The Adams 5

Free $10 Gift Card

2009-09-16T08:03:00.000-07:00

Really! It's free!

All you have to do is visit the Emergency Essentials blog, follow the directions to add their button to your blog, and they will send you a $10 gift card.

Awesome right? Who couldn't use ten dollars?

Anyone?

Fly Away

2009-08-27T18:00:00.001-07:00

As I told you before, our garden is really producing well this year. While this is a tremendous blessing, there IS one drawback.

Fruit Flies

These little pests are the bane of my existence during the summer months. You may not notice the little creep when he sneaks in on your tomato, but within a few days, you have a whole colony alive and well in your kitchen.

They make me CRAZY!!!

They can hide everywhere. Even in plain sight. I have even found several concealing themselves inside of a medicine dropper for no apparent reason. They are very tricky little buggies.

During the heat of the day, you can often find me stalking them in my kitchen. It's too inefficient to try to squish them all by hand, so, with my vacuum wand in hand, I hunt them down, one by one. A soldier, armed and dangerous. I suck them up as fast as I can find them. I stir them out of their little hideouts and watch them scurry to find a place to land, then I whip around in a very stealthy fashion and POUNCE! HAHAHAHA! Sometimes if you're lucky you can see me trying to catch one while he is careening through the air. I resemble a lunatic waving my magic vacuum wand at an unseen entity.

Maybe I am a lunatic...

There's one thing I know for sure.

If I have to be a lunatic to get rid of these creatures.

So be it.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2009-08-14T18:14:00.001-07:00

We have been so blessed this year to have a very productive garden! I have had so much fun harvesting everything and learning new ways to can things. Without our garden, I don't know that we would have been able to add to our food storage this summer!!!

Here is Eme picking raspberries. This is the kids' FAVORITE thing to do. We don't get to really make anything with the raspberries, but the kids sure love to munch on them. And the best part is that I don't have to prepare them. The kids just go outside and eat them straight off the canes!

Our little patch of raspberries has been producing since late May, and it is STILL going. Raspberry plants anyone?

This picture is of my little Gabriel holding a couple of beans from our garden. 2 to be exact. They are called rope beans and come from Thailand or something like that. A custodian at Ryan's school gave him some seeds and we planted them this year. They have been FANTASTIC. They taste pretty much like regular green beans, but sweeter. And a great perk is that in a minimal amount of space, these beans can really produce! Just a handful of these beans produces 2 dinners worth of green beans. And you can pick that many every week! Best of all, these seeds are organic, so we can harvest some seeds for next year!

Our tomatoes have SERIOUSLY gone crazy this year. We have an overabundance of these little suckers!

I have canned 24 pints of diced tomatoes and I am about to can at least that many of tomato sauce. This is after we have given away baskets and baskets full of tomatoes to our neighbors!

These are Gabriel's sunflowers! He planted them all by himself and has been so proud to watch them grow!

These are our squash plants. I didn't know these plants could get this big! They were taller than Eme! And did I mention that we had more zuchinni and yellow squash than we could eat? Anyone know any good ideas for canning squash? Pickled zucchini anyone?

This is the very first year that we have had any success with watermelons. Usually the plant rots away before the melons can get very big. So far we have about ten that look promising!!!

So, I thought that I would plant a little jalapeno bush so that I could have one or two jalapenos. Well, instead of a little bush we now have a jalapeno tree! It is as tall as I am!!!!

Needless to say, I will now be canning jalapenos.

So, that's it. Our little garden project that has turned into a mighty undertaking! We are so thankful for this amazing blessing. Our garden is truly a miracle sent from above!

High Falls

2009-07-30T19:49:00.000-07:00

This year we purchased a state parks pass, so we've been using it as much as possible. The kids have loved being outdoors so much. Unfortunately we've had a couple of REALLY hot spells.

A month or so ago, we went to High Falls state park.

Gabriel taking pictures with the camera that he got for his birthday.

One of Daddy's "picture spots"

My daredevil girl.

Did I mention it was hot? We found a nice calm spot where the kids could touch the bottom, and let them get a little wet to cool them off.

Eme was the only one who REALLY took it seriously.

Oliver wasn't so sure about it. But he was the one who probably needed it the most. The poor little guy overheats so fast!

Just chillin'.

All done. They didn't complain about going to bed that night.

Wet and Wild

2009-07-29T16:12:00.000-07:00

One of the things that the kids have done a LOT of this summer is playing in the sprinkler. It serves a dual purpose. The kids have fun and the grass gets watered!

Oliver is "washing his belly."

Eme's pose.

Getting a drink.

One wet little group!

Kick Off

2009-07-08T09:29:00.001-07:00

We kicked off our summer in the only way possible.....the end of school!!!!

These are a few pics of Gabriel's field day. He really liked the water games!

And he was very good at getting everyone as wet as possible.

This is Gabriel chasing the little girl that he was in love with.

(His words).

And then she was chasing him....

Luckily, I brought my sunglasses to entertain the other two kids.

Otherwise I would have been even MORE crazy trying to keep track of them, and stressing out about trying to get a good picture while not getting wet!

This is Gabriel with his teacher and the assistant teacher. He really loved them. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect teacher.

And this is his class on the very last day of school!

Hooray, we're off to 1st grade!

Holy cow....my little guy is going to be in 1st grade!!!!

Playing Catch Up!

2009-07-07T07:22:00.000-07:00

We've been SO busy this summer! It's incredible how many things that we have done. I feel a little guilty about not blogging about it. So I am going to go ahead and start from the beginning. Hopefully I can catch up and feel a little less guilty.

So, check out my blog for the next few days and I should start posting again! Pray for me.....

LOVE LOVE LOVE

2009-05-29T06:17:00.000-07:00

I LOVE this idea. I know there's a new at-home screen printing machine, but that's WAY out of my price range. This is such a FABULOUS idea!

Silly Eme....

2009-05-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

These are by no means fantastic pictures, but I wanted to share them with you. Eme LOVES to be in front of the camera as long as it is not a scheduled photo shoot. She followed me around this afternoon while I was taking pictures outside. These are her words....

"Take a pitcher of me on the schwing Mom."

"Cheeeeeessssseeee!"

"Take a pitcher of me with the bird bath Mom."

"Can I see?"

"Mommy, I know, take a pitcher of me being silly."

"Was that so silly?"

"Take a pitcher of me like this Mom."

"Did you get the raspbewies?"

"Take a pitcher of me here Mom."

"I am taller than the corn."

"I'm sure getting a big girl."

"Me WITH the flowew Mom."

"That's sure a big flowew."

"Take it like this Mom."

"Did you get it?"

"Take a pitcher schwinging Mom."

"Good job Mom."

I really have no idea where she learned to be so bossy......

Mommy Time

2009-05-15T15:10:00.000-07:00

"If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylums would be filled with mothers."

- Edgar Watson Howe

With Mother's Day having passed this week, I have been reflecting a lot about my station in life as a mother. Being a mother of small children is an adventure of immense proportions. Here are a few things that I have learned....

1. A mother must always specify her requests. For example:

It is NOT okay to say. "Please go potty." You must specify, "Please go up to the bathroom and go potty IN the toilet." This is a very important distinction and must be made if one does not want to clean up the bathroom floor, sink, or bathtub.
It does NOT work to say, "Please clean up these dirty clothes." You must specify, "Please take these dirty clothes up to the bathroom and put them INSIDE the laundry basket."
It does NOT work to say, "Please get ready for bed." You must specify, "Please go upstairs, go potty IN the toilet, FLUSH the toilet, brush your teeth WITH toothpaste, get into CLEAN jammies, put your dirty clothes INSIDE the laundry basket, then COME BACK downstairs for scripture, prayer and bedtime. It is sometimes helpful to make up a song so that they can remember the steps. "Potty, teeth, jammies, prayer. Potty, teeth, jammies, prayer." Repeat as many times as necessary.

2. A mother must always qualify her "promises". For example:

You must NOT say, "You can pick a treat at the store." You must qualify, "IF you are well-behaved AND listen to Mommy in the store, THEN you can pick a treat."
You must NEVER say, "We can do that fun activity after we run our errands." You must qualify, "IF we have time, THEN we will do that fun activity."
You can also use both in very dire situations. You must NEVER say, "Sure, we can have dessert tonight." You must qualify, "IF you eat your dinner, THEN I will see IF we have time for dessert."

This practice is key in order to avoid arguments that begin with, "But you said...." If, by chance, one forgets to qualify "promises" then the phrase, "I changed my mind." is an appropriate response.

3. On a more serious note, mother's NEED alone time, which is commonly referred to as "mommy time". This is not a selfish thing. This is an edict passed down from Heaven. One must have time to replenish love, patience, and serenity. Above all, alone time is needed to recharge your spiritual batteries.

There are many activities that qualify for alone time, but I'd like to share a couple that I have found. I have always struggled with alone time because, first I feel selfish, and second I feel idle. So I have tried to find things that I can do that are calming and therapeutic without wasting time.

My favorite is volunteering for Family Search. You can transcribe documents from microfilm into the church's indexing system. There is no required amount of time that you have to put in. I personally LOVE to do things that are considered monotonous to most people. The repetitive nature of indexing allows me to kind of shut down my brain and take a break, but at the same time I know that I am performing a great service.

The other thing that I have (re)found is how much I enjoy writing in a journal. It really helps me to think, vent, and put things into perspective. I found a website called LDS Journal. It is free to use and VERY convenient for me. You can even print out your entries in book form with pictures and other attachments. How cool is that?

All in all, motherhood can be a hard, thankless job with long hours. But the real truth of the matter is that if I didn't love it, I would have quit years ago.

"A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take."

- Cardinal Mermillod

GO EME GO!

2009-05-10T22:31:00.000-07:00

Eme had her spring performance for gymnastics on Saturday. I must admit I was a little nervous at how she would behave. She doesn't like to get up in front of crowds (usually), even to sing with the primary at church, so I was a little worried. But, of course, it was all for naught. She did a great job!

The uneven bars are Eme's favorite!

On the beam.

Eme is only one of two girls in her class that can jump and land on the balance beam.

She has also worked really hard on her cartwheels and can almost do them by herself! Go girl!

Ta-Da!!!

When we were going home all she could say was, "I am so glad I got a trophy, Mom. I'm SO glad I got a trophy."

Please excuse my poor video editing skills, but here are some highlights from the performance. Enjoy...

Like Free Stuff?

2009-05-08T04:45:00.000-07:00

So, I LOVE free stuff. It makes me feel like I went shopping without the impending and gloomy guilt.

This week I have gotten free:

Chuck-E-Cheese tokens. Just sign your child up to receive birthday party information and you get 20 free tokens for their birthday month.
Really cool font. Of course there are always free font sites, but this one I got from the Creating Keepsakes blog. I really like it a lot. I am kind of a font fanatic.
This may not seem free to you, and you can't get it from me....but I LOVE getting food from my garden. It's not exactly free, but it sure feels like it. Our strawberries are doing great this year, and I feel like I am saving $3 every time the kids bring in a bowl full of such a sweet treat.
I also signed up for a sweepstake for free groceries for a year. Sorry, this one's over as of today. :( But you can send good energy my way and help me win!

Send me a comment and tell everyone what YOU get for free.

Share the wealth.

Blast From the Past

2009-05-05T10:37:00.000-07:00

I guess I have been doing weddings for a while....

I didn't really realize it until I was at my cousin's wedding this weekend and ran into a couple I thought I recognized. I did their wedding pictures more than 5 years ago. Here they are at THEIR wedding...

We had a lot of fun that day and shot a couple

hundred pictures just at the temple.

And here they are now (plus 2)!

Congratulations guys! It was great to see you.

Easter Clothes

2009-04-26T18:50:00.000-07:00

I FINALLY took pictures of the kids in their Easter outfits. If I waited much longer they would probably have a growth spurt and I would be out of luck.

There are lots...I had a really hard time choosing. I hope you like them. I think they turned out great. The kids did a really great job.

Easter

2009-04-20T21:29:00.000-07:00

So, I realize that I am complete blogslacker. It's not because I haven't had anything to blog about....I just haven't been feeling witty or motivated. But here I am, finally. I know you missed me.

These are our latest adventures at the Adams' house.

I tell myself every year that I am not going to bother coloring easter eggs. I convince myself that it's too much of a mess. I reason that we are not going to do anything with them. I tell myself that the kids really don't care. And then, when Easter begins to shine upon me....I give in. You just can't have Easter without coloring eggs.

Besides, the kids LOVE it.

Oliver was in complete and total heaven.

He thought he was one of the big kids.

Eme was, as always, ecstatic to do anything.

Here are their eggs. I was a little worried at how brown eggs would take the dye. But as you can see, they turned out really great.

Here's Eme being VERY proud of the end result.

And here is Ryan's idea of a hilarious picture.

Gabriel is always such a ham when he gets in front of the camera.

I have no idea where he gets THAT from.

This is Oliver yelling "EGGS!"

After church the "Easter Bunny" (a.k.a Daddy) stole the eggs from the refrigerator and it was the kids "mission" to recover all of the stolen eggs.

"Hmmm....where to look...."

The Easter Bunny thought he was very clever hiding the eggs in the chickens nests.

"Mine!"

"Gotcha!"

"Let me help you Oliver!"

I have completely given up on the idea that I might get ALL three kids to look and smile at the same time for a picture.

We got close....

Bunny Cake

2009-04-20T09:45:00.000-07:00

When I was little my mom would make an easter bunny cake EVERY year. It is one of the quintessential images of Easter for me. However, I am not a big cake eater....so I haven't made one since I got married and moved out.

But this year Gabriel came to me and said,

"Mom, can we make a bunny cake for Easter?"

"Sure Gabriel."

"I want it to have big ears and a big bow tie!"

Hmmm....I have no idea how he came up with the idea, because I don't think that he has ever seen one before....but at least I knew exactly how to make it. And here it is....

Eme HAD to have chocolate, so we ended up with a brown bunny.

It really turned out to be a lot of fun.

Be sure to check out my Easter post.

Sweet Girly Girl

2009-04-01T19:10:00.000-07:00

This was so sweet that I just had to share it. I complain about Eme a lot, but she really is a very sweet little girl.

For those of you who may not know, Ryan raises rats and mice as feeders for snakes and other reptiles. These are the joys of my life....

Anyway, today Eme was helping Ryan pull all the little pinkies out so that he could freeze them before sending them to the pet store. Eme LOVES all animals and has a great talent for handling them. So, picture my sweet little Eme with a handful of baby mice....

Eme: Why you gonna freeze them Dad?

Ryan: So the snakes can eat them.

Eme begins to tear up.

Eme: But their mommies will be so sad!

She ran inside sobbing to me that all the baby mice were gone.

This nearly broke poor Ryan, who is not an emotional sort of guy. He said that he nearly put some of them back so that Eme wouldn't be so upset.

I've never known someone more compassionate than Emelia.

She will be a great woman someday.

Ahhhh Spring!

2009-03-18T18:16:00.000-07:00

Spring is springing at our house. I LOVE seeing the blossoms on the trees. They are the first thing to arrive. With the budding of the trees comes the rumble of bumble bees and the sweet smell of the promise of fruit to come.

Unfortunately at our house, there is something else that is new. Emelia has a(nother) new haircut. Yes folks, she did it again. It was almost grown out and she hacked it off again.

It doesn't get much shorter than this. I told her that next time she cuts her hair, we are going to have to shave it!

The good news is that she is finally interested in bows and headbands. These definitely make it easier for people to distinguish that she is, indeed, a girl.

The Wild Wild West

2009-03-07T06:15:00.000-08:00

This here's the story of the Adams clan who done got all stir crazy in Georgia. So they packed up all their belongings (You think I'm kidding? Have you ever traveled with three kids and all your portrait equipment? Our luggage piled on the cart at the airport was taller than Ryan!) and headed out to the wild west. Utah, that is.

The young'ns were pretty dazzled by them big ol' jets!

Ya'll take extra precaution not to lose the this here baggage.

Waitin' in that there airport was a terrible kind o' torture for them babies.

Eme done found hidden treasure under them there seats!

Here we are at the Hardware Ranch. Nice bunch of folks, but the food was a little crazy! Guess all they had left was some Elk hoofs.

Watch out for them Utah natives. Throwin' them snowballs comes mighty natural. O' course Gabriel were askin' for it.

This here's the sleigh we done rode on. Guess you can guess where all them elk hoofs done came from. There was a huge swarm of 'em!

It can get mighty chilly up in them there hills!

Here was a nice little fella we done met on our sleigh ride.

The young'ns just loved seein' where their dinner done come from.

Next thing you know we were headed to this Antelope Island.

Hey there little bucaneer! Ride 'em cowboy!!!

The ranch and museum on the island were awful pretty. Can't say I envy 'em though. Lots of coyotes out there.

Still not much to eat out this a way. Couldn't find no bison hoofs to munch, so Gabriel started munchin' on the native water supply.

Havin' fun is what the little ones do best!

Them kids had a lot to learn about the native landscape.

Try not to let Pappy bury ya in the snow banks.

Pants don't stay dry here!

Tryin' to run up them hills is harder 'n it looks.

Here's the gang practicin' the ancient art of snowman buildin'

(in a parking lot! hee hee hee).

We ain't had no carrots, but we found a apple.

When Gabriel got too darn rowdy Pappy tossed

him out on the side of the road.

We finally decided to bring him on home with us. Thanks Granny and Gramps for a hootin' hollerin' good time!

(You can check out some more pics from our vacation on my photo blog!)

Venting

2009-03-02T04:50:00.000-08:00

If you do not want to hear me whining, please stop reading here.

So, there should be some law ingrained in the universe that parents are not able to get sick. There's no time for it. I have had sick kids ALL week, and yesterday Ryan and I came down with it.

But being sick is not what I would like to whine about. Gabriel is staying home from school today...I think I should have sent him anyway....for sanity's sake. My children woke up whining and have not stopped. Then Eme and Oliver BOTH spilled their cereal, which of course I get the honor of cleaning. And all the while Ryan is getting ready for work, then abandons me to what I can only describe as the very pit of you-know-where.

Why does a regular day have to be so hard? Why can't I wake up to happy, sunny, cheerful children and a stomach that does not roll and gurgle as if it is going to explode?

No, today is not that day.

Today, every room in my house smells like vomit. Today, my children are all still getting over illnesses and they all need my attention. Today, I have to clean cereal off of every surface in my dining room. Today, I get to watch my husband walk cheerily out the door to a world that is full of adults and clean halls. Totally not fair.

Today I am hoping for Divine intervention.

Draper Temple

2009-02-27T12:42:00.001-08:00

While we were in Utah we got to attend the Draper Temple open house. It was, of course, absolutely beautiful. I was really impressed and touched by the video that they have you watch beforehand. I don't remember having seen it at past open houses.

Here are my crazy little guys in front of the sign. They were totally freezing, and the sun was bright, so Gabriel refused to open his eyes. Oh well. At least they are all in the picture together.

I am so thankful for the temples and the peace and joy that can be found inside their walls.

Jazz Game

2009-02-18T09:39:00.000-08:00

Marty Jr. aka Uncle Feller, got us some tickets to a Jazz game. Gabriel was SO super excited and we both had a lot of fun. Gabriel ate and ate and ate and ate. He ate an entire bag of cotton candy nearly all by himself. Once the sugar high wore off, though, he was done. For the last quarter he sat in my lap and tried his hardest to be good....but he was "bored".

The Jazz won the game!

Rehabilitation Update

2009-01-30T15:40:00.000-08:00

I'm out of creative ideas, so you just get plain old explanations.

Here are the new haircuts.

Eme said that she really wanted her hair short. I wish that she would have told me instead of playing beautician.

She really loves the new cut. I, however, was really excited that it was finally growing out from the LAST time she cut it and was looking forward to piggy tails. Now we have even shorter.....

Oliver's hair won't stay down this short. So for a few weeks we'll have a lion mane to tame. At least his gouges won't take very long to catch up to the rest of his hair.

Isn't it remarkable how adorable little tiny felons can be?

10 Years To Life

2009-01-28T16:02:00.000-08:00

These are the perpetraitors: 3-year-old Emelia and her accomplice, 20-month-old Oliver. Both were found guilty of illegaly wielding sharp scissors and butchering beautiful hair. The sentence, as passed down by Judge Mommy, is no scissors until the age of ten, with a possibility of being banned for life.

The frontrunner for this heinous crime is 3-year-old Emelia. This is Emelia's third offense and as such is subject to a possible lifetime scissor-banishment.

She is charged with illegal handling of a sharp object, being a bad example to her younger brother, and evading arrest.

Emelia refused to comment on her sentence.

This is 20-month-old Oliver. He is charged with destruction of a new haircut, following a bad example, and refusing to stand still for a mug shot.

This was Oliver's second haircut in one day. He was sentenced to 10 years-no scissors, as well as an immediate haircut mandated by Judge Mommy.

Oliver was too ashamed to comment.

When asked about their sentence, Judge Mommy commented that she thought that Emelia's hair butchering days were over, but she was wrong. Obviously there is more rehabilitation that needs to take place before these two young convicts can take possession of another pair of scissors.

This is reporter Mommy reporting for the Adams household with a strong reminder to all parents: Please be aware of all scissors at all times, or this could happen to you. Stay tuned for updates.

Our Life

2009-01-21T05:08:00.000-08:00

Life has been beautifully quiet here lately. Not much new, but here is some of the everyday stuff!

Gabriel is doing really well in school. He's really getting the hang of reading and he is really well-behaved in class. Too bad he can't act that way at home. Don't get me wrong, he's a good kid, but he's an ANGEL at school.

Eme's FAVORITE thing in the world right now is playing on the computer. I try not to let her do it all the time, but sometimes it's just too easy! She's sick right now (hence the robe) but she is doing well besides that. She has learned how to spell her name and loves teaching Oliver anything that she can. She is his second little mommy.

Oliver is still as sweet as ever. This is him helping me clean today. He vacuumed the whole room and was very upset when I made him stop. Please notice that he is sticking out his tongue for concentration! HAHA! He is finally starting to speak more words. He was a little slow, probably because of the sign language....but I think it's a fair trade. He says Mama really well now. It melts my heart!

I'll Do What You Want Me To Do

2009-01-14T07:33:00.002-08:00

I have had a really strong desire lately to serve more in the church. While waiting for opportunities to arise I have tried to magnify the callings that I currently have. This has been amazingly fulfilling and has helped me realize that I can serve more without the need of an additional calling.

I also realized that I have other "callings" that are not part of my typical church day. I have a calling to be a wife and a mother. I have a calling to search out my ancestors, and perform temple ordinances for them. I also have a calling to share and defend the gospel. In D&C 4:3 it states "Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work." By simply having the desire to serve, I have already been called. Isn't it amazing how the Lord has provided for everything?

After all of this learning and growing, I have actually received another calling! I get to go on the Pioneer Trek with the youth as a photographer. Fun! Funny how thing work out right?

I'm curious to know what callings you have found!

Puddin Head

2009-01-08T06:11:00.000-08:00

Perhaps some of you were confused when I posted (click here) last year about Oliver. So I thought I would give you a glance of Oliver's usual look after I allow him to eat on his own.

Saying "cheeeeese"

In his defense, he did get some wipes and try to clean it off.

I think that maybe it was a ploy to get in the shower. He LOVES taking showers.

A New Start

2009-01-06T07:18:00.000-08:00

Happy new year to everyone!

It has been VERY quiet around here lately. Nothing much to blog about. It's been a nice change from the holiday rush and craziness. As a family we have talked about setting goals for the year. Gabriel says he wants to learn how to play EVERY instrument. Good luck with that Gabe.

In church on Sunday we had a wonderful lesson in Relief Society about recommitting ourselves to the gospel. It was a great reminder of things that I needed to work on. One of the biggest things that I would like to endeavor to do this year is to keep a journal. I found a wonderful site called ldsjournal.com. It is free and seems to be very easy to use. The greatest part about it is that when you are ready, you can have it printed into a hard bound book. Can we say "no more writer's cramp"?

In the past, I have found that writing in a journal helps me to ponder things more efficiently. In my already cramped brain there are too many things bouncing around for me to keep things straight....but when I write things down, it is easier to focus. It's also nice to reread things later when you'd like to continue the same train of thought. This is very helpful for me, as I generally lose my train of thought on my way down a flight of stairs.

"What did I come down here for?"

In case you're interested, we also talked about being optimistic, attending the temple regularly, immersing ourselves in the scriptures, praying fervently, renewing baptismal covenants, and magnifying callings. All wonderful goals for a new year.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-26T17:17:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas here at the Adams' house. The kids were in heaven decorating the tree, making and delivering treats, and waiting for Santa to visit. Please be sure to note Oliver's new way of saying "cheese" to the camera.

Eme loved her little baby doll from Nana the most out of all her presents. I was sort of surprised, since she already has about seven... :) Oliver has had the most fun playing with a Mr. Potato Head that we got at Disney. Ryan and I got the best present EVER. (Thank you again Peggy). We got gift cards for restaraunts so that we can go out on some dates. I almost cried!

Gabriel had a list about two miles long of things that he wanted Santa to bring. I was very relieved when on Christmas morning all he could say was, "This is exactly what I wanted." Even though none of the things that he got were on his list for Santa, he was still very very grateful.

This year I am so thankful for the birth of our Savior. More so than past years. When I wished people a "Merry Christmas" I realized that I was vocally praising the Lord for His willingness to come to the Earth as a newborn baby. I have really been pondering His life here on earth. I have come to realize and appreciate how willing He was to come here for us. He lived his life as an example to all who would notice. He willingly GAVE his life so that we might live with Him and our Father in Heaven. What an amazing gift He has given for each of us. I would just like to say, "This is exactly what I wanted!"

Santa

2008-12-22T14:29:00.001-08:00

We had a really fun time at our ward christmas party. The kids think it's like some kind of fairy tale world when we have a party at the church. They can run and play and no one tells them to fold their arms and be reverent!

Gabriel and Eme both loved visiting with Santa. Gabriel took his santa letter with him and whipped it out of his hat once he got onto Santa's lap. Santa looked at me in shock! Oliver (of course) would have nothing to do with Santa. He was too scary. Oh well. Maybe next year.

Monday Monday

2008-12-18T20:55:00.000-08:00

My entire life I have heard the songs relating all the evils of Monday. I think they had it very wrong. On Monday I am usually still on a spiritual high from my Sabbath day experience. The world seems lovely and rosey. And then comes the REAL day that these songs should be lamenting. THURSDAY. Thursday is my own personal Monday. I am generally worn out and ready for a break, but it is not to be had....yet. It is days like this that I truly feel at war for my very salvation. I have a very real sense of Satan's attempts to influence my life. I think that today.....I won.

Luckily for my children and everyone else I associated with today, I had a Primary music CD playing in my car. Throughout this day of absolute craziness I would climb into the car weary, worn, and irritated. But then I would hear the music and the sweet words of hope and joy offered up in loving worship to our Savior and my heart would find peace again. It was the most amazing blessing that I have ever received. If I can win this war on a Thursday....I can win it any day....with help of course.

Learning Something New

2008-12-16T11:22:00.000-08:00

So......thanks to Carrie, I am now trying to be the coupon girl. I am grateful to her for introducing me to this endeavor, but I am a little miffed that she didn't tell me about it until she was leaving. So.....here I am.

I am just beginning, but I think that I am doing pretty well. Here is my latest shopping adventure.

I went to two different stores (Publix and Kroger). Here are some of the things that I got. "After" includes sales and coupons.

Brown Sugar - before $1.69 after $.89

4 lb. white sugar - before $2.49 after $1.79

Pure vanilla extract - before $8.99 after $4.39

Yeast - before $1.99 after $.40

Spaghetti Sauce - before $1.79 after $.01

Apples - before $7.19 after $2.91

Progresso soup - before $2.39 after $1.00

I won't bore you with my entire grocery list. But the point is that I got $67.25 worth of groceries and paid $26.22.

I think I did pretty well for a beginner. And the best part is that this shopping trip contributed quite a bit to my food storage.

Thanks Carrie.

Housework

2008-12-10T08:01:00.001-08:00

I have been cleaning my house for the past three days. I am attempting to get it spotless and beautiful. I sometimes feel like my house is my fourth child. Every time I turn my back, it gets messy again...like it could sense I wasn't watching. And those certain things that are never-ending....like dishes and laundry...they sneak up on me and yell, "But you aren't finished yet!" I want to yell back, "Stop getting dirty!" Haven't you ever had the thought...."If no one wore any more clothes, I wouldn't have to do any more laundry." Or, "I could spend my husband's entire paycheck on paper plates and plastic forks. That's not bad right?"

But even though my fourth child is very very naughty. I am still thankful for it. I never thought that we would own a house this nice. It was given to us by the Lord and I will never forget what a blessing it was to find it.

SOOOOOO...I am still cleaning.

As for my other children, this is what they were doing today. They went outside with me to feed the rabbits, and (of course) decided to play in the puddle by our back door. Then we came inside so that I could clean THEM. Isn't rain fun?

Disney World

2008-12-04T18:42:00.000-08:00

We had a FANTASTIC time at Disney World. The weather was absolutely beautiful. (Good for pictures.) Eme and Gabriel LOVED meeting all of the characters. Eme hugged and kissed everyone that she could.

Oliver liked them from far away, but wasn't too keen on being close unless Daddy was there with him.

Gabriel was only interested in meeting "boy" characters that were "cool".
Gabriel also got to ride lots of the rides. He just barely met the height requirement for the "big kid" rides, he was SO excited. He went on Splash Moutain, Space Mountain, Tower of Terror, and Everest. He was a little scared, but he did a great job and loved it!

Special thanks to Daylyn for getting us in and letting us crash at her house! And for her sake, please be kind to the characters. It may be someone you know!
And thanks to Mom for helping us go. We had so much fun.

I tried to narrow down the pictures. There are (LOTS AND LOTS!) If for some reason you are interested in seeing ALL of them, you can go to my gallery. Enjoy!

Elder Wirthlin

2008-12-02T12:11:00.000-08:00

Our prayers are with the family of Elder Wirthlin. I am so thankful for him and for his selfless service to the church. I rejoice in his reunion with his wife and family who have already passed on. Here is a link to the church's newsroom (or to the left) if you would like more information about Elder Wirthlin.

Giving Thanks

2008-11-30T18:17:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Every year we go down to my grandmother's house in Florida to celebrate with her and my Aunt Cecilee. We have so much fun. We stay in the kitchen for nearly two days cutting, rolling, filling, and laughing. This is one of the things that I am truly thankful for. The companionship of women is a marvelous thing.

The other thing that I LOVE when we go down is that my grandma has a big yard, and all the little kids go run outside and play until they fall over exhausted.

I am also thankful that my mom and sister went with us this year. It has been more than five years since I was able to spend Thanksgiving with my mom. I love her now more than ever. Who isn't thankful for their mother after having children?

I hope that your Thanksgiving was as fun and stress-relieving as mine!

Random

2008-11-28T21:08:00.000-08:00

There are many things that I should be blogging about right now. Disney, Thanksgiving, Family...but tonight, I choose none of them. What I choose is this: Ryan and I went to see a movie tonight. This is a miracle of sorts. Since we cut our budget, we haven't been to the movies. Tonight we went and saw "Australia" with some friends. Can I just tell you...this was a beautiful movie. The cinematography was wonderful, The story was inspiring, and the actors...welllll....all I have to say is....Hugh Jackman. AAAHHHH! (singing now). Hope you had a good night too. I am going to bed to dream of....

Self Portrait

2008-11-21T09:51:00.000-08:00

So....I got my hair cut.

Yesterday I was a little wary. This morning I HATED it. It turned out okay once I took some time with it...but who has time to do their hair? I BARELY have time to take a shower, and I almost never have time to eat. Where am I going to find the time to fix this mess of a haircut? Maybe it will force me to take time for myself. That wouldn't be such a bad thing.

Miracles

2008-11-20T05:22:00.000-08:00

I know that this is very silly and mommyish of me, but I am just so excited. You would be too if you could only see the kind of mess this child can make in one meal.

Oliver had a bowl of cheerios for breakfast this morning. I was being brave, and decided to let him eat by himself, knowing full well that I might have a lot of cleaning to do. But, GOOD NEWS, he ate the whole bowl AND drank the milk with no mess at all!!!!!

Miracles do happen. Hope your day is going as well as mine!

Inspirational Words

2008-11-19T09:15:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks ago Elder Holland came to our stake to visit with the members here. I thought that I would write down (and share) some of the things that he shared with us.

His emphasis in talking was, for the most part, aimed towards the youth that were there. But I believe, like all gospel principles we can apply this to ourselves as well. I will paraphrase his words, but this is not a direct quote.

He first spoke of President Hinckley and his lifelong dedication to service in the church. Three days before he passed away he was conducting meetings with the first presidency and the twelve. He was almost 98 years old. He worked up until the very day that he died. Why did he do this? Why not just retire to Florida, and take some time off. Surely he deserved it after working for so long. He did it not for his own salvation. Surely Pres. Hinckley's salvation is sure, if not, then we are all in serious trouble. He did it for each and every one of us.

I ask of you today, a tithing. Not of your money, you give that to your bishop. What I want from you today is a tithe on your lives. If we all live to be 100, then 10% of your lives is 10 years. The years that I ask of you are the years from 12-22. This is a time in your lives that you will make nearly every important decision in your life. Whether or not to go to church, who your friends are, whom you will date, whether you will go to college, if you will go on a mission, whom you will marry. These years are the time that we lose many members. YOU MUST NOT LEAVE THE CHURCH.

I know that this was directed at the youth, but I think that it is such a lovely idea. To tithe your life to the church. Of course, I doubt after ten years that you would have the desire to stop. :)

He also talked about temples. I don't remember exactly how he fit it in, it wasn't a structured, written talk. There is a scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 88th chapter, 33rd verse that haunts me. It tells us if we reject the gift, we reject the giver. In our time we have 125 (?) temples. If this is not a gift, I don't know what is. Throughout all of history there have been only a few temples. We have the amazing opportunity to attend these temples on a regular basis. All over the world. Let us not reject this gift that the Lord has given us.

In his closing remarks he gave a quote of some kind. He did not say where it was from, but this is what he said. Many of us are looking toward the second coming and wondering when it will be...the actual moment when Christ descends from heaven. I am not here to announce that today. If you are faithful and look to Christ in all things. If you will be obedient and valiant in your life. You can bind Satan in your own life. We can live in our homes as if the millennium has already come. We can have millennial homes and millennial families. Satan will be bound in our very homes.

I know that many were as touched by this as I was. There were not very many dry eyes in the church. What a beautiful idea. To make our homes a true safe haven from the world. I know that this is what I am now striving for in my home. I am trying to constantly have the spirit with me so that I can deal with my children in a Christlike manner. Instead of TV or random music, I have been playing conference talks on my computer. With the tumultuous times that this world is going through, I want my family to be safe and to have a place of peace and love to go to.

If anyone has any ideas that you use in your home to make your home more peaceful, I would love to hear them.

Bravery

2008-11-15T08:34:00.000-08:00

This is my sweet little Gabriel at swimming lessons. I have recently been feeling like it was important for him to learn. So a couple of weeks ago, we signed him up. It was fairly inexpensive, and not a long commitment, just in case he freaked out about it. He goes every Saturday for 30 minutes with Coach DeRahn. He is actually learning to like it. He was especially excited this week because Gram was going to take him. He couldn't stop talking about how he wanted to show her all the things that he could do. He went on and on about how Coach kept asking him if he had been in swimming lessons before.

The first lesson was especially scary for ME. I kept waiting for him to completely lose it and I would have to try and calm him down while making sure that Eme and Oliver weren't throwing their little bodies into the pool. But he was totally cool with everything that they did.

In just the first lesson he learned how to doggy paddle, back stroke, glide and go underwater. The overprotective mommy in me thought that this was sort of a lot. I half expected them just to teach him about water safety and how to float.

He is doing really well already. He is swimming short distances to the side of the pool. He doesn't freak out every time he goes under. He doesn't even demand a towel every time water gets in his eyes. It's like watching him

change right before my eyes.

For any of you that know Gabriel, you know what an incredible feat of bravery this is for him. I am extraordinarily proud of him. To

watch him conquer his fears is amazing. He attends lessons every week on my promise that he will be okay, and he trusts me.

He asked me the first time we went why he had to take swimming lessons. I told him that I thought it was what Heavenly Father wanted for him. He never asked me again.

Gabriel's acts of bravery have inspired me to ponder my own fears. I have a goal of handing out some Book of Mormons, but I am afraid. I have a fear of rejection. I also fear that I will offend people. I think that while watching Gabriel learning how to swim, I realized that I need to just jump in. Take a leap of faith. And trust that this is what my Heavenly Father wants me to do. I might have a lot to learn the first time, but I know I will make progress. And maybe someone else will gain happiness because I was brave.

A Book I Am Thankful For

2008-11-14T19:53:00.000-08:00

I recently read this book... "Dreams and Visions of the Last Days". It is a fabulous book for anyone interested in emergency preparedness as well as being spiritually prepared for the second coming. It has literally changed my perspective on how I want to live my life. I STRONGLY recommend it. I probably have offered it to several of you to read. You can find it at the following link: http://www.ldsavow.com/books.html

Fun in the Fall

2008-11-13T13:57:00.000-08:00

I thought that I would go ahead and post some Halloween pics on here. I haven't sent any out in e-mails yet.....

Gabriel chose to be a vampire this year...much to my surprise. I was sure that he would insist on being a super-hero. I was so glad when he chose this instead and I was still able to coordinate everyone's costumes. Call me silly, but I LOVE it when they all match a theme for Halloween. I almost had him convinced to be a white rabbit so that we could be the cast of Alice in Wonderland.

Eme was my little "witchie". She was the cutest thing ever. Her tulle skirt bounced as she ran back and forth from the houses. She was completely

adorable.

She was allowed to wear her costume to gymnastics.

That was, of course, the best thing ever.

This is the ONE picture I got of her in her COMPLETE costume. The hat kept falling off and she refused to carry the broom. She needed all her strength to lug around her kittie bag that was jammed full of goodies.

Just a little fun fact for those of you that might find it fitting. (No pun intended). Eme's costume wasn't finished, both her hat and her belt had to be safety-pinned.

Oliver was my handsome little devil. He was so good to wear his horns the whole time. He was too cute.

It was so funny to watch him walk around with that tail bouncing behind him.

It took him a little bit, but once he figured out that everyone he walked up to gave him candy, he was all about it. He had no problem interacting with strangers after that, and even started to pick his own candy out of the bowls!

The cutest little ghouls I have ever seen!!!! I have to say that I think their costumes turned out really good. It's the most sewing I have ever done at one time. Happy Halloween everyone!

Just the Beginning

2008-11-13T10:30:00.000-08:00

Well...here we are. I never thought I would be the kind of person to start a blog. I suppose it's mostly for me. Ryan will probably never see it unless I force it upon him. :) This post is just for starters, and so my page isn't completely blank. Ha ha. It makes me feel like I've accomplished something to have written about absolutely nothing.