Where have I been?

So once again I've been a blogger slacker. Here's a summary of the past couple of weeks:

- I saw "Twilight" with a fabulous group of girls. I must say the audience was quite annoying- too many gasps, screams, talking, etc. for my taste. I guess that's what happens when you go on opening night and there is a total of 2 males in the audience. I of course love the book more than the movie but the movie was still good. It was entertaining and I thought the actress that played Bella did a great job. It was so fun!! Great movie, great company, great dessert (pizookies from BJ's after the movie). What more can a girl want for a night out? It was a blast- thanks girls!!

-I taught my first lesson as MiaMaid advisor- it is my new calling in the ward. I have never been in Young Women's before (at least as an adult) so I was pretty terrified. The girls are so loving and welcoming and so far it's been great. It also helps that I have some great friends in there with me.

-Ben flew to LA for an interview at UCLA for MBA school. He checked out the campus, stayed with his cousin, Joseph, and got a tour of the campus from an old friend, Doug. No news yet as to if he's been accepted- we should hear within a month.

-My birthday was amazing!! Ben was wonderful and gave me what I truly wanted- a break from the kids. I got to sleep in and do nothing. It was WONDERFUL! Then we went and saw the movie "Australia" and oh baby- it was great. Hugh Jackman did not disappoint. The movie was incredible. I loved the music, acting, scenery, story, etc. You have to see it! Then we went over to my parents' house for birthday cake and presents. What a great day!!

-We ate Thanksgiving at my aunt's house. The food was great and my kids weren't completely awful. So all in all the night was a success.

-We put up the Christmas tree (pictures to come), put up the Christmas lights and got all the Christmas decorations out. Danny loved decorating the tree- he got to do it twice, once at my parents' and once at home. I just love this time of year- for many reasons, one of which is I get to put my Willow Tree Nativity out. It is my favorite! (I will have to post a picture.)

-I went shopping on Black Friday. I almost murdered my fellow shoppers but I managed to keep myself in control. I did have some success though and we even got our Christmas shopping done- at least for the kids.

- I got REALLY sick- fever, chills, aches and an AWFUL sour throat. I finally went to the doctor and was told I had Strep Throat. I haven't had it since I was like 10- thank goodness. It was horrible. I could barely swallow, even water. Luckily I got sick after my birthday and afterThanksgiving but while Ben was still at home. So once again my superman husband took over. I sure love that man!

-The boys caught strep. Luckily we caught it really early. As soon as Danny complained of a sore throat I kept him home from school and took him to the doctor. We decided to get Caleb checked too and sure enough- he had it too.

-Both of our cars broke down. The day that I took the boys to the doctor it was snowing really hard outside. I was going super slow, being an anal, cautious driver (I HATE driving in the snow) and I slid into the curb. Luckily I was able to keep driving the extra block to the doctor's office but when I got there I noticed there was a hole in the tire. I called Ben and he was able to come and help. So after we got out of the doctor's office we used "Fix-a-flat", a handy little thing that temporarily refills your tire and plugs the hole. We were able to drive it to a tire shop (SUPER slow) and drop it off. We then transferred the car seats into Ben's car, stopped at Walmart to get the boys' antibiotics, and drove home. As soon as we drove into our garage, Ben's car died. Thank goodness we made it home before it died!

-So I almost lost it last week but we survived thanks to some help- from wonderful friends and from above (meaning from Heaven) =) . We were able to borrow my parent's car to get around and Ben's co-worker took him to work a couple of days. The insurance paid for part of our Nissan's problems- it ended up being a flat tire and bent tye rods ($850) and now it is all fixed! After taking Ben's car into the shop and getting a quote for over $1000, we decided to fix it ourselves. I luckily have a very handy husband. So on his free time (which isn't much considering he's working 50-60 hrs a week) he is working on the car. We have some wonderful friends help us with all of this and things are looking up. Hopefully it should be fixed in the next couple of days.

-I just want to take the time and write down, for my sake, the blessings we have had through all of this. I got sick at a perfect time; we caught the boys' strep throat before it got too bad; my parents generously lent us their car; even though these car repairs will seriously set us back financially- we will still make it; we have wonderful friends who have helped Ben fix the car; and Ben's amazing mind and determination which makes it possible for him to do anything he sets his mind to do.

Sorry for the incredibly long written post- I'll post some pictures soon.