Dear President Obama

As we close this historic Inauguration Day in American history and politics, I would like to offer to you my prayers.

First I am so thankful for a country that has been so blessed by our Creator. He has a wise purpose for our land and our people, and I know that it can strive or cease to be with him, based on the faith of its people. I pray we can all be more faithful and draw closer to God for protection and wisdom.

You have a priviledge, that few before you have had and most of us will never have, please always remember that it is priviledge to live in your new home and have your job. The men who have come before you I hope were humbled by their stewardship and I pray that you, too, will remain humble.

I did not vote for you, but none the less you are now my president just as much as those who did vote for you. I pray for you, your cabinet members and the other leaders of our Great Nation. I pray that you will lead by your heart and not just to seek for more power.

I hope you will realize that their are different beliefs in this country and just because they may not be your personal beliefs, I hope you will not dismiss them out-of-hand. Please be an example of open dialogues and discussions. Please do not tolerate intolerance within any person or party.

For our children's sake, please do your best! My prayers are with you and this enormous undertaking that today you claimed. God Bless you and God BLESS America!

From Hannah

In church my mom signed up for getting magizines. In the magizines it talks about people,it has stories, funstuff,and kitchen krafts,and you get to find a ring. There name is FRIEND. I just got one today.Here is a kitchenkraft...

APPLE SANDWICHES

1 apple
2 tbs peanutbutter
2 tbs honey
1 tbs raisins
6 slices bread

1. peel & grate apple
2. in a bowl stir raisins,honey,peanutbutter,and grated apple
3. toast the bread
4. spread the apple mix on bread together.

THANKS FOR READING!

Steffie Skin Graft

I normally don't get dressed up for Halloween, but for the chance to win $75 in a work costume contest I thought I'd give it a try. However, I didn't get very creative, and went for what I have a lot of around me - skates!

So without further adieu, I give you "Steffie Skin Graft," roller girl extraordinaire...

Sorry It's Been A While

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted. We have had a lot of changes in the last month to our family.

Hannah and Adam started school on the 3rd. Adam is learning to adjust to being there all day. It's really cutting into his video game time, so he gets up and gets dressed before 7am so he can get some in before school:-) He's only allowed a certain amount of time each day and he's determined to get every bit of it he can!

Hannah is always so easy when it comes to things like this. She never had a problem with me leaving. She's so social and happy-go-lucky. She is in 4th grade now! I totally freaking out that she is only two years away from Middle School! She's learning it's tough to get older and have more responsibility. Her teacher and mom aren't over her shoulder all the time checking her work and if she did it. She's needing to be more in charge of that.

Sarah won't start school until the 17th. She will be in her second year of pre-school. She'll be going in the afternoon this year. She's very excited because she get's to go to a friend's house in the mornings then go to school. It's been hard on her to wait for two weeks while Hannah and Adam go every day.

Once they are all in school, we're going to try something new with after-school care this year. They are going to be spending the two hours after school at the shop with Terry. They'll have room for homework, snacks, coloring supplies, games and a tv to keep them busy. This will save us quite a bit in daycare and give them a glimpse into what National Skate is all about. It will also be good for Hannah who will be in charge of the two younget ones while still having a grown up around.

For those of you who don't know, I got another job about a month ago. It was an opportunity that we couldn't pass up. I'm still doing my National Skate things just after hours and on lunch breaks and such. It's keeping me busy - thus no blog postings for a while. I don't even check my email much anymore (for those of you who know me that is saying something!)

Terry has been awesome during all of this confusion and transition with the new job. he even took me shopping to buy some new clothes! He's really stepped up with the kids and the house. I could not have asked for a better companion and partner in life. I love him!!!!

Anyway, I'll try to get some pictures on soon.

Official Homeowners!

We've owned our home for eight years now. We've had to remodel the basement (thanks to 3 kids, a garden hose, a basement window and three hours) and a bathroom, we've bought furniture and accessories and goodness knows I clean it all the time. But this past weekend we really made it official - we landscaped! My mom did such a nice job on the lower part of our front yard last year, that we just couldn't stand looking at the weedy undone upper part. So Terry and I took the plunge and did it.

We filled up the truck with Tagro mix from the city of Tacoma to help the soil be better. Sarah didn't much care for the smell, but we told her that will help our plant grow - she's still thinking about it. Then we went to a local nursery and bought 40 thyme plants to place around.

We have thyme on the lower part and I love how soft it is to walk on and how well it chokes the grass out that I wanted it on the upper part.

So we've watered every night to help keep it going and we're keeping our fingers crossed that it will spread well. (It wouldn't hurt to keep yours crossed as well - we're not Martha Stewart!)

Journey to the Center of the Mind

As parents we would give our lives for our kids, or do anything that would make their lives better.  We are no exception I like to think.  But it's not anything you can prepare for. Then you are faced with situations  that test your limits as parents.

For us it has been dealing with Adam's anxiety issues.  It is heartbreaking to see him struggle with everyday activities that he used to love, that now send him into total panic.

I have tried to alleviate his fears, but they only seemed to grow worse.  The last month of school was a breakdown every morning with tears and stomach aches. Then there were the food episodes; like taking 2 hours to eat 4 chicken nuggets because he was afraid that it would make him sick.

Anyway, we have finally realized that we cannot do this on our own and have sought some professional help.  Terry and I have met with Dr. V. and we are excited that we will learn the tools necessary to help him learn to cope with these anxieties and have a wonderful and productive life.

We appreciate all the support from family and friends, and are not too proud to ask for your continued prayers.

Teaching Kids about the Temple

The gospel concepts taught inside the temple are difficult to understand and we will spend our whole lives actively attending to these sacred ordinances and still will not fully understand it all.

So how to we teach our children that this is something they should strive for?

Obviously we can talk about how wonderful we feel when we're at the temple. We can show them pictures of these beautiful edifices and read them scriptures about the importance and blessings.  But I have failed to realize the importance of actually TAKING my kids to the temple often.  They cannot enter into it's doors to perform ordinances yet, but they CAN walk the grounds, feel the spirit that is there, see the beautiful brides and families who have sealed for time and eternity and learn that this is a place of peace, love and of Heavenly Father.

I had the great opportunity to chaperone our ward's primary on a trip to the Seattle Temple of June 14th.

It was great to see the kids, some as young as 3 and 4 be moved by this wonderful place. I know that they feel the spirit.

I hope I can make a better commitment to teach my children about of the blessings the temple will bring to their lives.

Here are some pictures from our trip.