WHOA, LIFE! SLOW DOWN!

I haven't posted for a few weeks because of this:

We're moving... this weekend.  Here's our new home:

Isn't it gorgeous?  We are really excited!
And this:

This cold weather is CRAZY!  See the ice?  School (which means Seminary for us home-schoolers) has been cancelled at least 10 times due the cold, ice and snow!)
Anyways, I have been packing non-stop.  But I decided to "reward" myself with blogging if I got over 5 boxes packed in 2 hours.  I did it.  So, here I am.

I've been thinking about role models a lot the last few weeks.  And people I admire.  I also wanted to introduce ya'll to the ladies I work with in the stake Primary presidency.  I admire them and think the world of them!  I'm lucky to get to work with these amazing women:

Monica, Stake Primary President:

Monica is so sweet.  She is humble and a great leader.  She LOVES the children in our stake and it's evident with everything she says and does.  She has five kids and comes from New Mexico.

Dina, Stake Primary 1st Counselor:

Dina is ALWAYS smiling.  She is a convert to the Church and is always saying that she is learning so much about raising children in the gospel from us, but we are the ones that learn from her!  Her testimony is amazing!  She has two grown children and hails from California.

Kim, Stake Primary Secretary:

Kim is a homeschool mother too!  She has four adopted children and is truly an inspiration to me as a homeschooler.  She also enjoys Glenn Beck, like me.  :-)

I also wanted to let ya'll know about a couple of books I just finished reading:

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley was a fun murder mystery.  I haven't read a murder mystery for a long time and it was fun to get into one again.  I read this one for our ward book club, and I enjoyed it.
This book is written for grown ups, although the main character is 11 years old.  Flavia de Luce has a passion for poison, the vocabulary of an adult and a bicycle named Gladys.  Her mother died when she was a baby and her father is extremely distant and more interested in his stamp collection than his three daughters.
The mystery begins with a dead blackbird shows up on the porch of the mansion where the de Luces live with a penny stamp stuck to it's beak.  The next morning, Flavia finds a dead man in the cucumber patch.  Flavia is determined to find out who killed the man with the help of her chemistry knowledge and Gladys.
This book was an enjoyable read.  It's clever and witty.  I think the girls (K2) enjoyed it also!

I also finished reading the first two books in The Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander.  These books are fantastic, and I can't wait to read the next three books in the series.  Although they were meant for a younger audience (5th/6th grade), they can be enjoyed by people of ALL ages.  Taran is a great character and Lloyd does a good job of showing his coming of age throughout the first two books, so far.  There is more wisdom, adventure, and life-lessons contained in these adventure books than most other series.  This is classic good vs. evil at it's best.  These books are full of noble characters, choices and adventure.
I can already tell that I'm going to miss these characters and this story when I finish with the series.  More to come about Prydain soon.  :-)