Im SO frustrated!

I have a tutorial book. Ive looked at several sites tutorials and Ive spent over 3 hours trying to figure out how to just start a scrap booking page in Photoshop Elements and nothing is working! First of all is Photoshop elements the slowest program this world has ever seen? Second of all I cant even do simple things like select and copy. For some reason it wont let me even though I'm doing things step by step following several different instructions. Maybe its because I have 6.0 and the others are for 5.0 but seriously it shouldn't be this hard. When I would make a new layer with a little ribbon, it was coming up twice the size as everything else that I did the exact same way and it cant be resized. Elements keeps popping things up saying its doing things like merging layers even though I never clicked a button. So after hours of work and me reduced to tears I gave up since my kids cant handle me on the computer for that long and they are reduced to tears too. I may give up on digital before I even start. I don't know if I can handle frustration like that since I have nothing to show for my work other than it taking 10 minutes for the dumb program to shut down without even saving anything!!!! Argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*Okay so I took some time and cooled off. The boys and I made kettle corn and had a picnic before dinner with our kettle corn and fake food. After dinner John took the kids and let me have a second go at it. I'm not saying that it was easy but I did kind of get somewhere. I still have a long way to go but I put two pieces together with a ribbon across and got the photo on with a tag and brad. So I'm going to bed happier but exhausted from the effort!

One sick boy...

Our poor Davis just cant seem to get better. The kid was never sick and then we took him to his 18 months check up (a little late) and he cant get healthy since. First it was a cold that turned into the worst cough you have ever heard, then more severe cold, now its a fever and things spewing from every part of his body. He just lays around on the floor, the couch, or on us and is just so skinny to hold since hes not eating. Not that he doesn't want to, he cries for food. In fact last night he had kept some food down and so we were letting him eat a little dinner. Half way through he threw up and then started to try to chow down more food. At least its made him talk a little since hes pretty much mute. I gave him a little glass of water and he handed me the cup back and demanded, "More!"
Last night he also had a little bit of a diaper experience that ended up on the carpet, dripped all down the hall, in the bathroom, and splattered on the walls and baseboards. Its been so nice to have John home to help with all of this since Davis who use to be such a big mamas boy now is only interested in his Daddy.
Anyway we will all get healthy sometime I'm sure. Today I would describe motherhood as the ability to blog and talk about bodily fluids as if its a normal and interesting conversation topic that everyone is interested in! Sorry for those who didn't want to hear about all of that!

One silly boy

Caleb has just been cracking me up all day so I wanted to post a few of his funnies

• We were all dancing to the Inside out version of Once there was a Snowman. They do the song to all sorts of little genres like rap, cowboy, Hispanic, batman, ect. We being goofy with each of the different clips and then one came on that's suppose to sound like monks chanting. So we started to move slow and Caleb yells, "its the grandpa and grandma song!"
• He was asking me where Heavenly Father lives and I was telling him in Heaven far far away in the sky. He asked if we could go find him. I said, No hes to far away the only way to find Heavenly Father is when we pray to him. To which Caleb responded, "I think I will just use my Micky Mouse sunglasses to see him."
• Since we were on the topic of space he started to pretend that a rocket was coming with aliens to our house. He said he had to go hide. He came back out a few minutes later and I asked if they were gone. He said, No they found me and gestured to his right. I said oh, is that the alien? Caleb's response, "Yeah, this is Mark, hes alright." (For the record Uncle Mark is the only Mark Caleb knows). A few minutes later I asked if he and Mark wanted some lunch and Caleb informed me that Mark went home and now two aliens named Ashlynn and Briggs were playing with him.

Lastly here is just a glimpse at Caleb's new favorite thing to do. He seemed to be all done with his toy cars stage but we found a hot wheels movie at the video store for 50 cents and he loves it. He loves to arrange his cars and then have me take a picture of them. Here are few of his designs...Today I would define Motherhood as the ability to make believe and be silly even when there are tons of chores to be done!

100th Post

This is officially my 100th post. When Mark, my brother, told me I should start a blog I just laughed. Seriously turning on the computer was as far as my skills went. I tried it though and love it! Ive learned a lot more about computers and it is such a great escape for me each day to have a little "social" time. I saw part of an article titled "why Moms blog" and it was really true for me. Its a great way to stay connected and a great way to record all of those cute things our kids say. So to all of you who blog on a regular basis...Thanks for giving me something enjoyable to read and for all of you who seemed to have slowed down a little (hmm Mark!) I miss you posting and love to be a part of your lives. So happy 100th to me!

Oh and a shout out to my Mom who had her B-day yesterday! Hope it was really enjoyable. Thanks for all you have done for me...Love you!

I LOOOOOOOOOOVE ST GEORGE!!!!

This last Saturday there was a kite festival here at a golf course and it was so much fun. There were so many people out and its hard to tell but if you click on the picture you can see a little better just how many kites were in the sky. Since its windy all the time here, there wasn't really a problem with wind, in fact it was almost to windy. All you had to do was let go of your kite and it was flying high but kites were out of control too and would dive bomb you all of a sudden.

This is the "kite" Caleb made in preschool and it was one of the best there since its string was short and couldn't get tangled.Games for the kids...



We weren't sure how Davis would do on this tractor ride since it was pretty long and we couldn't see him the whole time. He loved it and was just holding on and looking around the whole time. We were afraid he was going to dive out at some point during the ride. After his turn was over he kept running back and trying to sneak on!

Today was also a very special day for me here in St George since the In-n-out opened today!!!! The boys and I waited in line for 45 minutes to get our food and it was so worth it! I forgot just how good they are. We took burgers and fries to surprise Daddy at work since they had a bid due at 2:00 for almost 12 million and we knew they were probably cramming. We had fun being sneaky sneaky since we sent them in with a secretary. (Bunch of grown grouchy stressed out men and our kids don't really mix well!)

Anyway, the weather here is so great! Today we planted a bunch of herbs in containers outside so that we can start cooking with fresh herbs which makes me very happy. All in all I'm just feeling very happy today and very lucky to live somewhere that I love and the sun and warmth just makes me so energised!

Chalkboard Obsession!

So if you have been to our house you have probably noticed that I have a thing for chalkboards. I think they are cute and functional and they help me actually do the things that are on them. For example I cook off a menu board. On the rare weeks I don't fill it out I feel lost all week for what I should cook.

I got this chalkboard for Christmas and let me tell you we don't miss FHE! Caleb loves it too and loves to help pick who gets to do what and he knows that he has an assignment and asks about it all week.

We do a Friday night movie each week and I kept forgetting to order a Netflix that was special for it so we ended up having to go to the rental store or red box. So I thought I'll make myself a chalkboard. Here it is! I love it and now I know I will remember to get our movies on time!

My humble child

Each year in Preschool Ms Morris does these pictures for the kids. She traces them and then she draws in the face and in the heart in the middle she asks them who loves them and writes the names of those people in the heart. She then asks his friends what they like about Caleb and writes that in all over his body. Caleb seriously loves his picture. What I thought was so great about it was his heart in the middle....

GIRLS! So apparently our little boy thinks girls love him! Oh boy are we in trouble with this one.

Took me long enough!

Ive been collecting sand from places that I have been that I wanted to remember since college. Its been on my to do list to label them all these years and today I did it and loved how it turned out. I'm sure my Mom never believe me that I was really going to do it since she and her label maker have had their eyes on these for a while!
The green bottle on the right is one of my favorite things we own. John and I found this bottle on a little day cruise were on in the Virgin Islands and it took several dives for him to get it because it was really deep but we finally got it, kicked out the residents, and brought it home with us. They were selling bottles like these in the gift shops but they were way to expensive and plus ours is so much better because it was a real bottle found by us at sea on our honeymoon!

Guys and Sports

John had a soccer game tonight and the boys and I went for just a little bit. It was somewhat comical to watch from the side because the other team was killing Johns team and yet they were whining and complaining about everything! At one point there was kind of a disagreement and a lot of people were yelling and Caleb looked at me and said,
C: "Whats going on Mom."
Mom: "They are kind of mad and are trying to figure it out."
C: "Are the Daddies being nice?"
Mom: "Well, no not really but they might get a time out from the referee if they don't work it out and start talking nice."
Caleb then proceeded to give me this mischievous smile and cover his mouth like "ohhhh" as if he had never heard of something so funny as a daddy in time out.

Seriously though, I'm so glad John is mostly normal in sports. Competitive enough to be a man but he doesn't totally lose control of himself. One of the guys on his team totally lost it and was swearing up a storm and when his wife tried to tell him to knock it off, he started swearing at her. He really is the nicest guy...just don't mess with him in sports. I guess I shouldn't rag on guys to much...I have been to the Roberts Crafts Clearance center and seen normal woman become animals!

On a sadder note....Our little Davis got a cold on the camping trip and it is in his chest. I took him to the Dr today because his cough is so bad that he cant stop coughing to the point where he cant breath. Its also made him throw up a couple of times. I was totally prepared for another ER visit and a second kid with asthma but so far so good. I don't think I could handle a second kid with asthma!!!! I'm counting my blessings!

Mouth of Babes

Conversation with John and Caleb on the way home from Church

John to Caleb: "Did your teacher teach you about Jesus today?"

Caleb: "Yeah"

John: "What did she tell you?"

Caleb: "Be Quiet!"

*In his teachers defense she has between 5-8 boys (no girls) that are between the age of 4-5. Shes looks like shes about 18 and she comes every week with a smile on her face and Caleb loves her!

Camping!

Friday night we took off to see how the boys would do camping. We had a blast (until it was time to go to sleep that is)! Zions is beautiful and the campground was awesome. Best of all its only like a half hour from our house. We had foil dinners, smores, sat around the campfire, and in the morning had pancakes, hot cocoa, and strawberries. Caleb loved it and was so excited to sleep in the tent we didn't have to fight him at bedtime. He unloaded the car for us into the tent and set his bed all up.
Davis is at a hard age because hes still a little clumsy and him running around the fire scared us a little. So this is how he ended up enjoying the fire. He also didn't want to go to sleep. He finally ended up with us but since it was cold he would dive over the pillows and get out of the covers so we finally let him cry for 15 mins at 1:00 in the morning until he fell asleep in his pack-n-play. We were surprised by how cold it got at night.
Doesn't Davis look like hes having a blast! He has the best faces when he gets into trouble or when hes sad. I'm so glad we were finally able to kind of catch it on camera!
Caleb's sweet bed head from falling asleep on the way!

See cant you tell we had a lot of fun from these faces! We learned A LOT about camping with kids and look forward to a fun campfire filled summer!

Tagged

What is my name? Lisa Ann Henderson

How long have we been married? Almost 6 years

How long did we date? About 5 months from first date to wedding day

How old am I? 29 years old

Who said I love you first? I waited until he said it but I wanted to first, John wouldn't say it until we knew we were getting married.

Who is taller? John

Who sings better? John

Who is smarter? Depends on the subject but the longer time goes on hes getting smarter.

Who's temper is worse? Hmmm...that's hard but we are both getting better

Who pays the bills? I do

Who does the laundry? I do

Who cooks dinner? I do unless its been a bad day and then John whips up some yummy potatoes or pancakes.

Who drives when we are together? John, hes a much better driver than me

Who is more stubborn? We still are arguing over that :)

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Me

Who's parents do you see more? Probably mine, they are retired and have more time.

Who has more friends? We both have good friends but I am better at staying in touch.

Who wears the pants in the family? Going to quote Annie on this one: "It's definitely equal. We have our own roles and responsibilities but when it comes to decision-making we always come to a decision together." I am pretty persuasive though!

Who eats more sweets? Johns idea of a sweet is an apple and I have yet to experience that feeling that something is "too rich." Although if there is leftover sweets John wakes up and eats them during the night. Seriously its so funny, his resistance is down in the middle of the night!

Who mows the lawn? We have rocks and sand

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do.

Who asked who out first? John asked me and some friends over for dinner and thanks to his brother Chris we actually had something to eat. He calls that our first date but 3 girls 1 boy isn't the right math to me (well, maybe now that we are in southern Utah). I count our first date as the night he asked me to come to his soccer game.

Who kissed who first? He moved in before I knew what was happening!

What is my favorite thing about him? Oh, where to begin... Mostly that he has a lot of integrity and the best heart ever. Hes doesn't feel the need to be macho or swear to fit in, especially in construction. He really looks out for others feelings. He also is the best Dad in the world and always sees the best in me, even when I don't see it.

I tag Mark &Lisa and Brian &Kate ( I want to hear both sides of the story) although something tells me Brian will roll his eyes at this. He may surprise me though!

Very interesting....

The polygamist are framing a house here in our neighborhood. Two days ago they didn't show up for work until like 5:00 pm and worked for an hour. Yesterday they didn't show up at all. Last night as I went by the house its not done but all their stuff is gone; tools, trailers, cords. They leave those every night usually. Kind of makes you wonder what they are doing in Hildale & Colorado City right about now....

And yes, it is the same company and crew that built our house and is run by the Jessop family.

Conference Feelings

I just felt that I needed to take a moment and just write a few of my thoughts about Conference this weekend because my heart is bursting right now. It was such a testimony builder to see President Monson take his place as Prophet of this church. I loved Elder Hollands remarks about the change in President Monson and just wanted to shout Amen while he was speaking! I know that President Monson is the new Prophet and he directly answered some of the things that I have been struggling/pondering over for the last month or so. His talk was so wonderful and then to hear him talk about his sweet wife at the end was so endearing.

That last afternoon session was so uplifting for me and like President Monson said there were just so many wonderful thoughts and ideas presented. Both of our children were sleeping (Yes, Caleb who does not nap fell asleep)! I really needed this session just to uplift my heart and give me the strength that I have needed to keep moving forward, progressing with a good attitude.

I love this church. I love the brethren that lead it. There is nothing that makes me happier than to hear the words that the Lord and our Father in Heaven have for me to hear. I feel so uplifted and grateful for the blessing of being able to listen and watch without distraction and really just absorb everything I heard. I cant wait for the talks to be available next Thursday so that I can review and really internalise the things that I heard today. It was such a wonderful day and I feel so blessed!

Calebs Big Boy Bike

We got Caleb a big boy bike today. He was so excited and was even more excited about his Diego helmet. For those of you who know Caleb that's huge because he hates anything new and different that you wear. He picket out his bike all by himself and when we went out to ride it for the first time it was pretty hard for him. His first bike was one form Costco that has a handle bar that I could push when he got tired and its kind of make him lazy. He started to push but then would relax and push back hitting the breaks. He was getting so frustrated. Finally he leaned over and said, "I think this bike is out of gas!"

We went to the park today just to get out of the house and it was amazing as I sat back to see how different my children are. There was a special ed class on a field trip with their 6th grade buddies so it was pretty busy. As we pulled up Caleb yelled "Friends!" He jumped out of the car and ran up to who ever was closest. I tried to explain to him that it was a school class and that they couldn't really play with him but that didn't stop him from trying! The special ed kids didn't get Caleb trying to play with them and the poor 6th grade buddies were trying to ignore Caleb so they could interact with their buddies. It never phased Caleb. He just kept trying and playing and it never occurred to him that no one was playing with him back.

Davis on the other hand found the stairs and climbed them. I had to hold his hand the first time he went across the bridge to the little slide and then down the little slide. Davis' routine did not deviate at all! He went down the slide, back up the stairs, across the bride, down the slide.... He didn't see anyone else, did not talk to anyone else, did not want me to show him other slides. It was as if the other people did not exist. He would say "Whee" across the bridge and down the slide just to himself. He was completely in a world of his own and not interested in anyone or anything else. He didn't even look over to see if I was watching or encouraging.




Davis did actually go into s swing today. In the past he has hated them and acts like a cat that has been thrown in the air. His arms fly out stiff with all his fingers spread out trying to grab onto anything he can. He looks pretty cozy today though doesn't he!

Housekeeping

When we moved into our new house it was amazing because it was like the ultra clean freak Lisa came out. I was a bit like Aunt Petunia from Harry Potter with having to go to bed every night with my kitchen sparkling. Its been great. I even turned over a new leaf and laundry is getting put away the same day it was washed which for me was a great accomplishment. I had many explanations for this new freakishly clean house:
-I built his house myself and knew how much work I had put into it
-Our house was too pretty and new to get dirty
-We finally have enough room for all of our stuff and everything is so organised and has a place
-I was having more trouble sleeping at night and this gave me something to do
-I was growing up and starting to worry more about neatness

After the last couple of days I have finally come to the real root of it....no Internet! Our poor house hasn't been this dirty since it was being built. I'm going to have to find some moderation here!

Easter week

Brian, Kate, and fam came to visit during their spring break and we had a blast. Caleb is in some serious withdrawal from having his cousins around and Davis is glad to have his house back to being a little more calm. He likes things a little quieter. In fact when they all left (including Caleb) Davis did the happy dance all day laughing and running around the house. We then all went to CA for a thing for my Aunt and so we could pick Caleb up. All in all it was a great week. Here are some photos of the highlights!


Our good friends the Hickens came up and brought some toys for the boys to play on. The best part of living in the middle of no where is that they could just take off from our front porch and go in any direction. After dinner the little kiddos got a chance to go for a ride and they all loved it!

Uncle John took all the kids on the long board while we were out for a walk.


Easter! We make some cute kiddos in this family!