I wanted to write so much more last night but my eyes refused to let me.

Yesterday the weather was beautiful and I had no extra kids. I worked out with Pops, the windows were open and the smell of fresh air spread throughout the house. Seriously, is there a better way to start off the day then feeling the breeze on your back while sweat drips from your forehead and you're being encouraged to push yourself a little harder by the one you love while at the same time you're encouraging him to push harder also. Both striving to be a better you. It's amazing what a good & reliable workout partner can do for you. I love that 60-90 minutes we're able to spend together each morning.

By 11am the weather was still perfect so I took Boss and Crate for a walk and Alyssa and Ellinor came along with us also. I could spend the entire day out side and never get tired of it.

Pops knew it had been a busy week, I was gone somewhere Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night and had a camp meeting Thursday night so our time as a family was limited this week. He offered to take us out for a late lunch/early dinner while we tagged along with him on work errand. So once Buster was done with school we picked him out headed out for the errand and made a stop by my absolute favorite lunch spot at the moment...Paradise Bakery. It was de-lish and enjoyable being together as a family.

That night I headed to the camp meeting alone while Pops kept the boys entertained here at home. Poor Crate was still feeling sick but loved being held by Pops.

This morning started off early at 5:15am for the legs and back workout. I woke up with a tweaked back. Not sure what I did exactly but it was an uncomfortable feeling. I pushed through it. Big mistake. It was time to take Buster to school so we headed out to the van, turned it on and no go....The van was making this horrible noise and wouldn't be able to drive. Lovely. It was working totally fine last night.

Went to school in the truck. Pops checked out the van but didn't know what was going on. Tow truck came and towed it to the dealership. Boss loved watching that take place. Phone call from the dealership and the warranty expired 800 miles ago. That's like two weeks ago. The cost, quite large, would be out of our pocket. Lovely. By this time I was having a hard time walking around the house because of my back. Double Lovely. I was in pain, our savings was taking a hit and Crate is still sick. It has been a long week. Business is having its ups and downs. The day is not turning out to be the best day ever. I hoped to go to the chiropractor but Pops would be gone all day with the truck. I stood in the kitchen and counted my blessings. It went something like this:

1. I'm grateful to have a car to drive.
2. I'm grateful for no car payment.
3. I'm grateful to have a savings account with money in it.
4. I'm grateful Crate's body is fighting off this bug on its own.
5. I'm grateful Pops is gone and out with a potential client.
6. I'm grateful the van stopped working here at home and not when I was out on the road.
7. I'm grateful to be making cookies for Easter right now because that means I have family to share them with.
8. I'm grateful I live close enough to Busters school so I can walk and pick him up.
9. I'm grateful I remembered to pull out my sunglasses from the van before the tow truck took off.
10. I'm grateful I have good health and know that my back will be back to normal soon.

After I covered all these points and many more I no longer fretted about the $$ for repairing the van, my back pain, Crate's sickness...it'll all be over soon and I'm glad it came in three's today, it always does.

I could not help but to think of the Hymn #241...Count Your Blessings. Today I counted and again found I have many more blessings than I do trials.

My back is pretty bad, so bad I can't stand up straight and I have a hard time holding Crate. Hopefully I can get into Dr. Bigler Monday. I'm grateful it's conference weekend and Pops is around tonight and tomorrow for most the day. He's been taking good care of me and the boys tonight. I'm grateful I have good counselors who took over the job of feeding the young women tomorrow at their house instead of mine. It's time for the traditional conference breakfast. I can't believe it's been six months since the last general conference. Crate wasn't even born...I was waiting patiently for him he was already 5 days late when the young women were over here for our last breakfast.

I did the dreaded thing this afternoon...I totally didn't want to because of my back and the fact that I didn't want to argue with the boys but I did it. I cut their hair again. Not sure why it has to be such a big deal. But oh man, they sure do look handsome once it's done. I bribed with cookies and dollar bills. One of each for each of them. I even trimmed up Crate's hair around the ears. He didn't sit still. That didn't go well.

I'm excited it's conference tomorrow. I'm excited it's conference weekend. I'm excited to go to bed now.