It only took 5 years but........

I have finally gotten my KitchenAid that I have been asking Dennis for, for the last 5 years! My grandparents sold us their barely used one for a great price. Dennis asked me to make him some homemade bread, receipe compliments of my friend Jen. I decided to make my homemade mac n cheese to go with that yummy french bread. I can't wait to make cookies, cupcakes and of course more bread!!!!!

I am having a very difficult week...so what does one do when they are having a difficult week? Well, go to the temple of course. I have never had such a burning desire to go to the temple before until this week. It was our ward temple night on Friday night and it has been on my calendar and has been on my mind all week. Whenever I found myself down this week I said to myself, I need to go to the temple, I need to go to the temple. So lastnight I went to the temple with a full heart and I poured it all out to my Father In Heaven and I asked him to make my burden light.

The coolest thing happened last night and it was a very awesome spiritual experience. I have not been feeling very close to the Lord lately and I haven't been feeling the spirit very much. This has been very hard on me because I have felt alone and unguided at a time where I need our Heavenly Father more than ever. Before I got to the temple I said a prayer that I would be able to feel the spirit and know that I am not alone. For the purpose of keeping things sacred I am not going to go into detail but there was a point that I was reminded of my great grandmother, tears came to my eyes as I felt the spirit overwhelm me and then I was we were walking to one of the rooms, I saw an elderly woman come out of a room that looked exactly like my great grandmother, I had to do a double take, then again I felt the spirit again.

I left the temple feeling at peace. My Heavenly Father is aware of me and he is right there going through this with me. There must be some big lesson I am supposed to learn from all of this and slowly I am learning but I can't wait for my miracle to be in my arms. For now I will think about my baby being up there with our Father in Heaven waiting to come meet his parents.

I Just Want to be a Mommy!

Infertility SUCKS! It is even more difficult when friend after friend has baby after baby and you are left with empty arms. Next month marks our 4 year mark of trying to become parents....I really didn't think it would take this long. We have been working with our fertility specialist Dr. Binor out of Copley for almost a year and I absolutely adore the man! We started doing treatments in June of this year after years of just trying and waiting and talking about adoption. I just had an appointment with him a few weeks ago and he would like to move on to IVF. It scares me just because of all the meds you have to be on and having to go under to remove my eggs. I used to be afraid of doctors, needles and the thought of going under. When we first started this "infertility journey" I told myself I would not undergo IVF. Now 4 years later I am ready to go but a little nervous. It is funny how wanting something so bad makes you change the way you feel about it! The crappy thing about this whole situation is that I lost my job back in June, the job with killer almost to good to be true insurance that covered everything. Well Dennis new job offers insurance. However, said job's insurance does not cover infertility treatments, meaning I have to take Cobra from my previous employer totalling a whopping $500 a month just for me! Really! Why is this fair? Did we ask to not be able to have children the conventional way? Why do we have to pay oddles and oddles of money just to have a child of our own? There should be some relief given here, its not our fault.
So for the past 4 years, I have been a big emotional grump who is jealous of any pregnant woman that comes into my radius. I am hit with struggle after struggle to become a parent and sometimes I ask myself if I am ever going to get that chance? I just want to be a mommy!

Bon Jovi, My Cousins wedding & A Week with Cousins

Bride & Groom

My Aunts & I

Cousins

Grandma & I

Me, Grandma & Aunt Trish

Bon Jovi

Representing the Hawks!

The cousins

...This blog apparently needs and update on what I have been up to lately. I feel as if summer has just started but somehow it is coming to end. I seriously don't know where in the world the time has gone! So it may appear that I have done nothing eventful this summer but alas, I have done it in true Tara fashion, cramming it all in at once! On July 30th, just a day after returning from girls camp, Dennis and I went to the Bon Jovi concert @ Soldier Field. This was the first time in our married life we have gone to a concert together and it was our first & only date night in July as Dennis has been extremely busy with work. Matter of fact, I think it was the only time in July that we got to a have a conversation that didn't involve falling asleep mid sentence! Our seats were so high up, we had a great few of Navy Pier. I LOVE the city at night. Bon Jovi put on a great show and it was nice to spend time with my hubby for a change.

Fast forward 2 days later to Sunday.....we attended the wedding of my cousin Anthony and his gorgeous bride, Elise. The ceremony was very nice and the reception was alot of fun.

The next morning I left to go spend a week with my cousins at my grandparents house. It was nice to just lay around and visit but I was happy to come home and sleep in my own bed, plus two weeks away from the hubby was starting to make me miss him. So there you have it folks, proof that I have been up to something lately!

Girls Camp 2010

This last week I completed my third year at Girls Camp. This year we went to Lafayette Indiana. The camp was very nice and we had a very busy three days! Lots of spiritual experiences and lots of fun was had by our ward. Of course, it rained the last night, as it always does when we go to camp. We actually had to take all of our stuff down the night before and sleep in the dining hall since we had to be up and gone from camp before 7:30 so the rain was no big deal, it just haulted our camp fire, yellow feather ceremony and smores but being in the dining hall together was cozy and fun. My highlight of camp was running from shower to shower (in swimsuit) with Morgan trying to get a hot water because we showered on night after everyone else did! We also met Sister Taylor from Joilet 1 ward sho is down right hilarious. She should be a comedian. During dinner she had me almost choke from how hard I was laughing as she was telling stories. It was a great time! Can't wait till next year.....rumor has it we are going to the same camp.

Preschool Table

I bought this adorable table today for my preschool. I am thinking about buying a second one. I scored this beauty for $50 on Amazon. They have an easel that matches for just $35 that will be my next purchase.

Time Hog

My time has been stolen and the culprit is this cutie.......
He takes up all of my time cuddling, laughing and playing with me!

My sister her fiance & my nephew Luca moved in with us about 3 weeks ago and I am more than thrilled to get to play with my nephew all the time!

A rumble in the night

Last night I was woken up and kept awake by pounding rain, loud obnoxious thunder and eye blinding lightning. I hate being woken up this way. Needless to say, I am really tired today now

Opposites attract

St. Croix

Dominican Republic


Verona Italy

We have a dilema...I really really really want to take a vacation everytime I turn around but Dennis wants to save all of our money and do nothing with it, just let it sit and pile up and take vacations later in life. What if i die before I get to spend it? I on the other hand want to spend it and travel the world. Is there anything wrong with wanting to see the world before you die? At this rate, I will die a rich woman who never saw anything past Illinois!

P.S. I don't mind saving money, but really? To the point of never taking a vacation until I'm 40??

I'm a business owner and I like what the future holds!

Ladies & gents, Little Orckids Preschool is open for business! Website has been created @ littleorckidspreschool.weebly.com. Classes start in September. Now on to finishing the room (pictures to soon follow) and marketing.

Wish me luck...... :)

Cubs game

I am way late in posting this one but better late than never. Dennis and I attended our very first Cubs game (sad I know since we have lived here our whole lives). We were able to support our friend, Laura, who has battled and beat Breast Cancer. It was a fundraiser event for her walk for breast cancer. We went with the Giacominos & Sedlaceks. It was great to jump on the train that morning and spend the whole day in the city without a care in the world, or a check of the watch.

It's baaaacccckkkk

The coughing and weezing and oh I feel like crap and all I want to do is sleep....is back again. I mean its not like I really enjoyed having it for 4 months and missed it so much I wanted it to come back! Why did it have to come back so soon? Really? I think this weather has something to do with it. I really don't want pneumonia again, it was not fun!

Found on a friends blog and I really liked, so I borrowed...thanks Kiera

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with perfectly manicured fingernails.

I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.

I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing my neighbor's lawn.

I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children.

I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.

I want to be there with the children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.

I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Well this has never happened before.....

I have never gotten the opportunity to have more than one interview in a hiring season before, I am actually lucky if I even get one. Well today I recieved a call from Amy Drayper at Echlerberger Elementary in Plainfield. She was calling to schedule me for an interview for the kindergarten position that I applied for. My jaw dropped when I heard her message and said shut the front door! So I called her back and I have an interview on Thursday afternoon. How crazy is it that I have 2 interviews within a week of each other, both for kindergarten! I still haven't heard back from my prinicpal yet to see if I made it to round 2 of interview at LC where I am now....the interview went exceptionally well and I should be hearing from him in a day or so.

Excitement!

Fingers and toes crossed, I have an interview Thursday for a kindergarten job at my current school! I am sooooooooo excited!!!!!!!!

Something is missing

Does anyone else ever get tired of feeling like something is missing?

3 weeks ago Monster got neutered and this picture reminded me of it. Although Monster isn't a cat, its still funny!
And from the whole experience I will NEVER make an animal go through that again!

Just when you feel like giving up.....

My favorite talk from conference this year was by James B. Martino. His talk was about Trials. There could not have been a better time for me to hear this talk. Here are the highlights.

* How we react to difficulties determines our success.
* Not when we face them BUT how we face them
* Trials help us develop traits & attributes like out Father
* We grow from experiences but challenge is seeing the eternal perspective as we go through them.
* 5 things can be learned from the Savior
1. Will of Father- he was commited even through his trials
2. Don't complain or murmur- Ask What am I to do? Change? Learn? not ask Why Me?
3. Seek help from God- this helps strengthen us and ease the burden
Don't become bitter, become faithful
4. Serve others- it helps us forget out problems and helps strengthen ourselves
5. Forgive others/Don't pass the blame onto them.

We also got to sing I Know My Reedemer Lives during Sundays afternoon session. I was very thankful that Conference fell on Easter this year, it made it all the more special. I was thankful that I got to hear such wonderful messages from a prophet of God and the General Authority of the church. My faith has been strengthen because I listened.

Everywhere in nature we learn the lesson of patience and waiting.
We want things a long time before we get them and the fact that we
wanted them a long time makes them all the more precious when they come.
-Joseph F. Smith

Meet the newest member of the Larson family

After much contemplation and a year of looking, we have decided to add another car to our family, a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder and we are in love with it!