A Good Day

An amazing thing happened on October 9th 2011. Amber and Ashlie were sealed to Jimmy and I!!! I really can't believe it, I am so grateful that these girls have been in my life for the past 18 years. I really never thought this day would come. BUT with the family we have over the years pieced together we have managed to be sealed to all three girls. Aaron and Jason both got to come into the sealing room and see the sealing because they were born in the covenant...it was amazing. When Brittany was sealed to us Aaron came in the sealing room too...he was to young to really remember though so it was great that he is older now.

I love Amber and Ashlie so much, we have been through it all together the good, the bad and the ugly. Seeing these girls all grown up and married in the temple and having babies and starting their own lives has been such a joy, I am so very proud of both of them. The only thing that was missing was my sweet Brittany...but she is still in Brazil! I truly believe this a blessing given to our family by her serving a mission. Missions are wonderful!
I love my son in laws too! They are wonderful men who love my daughters and for that I am eternally grateful...they are pretty patient with me too ;)
Letting things happen on the Lord's time table can take....well...eighteen years, but it was worth it and it was wonderful and I grateful.

Baseball Pants

OK to start...if I'm being honest, this was a slow week of baseball pants, but the only time I have taken the time to take a picture of them. They aren't even really that dirty this week, some days you should see them. Sometimes I spend a half hour on the floor scrubbing baseball pants only to have them dirty just the same the very next time they are worn.

I have thought many things about baseball pants, I hate them, I love them, these ones are cute, why are we saving these ones, but mostly.... I hate baseball pants. I've thought about repentance, about being made clean, so many things, some much time....scrubbing baseball pants. I have even thought if they knew the time it takes to get these things sort of clean they would stop sliding, then I decided that's another good reason I should do it.

I am always willing to serve, so while scrubbing these pants I think of it as a service project and try to find joy in it ;). Some may say...Let them wash their own baseball pants...I say...No way someday there will be no more baseball pants to wash, I will not miss it, but I know they will look back someday when they are washing (or their wife is washing) baseball pants and think....my mom loved me :).

I know we all have it, baseball, soccer, gymnastics, cheer, football, hockey, whatever....I just wanted to say....I have been washing baseball pants for 15 years (some were softball) and though I do tire of the scrubbing and washing I do not tire of my sweet boys. And fortunately or unfortunately (which ever way you choose to look at it)...this too shall pass.

That's it....that's my post...that's whats on my mind today :)

Homework

I hate homework, my children hate homework, everyone hates homework! I think maybe Brittany didn't hate it...Amber may not have either but Ashlie hated it, so did (does) Aaron and Jason most definitely does. You would think that on CHILD #5 that I would have figured out a good system for this. Here are a list of things that don't work

#1 Grounding

#2 Threatening

#3 All of a sudden pretending I have patience

#4 Giving up on acting like I have patience which leads to #5

#5 Yelling

#6 Begging

#7 Bribing

#8 Points systems

#9 Spanking...that never works for anything

#10 Pretending the child doesn't have homework

#11 Wishing it would go away

#12 Letting them do all the checking themselves

and on and on and on....so homework is something I get a BIG GIANT F on. I can't seem to be consistent enough for anything to work. So think I have decided to try an exercise system. Here it is....you give me trouble...run around the block, next time you give me trouble jump rope for 2 minutes, next time, sit ups, push-ups, whatever. Now it kinda sounds like the military, but when I threatened this tonight (see #2 above) it really sounded like a good idea.

Jason and I are as different as night and day when it comes to homework. One BIG problem we have is eraser shaving (or whatever they are called), when he needs to erase he just does it and then writes right over the top of the eraser stuff....I CAN'T STAND IT!!! I am alway blowing it off...which ends up with me blowing in Jason's face, he just loves that! Next option is I make him stop writing so I can wipe it all off of the paper, I can't stand those little things! They make me crazy!!!! The whole thing makes him so irritated...but I cannot help myself...those things make me so crazy. Sometimes I try to ignore them, because I KNOW that is what I am supposed to do...but I can't, I really can't.

I don't think many people read my blog...why would they? I felt in necessary to share this anyway. I don't think I will ever look back on homework and say, "Man, I sure miss doing homework with my kids" I will think that about many other things, but homework...NO WAY.

Jason is my sweet boy, I love that guy so much, but come homework time....sometimes.....I just don't think we are gonna make it, but we do, we finished at 10:00 tonight (we had soccer in between) and we have to get up early to finish what we couldn't finish . Being a mom is not for the weak or the timid...

A view from the Camera

On Saturday I was swimming....which I have decided to do more of this year. After a few jumps and a game of basketball with Aaron and Jason that got out of hand (Aaron has scratches on his shoulder from me) I decided to just chill in the jacuzzi for a little bit. Then Miss Abigail came to the opening between the pool and spa...and this is what I saw....how cute is she??? So we talked for awhile right here...just like this and then I thought I wish I could take pictures of moments like this...but I am in the pool....and then I jumped out and decided to give it a try. This was as low as I could get the the pool with my camera but I really wish I could have gotten down a little lower....but I really love these pictures of my favorite grand baby girl...she makes me smile! I love her!

My sweet Jason is at that age where he realizes his smile is wrong and he is trying to fix it! (so cute) but I didn't master this until the age of 40 and still sometimes the girls say....WHAT ARE YOU DOING??? So Jason and I will keep working on it! I love this boy though....strange smile or not!

Baby Noah! The best baby in the whole world!!!! I love this chunky boy!!

And She's Off!

It's official Brittany is on her way to Brazil!! She left Salt Lake this morning and left Detroit at 5pm to Brazil. She arrives there tomorrow morning....10 and a half hour flight! That is a crazy long flight.

BUT today I was a little sad and I thought I would drowned my sadness in Chipotle....while I was waiting in line I got an email from some guy that works in the Salt Lake Airport....at first I was freaking out that something was wrong and then I look at the attachments!! Here is one of the pictures he sent me....

Incase you can't tell she's the 4th from the left.... Can you believe that a man that works in the airport sent this!!??? He said whenever he sees groups of missionaries he takes a photo to send home to the families.....WHAT A GREAT MAN!!!!! Thank you kind stranger! So she is officially gone...I am so proud of her! She is awesome! I got to talk to her for over an hour too!!! I love that girl so much!!!!

When I was a Kid....

When I was a girl I played mud pies. I loved making mud pies, with different things on top, seeds, grass, branches, you name it, if its found outside I had it on top of my mud pies. Anyway I was recently telling one of my children about how we used to play in the street until dark and for awhile we had a barrel and used to get in it and all the other neighborhood kids would roll the barrel down the street! That's what I call fun, today if you could even fit me in a barrel I would die the moment it started to roll. OK so to the point of this post, I often get those email about when I was a kid....and it's all the things lost on this generation...like mud pies and rolling barrels, playing outside all day and no video games. So here's to THIS generation and my sweet son Jason and the great neighborhood we live in where HE is growing up the way I did, playing outside. Thankfully we have a neighborhood full of kids...they are a little older now so they have a bit for freedom but they really enjoy to outdoors.

Jason has been talking for days about the frogs he has caught and I keep saying....yah....yah Anyway today I went on the side of my house to see the frogs because I thought I should asses the situation. BOY has the situation grown into an exhibit!!!

There is a big bucket of tadpoles, then there is a box with a green lid with frogs in it (50 or so) and the newest addition to the exhibit is a garter snake in the red lid box. Jason informed me it bit him when he was trying to catch it.....!!!!! So we now have all of this going on in my front yard. They have been outside - all day everyday working on this and they are having the best time. The whole neighborhood has become involved (well really just 6 or so kids) but it makes me think...these kids aren't missing what we grew up knowing, they just have video games too!!

The two founding members of the neighborhood reptile exhibit....admission is free if you need something to do with your family ;)

Last Family Photos

We went to Susan Christensen's and took family photos. We thought we were going to have to use umbrellas, but we got lucky. It was freezing, but the rain gave us a much needed break.

Last Trip to Leatherby's

Tonight the whole gang went to see Gnomeo and Juliet...Brittany and Abby's choice, Britt cracked up the whole time...Abby slept. After we went to Leatherby's Britt's choice again, she said she had to go one last time before she left. It was super fun, we really are a rowdy group though.

One Week Left

I have had so many things to blog about...and haven't blogged about any of them. Most of the blogs I read are about the cute things little ones do and say and I LOVE it, but I am realizing how old I am because none of my posts are about things like that. So here goes another old person post ;).

I have had the greatest blessing this last 5 months, Brittany has been home and I have been unemployed! We have spent so much time together, we have had so much fun! We took a trip to Los Angeles/Disneyland/LA Temple, we took a day trip to the Oakland Temple, we went to the snow with Amber and her family, we watched lots of movies, we just spent so much time together....It's been great!

But as of today everything that happens will be the last....at least for 18 months. Tonight will be her last Tuesday night, tomorrow her last Wednesday morning...you get it...I need not continue! I am so proud of her and the decision she has made to serve a mission and I know that this one decision will bless generations, hers and the people she will serve, I wouldn't want it any other way. Even though that is true there is a whole in my heart...and it's getting bigger. I continually find the love of my Heavenly Father amazing. I am struggling...worrying...and realizing I can't fix it anymore, I have to trust my Father in Heaven....her Father in Heaven. I have to trust Him with her the way He has had to trust me with her...it's harder than it sounds. How does He do it? Let us come here knowing everything He knows, I mean I KNOW, but as a parent on the last week before having to let go I find this all so over whelming. Ok I said it...that is enough!

Here are a few pictures of our adventures over the last few months.

Our tickets to Disneyland!!

Yep that's us with Minnie, we waited in line with all the small children to take a picture with her and yes those are lanyards with trading pins...

(so we acted like we were 10 the whole time :))

Our snow trip with Amber's family, she has the only good pictures....

Brittany and Hailey

Brittany & I at the Los Angeles Temple

(I know it's a horrible picture of me)

Our Trip to the Oakland Temple

Picking up Brittany in Provo

(I know this is Salt Lake, but we wanted to see the Christmas Lights)

I do have 4 other children....Amber and family are great! Baby Noah (cause that's his name, not just Noah) is growing so fast, he is chubby and I LOVE IT!!!! Ashlie & Shawn bought a house, Aaron made the Pleasant Grove High School baseball team! (very exciting) and Jason has just finished up an AMAZING basketball season. Last game of basketball was first baseball practice...they keep me busy!

Brittany is headed to Brazil in ONE WEEK and words cannot describe how I feel. It's different now, mothers of missionaries know how I feel and I hope that all who read this can someday be filled with all of these same emotions as you send one of your own off to do this very work that only our missionaries can do.