Waz up from Washington

Christmas Time is here

2011-12-04T21:21:00.000-08:00

I would like to think that most people love Christmas time, but either way, I know that I sure do! I'm looking forward to getting a tree and decorating, but something that I'm really excited about are the opportunities to share what matters most to me, my beliefs in Christ, and also service to others. Tonight I was so inspired by the Christmas Devotional messages shared by the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I placed another link off to the side for it too so that it can be viewed all month by anyone. What really hit me was probably to personal to really be appreciated by others, but that is fine. I will say, however, that there was a part about how recognizing the many gifts that Christ gives us in our daily lives will help us give good gifts to others. So, I have a goal to write them every day. I may share many on this blog too, but I hope we could all give ourselves such a gift of recording God's hand each day this month and letting His blessings bring us all the joy they were meant to bring to us.

"For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift."

Doctrine and Covenants 88:33

Our Cruise November 7th to 11th

2011-11-27T22:00:00.000-08:00

I can hardly believe that I can say I have gone on another cruise, but I am so grateful to be able to say that! Nathan and I have been working so hard with our other business that we had hardly seen much of one another. In fact, the flight over to Miami, or rather the 3 flights, were really fun and nice just because we got to be with each other! We first stayed in South Beach at the Miami Beach Spa and Resort. It did not disappoint! What a great time at the beach and eating at the nice restaurant and touring South Beach shops with friends and hubby! Then it was off to the Cruise ship and we headed out to sea to Freeport Bahamas. Our first stop was also so amazing! We went to the Wyndham Resort with Brooke and Dallas and took a Limo ride there and back to the port. We were so happy to find that they had a Trapeze to try out. Well, at first we were nervous, but it really was fun! And the food at the Resort was so great! My favorite was the rum nut ice cream... oh wow! We took our time out on the sea Kayaks and then we danced at the jammin pool party and drank some fruity drinks (non alcoholic, although I shouldn't admit that if anyone sees me dancing in my swimsuit by the pool!) Ok, so there wasn't a party, but we made it one I tell you what. We all thought the day was FABULOUS!
The next stop was at the Atlantis Resort in Nassau, Bahamas. I need to get the pictures off Nathan's phone of this, but the sharks and aquariums were super cool and the rides were pretty exciting! My favorite was the "lazy river" that had a lot of fun rapids and a sweet ride at the end of it! This day was really so fun too because all of us who went on the cruise (12 other people we know) all went with us to this "excursion". We felt like little kids again, but even more so the next day when we went to Great Stirrup Cay. We snorkeled and ate lunch on the island, then we played "king of the huge blow up raft thing". After we all fell off, again, 10 or 12 of us, the guys started to see how long they could stand on top alone before they fell of from the rough waves. I think they made it about 4 seconds or so maybe.
The times on the boat were also epic. We seemed to really get into all the game, magic, and dance shows that they had. Watching Dallas's Dad was pretty darn funny!

Its hard to record so much of a whole week away, but it was needed, wonderful, and I am so grateful we got to go!!

Fall is Fabulous with Grandpa Dave!

2011-11-27T21:27:00.000-08:00

I love how they posed for this one

Jess always first to ride the horses!

Making "leaf angels"

A pumkin in the strawberry patch, even though its so cold, a few strawberries kept growing!

Always love the four wheeler! I felt it was pretty darn FREEZING myself!

Could it really be fall without a ride in the leaves inside Grandpa Dave's little traler?

Playing in the leaves

Ward Trunk or treat

2011-10-29T17:28:00.000-07:00

I love this picture! Jessica is a cat, our neighber Kyli is a queen, Natlaie is a fairy, and Jacob is Optimis Prime.
Aren't they so cute?!

My "go to" witch costume that I am every year I dress up. I do make a good witch, huh?

My favorite women! These are my life savers, my presidency in Primary. They are simply amazing and I love them!

This is Jessica and our neighbor and good friend, Peyton. What are they doing? They are fighting.
Its play fighting, but it was so funny! Peyton refuses to be girly and so was appropriatley dressed as batman, which was perfect since Jessica looks like catwoman. I could hardly get them to stop fighting to snap a normal picture!

They are so adorable! BFF's for sure!

This is Peyton's adorable little brother...

....and adorable little sister! Man, we have cute neighborhood children! And, may I say, the cutest kids in all the Primarys in the land. :)

October Fun!

2011-10-29T17:15:00.000-07:00

looking for the perfect pumpkin

On top of the haystack pyramid

This time of year is fun for families! I love the traditions that fall and winter bring. One tradition I like is to go to a pumpkin patch. This year I only attended with Natalie for the Kindergarten field trip, but that still counts. It was a beautiful, crisp, fall day.

She found it!

I love how she glows like an angel with a reindeer behind her as well.

My good friend Emily's daughter, Berkley is at my left. She is so cute!

Petting a cute little cow.

New blog

2011-10-10T22:56:00.000-07:00

Okay, in an attempt to have a better attitude about cleaning my house, I started a new blog. It's called "I [will] love to clean".
Go here to help me get it going -thanks!

FOOTBALL

2011-10-10T22:53:00.000-07:00

Dare I ever say that I am now a FOOTBALL FAN?? What? I know, I'm finally almost cool or something....or something.

So, last week Nathan and I went to an NFL game! We got tickets to the Seahawk game in Seattle from our awesome friends in AR (thanks again K family). So, I didn't grow up in one of those "Football families". No, and the super bowl was my favorite day in January because it meant there would be some rockin food. However, I DO love to watch games in real life over t.v. and NFL is pretty sweet to even a none football knowing person that I WAS.

So I was super duper whooper excited to go with my hubby on our very long date, leaving the kids with Grammy and grandpa Sat. afternoon, and seeing them again late Sunday evening. We stayed with our friends, the Dickson's, who used to live here in our ward and moved about 8 months ago. On the drive up to Seattle, I got a complete over view of who all the players are in football from the quarterback, to the center, to the running back, receivers, offence, defence, etc. And I was told all about the 1st, 2nd downs, etc. Okay, after a LOT of concentration on my part (hey, I really wanted to figure out this game for once in my life), I felt I had a good base of what to look for in my real life game. As we entered the stadium, it was HUGE with so many screaming fans. It was so loud and I was immediately excited, thrilled, and in awe. We found our seats and I jumped right into it. First thing I noticed was that at the very beginning of the game, everyone was already intense on how it was going. It had BARELY started and they were so mad about how some of the plays went. At first it seemed that they hardly moved, so what was the big deal? I wanted to figure this out, so I paid close attention to the game, trying to remember what I was taught. After the first quarter, I was starting to get the gist of it, and by half time, I felt I really got the over all idea and I was excited. I was not, however, excited that we were losing. I wasn't sure how the rest of the game would go, but it got more and more intense as we came back around. At the very end, I found myself screaming just as loud as everyone else. If we could get a field goal, we would win by 1 point, but it was 61 yards, and that was just a bit too far. I was so mad! They had just got penalized for stepping over the line too soon and if it hadn't been for those 5 yards lost, they may have one! Well, by then it was all very clear to me why the game is important from the very start. It all adds up. If they screw up at any given point, it has an effect latter on in the game that can easily be the difference between winning or losing. I can complain all I want about that one penalty, but it could have been another mess up anywhere along the line. Someone else not doing their part, not playing their very best, or losing sight of the ball or a player, etc. All I know is suddenly, I LOVE FOOTBALL! It really is like life! If we think we have the rest of the game to make up for our mistakes, like we have plenty of time, we are setting ourselves up for great difficulty, and easily the cost of the win. Another reason I am a fan? I am so excited to FINALLY get it! And, since I get it, the third awesome thing is that I can watch it on TV! With my hubby! Ok, I totally got this buzz now and it is so fun! Also, the stupid Falcons got killed by the Packers last night... so there for beating my Seahawks - Ungh!

Had to get the official NFL get up!

Had to eat the expensive stadium fair!

Had to take a bunch of pictures!

Yep, I'm a football fan.

Our trip to Seattle

2011-09-18T18:48:00.000-07:00

Since my family had come up from UT, we planned a really fun trip up to Seattle. My mother happens to love to travel so it was mostly her doing. :) She reserved some nice "cabins" up in Anacortes and also reserved days to go Whale watching by the San Juan Islands.
The placed we were staying was fun because we were able to walk over to the shore and search for sea shells and also to the club house right next to it. There were a lot of games set up to play, including darts, which I'm pretty good at I must say, and ping pong, which I am not good at I must say.
There were also some nice bike trails around the place we stayed and we went on some walks together. It was so peaceful and fun to soak in how much I love my family. Nathan can be so cute with the kids, and pretty funny too! I think at one point he grabbed a huge branch and chased them with it as if he would have hit them with it. As amusing as I find him, however, I had a complete laugh attack the night we all played "scum" together with my sisters.

Destination Bridge is so pretty! In fact, I would never had known a bridge could be so cool!

So naughty!

SEE?

We had been counting down together to see it, so we really needed a shot together! :)

My sister Connie.... Ha ha! it was cold!

Ready to set sail!

Jessica loving the views and my sweater to keep her warm!

Mr. Hotness

Magoo

Isn't my Mommy so cute?!?!

My Dad is cute too :) In a much goofier way of course

Don't we look so snuggly? Our favorite thing to do! ;)

Jacob happy to tour the boat

Group shot!

And.... don't blink..... that was the whale - see it?

Natlaie so adorable in Daddy's sweater!

This Chowder Bar is where we ate dinner after the boat ride, and we had a LOT of fun taking
funny photos with their props!
AS you can see below...

Thee Pirate Sisters... arrwww

My little sister Lindsey. Hey these berries are harder to pick than you'd think - painful!

Destination of our walk

So cool, yo

Fish market

Yes, they are both eating CHOCOLATE CAKE in the middle of down town Seattle.... their OWN chocolate cake... EACH!
Too fun and cute, huh?

All the little cousins: Jacob, Josh, Jennica, Jessica, Natalie, and Bradly

Mom and Dad... Ha ha ;)

The flowers I chose. Why? They are DRIED as is and you can't even tell.
Added plus? Only $5... their flowers were both incredibly beautiful and incredibly CHEAP!

The day we went on the whale watch was also very nice. We got to see some really pretty scenery, and eventually we did find a minke whale. Although we didn't see much of it, the boat ride was fun and adventurous. It was very cold, but I think I had on about 5 sweaters. Again, it was just nice to spend some family time together and take some pretty pictures.
As we headed home the next day, we stopped into down town Seattle area. I've been there once before with Nathan and Jessica was only 1 year old. I loved it! Pike's Market is so cool! I told myself if I were to ever go back, I needed more pictures of all the beautiful flowers! And I took them. :)
We ate lunch at the Pier and had some clam chowder in bread bowls... one of my favorite dishes!
Nathan and I have decided that you just can't go wrong with the Northwest when vacationing - it is so nice!

Jessica and Natalie's birthday party

2011-09-18T17:07:00.000-07:00

This summer had so many fun times! In July we had a nice 4th spent at Grandma & Grandpa D's house. I remember watching the Wolverine movie and pausing it to watch fireworks over the balcony. And I remember Grandma K bringing me some cheesecake! I love having them so close to us! We had a movie night this Friday as well and I feel so lucky to be only about 20 minutes from them! This month makes 2 years of living here and I have not forgotten the sorrow of years away from family members, missing out on holidays and reunions and other activities. But, now we were all together for Jessica's baptism and we all feel blessed!
Back to July, I do remember watching fireworks one night with my hubby on the roof. It was breezy and cool and we needed blankets, but it was fun to be up there with him and I told him we ought to try that more often. I felt so grateful that we are able to work hard at our dreams to be able to have a good financial future for our family. I'm grateful to live in a free country! I know it has not come without much sacrifice of others and I don't know that I am worthy of such a thing.
Mid July brought the girl's birthday. They turned 8 and 5! Growing up fast? Yes! But they had such a cute party! We had a "luau" theme and there were many cute children there! We had the party at a splash pad and the children played in the water, then we had a "musical towels" game and ate some cake. One was a beach cake and another was a volcano.

I love making a big deal out of birthdays for my kids! They don't mind it either.

Jessica's baptism photos

2011-09-11T15:50:00.000-07:00

Jessica got baptized!

2011-09-08T22:09:00.000-07:00

August 8th Jessica got baptized!

My sisters, Connie and Lindsey came up from Utah and my Mom and Dad, my nephews Josh and Bradley, and niece Jenica. Nathan's mom came from Seattle and his brother and brother's family also came up from Utah. I had been cleaning the house for weeks and was so excited to see everyone! We had a great time at Grandpa's pool, and climbing Badger Mountain and going to the park together.

Lindsey spoke at the baptism and did great. Nathan had to do a 3 time dunk on Jess, but it was the charm! She was so happy and I can't believe she is 8 now! She even started Activity Days and has attended a few pool parties.

With Grandpa! :)

I miss my BLOG!!

2011-09-08T21:55:00.000-07:00

I love to blog! Its my sanity sometimes, my journal always, and a great outlet to do some of my favorite things, write, and take and display PICTURES! However, I've been traveling and working and going and doing and wishing I could write about it so bad!! So, if a miracle happens, I may find time to go back and update, but for now I have to write a few recent things too.

1st- yesterday I MOWED MY FIRST LAWN EVER! ALL BY MYSELF!

Look at those nice lines people!

First ever blister from lawn mower ever

Yeah! Even my shoes turned green... first time ever from mowing my own lawn :)

This is BIG news okay - I did it for my busy hubby and I felt like a woman let me tell you! It reminded me almost of fixing my garbage disposal alone......ALMOST.

Yummy Cookie by a genius...ever

2nd- I am a stinkin GENIUS! OK, lets back up here. First, while in Utah last month, my sister and mother, and myself were at a gourmet cookie shop in the gateway mall. I had the best ever shortbread-like cookie and happened to want one on Sunday. So, I searched for what I HOPED would be a similar, thick, sugar cookie slash shortbread recipe, made up some frosting, and put a similar jam topping, and WA LA!! COMPLETE SUCCESS!! I AM A GENIUS I TELL YOU! I NAILED IT! And I really want to make them as gifts as I had told my mom I was going to do by darn it :)

2011-07-16T12:53:00.000-07:00

Today I keep thinking about my girls. Yesterday was Jessica's birthday. I can't believe she is 8 years old! Suddenly it feels so real that my children are really starting to grow up. It kind of breaks my heart. So today I took all of my children's baby photo albums off the book shelf and I look at their pictures. My girls looked so different as babies than they do now, but Jacob just looks the same except bigger. It seems already like a dream that they were ever so small, so will I remember these times now? Will I treasure them? Then I remember that I am truly blessed to have had them at all! I am so blessed to stay home with my children. Such a blessing has come to us through a huge sacrifice to our family. For the past 9 years my husband has worked on almost every Sunday so I can be home with our children. We miss him. We love him. If I were to not see the blessings through the difficulties, I would be blind to reality. My blessings are the most real things in my life.

I came about this short video today and it really made me remember that I am always teaching my children. And if taking time to be a good example, to speak softly, to be patient, and show love means not getting accomplished everything on my never ending TO DO LIST, or missing out on something, or taking a deep breath, then that is just fine. I want to be more like Christ so that my son and daughters and say what the cute young women said about their mothers in that video.....that being more like their mother meant they were being more like Christ.

Maybe then my fears of regret would also fade away and I would know that I did my best with my little ones even if they did grow up before my very eyes. (And as my dear friend once quoted to me, "To hold the note, is to spoil the song." )

Family Reunion time!

2011-07-10T16:28:00.000-07:00

Because this girl graduated,

not this boy,

we had a reunion at the very beginning of June this year.

At a place called Sunriver, OR with many views like these!

Our first bike ride of many started out with Jessica crashing into a rock (she was fine)

I love this picture - Natalie licking the inside of her trailer

We also played a lot at the park right by our condo and this was a favorite item

Even the big kids loved it!

I'm king of the world!

Dad is much better at pushing on the tire swing than mom.

Our canoe ride was breathtaking the whole way down the river!

See?

And started with Grandpa's help of course

and Grandma beating the children... of course.

Speaking of Grandma and Grandpa, I love this picture of them! Aren't they so cute?

Group shot as we "hiked" to the "falls"

And a group shot before Jenna and Cole had to go back home.

Another of my favorite pictures ever! Nathan looking like a total dork on this tandem bike

But then there is this shot that takes my breath away - so beautiful!! Favorite of Jess and Daddy!

One night the kids all did a play they made up. Jessica head it up. She is our future actess or writer of some kind. She is so funny!

Nathan found a miniture deer and put it on his finger tip - cool, huh?

We loved just hanging out, watching America's fhv, and later in the evening playing "scum" or watching movies

Dawn is the photographer of the group, always sneaking pics of everyone, but I got YOU!

This is a complete sea of lava rock. It was on the side of the trail Nathan and I took and a really long and awesome Mountain trail ride

Another view on part of our ride

Some cool looking train tracks on our ride that we crossed over..... so daring, huh?

How cute are little girls looking out the window at the rain? Extremely!

It was a total blast! We were in desparate need of a vacation and I am so grateful we got to go and see everyone! It used to be just a dream of mine to go to reunions with Nathan's family, so I truly thank God we are so close now!!

How it is lately

2011-06-03T16:36:00.000-07:00

Jacob's last day of Kindergarten was today. So, as I went to get him off the bus, it hit me that it would be the very last time I would get my boy off the "Kindergarten Bus". I thought of how I should soak it all in since it will never happen again and then I debated for a moment to put on my shoes or not because I thought I had a minute or two to spare. I walked, barefoot, to the bus stop but realized that the bus....had......left.
Its just typical how I've been lately. Thankfully my friend picked him up at the next stop for me! Is it an omen that I need to pay more attention to my children? Probably!! Oh well, the Summer is here and we are going to P-L-A-Y! No missing buses or missing out. :)

Easter

2011-05-03T23:21:00.000-07:00

Easter is a wonderful Holiday and I look forward to it every year. Yes, I do find the candy, baskets, egg hunts, coloring eggs, dinners, etc. to be very fun family times, but I love the focus on the Savior. It feels like Christmas again but even more triumphant and glorious. I have such strong feelings of what my Savior has done for me and how amazing it is that he overcame all things.... and through Him we can too. Its such a glorious story of hope and light and I seem to see a little more each year, or remember something I had forgotten about the atonement or the life of Christ. To commemorate this special time of year, every night the week before Easter morning, I would read a scripture of what happened on that day many years ago, with my children (got to love the "Friend"!) I felt more prepared for learning on Easter Sunday and it seemed to continue through the next week. I see a Being that did something for us that we have no reason to waste. He really did overcome and suffer for me and I know I can repent and be free because of Him! He is not one to push us away, as He explains in Isaiah 50, but one who sacrificed the most that could be sacrificed.... FOR US. I didn't really plan to share so much of my testimony, but I just feel that its such wonderful news that I can't help it!

I also wanted to share some pictures from Easter Sunday. I had been so excited about Easter dresses that I bought them 6 weeks early! We had Grandma Shirley come over for dinner and that was such a nice evening with a classic, tasty, ham Easter feast. (Just a few days ago, this sweet lady fell and fractured her back, and we are all so sad for her. Please keep her in your prayers for she is in a lot of pain! )

Got it!

Jacob's Birthday Party

2011-05-02T21:58:00.000-07:00

The track cake was both cute and YUMMY! A very moist chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting

Peyton tried to get the car in the small hole of the tire... it was harder than it looked!

Jacob's first try and...

the birthday was the first to do it! Pretty excited too :)

Janine may not like me for this one but the black teeth are awesome!

With a bump on the head he had to guess whose gift it was

And he was just as excited to get this present as Colby was anxious to give it!

Cute Courtney with her present

All the painted lines in the gym floor actually made it really easy to do party games. :)

Four days after Jacob's birthday we had a big party for him. Although originally it was supposed to be at the Park, the rain that day had us do an abrupt change of plans. A few hours before the party I realized I could use the church building for our family function. How wonderful that no one else was schedule! So, we pulled together some new games to play, decorated the gym the best we could, and brought everything we could think of to the church. We played a version of "Duck, Duck, Goose," as "Vroom, Vroom, Go." Then we had some 3 legged races using Jacob's car pillow cases to join legs. Then we had a game where they all sat in a circle and had to pass toy cars around using only ankles or feet (no hands). Afterwards we had them toss a toy car into a big huge tire. When they did that they got a goodie bag a their prize. Then it was cake and ice cream and opening presents. Jacob had an absolute blast, and corralling all those kids worked out better than I could have hoped. It was really fun to see our friends and to see all the fun the cute kidos were having!

Happy Birthday to Jacob!

2011-04-12T09:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Jacob's birthday and he is now 6 years old! I love my one and only son so much! In fact, I tell him almost every night, "You are my favorite little boy in the WHOLE WORLD!" After a while, he started to reply, "You are my favorite Mom in the whole world!!" This made me laugh because I now felt like he did at the silly comment I would make to him each night.
To make his day special, I gave him 6 pancakes which he expected me to do the day before. I had to even make a "6" on top of them with whip cream too. He even ate 4 of them which is a lot for Jacob! Then around 10:30 I went to his class, which I have not done yet, and brought cookies. Unfortunately, the cookies were not such a big hit because there was another girl who brought cookies since it just happened to be her birthday as well. Oh well, I was just happy to make him feel special in some way and he was all smiles with Natalie and I in the class room. His teacher invited us to stay, so I just couldn't pass up the offer. 30 minute of Kindergarten? SWEET! I learned all about the cycle of the unborn baby chicks and what happens when they hatch in the class incubator and then I learned all about words that start with the letter "Q" and I did some math addition. It was awesome, not to mention I got some great ideas for teaching preschool and my young kids at home. Fun!
Jacob loves to eat lunch at WinCo. They have pizza and pop and he and Natalie eat it while I shop sometimes. So, to start a new tradition, I decided to take the kids to lunch with mom on their birthday! Wherever they want of course. I'm sure in July for Jessica it will be McDonald's. Anyway, after groceries were purchased, it was off to get Natalie's kinder shots, but I forgot her record, so so much for that big hurry. Since I was already in the next city, I decided to take the kids shopping at Micheal's (daring I know!) Jacob is having a race car theme birthday on Friday, so I wanted to get a few things for his cake. We found some cool stuff, and the kids actually did pretty good in the store.
When we got home, Jacob played with his friends on our road, which he just LOVES to do, while I made his requested dinner of hamburgers. As a surprise, after dinner, Daddy came home early from work and brought a new present for Jacob. It was..... wait for it.... a Lego puzzle that turns into an airplane. Jacob really had a great time putting it together. Of course, before that there was even yet another surprise. Grandpa D and Grandma Shirley came over to say Happy Birthday to the Birthday Boy. I enjoyed chatting with them while Nathan and Jacob made the airplane, and then I convinced them to stay for Jacob's requested birthday dessert: an icecream bar. YUMMY! What is it about bananas and chocolate syrup that is so good?!
Well, it was one exciting day for Jacob, but lots of fun for all. He has been the sweetest boy a mother could ask for, and he is so fun! Jacob is goofy and loves to play with friends, but he can be a hard worker when an incentive is involved! He is proving to be great in math and can read better than he gives himself credit for. He is very athletic and I sometimes can't wait for him to grow up and work out with me, but, I don't want him to grow up too fast! I want to "go with him to Neverland and give our best to Peter Pan."

The day in photos:

Spring Break

2011-04-10T17:58:00.000-07:00

This past week was our Spring Break. I've actually enjoyed it even though we didn't make it very exciting. I like a break from routine sometimes. I slept in a bit and I felt a lot more calm since I didn't have to run here our there to get kids. Its been nice hanging out with my kids. One of my favorite things we did, though, was going to Badger Mountain to hike with the kids. I was surprised the kids did so well because it really got my heart pumping! In fact, Jacob left us all in his dust! He practically ran up the mountain and made me feel pretty out of shape!

Long hike, one sock missing....

equals a grumpy girl.....

making sad sad faces....

but she knows she is cute!

My view half the time

Jacob is the small figure upper right corner who was ALWAYS ahead of the family. The other man in front of me is my hubby.

Lots for pretty views!

Daddy and the kids at the top of the Mountain

and Mommy and the kidos

The beautiful view which includs the Columbia River Temple

And our must have shot, self taken, with the shadow of the camera on my shoulder... got to love it!

Birthdays and recent stuff

2011-03-27T16:07:00.000-07:00

Looks like I've been slacking once more, but I guess I'll update and then move forward anyway.
Nathan and I were able to celebrate our birthdays last month. For his birthday we went to PF Changs and to see a movie. It was nice to be together and I remember having a fantastic time. A week later was my birthday and I was blessed to have a big celebration with my friends to mark the big 30 hitting my life. My mother said to me, "Are you THAT old??" and "I can't believe its been that long!" Thanks mom! That really made such a painful birthday much easier to bear. Well, I actually don't mind it... getting older that is. Everyone else is too, so who cares! Anyway, we all went to Red Robin, and 17 people came so I felt so very loved! I just wish I could have talked to everyone more since that makes it hard to talk down a big table of people, but it was really special to me! I love my friends so much!
Last week we had a nice time with Nathan's mom who came to visit. We got to go to the Country store for lunch and chocolates and we had a nice dinner after we went shopping for amo for all the guns she brought down. Chris may look and sound very very sweet, but I tell you what, that woman is always packin heat! It funny! The next morning, Nathan and his mother went shooting for a few hours in the cold wind. I was very happy they got to spend some time together! It was very nice to have her around and I wish she could have stayed a bit longer, but look forward to seeing her again pretty soon!
On Friday Jessica came home early from school because of conferences, so I decided I have not been playing enough with the kids and it was time to have as much fun as we could! So that is exactly what we did! First, I took them to a field to play soccor. Jacob at first had a great time, but then fell to the ground and had a melt down when I tried to teach him how to kick with the inside of his foot and not always just the toe. That was surprising in a way to me because I thought he had been just chomping at the bit to get out of the house and use the soccor ball he got for Christmas. So, not so fun at the last part of the outing, but it was still nice. We then went home to eat some Popsicles and some lunch. I thought it was cute that all the kids piled on me to finish their Popsicles since there was no room for me on the swing set.
Anyway, after lunch we headed to the Humane Society. Its truly the closest thing we have to the zoo around here, so Jessica loves it. We petted some kitty cats. The other night we were watching some funny utube videos with cats, so I felt they would love to see some real ones and it did make me want one, but I don't know when that will happen (if ever).

After the zoo, we went to a big park and the kids ran around and had so much fun. I ran around and played with them too and really had a good time with them. We left to go to Grandma's house after the park and had pizza and watched a movie. Its something we all just LOVE to do! I think its just as big of a treat as the kids do in fact. When you've lived away from family as long as we did, you really really appreciate getting together so easily! I'm such a needy person too, so it feels so nice to feel taken care of and loved. I think that is why family is such a wonderful unit and eternal principal... it feels so right and so good! And I love mine with all my heart! (pictures to come...once I get them off my phone)

Best Valentine's Day ever!

2011-02-15T11:40:00.000-08:00

What do you do when your husband has to work on Valentine's Day... like he does almost EVERY single holiday?? BRING VALENTINE'S DINNER TO HIM!

And it makes us both very happy!

My decorations were not very fancy, but not too cheesy I hope. :) It just added to the fun really, to have root beer in plastic cups!

I had so much fun planning up a dinner while at Costco that day. I found the biggest tiger shrimp I've ever eaten and made this amazing, restaurant quality dish - YUM!

No time to make my own dessert, so it was Red Velvet cupcakes from Costco...

which Nathan couldn't wait...

to taste!

And I couldn't wait to be silly either. How often do you get a chance to take pictures with any hundred of decorations and furniture? We just had to take a few (even though hubby was against it -thanks babe!) He was good to humor me as usual. At one point I was on the ground laughing.

It was an unforgettable evening, even though it went by fast, and I'm so happy I took the time to make it special. And I'm happy Nathan made it special too - he even purchased a vase for me to take home (the one on our table) and made me the best card ever! I love you honey! Happy Anniversary slash Valentines Day!

Fun with Valentines

2011-02-13T20:26:00.000-08:00

This year we have had some fun with Valentines in new ways. First, at the beginning of the month I was reflecting on a post I did last year for February and how much it really helped me. I wanted to focus on love once more in a spiritual way, so I came up with a fun activity for my family (Did you hear that? I came up with something and didn't copy it! Wow!). I think being the Primary President is rubbing off in good ways. :)
So, I cut out 14 hearts (not professional in any way people) and wrote on them scriptures I looked up that had to do with either LOVE or the HEART.
The scriptures I chose really mean a lot to me and have helped me through difficult times in my life and in profound ways.
To share them with my family, I put them in a bag and let them pull one out each night for our scripture study. After we discussed it, I put it on the mirror in my hallway, so we could continue to see them. Its been a fun way to count down to Valentine's day and focus on the greatest topic of all time: love.

Also, for the first time every, I made a crafty Valentine instead of buy one for my child's class at school. Jessica ended up with a BUNCH (25!) of flowers for her class - lucky girl! It was really fun to do with the kids and I got some silly pictures of them.

l love these ads!

2011-02-08T20:01:00.000-08:00

I love it when people have a great attitude and every reason not to! Its inspirational! Our blessings in life are what matter the most!

Amazing story here

I am grateful for my ears...

2011-02-06T15:45:00.000-08:00

Over the past few weeks we have all been sick in our family... except Jessica. I don't know how that girl does it, but she is big on very good hand washing (she likes to play with the soap, bubbles, water....for a very long time). Anyway, it started with Natalie, then Jacob got a big fever for 5 days, then Nathan was sick, and I got it too. Well, long story short I took a nap and woke up with an ear that felt like someone injected it with water. I knew it was bad, but it got worse FAST! I spent the night in a great deal of pain until at about 2:30 AM when I noticed blood coming out of me ear. Well, that has never happened in my life so I figured its just not right. Sure enough, when I went to the urgent care in the morning, my ear drum was reported ruptured. I took anti-biotics and drops, and nasal spray for almost a week, but it didn't clear it up. Now even today me ear is clogged, I can't hear our of it well, and it rings sometimes. BUT I did go back to the Doc. on Friday, so I'm on round 2 of antibiotics, a better RX spray, and hopefully I can get into an ENT asap.

Well, we are feeling better from sicknesses around here, and I am no longer so OUT OF IT! I feel like I can finally think again, and I've really needed that since we had our ward split and I needed to help with Primary. I sat in our Primary today, which I felt went really well for all the changes, and I felt so grateful!! I love being in there with those children! I love the truths, simple and powerful that are taught through the little lessons and the many songs. It is wonderful!

I just have to say I am grateful I can hear!! I'd still prefer 1 working ear over NONE! I still need to get a card for my camera, but I really want to do more pictures!

True inspiration

2011-01-26T21:52:00.000-08:00

I once wrote this post about seeing things in a view of what I GET to do rather that what I have to do. It was from June 1st of 2010. I read a post tonight from one of my favorite blog writers. Her name is Katherine Wolf and I just adore her! She wrote a bit of the same sort of thing and I would hope others could also read the post she did right before this recent one because it goes over her story. She is a true inspiration and I hope when I grow up I can become more like her! This is her website.

Cabin fun!

2011-01-15T22:56:00.000-08:00

Our trip with friends to their family's cabin was even more fun than I could have imagined. We headed up in the evening, so it was dark when we got to the mountain. There we were to off load all our things onto a Snow CAT. I've never seen one or been in one, but it was sure exciting to climb on in and the kids were just as excited as Nathan was. :) Then it was another 30 min. before we reached the cabin. When we got there, and thankfully we did, since I saw tree-tops out my window for a part of the trip up, it was very cold. We went inside and the guys went off to start the generator. We waited in the cold cabin and realized we needed to try to make a fire. I'm sure glad we did because I think it took an hour or so for the generator to start up.
It was a cold night the first night, but then the cabin got plenty hot the rest of the trip

In the morning we had some crepes and then we got in a bunch of snow gear and we went sledding! Wow! Lots of snow and big hills to go down too! The kids loved it. But then we decided to get serious about it and go down "the big one". To avoid the long hike, we took the snow cat around and up to the top with Nathan riding on the top of it! Then we zoomed down the hill. I had Natalie with me on the tube. I slowed us down here and there so it wasn't too bad, but we did get a lot of powder in the face. When we all came down we decided to try out the Snow Mobiles. Well, Nathan and Parker already had, but I put the huge roast in the oven for dinner, and then I took a shot at it. That was fun like a cross between a wave runner and a four wheeler. It feels more like the latter to me because there is more force in maneuvering it. What a gorgeous view it was! When the clouds and snow blew away a bit we could see ridges that seemed to never end. It was an exciting ride and I was glad I didn't tip my sled.

When I got back to the cabin we chill-axed while the guys went on another run on the sleds. So we watched a movie in the warm cabin and later when the guys got back we all chilled some more. I was so happy to know Nathan was having such a great time doing "14- year- old -boy- activities." :) He told me long ago he would always be 14 at heart and that has been true.
We also played Uno and it wouldn't end, even when we tried to let Jacob win, but he FINALLY did! Dinner was another funny and long story, but I was pretty impressed that I cooked such a huge, practically frozen roast, and it turned out! It was a perfect meal in a cabin and added to the fun for me though! After dinner we let the kids watch a movie up stairs while we played a silly game called, "Curses".

The next day it was breakfast burritos, Nathan's specialty, so he cooked them while I showered and that was dreamy in and of itself. I loved knowing that we could sleep in every morning and no one cared! After breakfast the guys wanted to go on one last LONG ride before we packed up to head out. I was fine with that and the kids and I geared up for some more sledding. This time we did hike up the big hill and it wasn't too bad. Jessica's complaints were the worst of it. Anyway, we got about 3/4ths the way up and Jess and Jacob went down and then Natalie and I. The tube wasn't too fast because it needed some air, but it was fun! Then we decided to hike it once more. The girls made it about half way and I put them on the tube and sent them away already! Jacob and I hiked up to almost the very top where the cat brought us the day before. We got on the long flat sled and started down the hill. I could tell we were going much faster than Natalie and I did, and although I assured Jacob that we wouldn't get snow in our faces like the day before (the snow was melting off the trees and everything was more wet and compacted), oh boy did the snow fly in our faces the faster we got and the more I tried to slow us a bit with my boots! I finally gave up at one point and lifted the boots, which made no difference in the amount of snow hurled at our faces, and I closed my eyes and laughed and hoped we wouldn't crash into a tree. Jacob was laughing too and when we got to the bottom for some reason I felt the whole things was just hilarious and laughed all the more. Parker's wife, Sherie, and her adorable baby were then at the bottom of the hill and saw the whole thing. I was kind of embarrassed or would have laughed even harder I think. Anyway, I decided we needed to try some other snow adventures, so we tried to make in igloo, but ended up with more of a fort. Still it was really fun. We later went inside for some hot chocolate and cookies for lunch. Yum!

Sherie, Parker, and Natalyn - so cute!

We may have left our keys in the cabin (to our van) and may have had to take this awesome, fun van back up to get them.

Marshmallow family!

Jessica doing a face plant.... on purpose

Ahh, the amazing view as we left home

Man I needed this R&R! We had a great time!

Most Noble of Virtues

2011-01-08T12:33:00.000-08:00

Today I remembered a message shared with me years ago that literally changed my life. I desired not to read it only, but to listen and watch it. I don't know that I wouldn't want to do so every morning for the rest of my life, and who knows, maybe I will listen to it more often and memorize the words that are so true and so good for me to remember. It is President Monson's talk Joy in the Journey. I had forgotten some of the phrases that I wish I had remembered last month, such as, "Stresses come. We must deal with them the best we can. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved." And the part about tending our own "secret garden." We can choose to see abundance in our lives or what we feel is missing. Oh what an important thing it is to be satisfied. I feel it leads to a more sincere humility and in turn will leads us to a greater faith. I hope others can actually watch this message. I'm sincere that it has made a deep impression for good in my life. I had been hoping to find a better attitude and vision in my life lately and simply remembering was all that was needed.

"If ingratitude be numbered among the most serious of sins,

then GRATITUDE is numbered as the noblest of virtues."

Happy New Year and New Resolutions!

2011-01-01T19:01:00.000-08:00

I love the New Year! I somehow get inspired once more to start fresh and do better. This year I wanted to remember resolutions that could be more like themes for the year. Maybe that way I won't forget them so easily. :)

1- Look for the BENEFITS

Sometimes I forget to see the good that comes from things I may not always like to do i.e. clean my room, eat more broccoli, etc. I feel like if I would remember all the good things that come from my efforts then I wouldn't complain so much.

2- Look for the GOOD

I want to be able to see all the good things that come from on High. For where else would they come from? Especially small and simple things like my favorite lint truffle or a lovely sunset or a phone call from a friend. I also want to count my blessings for they are the most important and real things in my life.

3- Look OUTWARD

Lately I have to admit I have not been looking outward. Its been about me and how busy I am unfortunatley. I hope to cultivate a more sincere love for others and take the TIME to do so. (I'll be sure to look upward while looking outward too!)

In doing these things I hope to become more satisfied. To complain much less, to be willing much more. I hope to be more bright, more optimistic and helpful. And to ultimately take control of my attitude and life. It just too short not to, and if I don't start now, then when?

HAPPY NEW YEAR! GOOD LUCK WITH ALL YOUR GOALS NOW AND ALWAYS!

Halloween and November

2010-12-29T23:34:00.000-08:00

Here are the cutest trick-or-treaters that came to our door! :)

In Utah our Thanksgiving was also full of cute things. Here is my big brother passing a football as we played a game where if the ball was passed to you, then you said something you were thankful for.

My favorite response was my Grandpa who said he was thankful for his dog. It was funny for many reasons. First, not his dog. Second, he kept growling at the dog when he got to the house and the dog was growling back identically. And third, the kids were giving the same kind of answers -gotta love it! He is always that way - too funny!

Jessica and Taylor saying what they are thankful for (probably their dog) - mostly I think their answers were, "family", or "Mom", or "Dad".

Gary, (my little sister's hubby), held up the turkey poster and couldn't help "gobbling" around - (or goofing around) - but is sure cracked me up to see his mouth as he talked like the turkey!

Natalie takes a shot to toss the cranberry in the Turkey.

I love how happy my grandpa looks in this one as he watches the kids play games! (Its good to see him smile after losing Grandma just a year ago)

Pass the cranberry using only chop sticks! Little Taylor actually did it!

Sher (My brother Lance's wife) helps with the game as we realized chop sticks were a bit too much and switched to various teaspoons. :)

Ha! Josh did it too!

See! Taylor did it!

Sorry Sher, but this one was too funny not to add as you acted like a bull. :) (Hope you don't charge me for it... ha ha ha)

After dinner we made ginger bread houses and Bradley is just a cutie pie for the camera! Speaking of pies, Lindsey, his mama, brought some really yummy ones! I have to say the chocolate mint was my fav!


Cute Taylor makes hers with help from Dad, so hers didn't fall apart like my poor childrens' did.

Jenica is so creative and artistic! She was the one who thought of the turkey game and colored the turkey I drew for her - what a cutie pie!

We went to the Hale Theater and watched the best musical! It was so funny and lively! (Called "The Drowsy Chaperon") And it was a blast to go just us girls! (Sorry your eyes are shut Bonnie, but I looked better in this one :)

Long story short, the roads were closed due to snow, and I got to spend the night with my brother when I attempted to head home. Actually ended up being super fun and I'm really glad it happened that way! We were freezing, but took the kids on sled rides with the 4wheeler - so fun! And Sher made yummy Spaghetti dinner and a hot breakfast for us the next day!

I just thought this was too funny to not take a photo! Austin, Lance's oldest child, and my son Jacob are sitting in folding tables. And what are they pretending to do? Pretending to play a video game! So funny!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T14:27:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

Jessica's face in this is funny to me! Everyone looks kind of funny, but its our tradition that the Sunday before Christmas we take a Christmas family photo, so here we are about to run out the door. :)

Hope everyone has a lovely Holiday!

Update, and more to come

2010-12-14T20:35:00.000-08:00

Okay, I love to blog and I feel myself missing it lately. Being out of town for almost a month made blogging a bit difficult. I was in Utah visiting family and friends. We had a great time and I even got a great new hair cut from my wonderful sister, Connie. There were baptisms of my niece, Savannah, one week and nephew, Josh, the next and later on a wonderful Thanksgiving feast and games with the many nieces and nephews. I really loved sleeping over at my sister's house and we stayed up watching our favorite flick from High School. Yes, it was "Robin Hood Men in Tights." How ever we only made it through half of it and fell asleep (ok now we know we are old). We also got to go to a few movies while we were in Utah. My absolute favorite was "Tangled"! Oh I just LOVED it!
I have to say that meeting with my old friends from Junior High and High School days was very special. My friends Robin and Downi and I were 3 best buddies in our early teens, and that was a fun reunion! We got some really cute pictures done of the grandkids on my mother's side - professional and wonderful!
I have been so busy since I got back that its starting to feel like my visit was just a dream. When I got home to my Honey (finally - bad weather to drive in!) I was so excited to see him! He was happy to have me back too and I think I was in a good mood for a whole week straight because I was just simply grateful to be with him.
Another big event, though, that has kept me from "Blog Land" has been a new calling I received at church. I was asked to head up the children's program, called the "Primary", and become the new president. This includes many resposibilities and demands for over 150 children and about 35 teachers. Its time consuming to say the least, but lately has felt extra crazy. I was just today feeling not so over whelmed and I'm grateful for that. I truly love being with these children (age 3 to 11) and I am very excited for all that I get to do! These children are wonderful and amazing!!
Well, I hope to get back in the groove of things. Part of me would love to update from Halloween, but if that doesn't happen, I still want to start posting again! Can't skip Christmas! Its my all time absolute FAVORITE time of the year!!

Road trips for vacation

2010-10-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know its been a while, but I must say that we have been on the road visiting family and friends all last week. So much fun though! We headed up to Seattle where I was able to meet Nathan's aunt Tracy and her family for the very first time - so awesome!! She is even more cute than I imagined and very down to earth, I love her, and my own mil, and her other sister Susie, and their mother, grammy Am, SO SO SO much! What a fun, beautiful bunch of women that I am so grateful to be able to call family! Susie made the very best "baked potato soup" I have ever eaten in my life and really all the food was great! A few days after we got back, we left again to visit our friends who moved closer to us. They used to live by us in AR, but now are only 5 hours away. That was simply too fun! I forgot how funny Nathan and Sean are when they get together! They crack me up like crazy! And Kelli is so sweet and wonderful and she laughs at them like I do. We do go way back, had babies together around the same time, and really bonded out in AR. What a great place it was truly! We went to a pumpkin patch and a movie on Sat. and stayed up watching Harry Potter together. They were grossed out at us snuggling so much, but that is what happens when you don't see your spouse very often, so sorry (but not really).
Oh, my camera battery charger is MIA! AHHH! That is another reason I have not posted. I tend to become blog impaired without it. Thank goodness for Nathan's I-phone camera. I will post pics as soon as I get them from him.

October FUN!

2010-10-07T21:52:00.000-07:00

I got some leaves from the dollar store, and some pumpkins that the kids could color. It sure made this craft EASY! And it was a success - Jacob kept saying, "Mom, this is the best day!" Obviously this was over due, considering how easy it is to please my kids!

Jacob coloring the leaves.

Pumpkin, chocolate chip cookies are so yummy!

Natalie takes a bite...

and Ms. Jessica...

and Jacob with classic "lips-to-side-of-face" look.

Mom cleans mirrors...

and windows...

preparing to put up the decorations.

She stops, of course, for a photo op with Ms. Jessica....

and Jacob.

Chili was the best I've ever made! It was exactly how I like it! Maybe not for others, but for me for sure! :)

Magoo takes a big scoop. I'd like to thank her for the photo session. As I have documented before, she has had practice, so she came in handy. :)

Tonight I decided we needed to start having fun with one of my favorite months already! I mean come on - it's already the 7th of October!! I pulled out all the stops, threw on the apron, made pumpkin cookies with the kids, chili for a rainy, cool fall evening, whipped up a craft they loved, decorated, and even ended the night with a new book to read together (Fablehaven). What a wonderful day! This morning was music time and then my friend, who is so wonderful to do said music time for us, fed me lunch, talked with me, and even watched my kids while I went home to do laundry and dishes. Days like today make me so very grateful to be a wife and mother and a stay-at-home mom at that! Oh and my wonderful mommy called me tonight too - so perfect of a day! Sigh.

Natalie's view

2010-09-25T21:58:00.000-07:00

Natalie loves to grab my camera.....

and snap a million photos of herself and other things!!

I love this one of her view of the fridge! It reminds me of how giant everything looks when you are a kid. I must be "Ginormica" to her!

While on the computer, I let Natalie do my hair. She told me I was a "fashion doll" and stuck a million bows and flowers in my hair, and other clips you can't see here. I also have stickers stuck on my cheeks. Gotta love it!

Here is a real "fashion doll". This term, by the way is from when we watched the u-tube videos on how to make their birthday cakes (photos in July posts)

Another awesome face for the camera.

Here she is on her first day of preschool - she looks so old!

food and fun lately

2010-09-24T00:42:00.000-07:00

Garden burgers from scratch - kids ate them up! (I called them "crabby patties" and they were convinced of their goodness)

Guess I'm on a food kick lately on my blog and with reason - I like food and love to create it! This orange sponge cake was so good though that I ended up loving it and ate too much, so it may be a rare treat or only made when my will power is stronger. :)

Doesn't this look like a "rainbow" that we are all told to eat? Well, its another treat of my garden. I honestly planted about 30 zucchini and summer squash plants because I didn't know you only need 2 at the very most. Oops! Lots of great recipes are coming of it though! Like these garden burgers! Yep! That's what they end up as!

Jessica and Natalie at lunch together at her school. All her friends kept wondering who Natalie was. They were even excited to see them matching. Jessica likes to save her snacks in her lunch to give to her friends at recess I found out.
They all love playing this games where they pretend they are dogs and Jessica is their owner and she gives them "treats". Only my girl, the great animal lover would be such a ring leader. :)


Going grocery shopping! Mornings are Natalie and Mommy time while the other two are at school. We love it!


The other day I had lunch with my babies at school and it was on a crazy half day so they had like 2 minutes to eat and this boy does NOT eat fast! (Where does he get it with us as his parents? honesty!) It was fun to see his little friends and it was good to find out that one little girl remembered that they colored something, but couldn't remember what it was. Sometimes I get that response at home about what happened all day at school.

A Real Woman!

2010-09-19T20:32:00.000-07:00

I did two things today and yesterday that I have never before done in my life and both of which I never knew I could do. If I thought bearing 3 children felt empowering, I was right, but I never knew I could add to the feeling a bit.

I CANNED MY OWN TOMATOES!!

First- Yesterday I did this:

Second - Today I FIXED MY DISPOSAL... BY MYSELF.... WEARING A SKIRT NONE THE LESS!

Oh yes I did! I must admit my FIL helped me by telling me how to do it (or I never could have) but I really was alone after church when I got under my sink and unclogged the carrots I had so brightly placed down the sink to begin with. I have to admit it was a bit of a learning experience. If I had never made such a mistake I never would have felt the exhilaration of fixing it. Maybe that is how life is too, a mistake is an opportunity to become proud of ourselves in the end as we turn to the Lord and correct it. Because, on that note, I did pray that God would help me fix the sink, and I did pray He would give me strength to put it back together. And He did answer my prayers!

T-O-M-A-T-O-E-S

2010-09-12T17:07:00.000-07:00

You say "to-MAY-to," I say "to-MAH-to." :)

Finally after so much anticipation my tomatoes are here!!

As Mark Twain once said, "All good things come to those who wait....and don't die in the mean time."

It all started back in April. They all started as the tiniest dot of a seed and I put them into little tiny planter boxes and felt I had smothered them with dirt and that they would never grow, but they did! In a week or so tiny little stems cam from the dirt and eventually they were very small plants. Those were then placed in the ground in our garden, but there were a few times we had to cover then with glass jars so they wouldn't be destroyed by the wind. Then they really started to get big and we had to put those metal things around them. At the same time we pruned them a special way so they would grow more tomatoes. Boy did that work! They are now heavy and falling over in spite of our efforts. Anyway.... like I said... they are finally turning red and finally here! Well worth the effort and I decided to start canning them. I've never done that before and it shall be another post.

However, I have already made some sensational spaghetti sauce, or what the Italians may refer to as, "Italian gravy." I froze it and will be making a bunch more!

I love tomatoes! Fresh garden tomatoes are like a rare delicacy to me and I enjoy them like a chocoholic may enjoy a fresh cocoa bean chocolate bar. YUM! (Of course, I do love me my dark chocolate too!)

Cutest thing I have ever seen

2010-09-01T22:00:00.001-07:00

Today when I dropped off Jessica and Jacob to school I was not prepared (no camera on hand) to see the cutest thing I have ever seen. Picture it. Jessica is dressed in an adorable long sleeved, striped green, yellow, and white rugby polo and matching jeans with stars on them. Her hair is in pig tails with hand made hair clips of green flowers (courtesy my great neighbor Karly). Then Jacob also had on a bright, striped polo of orange, white and navy. They looked clean and well taken care of in a way I had not seen all summer (do hair in the summer? Come on!)
When we got to the school Jacob was so excited and could not stop grinning. Van door was flung open and he hopped right out like he had waited all year for this moment to arrive. Jessica, a little slower was snagged with my good bye kiss. "Hey" I said to big grinned Jacob, "you forgot to give me a kiss."
"Oh yeah," he said, "I forgot." After a proper smooch, I asked him if he wanted to play on the play ground and if he could find his way to his portable by himself and he said he could. He seemed just as confident as he was happy.

Jacob happy every day for school!

They went off and shut the door and I looked out my windshield at that great sight. Here were my adorable babies, bright and shining and holding hands, walking their small walk toward school with the chain linked fence and playground in the back ground. My heart nearly stopped. Then, sure enough, Jacob turned his head back to look at me with his face just beaming in his grin. They kept walking and then Jess did the same thing. She glanced back at mom and smiled. I couldn't breath. I wanted to snap a photo so bad but knew I couldn't so I just sat and soaked it in my brain. I wanted to sit there until the bell rang and watch them together holding hands and eventually playing on the playground. They were putting their toes in a big puddle of water as I drove away.

School is here!

2010-08-31T22:13:00.000-07:00

AT LAST! I mean, sad, cry, cry, boo hoo. No, after kids have been ill and my enthusiasm for summer creativity was drained, I had nothing left to give sadly. But, I knew this day would come :)
Oh I do love my kids but I have been longing for schedule as they have. Its funny how moody I am with a schedule. One minute I adore it and cling to it, the next I feel confined and want to run from it. Thank goodness seasons change with someone as finicky as myself.

Pictures of the big day:

Jess in her line to go into class. Oh my she looks so old and yet so small to me! She missed the official first day, so today was her's and I thank the Osh Gosh sale in OR for her cute outfit! :)

So cute and sweet! 2nd grade here she comes!

My big kindergarten boy! He was cool, calm, and collect, as he happily started on the first big day. Funny enough, knowing how much he will thrive in school, this was nothing like when I took my first child and almost thought I would die and was so nervous not wondering what to expect! A hug and an introduction to a boy from church and he was set... so was I.

In the midst of it all

2010-08-27T22:28:00.001-07:00

Well... today I brought my two sick daughters that my dear son lent his own sickness to, in to the doctors' office and it was just lovely. Actually, bringing Jacob in a few days ago was not so bad. It was kind of fun to have the girls there and I imagined them wanting to play "doctor" or "nurse" when they got home. But this time was less romantic. Jacob did not want to go. Period. He thought it was going to "take too long" although I couldn't understand what pressing engagement he had that may have been pressing on his mind. I tried to tell him we had nothing else really planned for the day but he was still concerned. So, I go in with my burning up daughters and my annoyed son who, in spite of bribes for ice cream afterward, did not want to be at the Dr.'s office. He kept bothering Jessica, wouldn't sit on the kid, or "baby chair" as he called it, and he kept touching things, interrupting me as I spake to the adults, and wanted me to read him a book. Well, it wasn't the end of the world. What really got me through was laughing at how Jessica would say stuff like, "My dad is lazy, " to the poor Dr. I was baffled to say the least considering my husband is working 7 days a week right now, but then I understood what she meant as she went on and said, "He just watches t.v. all day long."
Great.
Well.... in the midst of it all, poor Jessica is horrified that she is supposed to get a throat swab test on her throat. Jacob had gagged a bit when we were in before and now she was convinced it would make her throw up. We tried to convince her otherwise, but she cried and cried and kept her hand over her mouth. Finally I was like, "Its ok. We don't need to do it." I kept thinking they would give it up. I mean Jacob's culture was negative and so was Natalie's short culture test. Thank goodness I used to be a CNA. Oh, which reminds me that was another announcement my daughter gave to the nurse. She said, "My mom is a nurse! She used to work at the hospital children and took care of the babies and the little kids."
Ha! I'm no RN or even LPN, so I quickly explained, "Yes, as a CNA." But the lady could care less either way I think, so whatever.
It got better when, at 7:30 at night I decided to take my kids to Wal-mart, and mind you they are all sick. Fun stuff! I drag them in, literally, since Jacob was sliding his feet on the floor as he hung on to the side of the cart and I pulled him along as he said, "I'm cold! Stop!" Here I was trying to explain there was nothing I could do about that and again, he did not care. Well, we finally make it to the pharmacy counter and as we are waiting for the man in front of us to (please) leave (already), Jacob is now at the front of the "buggy" in front of me and Natalie is whining that he hurt her legs and he is saying he did not and its back and forth like that for a while. No amount of telling them to "stop already!" was doing a thing to help.
Well.... in the midst of it all, the pharmacy assistant tells me that there is no sign of my prescription in his computer and he is wondering if I had it filled last week. Nope. Then I realized that it was truly my fault for having the DR. move the RX fromWalgreen's to Wal=mart and, of course, he forgot.
Lucky me.
I dragged the sliding feet of Jacob and my whiny Natalie and my "ignoring- me- and -standing -up- in -the -cart-anyway- Jessica," and headed back to my car. This time I left out the doors further away from my car as to not have to push the kids back through "wally world" again.
Anyway, I just had to laugh at it all. I like to notice the humor when I can. One more thing Jessica said when the DR. only handed an ice cream coupon to her and Natalie was, "You are a really smart Dr. because you knew my mom wasn't going to give Jacob any ice cream!"
Oh wow. And there we have it folks.

New family Pictures

2010-08-15T19:24:00.000-07:00

Our wonderful friend, and amazing photographer, Tiffany Parrish, took these great photos while at the Oregon Coast. I'm making a gallery for my wall and am so excited because we have never done this before! Thanks Tiffany!! (She is at Tiffanyparrishphotography.com if you want to see more)

Vacation to Oregon Coast

2010-08-08T23:51:00.001-07:00

July 27, 2010 - August 1, 2010

All packed up! Lets go!!

It was a beautiful drive to the Coast! But really it was just fun to be in the car with Nathan and laugh a lot! Which wasn't too hard when he and Dallas had walkie talkies so we could joke back and forth to one another. Doing a family vacation with friends was a first for us and we just thoroughly enjoyed it!

We finally made it and didn't waste a moment making a fire after camp was set up so we could do s'mores. YUM! I love those things! I was like a little kids covered in marshmallow goo, but we were camping and its about getting dirty, right?

What some of the homes and town looks like at Seaside

This candy shop had 170 different flavors of taffy! And, those of you who know me well know I was literally wanting to try THEM ALL! I love to sample and it was hard in a way to not try them all, but then again I wasn't into each flavor so in the end, I was fine!

Here are all the lucky little ones after our stop at the candy shop

The kids loved the carosal and it just seemed ideal to do such a thing at Seaside!

Well, it did say "Men's Restroom"

After touring the main road in seaside we viewed the large beautiful beach and took in the gray sky. Afterward we went school shopping which was a ton of fun for me...not so much for Honey Pooh. Well, it was worth his torture because I got $3 shirts and shorts from Carters and OshGosh, not to mention no sales tax! I rather enjoyed getting schools shopping done in one trip!

Cannon Beach was a super fun day!! Boy was it bright! We had a hard time not squinting but it was fun to have shot of us girls! This is Tiffany, Linsey, and Brooke~ all super nice girlies! And Tiffany had just taken some family shots of us on the beach...soon to be posted and I can hardly wait!

The three men actually did get a good fire going with what is apparently fire resistant beach wood. Pretty amazing huh?

Yum! Nothing like sand dusted hot dogs, right? Mmmm mmmm good!

Isn't Stockton so cute!?!? He looks like his daddy, Terry! And a lot like his big brother if you ask me. He is one happy adorable baby!

Jacob and Terry's dogs are digging away like triplets. :)

Us girls lovin' the beach

Such a cute sand castle....very organic isn't it?

"Say OCEAN!"

Natalie loved getting all sandy and then she would run into the water and rinse it off only to turn around and do it all again! Oh yeah, you better believe she had sand in places she didn't know she had when we showered her that evening. :)

Jacob was most daring in the water. In spite of it being so cold he love to jump in it now and then even if it came up to his chest! I myself didn't desire to even go to my knees! BURRR!

Jess playing in the water

Hey no one cares if you are "nakey" on the beach....or if you have to go potty on it!

This is such a cute picture of Linsey with her adorable little girl Reagan!

I love this shot of Nathan digging a trench with Dallas in the back ground digging me a hot tub I requested. The big kids loved the sand just as much as the little ones!

The little kids loved playing on the beach too

The sun came out in the afternoon and it became so breathtaking!

I got a cute shot of Terry and Tiff walking down the beach holding hands. What is more romantic, right?

Jess loved playing in the sand! She was happy as can be! It was like a dream to watch her too! I have ALWAYS wanted to take her to a beach like this. If it were a bit sunnier here I would adore living here all year long I think!

Lets go fly a kite! They are sure easy to fly on this windy beach!

We stopped to take pictures of the "Peter Iredale" after our totally awesome day on Cannon Beach.

I love the OR coast!!

2010-08-08T23:51:00.000-07:00

I love the Oregon Coast! Astoria was a blast!

Brooke and I were super excited to see the house! We loved the movie!

Before leaving Astoria we stopped to see the house where the movie, "Goonies" was filmed. The man who owned the home was super nice!

This was our view as we ate our ice cream. I loved it!

After ice cream we all headed back to the museum for a tour of the old coast guard ship. It was old, like 70's and 80's style t.v. and fridge. It was like a high school locker room on one end of it with some bunk beds, lockers, and navy showers. Anyway, its behind us in this photo.


We found the ice cream! Its Tillamook and its divine! But I must admit it is very rich and my tummy could only handle a little bit. That said, the German chocolate cake was delectable and the mint chocolate chip is the best I have ever had!

We went shopping at the shops in Astoria then we went on an ice cream hunt. Along the way we stopped to see the beautiful bay.

Jacob loves trains and trollies!

After the museum we took a Trolly ride down to the shopping area in Astoria. We could have walked there no problem, but how often can you ride an authentic 100 year old Trolly, right? The kids loved it!

This was part of a ship in the museum that was actually really dark inside it and just had a red light to see by. My flash kind of ruined that effect but got a goofy shot of Nathan. :)

This was a display of a bunch of canned Salmon labels. Astoria used to be a huge Salmon Packing place. I'm not sure why that died down though.

I don't know why but I LOVE glass sea floats! These were from China

Watch out for Jessica! This is a real war gun, but I guess its not loaded and she isn't holding it right. :)

This is the story of the shipwreck that is still on the beach and I took some photos of it that are so pretty! Its really cool to see it.

Viewing a real light for a lighthouse at the museum.

These are whale teeth! They have pictures on them

This is a real coast guard boat that they put inside of the museum and made it look like a real rescue with these wax people frozen in a rescue attempt. I thought it was pretty awesome looking!

Jacob grabbed me and showed me this boat. There weren't any signs for kids not to play in it so I assumed it was okay. :)

At the Maritime Museum they had a large chart that showed where there were about 200 ship wrecks. This area is so dangerous because it is where the river empties into the ocean so the currents are crossing. Add that factor to a storm and it gets crazy!

Homes in Astoria right on the bay

On our way to Astoria


Natalie waits to eat the crab and makes a "crabby" face. Actually I think its cute!


Crab fishing was so fun! We caught 5 keepers, but had to toss the rest.

Birthday girls!

2010-07-25T23:12:00.000-07:00

This month we celebrate both Jessica and Natalie's birthdays! They are now 7 and 4 years old. We did a very "girly" princess party for the both of them and they loved it! It was the perfect day if you ask me!

Party entrance


Jessica's cake is the Sleeping Beauty and Natalie wanted Ariel.

The pool was full of kids! They didn't mind! They also had a slip and slide...

and water-balloon games thanks to hunky husband. We played "pass the balloon" where you couldn't use your hands, only your neck to pass it. Then we also tossed them in the air with our beach towels. Super fun!

Jacob takes a turn at "pin the tiara on the tiara."

The kids loved eating their candy necklaces while waiting their turn to play the game.

Make a wish!

The birthday princesses

These are our neighbors, Whitney and Evelyn. I love their faces as Natalie was opening this present! It was from Whitney and she was super excited to give it to her-- so cute!

What better way to end a crazy day of party fun than go to see a movie? Jacob is here pretending to be the Avatar, but really we saw Toy Story 3

One of my favorite parts of the day is when we came home from the movie and we, the whole family, were on the floor in the girls' room playing with their new strawberry shortcake dolls. Nathan, whom I am always laughing at, was pretending to be the little tiny strawberry doll. Since we just saw a movie with talking toys, I was all the more entertained when he put the doll on his head and said, "Oh look I can see my house from here." I was the only one who laughed, since the kids didn't really get it. The little doll house was right in front of him on the floor. Then he put the tiny little dress on the doll. Its so small, it seems like it wouldn't fit, but it did. He said again in his high pitch little girl voice, "Oh let me put my dress on, its a size negative 17." Again, I 'm the only one laughing, but its moments like that that I cherish. What an awesome day!

More words of wisdom

2010-07-21T17:27:00.000-07:00

Today I had the opportunity of speaking with another stranger who helped me appreciate my family all the more. We were at the pool and my friend had left with her kids almost an hour before hand, so I was alone with the kids. Jessica came up to me and told me that the new friend she had made went home. She then told me how they met. I listened and then told her that she is good at making new friends and she was so happy to hear it! At this moment, the lady who had just sat next to me on my bench said to me, "Oh, she is so sweet! Is that your daughter?" I told her she was. We talked a bit about my children, I pointed them out and told her their names. She was a nice lady and interested in what I had to say. She kept asking me questions like, "Are you Russian?" I told her "no" and she informed me that the name "Natalie" is Russian and she just found that out. She also was interested in where I was from and how long I had lived here. I can't help but keep talking, so we kept chatting until I finally pulled me kids out to go home. I also asked her such questions like, "Do you have any children?", "What do you do for a living (she asked what my husband did), and, "Are you married?" She told me she had one son (almost the same age as me) and she had a grandson and they lived near by. Then I found out she is a housekeeper. But, she did not have a husband. She told me she had been married for eight years and then, "he changed out of the blue one day." I told her I was sorry and she thanked me. She wanted to know how I met my husband. This is a sweet thing to me. It really is sacred to me how we met because I know I was guided to him, so I tried to give a simple version to her. She was happy about it. Then she said words so simple and outright without bitterness that I feel I owe her for sharing it to me. She said, "You are very fortunate to have found your husband." What other nine words could convey my truest feelings towards my Nathan? I know I am fortunate to have found him. I told her so. Especially since my own parents are no longer married. I thought of how wonderful he was and that is all I had the heart to tell her. Just that he is wonderful. I couldn't tell her how much I really felt and all the reasons he is so great because that may have been rude. But I can write them and think them and cherish them. He is handsome, he loves me with no eyes for another, he makes me laugh just about everyday, he helps me not be too serious, he works like a dog to provide for us, he puts up with crazy things I do and say, and he snuggles with me every morning even if just for a quick hug. He loves the Lord and thus served a mission for our church with all his heart, might, mind and strength. He may not be perfect but he is for me. "Fortunate" does not even begin to describe my emotions about finding him! "In debted," "elated," "ecstatic," "over joyed." The man who sealed us called me an "anxious bride". And I was! I wanted to marry him as fast as was humanly possible! And I never ever wanted to let him go! And I knew marrying him in the temple would have all these dreams come true! It was the first, huge step to being together forever and I could not hardly wait! Fortunate? AHHH! Everyday I do not have to conscientiously think of how fortunate I am to have him because it is a part of our marriage, a huge part of my heart everyday. But, it comes out in me in great warmth when I think of how grateful I am for him. I am so happy he is alive, so happy he is healthy and safe each day! I waited for him, I hoped for him, and when he loved me so much in return, it was like a miracle occurred! I love that man, oh, I do! Remembering this brings so much joy and I'm not about to let it die or let it go!

Words of wisdom

2010-07-14T09:09:00.000-07:00

The other night I dared take all three of my children into Wal-mart. We were looking at the toys as I tried to figure out what the girls would like the most for their birthdays this month. I had all three of them in the cart and we were checking out Barbies as I heard a voice from behind me. A man I did not know said, "I wish mine were that young again!" When I heard this I wanted to say something clever back, but all that came out of my mouth was, "Really?" I looked at him as he passed by quickly and instead of seeing a laughing, light expression, I saw pain in his eyes and sincerity. He went up another isle before I could say anything else and I was left struck by what he said and mostly by what I saw in his eyes. He was an older man. His hair was beginning to get gray and he looked a bit rugged like a "biker dude". I felt for him and I wanted to say to him, "I don't want them to grow up!" But I didn't get to say more, just listen to his words that seemed to linger in the air.
All too real was the reality that one day that would be me. I'd be the graying haired woman telling some mother with three children climbing all over her shopping cart that "those were the days." It got to my heart and hurt a bit. I let it. I need those little wake up calls every day.

What was really sweet about the whole thing is that as I was leaving the store a while later, the same man turned the corner and looked in a great hurry once more. I recognized him and figured he forgot something and was coming back in for one more thing. I gave him the most kind and knowing smile in my eyes that I could. I wanted to tell him that I knew what he meant and 'thank you' because I do want to appreciate these days. I wish I could convey his own face. Here, a stranger, a man who would easily be stereotyped as not having such a big heart, smiled very kindly back at me and it was if my soul connected with his and an understanding passed briefly between us. I don't know if that sounds odd, I just wanted to explain how I really felt. I pondered all of it so much since then. I don't believe in accidents. I see such things as a tender mercy from the Lord. He is trying to teach me and it is sweet how he uses even strangers to do so. Ya know, we all need each other so much! And even something so simple as a kind phrase or words or wisdom or a smile can have a deep impact on even a "stranger."

LOTs of Pictures from June!

2010-07-11T18:08:00.000-07:00

Aaron, Nathan's older brother and four of his adorable

kids on the four wheeler at Grandpa Dave's

Nathan asks Amanda, his adorable step sister if she

wants some ice cream

Dawn, Nathan's awesome sister, and Alan, her hubby

enjoy some fresh fruit and veg at

Grandpa's house

Two for one! This is his favorite!

(Cute icecream dance!)

Jacob and Sam were so cold!

(Too skinny :)

Savannah and Jessica just adore each other!

Here we were all settled in the movie room at

Grandpa's house to watch a cute picture show of when

Nathan and his siblings were growing up. Keira did a great job! so cute!

Natalie and Sarah are best buddies!...

... Two cute peas in a pod!

Cousins await pony rides. Grandpa is so nice!

Aaron and Maegan stayed with us and so we had so much fun!

Wish they could have stayed longer! They were no trouble at all!

We had pancakes and boy can Aaron's kids eat!! :)

This is Natalie at BK with me. She is funny!

Reese and Natalie are also the most adorable pair ever!!

Oh I just love love love all these little girls!

The poor grandsons are all out numbered. I think most of us have at

least one boy from Nathan's side of the family, but no one has two! And the girls come in

spades!

I love this shot of Aaron! He is just chillin!

Alan and Bronson look so cute!

The kids loved playing with their cousins at the splash pad!

Us ladies hanging out on the deck... got to love Sundays!

This is NATALIE! Can you believe it?!? She, of all my children,

was the bravest and headed straight to the top on her second shot!

Of course, Dawn's girls were pros! They did awesome each time!

I love this shot of Maegs and Vi! She is so photogenic!

This picture really cracked me up! Jacob and Natalie

are doing some kind of crazy dance it looks like, but

they were just goofing around. :)

I turned the corner at his dad's house, and found Nathan

snuggling with chubby Elijah. Cute picture, huh?!

I think this is so cute too! Daddy and Natalie at the pool!

Daddy driving too fast for a clear shot! He really took off!

The cousins love icecream! Here is Kayden, Kaylee, and Same

standing behind Jacob.

The last day Aaron and Maegon were here, we went bowling

and here is Jess happy to knock 'em down!

This picture is taken from inside the house of our view out the window.

We were cracking up at Elijah pulling on his uncle

Clayton's dreads. :)

Gotta love babies!

Natalie and Rylie enjoying their icecream!

What can I say? Natalie is awesome!

And in SANDALS!

Jacob tosses his ball

This is Brenton's adorable little boy, Maxton.

I think he has the cutest voice I've ever heard!

He was pointing to the dog and the baby back and forth

and saying, "Doggie, baby, Doggie, baby."

love it!!

Back at bk (pictures out of order if you can't tell)

Jacob and Natalie look awesome!

Jessica at the mother daughter activity. She had crazy, "I've-eaten-way-to-much-candy" eyes.

I love it though!

They had so much candy at this thing! My girls had eaten so much before

I even knew what was going on!

Oh, and Natalie threw up that night...

awesome.

This is our craft day from memorial day. I love doing

crafts with kids! They make me feel like a good mom, like

I'm doing something wholesome and good with my kids I guess.

This was at the park on July 2nd.

Nathan had taken the kids there while I got my teeth cleaned.

Then, what else do you do with dad?

GET ICECREAM OF COURSE!

Jessica and Jacob love to pretend to be doggies!

Jess really loves that pool! She is a fish!

Um, what can I say?

Jacob dressed up in Natalie's p.j.s

It was too funny NOT to take a picture!

OH I love this picture!!

Jessica is one happy girl in the water!!!

And doesn't mind icecream...

or playing at the park either with her family.

mother daughter activity... my cute girls are

nice sisters!

My son is the Avitar. Yep, the last airbender... forgot to tell you.

(Even if he was very grumpy for this picture)

don't worry, I was supervising her. I just needed to

take a picture of her cute outfit!

Gotta love boots in June!

Here we are painting nails at the activity.

I highly recommend doing such a thing on the grass!

No worries!

This is a rainbow that came out without a storm!

Funky huh? I'd never seen such a thing!

OH the strawberries from Grandpa Dave's garden!

Need I say more?

This summer has been great! We have had lots of fun with family and friends with reunions and playing in the water and watching movies, etc. Even shopping with the kids has been fun for me! I just love being with them! I feel like the summer time is when you slow down and have fun. Its really important to me actually. So, I have been busy doing instead of documenting, but I want to catch up a bit. Here are some (I mean a bout a million) pictures! (If anyone makes it to this part)

love of brothers and sisters

2010-07-04T12:37:00.000-07:00

Today in church I followed the Sunbeams to class as I do each week (the 3 year olds I teach). The hallway is busy and full full of many children and teachers standing on both sides of it. We try to walk right in between them without losing our class members. First my Sunbeam, Cannon, stopped long enough for his sister to grab him and kiss him on the head. Then another little girl, not in my class, stopped to kiss her brother. And then a ways down the hall she found her dad and gave him a kiss. It was so cute how the brothers and sisters would get excited and call out to their siblings and give them a kiss and a hug. I was smiling the whole way down the hall as I viewed it. I love the family unit and it truly is one of the most joyful scenes in the world to view brothers and sisters getting along and loving one another! If only we could do such a thing world wide. Then there would not be wars and great heartache and terror. There would be peace and joy and great love. And it all starts in our own hearts and in our own homes.

I am grateful to live in this free country and for those who fight for it!

Thank you!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

A broken heart and faith

2010-06-18T12:06:00.000-07:00

I read this article today after reading in D&C 117:13. It touched me so deeply.

Peanut Butter

2010-06-07T21:57:00.000-07:00

Today I gave my son some peanut butter for a snack, then left the room for about ten minutes. I didn't know five year olds need supervision with peanut butter. Beware that they do! Or, they might paint the chairs with peanut butter. And the lid of the peanut butter. And stir the peanut butter with a hopefully not licked spoon.

Instant attitude uplifted

2010-06-01T15:09:00.000-07:00

A good attitude is my favorite attitude. Sometimes, however, that attitude seems hard to grasp. Well, lately I have found a great new way to word the question, "What do I have to do today?" Change ONE word and you have a much better way to see things:

"What do I GET to do today??"

Another great question may be "What do I get to enjoy today?"

My goal for this month is to write at the end of each day something I GOT to do that day, something I GOT to enjoy. I'm sure the list will continue from there. Try this yourself and see how great life really is! (Its not a chore, you get to do it. :) I did a similar exercise in April, made a gratitude list each night, and it was a great way to uplift my soul and not forget the things I know I don't want to forget. Have fun!

silver lining

2010-05-28T23:46:00.000-07:00

Every cloud, so they say, has a silver lining. This one by the river the on Wednesday evening had a most brilliant one! It was such a beautiful walk with the family. I feel that we experience both heaven and "not heaven" while here on earth so we will know to savor what is so good and sweet. This is kind of what I think heaven will be like; with my family and beauty all around. We had the river, the clouds, and even a few rainbows to view. The children found feathers and seashells and were very excited. There was a light rain as we left and I just felt so blessed to enjoy a moment of such peace with those I hold so close to my heart! I know that no matter the difficulties we face or the hard times, if we open our hearts, we will see the good in all things and as we rejoice in them, we will be blessed.

The scriptures say all good things cometh of Christ. In fact if it were not for Christ, there would be no good things. Why? Jacob explains in 2 Nephi 11:7 "For if there be no Christ there be no God; and if there be no God we are not, for there could have been no creation. But there is a God, and he is Christ, and he cometh in the fulness of his own time."

Wow! Can you even imagine such a thing?!?

There would be no sun, no moon, no stars,

no earth, no sea, no fish, no animals,

no trees, no flowers, no wind,

no babies, no people,

no life.

Christ is LITERALLY THE LIFE OF THE WORLD.

And the LIGHT as well.

The adversary is the death and darkness of the world, of our souls.

We get to choose who to follow and this is good.

"Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves--to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life." 2 nephi 10:23

Jacob's birthday party!!

2010-05-27T22:10:00.000-07:00


Jacob's birthday was in April and he wanted a pineapple cake. I made it from scratch and it was so yummy! This is the new bike that Grandma and Grandpa Davis gave him. I can hardly get him off it ever since he got it! If we are headed to the park, the bike goes too! Jacob with Grandma Shirley. They are sure cute together! I love Jess in the back ground too! J Jess wants to be close to the action as Jacob opens up his other presents. I love the sweatbands Nathan got him! He can't wait for that boy to get big and work out and play sports with him. :) So cute! This picture is so funny! Rise and shine Jacob! Its our tradition now, thanks to aunt Dawn, that we get pancakes, the same number of how old you are turning, to eat in bed. I wrote a #5 on top of these, but it melted. Anyway, what is really funny is that this was at least a week after his birthday. I had not done this before because his birthday fell on a Sunday and we were off to church, but we can pretend it was the right day. He didn't care either, just wanted me to do it again the next day!

I can still give

2010-05-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

Delivered On: January 21st 2007
Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell

Cracked Pots

Sometimes we think we can’t help, give, or do because we can’t help, give, or do perfectly. Maybe we think our house isn’t clean enough to invite someone inside, or we can’t cook well enough to have someone over for dinner. Such feelings of inadequacy can become crippling. Not only do they keep us from nurturing loving relationships, they also keep us from recognizing and receiving blessings.

The story is told of an elderly Chinese woman who walked to the well each day with two large pots hung on the ends of a pole she rested across her back. One pot always delivered a full pot of water to her home; the other pot had a crack in it. It dripped water the whole way home, and the most it ever brought to the woman was half a pot of water. When asked why she continued to use the cracked pot, she pointed to the trail of flowers that grew along the path. Years ago, when she first discovered the crack, she planted flower seeds alongside the path where the pot dripped. Before long, she began to enjoy fresh flowers all the way home. The cracked pot, though imperfect, was as valuable to the old woman as the pot without flaws.

And so it is for us and our offerings to each other. A windowpane marked with the fingerprints of children can be more beautiful than a window that is spotless. A simple sandwich shared with a friend can be more nourishing than lunch at a fancy restaurant. A love song from a devoted and aging husband, though perhaps a bit off key, can be more meaningful than a flawless performance of that same song on the radio. When our offerings to each other come from the heart, they are all that is needed.¹

Program #4038

¹See Luke 10:42.

Labor Pains

2010-05-12T09:14:00.000-07:00

The other day it rained. So, what did I do instead of take the kids outside to the park for playgroup? Why, I cleaned my couches, of course!
I must say, they are so much nicer! But, just a precaution to anyone else with this same urge to wash the couch cushion covers in the washing machine.... they are HARD to put back into the covers!
I kept thinking, 'This is like my labor with Jacob. Its not too painful, yet very strenuous and difficult and hard!'
I had an epidural with Jacob and it actually worked well, so his labor was "nice" as they can be. He was so big! Almost 10 lbs and I still laugh when I think of how my neck hurt more than anything else when I tried to push his huge noggin out. I laid back at one point, took a deep breath, and in exasperation said, "This is hard!"
Well, for anyone who would like to relive labor, and I don't know who would, just wash the couch and you will remember why you only have the amount of children you do. :) Of course, such a thought may have been realized just by looking at how dirty the couches were to begin with.

Happy Mothers Day!

2010-05-09T15:25:00.000-07:00

Today has been such a nice Mothers Day! The talks at church were so uplifting and the spirit was strong and sweet. In our Relief Society meeting (for the women), we all got to be there because those of us that teach the little children in Sunday school classes called Primary, were temporarily replaced by the youth so all women could attend Relief Society on Mothers day. It was all even better than I expected. When all the women sang, the spirit was so strong and I felt that beauty radiate from the inside of all these daughters of God. I especially felt my heart glow with the spirit as three of my friends got up to sing a song about how God loves little children. Oh how sacred our roles are as mothers! They were so recently with God, after all, and now here with us so privileged to care for them. There is no love like a mothers love.
I'm placing to of my favorite talks on mothers in the above phrases. The first so clear that we need to" treasure the doing more than the getting it done."
The other clear that our motherly love is unlike any other love to experience and is so like our Saviors love. What a tender thought that is.
I read on Katherine Wolf's website/ blog today of her "one year later essay" and it was so amazing. She absolutely amazes me! She said "to Believe in God means also that we must Believe God." When He says He loves us, and proves it through sending us a Savior, do we BELIEVE it like we know we can? In Bonnie D. Parkin's talk, "Eternally Encircled in His love," she said, "In my prayers each morning I ask Heavenly Father to fill me with His love so I can do His work with more heart." That is allowed. We can do that! I'm going to make that a more meaningful and frequent petition in my own prayers. May the love of God be stronger in our motherly love and felt be all around us.... Happy Mother's Day!

A Warning Voice

2010-04-18T15:24:00.000-07:00

Last night was fun because we had a birthday party to go to for my friend Kristen's daughter, Sydnee. She is Jessica's age. That was fun, but I had a moment that taught me another important lesson. That afternoon I had down loaded a few songs off the Internet. One is by the chipmunks and Jessica loves the tune. I put it on a CD to listen to in the car but then I just could not get myself to feel totally comfortable with it. We listened to it on the way to the park and I kept feeling a little bad every time I put it on. I mean, the chipmunks are singing it, so it seems just fine, but some of the lyrics I would cringe at every time. Should I really be the one exposing my children to this? I kept thinking that maybe I should. Like maybe I would seem cool or down to earth to my kids. Why? Okay, I mean, WHAT?? WHY?? Sometimes our thoughts are most obviously insane when we write them out. So, here is what happened at the park that really got me thinking about this and other things later. There is a large zip line, like nothing I have ever seen at any other public park, that they have at the one we went to. The girls had already taken a ride on it. Its a normal swing the children sit in and then an adult can pull them back and then push them forward and they go zipping along, hit the end and catch enough air to come almost all the way back alone. As we walked away I thought to myself how dangerous it is that there is no net or fence around it so that you would not walk into the path of it and get smacked over. Then I was at the other end of the park and texting Nathan back about where we were and I looked up to see Natalie walking toward me from way across the park. The big zip line was right in between us and I could see her headed right for it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone in the process of launching off the zip line. I called out to her, "STOP!" She kept coming so I tried again, "NO! STOP!" At that same moment I realized the problem of me saying stop was that she was about to stop right in the line of fire. It was all so awful and slow motion. Then, my worst fear was realized. The little girl on the line came hard and fast toward her and I watched my baby, totally unaware of what was about to hit her, her eyes fixated on me, fall flat to the ground upon impact. There was a hush in the park, so many families there watching. I dropped something in my hand and ran fast. In what seemed like two strides I was there and grabbed her little arms with all my strength and pulled her up to my chest. I could not believe what had just happened. My heart stopped as I ran toward her. She lay there lifeless and still. Was she knocked out? Was she seriously hurt? I heard here start to sob and my mind somehow started to think more clearly. I realized she was probably bruised more than anything else and that she was be okay. I was so angry at myself at the same time. I had been distracted by my phone and I did not give her a more alarming warning. I could have said "LOOK!" And she may have seen what was coming. I could have screamed louder. At the time I thought she was okay and within seconds realized she was not okay at all, but by than it was too late. I tried so hard not to cry as I rubbed her little body vigorously in hopes it would help distract from any pain and I felt just awful inside. Worse, in fact, than I expected to, oddly enough. She is my baby, why had I not protected her?
She, thankfully, walked away with very small scratches on her face and arm and within ten minutes was laughing on the playground spinning seat. I, however, still had adrenaline pumping through me. I keep thinking of that image of her lifeless on the ground, the sudden impact, my heart stopping. I'm grateful she was okay, but I still wish I would have done better for her and I am all the more worried about my ability to protect my children. It was a wake up call for sure. But there was even another lesson. Not just on physical, but spiritual protection. Maybe I could have helped Natalie better if I had not been distracted and had I had a heightened sense of what was really going on. And if I had called to her with greater force and clarity. As her mother, I may have been able to have done more if I had been more aware. That is when I thought about the song I had been playing in the car. I can not be the one approving what is not okay. I must be more aware. Strength was important when Natalie was hurt, but not enough. Every second counted in that instant and every day is just as equally important as they grow. I'm so thankful for the warning voice of a true and living prophet today and all the leaders that just warned us on teaching and preparing our children for these latter days.

Em-o-e

2010-04-06T19:32:00.000-07:00

I lost my library card. I'm not sure how. So, I called the library and the librarian asked for my name. I told her and she said, "I don't see an Em-O-E. You said your name was Em-O-E, right?"
Trying very hard not to laugh as I pictured my little sister getting a big kick out of that, I say, "Um, no, its Emilee, with two 'e's."
But then it somehow continued on in funnyness. (Iknow its not a word)
She said, "I don't know how old you are, but if you are an adult, its five dollars to get a new card."
Again, trying, with effort, not to laugh.

I wonder if I convince them somehow I'm not an adult if it would be free. Hmmmm.

a week with my mommy

2010-03-28T15:19:00.000-07:00

A week ago my mother was here for her spring break (she is a teacher at a college). She and I had a wonderful time together. We relaxed and enjoyed a peaceful time of shopping at the country Mercintile, visiting the cheese factory, taking the kids to see Alice and Wonderland, buying and planting flowers (something I have never done before and loved), shopping without kids for a few hours, and, lets not leave out the two days we spent up in Levenweorth just the two of us! We sampled bakeries, chocolate stores, authentic
German food, etc, and visited some cute stores with antiques and others with wood toys that I adore. I loved the most just staying up late watching a movie in our p.j.s and sharing gelato. I also loved watching "The Wind at My Back" series on the byu channel. It seems like the week just flew by so fast!! I'm grateful she could come, though, and just love my mommy so much!

ps. Mom, I bought some daffodils and added them to the rest, but I only got five because I am so cheap. Some of those already bloomed flowers that start with an "h" are starting to die I think, so do I cut them? I may have over watered them, but some of the pink ones are just starting to bloom, so yeah!

water

2010-03-07T16:33:00.000-08:00

Today in Sunbeam class our lesson was on "I am Thankful for Water". We had a wonderful time! We looked at beautiful photos of lakes, ocean, and streams and we watered plants and made rain sounds with rhythm sticks. I told that we all need water to live and that it would only take about three days in fact for us to die if we had no water. Well, Natalie must have taken it to heart and I wonder how the rest of the class felt. When we got home she had me open her water bottle that I gave to the class as a "prize"(They were kind of disappointed since they were expecting a "treat").
Anyway, she said, "I need to take a drink so I don't die,"then drank up. Oh how I laughed!
We had a dreamy afternoon today. Oh that all days were Sunday, right? We ate lunch then took a blanket and some books out on the grass. I must say that to enjoy our "new" backyard was so heavenly. Oh to have real grass! No bugs to worry about, just a blanket on the soft grass. Then we read books and mostly the friend magazine together. Mostly I read to Jess and Jake one at a time. Then I planned our family home evening for tonight. I love this weather! It is supposed to be 65 degrees today.

last birthday

2010-02-28T14:46:00.000-08:00

Today is my last birthday. Its the joke my Dad and I have. 29 and holding. :)
But, right now I am awaiting some great things! I have my favorite cake in the whole world baking. I had it for the first time on our cruise and then once again at the MGM studios Hollywood Brown Derby. Its called:

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE

Oh please turn out!! Please!

Also looking forward to my cousins coming over for dinner! We are having ham and I'm about to put that in the oven too. Another hit inspired from a restaurant that I ADORE- EMERIL'S IN MIAMI FLORIDA.

wow! Hurray for good food!!

Want a picture of the cake? click here

Out of the mouth of babes

2010-02-24T16:13:00.001-08:00

Today I was viewing pictures of our family on my blog with Natalie. She saw one of her dad and said, "Oh, I wish I could be with daddy again."
The other morning before he left for work she said to him, "Daddy loves me." And he of course agreed. Then she added, "And that's what makes him happy."

Now think of it in terms of our Heavenly Father.

Its sweet.

So is this:

"Our Father in Heaven has given us, His children, much more than any mortal mind can comprehend. Under His directiond the Great Jehovah created this wondrous world we live in. God the Father watches over us, fills our hearts with breathtaking joy, brightens our darkest hourse with blessed peace, distills upon our minds precious truths, shepherds us through times of distress, rejoices when we rejoice, and answers our righteous petitions.
He offers to His children the promise of a glorious and infinite existence and has provided a way for us to progress in knowledge and glory until we receive a fulness of joy. He has promised us all the He has.
If that is not enough reason to love our Heavenly Father, perhaps we can learn from the words of the Apostle John, who said, 'We love him because he first loved us.'" (cont. Pres. Uchtdorf)

Why gratitude

2010-02-24T15:51:00.000-08:00

There was once a talk that I heard that pretty much changed my life. I have already written about it twice on this blog here and here.
I believe that God loves us very much and so He gives us what we need, hard as it may be at times. Sometimes that entails trials, temptations, or weaknesses. But they are for our good. If we search, we can all find the good, the light in our lives. There is a silver lining of each cloud and a ray of hope. There are windows that open when doors shut. Lately I have been thinking how cool it would be if I made a special record for my posterity on all of the miracles I can think of that God has given me or done for me in my life. One of my favorite is how I met Nathan.
But, what I really wanted to say, is that there is hope and healing in gratitude. I think God gives us gratitude for so many more reasons than we can understand with earthly eyes. I love looking at my blog, the pictures, the stories, and seeing how blessed I am.

Confidence in LOVE

2010-02-06T23:12:00.000-08:00

I love the month of February. And, speaking of love, and this happens to be the month of love so to speak, I want to expand upon that subject throughout this month. Most of what I want to share is from a very uplifting message given by Dieter F. Uchtdorf. The message is called, "The Love of God." I will share a bit each day I post thus to help others to take it in. It is such a simple, yet profound truth. One that all people have in common in fact. It is that God loves us. I know He does. I am grateful to know it for it brings me more hope and peace than any other thing.
This part goes along with what I was saying earlier about treasure.
"God the Eternal Father did not give that first great commandment because He needs us to love Him. His power and glory are not diminished should we disregard, deny, or even defile His name. His influence and dominion extend through time and space independent o four acceptance, approval, or admiration.
No, God does not need us to love Him. But oh, how we need to love God!
For what we love determines what we seek.
What we seek determines what we think and do.
What we think and do determines who we are--and who we will become.
We are created in the image of our heavenly parents; we are God's spirit children. Therefore, we have a vast capacity for love-- is is part of our spiritual heritage...Love is the defining characteristic of a disciple of Christ."