Savannah's ramblings

Hi everybody.

Well like 3 weeks ago my school teacher had a loss of her stepfather, so one afternoon (right after my lunch recess) another third grade teacher named Mr. Shields told us this when we came in. I felt bad and felt like I wanted to cry. And Joy is my teacher's real name wasn't there for two days.

In school every year they do a talent show. And tomorrw I'm trying out tomorrw which is 2-1-08, I'm sared. Goodluck or break a leg!

Last Saturday my family went to Mesa for Chandler's baptims. Chandler likes me {well beacuse I'm one year older than him of course}. I think it is cool. He said he wanted me to live with him so I don't forget him but I won't. And I won't for get Amber. I wanted to take a picture of her and she put her hand in front of her face and said no pictures but I convined her to let me take one so I got one. Chandler showed me his school. And it was fun.

Jobs, Houses, and Cars

After posting this earlier today and seeing how long it was I have decided to post the Readers' Digest Version.

I have been haunted at nights by three specific areas that have a huge impact on our lives: jobs, houses, and cars.

Jobs- Joe and I have been married for just over 11 years and job/career wise he has had four very different jobs. 1. Discover Card- about 6 years. 2. Teaching- 3 full school years (The job he says he really loved, but not the politics) 3. Edward Jones- just over 1 1/2 years. (For those who haven't heard- He was forced to resign Monday on this week.) 4. Yesterday he accepted a job for a company called ETeleCare and will start Monday.

Ultimately he would love to return to teaching in a school classroom.

Houses- We bought our first home in Glendale about three months before Rebecca was born. The monthly payments were about the same for a two bedroom apartment where we were living. It was a good LITTLE starter house. House Number Two- In El Mirage just before Joe was born. Big house, everything picked by us, but BAD neighbors. Current House- In Surprise since April 05. While the house is much smaller than the last one, the neighborhood is way better. We have done more in this house to make it "home" than we have done anywhere. I am fine with the amount of room, we just have too much JUNK! I really hope that we will be able to stay here for a long while, because I really like the location and the neighbors we have a much better than the last ones.

Cars- I came into my marriage with my shadow and Joe came with a VW Bug. I think for the more part mine was a great little car.

Our first car together was A Ford Escort. That car was just bad from the beginning. Our second car was a Mini-van. Then just after our warranty expired the head gasket blew and that was going to be a major repair. So we traded it in for car number three- A Malibu which turned into a 2002 Chevy truck. Joe and I both have always wanted a truck, but boy they are gas guzzlers. Now it is 2006 and baby number four is on the way and my shadow has seen better days. So in December 06 we said goodbye to the only steady thing we have ever owned and hello to car number four- A Chevy Impala. The Impala is very nice and has become the "family car". Yes, it is very full with everyone in it.

Now with a bigger family and Joe's huge commute he is itching to get a different car. That will mean goodbye truck and hello car number five.

Will the days of change ever stop or are we creatures that thrive on a change? I think we need help and fast!

Kiley Update

We took Kiley to her 4 month check-up on Thursday. She weighed in at 12 pounds 11 ounces and stretches to just shy of 26 inches. In percents, she is like 28 for weight and 90 for height. So according to the Dr. she is a tall, skinny girl. I am so glad that I took her to see him I never would have figured that out on my own. He said that based upon my answers to a bunch of questions and from what he sees she is doing just fine. We have concerns about the amount of stinky gas she has and he told me to look at my diet and cut back on dairy and or chocolate and see if that helps. Now they don't recommend you start giving them solid food until they are 6 months but she has already had a little bit of cereal and fruits. What he doesn't know wont hurt him.

In other updates with her, she has learned to roll over both ways and she slept for about six hours straight two nights in a row. I hope she keeps that up but it seems that I will also have to re-teach myself to sleep all night.

We all think she is such a cutie and it is a good thing for her because it keeps her from getting in trouble during those late night/early morning hours.

Savannah's recap

Last Sunday I had 2 new teacher one was Sister Hunsaker and the other one was Sister Szilagyi.
They gave us a Book of Mormon when I brought my scriptures. When I came home for church and told my mom and dad about the scriptures, dad said to use mine. That day was very fun. But I was so shy. But it was sad to leave my CTR8 teachers they were cool. And that was my first Sunday with my new well new people for me to know.


Wednesday

At school on Wednesday all the third grade classes had a 2nd semester birthday party we ate cupcakes. Then just our class got cookies and donuts and got to watch Lion King. Then at 3:00 our class went home.

Thoughts to Ponder

Rebecca has been keeping a journal at school and in it her teacher has been having them write down daily thoughts. We have picked out our favorites and thought we would share them with you.

• When we seek to discover the best in others, we somehow bring out the best in ourselves.
• Successful people are positive people.
• If you think you have not faults, that makes one more.
• A good place to find a helping hand is at the end of your arm.
• When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.
• The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.
• If you can do something with your eyes closed, it's time to find something new.
• The game of life is a lot like football; you have to tackle your problems, block your fears, and score points when you get the opportunity.
• The difficulties of life are intended to make us better, not bitter.
• You can't get much done by starting tomorrow.
• If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?
• No rule for success will work if you don't.
• You can't change the past, but you can ruin a perfectly good present by worrying about the future.

Holidays Recap

I will attempt to recap our Christmas and New Year's for your reading enjoyment.

Christmas- Joe's family has two must do traditions for Christmas. The first is a family talent show followed by a visit from the man in the red suit. Our girls love to sing so Dad and the kids sang Angels We Have Heard on High while I accompanied them on the piano. The other tradition is a re-enactment of the nativity while someone reads from Luke 2. This is always done on Christmas Eve. This year Rebecca was an Angel, Savannah was one of two Marys, Little Joe was the only Joseph, and Joe was the narrator.

As for Christmas with the Lofgreen Family it was very quiet. We were recruited to go Christmas Caroling with Mom and Dad again this year. I think my mother is the only person who still believes in Caroling. I am not sure what my family thinks about it but we have done it for a number of years. Without any silbings and their families visiting for Christmas things were done differently this year. Instead of us bring Christmas to Mom and Dad's they brought Christmas to us. They (along with Karena) got up Christmas morning and loaded their gifts into the car and drove around to visit each child that lives here (AZ). So we exchanged gifts with them at our house and then met up with everyone for dinner at Mom's.

As for a who got what: (Best gift)
Dad- Sparky License Plate
Mom- New warming throw (a heated blanket)
Rebecca- MP3 Player
Savannah- Mom's old HP Digital Camera (she takes it everywhere with her)
Little Joe- 3 Transformers
Kiley- a Gym to lay under

New Year's- We spent New Year's Eve with Mom and Dad at their house. Mom had invited everyone here over for dinner and games but we ended up being the only ones that made it. They also invited over a new convert to the church and her two girls. The adults and Rebecca played games while the other kids just played whatever. I really enjoyed playing the games that we did and we even got Dad to play with us! Time went by fast because we were all having such a good time. I decided that I did not want to have to drive home (45 mins) at 1am so we stayed the night. It was nice not to have to drive home but I have to say I did not sleep well. I don't like that bed in Grandma's old room. (I am glad I don't have to sleep on it unless I want to. :P)

Well I think that does it for our holiday excitement! Hope it wasn't too much of a bore.

Out with the old and in with the new!

With the new year I have done it as you can see- gone more hi-tech! In attempts to improve relationships with siblings and extend family members I have joined the list of bloggers.

When Karena started college my girls and I began writing weekly updates to her. After a few weeks I began to think that I should include the rest of my siblings, so I began sending my updates to all of my immediate family members. This worked pretty good at first and I was excited to see that others began to follow my lead. While I enjoyed reading about the lives of my siblings and their families I was sad because not everyone participated. I admit that some weeks were harder to write about than others, but we tried. Slowly it became maybe once a month and then I just stopped. I am not sure why I stopped.

Then a few months ago Debra had the idea and started up a family group website. I was excited about the site as it was her attempt to restart what I had started and let go. In the beginning the site was visited frequently and used by a few of us but since the postings of Thanksgiving Day plans not much has taken place there. And that is what has ultimately brought me here.

So we invite you to stop by and read whenever you get the chance and we request nothing in return but that you enjoy reading about our little family.

Emily