Here are a couple pics of the new nephew- Russel- so cute!

A Time of Thanksgiving

What I've been grateful for this month (since it takes me a month to write something):

1. Parents and Parents-in-law

The kindergarten had grandparents day this month.  My parents came up from St. George just for the occasion, and Tavish's parents came too.  How many kids get to have both sets of grandparents there for Grandparents Day?  She felt pretty special.  After school my mom was talking all about how great it was to be with Sara... on and on.  Andrew came up to me and said, "Mom, I'm sad... Sara is getting all of the attention."  I asked him who usually got all of the attention and he said, "Me- so I'm sad".  We both decided that it was Sara's turn to get some attention.

Here Sara is showing her grandparents how she can skip rope.

2.  Good Family and Friends

This was the first year of having Thanksgiving at my house.  It was nice to have the whole family there, and a couple of good friends too.  I was worried about getting everything ready and made, but of course, the family helped me a lot.  I couldn't ask for a better family.

3.  A New Nephew
Unfortunately I don't have a picture of this one.  I only have one on my phone that I don't know how to get on to the computer.  Anyway- my kids have their very first cousin on my side of the family.  Yay!!  He was born on Nov. 29 and is so dang cute.  I could have stayed at the hospital and held him all night (It's really nice to be the one feeling good visiting a little baby that you don't have to stay up with all night:)  Of course, we couldn't stay too long visiting because we had the kids, and they don't just sit there.  In fact, one of our darling children- we're assuming the 2 yr old since no one else will fess up to it, pushed a blue button.  Just so you know- don't push the blue button.  That means code blue- blue as in not breathing.  We had nurses running into the room panicking and about 10 other nurses outside the door.  They didn't seem too happy with us.  Yep- it was time to go.  It was so good to see the baby though- what a sweet innocent little thing, hard to believe that he will soon be a two year old too :)

That's our month in a nutshell- and as usual, I recognize the hand of the Lord in my life by him blessing me with wonderful family and friends.

Visiting Teaching

About a month ago, the Relief Society president asked us in our meeting to think of and get some inspiration for a visiting teaching conference.  I learned in my mission (where I learned everything) the importance of visiting teaching and what an inspired program it is. I'm not saying I'm the best visiting teacher in the world, but I know that it really is one of the most important callings we have in the church, so I feel super guilty when I don't do it. This is one of the things our ward struggles with.

Anyway, I was thinking and praying for ideas to help inspire the ladies a little more to go out and do their visiting teaching.  You can't make people do things right? So I thought the best way to help someone want to do something was create something where the spirit would maybe touch their hearts and they would think, "I need to do this."  So, I came up with the idea to make a video with interviews from some of the sisters in our ward who are super visiting teachers and some who have super visiting teachers to share some of their experiences- along with pictures of sisters in our ward and clips from the church.  I thought it was a great idea and that I'd gotten inspiration.  Long story shorter- someone in our next meeting didn't like that idea- and of course that hurt my feelings.  Tavish told me that I can't get offended every time someone doesn't agree with me- hmm I try.  Anyway, the president said yes to my idea and we went for it.  After many technical difficulties and lots of time, I got it made.  It turned out very nice and spiritual- I think.

We played it at our Super Saturday; I was so nervous about what the sisters would think of it all.  (I know I'm silly to stress over these things).  After we played it we got many positive comments on it, and a few ladies from some other wards heard about it and got copies of it to do something like it in their wards.  So, after much worry and stress on my part, it turned out.   And believe it or not, our visiting teaching numbers this month were higher than they have ever been since I've been in.  I'm not saying a video made our numbers go up so much, but maybe the spirit did help inspire a few people.  I would love to put the video on here, but I would have to get the permission from too many people, but I'll try to put a link to the church clips we put in it.  Click here to see the videos- we included the Hands one and the one by Julie Beck in our video.

So- that's how I've seen the hand of the Lord in my life- he helps me with my calling and helped me remember to do my own visiting teaching this month. :)

8 Years

So, instead of cleaning the house, I'm blogging. I figure that's ok since I cleaned yesterday and I'm long past due on writing- right? Anyway, this past weekend was our 8th anniversary. A while ago we saw Cirque du Soleil on the TV and I told Tavish that someday I'd like to see that. Tavish said, "Let's do it- for our anniversary." So... we did :)

We drove to St. George, dropped the kids off with my super mom, and went to Vegas. I'm always in awe when I go to Vegas; I feel like I'm in a different world. We went to the Cirque du soleil show "KA". It was amazing. I loved it. A lot of talent went into that production. The performers were so athletic and coordinated. Whoever came up with the ideas and the set was pretty talented too. If you ever get the chance to see Cirque du Soleil you should take it. I'd love to go to another show, but $$$$$$$. We'll probably have to wait another 8 years.

We also stayed at the Trump hotel, just for the experience. I felt like those actors and rich people pulling up to the valet in our blue mini-van. :) It was exciting for us. Although I caught myself thinking that we didn't belong there, I know that rich or poor, black or white, whether you have slicked back hair with aligator-skin boots and a diamond watch, or just a t-shirt and levis, we are all children of God. As a ranger that I worked with years ago would say, "they put their pants on one leg at a time, just like me" SO... we had fun.

Now, what I'm grateful for:

-A sweet, giving sister who was willing to go to downtown Vegas to get us discount tickets

-A good mom, dad, brothers, and sister-in-law who was willing to help watch my kids

-The opportunity to see talented human beings (I see talented human beings all the time, but haven't seen these talents in person before :)

-A wonderful husband I've been with 8 years, who was willing to splurge this once and let me choose anything I wanted all weekend.

Thanks to you all!

School Starting

So, I keep putting off posting because I'm a slacker on getting pictures off of my camera; that is my goal for tomorrow.

One of the greatest blessings for us this month is school starting. The kids were so ready to go, and I was ready to send them too. Is that bad for a mom to be excited for school to start, just for her own sanity?

Andrew got a young, fun teacher that he just loves, and Sara got Andrew's kindergarten teacher. I have to tell you though, sending Sara to Kindergarten was hard on me. Even though I wanted her to go, and she was excited to go, I was sad to let her go. When I dropped her off there was a little boy next to her crying, and then his mom started crying- I had to get our of there fast before Sara saw me tearing up. I cried off and on while she was gone. Isn't motherhood is emotionally draining? The first day of school is just a bitter-sweet experience.

Now that we got the first day of school past us, I'm loving it :)

Here are our school-time blessings:

1. The kids love school, and keep busy doing something of worth.

2. They have great teachers- I've said before how grateful I am for teachers and the education system.

3. They are more tired at night.

4. And best of all for me..... drum roll...... I get time off!!!! If I get Mac asleep I get 1 1/2- 2 hrs of peace!! I can't tell you how exciting that is-- Ahhh, it's wonderful

Although we enjoyed our summer, we are happy school is back in!

Toilet Trouble

The other day I was complaining to my sister on the phone about my day and the subject of my blog came up. She, who has never read my blog, said, "You should blog about today," and I said, "Oh no- I blog about my blessings... only positive things." Then she said, "Then what will you blog about?"..... and that got me thinking... and thinking... there has to be something... and even on a bad day, I could find many blessings or some way that I could see the hand of the Lord in my life.

So, going back to the day of the phone call (3 days ago)... we had some toilet trouble. Sara went in to use the downstairs bathroom and she said, "I'm not going in there, Dad left it a big mess" (she gave Dad the blame on this one :) She said the toilet was yucky... and I told her to flush it. She did, and came out again and said, "I think something's stuck- it won't go down" So- I finally go in to look and there is yucky, stinky, ( I won't say more) water up to the brim. I get the plunger and say, "Don't flush this again!" As I'm starting to plunge, the plunger breaks, yes breaks, and at the same time a little body (Mac) sneaks in by me and flushes the toilet... the green, yucky, stinky, water flowing over onto the floor all over, while Mac is saying (and signing) "all done, all done"

I called Tavish and asked him to buy a new plunger on the way home. All the while I'm worrying

that Mac may have thrown something in there (he LOVES to throw things in water). I shut the bathroom door and try to ignore our problem.

Tavish came home with a new plunger... and... nothing, it doesn't work. So- he runs to the hardware store to find a "snake" (I didn't know what that was, but we now own one if you want to borrow it ever). But... the store had closed, one minute too late. So, we all hopped in to the car to Wal Mart, and lucky for us they had one. We came home, Tavish worked on it... couldn't get anything out, but whatever it was went down the hole. Then my good husband cleaned up the worst part of the mess and I cleaned up the rest... disinfecting.

So, here are my blessing from all of this:

1- We are blessed to have more than one toilet to use when something like this makes one unusable.

2. I have a good sister who listens to my complaining and still accepts me

3. My hero Tavish saved the day AND cleaned up! How many times has he saved my day? Answer: lots and lots. I think I was smart to marry him :)

Now, I just hope that whatever went down the tube, doesn't come back to haunt us in the future!

This is what our new Plunger looks like. Sara was fascinated by it.

Grandmas and Grandpas

Ok- I know... it's been a long time since I've posted... I can think of many ways that I've been blessed over the few weeks, so what to write about? We planted a garden, I've had tendinitis and had God bless and comfort me when I thought I was dying, we've been to Bear Lake camping, Bear Lake at the condo, Richfield area camping, registered for school, had Andrew's and Mac's birthdays... and the usual stuff in between (like church, laundry, cleaning, and packing). One thing that most of those have in common is good family- especially good Grandmas and Grandpas, so that's what I'll write about today.

Tavish's mom and dad are always good to take the kids out to eat and out to buy a present for their birthdays. The kids love it and look forward to it every year. They are also good to plan good family activities and spend quality time with the grandkids. We spent 5 days in Richfield with them; it made me tired just watching Grandma Bobby play and care for all the grandkids.

My mom came up from St. George for both of the kids' birthdays. Both my mom and dad are also good to spend time with my kids at Bear Lake and wherever. I have to tell you what my mom did; it shows how much she cares about her grandkids.

We went to a surprise birthday party for my brother. There was a fairly deep pool there and the kids (Andrew and Sara) and many adults (but not me) were swimming in the pool. My kids had life jackets on and many people watching them, so I wasn't overly worried about them; I was mostly concerned about keeping Mac from jumping in the pool. Anyway, Sara had gotten out of the pool for a while and had taken her life jacket off. Well, she apparently had forgotten she had her life jacket off and just jumped into the pool (she can't swim, but thinks she can). The next thing I knew I saw my mom jump into the pool with all of her nice clothes on. (I wish we would have gotten that on video). She saved my little Sara. My brother said, "Mom all you had to do was tell me to turn around and grab Sara," and she said, "I didn't think about that, I just saw Sara jump without her life jacket and had to save her. I love my little Sara." I feel bad that I wasn't watching better, but grateful for a good mom who watches over us.

Both sets of grandparents would do anything for my kids. I know my kids don't really realize how blessed they are to have super grandparents on both sides of the family, but someday they will.

Grandpa helped the kids make sand castles.

Andrew and his Grandma Bobby- with their rocks they collected at Big Rock Candy Mt.

Mac loves his grandma.

Family

How I've seen the hand of God in my life this past week: My family saved my sanity.

This past month we haven't seen the family much (as in my parents, siblings, in-laws). My inlaws have been in Europe, my family lives in St. George, and my sister (who lives a little over 1 hr away) was out in Michigan for a few weeks. So, that means that we've been pretty much just with our little family for a few weeks (I know lots of people don't see their family much, but I'm not used to it; I take having family around for granted sometimes).

I've got to tell you- I was on the verge of going crazy alone with the kids all day, everyday. Last week my sister and her husband came back from Mich. and my mom and other sister came up for a few days. My sanity was saved! I really think God know how much we can handle, or can't handle. I was getting to the point of not handling it anymore. We spent several days together going fishing, hiking, and just being together. I feel so much better now. Thanks family for helping me out. I love you!

Plants, trees, flowers

That's what I've had in my brain lately... plants, trees, flowers. We've been doing some things in the yard and have been deciding which plants, trees, and flowers to plant. Unfortunately, I know almost nothing about gardening/landscaping, and I'm very indecisive. After researching plants on the internet, I decided to take the kids to a nursery a couple of weeks ago to get something. It was nearly impossible to look at what I wanted, let alone carry the trees/shrubs I might want with 3 kids (Mac in particular). So, this morning, my sweet husband said, "Why don't you come up and go to lunch with me and then we can go look at trees?" Yes- thank you. He took us to a place with big fattening hamburgers, and then we went and picked out a couple of trees (we even got one of them free). Yay! I love getting good deals. It was soooo much easier with his help.

So- how have I seen the hand of God in my life today? He's blessed me with the best husband who really helps me out a lot.

I'll post some pics when I get everything planted, even if it doesn't look that great :)

Summer Activities

When Andrew got out of school for the summer, I knew that I would have to make some summer plans to keep the kids busy doing something besides watching movies and playing the wii. So, we had a family night reviewing our family mission statement and making plans for the summer. This is our summer-to-do-list (if you care to know):

Family Fun Time:Mac’s Birthday, Lagoon, Bike Rides, Badminton, Watch some movies, Andrew’s Birthday, 4-wheelers, Hikes, Rock climbing, Swimming, Playing Outside, Zoo, Bear Lake, Camping, planting

Education and Gospel: Swimming Lessons, Possible Piano Lessons, Reading Every Day, Hand Writing Practice, Scripture Reading, Journal Writing, Drawing and Painting, Science Experiments, Go to Church

Service: Make Dinners for Neighbors, Help Around the House, Clean Great Grandma’s House, Humanitarian Work on Tuesdays

House of Order: Daily Chores:Go Potty, Brush Teeth, Make Bed, Clean Room, Set Table (All three meals), Clear Table (All three meals), Feed Cat, Weeding, Clean Loft, Clean Downstairs, Take Out Garbage, Put Away what you play with, 10 Minute Clean Up

Although everyone agreed (with excitement I might add) to do these things, the "chores" and "service" part of the list has been a struggle. It seems we have a battle about every day when it comes to work. I keep telling myself that I need to be consistent... and my children need to learn the value of work- which is true. But I have also found myself telling my kids "no" when they ask me if they can do other things on the list, such as painting, science experiments... other fun stuff, because I think of all the mess they will make and the work it will make for me.

I got an email from my sister-in-law with an article about saying yes to the kids. I refuse to always say yes to my kids, but I decided that I could probably say yes a little more often and let my kids explore and have some fun. After all, we're only kids once- right? So today, we made cookies and I let them paint and play (inside because it's raining)- even though it's made a mess.

I didn't plan on letting Mac paint, but he sneaked away from me (while I was writing this blog actually- serves me right).

So what I'm grateful for today, is for the chance I have to be with my kids, even if they take work. How lucky I am to be able to have such wonderful little people in my family and that I can stay home with them.

For the Posterity

My dad has always wanted a cabin in the area where he grew up- Hatch UT. Most people don't know where that is, because if you blink as you drive past you miss it. It's about 30 min from Bryce Canyon. Anyway, the cabin dream is finally being fulfilled. My dad said he wanted to leave something for his posterity- which is the cabin and the land it's on. So, that's what I'm grateful for this week- my sweet dad who wants to give his children and grandchildren a place to vacation and be together.

This weekend we went down to work on the cabin. Everyone helped out... of course I did the hardest job and watched the kids :) They wore me out. I realized that my city kids really need this time in the country away from tv, computers... and just spend time outdoors. (not that Santaquin is a big city, but compared to Hatch almost anywhere is a city) We cant wait for the cabin to be finished. We love it down there!

Here's how the cabin looks so far:

Loft

This is where the kitchen will be.

Working hard- we're glad that our brother-in-law Ryan knows how to lay tile... and all of that handy-man stuff.

Hanging Sheet rock

The dirt kept Mac occupied for much of the time.

We love 4 wheeling on the many trails around town.

Mars Needs Moms

We got this book from the book order a couple of days ago. Most of us have those things we just splurge on- mine is children's books. I'm sure Andrew's teacher loves us because we give her many free books with all the money we spend on the book order. Anyway- this is one of those books that I just loved. It's about a boy who complains about his mom- she makes him do things he doesn't want... work... all of that. Then aliens come down to collect mothers because they need them to make dinners, drive them to soccer games, clean house... but finally the boy and the aliens learn what makes moms so special and why we and Mars really need moms . I guess you will just have to read it.

So, what I'm grateful for this week is mothers. Motherhood is one of those things that is always on my mind, because that's what I do, but this past week I've thought about it more. We had a friend pass away this past week, she's the wife of Tavish's good friend growing up. She left a husband and 4 kids under the age of 8. We went to the viewing and it was just awful seeing those cute little kids there without their mom. Depressing, you can imagine how it felt being there as a mom in the same stage of life as this girl, and all the thoughts going on in my head- enough said about that.

This, and mother's day, made me think about how blessed I've been to have such a wonderful mom for all of these years. I also have a wonderful mother-in-law and grandma. And even though it's tough, I really like being a mom too. So- not to be morbid or anything- but if I die before my time please help Tavish find a new wife (even though it makes me jealous thinking about it, and I know he won't like that comment :) ). My kids need a mom, just like Mars needs moms.

Happy Mother's Day! I love you Mom!

Teacher Appreciation

This week is Teacher Appreciation week. I was designated to decorate the door. Let me tell ya- I was surprised how much time and stress this was for me; dumb to stress over a door- I know. I was worried because I'm not the most artistic person... but it turned out fine. I had many ideas from the internet, other people... and I ended up going with this. I kept thinking, "what kind of door would I want as a teacher?" (Really and truly, I never really cared what my door looked like when I taught.) I decided though, that I would like a message from the kids and CANDY! So, although I'm not artistic, and it might not be the cutest door in the school, it has messages from the kids and candy :) (If I found this door Mon. morning, I would have taken all the candy out of the packages and left the wrappers- wouldn't want the kids begging me for candy all day :) )

I decorated this in the dark, the power was out for 4-5 hours. It went out just as I was going to print my last letter- the & sign, so I had to make it by hand. Luckily it didn't go out before or it would have looked much worse :)
I really do appreciate teachers, especially since I've been one. Teaching is one of those things that you really don't understand how it is until you become a teacher yourself. Like motherhood- about every mother would probably agree that she really didn't understand all that goes into being a mom until she became one herself. That's how teaching was for me. Teachers work many long, hard hours planning, preparing, dealing with all sorts of kids (and parents), following orders from administrators, taking classes, going to meetings... all for not the best pay.

So, this week I'm grateful for Andrew's teacher, and past teacher. I feel like I have someone helping me raise my child. He has learned many things from his teachers, not just his ABCs and 123s. His teachers teach him how to respect others and himself, how to take turns, how to be responsible, how to be honest, how to better socialize, how to not quit, how to be a good citizen, how to quietly wait in line, play nice... and I'm sure I could think of more. If you can think of more, feel free to leave a comment.

I love and appreciate school teachers! ... and I'm not biased. :)

Thanks Mrs. Ellis- this one's for you- and all the other teachers out there!

My Little Readers

The other day I told the kids to turn off the Wii (that they are addicted to) and get a book to read. Andrew and Sara both grabbed their books and started reading. I told Mac, "Mac, we're reading, go get your book." He ran and got a few books, sat in between them and started "reading". I thought it was so cute, just had to get a picture of it.

I like how Mac is trying to copy Andrew here- with his upside down book.

So, how have I seen the hand of God in my life? He's given me three cute, sweet, smart little kids. I know they aren't always that way, but most of the time they are. I sure love them. What would I do without them?

Sunny Days

Ok- I've been slacking on the blog... sorry. Today, and the past week, I've been grateful for the sunshine. I'm grateful for a lot of other things too, but I really like the sunny weather and all the blossoms... mmm- isn't it nice? It's been nice going on walks and spending time outside. Sunday evening we decided to play croquet in our back yard. It makes me remember doing things like this as a family when I was younger. How blessed we are to have such a good family,a nice place to live, and the sunshine!

I got this picture just after Andy hit himself in the head with his mallet.

Spring Break

For spring break we decided to go to St. George and spent a day in Vegas too. When I told Andrew that we might go to Las Vegas for a day, he was worried. He said, "Why would we go to sin city? Are we going to sin?" Somewhere he learned that Las Vegas is called sin city and has been concerned about my sister living there... He asked her on the phone one day, "Is there a church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints there?" So, we finally convinced him that there are lots of good people there and that there was lots of cool stuff to see too.

Anyway, we spent a lot of time with my family going to the park, having an Easter egg hunt, watching General Conference... My mom made a packet for the kids to help them listen better to the speakers. They actually listened and understood some of the talks. Good old Mom- she's such a good lady, and she LOVES her grandkids.

On Monday we went to Las Vegas. It was an eye-opening experience for the kids. I remember going to Vegas when I was a kid and was just shocked at all the lights, gambling, smoking... (I lead a pretty sheltered life). The kids were the same way, especially Andrew. By the end of the night the kids were complaining of their legs aching... being tired... (we did a lot of walking). So I asked them in the car some of the things we saw and did to remind them (and me) that we were having a good time. They began listing off what we did: saw the lions at MGM, the M&M store, Hard Rock Cafe, fountains at the Bellagio, Fremont street... As they were listing what we did Andrew said, "And we saw A LOT of sinning!"

It's amazing the contrast we had from one day to the next. One day we were listening to spiritual General Conference- and the next we were in worldly, downtown Las Vegas- Totally different feelings.

We sat at a table at Hard Rock Cafe with a cool touch screen computer with puzzles on it for the kids

So this week, I'm just grateful to be a member of the church. We are so blessed to have the knowledge that we do, and have that feeling of contentment and real happiness. It was fun to see Vegas and have the experience, but I think we had our fill of it for quite a while!

Life's Simple Pleasures

This week I'm grateful for life's simple pleasures. I think kids are the best at enjoying life's simple pleasures. So these are some simple things in life that we have enjoyed this week.

For Saint Patricks Day we didn't do a whole lot, but I did make green pancakes, green eggs and green milk. The kids were so excited. Something so simple as a little green dye really can spice things up at our house!

Andy insisted on taking a picture to show his class (which we haven't done yet).The decorations are from my Mom who was here for St. Patricks day a couple of years ago- thanks Mom

Here are some more simple pleasures of the kids:

Andrew: Andrew made a kite in school yesterday- just a simple dimond shaped paper with a crepe paper tail and a string attached. It's amazing how a paper kite can entertain kids. We took the long walk to the church (across the street) and flew the paper kite.

Sara: This week I tried to be a super homemaker like my mom, and made bread (white and wheat). It wore me out! How does she do that so often? Anyway, Sara liked it. She likes putting in the flour, mixing sugar and cinnamon for cinnamon rolls... helping in any way. So why is putting in a teaspoon of salt into something so fun for little girls? I don't know, but I remember loving to help my mom cook when I was younger too. Another simple pleasure Sara likes is to read. When I don't let her play on the computer, she likes to grab some books and read, even though she's still a beginner.

Mac: Because of the nice weather, we've been going on more walks. Mac likes to watch the birds, dogs, cars, people... He likes to immitate the sounds of everything. When we hear the train he says, in a high pitch "Oooo, Oooo", "brrrrooommm" when the cars pass, and chirps and barks when we pass the birds and dogs. He's not much of a talker, but he makes a lot of sounds. I'm thinking he's going to be our musical child.

I think that sometimes, in this day and age, we think we need lots of things to make us happy... video games, new clothes, cars, computers... but it's living the simple life that makes us most happy. Not that I don't like the modern technologies and things we have, I do and am so grateful for them, but I'm happiest going on walks on a nice day, visiting with friends and family, and spending time with the kids. So... this week that's my goal- spend more time enjoying the simple, real, things in life rather than the other stuff.



PS- This made me think of the book Too Many Toys. It's about a kids with too many toys... and ends up playing with a box.