Happiness

flowers in the Desert A walk to get the mail. A picnic at the Park Side of the road. Have I mentioned that I love Gilbert, Arizona? Let's see if I say that a month from now when it is 110 degrees! This is my blog. My name is Megan Abbott.

Our Foster/Adoption classes are going really well. I have finally come to terms with that I am not expecting. I saw a pregnant woman at the temple today, where there usually are a few, and I rejoiced in her chance to be a Mother. I love Motherhood and there are so many ways that women can be Mothers. Foster Care is one of them. Let me tell a little bit about the couples in our foster/adoption class. One couple has five children ages 7-17 and is preparing to foster only infants. They are always smiling and happy and we suspect they are LDS too. Another couple took care of their 15 yr old Niece who was taken from her Parents by CPS. They enjoyed doing it and are now looking to foster/adopt on their own. Another couple is looking to just adopt and their sweet older Parents are taking the class with them (I think they all live together). Another has a child from a previous marriage but want to raise children in their new one. Let me be honest. For a few weeks there I was hoping to j...

  This morning S.T.U.N.K. Hopefully my afternoon will go a lot better. I am babysitting a 3 month old baby girl and a 3 yr old girl who loves dogs so it should go well! Since I had a rough morning, I decided to be GRATEFUL. I am Grateful for: 1. The fact that I thought ahead and made myself a sandwich this morning along with everyone else's so when I got home and was too drained to make myself some food, it was there waiting for me! 2. Orange Icees at Target. 3. Cash back so I don't have to make a separate run to the Bank! 4. E-mail on my phone to keep up with all of the family updates! (reunion in Shoup, Idaho next year? Yes, please!!!) 5. A Ross very conveniently located next to the Target and a few fun finds! 6. Sisters who can listen and understand my woes. 7. Josh picking up the phone at work even though he is super busy. 8. End of the year sub jobs- boy, am I busy these next 2 weeks (including one job for Jonah's teacher!) 9....

Happy Friday! We have a fun weekend planned!  For the Boys :  Fathers and Sons Camp out- 2 1/2 hours away. 1st one in Arizona! Wahoo!!!     Dinner: Roasted Hot dogs, grapes, chips, juice and smores!  Entertainment: Exploring nature, telescopes, hanging with friends, sleeping outside!   For the Girls :  Dinner: Panda Express  Entertainment: Shopping (for new pjs and shoes for Elizabeth), hair and nail party (as per her request) and the eating of chocolate and staying up late! Fun! Happy Weekend! {The moon is supposed to be a SUPER full moon at 11:35 EST, 8:35 Arizona time. Check it out!!!} pic taken in March   This is my blog. My name is Megan Abbott.

Lately I've been having kind of a rough time lately and so I've turned to other things to help me stay sane. Healthy things- not unhealthy things!!! One of those things has been meditation. I've always heard how good it is and my Dad really likes it a lot. I never felt strongly about it before.  A few weeks ago I started going to a Meditation group with some women from my ward (aka Church). For the first 30 minutes, we learn about certain health aspects/ benefits of meditating and the last 30 minutes we meditate. I learned a lot in those first 30 minutes and for the second 30 minutes, I thought there was no way I would be able to meditate for 30 minutes.  But I was! For the first class we watch a youtube video on " the inner smile" meditation and that gave us a guideline of what to think when you are meditating (you smile at your mouth, your head, your tummy, your feet, your neighbor, your world- working out). Try it out! (Dad, I think you would love it!)...

For Family Home Evening last night (we had it on Tuesday because we go to our class on Monday nights), we went to the Park and had a picnic and then played at the Playground and went for a walk. Mostly it was because I was super tired and didn't have the energy to make dinner. On Monday I subbed all day in 3 different classes, helping 5 different kids with Autism, who were- for the most part- grumpy and tired. It wore me down and I came home to lots of dirty laundry, an empty fridge and a messy house that needed to be cleaned before the babysitter arrived. Why is it that we always feel the need to clean before the babysitter comes?! I am still recovering. No more Monday sub jobs for me! All the teachers are trying to use up their personal days before the end of the school year (which is on May 24th here- what am I going to do with the kiddos?!) and the phone has been ringing off the hook! Back to Family Home Evening- we talked about peer pressure and went through various scena...

So, you a know how I'm trying to eat healthy? Well... The other day I was running errands and I happened to stop into K-mart (which I don't do very often, and my experience confirmed why) to see if they had any good t-shirts for Ethan and Jonah. I have to buy them in Red and Blue and that often limits my options at other stores. While I was checking out (I found one red pair of pajamas and one t-shirt with equally blue and red stripes which neither Jonah or Ethan will wear) I spotted a bag of circus peanuts. Now, I am supposed to be eating very little sugar and a big bag of completely pure sugar, plus a strange orange dye, is NOT in my diet. But, somehow, my arm just reached out and grabbed it and bought it!!! I got home and put them away and hoped to not remember that I bought them. Then, one lazy Wednesday afternoon the kids were home from school early, we had just eaten some air-popped popcorn with a little bit of butter and some sea salt and watched Tin Tin (pretty...