure I could get SOMETHING posted. Something is better than nothing. So, here is to having a great year, and being able to do the things that are the most important in life. Hoping for a great year!!!! :)
October Festivities!
So, it has been a while since I have kept this up, and my mom just reminded me of it the other day and I thought, I have a little free time at work so I should definitely work on this. So, here I am!
I will try to add pictures as well. But, this will be just a run-down of what is going on right now in the Hemby household. I will give an update of some things, and then go over all the things that happened in Oct.
It's funny actually because I was just checking my memories on facebook the other day and it was in Oct that I started this blog, 2 years ago. You can tell how well it's gone for me. Haha! Sometimes being a wife, mother, maid, teacher, cook, etc . . . gets in the way of me doing things. I need to work on that and be better.
Matthew and I just refinanced the house. It dropped our payment a bit so that by the end of the year I can go end of month at work and be home more. I would only be working around the end of the month, and I can always pick up shifts if we are in need of more money. We are also hoping to have our debt paid off by the beginning of next year. It seems to be going well right now, and we are just happy that the Lord has given us such a great blessing that we are able to put a lot towards that and make that goal a reality. I definitely wish that it was sooner than this, but hopefully this teaches our boys to be good with their money and not go into debt if they don't have to. Lots of things to look forward to seeing happen.
Something I have been working on is losing some weight and getting my health in order. However, the more steps I take to make that happen, the worse my health seems to get on a day to day basis. The whole reason I am doing this is because I know that there is another little spirit needing to come to our home. We tried for several months and then I decided to take a break, see if I could lose some weight and get my hormones back in order so that it will work a little better when we start trying again the beginning of next year. To date I have lost 15 lbs! It may not seem like much, and it took me 2 whole months to lose it, but I am happy that I am seeing any progress at all. It is really hard for me to lose weight because of some of the medical issues that I am facing, but I found something that works. The only problem is that I am sick every day. I seem to get migraines twice as often and it makes it hard to keep on my schedule and routine with my kids. But, despite it all I keep going. I can just hear my Mom and Grandmother chirping in my ear. "Just because you don't feel good doesn't mean the world stops turning. Sometimes it helps to just get up and do something, and then you feel a little bit better." They're right of course. I don't think that it is right for everyone, but I definitely think that it is something that helps me. I have a certain routine that I do everyday, and even if I don't get the WHOLE house cleaned in one day I am happy to have gotten the things done on my list. I set a list of things to get done everyday and then even if I don't feel good I know that I accomplished something that day. I even get a lot of help from my boys who actually fight over who gets to help me now. Now, not to say I'm perfect, because I'm far from that. I have days that I absolutely don't care about anything except convalescing on the couch and making sure the boys are fed, happy, and staying out of trouble. And I can now except those days will happen and it's ok. They happen a little less though because of my list and because I have this really weird habit of not liking to sit in a room that is messy or dirty. So, sometimes even on the bad days I try to clean something because then I feel that I can be in the room and be ok. Weird, and completely OCD, but I guess we all have our trials to live with. A friend once said that everyone has a certain thing that NEEDS to be done in their house to feel ok with life. In her house it is having the dishes stacked up. If that is at least done she is ok. I feel like that is me, but there is something in each room or else I have a hard time. I have tried hard to let things go sometimes because really, there are things more important. Like the time I get with my kids. Or going out to do something just to get out of the house. It's been getting better, even if I feel sick everyday.
October was a fun month. My boys were SO excited for Halloween! Michael decided he wanted to be Spiderman. Ammon's favorite movie is The Boss Baby, so he wanted to be the Boss Baby for Halloween. Matthew and I dressed up as characters from Dryat, Matthew's world that he's created. He actually runs an RPG (Role Playing Game) at the local game store and people are REALLY liking it. He is actually writing a players handbook for how his game is played (since it is a little different from D&D, WAY more choices) and he is wanting to see about getting it finished, published and then getting it out there for whoever wants to learn it. We have been beta-testing it with our friends, Jeremiah and Alyna so we can work out any kinks or things that come up he may need to add to the players handbook. So, we have that going on and it is great! It is also really fun. I never, EVER thought that I would like doing that kind of thing, but it is one of my favorite things to do now.
Anyhow, we also had Convention at Nu Skin, the company we work for. Matthew was gone for the whole week for between 12 and 16 hours a day. The boys stayed at Grandma Gwen's that week while we were working. I just worked my normal shift from 5-9:30pm, but the boys needed to be up at Grandma's since Matthew didn't get home on those days until Midnight or 1am. It was a rough week, but we made it through and it helped us out a lot.
We also were up in Brigham for a fair share of weekends. We went up because Ashley and Christopher are having a baby! So, we went to the baby shower. It was a lot of fun, and it was a great time to spend with family. The boys had a blast with all their cousins!
We also had something sad happen. My cousin Wyatt passed away unexpectedly in Sept, so we ended up going to the funeral. So, the last month was quite eventful. Wyatt was such a fun guy. He always wanted to make people laugh and had so many inside jokes with everyone. He always was there to help and was always doing for others. He will definitely be missed. Such a great guy. Heaven definitely got a great new addition, and it appears that he was desperately needed.
We are looking forward to what life has to bring us in the next few months and over the holiday season. It will be really great to have that feeling of gratitude and seeing people try to be a little better. I only hope that I can be the example of that to my kids everyday. So excited to try!
I will try to add pictures as well. But, this will be just a run-down of what is going on right now in the Hemby household. I will give an update of some things, and then go over all the things that happened in Oct.
It's funny actually because I was just checking my memories on facebook the other day and it was in Oct that I started this blog, 2 years ago. You can tell how well it's gone for me. Haha! Sometimes being a wife, mother, maid, teacher, cook, etc . . . gets in the way of me doing things. I need to work on that and be better.
Matthew and I just refinanced the house. It dropped our payment a bit so that by the end of the year I can go end of month at work and be home more. I would only be working around the end of the month, and I can always pick up shifts if we are in need of more money. We are also hoping to have our debt paid off by the beginning of next year. It seems to be going well right now, and we are just happy that the Lord has given us such a great blessing that we are able to put a lot towards that and make that goal a reality. I definitely wish that it was sooner than this, but hopefully this teaches our boys to be good with their money and not go into debt if they don't have to. Lots of things to look forward to seeing happen.
Something I have been working on is losing some weight and getting my health in order. However, the more steps I take to make that happen, the worse my health seems to get on a day to day basis. The whole reason I am doing this is because I know that there is another little spirit needing to come to our home. We tried for several months and then I decided to take a break, see if I could lose some weight and get my hormones back in order so that it will work a little better when we start trying again the beginning of next year. To date I have lost 15 lbs! It may not seem like much, and it took me 2 whole months to lose it, but I am happy that I am seeing any progress at all. It is really hard for me to lose weight because of some of the medical issues that I am facing, but I found something that works. The only problem is that I am sick every day. I seem to get migraines twice as often and it makes it hard to keep on my schedule and routine with my kids. But, despite it all I keep going. I can just hear my Mom and Grandmother chirping in my ear. "Just because you don't feel good doesn't mean the world stops turning. Sometimes it helps to just get up and do something, and then you feel a little bit better." They're right of course. I don't think that it is right for everyone, but I definitely think that it is something that helps me. I have a certain routine that I do everyday, and even if I don't get the WHOLE house cleaned in one day I am happy to have gotten the things done on my list. I set a list of things to get done everyday and then even if I don't feel good I know that I accomplished something that day. I even get a lot of help from my boys who actually fight over who gets to help me now. Now, not to say I'm perfect, because I'm far from that. I have days that I absolutely don't care about anything except convalescing on the couch and making sure the boys are fed, happy, and staying out of trouble. And I can now except those days will happen and it's ok. They happen a little less though because of my list and because I have this really weird habit of not liking to sit in a room that is messy or dirty. So, sometimes even on the bad days I try to clean something because then I feel that I can be in the room and be ok. Weird, and completely OCD, but I guess we all have our trials to live with. A friend once said that everyone has a certain thing that NEEDS to be done in their house to feel ok with life. In her house it is having the dishes stacked up. If that is at least done she is ok. I feel like that is me, but there is something in each room or else I have a hard time. I have tried hard to let things go sometimes because really, there are things more important. Like the time I get with my kids. Or going out to do something just to get out of the house. It's been getting better, even if I feel sick everyday.
October was a fun month. My boys were SO excited for Halloween! Michael decided he wanted to be Spiderman. Ammon's favorite movie is The Boss Baby, so he wanted to be the Boss Baby for Halloween. Matthew and I dressed up as characters from Dryat, Matthew's world that he's created. He actually runs an RPG (Role Playing Game) at the local game store and people are REALLY liking it. He is actually writing a players handbook for how his game is played (since it is a little different from D&D, WAY more choices) and he is wanting to see about getting it finished, published and then getting it out there for whoever wants to learn it. We have been beta-testing it with our friends, Jeremiah and Alyna so we can work out any kinks or things that come up he may need to add to the players handbook. So, we have that going on and it is great! It is also really fun. I never, EVER thought that I would like doing that kind of thing, but it is one of my favorite things to do now.
Anyhow, we also had Convention at Nu Skin, the company we work for. Matthew was gone for the whole week for between 12 and 16 hours a day. The boys stayed at Grandma Gwen's that week while we were working. I just worked my normal shift from 5-9:30pm, but the boys needed to be up at Grandma's since Matthew didn't get home on those days until Midnight or 1am. It was a rough week, but we made it through and it helped us out a lot.
We also were up in Brigham for a fair share of weekends. We went up because Ashley and Christopher are having a baby! So, we went to the baby shower. It was a lot of fun, and it was a great time to spend with family. The boys had a blast with all their cousins!
We also had something sad happen. My cousin Wyatt passed away unexpectedly in Sept, so we ended up going to the funeral. So, the last month was quite eventful. Wyatt was such a fun guy. He always wanted to make people laugh and had so many inside jokes with everyone. He always was there to help and was always doing for others. He will definitely be missed. Such a great guy. Heaven definitely got a great new addition, and it appears that he was desperately needed.
We are looking forward to what life has to bring us in the next few months and over the holiday season. It will be really great to have that feeling of gratitude and seeing people try to be a little better. I only hope that I can be the example of that to my kids everyday. So excited to try!
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