How On Earth Do I Catch Up????

It's been forever since I have been blogging regularly and so much has happened that I wonder to myself how will I ever catch up? If I were a blog aficionado then I would separate out my different actviities and blog on the individual events and stories that I have missed writing about.........buuuuuttt.....I am not, so I like my other idea of just throwing everything together, you know, sort of like a collage blog. No worries, this is only to try and bring me up to date from my few months off. I'll be back to blogging maniac in no time! :) Enjoy!

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELANIE, DALLYN and LUKEY!

I'm back!!

I figured this was the best way to return to my world of blogging!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIDS!





Once again we McCann's (Scarlett included) and Clubbs have out done ourselves in our wonderful birthday song singing. We wanted to make sure to include little Lukey who couldn't be there in person but at least he will have this archived memory of it to look back on!! LOVE YOU GUYS!!

I'm thinking that we really should look at becoming professional birthday singers......ok maybe not.. hahaha :)

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A Good Slap in the Face!!

So I haven't written in here for awhile and I promised myself I wasn't going to let that happen but it seemed like my life just got busier and busier and I just never got to writing something until today.

Well I'd been having a great time attending my pity party and complaining about the unfair things in my life, still no luck in the love department, struggles with work politics, wanting to be more independent as far as buying a house and becoming more financial stable. I think these are things that can relate to a lot of people and I don't disagree that they can be big burdens but I really was just feeling so overwhelmed and not seeing the light. (and I don't mean like the light after you leave this life, I am ok with not seeing that one for awhile) I was just feeling like I would be stuck in this for awhile and I wasn't ok with that. On top of that I had to travel for work to handle a conflict in one of my areas and that was just more emotional drainage.

So I arrived back home and was on my computer browsing through the LDS.org website when I saw this video that was on there, titled "My New Life"

It was the same one my little sister posted on her blog but I hadn't clicked to watch it yet. I decided to click on it this time and watched the story of a woman who had been in a plane crash with her husband and had become disfigured from the burns. As I watched this couple tell their story I just began to cry, I thought how I was complaining about my "problems" and how I was feeling that life was unfair and then to see and hear the physical and emotional trials this couple, especially this woman, was going through and yet they still gave thanks, they still had determination, they still had their testimonies which were even stronger then before the accident really hit my hard. I really got a slap in my face that just was a huge "WAKE UP!" for me. It didn't mean that I just said oh everything is good now, but I realized that I can definitely look at things different, with a different heart and a humble soul. I can say that I am grateful for a lesson learned not by any great means but by a simple 8:20 min video.

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Happy 11th Dakota

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAKOTA!







I just love this kid! Dakota was just a little one when I went to live with Carol and Steve in California. We bonded pretty quickly and he became my little buddy. I would come home from work and Dakota would come up to me and ask to jump with him on the trampoline. We would go out and I would pick him up and just start bouncing and he would just giggle! When Carol and Steve were doing the "Body For Life" they would have to get up at 6 a.m. to go to the gym, so I would listen for Dakota if he woke up crying. When he did wake up. he would come to the edge of the stairs and start wimpering. I would get out of bed, walk up the stairs, pick him up and bring him down to my room to sleep. He totally knew the routine.

I remember when Carol and Steve went on their cruise, my mom came to watch kids and I was in charge of Dakota. One night when I came home from work, Dakota was crying cause he missed his mom and dad. He was wearing his Batman mask and he had tears running down his face. I put him on my bed and went out and talk to my mom. When I went back in he was asleep. I went over to pull his mask off and without opening his eyes he stopped me and pulled it back over his eyes! I just started giggling.

Dakota just makes me laugh! He is funny and sweet and loves his family! He is fun to be around and is just cute! I am a lucky Auntie, that is for sure!

Love you Kota!

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Wishing Mom A Happy Birthday!!

My Mom















A couple weeks ago my parents went to visit my sister Michele and her family in California. They asked me to gather mail and stuff while they were gone. While I was there on the last day, I found some of our old family albums and I went through and took pictures of old pictures I found. I loved looking at pictures of my mom. It brought back lots of memories I have of her.

My mom really has done so much for her family and has worked to give us wonderful memories of our childhood. With 5 kids she and my dad moved to Japan when I was 3. I look at the pictures and see all the fun things we did when we were there and how my mom was so excited for us to learn about this new culture and helped us to embrace it. I think of her reading to us kids at night and cooking wonderful meals. She was there to console us when we were hurt or wanted to share something great that had happened to us. She would repeat this throughout my life.

When she was around 8 months pregnant with Lauren she went into labor and delivered her premature, she showed great strength and faith during that time and was still there for us. I think how difficult it must have been to be almost an hour away from your husband and 6 kids (o.k. maybe not too difficult) and be worried about all of us. She always wanted to be okay.

I think about things that I inherited from her and I think the one quality I appreciate the most is her desire to show kindness and charity to others. She created a home that I always felt safe to be in.

I remember when I was attending school in Idaho and it was almost time to go home for Christmas. It had been a tough semester and I called my mom often for support and comfort and before I left to come home I called and asked if she could keep the Christmas lights on, on the tree for when I got home late that night. I remember walking in the house and the lights were on and all the decorations were up and I just felt like a little kid, so excited to be home and so excited for Christmas!! My mom created lots of these moments throughout my life. She has sacrificed many things for us during her life so that we could be happy, but that is what a mom does when she loves her children.

She has so many talents that a lot of people aren't aware of. She is an amazing cook, she can paint, draw and sew. She has great taste in British movies (I get my love of them from her). I don't think I have told her often enough how much I appreciated all she has done for me and helped me in my life. Thank You, Thank You for Everything Mom!! Have an amazing Birthday!!


Love You Mom!!!

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROL!

I have been looking forward to writing this for awhile now. It really isn't difficult to say a ton of nice things about Carol but I wanted to share just a bit more since it's her birthday and once again because it's my blog and I can do that.

I don't know if I could have asked for a better oldest sister. Carol has been a source a great strength in my life. I remember looking up to her when I was growing up and wanting to hang out with her and Michele because they were so cool. When I graduated into the single scene all I had to say was that I was "Carol and Michele's" little sister and I was immediatley accepted. She has always had lots of friends because of her kindess and love that she has and gives to others.

Carol has always been there to listen to me and to offer counsel and support. I remember being on my mission and getting her letters and it always seemed like whatever the scripture she sent me for the week, it was related to something I was dealing with at the time. She seemed to always be in tune with what I needed to hear. I am sure that it has been tough to feel somewhat of a responsibility for us, but Carol has never backed down from the task, instead she has magnified it and been a part of holding us together as a family. She set an example for me when she served her mission and was such a huge support when I went on mine. I always knew that if I was troubled, if I called Carol, she would make me feel better and give me hope, before the conversation was done. Carol is a true friend, a true example of someone who seeks to do what the Lord wants her to do, she is kind, loving, beautiful and overall just a truly wonderful person. I know that she continues to be a huge example in my life and I love her dearly. I am so grateful she married someone who could recognize what an amazing woman and mother she is. I am very blessed to have her as my sister!

Happy Bithday to You
Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday Dear Carol
Happy Birthday to you!

Love you tons!

Erin

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Ry Ry is "8" Today!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYLAND!!!



It really seems just like yesterday that I went to go visit Michele in the hospital after she had Ryland, little did we realize what a ginormous personality that was about to join the family! He just amazes me everytime I see him and I am just so impressed with his talents, his humor and quick wit (which at times gets him into trouble...lol). Ryland isn't afraid to be himself and he is very confident in who he is and I think that is just one of his many great qualities. I have lots of fun memories of Ry but one of my recent favorites was when I was there visiting with my sister and we were trying to get Ryland to go to sleep and I was reading to him in his room and he was very restless and telling me that his neck was sore (he is a gymnast so he gets sore muscles quite a bit now) so I told him that I would rub his neck for him. He was lying on his back and I was working on the knots in his neck and he all of sudden says "That feels great, where did you learn to do that!" I just started laughing and told him I went to massage school and learned it from there. I continued to rub out the knots and within just a few minutes he was fast asleep! I look forward to seeing Ryland grow and to see all the great things he will accomplish in this life.

So HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY RY RY

Love you tons, Auntie Erin

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What Kind of Talent do you have?

Years ago I dated a guy who had amazing singing talent (all family and relatives will know who I am talking about) and one Sunday we were at his parents house chillin out on their property and talking about all these amazing things he was doing with his many wonderful musical talents. As we were talking, he looked over and asked "so do you sing?" I said, "no, not professionally," then he asked "do you play an instrument?" once again I said "no", I could tell that he was feeling a bit uncomfortable and maybe even felt sorry that I didn't have talents that others could necessarily see, so after a bit of mumbling something about what defines talents, "I replied, "well my Young Women's leader told me I have a really great personality!"


This story has brought laughter to many of my family, friends and relatives since then, but it also really started to help me think about what talents I did posses. So here are just a few talents that I think I have that have nothing to do with a musical or atheltic nature.

1. I think I do have a great personality: but just having one isn't so much a talent as what you do with it. I think I have been able to make friends easily and do get jobs that I wanted because of it. I have been able to make people feel at ease and encourage others to be friends by being the one to introduce people to each other. I have taken chances more often, knowing I could figure out the situation and make it work no matter what. It helped me when I moved to different places throughout my life to get to know people. I think it has definitly been a great blessing in my life.

2. I am a really good dancer: while I am not a professional dancer and would never attempt to try out for any professional dancer show (SYTYCD comes to mind) I do think that I can get jiggy and shake it like no other 38 year old (who is not a professionally trained dancer!). I have just always been able pick up steps quickly and could pretty much find a beat in everything, I could probably even find one in the annoying Emergency Sound System tone that gets played!! I also have to thank my dad for teaching me the more classic dances as a little kid and my mom who I think danced for awhile when she was a teenager. Dancing has really been a source of joy and has been key to me staying in shape as well!

3. I give good advice: I can almost see my siblings rolling their eyes on this one but I have found that I have an ability to help people with the advice I give. Now it's not always what they want to hear and not always wanted, but I still find a need to say those three special words...Well, I think. I have learned though that not everyone wants to hear what I have to say and I don't always follow my own advice, but that it can be of real help in some cases and this was brought to my attention the other day with a woman I used to work with. She moved here a few years ago following a painful divorce and was working at my office. She would come in everyday and tell me the stories of her life struggles and heartbreaks she was experiencing. I offered advice regularly, even when she didn't want to hear it. One day I told her she should look into going back to school. I knew she could get help from the government and she seemed like she wanted something in her life that was just hers and something she accomplished. So that is exactly what she did. She quit and went back to school. I hadn't talk to her in almost a year when she came in to help out part time while her replacement was sick. We were chatting a bit before I was going home and she said "Erin, I wanted to write you a big letter and tell you that your advice all those times is the reason I was able to go and do this." She continued by telling me that it was through my ongoing advice giving that she got the courage to go back to school. I couldn't believe it! I really thought all those times I was advice giving she really wanted to knock my block off, but she was now actually giving me some credit?...Sweet! Course, she was the one who had the courage to go out and do it but to think that I helped her to start was a huge feeling of gratefulness. Once she graduates this year she is going to be able to support herself and her kids independently and that is pretty awesome!

4 and my last one I will post; I get along with just about everyone. You may wonder "is this really a talent or is Erin just coming up with whatever sounds good?"...okay it maybe both, but seriously I really do get along with just about everyone, there may be those who refuse to allow me to get to know them but for the most part I think I make most people feel comfortable with me and if they don't I find out why and work it out so they do! Even the ones that are the most stubborn, I find I am able to win my way into their hearts eventually!

Of course I could list more but I don't think "having an huge ego" is not necessarily a good talent, so I will keep it at 4.

So I am grateful my boyfriend asked me that question because next time I will be ready with my list.

oh and p.s I actually am learning to play the guitar now!

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