PLUMMELO!

Ahoy! sorry, just felt nautical there for a second. Today Jeff and I found a new fruit at Costco. A Plummelo (pronounced PLEW_MEL_LOW). At first we thought it was some kind of diranged grapefruit, but its supposed to be sweeter. And it is! Jeff and I had tons of fun trying to get this thing opened. Its skin is so thick. I'm telling you, we could insulate our attic with the insides of this fruit. Or make shoes. Either way its a big mess to get the thing opened and I don't reccomemnd biting it open either. ITS BITTER! The skin is anyway. But the insides are sweet! Jeff doesn't really like greapefruit and he liked this! Anyhow, go get one! Its a meal all by itself. Kris Skousen, if you are eating apples for dinner again, this will fill you up much better. Who eats apples for dinner anyway? "Fru-its. Like the Fru-its of the De-veel." Name that movie!

New Haircut!

Infestation!....Well, maybe not that bad....

Monday night I was over at my mom's and we noticed that Kenna was itching her head pretty vigorously. (It makes me itch just thinking about it.) I took her home and checked her for lice. I had never seen lice before so I didn't really know what I was looking for. But then I looked closer and realized that her scalp was crawling with bugs. Yes folks, big ones. (ok, big for lice that is). I think she had had it for a week before we caught it. Total and complete infestation. I put her in the tub and tried that lice kit that the stores rave about. It did nothing. NOTHING! Lucky for me a ward member (after calling her entire primary class and everyone who played with her at Thanksgiving) reccomended soaking her entire head in 100 proof alcohol and putting a bag on it and letting it sit for an hour. This took care of the big adult ones. (There is nothing more disgusting than a pile of lice in the bottom of the tub). But Jeff and I had bizarre dreams that night. I had lice everywhere and he dreamed he was drunk. Great. So we have been washing everything in hot water and picking out the eggs from Kennas hair for two days straight. Nothing will get them out except me picking them out one by one. They are in every strand of hair. Every one people! I re-wash her bedding every morning in hot water and the clothes she wore that day. She can't go to school and we had to cut her beautiful hair. Crappers. She was so upset by the hair cut and hated yesterday sitting in front of the tv for six hours while I picked. Again we were up last night till midnight still picking. Not sure if they are gone or if they will once more multiply and replenish. Why did Heavenly Father make lice? Was that one of the plagues that Pharoh got from Moses and now we all have to pay for it? It is most definately a plague. Plague of all plagues in my opinion. If I ever make it to the Celestial Kingdom, and some self righteous king ticks me off while living on the planet I gave him, I will not be sending lice. No one deserves this. Except maybe Pharoh. Jerk.

A plant's betrayal.....

Alrighty folks, This beautiful plant of mine, that I have nourished and cared for seems to be rebelling yet again. It looked for a while like it might be actually blooming. It greeted me warmly on a regular basis and seemed to like my presence. But recently it has taken a turn for the worse. I think it chose to do this. Her leaves have lost their luster and are looking hard and crusty. A few of her brighter leaves have been replaced by crinkled brown ones. I thought she might be angry with me, but I think she's just being stupid. She thinks she can grow on her own? Fat chance. Does she really believe that the other plants outside that are telling her what to do and how to grow know better? Here she is warm and safe in our home surrounded by those that love her (the plant) but she longs for what the cold hard world has to offer. Tempted by other hard, rough, weeds she rebels only to perish quicker. Why? I have no clue. Is she not happy here? Obviously she thinks she can do better outside. But I am afraid to let her go. I am angered by the fact that what I have to offer isnt enough. It should be. The only thing to be gained by rebelling and becoming hard is a quicker death. Spiritually and physically cutting herself off from those that love her. If she would only listen to me and trust my knowledge, she might be blooming again. Instead she seems to like the darkness she is living in by choice. It scares me really. What to do? Again, it's out of my hands. Here's dinner, here's gifts, here's love, is it enough? Probably not. Bummer. Pray. Pray alot.

Tithing is paid in so many ways...

This week our family made our annual trip down to the Bishops office for tithing settlement. I always hope and pray that the kids know the answers to the Bishop's questions about how tithing is used. Despite the many family home evening lessons on how the church uses our tithing, the kids always look like they have no clue. "What? Are you talking to me?" Yes children, how does the nice Bishop use our tithing? "To......pay....for....stuff....."
Nope! Wrong answer! So our wonderful Bishop didn't get the right answer from our new priesthood holder, so he moved on to Rysa. Great. "Rysa, are you a full tithe payer?" Her answer didn't suprise many. Except for the Bishop. "Well.....I got Jango off the couch!" What? The Bishop then looks at us for clarity on her response. Jango is my brother's boxer puppy that is so large he eats off the counter when you're not watching and lovingly brings you clods of manure from outside and spits them at your feet. Fantastic. The Bishop did not know what to say. So I whispered "Good job Rysa. Way to pay your tithing." I think this counts. Don't you? Way to save mommys new couch. Even though she is a little afraid of the big dog, she knew that he was not allowed on the couch. So, she is a full tithe payer in my eyes. We all pay tithing in our own little way don't we? I think my kids pay their tithing every day. Without being asked and just because they love me. And Jeff and I pay our to the Lord, just because we love him.

My favorite "Hymn is Jose!"

This month our not so little boy was ordained a deacon. I just cannot believe that this extrordinary young man has turned twelve and is now passing the sacrament to the congregation of our wonderful church. How proud his dad and I were of him as we watched him nervously sit with the other boys on sunday and willingly pass the sacrament when we knew that he was unsure of how to do it. No complaints. Not one. Just happy to help the other boys share the bread and water. Garrett has become such a wonderful young man. Now given the priesthood by his father and so excited to be a part of scouting. I love this kid so much. He is so loving and patient with his four sisters. Especially Rysa. How she adores her big brother. He allows her to crawl all over him constantly and gently persuades her to do what is right. I loved having a big brother to grow up with and share my life with. She is so lucky, as is her other sisters, to have this particular young man as her brother. Right before his ordination our Bishop asked Rysa if she had a favorite Hymn. Her reply was simply, "Yea, my favorite HIM is Jose." (Pronounced Ho-say for all you non-spanish folk). We were a little confused my this answer so we asked her which Hymn 'Jose' was. She told us it was the boy in her class. "My favorite HIM is Jose!" Oh, now we get it. Alright, can we pick another person to choose the Hymn?

This is Family Night?

Sunday night is the night we have Family Home Evening. It may not be your traditional FHE. Here is what Kenna and Rysa showed up wearing. We aren't too sure what statement the goggles were, but we did have to ask Kenna to remove them while we watched Elder Holland's talk. We thought it might be a good idea for the kids to watch it once more. I highly reccomend it by the way. We are so proud to have Garrett able to finger his way through the primary hymns now, but the costume choices were a little bit distracting. But, at least they showed up happy to have FHE and be together. Family night for us is not too scheduled. We are lucky in our home to get the girls to sit still long enough to learn anything. Between Kenna wanting to take control of everything, and Rysa needing snacks the entire evening, and Garrett hoping to fall asleep as quickly as posible, its pretty challenging. But, maybe a little creative attire is the way to go. Livens things up a bit, don't you think?

The sweet smells of FALL

Ahhhh, the sweet smells of FALL. Some states have that just before it snows smell, others have that smell of rain in the air. Joann's fabrics has that cinnamon smell that is heavenly when you enter the store. I just love fall. I love putting up decorations and having a little bowl of candy corns by the door. Of course, at our house, one of the sweet smells of fall is the heavy scent of STEER MANURE that invades your senses when you walk out the door. My dear hubby is ready to plant our grass and my parents grass. Hence, the large bags of cow plop in my back yard. Don't get me wrong, I love that he is willing to do it because I eventually want an English garden in my front and back yards. But just because my father-in-law says that cow poop is actually the smell of money, doesn't mean that I am as excited to smell it as he is. But, it is one of the smells of fall here at the Despain household. So, I will light my pumpkin scented candle in the house and poor some more candy corns for visiting folks and get ready for FALL. YEE-HAW!!

Can I help you? Yes you can....

Today in my eargerness to fulfill my churchly duty, I picked up Ned's Crazy Sub and hurried back home during my lunch break to meet my Visiting Teaching Companion. As I got to my home I noticed she was already there. As I opened the car door ( I am going somewhere with this, I promise), she sweetly asked if she could help me with the food. I of course replied, "No, I got it!" And isn't that what all mormon women say to everything? I thought I had it. I really did. But as I climbed out of the car I proceeded to drop my large and delicious Diet Dr. Pepper all over my lap, the street, and my car door. Poop.
Why is it that we, as righteous mormon women think first and foremost, "No, I got it." Had I just let her help me I would have still had a drink to sip on. And let's be serious, I of course had refills available in the fridge. But it's just not the same if it's not from the fountain. I know I have a serious attatchment to dark colored delicious, diet beverages, but alas, it makes me smile even more to have one to sip on throughout the day. So my advice for those of you who always say, "NO, I got it," maybe we don't have it all the time. What is it that President Eyring talked about at the Relief Society Broadcast on Saturday? We are supposed to help each other. Even if we think we got it, we might not. We probably don't. But we've trained ourselves into thinking we have it. I say let's just admit we don't have it, band together, and carry each other's beverages. That way, we won't have quite so many spills, wet shorts, and sticky car doors. Can you help me? Of course you can. Here is my pop, thanks for carrying it for me. I love my Visiting Teaching Companion. She accepts me for all the craziness in my life and laughs with me. Thank heavens for the relief society. Will I let her carry my drink the next time she asks me? You'd better believe it.

My little Leilani

Ta-Da!! Would you check out my not-so-green thumb! Leilani is now flourishing amidst the dirty dishes and dish soap that inhabit my kitchen window sill. Against all odds she has conquered the infestation of soil gnats, (yes, they were living in her little pot) and my attempts to transfer her to a larger pot. Today my dear friend DaniLyn came over to help me re-pot my precious guacamole maker. While dumping soil from the bag into the larger pot I discovered some clear round egg shaped balls. I wasn't too sure what they were so I squoze (is that even a word) one and it squirted into both of our eyes. Yuck. If they are bug eggs then I would say that it takes a pretty great friend to wipe bug egg goo out of her eyes and still stay for lunch. Way to go DaniLyn. What is a great friend? Some one who brings you a large drink when your daughter is ralphing on the couch, and helps you re-pot a precious accomplishment, and gets goo in her eyes and still stays to eat with you. What more can I ask in a friend? Not much folks. That's for sure.

What does this picture mean to you? To me, this picture represents the fact that we used to not care what we looked like, how we smelled, or what people thought of us. We used to crawl out of the tent and run down to the creek and catch tadpoles. Content to wipe our noses with our shirt sleeve and dig in the dirt for days. Why can't we do that anymore? I say that we can. And that we should. Dirty bums represent fun, carefree, and happy. I don't exactly want a dirty bum myself, but metaphorically speaking, we should make time for more dirty bums. Life gets in the way and then we turn around and realize our bums haven't been dirty for a while. Time to get dirty, or use our imaginations. Put up sparkly lights and eat a ding dong for heavens sake.

Dragonfly....

Early Saturday morning I found this little guy stuck to our back door. He actually wasn't very small. Probably the largest dragonfly I have ever seen. I thought about how pretty this insect was and how great it was to get to see it up close. Things are definately good here. Family is happy. Kids are progressing. Jeff and I love our callings in the church. What more could we ask for? Not much. Life is pretty interesting. It will throw things at you for no reason. But there are reasons aren't there? It's how we react. I don't always react like I would hope I would. But after great reflection and prayer I can move on. I reccomend a great church cd for that. Inspirational music does wonders. Makes me remember who I am and who I was before I came to earth. I so want to be that person. One day I will. I hope my children want that too. There is so much to experience and so much to be grateful for. Every little moment should be tresured. And SMILE. Alot..... And catch a few dragonflies.......

Ode to Leilani...

Here are my thoughts for the day. Look at how great my plant is doing! She is getting so big. As is the little princess in pink that loves to hold her all the time. This plant sits on the window sill in the kitchen. She seems happy there. She reaches towards the sunlight. I have no clue how to take care of this plant but she doesn't seem to mind. She just keeps growing. My kids are like that. I had no clue what I was doing when I became their mother. I still have no clue. But I trust that if I nuture this plant and love it, regardless of how I think it should turn out, it will turn out. Will it ever be appreciative? Maybe not. That's ok. Would I nourish it anyway? Yes I would. Even if it thinks it doesn't need me, it does. Even if it thinks its being judged by me. I will wait. I will be patient. I will do service. Service saves. I will take care of my other plants while this one goes its own way. And I will wait. Someday it will need me again. Someday it will realize that I just wanted to love it and watch it blossom. Maybe the blossoming will take longer than I thought it should. Maybe this plant will need me later. We shall see....

"Hey mom! Isn't the water beautiful?"

No, I don't think I am an abusive parent. At least not until my youngest said ,"hey mom, isn't the water beautiful?" Marysa told me this weekend that this trip was the best day of her whole life. Believe it or not, my little girls have never seen the ocean until this past weekend. It was amazing. So much fun that I didn't want to come home. That is until I walked in the door to my sweet 15 year old announcing that she did in fact water my avacado plant (now called leilani) and it was certainly growing and thriving. For you green thumbs, I will soon post pictures of leilani. I am so proud of her! Back to the trip! White sand, blue water, no cell phone ringing. I was actually enjoying myself. Now it's back to real life. But we will never forget hunting for crabs on the beach as a family -minus our two older girls who had other commitments. Aloha to all and to all a good Monday night. Read scriptures as a family before bed. It's always a good idea.

Best Friends are the Bestest...

Today I am thinking that I have the most wonderful, fantastic husband ever created. I actually think this all the time. It's just time to share it. After ten years of marriage I still can't wait to see him at the end of the day and I want to spend as much time as possible with him. He won't let me go to bed angry. He let's me drink as much Diet Dr. Pepper as I want without giving me guilt and he totally supports me in my church calling. What more can I ask for? He's so darn cute too! He loves my family and respects them even though we get a little nutsy sometimes and he will do anything to help anyone. How in the world did I get so lucky? I have no clue. This morning we went to Sonic (my favorite drink place) and there was no Diet Dr. Pepper which to someone as addicted as I am is pretty tragic, and he offered to go to another one. Helllloooo! Perfect husband indeed. To top it all off, he's a REAL cowboy and looks awesome in his hat. Oh, I love that man of mine!

I went to London this last Spring. It was beautiful. So green and tons of flowers. I don't have a green thumb, but I can make killer Guacamole. So, while making the guacamole this summer, I decided I would try and plant the avacado pit. And just look, it sprouted. Its brown and ugly, but its mine. I am growing it. I look at it every day. And I absolutely love it! It trusts me. It needs me and it doesn't talk back.

It's a Thursday and all is well!

Perspective...That is the word of the day. I have been given a new perspective. So much in my life takes over every minute. Jobs, church, kids, caprpools, family, ect. SIMPLIFY doesn't quite cut it for me. How? In what way? How about new advice? Turn off the television and have scriptures as a family. There, time together. Precious time together. Then, decide it's alright for your little girls to change their clothes multiple times a day even if you have more laundry later. They are only little once. Build them a stage in their room and let them live it up for as long as they can. We live in Arizona. The hot part. Not much to do outside if there is no pool. So, we can dress up, put on plays and have a band. I will put some pics on here soon. Turn off the tv and have a band. Fall comes soon and then we will ride bikes. Perspective.....Go to Mexico and pray the whole time no one gets abducted my drug dealers. That is this Friday. That is my plan. To enjoy my little ones on the beach and pray no one gets taken. They have never seen the ocean and now is their chance. A wonderful friend has given us the opportunity to go with them and stay in their home. Yipee! I will go, have fun, and again, pray.