Happiness

My day got better and better yesterday. Josh bought me flowers and chocolate, I talked my sister in Japan on Skype and we had a great meal with the missionaries for dinner. Today has been even better! I went swimming, ran errands at the post office, went for a walk while chatting with Larissa and went to the library. Thanks to those who reached out and helped me feel of their love. My day also made me realize how different a life I lead now that all 4 of my children are in school. Top Ten Reasons to Love Life While Your Kiddos Are in School 1. Going to the library and spending as long as you want browsing in the ADULT section. No tugging at the pant leg, no twins setting off the fire alarm (yes, that did happen) and no children running away getting lost. Hooray! 2. Talking on my cell phone while going for a walk in the middle of the day. No children realizing I'm on the phone and taking off to scare the neighbor's dog. No yelling for said children to come back here! Yes! 3. Sto...

Ok. I probably shouldn't even being writing when I am this grumpy, but maybe it will make me feel better. I had a long night last night- filled with dream after dream. In one dream, a huge 30 foot wave was coming at me and I waited and waited for it to crash right on the top of my head. I woke up before it actually hit. I think this means I am overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with the whole job situation. Overwhelmed that our money never seems to stretch as far I thought it would - that new and little things keep popping up that I never even anticipated. Overwhelmed with four little school schedules and homework that each need my complete attention for 30 minutes a day- all while I'm trying to get dinner ready. Aahh! Just thinking about it makes me stressed. And I've realized that while I used to handle all that kind of stress before and love it. Ok, maybe totally love it. My bipolar does not like it. One bit. It stresses too and flares up like no ones business. It makes me want to...

For Family Home Evening last Monday, we went out to eat at Cafe Rio and then to the Mesa Temple and it's Visitors Center. You'll have to ask Kristen and Christopher if Cafe Rio was as good as they say. The Temple was gorgeous at night and a bride and groom were getting their pictures taken there. The Visitor Center has some really cool visiting artwork that is just gorgeous. We live close to such really neat places! It was so fun! Can't wait until we see you guys again!

This is what I got when I told the kids to smile. Fun, huh? It was also pretty sunny! Up on top. The funky looking mountains behind us are the Superstition Mtns. Pretty cool, huh? What you can see when I zoom in with my big camera. The houses are really close here! We love hiking and it is one of our favorite things to do as a family. We did it a lot in Maryland so when, a couple of Saturdays ago, we told the kids we were going hiking they were baffled. Hiking? Where is the forest? Where are the trees? We told them that we would be doing a different kind of hiking. Hiking in the desert. Up a mountain. We got up that morning, ate breakfast, got dressed and were out the door by 7:30 am. By 8 am we were there and while it was still cool, you could tell it was heating up. The kids loved it- practically running up the mountain and checking out cool new plants. Elizabeth got upset because Ethan was ahead of her, and Josh splashed her with water to get her into the fun of it all. She laughed ...

Into the Desert Sept. 15, 2011 As the car, Laden heavily w/ hope Children, luggage And boxes Crossed the State Line And into this Arid land we now Call home, The future Beckoned and The bright sun Settled in for the night. We were in the desert And I had Returned home.

Since the move, I've been mildly manic. I've lost sleep while packing and at hotels- getting the kids to bed and then when we got here- unpacking and shopping to get the house set up and organized. It's been a little hectic. There are 5 things that I need to do to manage the symptoms of bipolar disorder. 1. G et enough sleep . That is hard to do when you move across the country! 2. Get regular exercise. That is also hard to do when you are packing, then traveling and then setting up house. I got a 3 week free pass to a gym 4 minutes away from here and just today I signed up for the year. It always feels fantastic after I run (or walk if my back is injured). Someone once said that 30 minutes of exercise is like one prozac. I don't know who said it, but I'm pretty sure it's true! 3. Eat healthy. The weeks we were packing and then traveling across the country I didn't do so well. I got really tired of the fast food on the road and couldn't take it anymore....

our forever family We have visitors! We are so excited to have Josh's older sister Kristen and her oldest son Christopher here with us in Arizona for a few days. They arrived Saturday evening and will leave Wednesday morning. Christopher has won a scholarship to a school in Phoenix that specializes in motorcycle and vehicle repairs (I think they do both). He won best in the State of California in motorcycle repair and third in the Nation! Amazing! He is coming here in June and we are excited to be here as well! We've been staying up late talking, eating cookies, laughing, going to Church and celebrating Elizabeth's birthday. They are our first house guests and we love it! It has cooled down enough that we were able to go for a walk outside! Hooray! Kristen has asked us- what is so neat about living here? I think being here a few days, along with a Cafe Rio burrito will help her see why we love it here. Have I mentioned? I love it here! At Church today, Kristen and Christo...

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth! This year just flew by. Can it be September 17th already? Here are 17 little known facts about Elizabeth Renee Abbott as she turns nine: 1. She asked for a desert themed birthday cake this year. 2. She shares a birthday with her friend Miranda from Maryland and is less than a day younger than her cousin Paul Larsen. 3. She loves to write notes and letters to people, although most of them never get finished or given. As of today she has one note in her backpack, one on her dresser and one she's planning to write. 4. Elizabeth has a penpal who lives in Texas named Bethany. 5. Elizabeth and Josh get along quite well. He gets her and because of that he does most of her problem solving and pep talks. 6. Elizabeth LOVES to dance. She is often found in her room dancing to music in her head. She relates her happiest moments to ones where music was playing. 7. One of those happiest moments was her first-ever Activity Days and she was driving in the car with her f...

I don't know what it is! I love to sit down at the computer and go clackety-clack and see my words appear before me on the screen. It's beautiful. It's lovely. I love it. Latest happenings in our household- I threw out my back last night. 3 weeks ago, when we were moving boxes, I injured my back and I thought it had gotten better. Last night I took out the trash and when I bent down to pick up the bag to throw it in, my back froze. I was paralyzed for a second there. I yelled and freaked Jonah out. I told him to get Josh. Thank goodness he was home! I was able to move after a few seconds and went in and laid down. I laid there for 3 hours. Josh made dinner, cleaned up dinner (with the help of the kids), put them to bed and then I got a blessing. That really helped. Oh, we also called Dave- our brother in law who is a PA- and got lots of helpful hints and ideas. It's so nice to have a PA (and a Dr.) for our brother in laws!!! I was able to get up into bed and we iced it....

photos by Josh Six months ago we decided that we wanted a pet. Besides a fish. Yes, it takes our family that long to decide about things like this. We googled good pets for kids and it came up with a snake as being one of the top best pets for kids. You don't have to walk them, clean up after them too much or feed them very often. I was hesitant though. When we came out to Arizona and saw the many, many snakes my cousin is raising we got excited! If Zack could do it, we could do it too! When we came back, we promised the kids they could get a snake once we got to Arizona. And thus, last Saturday found us at a small Arizona reptile store with Zack, searching for the best snake for us. And we found her- a 2-3 month old female corn snake. She's adorable. I was slightly nervous and still am. But I'll get used to it. And the kids love her. They love to check on her and see where she's hiding (she's very creative) and hold her too. So fun! This is my blog. My name is Mega...

Asher, Mitchell and Shayla My Dad wrestling with the boys- a favorite pastime of his! All the cousins there- 9 out of 16: Elizabeth, Ethan, Jonah, Asher, Shayla, Kalea, Mitchell, Isaiah and Dax. A family pose: Asher, Jonah, Ethan, Elizabeth and us What a fun 3 day weekend! This is my blog. My name is Megan Abbott.

There is a new media initiative going on for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They are picking 10 really big (not the biggest) markets and doing a media spritz that includes bill boards and 30 second commercials on prime tv show channels such as abc, fox, etc. It will also include ads online, including facebook and other webpages- all advertising mormon.org. On mormon.org, people can find more about the Church. They can read profiles of members of the Church. They can also chat with live representatives of the Church and even find out when and where they can go to Church. It is amazing! The intiative starts in October intensely for two weeks and tapers off, running until March 2012. It doesn't have anything to do with the 2012 Presidential Campaign. They are running it in Phoenix, along with NYC, St. Louis Missouri and other cities. Everyone in our Stake has been asked by Church headquarters to create a profile. I have, but I need to edit the photo on there (think s...

Where were you on September 11th, 2001? Were you in a class in college? High school? Elementary schoool? Preschool? Were you at work? At home? At the gym? When that horrible morning, many, many lives were lost. I had just recently been married (for a month) and was driving up the Point of the Mountain to teach my new third grade class when the announcer on the radio solemnly stated that a plane had crashed into the first trade tower. I wasn't sure what was going on. Was it a joke? Usually planes don't crash into buildings. Almost never. By the time I got to Southland Elementary school the second plane had hit and tvs were turned on throughout the school. No one knew what was going on. And life was different. Here, in Gilbert, most of the schools celebrated the 10th anniversary of 9-11. In Memory of those who died. More than 300 firefighters died trying to save those in the towers. Policeman also died in the service of their jobs. It was amazing. And we will never forget. We wil...

My Mom asked what my gift was that I sent out for my celebration post- it was rice krispies made out of one of my new favs- Caramel/Vanillla marshmallows ! I normally add a little vanilla but when I used these marshmallows I didn't have to! They are completely heavenly and I adore them! I ate them one at a time, but then had to use them all up so I wouldn't be tempted any longer. Our local Super Walmart actually has a section of an aisle dedicated to marshmallows. There are mini chocolate and mint marshmallows- perfect for a cup of Stephens Hot Cocoa (in December here). There are bags of chocolate coated mini marshmallows and even marshmallow shaped fruit. Josh and I were gaping in the aisle at so many different varieties. Only in America, we chimed! I also topped it with another of my favorties- candy corn pumpkins !! I buy a bag when I first see them out for the season- which was 2 weeks ago!- eat them slowly and share them sometimes. I ate five in one sitting and Josh can ba...

One of the MAIN reasosn we moved to Arizona was to be closer to family. So, when I saw a 3 day weekend open up on the calendar- thank you, Labor Day!- I seized the day and amidst boxes half unpacked, we packed up again and drove a mere 6 hrs to Glendora, California to stay with my sweet Grandmother Betty (who Elizabeth is named after). We were also able to see my adorable Parents and my sister Larissa and brother Tommy and their families as well, whom we saw last summer. The drive was unbelievably quick and easy- we're already talking of a Thanksgiving visit- and we made it in 6 hrs even (including 3 potty stops). We left after lunch and got there in time for a late dinner. Grandma is a wonderful cook and spoiled us with great food and ice cream after every meal. A return to exercise is definitely needed! Saturday we decided to hit the beach (it had been a year since we had visited it's sandy shores). We chose to go to Santa Monica beach- not the best choice, but fun anyways. ...

Be thou humble in thy weakness, and the Lord thy God shall lead thee, Shall lead thee by the hand and give thee answer to thy prayers. Be thou humble in thy pleading, and the Lord thy God shall bless thee, Shall bless thee with a sweet and calm assurance that he cares. Sometimes I have a hard time being a Mother. Not all the time. Just sometimes. And it is on those days that I really see my Heavenly Father's hand in my life- supporting and guiding me, comforting and teaching me. He is my companion. My greatest fan. The one source of truth I can turn to when I need direction in how to Mother my four beautiful children. Be thou humble in thy calling, and the Lord thy God shall teach thee To serve his children gladly with a pure and gentle love. Be thou humble in thy longing, and the Lord thy God shall take thee, Shall take thee home at last to ever dwell with him above. I LOVE being a Mother. It is one of the greatest blessings in my lif...

Guess what my favorite cereal is now? Fruit Loops with Marshmallows! I know, right??? What more could be better than adding marshmallows to the sugary goodness that is Fruit Loops? Actually Fruit Loops is my all time favorite sugar cereal. In our home growing up we always got to pick our favorite breakfast for our birthday. I always picked Fruit Loops. We never really got name brand cereal (at least when I was growing up) so Fruit Loops was always a treat. Of course, Frankenberry and Reeses Peanut Butter Puffs are also high on the list (Halloween flavored cereal and candy cereal- yes, please!). I bought this box for the kids to make necklaces out of it, so of course they picked out the marshmallows and ate them while they were making the necklaces and I say go for it!!! I couldn't bear to eat it in the morning, but I did have some for a snack (I had to save a bowl- mind you) and it was actually pretty good! A great dessert! And there you have it- a blog about breakfast c...