What a month September was!!!

I know we are now in October, but I thought it would be good to catch everyone up on what's happenning here. September started out just fine. I started voluteering at the elementary school in both Amber and Clairese's classrooms. I read stories in Clairese's class on Mondays and Tuesday thru Friday I'm in Amber's class swapping out kindergartener's homework and helping with crowd control during math at the beginning of the day. I say crowd control because there are 26 kids in her class. That's a lot of 5-6 year olds first thing. She has a great teacher who just happens to be our Stake Camp Director. Tom says not to get too friendly! Ha! Too late. Katelyn has had a temporary substitute this quarter because her teacher just had a baby right before school started. If she needs help too I think I'll cry! Don't get me wrong, I'm lovin' helping out, but I don't think I'll ever finish unpacking the house if I do.

Speaking of the house, no I still haven't unpacked everything yet. The family room looks like we are going to move out soon, because that was the best place to set boxes. I'm determined to de-junk as I go so it may take a while to get it done. I've found boxes that we didn't open at the last house. So I try to go through one a week. I know that sounds lazy but this last month was a little crazy. I have found things like old valances that we hadn't used before and are getting to use now. The french doors have curtain rods at the top but not at the bottom so I used the non-matching Battenburg lace valances that my mom didn't use in her new house. They are just close enough that unless you really look at them they look the same! The sewing room is a dream though. It really pays to have a husband that sews! He modified the dinig room, that we had no table for, into the sewing room by building me a wall mount counter for the sewing machines and a standing island with an Olfa cutting mat inlaid in the countertop!! It's snug but soooo nice to not have to put up and down banquet tables anymore!

On about the 15th of the month I was helping Clairese finish homework at the kitchen table when she said,"Mom a Seagull just landed on Katelyn's head!" To which I replied, "There are not Seagulls in Arizona!" I thought she had a great imagination until Katelyn came in from the pool and said,"Mom! A Macaw just landed on my head and I shook it off and it landed on the pool noodle!" This strangely seemed more plausible than what Clairese had said but still a little wierd to be happening, so I told them I would go look. Not a Seagull, not a Macaw, but a cockatiel was sitting on the noodle drinking water from the pool!!! I tried to reach for the noodle and it flew onto the deck. Being the profesional bird wrangler that I am, I reached down with both hands and picked it up before the dog could get to it. Usually this would be where I say the bird bit me, but this one was pretty nice and let me carry it into the house. Tom was out of town so I knew it could stay for a day or two. The dog, who had a sore on his head, thought this was not bad for mom to "fetch" a bird and wanted some of the action! I quickly started looking around to see what I could use for a cage. Two milk crates and a big piece of nylon screen later we had a make shift bird cage and a lab trying to get into Katelyn's room to "see" the bird. I made Found signs and we put them up around the neighborhood. Two days later Tom is home and no one had called on the bird. We had a full slate that weekend and I kept hoping the owner's would see the signs and call. No Luck! So we announced it at the Elder's quorum party that Friday night, at the ward Humanitarian Day Saturday morning, and in Priesthood and Relief Society on Sunday. Still no owners. I might have caved in to my children, who now thought the bird was cool, and bought a cage but I was now sick. I had a sore show up on the left side of my face on Thursday and by Sunday it was throbbing, and painful, and swollen to the point that I had a hard time opening my mouth. I went to the urgent care on Sunday afternoon and was told that I had a MRSA Staph infection. They put me on antibiotics and pain killer and told me to follow up with a doctor during the week. On Wednesday I went to a Dermatologist who confirmed the diagnoses and changed 1 antibiotic and put me on 2 more!!! They did a culture and said they would call and let me know if I could stop taking any of the medicine. Fast forward one week and I'm MRSA free, but my guts aren't happy with me! The bird has now gone to live at a neighbor's house that already had lots of birds and made new bird friends. I haven't taken down the signs yet, but still no owner. The girl's are a little sad but they know "Perky" is much happier. The month ended and I went back to volunteering at the school. I had taken last week off so I wouldn't infect the kids. Clairese just came in to inform me that there is a lizard in the family room on the wall! Oh, the joy of living in the desert!!! I'll chase this "friend" out of the house. I wouldn't know how to explain this one to Tom!

Home Sweet New Home!!!

Ok, so it's been over a month since I wrote but I've truly been in a state of chaos! We had put applications in on 2 houses and got the one closest to Tom's office! Then came the work. I hate packing and that is putting it very, very, very, mildly. I dream that one day we will make enough money that I can hire someone to pack everything for me! Tom's dream is that he makes enough money that we can rent a dumpster and invite the Elders and Young Men over to throw out all the old furniture, move, and then buy new furniture and have it delivered and set up! Stop laughing so hard, I said it was a dream!!! We didn't find out that we had been accepted to rent our new house until the 17th of July and even then we still had to get special approval. Once the lease was signed we found out that we couldn't move in until the 8th of August and the girls would start at their new school on August 11th. I started the dreaded job of packing and oh by the way did I mention that Tom was in St. Louis on a business trip that week. It's just my luck. The Lord is trying to teach me to be better prepared. I had hoped to take posession of the new house before we had to be out of the old house thus making it possible to avoid using too many boxes by moving things over a little at a time. Haha!!! I spent the first week of August throwing things in boxes and the 7th - 9th of August listening to my husband complain we have too much junk! I then spent the 12th of August at the doctors being told I had a sinus infection and a few other non-metionable infections. My Mom arrived the 13th to help whip the house into shape and boy was I grateful. I can now cook in my kitchen and we have been able to retire the paper and plastic goods back to the cupboard. My health is improving and after one week I was able to find ( Honey have you seen the other box of cables?) and assemble the computer. When I checked my e-mail I had 100 unopend messages. That's what I get for not finding the computer parts sooner. Our old ward have recently seemed to become semi-professonal movers as we were the third, or was that fourth, family to move out this summer. We were truly blessed to have so many wonderful friends who lended trailers, themselves, their children and their fuel to get us moved. Then they out did themselves by coming back to the old house and insisting on helping me clean the entire house!!!! We could not have done it without them! The next morning we attended our new ward. We were late and the girls all had to go to the bathroom so Tom walked in to find us seats just as the speakers were being announced. Just picture this. We're exhausted and both Tom and I had lost our voices. He's looking for seats and hears" We will next hear from the Gamble's who have recently moved into our ward." He said he looked around totally suprised and was grateful to see a young couple already sitting on the stand! As it turns out our world just keeps getting smaller. Our new bishop is friends with our old home teacher, one of the couples had a singing group my sister-in-law was in while growing up, and the sister I decided to sit next to when I walked in late for Relief Society is close friends with a good friend from our old ward! The couple that was speaking is not related to us, but are from the Blackfoot, ID area, God's country as Tom calls it. Our old bishop grew up in the area and his parents are in the ward we share the building with. I hope to have the house all unpacked, and de-junked with in the next month but who knows if that is a pipe dream or not. Life in AZ is hot but we are blessed to know so many wonderful people. Our new address is 2635 E Elmwood St., Mesa, AZ 85213. Phone numbers have remained the same.

Home? in AZ !

Well we made it home to AZ on Sunday to find that the house we are currently in will go on auction on July 31st!!! Good thing that I've been searching on line while we were gone. I've put in applications on 2 houses and we hope to be accepted for at least one of them otherwise we start looking again :( One house is 2 miles from Tom's office and the other is 10 miles. Either would be an improvement from the 20 miles he drives one way at least once a day(sometimes he comes home and drives back in to do "fix it" jobs for friends and family.) While at the Gambles family reunion at Bear Lake, UT I asked Tom" if this was Heaven?" He answered yes!!! We really miss having cooler weather and seasons. Our kids would complain it was cold at 76 degrees, so they have already turned into AZ wimps! For those who wonder why Arizona doesn't go with daylight savings time the answer is simple. When your low of the night is 85 degrees, you don't want it to be 102 degrees at 11pm! The drive wasn't bad because it was overcast all day and didn't rain on us till we left Flagstaff. Well I'd better go now since I have a house to pack and who knows how many realtors to let in! I'll blog again when I have our new address.

Gambles Crazy summer

Well here we goooo!

My sister said that I needed to get a blog and knew that my schedule is out of contol, so she set it up for me! Right now I'm in Utah visiting my family for a week, most of which I've spent being sick. It's nice to vacation where you used to live, because I was able to get in and see my old doc and get a prescription for my sinus infection. So we've been here since Saturday and the only ones who know I'm here are realatives in my Mom's ward and anyone who has stopped by her house. Tom and I found out in March that the house we are renting in Mesa was being put up for sale. We found out in June that it would go in to foreclosure at the end of July and now are looking for a new house to rent! I'm having a deja vue moment in that i'm once again looking for a house while in Utah and sending Tom to go and check them out! We have found 3 good possibilities and now have to put in applications and wait and see which one we get. I was able to come up early because Tom had work at the beginning of the week and is flying back here on the 8th to go to the Gambles family reunion at Bear Lake the 10th thru the 12th. We then drive straight home to pack the house and move and find the new school and get all three girls enrolled by August 6th when school will start! I get tired just thinking about it! Amber starts Kindergarten and depending on the school district and/or school may be in school all day just like the big girls. She is very excited to get to go and so is Mom! I have started a sewing business and will be able to focus on it and really get it going. Tom's work is going well. We really miss Utah and its seasons especially during the summer. As soon as I know what our new address is I will let you know.Until then I hope all is well with everyone and know that we love and miss you!