Day 27: The gift of Motherhood

8 years ago today I became a mother. It was something I thought about all the time growing up and was what I wanted to be when I "grew up". Shawn and I entered the sacred duty of being parents and although we knew life would change, I don't think either one of us knew how much.  

 This little girl is our oldest, so we make most of our parenting mistakes on her, ask for forgiveness often and try again. Her clock ticks to it's own rhythm and at times that drives the crazy in us out. She can be very helpful, loving and kind when she wants to, but it has to be her idea.  She is very headstrong and knows what she wants. Emma, like most kids loves attention, and she will get what ever attention she can from anyone who will give it. She will claim to be shy, but she is not. Emma is smart, inquisitive and bright. She has always excelled in everything she given as soon as she decides she's going to give it her all.  The last 8 years have gone by quickly. A lot has happened in her short life so far. She has lived in 5 different states, attended 3 different school and lived in 6 different houses.  Because of all the changes in her life, Emma adapts well to her surroundings and accepts things as they are. I am grateful that Emma is my oldest, and even though we knock heads every so often, I know that she is making me into the Mother that I am.  I am thankful for her energy and her ability to love. I hope that Emma will find in her a strong testimony of the Savior and stick to that testimony to help guide her though life.  I hope that I can be a good example to her of doing just that. 

Happy 8th Birthday Emma!

Day 25: Pictures

Day 24: Holidays

I love the Holidays at the end of every year. I love that we reflect on the things we're thankful for and for the life the Savior led to give us hope and peace.  I am thankful for all the feelings that I get while decorating for the holidays, cooking, making gifts, wrapping gifts, singing songs. They all give me a spirit of heaven. I am thankful that we get to celebrate the life of our Savior Jesus Christ, and that while doing so, the spirit of Heaven is abound where ever we go.

Day 23: A Home

This year I've had 3 homes. All of them have given my family and I a place to lay our heads, a place we are protected from the evils of the world, a place to play, laugh, learn, love and care for one another. I am grateful that I have a home. It may not be everything I want in a house, but its home because there is love, caring, laughter and tears shed as we as a family work to become a better family.

Day 22: Cooking talent

As a child, and a teen, I had no interest in learning how to cook with my mom. I didn't pay much attention to anything she tried to teach me, but I think I learned the basics. When I moved away from home, my cooking skills didn't get better, they stayed mostly the same, easy things only.  It wasn't until after Shawn and I were married and after Emma was born and I was at home with her all day that I decided that cooking dinner had to become more exciting than simple, easy things.  I started little at a time and soon, I wasn't afraid of anything.  Today I made a simple Thanksgiving dinner for our family. The turkey was so awesome looking and the taste was just as awesome. We had yams with marshmallows like my Grandma Jones would make, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, homemade rolls and stuffing. I made a scratch pumpkin pie that if I would have thought ahead about the elevation change, it would have turned out more awesome. It was still fine.  I was thinking about how important my hands are to me while I was working on dinner tonight and an so thankful that I have working hands that allow me to expand the talent and love I have developed for cooking.  I am thankful my Heavenly Father blessed me with the talent to make good, healthy (most the time) ,wholesome food for my family. It would be boring if I had no idea or ability to put together a meal for our family.

Catch up

Today has been an awful day. Emotionally and mentally I'm drained. Maybe the stress of this whole messy move is finally catching up to me, but I think I need to think about what I am grateful for. I'll do a recap of the things I thought about while I was without Internet.  Here goes:

November 14:  We FINALLY got keys to a house. It's a 4 bed, 1 1/2 bath with a little cubby for my craft room. I don't think a bed would fit in that room...actually maybe. It is about the of little room I lived in for a time at my parents house before it was tuned into the laundry room...not kidding. We had help moving in from a few men in our new ward. They even helped put the beds, the table and the dressers together. It was so nice to sleep in our own beds again.  The kids think the house is amazing. There is a crawl space under the house that you can access from a closet in the hall.  Shawn opened it up to check out the water heater and furnace and the kids all think that this house is the coolest we've lived in yet. The house was built in 1975 and the rooms are bigger than any house we've lived in, but the kitchen is about as small as our trailer kitchen was in Pullman. It will take some adjustment on my part. When I take some time to take pictures, I'll post some. I think I'll wait till all the boxes are gone...almost.

November 15: I am thankful that my Dad is here to help me. Shawn is out with the current owner of the Clinic meeting the clients of the Buffalo herd he will be working with. My dad has helped me unpack and move boxes. I don't know how I would get anything done with out his help.

November 16: I am thankful that both Mason and Emma started back and school today and so far I am in love with the school. It was the most pleasant experience registering them yesterday as I met most everyone I needed to and I went home with who their teachers were and what they needed to bring to school the next day. Thinks are looking up for their education.
I am also thankful for a chiropractor who helped me start moving again. Paige slept in our bed night before last and since I've been having troubles breathing and moving certain ways kills me. I'm pretty sure I had a rib out and after adjusting me and getting me back to normal, I feel I can start functioning like a human again. Sad my Dad flew home today, but glad he made it safe. The Laramie Airport is teeny tiny!

November 17: I'm thankful we took a break from the unpacking today and got out. We went to Cheyenne and did some shopping and comparisons. Cheyenne is smaller than Nampa is population wise and has just about everything they have in Nampa. It's a nice little town.  It was so good to get out.

November 18: I am grateful I attended church. After being gone from regular church meetings for 3 weeks due to having Stake Conference before we moved, it was good to be in our regular meetings again.  The Bishop and one of his councilors came to visit and we enjoyed getting to know them. Shawn said he feels old in this ward as there are a lot of students and the Elders all talk about class schedules and school. There are a few good families who are here for jobs and we hope to get to know everyone soon.

November 19: I am grateful for the kids' school councilor. She has everything in place for Mason's testing that needs done and has already scheduled his IEP meeting. She is on top of things and I know that nothing is being swept under the rug cause they don't want to deal with it.  I am also grateful I had Shawn with me for the morning to help with the grocery shopping and to get things ready for Thanksgiving dinner.  Much better to shop with a friend than by yourself.

November 20: I got the kitchen unpacked and started working on the office.  I put our desk and computer together again by my self.  I did that when we moved to Oregon.  I am glad I won't have to do it again for a while.  I love that the hall from the family room to the kitchen is finally box free.  

November 21: I am thankful that the pumpkin pie I made looks like it will work. I didn't adjust the recipe at all for the elevation change, and had to adjust the cooking time after I cooked it for the time the recipe called for and it was obviously not done. I'm going to have to do some research and learn the high elevation cooking tricks.  That was probably the only good thing that happened today....like I said, it's been a hard day.  Oh, and I'm grateful we finally have Internet again. and a home phone and TV...the last one though, it's a big deal to me.  Shawn will get to watch what ever is left of the Boise State football season though and that makes me happy cause he's happy.

Day 13: A warm place to sleep

It may not be ideal, but I have to look for something that I'm grateful for. Even though we're in a hotel with adjoining rooms, I am grateful that I have a bed and that my kids do also.  I hope we find a house soon.

We walked thought a nice big house that we could have made work, IF, it wasn't Shawn's competitor renting it out and he also live next door. Not sure we should rent from Shawn's main competitor in town.  That would be interesting.  We also walked through a complete dump, and I felt bad for the land lords. They have a lot of work to do before they will be able to rent it again.  They also wanted WAY too  much for it. I sure hope that Heavenly Father knows what he's doing and we'll find something clean on family friendly soon.

Day 12: A new Chapter

Today we start a new chapter in our life, a new adventure in a place we've never been, or known.  We never saw our family moving to Laramie, Wyoming. We never pictured living that far from our extended families, but here we are and it's going to be a fun adventure. I am grateful that I have a husband who wants life to we awesome for us, and wants to provide for us in a way he nor I have ever known.  I am grateful that we have the support of the Lord in this and because of that I know it's going to be awesome and fun. I also know that we will have the bumps and mountains along the way like everyone does, but today, I am thankful to start that new chapter and start fresh.

Day 11: Safety

I'm always so thankful for my/our safety, especially when we travel. I don't take for granted the safety I enjoy day to day. I know that at any given moment that safety is gone and there could be trouble. I am grateful that when I pray for safety, I feel safe and trust that I will be.  My mind always thinks up the worst case scenario most the time, and even after the fact. I don't wonder what could have been, or what might be per say, but I do think about how quickly life can change by a sudden moment. Today I am grateful that 2 days of driving on the roads have brought us safety. Tomorrow is our last day on the road and I will be praying that the Wyoming roads treat us well.

Day 10: Family

Shawn and I have lived away from our families for 7 1/2 years now. Those years have made us rely on each other and strengthen our own family.When we get the opportunity to visit family we usually feel stressed and run ragged.  Because both our extended families live close to each other, splitting time between both families has proven to be challenging at times.  We have not felt this challenge this visit. I am grateful that amongst all my stress for moving and all that goes with moving, there hasn't been added stress by either family to spend more time. Although I know both families would like to see us longer, as we would like to see them, the time we've had has been enough. Our next visit will have to be a little longer and will be a lot less stressful.

Day 7,8,9

Day 7:  I'm thankful it's moving day. Most thankful that it is FINALLY here and then it's not just talk again.  I am also thankful for Holly R. for taking Paige and Carter for the day so I could pack and focus on getting things taken care of.  Feeling pretty lucky to have great friends every where we go. Today I'm also thankful for the missionaries. Our missionaries in our ward saved the day today. Elders Bagley and Smith arranged for them, three other companionship and 2 members of the singles ward to come and help load the moving truck today. In record time the house was empty and them missionaries we're helping Shawn load. I was so thankful for him and me that we had all that help. Without them, it would not have been possible to leave on time and when we did.

Day 8: I'm grateful that we are together as a family. I'm thankful that we had good roads on the way to Idaho. I'm grateful for my Aunt Ellen and Uncle Don for welcoming us their home for dinner as we traveled to Nampa.  By the end of our 12 hour trek I was most grateful for a bed to sleep in. I was so tired.

Day 9: We got to go as a family to the Boise Idaho LDS Temple open house. We got to go with my Grandparents and it was their first time in a LDS temple and it was such a neat experience for me to watch them take it it. We then got to spend some time with them at lunch.  I am so thankful that the temple is a peace of heaven on earth and that I could share with my children the special feelings you have while there. It is so beautiful and holy. 

Day 6: Our founding Fathers

Over the years at different times I have thought profoundly on who our founding fathers of America were. I wondered what their childhoods were like and what drove them to have the convictions they did. They sacrificed a lot to build this country and not just build it, but to make it a new free world. They could have chosen to build up a country that they would have control, but they gave that control to the people of the United States of America. Today, as people head to the polls to cast their vote for Leadership all over America, I think of our founding fathers, wondering what they think about what we've done with the freedoms they preserved and am humbled and have such gratitude that they preserved those freedoms for me and my family to enjoy.

Day 5: Transportation

I think about times when people got around on horse and buggy and think, man it would have taken so long to go anywhere. Because our family has lived far away from our extended family for 8 of the 9 years we've been married, I am grateful that in a day I can just jump in my car, spend lots of money in gas and be at my parents house by the end of the day.  I am also grateful that when it's raining, I don't get wet and that my car keeps me dry and warm. I also don't have to feel the wind on my face when I desire not to. We have been blessed to have a car that runs well and so far have required minimal maintenance. Technology makes life so easy and yet, so complicated at time. Today I'm grateful for the easy part.

Day 4: Priesthood

I feel so blessed to have been able to access the power of the priesthood all my life. There are many who have the blessing of having a righteous worthy father who hold and bear the priesthood in the home as a child, but do not have that blessing as an adult due to no fault of their own. There are also those who were not raised in the church and as such, did not have those blessings as a child, but now as an adult have that blessing through their husband.  I have both. I love the miracles that can be performed through the Savior's power, the Priesthood power. There have been times in my own life when I have needed a physical voice to give me comfort, direction or a blessing of healing and I find that in receiving priesthood blessings. It is also through the power of the priesthood I was able to follow the example of Jesus Christ and was baptised for a remission of my sins. As an adult, I made covenants in the Lord's House, The Temple, and did that through the power of the priesthood. I served a mission to teach people about the saving ordinances that were there for them through the power of the priesthood.  Through the priesthood, I was married, sealed, to my best friend and together we became one and started a family, an eternal family that even death won't separate us. My life has been filled with rich blessings from heaven through the Priesthood all because a boy who at 14 didn't know what church to join. When he sought the Lord's help through prayer, he was instructed to not join any of them, and that he had a work to do. Through Joseph Smith, Heavenly Father restored Christ's church back to the earth, the same church that existed in the times of Christ. I am so thankful to have the knowledge that He lives and loves us and blesses us daily so that we can become all that we are to be. The priesthood is His power and through Him and the priesthood power, we will return to live with God one day. Of this I have the utmost gratitude for and a testimony of. I share this with you, whom ever you may be, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Day 3: Helping Child

I'm thankful that sometimes Emma listens and follows directions. It gives me hope for her future. She cleaned all the window tracks in the house without being told over and over to please help. She stayed focused and worked till it was done going window to window.  That saved me a lot of time.  Thank you Emma!

Day 2: The Holy Ghost

I am thankful for the power of the Holy Ghost and the peace it brings to our lives when we are feeling like we are hanging from a cobweb. The process of buying the clinic is moving forward and we are planning on moving from Oregon to Wyoming next week, but we do not have a house lined up for our family to live in. The house we had put money down on and planned on renting fell through and we are wondering if there is anything in Laramie that would work for our family.  I have faith that Heavenly Father is aware of us and he is preparing a home for us. It may not be idea, but it will keep us together and we will stay warm.

30 Days of Thanksgiving; Day 1:Electricity

Being November and the month we celebrate Thanksgiving, I'm giving myself a challenge to post daily (when I have internet) something I'm thankful for that day.

Today I'm thankful for electricity. It makes our lives so much easier from turning on a light to see to flushing the toilet. We had a very blustery morning and I am grateful the power didn't go out and our morning went on in the normal fashion.

I Love

It's been forever since I've written a Thankful Thursday post, and last night I was thinking about the things that I love last night, and had the thought to blog about some of them. My Thankful Thursday was fun, and I should do it again, but, I know it would have to be scheduled...

I Love my husband! There are so many reasons why I love him, but one of the biggest reasons is because he loves me. He helps me in so many ways. I'll name a few from just the last 2 days. Saturday, our primary had an Ice Cream social to celebrate all the months we took to learn the Articles of Faith. This wonderful husband of mine not only helped me lug all my kids, but all the stuff for the activity, and he volunteered to help dish our the ice cream. I was so thankful for ALL the teachers who came to help. Shawn carried 2 long tables from the Nursery room, all the way across the parking lot and back, just cause I thought it would be easier to have them instead of serving ice cream over a picnic table. No complaining from him.

When we got home, he took the kids to the basement and helped them clean up the toys and got the house ready to vacuum. He washed Mason's and our bed sheets, then remade the bed. He vacuumed the house. I went to the General Relief Society Meeting in Salt Lake. Shawn kept the kids and they played, cleaned, ate and watched some Boise State football. I heard all about it the next morning. He even read with them before putting them in bed...not typical behavior for a BSU football night.

Yesterday we kept the kids while I went to a meeting after church, and getting home late I was sure I would get some kind of talking to about being home on time. Nope, he was busy in the kitchen working on dinner and just asked how the meeting was and what we got figured out. So supportive. We ate dinner in the back yard, enjoyed time together and then, he sat down with Emma and listened to her read to him for 45 minutes. He is a super dad!

I know I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband.

Conference talks that uplift. President Uchtdorf gave such an amazing talk at the Relief Society conference. I love his sense of humor and the love he radiates as he speaks. I love that he reminded me that doing all I can do, is good enough and to quit comparing myself and my weaknesses to the strengths of others. Sometimes it can be so hard to see our talents and our strengths because we want to be perfect. But we are not. We can not. That is why we are on this earth. To learn and improve. Heavenly Father knows that and he does not judge us according to our weakness, rather our strengths and how we use them. If you didn't get a change to listen to his talk, I strongly encourage you to do so.

The change in season, is upon us in more than one way. Summer is turning to fall and the air is more crisp. The leaves are changing. It feels so wonderful. The season of my life is about to change as we add this new baby to our family. I find myself thinking and pondering about how I will help my children adjust to having a new baby in our home. It's a good season to be in. When new babies are in our homes, I always feel a little closer to my home in heaven.

Growing and Learning Pains. Emma and Mason are loving school. I love their teachers as they do, but I love them for different reasons. They want my kids to be successful and they are so helpful to me in helping them be successful at school. Emma has struggled with pushing the limits, but her teacher isn't afraid to talk to us about what really is going on. We have talked to her and prayed with her and she has had fathers blessings. She will always have her good and bad days, but we know that she wants to be good. It is amazing to me how quickly she learns new things. She has also taught me a few lessons on consistency with her and how she needs more one on one time. One blessing of having a spirited child.

Mason is in love with school. I love how happy he is to wake up and get ready for the day. It always starts my day off right. I don't know if this will last forever, but I am soaking it in while it is here. He is so quick to tell Shawn and I how much he loves us, and we hear it several times a day. Last week I went to his teacher and asked for her to send some homework home with him. He is so excited to learn, he's been doing Emma's homework. He love reading, hates writing, and wants to be involved in everything Emma does. His writing has improved so much in just a few weeks. Shawn and I were surprised how well he did with his writing homework. So much improvement since he's started school!

I love how cute Paige is. It is so fun for me to have this one on one time with her. She surprises me everyday with something creative and cute. We've been working on potty training and she gets so excited to go pee pee on the toilet. We still have accidents, and she still insists that she can do it "by myself", but she's slowly getting it. I can't wait till I can say I love that Paige is potty trained and we're outta this stage.

Life is good. Life isn't perfect. It all depends on our outlook and how we see things, and today, I want to see life in a good, happy way.

Project: Basement Bathroom

You may remember this post from last year. And then this post from February. I wanted to include some pictures of the process of finishing a bathroom. It was no small undertaking.
After we got all the framing the next step was hanging the sheet rock. That was no small feat, but much easier than taping...which we came to learn.

We got the kids involved and let them help where ever they could, and when they wanted. I think this was the only day Mason showed any interest in helping. After we would cut the sheet rock, he would hit it and laugh when the extra piece fell. It was so fun to watch him work with his Dad. He even got his hands on the drill and thoroughly loved the sound and the spinning of the bit.

Emma got into the mess when she got home from school and had some fun screwing the screws in place.

ALL of the kids wanted to help tape, and we let them a bit, which is why I have no pictures of this. It took all 4 hands Shawn and I have to keep the mud on the wall and not on the floor. I really wish I had taken pictures of Paige. She wanted to help so badly, but when we let her, she ended up covered. It was great.

After the taping and the texture was done (which seem to take forever), Shawn tiled the floor. About this same time I started my bout of morning sickness, so I don't have any pictures, which again, I wish I did. He did an awesome job. We got the primer out and started painting. Before we get the tub surround put in, we needed to have the wall painted so the glue stuck better.

I believe it was the day after we got the blue paint up that Shawn called me and said he goofed up in the bathroom. We didn't keep the drain pipe available to hook up to the sink. So Shawn took a guess as where is was in the wall, and was dead on. He couldn't have guessed any closer.

We installed the toilet, and vanity, then waiting for the tub surround to be installed.

After the tub surround was installed, came the bath faucet and shower head. We learned that you should plumb the pipes exactly as the faucet box tells you.

We got the bathroom decor up. The shelf and towel rack was made by Shawn's brother for this bathroom.

Can we just say, we're glad its done. Now we have to start working on Potty training Paige.

All we have to do now, finish the rest of the basement. Our goal, is to have the hall and guest bedroom finished before December when our new little one will join the family. My craft room is last on the list, we'll see how long it takes to finish completely.

We are getting a Temple in Payson!!!

President Monson just announced today that Payson is getting a Temple. It will be right next door to our church we attend right now! We are so excited!!!