Thankful!

This week has been an emotional roller coaster for me...(big shocker there, I know) I've seen people around me have struggles that I would crumble with. And I find myself torn between feeling thankful that I don't have that problem and feeling somehow guilty that it is them and not me. I know my thinking is a little irrational, but I hate to see people I care about hurt. It also makes me worry that my trials are not far off, and for anyone that knows me well....I worry incessantly about the unknown. So with all of these emotions running through my brain, I want to try to stay focused on the great things in my life....my family, my health, my faith, my freedom, my friends. If your reading this, you're someone that I care about... and your trials are my trials, but your happiness is my happiness too!!

I'm a slacker!!!

Ok, so I haven't updated my blog since we left Colorado. I know, its been a while. I'm not even sure that anyone will read this, but I just checked all my blog lists and realized how much I've missed out on.
For those who don't know, we welcomed our 4th little boy to our family on Aug. 20th. His name is Ethan James McClurg and I'm amazed at how natural it feels to have him here. It seems like he has always been there for Brett to kiss as he walks by, or for Adam to pat on the head. He is a wonderful baby that I feel so blessed to have.
I feel like you can learn a lot about people by reading their blogs. There is something very honest about the way people can talk about their lives when they blog. Whether they are experiencing sorrow, new found joy, or just everyday living....It's interesting to me to know what and how they are feeling. I always feel like I learn something when I read other people's blog. So to those of you that are faithful in your blogging, thank you....It helps me to feel connected to you even if I'm not always close by. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep up on my blog a little better now that my life has calmed down a bit.

Not quite the ending I was picturing.....

Well, if you would've asked me 2 months ago about moving, I would've griped about the HOA. Ask me today, and it's a completely different reason. Layton's job at the Four Seasons inVail is no more. On Thursday, the owners notified Layton employees that they were terminating the contract. It was written as a "termination of convenience". That, from what I am told, means they could find no fault with Layton, but decided to finish the job with another contractor. This means that we, along with all of our Layton family here in Colorado, will be moving in the next few weeks. As of now, we don't know where we will be placed or when we need to be there, but a move is coming.

We've had some great times here and have met some truly wonderful people. Working out of state has been a great experience for our family and has made us closer than I could've ever imagined. We're both leaving behind callings that we love and people that we are better for knowing. I will look back on our time here with very fond memories.

We don't know what the next chapter of our lives will be yet, but it is our prayer that we will have the faith to know that things will work out. So, even though its not the ending I was picturing in my mind.....It's the ending that needed to happen.

HURRAY!!! THE HOA IS BACK!!!

Well, my favorite people in the world are back at it making people's lives a living hell. We just got another letter put on our door siting the violations this time. This time we were only in violation of 5 of the 6 listed!!! WooHoo!
The wording in this letter is absolutely appalling. "we continue to have residents violating some of the basics thus jeopardizing those exact reasons we moved to MacDonald St." If my kids using sidewalk chalk, riding bikes and having a stroller set on my porch "jeopardize" anyone's reason for moving here, then we moved here for completely different reasons. I thought this was a kid-friendly neighborhood, but apparently I was wrong.
As I have stated before, were my house not attached to 3 houses on either side, I would have no problem putting bikes in the garage at night. But, where I am 6 1/2 months pregnant, I don't really want to have to carry 3 different bikes around all of the houses to the back where the garage is located. I think storing them on MY porch should not make a difference to anyone else. And now they have said that if they are not actively in use, they must be put in the garage. I don't know about any of you, but my kids don't ride their bike one time a day. They ride it, get off and play, ride it, get off and play, etc. To ask a mother who is already busy chasing 3 little boys, to put their bike away whenever they are not on it, is retarded.
We've been told that sidewalk chalk must be washed away every night. Even though the sprinklers wash 90% of it away anyway. We also got our reminder that only owners can have dogs. I still stand by the fact that my dog is better behaved than the dog of the lady on the HOA board. Her dogs sits outside and barks all freaking day! And it's not my dog pooping up and down the street.
The thing that really gets me is they had the audacity to tell my friend Elissa who has 4 small children that she isn't allowed to run a daycare out of her home. SHE DOESN'T RUN A DAYCARE....SHE JUST HAS 4 LITTLE KIDS!!!!!! They told her that her car is constantly pulling up and driving away from her house. Hello!!! Mother of small children!!!!! Errands need to be run! And they told her all of this to her face!
So, here I sit, waiting for my landlord to call and say"well, the HOA sent me another letter about renters having dogs and you not obeying the rules. So, I guess you'll have to find another place"
And with only 5-6 months left here in Eagle, its not the best timing. I told Ben that if we don't get kicked out, I'll do my best to abide by the most retarded and controlling rules I have ever heard of.
BUT, just for spite, I'm gonna leave all kinds of crap out on the lawn (not my porch) for the next nine days and then move it right before they can fine me!!!!!!!! I'll show them! HA!

Happy birthday Adam!!

Adam is now officially 4 years old. He has been asking me for months when he would be 4. I think it was so the neighbor would quit calling him a baby.(unfortunately, that didn't work) Adam is such a special part of our family.
He is our sweetest boy, our cuddliest boy, and the one who looks the most like Ben. His smile is perfect and for the most part he is a very happy kid. He has a love for animals and never misses an opportunity to kiss Beau on the head when he walks by. He is by far our best eater and never misses a meal either. It will be fun to watch him grow up even more this year. We love you Adam!!

Teacher Appreciation....its finally done!

Well, for those of you who haven't talked to me in the last few weeks, I've spent the last month(or two or three) helping to plan and get ready for our teacher appreciation night. The youth of our ward have a tradition of nominating their favorite teacher. Most of the teachers are from school, some are private music teachers. This year, a favorite substitute got nominated and much to my disapproval, so did I.
Things went soooo good this year. Out of the 16 teachers that were nominated, 14 were able to come(one was at a funeral). So with the teachers and their guests, the students and their family, we probably had somewhere around 80-90 people. We set up enough seats for 100 and there were not very many empty seats. It was a great turnout. We also did a dinner for that many people. In the past it was thought that we couldn't do a dinner because it would be too crowded, but we did it and it turned out so great.
I got the job of making enough cole slaw for 100 people!!!! It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and it turned out great. I got a lot of compliments on that cole slaw. I also was in charge of buying the supplies and making the gifts for the teachers. We did an 8x6 tile with a vinyl lettering quote from the student about why their teacher is special. I think I spent at least 10 hours cutting, peeling and transferring the vinyl. There were 20 different quotes done in .40 inch font. Can you say a pain in the butt!!! But I must say, they looked so good when they were done. We also did a slide show, played the newlywed game and parodied a song for the video.
So after all the preperation, the night came and went. I think the best part for me was having the girls in our ward come up immediatley after and say "Thank you so much Sister McClurg! You guys did such a great job. I know how much work it was." That to me, makes it all worth it. They were so gracious. Their parents were so gracious. And the teachers were so gracious. It was a ton of work, but to be able to show a teacher just how much they are appreciatied is awesome.

Spring Fever

I've got it! Spring fever is out in full force at the McClurg house. I would love nothing better than to be able to leave the windows open and let in the cool mountain air all day. But, that dang snow on the ground makes the air a little too chilly to leave them open too long. It's supposed to be in the 50's today, which is warm to me!!! Hopefully it will melt the snow and help melt away the crabbiness that I've had for the last two months. I counting on the spring to lighten my mood, brighten my home and bring nothing but good for Ben and the entire jobsite. Hopefully we can put the long hard winter behind us and start moving forward in a positive way.