We were able to have a few experiences this month that have been a spiritual uplift for us.
Brennan was really sick with an ear infection and was very miserable. He was crying and we knew he wouldn't be able to sleep well. We told him about getting blessings and he said he wanted a blessing. Scott gave him a blessings that he would feel better and would be able to sleep well. He had been whimpering and crying for three hours. Two minutes after his blessing, he stopped crying, became happy and soon after fell asleep and slept the whole night. The next morning, I asked him how he felt and he said, "I feel all better--the blessing made me feel all better!" I am so grateful that he was able to have an experience where he felt Heavenly Father watching over him.
A couple months ago, and new family moved into our ward. I was making Sunday dinner and made homemade spaghetti sauce and I felt like I should make an extra amount and take it to someone. The whole time I cooked and ate dinner, I thought and thought of who to take it to. I thougth of this new family and after dinner, we put all the extra sauce into a large mason jar. Before going to visit grandparents, we stopped by this house and gave it to the family. Later she shared with us more about that day. They were still in the midst of unpacking and didn't feel quite settled. She was having feelings of anxiety over if they made the right decision to move here. That day had been overly hectic, including something going wrong with their CO2 detectors. The detectors went off and they had to leave the house for a few hours while the firemen came to figure out what was wrong. They got back, and she was frustrated over what to make for dinner with a short amount of time. She started some spaghetti noodles cooking and sent her daughter down to get a jar of store spaghetti sauce. At that moment I arrived with the homemade spaghetti sauce. For her it was a bit of an answer to prayers. To know that she did make the right decision, the Heavenly Father is aware of her. I am so grateful I listened to the spirit and was able to do that for their family.
At the beginning of 2012, I wanted to make some goals for myself, but I knew I would get overwhelmed with all the things I wanted to do, so I decided to just make one goal for January and work on that only. Some of the goals I wanted to work on were reading my scriptures daily, praying EVERY morning, waking up early, eating healthier, exercising, etc. I felt that waking up earlier was the best thing I could do for myself right now. I knew it would give me time to get things done before the kids awoke and I always felt more productive if I woke up early. So that was my goal for just January. I also gave myself something to work towards. If I reached my goal, I would get to buy Elise bedding for her new big girl bed. Well, I have reached my goal. The neat thing is, by waking up daily at 6, I immediately have gone downstairs and gotten my scriptures. I sit on the heater, say my morning prayer and then read scriptures for 30 minutes. I then get breakfast ready for the kids, and usually can even get myself showered before the kids wake up. By the goal of waking up early, I have reached two other goals--saying my morning prayers and reading scriptures! Three birds with one stone! Now for February, I will continue that goal, and set a new one.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Just some photos
Scott made this cool "special bubble" stuff and you can make giant bubbles. The kids LOVED it (and so did the nieghbor kids!)
And below is a photo of the presents the boys gave to Elise on her birthday!
Changes
Changes happen. Sometimes good, sometimes hard, but usually it all works out in the end. Scott was released after serving in the bishopric for 4 1/2 years. It happened because our Stake split up and made new wards (again). We went from 9 wards to 12! Our bishop was part of a new ward and we received a new bishopric. The change is good, but a bit tough on Scott. He was so involved for so long--even before he was in the bishopric, we was (at different times) the Young Men's President, Elder's Quorum President, and Financial Clerk. And it has been three weeks and he still doesn't have a calling! He needs to be busy.
So, to keep him busy, we decided to sell the house and move to a new one. Now is the time to do it--before the kids get too old and now Scott in not in a calling that keeps him here. And we do need a bigger home--we have all three boys in one room and that can't last much longer. The hunt is exasperating and difficult--I guess a little fun, too. Keeping the house clean for people to come see it is exhausting (but rewarding!)--especially since the kids are off track. But, they are being good and they are actually excited for the move. That makes me feel good about it. I was worried they would freak out. Scott promising 50$ to each of them has helped out...
It will be hard to leave this cute home--I love it. I feel like it is a perfect little home (for a slightly smaller family...). And it will be hard to leave our friends and ward. I really love my friends here. I have been able to teach Relief Society for the past year and I loved it--by far, my favorite calling. And they released me! To be the Primary Chorister!!! What? I loved serving in Primary, and I could do sharing time, but this singing stuff is crazy! Good thing Ali can pass on good ideas to me. It is fun and I will enjoy it--even if it may not be for long.
So, to keep him busy, we decided to sell the house and move to a new one. Now is the time to do it--before the kids get too old and now Scott in not in a calling that keeps him here. And we do need a bigger home--we have all three boys in one room and that can't last much longer. The hunt is exasperating and difficult--I guess a little fun, too. Keeping the house clean for people to come see it is exhausting (but rewarding!)--especially since the kids are off track. But, they are being good and they are actually excited for the move. That makes me feel good about it. I was worried they would freak out. Scott promising 50$ to each of them has helped out...
It will be hard to leave this cute home--I love it. I feel like it is a perfect little home (for a slightly smaller family...). And it will be hard to leave our friends and ward. I really love my friends here. I have been able to teach Relief Society for the past year and I loved it--by far, my favorite calling. And they released me! To be the Primary Chorister!!! What? I loved serving in Primary, and I could do sharing time, but this singing stuff is crazy! Good thing Ali can pass on good ideas to me. It is fun and I will enjoy it--even if it may not be for long.
Family Home Evening
Sometimes we wonder why we bother doing family home evening, but fortunately, we know that in the end--just because we HELD it, there will be blessings (and we hold onto that hope!). Tonight though was lots of fun and hopefully they took a great lesson from it.
The theme for the month (in Primary) is about choosing (the whole year, in fact, is about choosing the right). So I made a treasure hunt game where they started in the kitchen and had two cards with choices--go Right or go Left. They chose which one, and on the back of the card read their "consequence". On each card that said go Right, it said, "Well done. Find the next clue." At which point they would turn right and close by would be another clue. On the go Left card it would have a different consequence (some read: "You got caught in a tornado. Go around the table and start over." "Oops, you got distracted by the toys and lost track of time. Go back to the start." "You are stuck in the mud. You must stay here for 2 minutes then try again." "Oh No! You are lost. You can't find your way out of the room. Clean up 25 toys and then try again." "You went to the wrong room. You must put on PJs then go back to the top of the stairs and start again." "Don't stop now! You got tired and took a nap. You lost the prize and must start at the beginning.") If they chose to go to the right each time, it took them directly to the prize. So, of course we related it to our life. Heavenly Father has told us to choose the right and we will "win the prize". And by making the decision NOW to choose the right (I had them do it again and this time I told them to choose the right each time), then when we come to a choice--we have already made the decision--To choose the right!!! But, if we do make mistakes--which we will, we can always "start again". Heavenly Father has made it possible for us to repent and make the right choices. The kids loved it! I hope it is one of those lessons they remember forever.
After each family night we have an activity and tonight it was charades, but each person got to choose their own thing. Here is how it played out: Aidan started by looking like he was struck and then fell to the ground, then sat down and turned himself around, pretending to write each quarter turn. We couldn't guess it. He gave us a hint--it started with an M. We gave up. It was Mayor.
Next was Weston--he pretended to wiggle a wand around so we began to guess Harry Potter. We were close--he gave us a hint--it was the Night Bus conductor. We couldn't guess the name. It was Stan Sh... something? Weston didn't really remember either.
Brennan: He jumped and turned in circles. We guessed many things. He gave us a clue: it is a guy who does tricks. It starts with N. Scott guessed it: Ninja!
Aidan was up again: he walked around with his tongue sticking out. We couldnt' guess it. It was a cake. I think it must have been someone smelling cake and looking for it--drooling.
Weston then did a great impersonation of Oliver.
Brennan did pretty much the same action as before, but this time he was a tornado.
For his last charade, Aidan marched around and then again fell to the ground. This time he pretended to be asleep. And what was he? After much guessing, he told us he was the guy from Inspiring Lives (a show on KBYU) that slept all the time.
I guessed Weston's last charade--a policeman (well done!).
And Brennan then again did some jumping and dancing and then fell down and we all called out things like "dancer", "gymnist", etc. Then for some reason someone said, "construction man", to which Brennan yelled, YES!
Fun times at family night!
The theme for the month (in Primary) is about choosing (the whole year, in fact, is about choosing the right). So I made a treasure hunt game where they started in the kitchen and had two cards with choices--go Right or go Left. They chose which one, and on the back of the card read their "consequence". On each card that said go Right, it said, "Well done. Find the next clue." At which point they would turn right and close by would be another clue. On the go Left card it would have a different consequence (some read: "You got caught in a tornado. Go around the table and start over." "Oops, you got distracted by the toys and lost track of time. Go back to the start." "You are stuck in the mud. You must stay here for 2 minutes then try again." "Oh No! You are lost. You can't find your way out of the room. Clean up 25 toys and then try again." "You went to the wrong room. You must put on PJs then go back to the top of the stairs and start again." "Don't stop now! You got tired and took a nap. You lost the prize and must start at the beginning.") If they chose to go to the right each time, it took them directly to the prize. So, of course we related it to our life. Heavenly Father has told us to choose the right and we will "win the prize". And by making the decision NOW to choose the right (I had them do it again and this time I told them to choose the right each time), then when we come to a choice--we have already made the decision--To choose the right!!! But, if we do make mistakes--which we will, we can always "start again". Heavenly Father has made it possible for us to repent and make the right choices. The kids loved it! I hope it is one of those lessons they remember forever.
After each family night we have an activity and tonight it was charades, but each person got to choose their own thing. Here is how it played out: Aidan started by looking like he was struck and then fell to the ground, then sat down and turned himself around, pretending to write each quarter turn. We couldn't guess it. He gave us a hint--it started with an M. We gave up. It was Mayor.
Next was Weston--he pretended to wiggle a wand around so we began to guess Harry Potter. We were close--he gave us a hint--it was the Night Bus conductor. We couldn't guess the name. It was Stan Sh... something? Weston didn't really remember either.
Brennan: He jumped and turned in circles. We guessed many things. He gave us a clue: it is a guy who does tricks. It starts with N. Scott guessed it: Ninja!
Aidan was up again: he walked around with his tongue sticking out. We couldnt' guess it. It was a cake. I think it must have been someone smelling cake and looking for it--drooling.
Weston then did a great impersonation of Oliver.
Brennan did pretty much the same action as before, but this time he was a tornado.
For his last charade, Aidan marched around and then again fell to the ground. This time he pretended to be asleep. And what was he? After much guessing, he told us he was the guy from Inspiring Lives (a show on KBYU) that slept all the time.
I guessed Weston's last charade--a policeman (well done!).
And Brennan then again did some jumping and dancing and then fell down and we all called out things like "dancer", "gymnist", etc. Then for some reason someone said, "construction man", to which Brennan yelled, YES!
Fun times at family night!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Happy Birthday Elise!
I know I say it too much (can you really say this too much?), but I just adore this girl! She is so much fun for us. She has grown up in past few months and it is hard to see time slipping away. Developmentally she is right on course to be a tall girl. We all know that will not stay that way... But she is really trying to show up the boys! She is by far our best eater (PLEASE let her continue to be a good eater!)--she especially loves olives, pepperoni, cereal, gogurt, and she'll practically eat anything you put in front of her. She doesn't love raisins. Since we have had two major candy holidays recently, she realizes the deliciousness of treats and knows right where I hide them. She was not talking for so long and so at her doctor thought it might be wise to get evaluated by a speech therapist. A week later she learned three new words... By the time the therapist came, she had learned a few more. That is all you need to do to make a child talk--make an appointment with a therapist! On Christmas day she learned a new word: mine! So now she says: no, shoes, bubble, dog, baby, mine, poo poo, mommy, daddy, show, amen, me and a few more. Although she still doesn't say much, she is constantly babbling and conversing in her own way. One of my favorite things she says in the middle of the night is "daddy". :) She is quite the daddy's girl. She LOVES him. It is so wonderful (though I do feel a little sad...). When she gets hurt she cries for him, when she is tired she wants him to put her to sleep, and when he comes home from work she goes running to the garage door to see him. The other day I was going out shopping, which she loves to do, and I asked if she wanted to stay with daddy or come with mommy. She had such a hard time making that decision! She just wanted daddy to come with us. Eventually she decided to come with me, but did little whimpers for her dad in the car.
She is very social and loves to say hi to people and play at a few friends houses, though she is still scared to go to people that she doesn't know. She does not like the babysitter coming over, but usually she gets over it and by the end of the night she is best friends with the babysitter!
There was a period of time where she loved to dress up so for Christmas I gave her a big box of dress up clothes--some with blue dresses but for some reason she would never put them on. I think I figured out it is because they aren't pink! She is so attracted to pink! She did get pink dress up shoes for her birthday and she loves to wear them with her pink skirt. Her friends Norma and Elaine gave her a pink dog/purse that completes the outfit!
For her birthday, she also got the Fisher-Price My First Dollhouse from us and all the accessories (furniture,etc) from her Grandma Tracey. She loves playing with it. I had put it together before he birthday and hid it in my closet where she found it and played with it for an hour! Omi and Opa gave her the cutest bug puppets (one of them a ladybug) and a bowl and cup with bugs. And since for Christmas she got a ladybug pillowpet, I thought I'd make her a ladybug cake for her birthday. It turned out pretty cute (and the lemon cake recipe was divine!). Check out the antennae--they are black and white polka dot candles! The boys were so excited for her birthday--they each bought her a present at the dollar store and made her a birthday sign. I love how much the brothers love the sister!
Elise is silly. Just silly! She loves to make faces and is constantly pulling an "erky" of sorts. She loves to sing and dance. She loves playing outside, going shopping with mom (yes!), and watching princess shows with her dad. We love her!
She is very social and loves to say hi to people and play at a few friends houses, though she is still scared to go to people that she doesn't know. She does not like the babysitter coming over, but usually she gets over it and by the end of the night she is best friends with the babysitter!
There was a period of time where she loved to dress up so for Christmas I gave her a big box of dress up clothes--some with blue dresses but for some reason she would never put them on. I think I figured out it is because they aren't pink! She is so attracted to pink! She did get pink dress up shoes for her birthday and she loves to wear them with her pink skirt. Her friends Norma and Elaine gave her a pink dog/purse that completes the outfit!
For her birthday, she also got the Fisher-Price My First Dollhouse from us and all the accessories (furniture,etc) from her Grandma Tracey. She loves playing with it. I had put it together before he birthday and hid it in my closet where she found it and played with it for an hour! Omi and Opa gave her the cutest bug puppets (one of them a ladybug) and a bowl and cup with bugs. And since for Christmas she got a ladybug pillowpet, I thought I'd make her a ladybug cake for her birthday. It turned out pretty cute (and the lemon cake recipe was divine!). Check out the antennae--they are black and white polka dot candles! The boys were so excited for her birthday--they each bought her a present at the dollar store and made her a birthday sign. I love how much the brothers love the sister!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
The KLEC Brown family visit!
Matt and Barb kind of forgot to come... so we had them over for dinner when Ky came over with Charlotte. We had a great time just talking and chatting! That Charlotte is a beautiful baby! I can't wait to get over to Italy to visit... :)
Christmas
I don't know why, but blogger is a stinker about posting photos anymore... so that is why I never post them. It gives me problems!
This month we really focused on trying to make Christmas memorable and fun. We listed all the things we wante to do, and then we sort of went down that checklist and did them all! Craft nights--the kids made "angry birds" out of puffy balls, tree decorations with wire and beads, coloring and more. We went out--we saw the lights at Temple Square (it was cold, but the kids did great), we went caroling to a Nursing Home (and took some ornaments for them, the kids sang beautifully and the elderly folks looooved it), we had the Daw family party (Santa came!), and we went to the Brown family party (another Santa came--it was cousin Nate dressed up, and I must say he is a great sport. What a fun guy!). We did activities to keep us focused on "the reason for the season"--We did a 12 days of Christmas, where every day we choose an activity from a box that had to do with being nice to others (making their bed, writing a note, etc), we learned the second verse to "Could I Hold the Baby" (and they learned a song in Primary, "Baby in a Manger"), we started a new tradition of putting on the production of the Nativity--each child was in charge of a different part (costumes, directing, music, etc) and we recorded it, and we read new Christmas stories/books.
I kept busy with my own projects--for friend gifts I made a bunch of cute rice babies, and I made some curtains for a neighbor, and I made Elise some dress up skirts. My sewing machine has had a workout!
Because Christmas was on Sunday this year, and we have church at 9 am, we chose to open presents after church. We opened our stockings first and then got ready for church. Because the kids got ready so fast, we had time to open one present each, and they opened the presents we received from the KVEST Brown's (thank you!). Church was beautiful--it was all music. The choir sang 5 songs, a few groups sang songs, and the congregation sang songs. It was nice to have a joyful filled Christmas program. After church we got back into pjs and opened our presents. Weston got a lot of big boy things (a watch), Aidan freaked out about some of his (in a good way--one fun present was a Candy Claw machine!), Brennan had fun with it all (the magnetic toys have kept him very busy), and Elise loved every minute of it (her pink riding toy is her favorite). Scott and I each gave each other nice thoughtful gifts--I got a little carpet cleaner and he got a small hand mixer, cheese slicer, and wooden spoons. Wow, just what a guy wants... I am very happy with my presents! We had a delicious Brunch (orange rolls, bacon, and special drink). In the afternoon we went to the Daws and had a nice time just visiting and exchanging gifts.
The week following Christmas was nice and lazy! The kids played with all their new toys, we took down decorations and rearranged the living room (sometimes it just feels nice to change things up), we visited family and had game nights with friends, and loved having so much time with Scott home. Elise was sick one day and Scott held her (literally) the whole day. The next day he had to go to work and she was still sick, and I wasn't what she wanted. She asked for Dad the whole day! She is definitely a Daddy's girl. The weather has been nice, which is nice, but there has been no snow! We were hoping for a white Christmas--or at least something we could go snowshoeing in. It was, however trite it may sound, the best Christmas ever.
This month we really focused on trying to make Christmas memorable and fun. We listed all the things we wante to do, and then we sort of went down that checklist and did them all! Craft nights--the kids made "angry birds" out of puffy balls, tree decorations with wire and beads, coloring and more. We went out--we saw the lights at Temple Square (it was cold, but the kids did great), we went caroling to a Nursing Home (and took some ornaments for them, the kids sang beautifully and the elderly folks looooved it), we had the Daw family party (Santa came!), and we went to the Brown family party (another Santa came--it was cousin Nate dressed up, and I must say he is a great sport. What a fun guy!). We did activities to keep us focused on "the reason for the season"--We did a 12 days of Christmas, where every day we choose an activity from a box that had to do with being nice to others (making their bed, writing a note, etc), we learned the second verse to "Could I Hold the Baby" (and they learned a song in Primary, "Baby in a Manger"), we started a new tradition of putting on the production of the Nativity--each child was in charge of a different part (costumes, directing, music, etc) and we recorded it, and we read new Christmas stories/books.
I kept busy with my own projects--for friend gifts I made a bunch of cute rice babies, and I made some curtains for a neighbor, and I made Elise some dress up skirts. My sewing machine has had a workout!
Because Christmas was on Sunday this year, and we have church at 9 am, we chose to open presents after church. We opened our stockings first and then got ready for church. Because the kids got ready so fast, we had time to open one present each, and they opened the presents we received from the KVEST Brown's (thank you!). Church was beautiful--it was all music. The choir sang 5 songs, a few groups sang songs, and the congregation sang songs. It was nice to have a joyful filled Christmas program. After church we got back into pjs and opened our presents. Weston got a lot of big boy things (a watch), Aidan freaked out about some of his (in a good way--one fun present was a Candy Claw machine!), Brennan had fun with it all (the magnetic toys have kept him very busy), and Elise loved every minute of it (her pink riding toy is her favorite). Scott and I each gave each other nice thoughtful gifts--I got a little carpet cleaner and he got a small hand mixer, cheese slicer, and wooden spoons. Wow, just what a guy wants... I am very happy with my presents! We had a delicious Brunch (orange rolls, bacon, and special drink). In the afternoon we went to the Daws and had a nice time just visiting and exchanging gifts.
The week following Christmas was nice and lazy! The kids played with all their new toys, we took down decorations and rearranged the living room (sometimes it just feels nice to change things up), we visited family and had game nights with friends, and loved having so much time with Scott home. Elise was sick one day and Scott held her (literally) the whole day. The next day he had to go to work and she was still sick, and I wasn't what she wanted. She asked for Dad the whole day! She is definitely a Daddy's girl. The weather has been nice, which is nice, but there has been no snow! We were hoping for a white Christmas--or at least something we could go snowshoeing in. It was, however trite it may sound, the best Christmas ever.
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