Funnies

On Saturday night we were coming home from Courts grandmas funeral and we stopped off at a grocery store to grab a few things. By this point all of the kiddos had passed out except little miss Lex, our 6 year old. I stayed in the car with the kids while Court ran inside. Lex and I were talking and she turns to me and says...."Mom, do you know what I am best at? And I said what Lex? She replys..."I am best at having fun!" Then she says..."Do you know what I am second best at....being naughty"!!! Oh man I sure got a kick out of this! It was especially funny because of how true of a statement that can be :)

An Elect Lady...

Courts grandmother, Norman Jones passed away yesterday. She was such a wonderful, loving, kind person. She had a heart of gold and I am so grateful to have known her. She had one of the strongest testimonies of the Gospel and was always finding ways to share her testimony with us. I am not great at checking my email everyday, so I didn't see this email from her until just a few minutes ago, I am blown away that she sent this letter to her entire family just one day before her passing, what a beautiful gift to leave all of us! I will miss her dearly, I thought of her as my grandma too and loved her so much. I am so grateful for the wonderful example she has been in my life and for all that she has done for Court and I.

Dear Family,
I know you’ve heard this or read it before, but I am impressed that I should remind you of it again. I’m sure you have noticed that the world is getting to be a pretty wicked place. All of the prophecies that have been made up to this date by prophets have been fulfilled, and there are not many left to be fulfilled. That tells us that the second coming is getting closer and we need to be prepared. My one big regret is that I didn’t study the scriptures more diligently when I was young. I have realized that the scriptures I memorized when I was younger I can still quote, but now that I am old, when I try to memorize different ones, it is almost impossible. I’m having too many senior moments and my powers of concentration are not good.

I want to remind you what President Benson told us about 25 years ago. He said, “I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and REGULARLY, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. The spirit of reverence will increase; mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom. Children will be more responsive and submissive to the counsel of their parents. Righteousness will increase. Faith, hope, and charity – the pure love of Christ- will abound in our homes and lives, bringing in their wake peace, joy, and happiness.”

These promises - increased love and harmony in the home, greater respect between parent and child, increased spirituality and righteousness - are not idle promises, but exactly what the Prophet Joseph Smith meant when he said the Book of Mormon will help us draw nearer to God. If there was ever a time for us to draw nearer to God it is now. President Benson asked, “Do eternal consequences rest upon our response to this book? Yes, either to our blessing or our condemnation.” You can read all about the Book of Mormon in this month’s Ensign.

I want to tell you that your Dad/Grandpa was here with me a couple of days ago. I was washing the north window in the computer room and had taken three of the windows out and washed the fourth one on both sides. When I tried to push it back in place, it jumped out of the track and I struggled to try to put it back in. My arms were giving out so I said, “Weston, come and help me!” Immediately the window just jumped in to the track and I know I didn’t put it there. Several other times when I tried to do something and was not able to do it, I called on him to help me and he did. I know he is not far away and that gives me comfort. I love you all and hope and pray we will all be together throughout eternity.

Love,
Mom/Grandma

PS. I don’t have the e-mail addresses of some of my grandchildren. I don’t want to leave them out, so will you forward this to them. You can read the names of the ones I have sent this to in the address place.

Fall Break...

We love Fall break at our house! I am so excited that the kids have today and tomorrow off of school. It's nice to have a break from the daily routine of getting up early, school, homework, etc... The kids all slept in this morning which rarely happens. So far today the kids are lounging around in their pj's and watching the movie Spy Kids. Later we are going to do a few chores, run some errands, and then find something fun to do as a family. I sure love my kiddos and love having sometime to just "hang out" as a family!!

First hair cut

Oh my goodness this little beauty just melts my HEART!! She is still so tiny and I LOVE IT! All of my other kids have gotten big so fast, it is nice to have her feel like a newborn longer. Well although she isn't growing super fast her hair sure is!! Being a hairdresser I just couldn't take it anymore. Mullets just aren't cute on anyone, not even darling baby girls. She was seriously growing a LONG mullet and last night I had to cut it. I wish I would have taken a before picture. I cut at least a half inch off the back and then trimmed up around her ears. It looks so much better. I can't believe she is barely 7 weeks old and already needed a hair cut! She definitely didn't get her hair from me... she can thank her daddy for her long black hair (and LONG black eyelashes)!!!

Bad blogger...

I have not been so great at blogging lately, I think it has something to do with being a mother of FOUR children and adjusting to life with a newborn ;). I don't want to forget all of the "little moments" in my life, it's not hard to remember to blog about the big things... holidays, birthdays, etc... but I want to remember all of the great little things that happen in day to day life. I am going to try REALLY hard to write down the sweet things my kids say, things that make me laugh, and even the moments when I want to cry!

This past Sunday we blessed our baby girl. It was such a special and spiritual day. This was the first time that all of my family has been together since my brother Jake's funeral. For weeks before the blessing I was feeling so anxious about what this reunion would feel like... I cried just about everyday thinking about how difficult life is going to be without Jake being at the special events in our life. I have had a difficult time admitting to myself that Jake is really gone. It has been four months exactly since I last saw my brother. I haven't lived at home in over ten years, so going months without seeing my family feels so normal to me. The idea that I have to wait my entire life to see my brother again is sometimes very overwhelming. I prayed and prayed that Jake's spirit could be with our family this weekend and that he could be with us. Heavenly Father most definitely answered my prayers, I know that Jake was with us and it felt so comforting to know that Heaven really isn't that far away.

Friday night I surprised my mom with a girls night out. I had called all of her sisters and their daughters and we went to Cheesecake Factory. My mom had no idea that they were all meeting us there and it was so fun to see how surprised she was. We had a great girls night out laughing and talking! We actually got quit a few looks... my moms family is LOUD!! I love being able to go on girls nights out with my mom and sister, I wish we lived closer and could do these more often.

Saturday Court and I went to Costco and ran a few errands to get ready for the Blessing while my mom watched the kids. WOW, I forgot what it is like to run errands with just my hubby and me. Latter that afternoon we took all of the kids to see Captain America at the dollar theater. Everyone really liked the movie, J-man feel asleep on my lap half way through the movie and before I knew it I was asleep too! Darn it, I really wanted to see the ending! I guess I will have to wait for it to come to redbox. Later that night my mom and I went to the airport to pick up my dad, he had lots of work at home and couldn't come until then. I am SO GRATEFUL he came despite the fact that he had to turn around and drive home with my family the next day. It meant so much to me that he made sure he was here for the blessing no matter what.


Sunday Court blessed our baby girl in Sacrament meeting. She looked so beautiful in the long white dress my mom bought for her. It was so wonderful to be surrounded by so many family and friends! I am constantly amazed at how truly blessed we are to have so many wonderful people in our life who love and support us through the good times and the bad. It was a beautiful sight to see a large group of men who worthily hold the Priesthood surround my baby girl and give her a name and a blessing. I am so grateful for the Priesthood and the wonderful blessing it is in my life. While Court was giving the blessing I thought of my brother Jake and tears just started to fall from my face, immediatley I felt an overwhelming feeling of peace and could see Jake's face with a big huge smile on it in my mind, it was so comforting to know that we was there with us and that his spirit can still be with us during these special moments in our lives. After the blessing we came back to our house for dessert. It was truly a wonderful day and I am so grateful to have had so many people we love so much to share the day with us!

Dear Baby Girl...

Dear Baby Girl,

I can not believe you are 6 weeks old ALREADY! Time is flying by so quickly. I just want to keep you my precious newborn baby as long as possible. You are the sweetest, cuddliest, cutest baby!!! Your dark black hair is getting so long I think it's about time for a trim! How crazy that at only 6 weeks old you already need a hair cut :). I get stopped EVERYWHERE I go and people's first comment is always, "LOOK at ALL that hair". Your dark hair and beautiful skin sure get you lots of attention, not to mention that you are a litle beauty.

You are still so tiny and I am loving it! Your sisters and brother got big so fast that I felt like I blinked and the newborn stage was over. You are barely 9 pounds and still seem so tiny to me. Your 0-3 month clothes still drown you and you mostly still wear newborn clothes. You are so much fun and I am LOVING every.single.minute with you!

Love,
Mommy

love this...

I ABSOLUTELY loved President Uchtdorfs talk from the Relief Society session of General Conference. What an incredible talk! I LOVED how he stressed to us women that we need to be more patient with ourselves and rejoice in our "small successes". I think often times we don't pat our selves on the back enough, we work hard and although things might not always go according to OUR plans, that doesn't mean that we aren't being successful in our endeavors. Having a sweet newborn at home has really helped me to stop and smell the roses! There are so many things that I WANT to get done... decorating, gardening, cleaning, etc... but none of those things are as important as me being a good mother. It is FAR more important that I take the time to snuggle, hold, and talk to my precious baby then to have a perfectly clean house! I am so grateful for this amazing talk given by this AmAzInG man, what a blessing to have the Gospel in my life and the opportunity to hear words from our Prophet and leaders.

You can watch or read President Uchtdorfs talk here... www.lds.org

love pinterest!!!

(click on this red button to see my pinterest!)

OH MY GOODNESS, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this website!!! I can't believe I haven't heard of it until now!!! I surf the web ALL THE TIME (too much) looking for fun decorating-photography-party-holiday... ideas, I have HUNDREDS of pictures saved to my computer of ideas I LOVE. This website allows you to "pin" things you have found on the web to a virtual pin up board that saves the website, etc... so that you can refer back to it later. UMMMMM, it is awesome and I am totally HOOKED!

I found this great chair on one of my cousins "pin up boards" and I have the PERFECT chair to do something similar with :). I definitely wont get to it for a-WHILE, but it's saved for when I do! First I have to FINISH all of the other many projects I have started (I like to start projects, but often don't always finish them, I am working on this)

Here is my TO-DO list before my family comes for baby E's blessing...

1. Paint last coat on changing table/baskets
2. FINISH painting, distressing, and glazing kitchen chairs
3. Finish Halloween garland with kids/hang up outside
4. Decide on "menu" for after the blessing get together/buy decorations, plates, etc... (pink & brown theme)
5. Paint last coat on front door/ re-attach kick plate
6. Touch up paint in Kitchen
7. Have new family pictures taken
8. Order birth announcements/blessing invitations
9. Have upstairs carpets cleaned!!!
10.***BUY baby E's blessing dress & shoes, make flower/bow & bracelet***