On the Road Again

After what seems too long a sojourn at home, almost 6 full days, we're hitting the road again in search of adventure, excitement, and affordable, safe housing!  My assignment is official, and the school district has my paperwork, so we're going ahead with my High School vocal position in Marianna, Arkansas.  We're in the Helena Branch, fairly close the Mississippi border, and only about 15 minutes from the freeway that shoots both to Memphis and Little Rock.  Memphis is a little over an hour away, so it's easy to fly in for a visit.  As we sadly discovered, however, no direct flights from D.C.  Isn't that always the case?  Oh well.  We're taking the camera and hoping for some great photos of our first trip to the Delta area.  We promise to post, especially in light of Heather's ultimate disappointment with Photo Friday.  We don't want to be lame, do we?  By the way, Marquie, JJ—very cute.  It's like Bennifer or Brangelina . . .

PICTURES!

Here are a few quick pics. Don't worry JJ! I'll get all of them to you! (JJ is my abbreviation for you guys, Justin and Jodi!) Love ya! (OH! and by the way, you guys really need to work on that blog of yours. It's not getting very far...):D
Oh yeah! anD I got a C+ and a C- on my Chem test(s)!!!! Woot woot for me! (Yes, that is good). ANd I was the only person in Calc today....lame. I had to take a quiz, too! (I missed it for you JJ! (And the other quiz and test I have to do next week) Love you guys! Enjoy the pictures. I'll try and get all of the pictures from all the wedding eventses on a DVD for you tomorrow. I need Dad's help. I love you SUPER SO MUCH!!!!!!!

Pathetic

I'm very disappointed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just love de-motivatioal posters!

ummmmm...... photo friday?

What better way to start this blog up again? Photos for all to see. We are all still recouping here. Mom is sure she is leaving as soon as school is out..... We are spending just a little extra time together around here. Soooo sad. I heard news about James... you should blog it for all to see. Weather is nuts here. We are watching for tornadoes today. I am really looking forward to a move. We are very seriously considering Idaho now. I think that would be super. Joe has a paver company that needs someone to do designs for them. They gave Joe one to do this weekend. If they like it, they are willing to hire him out on the side!!!! We like a little extra money! Hope everyone is well and up to blogging!!!! The times we cherish.

Thank You

We just wanted to say, thank you.  You made everything perfect for us.

Crafty Justin?

I just wanted to show off my crafty side as it just doesn't come out that often.  But for Mum, it does :)  Mum was left without a corsage for Mother's Day (as was Juna), so Jodi and I improvised and made our own.  Jodi made one for Juna, I made one for Mum, Heather, and Jodi.  Yes, they were beautiful.  We started paining our apartment tonight.  By we, I mean James, Nate, and Bradley.  It has been a while since the three cousins have done anything together, and James was there, too!  We didn't get as much done as we wanted to, only the two bedrooms.  We are left still with the large living-kitchen area and the bathroom.  It is going to look nice, though!  

We also had Bryce help us install a car stereo into the Civic; however, regardless of Bryce's renowned electrical skills, he was still unable to get it to work.  Gonna have to see what we can do about that!  It looks really pretty, though no use!

California

I have decided that California is beautiful.  I arrived this morning after two hours of sleep.  Yes, I know it is not smart, not healthy, and completely worth it.  I have had a wonderful time with Jodi today.  She has taken me to some of her favorite places, including the houses she lived in; the schools she attended; her favorite breakfast place; the beach; and last of all, her sister's.  Jodi's parents are both in town, as well as her two sisters.  We have spent the afternoon and much of the evening preparing for tomorrow's open house.  The yard we are using is small, but beautiful.  I have been enjoying fresh oranges, lemons, and tangerines (all picked off the tree by my own hand...something I have always wanted to do).  Things are all ready, and Jodi is excited to be able to see her friends from much of her growing up.  She is also very excited to enter into the temple and receive her endowments.  It is a new adventure, a wonderful experience that she excited to be a part of, making new covenants and receiving greater ordinances.  Life is beautiful.

It's CrAZy here!

And we are loving it all!  OK, well bedtime last night took an extra measure of patience, but all in all this is good times.  Today Heather and I are headed to the outlet mall to get some much needed vestment for her and to have a little fun.  We'll see if Collin and Ethan agree with our plans.  Liz is having  little get together this morning with her friends and their kids so everyone can chat and play before the great summer dispersal.  We're especially looking forward to tomorrow when Mom, Dad, and Marquie arrive so we can really start the party!  We've got a shelter reserved at a great park here, so at least we'll be dry while we eat even if it is raining all day.  Who knows—that could all change by tomorrow, but we're planning to barbecue and party and play and laugh.  Oh, have I mentioned—I'M DONE!  You may now address me as Master Hutchings.  Although, if that seems too formal, Master James will suffice . . .

he he.

Well, I don't know what to blog, but this blog is not very exciting. I mean, honestly, mom's blog was pretty depressing. Here are a few pictures of the happy moments of the open house.












make the pictures big! they are super cute!

Justin and Jodi Open House

Well, it is 7:18 p.m. We enjoyed the open house. It started a little slow, and stayed a little slow. We had a total of about 250 cookies, 3 gallons of salad, 100 rolls, 8 pounds of lunch meat, 2 gallons of punch........and 12 guests. Some things really let you know how much you touch the lives of people around you. Maybe we need to give a little more of ourselves.

Maybe it's time to move. Thank goodness for a wonderful, wonderful family!!!!!

Photo Saturday?????????

April has a whole new world before her now. She is so thrilled with her glasses. She did 11 pages of intensive practice math yesterday without any problems. Then, she did several grammar books. She tells us over and over again how amazing everything is now that she can see. How blessed we are!

Life is beautiful

Really there isn't much more to say. I want to shout it to the world. I never knew one could have so much energy. Yesterday, I made 8 batches of brownies, did 4 loads of laundry, school with the kids, 3 hours of lessons, read a few chapters of a book, and ran. I can't believe what can be accomplished in 1 day! I feel like i could conquer the world. The Lord has given me an incredible blessing. I feel like there are so many things I can do now. I actually get up when Joe leaves for work. La la la la la la. So..... LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL! Another day on the horizon. Aren't we blessed!

The Name is Bond. James Bond.

Dad wanted me to post this here as well.

James is Bond.

Yeah.  I'm cool like that.

I just loved this!

I encounter this on a daily basis.

Sorry to be Slow

It seems time is getting away from me, and it is true as I hear the clock strike midnight. I have gotten more sleep the last few nights than I have in a while (strong council of my wonderful Bishop). James was right when he said you just have to set a curfew, not for necessarily for moral reasons, but for the sake of health and sanity. That and life is much better together when we are not tired. There is so much potential for stress, but we are doing so well (just so much better when we are not tired).

I was waiting to give any details about our apartment until we took some pictures of it; however, I find myself still wanting. So, here it is. We are just across from Gold's Gym, just north of the Shell gas station. We are one of three-plex (we have met the Moses family, but have yet to meet the couple on the other side...I know, their door is only fifteen feet away from ours...). The living room and kitchen take up the front of the apartment, leaving one feeling like they are in a spacious cavern with the vaulted ceilings above. It is outdated and has green linoleum from the '70s, which is covered with industrial carpeting (same as the bathroom). The refrigerator is from the stoneage...one of those with the icebox inside the top of the fridge. The cupboards have mismatched handles on them, and one door has a white line painted around it (I guess someone thought it would be fun to experiment...BAD IDEA!). As you work your way back you are met with two bedrooms, one with two closets, which will be our bedroom, and another with only one, which will be our office. The bathroom was disgusting, but thanks to Bryce and Michelle, it is looking pretty good, new light fixture and all (special thanks to Bryce). The walls throughout the house look almost like they have a pepper finish from the many nails that have been removed both by us and former tenants. We are in the process of fixing that. Then we are going to paint. Hope the landlord doesn't mind us taking the cost of paing and supplies out of our rent! The apartment was filthy. It is in the process of getting better, it just takes a lot of time. They say they are going to rennovate the place, but they aren't going to for at least the time we are living there, and that is looking to be for another year and a bit. I don't want pepper-textured walls, nor do I want to live in a place where I feel dirty. I just can't do it. We are fixing it. Again, hope the landlord is good with all this!! (He has been slow in returning our emails, and he doesn't like to talk on the phone with us. Text and email is all he does.)

2 weeks and a day, now, as it is Wednesday. Coming to Chicago tomorrow (hopefully there are no complications with the bloodclot in my arm...I would hate to have to drive). We will post pictures of the apartment when we get around to taking them. James, can you help us paint when you get here? I here you are leaving Sunday to drive? I would love some time with you, and I know you are good painter, too!

This is one cool looking flower!!

This is the Snakes Head Lily or Fritilaria. Enjoy

Turtle Tuesday

Does anyone else set their calendar by Turtle Tuesday at Culver's?

Oh, maybe it really is just me.  Tuesdays are the end of my Weight Watcher week, so we generally splurge for a little treat after dinner.  Lately, though, we've been branching out a bit.  A new Baskin Robbins opened right next to our Culver's (not sure who thought of that . . .) and I find I can get more low-calorie options, and even the high-calorie options come in um, 31 or so flavors.  Some of my recent favorites (single scoop in a sugar cone, of course):  Lime Daiquiri Ice, Baseball Nut (that's a raspberry ribbon and cashews in vanilla), and the ever-so-decadent Peanut Butter Fudge.  Wow.

So, who's up for Turtle Tuesday?  Mmmm, I am.

140?

So, random story for you. . . I was leaving the library when I was pulled over by a policeman on foot.  I was watching two extra children, so it was just me with a van full of children!  They were fascinated by the policeman in the road, but I was devastated.  37 in a 20 mph zone is never good news.  I actually got lucky and he gave me a warning, so why am I telling you this story?  Later while showing James my warning we noticed that the officer copied all of my information most carefully except my weight.  My license which is from Indiana says 210 lbs (sadly I was lying at the time), but he wrote 140!  Now I wish that I actually did weight 140, but it sure made my day that he wrote that I did when all he had to do was copy a number from my license!  Yippee for non-scale victories!  So, there you go . . .  what looked like a horrible moment turned into something lovely!  Have a great day!

In the mail

Look what we got in the mail today!

Happy as a lark

Yes, it is gone!!!! The pain is tooo!!! O.k., mostly. Now I am just a little sore, which to me translates into, what pain? The procedure went exactly as planned, when they finally did it. Yes, true to my track record things went crazy. I arrived at 10:00, only to wait in the waiting room for 30 minutes. When they get me in, they inform me my doctor is running about an hour behind. Mmhmmm. Wait, it gets better. After taking their sweet time with the paperwork, they start an I.V. What happens next..... POWER OUTAGE. I couldn't make this up if I tried. They of course went to generators. So..... no new procedures started while on generators. I laughed. Lots of us laughed actually, since everyone their found it quite amusing that I had returned. They told us the city estimated having power returned about 1:00. Laugh again. So.... I did finally get home shortly after 2:00. Thanks for all your support and prayers. Love you all. If I could caption my picture, it would say ...... CAN WE GO NOW! I do love that I don't look like that anymore.

picture phriday

Heyllo Family! Happy picture phriday! I love your pictures James!

By the way, what the FREAK is that lady doing?! GO AWAY!!!!!!!

PHOTO PHRIDAY!

Ta Da!  I knew I'd get around to it eventually!  Somehow in my mind my reminder post justifies me not actually posting a photo.  I'm very repentant.  Lately I've been thinking about how big my boys are getting, and how much they're growing intellectually and emotionally and spiritually.  They are a joy, and I love watching them as they explore and discover.  Michael played Liz a mean game of chess yesterday, Joshua uses words I know I didn't teach him (not those kinds of words!) and Jacob is finally starting to use actual words to express his intentions and desires.  These are three boys that are a testament to a life before this one, for I certainly did not make them who they are; they came this way and continue to grow and develop as the individuals that they are.  Today, however, I am happily reminded that they are still little boys.  Tired little boys.

A Freakin' Awesome Parasitic Plant

As you read the description of this plant you will realize that Vampires truly exist!
Enjoy Photo Phriday!