Rich and his parents (along with members of the ward) were such good sports when they were willing to help me with singing time in Primary. I made the kids guess which SCRIPTURE HEROES each one of them were. I’m sure most of you can guess what they yelled out when asked who Rich’s Dad was…..
SANTA CLAUS!!!
Didn’t help that this was a week after Christmas….Santy was still on the brain.
Thanks for your help!!!
My Valentines Day was full of my favorite (but clean) F words: Fun, Food, Family, Flowers and Fitness Challenge!
We celebrated V-day a couple of days early because Rich is going to be out of town. First we celebrated US (Rich and I)….this is our 9th Valentine Day together as a married couple. And although we need to face the fact that we are getting older….we just didn’t want to for this Valentines Day. For our date we went miniature golfing and go-kart racing. I love dates where you can temporarily forget how old and boring you have become…and it feels as if we are young and just starting to date again. We had a great time!
After 9 years….this man will still do anything for me! Like chase my ball into forbidden areas! Good thing my man works out!
What a good sport!
AND THEN…he even risked his own clean hands to dig out my shoe from the mud pit I accidentally stepped in! This hole about ate my leg!
That’s true love!
I’ve decided you’re never too old to go-kart! I could spend all day racing…but it would wipe out our bank account…so I won’t!
p.s. I KNOW HE’S STRANGE…BUT HONESTLY THAT’S WHY I LOVE HIM!
What I REALLY WANTED TO DO for our Valentines date was go biking together….not just any ride…AN AWESOME…KICK MY TRASH kind of ride!
SO WE DID…..
“KEEPING UP WITH THE BOYS!!!”
Maybe I am the way I am because the only distinct memories I have of my childhood was after my only sister moved out of the house…and I was left with my two older brothers to fend for myself. I’ve always had this drive to KEEP UP WITH BOYS! Rich and his friends did the ELLSWORTH LOOP ride (17 grueling miles) earlier this week. After hearing about them mastering this challenge I wanted a go at it. I didn’t just want to finish it….I secretly wanted to either keep up with their time or even beat them (I know I’m lame and probably a little immature). Through the whole ride I kept having Rich look at his speedometer and I would ask “Our we going as fast as you boys did?’
I taught a cycling class at the gym just before going…so my legs were already beat. But I was still ready to give it my all! There were points in the ride I thought I was going to pass out because the incline was so steep. But the great thing about this ride…is just when your about to give up you usually hit a fun downhill long enough to prepare you for more upcoming hills. We stopped to take a bunch of pictures….and we still came in at about the time the boys finished…MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Not that I’ll probably ever get to go out with the boys since someone’s got to watch the kids….but if ever given the chance…at least I know I can keep up :)
This may sound untrue…but this was one of the best dates I’ve been on in a long time. I’ve decided I’m over dinner and a movie. You end up spending more than it’s worth…you eat too much…and it’s just over-rated I think.
We came home and made heart pizzas with the kids….
Then we stuck with our normal Valentine tradition…..CAMPING WITH LOVE BUGS AND WATCHING A MOVIE in the family room!!!
We made pink smores….although Kendyl had an idea for a different snack…yuck
I feel so blessed to have 4 Valentines to share my love with. I LOVE MY FAMILY VERY MUCH!
HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL VALENTINES DAY!!!
Big congrats to our sweet Sadie for being chosen from her class to be the “Student of the Month”! She’s worked hard this year…and we are proud of her. This award make us happy…but what makes us even more happy is seeing how proud she is of herself. She was so concerned about making it to the award ceremony on time Friday morning, that she woke up at 5:30 a.m. rearing to go.
We celebrated by going to Bill Johnson’s Big Apple restaurant for dinner.
Way to work hard Little Miss Mae!
Big shout out to my sis in-law Lindsay and boyfriend (well now fiancé) Darren for their resent proposal. So happy for you guys! Can’t wait to welcome Darren into the family. You guys are so great for each other….couldn’t be happier!
I’ve learned a great deal about faith lately (Although, I know not enough…!) There’s been times I’ve learned faith by choice (reading scriptures, the Ensign or praying) and then there’s been times I’ve learned it through trials (which makes me wish I could do all my growing and learning from what I read…but it just doesn’t work that way :)
The last few years have been full of:
SWEET MEMORIES
DOUBT
FEAR
FUN TIMES…
DID I MENTION FEAR…and more!
FAITH WAS DEVELOPED….FAITH WAS EXERCISED…FAITH WAS INCREASED…FAITH WAS LOST…FAITH WAS RESTORED (repeated many times) And the surprising thing, for me, was this faith cycle could play out all in one weeks time. Life has been a crazy rollercoaster ride…there were times we thought the ride was slowing down and stopping at the end…just to find out that we got to take another turn on the rollercoaster whether we liked it or not.
I’ve learned the best thing to do when you’re on the never-ending rollercoaster ride is just to hang on….
So what keeps me going…what helps me to hold on???
I read in a book once written by Elder Holland about faith. It was an ah-ha moment that has become a part of who I am…or at least a part of who I want to be.
He shared the account in the New Testament when a father with an ill son cries unto the Lord for help. The Savior replied “If thou canst BELIEVE, all things are possible to Him that believeth”. The father replied “Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief”. The man recognized he had some faith, but he did not have complete faith. While reading this book, I learned a valuable principle. Just as this father, we need to assert our strength first, and only then acknowledge what we lack. The father first declared WHAT FAITH HE DID HAVE (I believe), and then ask for help in the weakness he knew was his. In moments of fear or doubt we need to hold to what we already have won…holding fast to the things WE DO KNOW! Even a mustard seed size faith can move mountains.
“The first rule of holes…is when you are in one, stop digging”.
Is it just me….or do some of you knowingly dig your hole deeper on occasion because you feel like doing nothing but wallow in your own muddy pit? (Those are my “loss of faith” days.) I’ve had many days like that where I first declare, to the Lord and to everyone else around me, HELP THOU MINE UNBELIEF! But every time I’ve made a decision to stop digging, I’ve felt the presence and love of my Savior. I’ve always known the Savior wants to help and bless us….but I had to learn a little patience.
“Let us constantly, repeatedly affirm our belief, even as we wrestle with unbelief” Elder Holland
Many of you know some of our prayers have been answered recently….it’s acts of tender mercies like these that the Lord gives to us to remind us just how much he loves us.
I sigh of relief…AHHHHHHHH…and will enjoy this peace and calm before the next storm arises….. BECAUSE THEY ALWAYS DO :)
Today we went to the Temple after church. We like to do that occasionally, so the kids can learn more about why we attend the Temple and why it’s so important to us. Although…I think the kids think it’s just another fun play land…despite our attempt to teach them otherwise. After sitting in church for three hours, it was impossible to get the kids to reverently walk around the temple grounds. Kendyl’s our little monkey. She would lift her leg up on anything higher than herself and start crying “UP…UP…UP”! We were impressed by her flexibility!
p.s. I found these matching dressing for the girls at the Goodwill…SCORE! I’ve done a lot of my shopping at second hand stores lately…and it just makes my day when I found awesome things…LIKE MATCHING DRESSES FOR JUST A COUPLE OF DOLLARS!!!
Would wake up at 5 a.m. to workout or get things done around the house just so she can do so in PEACE AND QUIET.
Would let her two year old go at her make-up…potentially destroying most of it….just so she can have 5 minutes again of PEACE AND QUIET.
Would voluntarily lay herself down at the park so her kids would giggle as they bury her (this is why we go to the park before Mommy showers for the day).
Would play sword fight (which included a lot of playing dead on the floor) in the middle of a Walmart aisle…because that’s what her son wanted to do on his “Mommy and Son” date. (Oh and I pulled a bike off of a rack and let him take a test ride at full speed through the aisles. I’ve learned that the pet aisles are usually the best people-free-zone if ever you’re interested).
Would let her kids make this big of a mess…JUST AFTER THE KITCHEN WAS DEEP CLEANED…
AND ONLY A MOTHER….WOULD DO THIS:
I woke up early the other day to get myself ready because I had to get all three kids to a doctors appointment by 8:00 a.m. I took clean clothes into the bathroom for me to change into….but I forgot to grab pants. Mason was asleep on the floor next to my closet, so I decided to just put my pajama pants back on and I planned on changing them once he was awake.
I did my hair and makeup…and was so impressed that I could get myself and three kids looking so beautiful by 7:30 a.m.
We made it to the doctors appointment on time…another huge accomplishment… I walked in, they handed me a clipboard full of papers to sign. I found the nearest chair and went to sit down placing the clipboard on my lap. That’s when I discovered I WAS STILL WEARING MY PAJAMA BOTTOMS!!! OOPS!
ONLY A MOTHER WOULD GO TO A DOCTORS APPOINTMENT…HALF DRESSED!!!
The things we do to survive this job we love so much!!!
