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!