Bedtime stories

So I got done putting my girls to bed. Instead of story time tonight I let them put on a show for me while I recorded them. Well I went into my room to talk with Jay for a little while. I then needed to go to the laundry room for just a moment. On my walk I heard little voices talking so I grabbed what I needed out of the laundry room and went back to my room and grabbed the recorder. When I went to their room, Paige was in Taylor's bed reading her stories. They were sitting there on Taylor's bed reading. When Paige finished one book, she asked Taylor if she wanted to read another one. As Paige proceeded to tell the Nephite Christmas story to Taylor, Taylor asked if they killed Samuel and Paige recounted the entire story.

I love moments like these because I see the closeness that my girls are creating even though it seems like they fight so often. I am glad I got it on the recorder!

Holiday Season

Well there aren't many pictures to show for Thanksgiving. Jeremy and I are a bit apprehensive taking our camera out after we lost it last year when we went hunting for our Christmas tree. We spent Thanksgiving with my brother Todd and his family. It was a nice quiet Thanksgiving and I really enjoyed the time we all spent together. We had Todd take a picture of our family on his couch because I finally realized that we don't have any family pictures really. That will all change in the next week or two!
As I contemplated what I was thankful for this year it pretty much revolved around family. I am so thankful for my immediate family and also for my extended family Families are truly eternal and I am grateful to be a part of an eternal family. I am thankful for the beauty of the earth for the different season we experience. I am thankful for my Savior, for his atonement, and his resurrection. I am thankful for modern day prophet who receives revelation and I am thankful for personal revelation. I am thankful to have a personal relationship with my Heavenly Father and to receive guidance as I need it in my life.

I am thankful for all my Heavenly Father has blessed me with and I am especially thankful for the Christmas season.

We went and got our Christmas tree this last weekend. We have a family tradition of going to Sleigh Bells where we cut our own tree, pick an ornament, see Santa, and enjoy some good food. When we got the tree home we quickly realized it was too big for our house. LOL We had to use a special stand that hold about 6 quarts of water, 900 lights, and cutting the top off just enough to try and get the star on. This year I let the girls help a lot with the ornaments so the tree looks a little bottom heavy but it's a good way for me to let go with the tree. I have rearranged several ornaments but I really had a good time doing the decorations with the girls.

I love the spirit of the season. So much joy can be felt with all the hustle and bustle, the smells, the giving, the receiving, and the decorations that center around our Savior. I am excited for this holiday as I always am!

Merry Christmas!

Food Coloring

It has taken me a day to write about this. I am cooled down now and not so angry. Yesterday Taylor got into the food coloring and got it all over herself and my carpet. The thing about Taylor is she is so darn curious. What are ya gonna do?

Prop 8

Big News

Well it's true baby 3 is on the way! We are really only a couple weeks along but it is still fun and exciting to share the news! Here's hoping this one's a boy!

Callings

Well I have been released as the primary chorister and have been called and sustained as the 4th Sunday teacher in Relief Society. I must admit that if I could pick any calling at church it wouldn't be to teach Relief Socity. With that said I am so excited and grateful the Lord has given me this challenge because I am sure the blessings and benefits will be wonderful.

A few things about being primary chorister. I LOVED IT. It was my favorite calling to date in the church. To listen to the children sing the simple truths of the gospel each week gave me the endurance for the week to go on. I could feel my testimony grow each week as I would sing with them. When my mom died it was through singing those songs that I stayed close to the gospel and had the many questions I had answered. I think that no other calling has brought me so much joy and I will miss it.

I am excited for my new calling and so excited to study, ponder, and pray over gospel principles for a month at a time. I am anxious to become more scholarly with the gospel and have my testimony fed in a new way. Like I said in an earlier post, the Lord never takes away without giving something in return. Sometimes we just need to be willing and ready to receive the challenge or trial first and then the blessings are revealed in beauty and splendor. I am excited to embark on a new calling!

Election Day 2008

I write today with a sense of humility and awe at this great nation that I live in. America has always been progressive, we have always strived for more and we have always had a foundation in our creator. Today we elected Barack Obama as our country's newest president. I am so excited that my children and grandchildren will read about this historic day and know that in a moment of time America was strong again. Barack Obama is truly an example of the American dream.

As I prepared for this election I had to look deep into my soul to see what defines me as an American. Is it that I am a registered Republican or is it that I truly believe that this country is "one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." When I sat down and began to ponder who I would vote for I had to way my moral compass with that of each candidate. That is when I realized both have a piece of the pie.

One of the turning points for me was watching a mini series that HBO put on called "John Adams". When I watched this show I was reminded at how much turmoil there was as we founded this country. I realized the discord and strife that existed between our founding fathers and then it hit me; they each had a piece of the pie. Line upon line, precept upon precept we move forward and we grow. Our country must evolve and grow and we must look beyond party lines.

As I watched tonight I saw a country united, with patriotism resounding, and Americans rejoicing. America came together and when we are united we are powerful. Our God has blessed us with this great nation, he has defined our roles as citizens, and has given us power. I believe that no matter who the president is, we are still a country "under God" and he alone, guides us. We may forget, we may turn away BUT his will and eternal plan will prevail.

I am grateful to live here. I am grateful that here I may worship my God according to the dictates of my own conscience, that the inalienable rights of all humans is fought for, where we believe all men are created equally. I am grateful for fore fathers who were God fearing men and for leaders today that stand ready and willing to serve and devote their lives to the service of their country.

This land is truly blessed. God bless America.

Paig'e Halloween Party

On the 28th, Paige's class had a Halloween party. All the Kindergarten classes did a parade throughout the school. Here are some pictures of some of her favorite friends.

This is Paige's table. They made monster mash so I made Paige put her coat on so it didn't ruin her costume. I'm lucky I was there to help in the classroom that day. The kids that sit at her table are Garrick, Gabriel, Paige, and Chloe.

This is Hunter. He has quite the little crush on Paige. He is very protective of her and he is rather tall for his age. He always gets so tickled when Paige gives him a hug or any attention at all really.

These last two are of her favorite girlfriends. The first is of her and Marlene and the latter is of Marlene, Paige, and Madeline. I think both of these girls are really nice.

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Halloween

We had a fun Halloween this year. Usually we will only do a couple of houses in our neighborhood and then head up to the church for trunk or treat. This year we actually went with friends around the neighborhood and then had a Halloween party right after.

The girls picked out their own costumes this year. Several months ago the girls told me what they wanted to be and I thought nothing of it. Paige said she wanted to be Dorothy and Taylor wanted to be a witch again but she wanted her face green. As I began finishing their costumes on Halloween I realized, Dorothy and the wicked witch. This was completely their choice. When they are older I will tell them it was their choice and that the costumes did fit their personalities at the time. See Taylor is all good with just a tweak of wicked witch in her but like her costume only a small portion is the wicked part(green face), and the rest is the good(the rest of the adorable costume.)

Many thanks to Aunt Mettie. She found these costumes at a store and picked them up for us. Paige's Dorothy costumed glistened in the night and Taylor's sparkled. I made Taylor's hat, shocker I know but isn't it cute? All the thanks for that goes to my friend Heidi who is creative, artistic, and shear genius.

The girls were so good trick or treating. Paige and Taylor were part of the older kids and they ran from door to door. It was fun to see their independence. We did have a scary thing happen though. This lady wearing a mask approached Paige and asked her for candy. Jeremy hunted her down to find out who she was and then we found out she was a lady in our neighborhood. It was creepy and Jeremy told the lady so!

We had a great Halloween! The only downside was that I bought a ton of candy and didn't give out one piece of it. I think I will end up throwing it all away.

Perfect Love

So the girls pretty much try to come into our bed every night. Lately I have been hearing them enough to wake up before they get there and tell them to go potty and to go back to bed. Last night however, when Taylor came in I told her to go potty so she did but she came back and said, "I just want to rub your head mommy." I have been sick the last couple of days so Taylor will come up and rub my head every so often just like her Daddy does. As she climbed into bed she began rubbing my head . While I was laying there holding Jeremy's hand and holding Taylor's other hand this feeling of peace filled my heart. I realized at this moment that our children exhibit more Christ like love then anybody else. I realized that Taylor and Paige are so quick to forgive, that they really only see the good that we do and they are so eager to do things that will please us and make us feel happy. When they are older they will begin to dislike the things we dislike in ourselves but for now they adore us and love us perfectly.

I often joke that my children must not like me that much to not listen that well but the reality is they love me, like I love my mother. This time will soon pass and they will begin to find fault in me but I am thankful that for one moment in time I really understood how much I mean to them. This allows me to understand that my patience and tolerance is needed much more than sternness or discipline. Heavenly Father's plan really is perfect. It is only through our family relationships, husband/wife, parent/child, brother/sister that we learn to love one another perfectly like our Saviour loves us.

Friendship

So yesterday was our primary program; it went well. The kids sang very well for having such a small primary and the special things we did with different songs was a nice change. Paige did great on her speaking part and then for her talk on temples she froze. She did fine I just had to remind her a lot in her ear which wasn't something that I was prepared to do so I didn't have her talk with me. Overall I think she did fantastic. A 5 year old speaking in sacrament meeting, that's pretty awesome. I cannot believe that Taylor will be in primary in just 3 months. Amazing how time has flown.

I've been thinking a lot about friends lately. Since Jeremy and I have been married we have really only had one couple that we would say is "our couple". They are the Boyer's. We have known them for almost our entire marriage and have become very close to them. They are forever friends. Last year at this time our they began to get very serious about the possibility of moving back to Utah. To make a long story short, they moved a couple of weeks ago. As much as I hate to see them go I have peace in the fact that we will always have them as friends and our first cruise will be with them. =^) Their move though hard for us is exciting and great for them.

It seems that the Lord rarely takes away without providing. Just as the Boyer's were getting ready to move, Jay and I began making close friendships with other people. They too will be forever friends but they all moved too, well the Kland's will finalize their move in two weeks. Just when I wondered if we would have any other couples that we could call "good" friends we went on a couples date with a couple, camping with more and BAM we have some more forever friends. Jeremy and I both have friends and make friends easily (well I do) but to find couples that you both like is difficult.

So tonight I am grateful for the good friends we have. I am grateful that the Lord has blessed Jay and I with friends that we will have for life, that share our values, and that we can share our adult lives with, have a "rock'n good" time with, and don't judge my mt. dew addiction.

If you are a friend of mine or ours, know that I am truly grateful for your friendship and what it brings to my life. Friendship is an essential part of this life and I am grateful for it.

p.s. I wonder why it gets easier to yell at my kids as the day progresses. Oh wait, because I am tired of repeating myself 6 billion times. See, ask and it shall be given to thee . Answers to my question that is.

Reading

Today I am very excited because I have struggled with learning how to teach Paige how to read. Sometimes I don't quite know the best way to help a 5 year old understand concepts so I usually end up getting frustrated with her and myself and so I usually just quit teaching her concepts until I find something that works or that she is shown to enjoy.

A couple of my friends referred me to the "I See Sam" reading series that schools across Utah use to begin teaching reading. We got the package in the mail today and Paige breezed through the first three books no problem before she was done reading. It was a very positive experience for her and myself because it seems so simplistic BUT she read through three very short books. These little achievements help her build confidence and make it a fun experience. I just know that she is going to begin to really take off with her reading. She is such a smart cookie with an amazing memory.

One of the other fun things I discovered with my kids was washing dishes. I have always had a dishwasher and have never really had the kids help me with it except to load their own dishes. Well our garbage disposal broke so Jay had to replace it. When he replaced it the dishwasher stopped draining so for a few days, I was left to wash dishes by hand. I had Taylor help me one morning last week to give her something to do and she loved it! Both the girls enjoyed doing it so much and it was actually fun. I usually like to pound out the dishes quickly after meals but this was so much more enjoyable. Now the dishwasher is working again but I still find letting the girls help me with the dishes, though it take a bit longer, is so much fun! The cooking thing I am trying to work on as well and I will get better at that!

It's been nice that Jeremy doesn't have any immediate projects right now. For the last week, he has been getting home at a normal hour and man is it nice. The girls are really happy to! This is a big week for us. Paige will be giving a talk in Sacrament meeting! Oooooo she will do so great!

Baby Alive

So I had to take a moment out of my play time with the girls to write this funny little story down. For Paige's birthday her Grandma Laura sent her a Baby alive. I specifically asked for the one that doesn't poop and doesn't eat food. Grandma Laura agreed and sent the one that pee's only and drinks water only. Well Paige, Taylor, and I were giving the baby it's bottle of water and the baby kept crying, me thinking that the baby was done peeing, opened up the diaper and just as I did it I got a jet stream of water in my face for a good 3 seconds, it was hilarious. The girls and I started laughing hysterically and of course we had to do it again.

One of the precious moments when I enjoying motherhood.

Pickles

On Saturday we celebrated my niece Zoe's birthday. Among the many things that Zoe received the stand out item for our dear Taylor was the jar of pickles. As Taylor sat silently watching, after Zoe finished looking at the card and the pickles, Taylor said while everyone was quiet, "When it's my birthday I will have pickles." HAHAHA I about died laughing. She was dead serious, so if you are ever in the market to buy Taylor a present, it's easy, just send pickles.

This was a night of laughs. When we got to my brother's house we were looking at some pictures we had retrived from storage. It took me a minute but then I noticed a pregnancy test on the table. I turned it over and my sister-in-law Paula is pregnant. I congratulated her and then I got a bright idea. See Jeremy was in the other room and since we are about ready to start trying for baby #3, I thought I would trick him. So I called to him to have him come in, quickly, I had everyone get really quiet. Then I said, "I want to share this happy news with everyone." Then I handed Jeremy the positive test. His response was hilarious, he said, "this better be a f'ing joke." Everyone broke up laughing and I said no babe Paula is pregnant and he immediately started laughing and gave her a big hug of congratulation.

It was good to clean out Mom's stuff. It wasn't nearly as hard this time as it was last time. We moved as quick as we could and there was absolutely no arguing. We were all gracious with one another and gave to eachother freely if there was something that one of us really needed. I think as Mom watched she was grateful as I am grateful for the example she set. She always told us that if one of her parents died, no material item was more important to her then the relationship she had with siblings. I felt as we walked away saying our last goodbye, that we all grew a little closer. I think families are amazing, I think in them we experience so many things that make us better people. I am so grateful for my family and my own little family. Within these families that we all have we grow more and more like our Saviour exhibiting Christ like love through the service, devotion, and sacrifice we give to one another. I am thankful for my family.

So today when I took Paige to school, right outside of her classroom were their self portraits with the a description of why it is great to be 5. So I found Paige's and read, "It's great to be 5 because I can step on a fly with my shoe." LOL

I remember before I was pregnant, before I was ever thinking about getting pregnant, when all I had were 5 million names for the babies I was gonna have when I wanted 5 children, things do change don't they, and I remember specifically saying that I didn't really care what my kids looked like as long as they were funny. And you know, I have SUPER funny kids and cute ones. I think most people find their kids funny so what's funny to me may not be funny to others but I really have kids with GREAT personality's. Honestly, if you know them you know what I mean.

We were at Fred Meyer the other day and when we were walking out we passed the christmas light section. The girls got so excited and Paige walked to the other side of the isle and when she saw the Christmas stuff, she started singing in a hannah montana type melody, "Christmas..." then Taylor walks over to the otherside and starts singing, louder then Paige, "CHRISTMAS...." and they made up all their own lyrics right there in the store and people were walking by laughing. Those are the tender moments when I am thankful to be a mother... When they are fighting, WHOLE different story.

Today, right this second, might change by the time I am done writing this so I better hurry and say it, I am grateful to be a mother.... ACTUALLY I am grateful always to be a mother but right now I feel touchy feely about it... that could change if I hear a scream from the other room.

Funny story about this little boy in my primary. We are singing several songs right now and one of the things I try to get the kids to do is to watch me continuously. Well this little boy who is now 4 but in Sunbeams did the funniest thing in the world. I was holding out a note and all the kids were watching when I cut off except this little boy who kept singing the same note while he looked around the room. I couldn't really ask him to stop because I was laughing to hard and I didn't want to make him feel silly for singing. Let's face it, I would rather they all do that then not sing at all. The same little boy kept making me laugh because he was singing so earnestly that he was off beat the entire song. SUNBEAMS are the greatest I've decided either they sing and give it their all and then some, or they don't sing at all. I really love my calling. I don't think there is anything else I would rather do. I get to sing and teach gospel principles. Music touches my soul and I love listening to the kids sing. If I was released I think there would be huge void in my life. I don't really want to do anything else.... Watch now I will get a new calling. BETTER NEVER BE WARD CHOIR DIRECTOR.... I will say no. HAHAHA yah right.

Back to school Night

Tonight is back to school night at Paige's school. This first week of school for her has been somewhat of a challenge for us. I have noticed her being a little more sassy than usual and I can tell when she has had a good day as opposed to a bad day. Earlier this week she was having trouble with being the shortest in the class but also liked have several of the boys tell her that her hand prints were beautiful, and one in particular desire for her to ALWAYS sit by her. I notice that she seems fairly tired after school so we are taking regular naps with her and Taylor so that she doesn't develop a migrane.

Taylor is having a very hard time adjusting to life w/o Paige every morning. I am trying to find a preschool for her to be in hoping that will help her a little. Also her cousin Kellen will come over every Thursday so I think that will help as well. I have noticed something interesting about Taylor, what I used to call shear evil, I have revamped into very inquisitive. I watch her when she does the naughty stuff she does and it usually always has to do with feeling something, tasting it, taking it apart, or experimenting with it. So now I am trying to use a more positve adjective for her, inquisitive, because I think that is more descriptive of her sincere little heart. She is such a sweetheart and does have her naughty moments but over all she is very smart and very fun.

I am going to start posting some pictures on here, if I can figure out how, and tell stories along with them. There are a lot from our week long camping trip that I will post fairly soon. Note that was in august so the post will be a month late.

School Days

So this week began my next 17 years of early weekday mornings. I didn't think I would be able to get up at 6:30 in the morning on a regular basis but you know what, I did and I will continue to do it! That's the good part, now for the sorrow!

PAIGE STARTED SCHOOL. I am so happy for her and so amazed at how quickly time went. This whole week I find myself missing her while she's gone and eagerly anticipating her return. Today Taylor was so sad with her sister gone again! This is such an exciting time in Paige's life and yet I see a little reluctance when I drop her off in the morning. I think it is a little overwhelming but you would never know it by the skip in her step as she roams the halls of her school just a few steps in front of mom, occassionally looking back to see if I'm still there. With this new independance comes a new sense of freedom for her. I am eager to see her make friends, set examples, and to watch the choices she makes while I am no where to be seen. I think I like her teacher and the classroom set up is so nice and organized. I am excited to be a volunteer in the classroom.

Watching her as she walks down the halls at her school I sometimes remember holding her as a baby and think of all the challenges she has already overcome and think wow a whole new set will come her way. I don't think anything will try her little soul like the loss of her Gramie but she is continuing to cope and move past the pain. I do so wish my mom had been here for this week. She would have enjoyed it as much as I did.

Cute note, on her first day, Jeremy and I both wore our sunglasses in the school. I eventually took mine off but Jay didn't, big day for all of us.

Taylor will start some fun classes soon to keep her occupied and hopefully I will be involved in playgroup this year again so that will help her cope with her sister's absence. Taylor herself is growing so much and exploring the boundaries of her independant spirit. Taylor is such a sweetheart with just a twinge of wicked. =^)

Maybe this blogging this isn't so bad after all!