Friends in my Circle

I received an e-mail from a friend of mine titled Girls in My Circle that went on to explain how many different friends we have through out this life - that I have to say I am so thankful for good friends. Of course there are my sisters, sister in-law, cousins, and my Mom who will always be my BFF, but I have also been blessed with good friends that are not related. Stacy was my BF growing up and lived a few houses down. She helped me to learn the American way of life. We grew up and went our different directions, but she always has a place in my heart.
 Michelle, Shelley, Tina, Allison and Denise were my best friends in High School. Michelle and I were room mates our first year at BYU and she taught me a lot about service and kindness. Then I served a mission for my church in Germany and had numerous companions that all taught me something different and helped me grow in many ways. Melda and Fran are so talented and loved the same music as I and were my outing partners to some fun church dances and activities after my mission. Stacy W. was one of my first friends as a newlywed. My friend, Tirsa helped keep me sane when I first moved to Cleveland. Alean taught me how to stand up for my kids when the school board/teacher wouldn’t. Krystal was my pool buddy and helped me to catch the exercise bug. I love how she just didn’t quit. Isaak still talks about his Kaleb friend. Sara was my walking partner/sitter and has an honest view of the world and is not afraid to voice her opinion. Lani was my best next door neighbor and I loved hearing her laugh about funny things our kids did and I always knew that if I didn’t have enough sugar or needed to borrow an egg, she was always willing to share hers. Kathy became my walking buddy our last year in Cleveland and my confidant. She taught me that it is possible to balance life and still do almost everything and have 7 kids at the same time. I loved how Maia and Marin were the best of friends. I met Gerta in Italy when I was 12 and we have be in touch ever since. I am her crazy American BF and she is my crazy Italian BF. Sally is a kindred spirit and has such a sweet way with children, she makes me want to do better. Hatsuho was the sweetest visiting teacher and very consistent. I admire her relationship with her hubby. Troba was wonderful and taught me the fine art of quilting. Kirstin inspired me to scrapbook all my best recipes. Rebecca is the ultimate nice person. She can do anything with material and is an awesome sewer. She inspires me to be a better quilter and all around sewer. Shari is my most organized friend & I love it. There are so many more women who have touched my life, inspired me, and been true friends but I must come to a close. I hope these women know how much I love and appreciate them. I would love to take all of you out to lunch. One more line–even though he isn’t a girl, I must say that through the thick & thin of it my BFF, hands down, is Ranleigh. Sooo many reasons why!

Where is my sweet boy?

With this nasty cold that is going around I have had to take Noah into the Doctor's office for breathing treatments. Now mind you he's done this several times and totally knows the routine but yesterday he instantly changed from a sweet 2 year old boy to a kicking, crying, screaming, tyrant. My attempts to get him to calm down were in vain. I usually have the other kids in the waiting room (which is way in the front of the building) so they can watch cartoons and even they could hear him screaming. Well, he wouldn't stop so I had to recruit Isaak to come & help me. I had to hold him (arms, legs, head) the entire 10 minutes it took to get the treatment administered. I'll tell you, I left the office 2 pounds lighter just from perspiration. It's these moments that I'm sorry I didn't take a picture, so that he and I could be reminded of how wonderful childhood really is.

Fleshman Happenings

So, it's been much too long since I've posted anything. Terrible. My last post was the end of Nov. Well we celebrated Christmas in Utah with lots of family. It had been 9 years since the last time we did that. The kids completely enjoyed themselves being with cousins that they don't see often enough. When we came back our internet server was completely messed up. It took almost 2+ weeks to get it fixed and it still has problems. I'm tired of dealing with it. Well to top it off there is a nasty flu going around the country and our family caught it. I think Noah and I have it the worst and it's hung around for 3+ weeks. I think we got it from going to the emergency room. (Ranleigh cut his hand trying to get some of our pinewood derby cars ready. His hand is healing great!) More to follow, pictures to come. I hope to get back into the swing of things.