Our Family Home Evening

For FHE a couple of Monday's ago we did our lesson at the dinner table. Grant chose a picture out of the gospel art kit to help with some obedience issues that we are struggling with at home. Madeline at times spends lots of time in time out as we struggle with power. We have this saying at home that we are teaching our children that they need to say: "yes mommy, yes daddy," well as you can imagine it works sometimes and sometimes it falls of deaf ears.

As we were explaining Jesus calling his apostles Grant told Madeline that when Jesus asked them to follow him, his apostles put down their nets and said "yes Jesus." Grant went on to explain what it means to follow Jesus and when we follow Jesus we are telling him "yes." We also talked about how Jesus obeyed his mommy and daddy and was a good example. Then Madeline pipes in, at this time I wasn't sure if she was listening or paying more attention to her food. "Jesus got M&M's because he made good choices and said "yes mommy, yes daddy." Grant and I had to chuckle and simply said yes he did. At home we have a good behavior jar and every time the kids make good choices we reward them with 5 M&M's, we finally found something that spoke to our kids, however sometimes M&M's are not an incentive to Madeline. The next day, on the way to school Madeline told me the whole story of Jesus calling his apostles. So I guess she was listening.

Anthony started piano lessons last week from a fantastic person in our ward. Anthony's piano teacher happens to be the primary choister in our ward and he has such a love for music and a love for children and he loves bringing the excitement of music to the children. Anthony is so excited.

I took Spencer to the doctor for his one year check up and he is officially 25 and 1/2 pounds. One pound heavier than Madeline. If he keeps his trend up he will be 30 pounds by the time he is 2.

I have been tagged by an angel

My angel that tagged me was Ginger.

How To Play This Game of Tag: Post these rules on your blog. List: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. (Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog!)
3 Joys
1. My husband, Grant
2. my children
3. Being able to start off the morning in the scriptures

3 Fears
1. Snakes
2. Heights
3. Messing up my kids and confusing them for life

3 Goals
1. To be with my family forever.
2. To get out of debt (next year!!)
3. For my kids to grow up to be happy & successful with strong testimonies of the Gospel!

3 current obsessions/collections
1. I am in a vinly lettering kick!
2. Pictures of my little family
3. Making FHE lessons for my kids

3 Random surprising facts
1. I have no cavities and never went to the dentist growing up
2. I have never broken a bone in my body
3. I had to have stiches under my chin from falling at school when I was 5

5 people I tag1. Alycia. 2. Sue. 3. Layla. 4. Wendy. 5. Any lurkers on board.

My Mother's Day

My Mother's Day was simple and nice just the way I like it. There were no fancy plans just quiet sunday spending time together. The best part of the day was the nap that I got after church. While I took a nap the kids decorated my Mother's Day gift. You see the nap served two purposes. I got some much needed rest and Grant was able to help the kids with my gift.

Anthony woke up this morning excited. He knew it was Mother's Day and he wanted to give me his gifts that he made at school. All week long Anthony and Madeline have been going through the house singing Mother Dear I love you so. They were even singing the song in the check out line at walmart and when they sing they don't sing at a whisper, they sing so everyone can hear. So all those behind us in line was privledge to hear two children sing Mother Dear I Love You So, only a kid could get away with that.

Here are some pics of my mother's day gifts. Today has been a great day just as every day is a great day!

This is a shirt that Grant and the kids got for me!

School Activity Pictures of Anthony

At Anthony's school all the Kindergarteners went to the zoo. I signed up to go thinking that I would walk along and take cute pictures of Anthony. Well the day before I read the paper again and realized that I was going to have my own group and be incharge of walking around with them, eating lunch with them, and basically educating them along the way. This was a little more than I thought, I was much more content and prepared with walking along taking cute pictures of Anthony. However, there were only three kids and one of them was Anthony that were in my group. The biggest problem was there were so many rude High School kids at the zoo which made it impossible to see some of the animals. I just do not understand how a teacher can justify taking High School Kids to the zoo, Kindergartners I can. These High School kids were not chaperoned which made things more difficult. The kids were certainly tired by the end of the field trip and having to walk back was interesting with 3 tired Kindergartners. The highlight of the trip for Anthony was being able to ride the bus.

Also last week Anthony was able to participate in field day at school. I walked around for about an hour cheering Anthony on and taking pictures of my cute son in action. After an hour I was tired and left Anthony with his 5th grader buddy and sat in the shade with the teachers and watched from a distance. Anthony enjoyed going around with his group paticipating in the different activities. There was no competition as they all recieved a certificate at the end. It was fun to see Anthony's smile on his face and to see him really enjoying himself.

Spencer Turned One!

On Saturday, Spencer turned a year old. We were going to go to the zoo, but figured Anthony and Madeline would enjoy it more than Spencer. We then thought of going to the park and then we stepped outside and was hit with the humidty so we decided instead to go get pictures taken of Spencer. For his birthday breakfast we made our usual pancake with a birthday candle, but he was more interested in his cocoa puffs and pushed it away.

On Sunday after church the kids decorated his cake and gave him his presents. Spencer didn't go after the cake like we thought, infact he didn't really start eating it until we gave him ice cream and stopped taking pictures. We managed to get a few pictures of him eating cake and ice cream. After he got all cleaned up, he opened his presents and we spent the rest of the time as a family enjoying Spencer's new toys with him.

Feedback from Spencer on his birthday was that it was good. My only clue is his smile and usual bubbly self.

Happy Eight Years!

For our eight year anniversary Grant thought of a neat idea. We haven't had pictures done of just us since our engagement pictures, so he thought it would be neat to go down to the studio and have pictures taken of us. So we did! We went to Kiddie Kandids so we were able to get the pictures in 10 minutes and then off to the craft store to pick out frames. I was so happy with how they turned out. I have to admit I practiced my smile before we left. In the pictures Grant and I look really happy, so I guess it means it has been a great 8 years.

Some randome pictures

Madeline loves to play games and do puzzles together. One of her favorite games is hide n seek. She is getting pretty good at hiding and staying quiet until found. Well she found a hiding place that only Madeline can hide in. Grant thought it was pretty qute so he took some pictures.

A couple of weeks ago we decided that we were done experiencing freezer temperatures at night and it was time to plant some flowers. The kids enjoyed going to the "plant store" and picking out flowers as well as seeds for their garden. Anthony and Madeline enjoyed planting the flowers. I was more surprised at how well it occupied their time. Anthony did most of the planting. He dug the hole, put the flower in, and filled it back with dirt. They spent most of the day out in yard working.

A couple of Sundays ago we went to a local park to enjoy the weather with a picnic and a nature walk. Anthony asked before we left if I could put together a scavenger hunt to do on our nature walk. I have done it a couple of times for when we go camping. I have to admit I cheated and found a website that has them done for you. This time the colored the squares for each time they found the object they were looking for. Madeline enjoyed it for a little bit, but became more interested in pushing Spencer (who is bigger than her) in the stroller. Anthony never lost interest. Spencer got tired of the stoller after a bit and prefered Daddy's shoulders which made it easier for Madeline to push the stroller. It was nice to get outside and enjoy some family time as well as some nice weather. It won't be too long before the only nice thing to do outside is swimming.

A small little break

For the past couple of weeks I have been swamped. It seems instead of juggling all my many responsibilities I have been drowning. I told Grant that I needed a little break and place to get a way even if we just spent the night. Well we looked at our budget and decided that we could afford to splurge.

This is the hotel Grant picked. When I told Anthony that we were going to a nice hotel where they cook your breakfast for you, he was shocked. He said you mean we don't have to make our own breakfast in our room. It was a very nice hotel looking around I felt like fish out of water, but enjoyed all the pampering amenities that they provided.

This is a picture of our room. Grant got a King size Suite. The kids slept in one room and we slept in another. The bed was so comfortable and the pillows were like marshmellows. While we were enjoying "Mormon Style" happy hour in the lobby (it was free!) Anthony needed to go to the bathroom. After washing his hands he couldn't find the paper towels. I told him that they have individual towls for you to dry your hands. He was shocked! They use towels that are rolled up nice and pretty. I much prefer the paper towels then to doing tons of laundry, but hey we will enjoy the spoiling once in a while. The kids had fun playing, I enjoyed relaxing, and I think we all enjoyed doing something relaxing. I wish it lasted longer, but it was enough to feel refresh.

Madeline's Fall

Last Wednesday, Madeline and I had a little encounter. I picked up Madeline from school and while I was talking to her teacher, Madeline was walking around me. I didn't see her right behind me when I went to go take her hand so we could leave. Well I bumped into her and she lost her balance and fell. I was more concered with her head because she hit her head on the concrete, but her head was fine, just a few scratches. I guess when she fell she landed on her wrist, and fractured the bone at the end of her wrist. She really didn't complain of any pain, but I noticed that she wasn't really using her arm. Well the silly mom that I am, I kept my plans that night and went to teacher improvement at church. I finished up with my responsiblilties there, gave what I think was a good lesson, enjoyed refreshments, and then dodged the thunderstorms coming home. When I got home, Grant wanted to take her to the urgent care center to have her arm x-rayed. So 9:30 at night, Madeline and Daddy head for the doctor. They get home around 11:00 with no brace or no splint and no instructions at all! I was shocked. They couldn't see that it wasn't swollen and it was somewhat uncomfortable. Now we have learned that Madeline has a high tolerance for pain. She can have an ear infection and not complain about it. Well the next day after Madeline went to school with her arm still bothering her and still swollen, the urgent care center called and said the Radiologist looked at the film and found the break. So back to the doctor for it to be put in a splint. Now I thought that were going to put her arm in a velcro removable kind of splint. No such luck. They wrapped it with ace bandages and put her arm in a sling. Now I always knew Madeline was remarkable, but she has proven to be even more remarkable. She wasn't bothered at all by her splint and at home she is still independent as ever. She has managed to do everything that she did with two arms but she does it now with one. At times we have forgotten that she even as a broken arm. She has never complained of pain or her arm itiching or bothering her. She prefers you to leave her bandaide alone, I think it is comforting for her. Today Madeline and daddy have a date to the bone doctor to have a real cast put on. She is excited that she can color on it and have her friends and teachers sign it.

So far I am 2 for 2 on injuring my kids. I remember injuring Anthony's leg while trying to go down a slide at the park and being to fat to fit. And now I bump into Madeline causing her to fall and break her arm....Spencer better watch out!

ABC's of Life

A- Attached or single: very, very attached :)
B- Best Friend: Grant
C-Cake or Pie: pie
D- Day of Choice: Sunday
E- Essential Item: comfy jamies
F- Favorite Color: yellow
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: neither
H- Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas
I-Indulgence: I don't really have any
J-January or July: July
K-Kids
L-Life is incomplete without: my family
M- Marriage Date: April 21, 2000 Bountiful, Utah Temple
N- Number of Siblings: 2
O- Oranges or Apples: Oranges
P- Phobias or Fears: Heights
Q- Quote(s): Be Still and Know that I am God
R- Reason To Smile: all my wonderful blessings (family, home, the gospel)
S- Season: Spring
T- Tag: Anyone who hasn't done this that wants to!
U- Unknown Fact About Me: I have a thing for memorizing birthdays and phone numbers. Once you tell me your birthday I have it memorized. I still know my best friend's birthday when I was eight and who I have not seen or contacted since then. I am just weird.
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: Both in Moderation
W- Worst Habit: Procrastination
X-Rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds- seeing my kids before they were born was awesome...so cool!
Y- Your Favorite Food: Italian...Zios
Z: Zodiac: Leo

I Delight In

I saw this on my friend's Ginger's blog and thought it was a neat idea.

Sister Tanner in general conference gave a talk on the things that she delighted in. Complete the following statement with 20 different things.

I delight in ____________________________.So- here's a few of the things I delight in.... in no certain order just whatever came to mind! :)

1. I delight in having Grant as my eternal companion.

2. I delight in the blessings of the temple and the knowledge that my children are mine for eternity.

3. I delight in a clean house.

4. I delight in freshly clean floors

5. I delight in hearing my children talk about the gospel.

6. I delight in listening to my children say their prayers.

7. I delight in freshly made bed.

8. I delight in hearing Spencer's laugh.

9. I delight in seeing Grant smile.

10. I delight in the time I have each morning reading my scriptures.

11. I delight in prayer and the opportunity I have to pray to my Heavenly Father.

12. I delight in teaching my children.

13. I delight in hearing my children sing I am a Child of God

14. I delight in seeing my children strive hard each day to make good choices and be good examples to their friends.

15. I delight in my testimony of the Gospel and my Savior Jesus Christ.

16. I delight in being able to watch the Spoken Word.

17. I delight in spending time with my children.

18. I delight in going camping as a family.

19. I delight when Grant makes Chocolate Chip cookies-they are the best!

20. I delight in the blessing that my Heavenly Father has given me.

One Word Answer

You Can Only Type One Word (Not as easy as you might think!)Now change the answers to suit you. It's really hard to only use one-word answers... and unnecessarily fun!

1. Where is your cell phone? bedroom
2. Your significant other? Grant
3. Your hair? clean
4. Your Skin? white
5. Your mother? busy
6. Your favorite thing? family
7. Your dream last night? ??
8. Your favorite drink? lemonade
9. Your dream/goal? success
10. The room you're in? office
11. Your ex? huh?
12. Your fear? snakes
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? home
14. Where were you last night? home
15. What you're not? wild
16. Muffins? sometimes
17. One of your wish list items? embroider
18. Where you grew up? Texas
19. The last thing you did? eat
20. What are you wearing? clothes
21. Your TV? off
22. Your pets? none
23. Your computer? on
24. Your life? fun
25. Your mood? busy
26. Missing someone? no
27 Your car? working
28. Something you're not wearing? shoes
29 Favorite Store? Target
30. Your summer? hot
31. Like someone? yes
32.Your favorite color? yellow
33. When is the last time you laughed? today
34. Last time you cried? unknown
35. Who will/would re-post this? anyone
36. Who's answers are you anxious to see? everyone

Our Week

This past week really has been uneventful, but that can be a good thing. We enjoyed Conference Weekend, the kids really enjoyed watching conference and were so excited when it was their turn to stand and sustain the prophet. At our house we have conference party, we start off conference weekend by making cinnamon rolls for breakfast and then we get out our 72 hour kits go through them take out the food and put the food in. We then snack on the old food for the weekend. I also put together conference baskets (similar to easter baskets) for the kids with fun quiet activities for them to do. We then get the pictures of all the apostles and first presidency and as they speak we hang their picture up. Usually the kids play with their new activities from their baskets or work on their conference packets, until the prophet speaks. When the prophet speaks all activities are put down and they listen to what the prophet is saying. One time Anthony was busy organizing the apostles and first presidency in order by senority (I know my son can be weird) so Grant and I are thinking that he isn't paying attention, then all of sudden he start talking about what they are saying. Grant and I were surprised! He actually was listening and understood what was being said.

After Priesthood Session I usually ask Grant how it went and what he learned, however this time the kids (Anthony and Madeline) quized him on what he learned. They really got into it and were asking lots of questions. I thought it was neat for them to be asking their daddy what he learned at his meeting and for Grant to share. It turned out to be a nice gospel discussion.

We were going to go camping this weekend, but everywhere in reasonable driving distance are booked. We were finally able to get a camping spot in two weeks, so hopefully it won't rain. Madeline was going to school in the morning with other kids that turned 3. Well her teacher called me and asked if it was okay to move Madeline to the afternoon class with kids who are 4 turning 5. It is a smaller class and they are able to teach more academic stuff. Madeline is so advanced that her teacher felt that by going to afternoon class it would benefit her more. In the morning class the teachers are busy teaching social things which Madeline already knows and they are not able to teach things to help Madeline progress. Madeline started on Monday so this week I have been getting use to a new schedule and Madeline has been getting use to new friends. There are 4 boys in the class and they are all older than Madeline and they act like Madeline's older brothers. There is one boy who loves Madeline and loves to take her hand and walk her to class. He immediately gets off the bus and runs for Madeline to help her to class. In the morning class Madeline was really good friends with one of the students (his name is Anthony). For a long time it was just the two of them in class so they got to be close. She hasn't mentioned his name yet, she probably will when she realizes that she isn't going back to the morning class.

I am training to run a 5K. I am up to a mile and a quarter consistenly and 2 and a half miles total. At times I think I am nuts! It will be fun to cross the finish line (probably last). The kids are going to come with signs to cheer me on, they may be waiting a while. I need to get to three miles by May 3 so I need to cracking. I feel a lot better since I started this and hopefully after it is finished I can continue to run.

Well I feel like I am rambling and making no sense so I will go. Here are some pics for you all to enjoy.

Madeline and Anthony ready to watch Conference
Watching Conference

Conference Breakfast

We have take off!

Spencer hs been on the verge of crawling for a couple of months but never wanted to take the plunge and do it. For the past couple of months he would eye a specific toy or object that he wanted then he would study it and then lunge forward get the desire object and then lay flat on his tummy until someone would rescue him and help him back up. I have been working on trying to show him how to crawl (I don't know why now I will never be able to rest). This morning I guess he decided to go for it and he just started to crawl. It is exciting. I mean Spencer is 11 months and it is about time that he got mobile. At least I will be able to tell the doctor at his check up that he is mobile.

That's What it is all about

Last Sunday after General Conference, Anthony was in the office creating art and when he came out of the office this is what he handed me. For those of you who might not be able to read it, Anthony wrote: "Mommy Anthony loves you, Love Anthony. He then gave me a hug and then said I am so glad that you are my mommy. On Monday, Anthony again was in the office creating art and he came out of the office with a card that said Mommy Anthony love you. On the inside of the card he wrote Thank you for being my mommy. On the back in capital letters he wrote LOVE ANTHONY. He told me he wrote them in capital letters because he really loves me.

Being a mother is a hard job, some would even say it isn't very glamorous, but how many get homemade cards from their children that express their love for. I often think about the Tender Mercies of the Lord and in the ways that He shows His love and mercy for me and Anthony's letter was a Tender Mercy of the Lord. In that split second I was able to see that everything I do is worth it no matter how hard or stressful it is. And despite the days where I feel that I am not being a good mother, Anthony showed me that I am doing okay. I will cherish these notes forever. I have placed them by bed so I can see them every morning and every night and remember the true blessings and joys of my calling as a mother. I wouldn't trade this calling for anything. To be able to stay home with my children everyday and live life with them and watch them grow, is definitely a Tender Mercy of the Lord.

Funny Madeline

When going outside Madeline wears a hat to protect her eyes from the sun. Since she cannot close her left eye, it makes it hard to go out sun because she can't squint her eyes from the sun. To solve this problem, Madeline wears a hat. This has become such a habit that it doesn't matter if it is sunny or not she puts on a hat. I asked her if she wanted to help me water the plants outside which she was all excited to do, but before she could she had to get her hat...and this is the hat that she got. Now remember it is bright and sunny outside practically short weather.

Madeline lately has been saying the cutest things. Last night the kids had chocolate shakes from chili's. They are pretty thick. Well Madeline took hers outside and sat on the patio to drink her shake. She then comes in and says my shake is not working in my mouth. Grant then gave her a spoon for her shake. I just thought it was cute. Madeline has a g-button which is a port that is surgically placed in her stomach with an attachment outside. It makes it great when it comes to giving medicines. We just open the attachment and squirk the medicine in, the medicine goes directly into her stomach without ever touching her mouth. Well sometimes the lid to the attachment can come lose and well there are stomach juices in your stomach and so naturally some will leak out with the lid comes un done. Well Madeline usually would say her button is open, but now she says with a panic voice my stomach is leaking. There are other things that come out of her mouth, I need to be better at writing them down. If I remember anymore I will post them.

April Fools Fun

I wasn't planning on doing anything for April Fools. To be honest it never crossed my mind that it was April Fools. With not being in school, April Fools is just another day. It did cross my mind on whether Anthony would get his first taste with April Fools, but he didn't. I was looking on line for something to make for dinner and on the home page of the website there was a recipies for April Fools. I decided to check it out and I found this recipie. At first I wasn't going to make it. I don't have circle cake pans and meatloaf can take time to make, but then I couldn't resist the expression on Grant's face at dinner time. So I went for it and I was amazed at how fast it was to make. I made them into cupcakes instead and got out my Pampered Chef cake decorator to make the cupcakes look fancy. I didn't have cherry tomatoes, but I did have peas and I arranged them to look like green candies. Grant figured it out pretty quick, but Anthony totally went for it. He even told me that it isn't right to have cupcakes for dinner. He said that he was going to eat his dinner (what he made) first and then have a cupcake. He took a big bite, still thinking they were cupcakes and then he realized that they weren't and that was the end of that. Grant and I thought it was pretty funny. This might be a new family tradition. Here are some pictures of the final product.

Family Picture

I had this crazy idea to get a family picture. The last family picture was taken when we were in Florida and Spencer was a month old. I figured we have all changed since then, at least Spencer can sit, has his eyes open, and can smile...well at least I thought. We get to the studio and immediately Spencer starts crying. The photographer takes one look at him and he looses it and will not stop. An hour later still no pictures-well decient ones anyway. Either Spencer was crying, Anthony was making a strained face, had his eyes closed, or Madeline was looking somewhere completely oblivious to the fact that we were trying to get a family picture. Well we took a break, fead Spencer walked for a bit and came back and tried. Again Spencer started to cry. Grant was able to get a couple of good smiles from him by tickling him while the photographer was getting the picture. I was exauhsted by the end of the night and learned that taking a family picture is highly over rated. We tried sibling pictures, but all you got was Anthony and Madeline holding on to Spencer for dear life because Spencer was not going for pictures. Now Spencer is no little thing so he falls forward and almost falls off the platform on to the floor head first. At that point I decided we were done and I will try for a sibling picture when they are older or at least when Spencer has made peace with the photo studio and is willing to take a picture and not cry. So these are the two pictures that we decided on. They had a special to where you can get a free 11x14 if you ordered so many sheets. It was really hard to the number of sheets when there is only two pictures to chose from.

It is done! They didn't turn out bad, but it was much easier in front of the beach when Spencer was too young to care.