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.