Dorius Update

Hi! I am tickled that we are all getting more active on here! I had envisioned such and agree with Nicole... we can't be close in person or telephone very often...but we can here! *GRIN*

We are hanging in there. ;) We have started some paperwork for a loan modification for our second mortgage. It could save us hundreds each month. I look back and am not sure how, but we survived from the end of Dec. through April with little to no work for JWD Electric. I know all our credit lines are maxed & our savings is gone... but even that couldn't have gotten us through... It's been hairy. Jess has been working more since April.. not 40 hours a week by any means... but working. :) Tithing brings blessings only the Lord can offer. And we are SO very grateful.

My work is picking up some. We closed on a house across the street from me while we were in Arizona. That makes it so I can get groceries. :) Gave them a huge a deal on commission (family rate because they were going to use us to buy)...only to have it go wrong. It is disappointing to learn how many people want ya to work your guts out for nothing. I keep telling myself it will eventually come back to bless us for being so kind and we will get an honest wage somewhere else. *sigh* I have quite a few possibles... and multiple clients looking/having to sell first etc... but I try to never count my chickens before they hatch... and before I am done and have completely earned what I make. I am still sitting at the Subdivision a couple of times a week. Our builder has a home that will be in the Parade of Homes starting tomorrow... so we are all praying for a pick up! (especially with the new $8k credit!) And I am thankful for the chance to sit down for a minute here though and give ya'll an update while I use up my shift of time here at our "ghetto trailer"! ;)

I like my new calling... though the research is quite time consuming! Emergency Preparedness is a HUGE subject area. Maria and I (my real estate partner, bishop's wife, best friend & co-E.P. specialist) are going to try to get Disaster Plans for the Neighborhood going. It is a BIG undertaking, but we both feel the urgency to do it. Should be an adventure. ;)

Emmalee is growing fast. She wears my shoes now, is almost the same bra size as me(sorry uncles!), is taller than her Gram (Jess' mom) and is dying to not be growing up so soon. She loves homeschooling... and has done more power point presentations on what she has learned than I can count! She was able to be in the same Hope Of America Concert as the boys, and I did get pics that I will post as soon as I can (2businesses plus regular "post-vacation chaos" and that just does not get to be high on the priority list right now darn it!) LOL She loved Arizona! She had a great time with the girl cousins, though the teenage drama was a little more than she could handle...LOL. She is a peacemaker child and does not do well with constant irrational contention. I pray it continues through HER teenage years and we can stay close. :)

Cody is doing awesome! My biggest hopes for his homeschooling career may have been manifest yesterday. One of the things he was struggling with was wanting to play with friends or be social...he always said no! Since starting homeschooling his personality has blossomed! He has such a quick wit and a cute sense of humor! He had one of the kids in our neighborhood call and ask if he could play... the one with severe ADHD that he has completely avoided because he was just too much for Cody's quiet personality. Cody said yes! He went to his house to play... they played there and then came to our house to play! And they played SOO well together!! I was thrilled beyond belief! Cody was so patient with him and they really had a good time. It tickled me to pieces! He of course is excelling in schooling. We have exhausted the interest of DNA and genetic modification...for now...and we are now on to solar energy. *grin* He is almost all done with his Bear book and is really excited for the Weeblos camp next weekend with his dad (they are letting him go because he is close within 30 days of becoming a Weeblos)

Cameron is a pickle. Sometimes he is SO sweet and other times he is a sour puss. He re-broke his arm, hates to do school work for me, is really emotional about his best friend moving the end of June, and could live on the computer playing webkinz, or any other virtual reality type games if we would let him. He gives the best hugs ever, loves you deep and long, and keeps us on our toes. He still has NO sense of time. He has figured out the art of manipulation and is not too crazy about mom and dad's rule of "what did your mom/dad say?". *giggle* We are almost through Alma in his Book of Mormon reading before his baptism next January. (btw - Uncle B & fam: if you'd like to try and come we would LOVE to have you!) He loves Piggies in a Pancake and would eat them for every meal if he could! :)

Caleb. Oh man oh man Caleb. He is so much fun! On the way to AZ he snuck into the snack box (that's what I get for putting it next to him!) and ate an entire GIANT sized Hershey's bar. From Phoenix to Tucson we could not figure out why he would NOT be quiet!! His mouth went a hundred miles a minute! We laughed so hard when we figured it out. The poor boy was on a huge sugar/caffeine rush!! He LOVED AZ and STILL asks if we are in AZ. He loves motel rooms/condos. ?? It is a hoot. Any and all we drive by now he wants to know if we are staying there. LOL! This boy likes vacations! ;)

We really did enjoy our trip to Tucson for Kayelani's Graduation. It was lovely!! It was so fun to see McOmber's so happy to see Grandpa and Margean, and even more so to spend a little time with him and then stay and spend some extra time with them. KK has a really nice boy she is dating and each night the 6 of us adults would stay up and play games until all hours. The last night we were shocked to realize it was almost 3am UTAH time! LOL. I felt so very loved by our Heavenly Father while we were there... it had been in the 100's the week before we went down. It even hit 110 in Phoenix on our car temp gauge as we drove through. We arrived in Tucson to cloud cover... and it stayed the ENTIRE time we did!! It lightly misted rain a few times and never got above 85! Jess and I were both REALLY concerned about how my heart would do... but with the exception of a few times of needing to lay down, my heart did FANTASTIC! Heavenly Father really does create miracles in our lives if we choose to see them that is for sure! Everyone kept saying Tucson weather is NEVER like that. Storms fly in and out and temps roller coaster all over. I was SO greatly appreciative of the tempered weather I can't even explain! What a humbling experience!

We have been working together the last few evenings on building a chicken coop. It is fancy. Jess laughed and said "Son of a Utah Home Builders Assoc Superintendent of the Year had better build a good one!" LOL He is making the plan up as we go... it will end up looking like a little school house I think! The kids and I are debating on painting a bell on the front and making a sign that says "Hen High school" or "Poultry Preschool"! LOL The chickens are doing great! Well... except one. She is still SO tiny! I named her Wilbur. She is a Bandee chicken and looks like she has only grown a week since we got her! Jess had to give her a bath the other night because she was so pooped on. She is the sweetest little thing and holds her own though!

We added to our zoo-like qualities while in AZ. The kids wanted a gecko and I made the mistake of saying "if you can catch one you can keep it". Ha ha on me. We now have a lovely little Mediterranean House Gecko. His name is Gilligan, Gilligan the Gecko. Cody is officially in charge of him and LOVES it! Now we have chickens, a Yorkie, 3 frogs, a tankful of fish, a gecko and a hamster. My life is complete?? Bwahahahah

Katina... I will add peace for you all to my prayers as well. That seems like the only real avenue available at this exact moment - and I hate to say it - but wouldn't that just burn *her* up to know she has not effected you and your family? It makes her seem more like the problem that she is as well! Your children will feel your peace and WANT to stay. ((hugs)) and prayers!

Nicole... I really appreciate all you have written. You are much more than a sister-in-law that is for sure! I feel so blessed to have 3 wonderful sisters on this side of my family now! I know we have had our baggage as a family, but I know we are stronger for it. And we have a history all our own that is for sure! :) May God Bless the Stoddard family as we strive to be closer and honor and support one another in our struggles!

Thanks for reading this novel! WOW! I DO need to update more often! And I will have pics soon as well!! Gotta run! Home Depot is calling... LOL!