Spending time outside

These are some things I have been thinking about recently, so I thought I would share them with all of you since I haven't blogged for a while.

Now that the weather is nice, we have been outside constantly...except when the wind is too strong. My calling as an assistant scout leader has been keeping me busy too, and I just remembered I have pack meeting tonight.

Among other things, school has been going well. I turned in a rough draft of my final paper last week, and it was already 10 pages, with my references and a few paragraphs in each section. I am three weeks from being done, and I can't wait.

I just turned in a job application for a position with Health and Welfare in Twin Falls last week. I have been applying for jobs since last January, and I feel like this job is it. It fits my education, and my career goals...even though I believe a job is just a job. But it would give Brady a chance to stay home with the kids and finish his Master's degree, and since he has to do clinical's full time around January, I need to have a job anyway to pay the bills. So this is a great opportunity for our family...not to mention the prospective getting out of debt sooner than we hoped. BUT, they have to evaluate my resume packet and call me for an interview first...and I sincerely hope I get a chance to do that and not be rejected because I haven't worked for five years. It's overwhelming to think about, especially since I am very attached to our life in Idaho Falls with family close, a great ward, and great neighbors. I guess what I am saying is that we will go where the Lord wants us to go. I just hope and pray I don't get another rejection letter in the mail...

Ammon started preschool a couple of weeks ago with one of our wonderful neighbors as his teacher. Julie has been doing a great job, and already Ammon can write his own name and almost cut paper in a straight line. He loves to go to school! It's nice to be able to trade preschool for food...since we have more than enough of that to share.

Zenock has learned to pedal Ammon's tricycle, and thankfully they share it really well most of the time. Later this summer he gets to learn to use the toilet like a big boy!! I hope he gets it as quickly as Ammon did! It will be nice to save some more money by not buying diapers!

I think my favorite things about nice weather are Otter pops - especially the green and blue ones, sandals, and shorts/capris. It's so nice that I can now do all of these things without being cold all the time!!

Mothers

This is a story I got emailed to me from neighborhoodnews.com. It's really good, so I thought I would share it here.

While sitting at the cemetery a few days ago, I saw a scene that touched me deeply. A young couple sat alone, next to an open grave by a tiny casket which was covered with a delicate spray of flowers. From their reaction, it was evident the couple was grieving. The young father sweetly comforted his wife as her body shook with tears. They sat that way for a long while, then stood and shared an embrace. The man lifted his hand to the woman’s face and wiped away her tears. They clasped hands, then turned and walked to a car parked nearby. He opened her car door and she turned around, taking one last glance over her shoulder at the small casket.

As an outsider looking in, I don’t know their story—if they were husband and wife, if the casket held their newborn baby, or if it was something entirely different. But my heartstrings were pulled. I pictured myself in that situation and imagined how I would feel. Thoughts of the young couple stayed with me through the next couple days. I even drove back by the cemetery and saw the spray of flowers on top of the freshly cut earth, and I felt a deep sense of gratitude for the gospel and the understanding it gives us of life and death. It also caused me to reflect on the privilege it is to be a mother.

Nothing in my life has caused more intense feelings than motherhood. I’ve felt more joy, more sorrow, more laughter, and more tears during my time as a mother than in any other endeavor throughout my life. I laugh when my children laugh, and cry when they cry. I think sometimes I feel their emotions even more intensely than they do. I learn from them each day, and although it is easy to get overwhelmed, it is so important to find joy in the journey.

Motherhood is not easy; it’s an immense responsibility. I remember the awe-inspiring feeling of love I felt when my first baby was born and lay in my arms. As I looked down into her sweet face, I felt an overwhelming sense of responsibility wash over me. It was hard to fathom that this baby had just come from Heaven. She left a Heavenly Father who had high expectations for her, and unbelievably, even more love for her than I felt at that moment. Her presence in my life that day and every day since has made me realize my own potential. It is a privilege to be entrusted with this child. Heavenly Father knew I could love her, teach her, and help her learn and grow so she could return to live with him someday.

Keep in mind there is no perfect way to be a mother. I think we all look around us and see amazing traits in others and wish we were more like them. We usually do this in areas where we're personally lacking. Anytime you compare one of your own weaknesses with someone else’s strength, you are sure to come up short. Don’t do it! Don’t try to mother the perfect way, just do it your way. As mothers, we have to be task-oriented or nothing ever gets done, but it’s okay to lighten up occasionally and take the time to listen, laugh, and play. Never forget that life is meant to be enjoyed. One of my favorite quotes is by the author, Anna Quindlen. She says, “Treasure the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.”

While motherhood is overwhelming, remember that a caring Father in Heaven loves your children too. He entrusted them to your care because he knew you could do it. He will not leave you alone. If you ask, you will receive inspiration, your burdens will be lighter and you will be able to find joy. So, on this overwhelming journey we call motherhood, don’t forget to include Him in your travels.

Got Talent?

This is the most cool thing I have seen in a long time, you all have to check it out, and make sure your volume is turned up!! Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk

Video link

Check out this link. It's a very fun take on the traditional wedding dance.

http://www.snotr.com/video/1299

Pictures from Mexico

The Sea of Cortez from our hotel room on the third floor Sunset over San Lucas. Taken from the Cabo Escape boat we took the dinner cruise on.

Us on the boat from the Pacific Ocean side of El Arco.

This is what the rocks look like up close.

On Lover's beach. I don't know why they call it that because it was too windy and too many people for me. The cool thing about this beach is that you can only get to it from the water because there are rock mountains between it and the main marina. The beach goes the whole width of the peninsula, which is about 250 feet or so. So on one side you can be in Pacific Ocean water and the other side in Sea of Cortez water.

This is a rock full of sea lions. They stunk so bad I had to cover my nose. We saw them from the boat taxi we took to the beach.

A sea lion stopped and waved to us as the boat passed.

This is me, really high. It looks like the parachute is rather small, but it is actually bigger than the boat we rode to do this.

I was pretty nervous before we did this because heights are not my favorite thing. But it was great. It was kindof like being attached to a kite or a huge swing, on a 400 foot line. After I was done I wanted to do it again. This is something I think I would like to do each time we go on an excotic vacation like this.

This is the famous El Arco from the Sea of Cortez, at the edge of the marina before open water.

And this is Brady...he loved it.

And up he goes!

Our first real vacation

Since I am now in my last 10 weeks of school, Brady and I took a vacation last week to celebrate being finished. The boys got to stay with my parents while we went to San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas which is located at the tip of the Baja California Peninsula. San Lucas is the city built around the hillsides on the tip, and San Jose is about 20 miles north along the hotel corridor. This is where our hotel was, and we rode the bus to San Lucas for our activities because the main marina is there. We ate some great Mexican food, our favorite being from a restaurant called La Panga in downtown San Jose. This picture is where we ate lunch Monday called La Quesadilla. The nachos were great, but the beef and pork tacos were a little weird tasting I thought.

We took a taxi on Sunday to attend one of the branches in San Jose, and that was really nice. The church was surrounded by a gate similar to those around the temple grounds, and it was near the poorer part of the city with very old, cramped houses and empty lots that have become dumpsters. In spite of its location, no matter where we attend church, it is always the same. I experience the same spirit in every ward I have been too, and I love it. Even though we couldn’t understand what most of the speakers were saying, we both knew right away when they were sharing their testimonies. There was an older couple who spoke at the end who are from Spokane, Washington. They gave nice talks in English, and one of the missionaries translated for them. I am also really grateful that even though we were on vacation in a foreign country that we were able to take the Sacrament.

We were able to do some fun activities in San Lucas. We took a dinner cruise around the peninsula tip and the marina to see the sunset, we tried to snorkel at Lover’s beach but the water was too rough, and we went parasailing (which was my favorite activity). Although I love going on vacation to experience something different from my regular routine, I am glad to be home. I missed the kids, and I missed sleeping in my own bed. However, I also miss being in the 80 degree weather as well because when we got home Thursday night, we woke up to 2 inches of snow which accumulated throughout the day to 6 inches. It reminds me that Idaho doesn’t really have spring-like weather without a snowstorm or two.

Happenings in the last month worth mentioning..

We have been seriously busy…or maybe just lazy the last couple of weeks. We finished another quarter of school on March 13th, and since then I have REALLY enjoyed reading books, and I have also taken the time to clean out some closets and put all the winter clothes away. We are all really enjoying the warmer weather and being outside a bunch. The boys got out their outside toys from the shed before the snow was all gone, and they just love riding around on the patio and the driveway all the time. We went to the park with out neighbors last week, and the kids loved that too.

The first weekend in March was a busy one for us. Brady went to Minneapolis for a week-long conference residency for school, and I drove to Laughlin, Nevada with Brady’s dad and stepmom for his brother’s wedding. It was really hard on all of us to be without Brady for that long, but we did okay. The kids asked about him all the time, so we called him every chance we got when I knew he was done with classes for the day. The wedding was really great, but it made me miss Brady even more. There was a dance afterward, and all the kids were the first out on the floor after Ronny and Christa. It was really cute to watch all the kids dancing around. The wedding was on Saturday afternoon, and the next afternoon Christa got baptized. That was a neat experience as well. Ammon asked a lot about what getting baptized means and why Christa got baptized when she is so big. I remember I felt the spirit very strongly, and witnessing her baptism reminded me of my own 19 years ago. We had a great time with Brady’s family, but I hope that next time there is a big event we can go as a family.

Here are a bunch of pictures from our trip.

Pics of the kids in Nevada

All the grandkids on Brady's side. Ammon, Sage, Zenock, Max, Isabella, Madison, Celeste, and Gabriella in the chair. Sage tickling Zenock

Ammon, Max, Zenock and Madison

Ammon and Madison

Zenock and Debbie, Brady's mom

Zenock eating

Ronny and Christa's first dance

More from the weekend

These are some of my favorite pictures from the show. I think after this I have decided we need a different digital camera, one with a sports button so I can continuously take pictures of things in motion and it won't be blurry. Perhaps a better zoom would be good too...at least as long as we keep getting the cheap seats up in the nozebleed section!

This is the FrontRunner train we rode from Ogden to SLC. The first leg we rode in the back of the rear car because it was driving backwards, so Ammon could look out the driver's window and see where we were going. The second leg we rode in the top deck of the car right behind the engine. It was so fun to go along the freeway and be going faster than people driving in the fast lane. This is something I will totally do again!

The picture on the upper left is what we rode from the train station to downtown. I think it's called a streetcar? I'm not sure, but the boys loved it, and I just liked not having the headache of finding parking wherever we went.

Valentine's Day Adventures

This is a motorcross guy doing the half-time show. Some of their tricks were really cool, and one did a full flip. I think Brady liked this part better than the boys did.

This is Bulldozer, one of the kids' favorites because he is on the Monster Jam movie they have.

For Valentine's Day we decided to take the boys to a Monster Jam show in Salt Lake City. They really loved it, and it was a blast to do something the whole family enjoyed without anyone getting bored. One of these days I need to have the boys do a girly thing with me since I do lots of boy stuff with them. We saved time finding a parking spot by parking at the train station in Ogden and taking the big Frontrunner commuter train into downtown. Ammon loved being able to ride in the front car so he could see where we were going. I liked it because I have never ridden a passanger train before. Brady loved it because it brought back many memories from his mission in Switzerland. We had a great time on this weekend trip, but the drive home was really long.

Temple Trip

Since we live in Idaho Falls, the temple is only 6 minutes from our house. And you would think that we go all the time, and it's easy to find the time to go. But that's not the case. As many of you know, when you plan a temple trip often times things happen to get in the way. Last month we finally went, but when we pulled into the parking lot it was empty. Yeah, we made it when the temple was closed for cleaning.

So this month we decided to go today, but yesterday Brady found out he would have to work (even though my dad is out of town) and it would most likely be a long day. Well, I told my mom she didn't need to come down anymore to watch the kids for us...and then today Brady got a call that the parts won't be coming in until later today. So at 8:30 this morning I jumped in the shower and hurried to get ready so that we would have time to do some sealings before Brady had to go to work. Well, it was awesome. I am so glad we made the time to go to the temple today. And even more than that, I am greatful for good neighbors who are willing to watch the boys at a moments notice! Thanks Charlee, I really appreciate it!

Scars of Life

This is an email my mother-in-law sent me, and I thought it was worthy of sharing here.

SCARS OF LIFE
Some years ago, on a hot summer day in South Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks and shirt as he went.He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore. His father, working in the yard, saw the two as they got closer and closer together.

In utter fear, he ran toward the water, yelling to his son as loudly as he could. Hearing his voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his father.It was too late. Just as he reached his father, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the father grabbed his little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the father, but the father was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard his screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator.

Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the alligator. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his father's fingernails dug into his flesh in his effort to hang on to the son he loved. The newspaper reporter, who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, 'But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Dad wouldn't let go.'

You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator,but the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friend, are because God has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, He's been there holding on to you. The Scriptures teach that God loves you. You are a child of God. He wants to protect you and provide for you in every way.But sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations, not knowing what lies ahead. The swimming hole of life is filled with peril - and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That's when the tug-of-war begins - and if you have the scars of His love on your arms, be very, very grateful. He did not and will not ever let you go.