As I get older, the time just seems to fly past me at lightning speed. It has been two months since my last post, but it just seems like I have only had time for a quick breath. Here are a few highlights for record book.
April-- Carol, Madi, Stevie and Eli joinED the Funks in St. George for 5 days in the sun. We had a great time at the pool, reading, playing games and of course a trip to Pirate Island Pizza.
Shawn stayed behind to work (of course) the attend the Davis County Convention and cast his vote as a delegate. He has been very involved in the politics this year since our country is going to h#*% in a handbasket right now. It is far past time for good people to stand on the side lines, we need to get involved! He also had another performance of The Garden up in Logan.
He then went to New Orleans for a convention for the NPCEA . It is always a good place to mix and mingle with others in the Oil Credit Industry, take some informational classes and of course, squeeze in a little golf too.
Brooke was busy finishing up her last semester at Weber State, starting a new job at Sentinel Field Services and of course watching Movies... if you ever find yourself in need of an appropriate movie quote for any situation just call or text Brooke-- she can hook you up. Brooke also won the highest scholarship from the NPCEA for $1000.00 Way to go Brooke!!!
TJ stayed behind for work, school and to take the ACT and for some long boarding as well. He joined some buddies in an indoor soccer league. They haven't won many (any??) games but it is sure fun to watch them. They are playing in a u30 division and they seemed to get smoked everytime. But they enjoy playing and we enjoy watching.
Madi and Stevie finished out a great soccer season. They are both great little soccer players. They have decided to try out for a competition league. Heaven help mom if they both make it.
Steve did his county report on Utah county (Go Cougars!) and Madi did a country report on Lithuania. Madi also was stage crew extrodinare for the 6th grade Shakespeare play As You like it. Stage crew must run in the family. She did a great job.
Now we can't forget all of Eli's accomplishments over the last few months. He is sitting up "unassisted" now. He can roll over, both ways. But he definately does not like to be on his tummy. He is quite mobile now reaching and scooting and moving all over the place. If you put him down in a location, it is quite possible and quite likely that he will end up in a different location several feet away. He is amazing!! He loves his baby food and his toys. He is the smiliest baby around. And one look from that toothy grin will just melt your heart. At his six month check up he weighed in at 17 pound 10 ounces and 25 1/2 long. His head is at the 66% percentile, 14 percent for height and 49 percenticle for weight. He has great small motor skills. He picked up the toungue depressor and promptly put it in his mouth (He is a brilliant child-- I have never even taught him what a toungue depressor is used for for :)
As soon as we returned from St. George, I started tending two more cute kids-- bringing the total up to 2 kindergarteners and 2 three year olds and of course Little Eli-- so right there we know why the blog hasn't been updated until now. They are all good kids but just for the record 5 car seats in one mini van is really tight-- and it takes a good 10 minutes to load and unload anytime we go anywhere.
In mid April we made the decision to rent our house and move over to Hartvigsen's. As soon as we made the decision we had a tremendous peace come over us and things started falling into place and we knew it was the right decision.
So in addtion to our already crazy busy life, we have added a remodel project at Hartvigsen's and have begun packing up at our house. It is a huge and often overwhelming task, but in the end it will be worth the effort. My new mantra is SIMPLIFY (this is definately a forced simplification) and LESS IS MORE!. Less stuff is more time to relax, more money to save, more space to live in. We simply don't need all of the things that clutter up our lives.
We had a HUGE yard sale on May 14 and 15. There were 5 families plus Simple Sayings stuff. It took up everying bit of space from our yard over to Hartvigsen's driveway. It was really quite a site to see.
It was so much work to get ready and work the yard sale. We could have never done it without the help our The Garcia's, Emily Holbrook and Grandpa and Grandma Ferguson. It was very successful but the most exciting thing, was how much stuff we got rid of . We lightened our load, litterally! We were all exhausted when the weekend was over. It was the first, and quite possibly the last yard sale I have ever had, but it felt good when it was all over.
In addition to the over haul of our living arrangements, Shawn and I have begun our "healthy lifestyle" overhaul. It was definately time for a change in our lives. In just 8 weeks Shawn has lost a stunning 38 pounds. He has been so committed to exercising as much as possible and watching what he eats. He looks fantastic and has just 12 more pounds to reach his goal. Way to go Shawn. You are amazing. I am slowly plugging along. I am down 14 pounds and want to lose about 14 pounds more. It is definately taking me longer because I can't cut the food intake too dramatically or little Eli might not get the good "cream" that really adds to his cute cheeks. It feels good and we are both on our way!!!
Shawn's job situation has been very tenuous since Flying J entered bankruptcy about a year and half a go. We have been very concerned about whether or not he would have a postion when the merger with Pilot happens. Again we were blessed just when we needed it. We feel fairly confident that there will be a postion in the organization after the merger.
But, Shawn had some sad news at work this past month. His boss Delwin had been struggling with memory loss and not feeling well for several weeks. He finally went in for an MRI and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He has had surgery and starting chemotheraphy. He is home recovering now for an indefinate period of time. Our thought and prayers are with Delwin and his family.
Well the bottom line for April and May for the Ferguson family is that we are abundantly blessed. We have great extended family who are opening up their home to us, we have our health (and getting healthier every week. ) Brooke was blessed with another scholarship and we all have good jobs in a tough economy. We are humbled and grateful that a loving Heavenly Father sees our needs and pours out the blessings.
