Today is a true day of Thanksgiving.  My Uncle generously gave one of his kidney's so that my Dad could live a long and healthy life.  The surgery's went well for both my Uncle and my Dad.  They have recovered and my Dad's new kidney is working well.  I am so grateful to loving family members who give of themselves time and time again.  I have been so blessed to be a part of my Dad's family. I love each and everyone of my extended family. 
On a different note I have decided that I am not the best writer and there are times when I am not sure what to write, however I love that fact that writing does not have to be rigid with specific guidelines.  I have enjoyed being able to get my thoughts down and letting them wander as I reflect on my day or experiences that I have.  Many of my writings have been a result of me rolling thoughts around in my head and then letting them flow out on paper.  I realize that writing doesn't always happen this way, but I love it when it works and the results are better than what I expected.  If I ever aspired to become a writer I know that I will have to do a lot more than what I have done so far, which is really just for college.  This experience of blogging has been enlightening.  I have always liked reading other people's blogs and thought "WOW!" they are awesome.  What it boils down to is just taking a few minutes a day(or hours for some) and letting our thoughts out and sharing with others.  I hope that I will be able to keep this up after this class. And maybe be brave enough to share with more than my classmates and my professor. 

I would like to think that I have learned my lesson in previous semesters.  I always say to myself at the beginning of each semester, "I will stay current with my work or get ahead so that I don't have to worry about stress or catching up at the end."  Do I ever do it?  No!  Life gets in the way and I lose track of time, then I realize that the end is looming and I have to hurry to get everything done.  I guess life it full of lessons and eventually I will have learned this one, but I haven't yet!
I have really appreciated this journey of going back to school and receiving my BA.   There are many good things that have and will come of it.  First and foremost is that I will have my Bachelors.  Second, I feel like I am a better person because of it.  I have met may people, professors and students, who I have come to love and appreciate for their individuality and differences.  Third, I am setting an example for my children, and my nieces and nephews.  I am showing them that college is important and that you can receive your degree at any time in your life.  (I do advise when one is younger, without a family that relies on them, but it does not matter when they choose to go).  And finally I will have a job that I love and will feel like I am making a difference.
My mother went back to college when her company downsized and she was in her 40's.  I know that it was a struggle for her, but she grasped the opportunity with both hands because she knew it would be the best thing for her.  I have talked to her many times about this experience and she did say that it was very hard for everyone involved.  My dad was not to excited about it, and I know that it was hard on my younger siblings who were still living at home.  However now that she has been finished for some time, she says that it was the best thing that she ever did in her life.  She has a job that she really enjoys, she learned so much about herself throughout the process, and my father came to realized that it was the best thing for them also.  I have learned from her and have leaned on her from time to time as I struggle through my process.  She is my rock and my champion as I work, stress and struggle my way through school.
I am thankful for my family who has supported me through this.  They have dealt with my crazy mood swings due to stress and anxiety, and have been patient if not understanding.  I know that they are just as ready as I am to be finished.  I look forward to spending time with them without having an assignment hanging over my head.  I am excited to not have to think about another semester looming once this is all done.  I thank them for all that they do and love and appreciate them even more.  I owe so much to them, along with everyone else who has helped my on my way.

Ladies I have loved reading each of your posts on your blogs.  I especially liked the 10 things that we may not know about each other.  You have all posted so now it is my turn.  So here it goes...

1. My favorite TV show of all time-MASH! I could watch this everyday and never tire of it.  I watched it so much when I was pregnant with my third son that when he was born he instantly recognized the theme song whenever it came on and turned his head toward the sound!
2. I dabble in wedding cake decorating.  I have done four so far.
3. I LOVE to read!  I can loose myself in a book and forget about everything else.  I have been known to start reading in the morning and not realize when it is evening.
4. I was raised on a farm.  I helped out with all chores-feeding the hogs, driving hay and grain truck, bucking hay bales, feeding cows, stacking wood, working in the garden, etc.
5. I have had a piece of my writing published in a newspaper.
6. I have been run off the road by a bee (it flew in the window and landed in my lap.  I did not want to be stung there.  You could say that I have a slight phobia of bees)
7. I have lived in Idaho my whole life.
8. I am a middle child (middle of seven)
9. I have had a henna tramp stamp once (a Mexico trip splurge).
10. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.

At this time of thanksgiving I would be remise if I did not give thanks for my many blessings that I enjoy.  I am thankful for my Father in heaven who watches over me and my family each and everyday.  I am grateful for my family-my husband who takes his job seriously as a spouse, father and provider of his family, my boys who are healthy, happy and rambunctious, and for all the rest of my family who love me for who I am and who are willing to call me daughter and sister.  I am so glad that I have the opportunity to better myself by getting an education and for the support I get from everyone around me, they all deserve a pat on the back for being there for me.  I am grateful for a home, food, jobs, running water, heat, electricity, basic necessities that we take for granted everyday.  I love my thick, warm fleece blanket and my slipper boots that keep my feet warm.  I am grateful for bowls of hot soup on a cold day.  And a steaming cup of hot cocoa when I am up late doing homework.  I am grateful for peace and quiet when the kids are all tucked up in bed and I can just relax without any distractions.  I am grateful for date nights with my husband (which are few and far between because we are both so busy and TIRED!)  I love that my son is old enough to babysit for us :) I am grateful that my sons make good choices and have friends who have the same standards that they do.  I love that I am blessed each and every day. 

I normally love my Sundays.  I get to sleep in, I don't go to church until 10 am, and then I get to relax for the rest of the day, squeezing in a nap between church and dinner time.  Today was not as nice as normal, thanks to my four lovely boys.  One would think that they would know how to behave in church by now.  I felt like I was surrounded by a bunch of monkeys.  They could not be quiet, they could not keep their hands to themselves, and they could not sit still.  I realize 1 hour is a long time to sit, but this is not a new phenomenon for them.  They have gone to church since they were born!  Their behavior was a sure fire method that ruined my Sunday.  Thank goodness for my afternoon nap to unwind from their antics!  And for crock pots!  I had the good sense to put White Chili in the crock pot before we left for church, so I did not have to agonize about what to make for dinner.  Nothing like walking into the house that is full of a tantalizing aroma.  White chili is one of my favorite soups.  I topped of the meal with a batch of apple fritters.  Nothing like comfort food to turn the day around. 
As much as I write about my boys one would think that they are monkeys.  Like all kids they have their good days and their bad.  Today just happened to be a bad one.  They do redeem themselves at times.  For instance I love being able to go out on a date with my husband and then coming home to kids who are getting along and a house that is cleaner than when I left it.  Or times when I only have to ask them to do something once and they get right to it, rather than me asking 50 millon times or hearing a response, do I have to?  I do have some really awesome boys.  And they are growing up way to fast.  I was putting their most recent school picture in their frames, and spent a few minutes looking at their past pictures.  I seems like just yesterday that they were little guys and pretty soon they will be leaving the house to go on their missions, go to college and get married.  I keep thinking that I have all the time in the world, but my oldest will be 18 in 3 1/2 years, and then he will be gone.  Where does the time go?  I often wonder have we taught them enough?  Will they be ok?  Will they be successful in all their endeavors?  And I think about all the things I missed or did not teach them.  Will they still be ok even though I forgot some things?  I hope that they will always keep their family close and that the family will always be a priority in their lives.  I could not imagine my life without my family.  Not just my parents and my siblings, but my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins.  We make it a point to connect as often as possible, which is no small feat.  On my dad's side alone there are roughly 200 people.  We gather for a family reunion every two years.  It is big and crazy but I love it.  On my mom's side there is probably just as many people, and try to have family reunions too.  As I said I can't imagine life without family.

I love holiday's because its a chance to gather with family and friends and have fun.  I wouldn't say that Halloween is my favorite but it is fun.  Sunday evening I gathered my boys together and we carved pumpkins.  We had so much fun looking for designs.  The boys had a hard time deciding which one they were going to do, but they were able to narrow it down.  Then the work started, for me!  They get excited to carve but then realize halfway through that it is much more than they signed on for and I get stuck finishing the job.  And every year after Halloween I tell myself we are not carving pumpkins again.  The things we do for our kids. 
I think my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving.  It is all the excitement without the stress of buying gifts and hoping everyone is happy with what they got.  And its half the work; you only have to prepare.  This year I am going to have to get my act together and make sure I have all my homework caught up, done, and everything ready for spring semester and graduation in order to really enjoy my favorite holiday.  This semester has been so hard for me.  I am so burnt out and at the same time so ready to graduate.   I have struggled to balance everything in my life and it has been especially hard this time around. There have been times that I have wished that I took this semester off, but graduation is so close that I can taste it and I am so ready to be done.  I just have to keep focused and keep the end in sight.  I am so grateful to my family for their support and patience in my journey.   It will be so worth it for all of us.  I can't wait for the next chapter in our life.  Now if it will just get here sooner...

I love the peace and quiet of a house full of sleeping boys.  Especially when just a few hours earlier I was getting after them for not getting ready for bed and for not finishing their chores.  I lost it at that point! Nothing like an irate mom, right?  I finally got them all go to their rooms, but felt guilty for losing it with them.  I hate when I let my self get angry and then not apologize to them for my actions.  Not that moms are not justified for feeling this way, right?  I sometimes wish that my boys would just knock my socks off and just do what they know is supposed to be done.  It's not like I haven't had them ever do the dishes, or vacuum, or mop, or clean their room, or, or, or.....And the house certainly does not clean itself, contrary to popular belief.  Boy are they in for a rude awaking when they get out on their own and they have not picked up on anything that I have taught them!  I think when they start seriously dating I will foreworn their dates that they are not to do anything domestic for them.  Make them do it themselves.  Prove to me and to the girls that they are capable.  (just some late night ranting's and ravings of an annoyed and tired mom, but don't, for one minute think that I won't do it).

I have been lax in my blog...Chalk it up to too stressed and busy to get everything done in a day!  I am really feeling the stress this semester.  I am not sure if it is because of all the requirements for graduation on top of all the regular stuff with classes and life, but I need to put my big girl panties on and deal with it!
Anyway, my family has been busy with hunting this last week.  My husband and two older boys went hunting last week and only harvested one deer.  My oldest was excited because he is the one who got it, but my other son and husband were not to happy.  So to quench his hunting fever, my husband and my third son left to go hunting again today.  They will be gone until Saturday.  I hope they are successful!  We certainly could use the meat and it would get that elk fever out of my husband.  I have got to admit though, it is fun to go hunting and I have not been able to go for the last several years!  Maybe sometime in the next couple of years I will be able to go!  The nice result of them being gone is that I have less people to boss around and argue with!  And less people to create a mess in the house!  As much as I love having my whole family home, there are benefits to having a few of them gone every now and then!
There is never enough time in the day to get everything done.  I am happy to get at least half of what I intended taken care of.  I think most of us are that way, now if I could only put all my energy into homework and not stress about anything else.  However, living in a house full of males and leaving it up to them would result in a pig sty!  Someday I will have them all trained, but not soon enough!

One of the great joys of fall is going to the orchard and picking crisp apples!  I went today with my friend and some of my boys to pick apples for canning.  We had perfect weather-cool and sunny with a slight breeze.  With these conditions it is so easy to get carried away with the picking.  You just move from tree to tree sampling all the different apples. This leads you to having to take some of each kind.  I can't wait to taste my fresh applesauce and pie filling!  There is something about putting up your own food.  I don't have as much time as I used to as I am busy with school and work, but I look forward to the time when I have a little less on my plate and can squeeze in more time to put up more produce than what I am able to do right now.  With that being said I did get some peaches and pears canned and will have my apples done by next weekend.  My kids eat them like they are candy!  I love giving them something yummy and nutritious!
On that same note of food-I am getting excited that soup weather is upon us.  Not that I am a big fan of the extreme cold we get down here but I love coming home to a crock pot full of soup and I love trying new soup recipes-so if anyone has one for me to try I would love it!  I hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of fall as much as I am!

It seems at times that our lives and  experiences are unique, which they are, but then you talk to a friend or acquaintance and you realize that even though we are unique, we all experiences similar things and have similar lives.   I was talking to Kristine and we both are different people with different lives but with some similarities.  We both are going to school and we both thinking (hoping) that this semester would be maybe easier or a least not as stressful.  However it seems as though it is our hardest one yet! Crazy! 
I feel a little out of sorts and disorganized (which is somewhat normal for me) but  life has been hard this semester.  Funny how we think of our lives as a time frame-i.e. semester, school year, sports season, job, etc.  Life is just that life! I guess what I am saying is that I should just be enjoying it as it comes and not sweat the small stuff.  Life always goes on, the small stuff comes and goes, and we are still here working, coping, trying, succeeding.  I will look back at this time and say that wasn't so bad.  I got through it and I am still alive and kicking.  This is just a small part of the bigger picture.

It seems as though this semester had been going on forever but it had just started!  I am hoping for it to go by quickly and as painlessly as possible. Somehow I don't think that that is going to happen. 
On a different note it seems as though fall might be here already!  I have to say that while I love all the seasons for their individual beauty, fall is my favorite with spring a close second.  The warm days and cool nights, the crispness in the air, the colors that change daily, and the smells that come with it all.  I made pumpkin crasien cookies the other day and it invoked memories and visions of fall; Thanksgiving, Halloween, soup, pies, curling up on a couch with a warm blanket and a book, hot cocoa, etc.    Another sighting of fall is football.  Now I am not an avid sports fan of any sport, but I do have four boys and I am pretty much guaranteed to have a boy somewhere on a field on any given night of the week.  This will continue to go into November.  At that point one would think that I will be relieved of sporting events, but then basketball starts, and the cycle continues....My husband has been known to say-"Get used to it-we have four boys and that's what we do-sports!" which of course he is right, but for once it would be nice to do something girly or non sports related!  Oh well! That's my life! And I wouldn't have it any other way because I can not imagine my life with out them!  When life gets crazy with them I remind myself that someday I will get four daughters-in-law and I look forward to that!  But not anytime soon!  They have so much to accomplish in their life before that and I am anticipating each and every milestone!  I am grateful for the positive examples and support that they have in their lives-my husband and I, their aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents, teachers, leaders, etc.  Where would we all be without the positive examples and supports in out own lives?  I know that I am grateful!  Love you Cameron, boys, Mom and Dad, Brothers and Sisters, -in-laws, friends, neighbors, nieces, nephews, etc.

I wish life was less stressful!  However we tend to put too much on our plates that help to add to the stress.  I am so ready to be done with school and have one less demand in my life.  Between my family, work, college, church, and any other thing I try to cram in-some days I want to scream.  I will probably look back at this after I have taught for a couple of years and say man I wish I could go back to that time!  Haha!  I am just so ready to be done.  My family is too.  They have been so patient and understanding when I have to say mom is busy right now or I have homework, or Sorry I can't go to your game because I have to much to do.
However I really love everything that I have learned and all the experiences that I have taken from this opportunity and time of my life.  I have made many friends and have learned a lot.  I look forward to the day when I get to impart some bits of wisdom and knowledge to others.  I love being able to teach little ones and see the look on their face when they finally grasp a concept or get excited about something that I will be teaching them.  There is nothing more rewarding than experiencing in a child's excitement and know that you had a hand in it.  I love making my kids happy and seeing their excitement over simple things, like taking them fishing, or reading a fun book to them.  You can't help but smile. :) I just love it!!

The Finch's~October 2012

I have lost the Grandmother of my youth; she passed away on the 3rd of September.  She was the one that I would call on a Friday night and ask if I could sleep over with my sister.  She made my favorite meals; hamburgers and French fries with ice cream for dessert.  For breakfast we would have French toast and bacon or sausage and eggs.  She was the best cook and a fantastic baker. 

 Some of my fondest memories of her are her Christmas candies that she made: fudge, divinity, nut rolls, chocolate covered cherries, peanut butter balls, coconut balls, etc.  You name it she made it.  She also made the best doughnuts!  She really could make anything and it always turned out.  I get my love of baking from her and my mother.

I also loved that she took time out for me.  She would help me go through old clothes from my aunts when they were young and I would dress up in them and model.  In the evenings she would sit on the couch with me and let me choose a TV show.  My sister and I would always choose The Golden Girls.  To this day I still love that show and think of her whenever I see it on and I can't pass up a chance to watch an episode.  Somehow it brings me closer to her. 

While I will miss her, I am glad that she is free from her earthly pain and reunited with my grandfather, cousins, aunt, and other family members.  I will always have her in my heart and will see her again someday.  I love you Grandma!