The " Key

I liked a friends post the other day that was titled "Spew". Doesn't life seem like that sometimes? Sometimes you just want to tell it all and leave it at that. The hard part about writing "Spew" with quotations is that I'm missing my " key and I really have to concentrate to get that quotation in there and then it messes with my flow of writing and I loose my train of thought.

I thought I'd write a little about our life up here in Erda. Erda is a farming town between Stansbury and Tooele where all the houses are on 5 acres of land. It reminds me of Hurricane before Hurricane got so big. We live just down the street from the jerky factory. Not really a factory, but a small building that makes jerky. Haven't been there to get any yet, but I hear it's delish. If you ever come to visit, we'll take you to get some jerky.

While it's cold, it's not unbearable. I've increased my winter wardrobe by 100% and have gotten good at sporting the t-shirt over long sleeves look. So far, the winter hasn't been really, really cold. People tell us that this is one of the more mild winters. I blame it on the fact that for 34 years I lived in the southern part of the state and the southern part of the state couldn't live without me so it followed me up. So far, not a lot of snow. What we did have has already melted, which the kids are grateful for. Brandon told me the other day that Erda has ruined snow for him. He's really not a fan anymore. Guess he won't get a lot of use out of those snow clothes he got for Christmas.

Our job is good. Hard sometimes, but good. When we go out sometimes, I think people think we're a polygamist family. There's me, one of our associates that work with us, 10 girls, Kendal, Brandon, and Derek. The boys are a little outnumbered. Thirteen girls to 2 boys is really just unfair.

A lot of people we talk to ask us what our job is like and what we do. It's like being foster parents to 10 girls. It's rewarding, fun, spiritual, and sometimes a little challenging. I love these girls though. Each of them has touched my life in ways that I could never have imagined.

Derek and I were talking the other day and we both agreed that it's weird to have found a job that we both love so much. The other day, I had a moment with a girl that brought me to tears. A spiritual, defining moment that reaffirmed to me that what we were doing was right. And that's not the first time I've felt that. Almost everyday, I'm lucky enough to be witness to the Master's Touch.

A day in the life looks like this....
6:30 - wake up the girls to get ready for school.
6:30 to 8:00. Get them ready, check their chores, feed them, etc.
8:00 - Send them to school. It's located right on campus which is pretty awesome.
8:00 to 9:00 - Get our kids ready for school. Unless it's a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Brandon has Advanced math and on Wednesdays and Fridays he has band both at 7:45.
9:00 - 2:30 - Do paperwork, take a nap, watch a movie, go to the gym, go shopping, just relax...
2:30 - The girls come home and we work. We do what other parents do with their own kids after school. Homework, talking, loving, caring...what we all do with our own kids.
3:30 - Go get our kids. Bring them home and do the same thing. Homework, talking, loving, caring.
6:00 - Dinner. The girls make dinner with our supervision. We found out early on that supervision is vital if you want to be able to eat it.
7:30 - We have a family meeting to talk about things of the day and things we want to accomplish during the week.
8:00 - Bedtime for my kids...which usually doesn't happen as quickly as I like. They like to prolong it so by the time I get them to bed it's usually around 9.
9:00 - 9:30 - Bedtime for the girls. I tuck each of them in, tell them I love them, and give them a kiss on the top of their heads...just like my own.
10:00 - Our day is over. We usually spend the time after work veging in front of the tv. I usually have a mountain dew and some chocolate...my favorite!

After that, it's to bed and we start over again the next day. We do have time off every week. Usually it's Sunday and Monday or Monday and Tuesday. On those days, we have three associates that work for us who take over. They're pretty awesome and do a great job with the girls.

Well, I had to use the " key more than I wanted, but it worked. I "spewed", updated you all, and that's the end.

Till next time...