We made it. whew.

Mom and Dad left a week ago. I was a little apprehensive at first. As the week went by I had moments of anxiety and many moments of peace. I couldnt believe it. We had great week. The kids were wonderful. We only had one day when things went a little haywire. We rectified the situation and moved on. I am so proud of the kids. They handled the week perfectly. This week we are going to try to do better at getting chores done. We missed a few things, and I got them caught up this weekend. I can see how if they will really rise up to the challenge things will really run smoothly in the next couple of weeks. I am sure we will have weeks when things dont go so smoothly but I hope that we will always be able to get back on track and continue moving forward.
I was amazed this week at the passion, emotion and controversy that the political scene has brought on. Truly we must be in a battle of good and evil. There has sure been a lot of talk about proposition 102, or the marriage proposition. I spent the day reflecting on my personal committment to this issue. It is hard because I think that my initial response is to not rock the boat. I have a couple of friends that are gay and would like to have the same priviledge as we do. It is hard since my marriage turned out so badly. I did decide that marriage is of God, not that I ever questioned that, and trying to get it through alternative means is the adversary distorting our views. I love these people and they are wonderful individuals that offer a lot of good, but what they are doing is wrong. I would hope that someday I am able to find someone that loves the gospel and really magnifies the priesthood that will give me another opportunity to fulfill the marriage covenant the way it was meant to be. I have, and will continue to try to represent the gospel in a way that is pleasing to my savior. I am convinced that it is now that we have to be strong and secure in our morals and we can no longer sit on the sidelines and watch. Now is the time to step up and take firm stands on what we believe in and not compromise anything. I think the strong show of emotion is another indicator as to how important the issues are. I enjoyed Jackies blog about the election. I was amazed at the emotion it sparked. I was thrilled with the conviction. It will be interesting to see how it all turns out. I finally have some hope back as to the direction our futures may take.
I got a much needed camera this week. It was fun to play with. I took it to work hoping to figure it out. As you can see, I have a very exciting job. It seems everyone else had time to play with it. I still need to sit down and read the manual
so that I know how it works and can use it.

Yes, I got the spoiler on my car. It seems I love it more all the time. I got to fill it up with gas. WOW. I was actually giddy at the pump. I figured that I got about 22-23 mpg. What a change over 14mpg. It was almost fun to fill it up.
Stephen and I spent the weekend getting the yard into shape and revamping our relationship. It has been an interesting couple of months. He is definately exercising his adolescence. This is going to take some getting used to. I have to change the way I do everything it seems. He is much more direct in his tactics of trying to get "His" way. I am relying on my Love and Logic more each day. The girls went with their dad for the weekend. I have missed them. I cant wait for them to get home to see how their activity days stake event went. I miss sharing their activities. It is hard to let them go, but I know it is a good exercise for life. It seems I learn more each day than they do. I hope someday we will all look back and be grateful for what we have learned through all these experiences.