needing a good laugh

Yesterday was a particularly hard day. The saying that a mother is only as happy as her least happy child is soooooooo true. So after dropping one of my kids off at school and having a good cry I decided to just stay in town and do some 'window shopping' with Mayah. We went to K-mart to look at the Halloween things. Mayah LOVES to go through the aisles and push all the buttons on all the scary things. It was cute. As we left the Halloween aisle we decided to go to the shoes. She enjoys picking out shoes to try on. As we were passing the little girl section Mayah looks over and says, "Look, mom...the underware and boobie things". I started laughing out loud and instantly it helped my mood ALOT. I am so grateful for Mayah. She is hilarious. She says the funniest things and it was exactly what I needed at the time. PHEW...thank goodness for kids. :)

just a fun photo shoot with Mayah

I love this outfit so much. A good friend gave it to us so I took some pictures with her in it. SO CUTE. It was so fun spending this time with her. She is now home alone with me and I am so blessed. Mayah is very fun. She is stubborn and she knows what she wants but I am grateful she is part of our family....so grateful. OK so really....this is THE cutest 4 year old I know. I'm not just saying it either.

This was so funny. She had sat on something itchy and she was pretty much done taking pictures by this time. She was heading back into the house.

I had to get a picture of her hair. OH how I would give so much to have her hair.

I wasn't done taking pictures but she sure was. I got her to smile just one more time before heading back inside.

And those lips....no she isn't wearing lipstick. She just has very red full lips. so lucky.

She is starting to get the itchies here.





I hope you are not a tree hugger Mayah...:)

smooshy face

Them darn ticks

So I guess I should blog about our life this past month...or has it been longer. I hesitated even blogging about it but since I am HORRIBLE at writing in my journal I use this as a way to document our life. And so I didn't want to pass up writing about this so we can have it for future reference. Even though it has been rough we will be able to look back and remember that people can get through anything. I still wouldn't trade my trials though. I feel that we have been so blessed and that there are soooooooooo many people out there that struggle with much much more. You know....like NIE NIE and those other people that are losing their children and going through really difficult times. This is nothing in comparison but it was still hard.

So I will try to start from as far as I can remember. Don hadn't been feeling well for quite some time. We were not sure exactly what it was. He had been to the dr. many times. He had been sent to a few specialists as well. They had a few guesses but were still not 100% sure. Then one day Don woke up with a bullseye rash on his back. We then knew it was LYMES DISEASE. YUK. We researched it quite a bit. He has a collegue at work that also has it (there is no cure) and she ended up giving him a dvd about it. WOW. It was a bit stressful as he ended up missing about a month worth of work without pay. The dr. doesn't want him working full time for 1-2 months.

I guess sometimes things happen to us all at once...or maybe it just seems like it. On Don's birthday a few weeks ago I had a miscarriage. My visiting teacher unexpectedly passed away. Don had to get four new tires on his car and the brakes went out in the Expedition and the medical bills were coming in and still are and we had some issues with one of our children and school. BUT......no matter how much we have been tried and tested....no matter what things we have endured in this past month or two we feel so blessed. We really do. I am so thankful for family. They were there when I needed them. They are a great support. And I feel so grateful to have such a team. I am thankful for our wonderful ward. It is amazing how well they have taken care of us. They are concerned and their prayers and blessings have been a great comfort to us.

The Lord is aware of every tiny thing in our life and I know that He loves us and is always there for us. There were many tender mercies that were placed in our path. And I know those came because of HIM but through family and friends. Our old home teacher replaced our brakes for us for free. All we had to do was pay for the brakes and rotor. We had some sisters in the ward (still don't know who) send $75 in the mail. My parents sent us some $$. My in laws loaned us some money. I was able to find some really good deals on school things. My sister gave us some hand me down clothes that were perfect for Rachel. And I know there are more things that have just helped to strengthen me. I know that we all go through hard times. I know that when we do we really grow and we become stronger. And we also rely more on our Heavenly Father and go to Him more. I am most grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It gives me HOPE and helps me to have FAITH and to see that...you know...sometimes we just have to struggle. Sometimes things are hard and sometimes it hurts and it is ok to cry and it is ok to feel stressed but to also realize that Christ never leaves us alone. He may not always carry us but he will always be there when it seems we can't go on anymore. And that is when we grow.

A week or so ago I said to myself....I don't know how much longer I can do this? About an hour later our bishop and the missionaries showed up at our door. The bishop had the feeling that he needed to come by. He gave Don a very amazing blessing. I know that God lives. I know that He loves us and He knows our hearts and I am so eternally grateful for a bishop that listens to the spirit. He was supposed to be at the church doing interviews for baptism. He had to travel about 20ish minutes to our home and then another 20 minutes back. That doesn't include the time he spent talking to us and giving the blessing. He was going to be very late getting back to the church.

Life is not always about the good happy things. There are times when things are just tough. I want my kids to know that we had hard times. Things are not always rosy. But the important thing is that you don't lost hope and you don't turn your back on the things that can help the most....God and the Gospel. Staying strong is the key. Moving forward is vital. Continuing on the path is important.

Six Flags

Every year Don's work has a party at 6 flags. The kids love it and look forward to it each year. Don purchased the tickets a couple of months ago. There is a HUGE discount and for only $10/person you get to ride all day plus they included food and snacks and drinks all day. It was awesome. We feel so blessed that we were able to go. We were wondering if Don would feel good enough to go and although he still wasn't feeling the greatest we were able to go and have a ton of fun and he didn't complain once. PHEW...so grateful.

The kids.....

Ethan and Mayah loving one of the rides.

Here are the kids enjoying dessert. OH YUM...the snickers icecream bars were awesome. That was my first time trying them.

Another fun ride....Caleb and Zach are up behind us. I went on most of the rides. It was fun. And I am sooooooooo thankful for Rachel. She went on the scary rides with me. Now I have a partner that loves them as much as me. She cried when she found out she wasn't tall enough to go on the Joker. OH well...maybe next year. I decided not to go either since the boys didn't want to.

Losing it

Today Mayah and I did a bunch of errands. We pulled up to the bank and sent a check through to get deposited. I sent the check plus my bank card. The teller then asked...What do you want me to do with this? I thought it was pretty obvious but I went ahead and asked her if I could cash the check.

She then said: I don't want to embarrass you but you sent me your grocery list. We both had a good laugh and I asked her if she wanted to do my shopping for me since she had my list and my credit/debit card.

I had both my grocery list and the check folded up. I saw the corner of the check in my purse and pulled it out right before sending it to the teller. I just didn't realize that it wasn't the check that I grabbed.

The REAL first day of school

Here is Mayah and our dog Lexi walking home from the bus stop. Mayah was very fussy this morning and cried alot. She said it wasn't because she was the only one that didn't get to go to school but I am not so sure.

Good bye Caleb.....have fun at school.

Caleb all ready to go. WOW. He sure is growing up.

Getting so big.

Zach growing up more and more each day. He is one tall 4th grader. He and another boy tie for being the tallest 4th graders in the school.

Check out his shirt...I have a million excuses blah blah blah. It is pretty funny.

Here is our cute 2nd grader. She was super excited today. Hope it stays that way.

Rachel ready to walk to the bus.

And my adorable little Kindergarten student. He was so excited this morning and ran down the stairs to get himself ready. He had a great day.

He wanted to pack his lunch. I was so glad. I am not really thrilled with what they serve the kids at lunch.

Everyone came home pretty happy. I hope the whole year is a good one. Can't wait for the memories we get to make in 2010/11. Here's to a great year.

Back to school celebration

Today Rachel and Mayah and I looked online for some cute hair do's. Rachel was looking for something I could do for her first day of school tomorrow. We really didn't find one she wanted. But Mayah wanted this one...even though she doesn't go to school tomorrow. So we practiced today. It is a side swipe with rubberbands and a side pony.

AND yes it is supposed to be going to the side. :) For dinner tonight we did a back to school special dinner. Here is everyone holding up their fingers of what grade they are going into. Notice Caleb....7th. Rachel....2nd. Ethan 0...so grade K. And not sure why Don is holding up one finger. :) Zach 4th. And poor little Mayah...home with me.

Here is our special menu. From left to right we have Learning Lemonade, Vocabulary Veggies (Broccoli), School Bus Sloppy Joes, Word Watermelon and Test Score Tator Tots.
I put skewers in the food with the name of the food on a little stinky note. The kids loved it.

And it was yummy.


And we can't forget our FHE dessert. For FHE Don gave each of the kids and I a blessing for the start of the new year. Here is our cute little back to school bus cake. Caleb decorated the little people in the window and most of the other parts. Pretty darn good I say. It was actually cupcakes shaped into a bus. It wasn't too easy frosting them because the frosting kept dripping into the holes between the cupakes but it was still fun and the kids really had a great time and they are all very excited to start school in the morning. I am a bit nervous for them. I hope it goes well and I hope they all come home happy.

Meeting the teachers

OH my it is almost that time again....Today we went to the school to meet the teachers. The kids were so excited. As soon as Rachel and Ethan woke up they got dressed with their new shoes and got their backpacks on and walked around the house all morning waiting to go. We didn't have to be there until 1. They kept asking all day if it was time to go. I continually told them over and over that they could take off their backpacks. Every once in awhile they did...but then they would just get them back on.

I decided to take Ethan and Rachel's picture now. I know that when Tues. comes it will be a race to get out to the bus so I wanted to get a few cute ones even though this is not the first day of school. That's ok though. School is only a few days away and I would rather get happy smiles than grumpy sad faces. Here is Rachel. She is a 2nd grader and so excited to go.

A happy grin. She is getting so independant. She picks out her own clothes and normally doesn't listen to me when I try to 'help' her match. I am ok with that though. It is good that they are independant.

She wanted me to fix her hair so I did an upside down braid with a messy bun on top. Trust me...it was cuter in person. She also wanted me to get a picture of her backpack. I have taken her shopping with me several times to look for one and all the ones she chooses are just too expensive. A few days ago I found this one on sale for only $6. I was hoping she would like it since she wasn't there with me. As soon as she saw it she said, "OH MOM...I love it. PHEW....

I love this girl.

Here is Ethan. Does he look excited or what? That was until we pulled up to the school. Everyone else had gotten out and I turned around and noticed that Ethan was still inside. He wasn't too sure about getting out. I kind of had to give him a little pull to get him out. He walked slowly into the building but after meeting his nice teacher he was a bit more excited. He can't wait to ride the bus. He is happy to start his first year of school.

Another happy face. OH and he loves these shoes but they are a bit big. I think he needs a size smaller but he insists on wearing them.

Check out this awesome backpack that I found at a thrift store. YEP that is a lunch pack attached. It is Pirates of the Carribean. And it was around $4/5 dollars.

Ethan is quite the character. I am hoping I don't receive any calls from the school about him. We will see how it goes. We do family Scripture study on our bed at night. After everyone else had gone into their room Ethan wanted to stay in the bed with Don for awhile. Don started talking to Ethan about how he was going to act in class and about being a good example to the other kids. Then came Ethan's 'what if' question. He asked....what if a girl comes up to me and kisses me? After quite a bit of laughter I told him to run for his life. Then he said, "I will just hide my face somewhere." Oh I love it when kids say funny things. It sure keeps us young.






C aleb will be going to a new school. It is actually the old highschool that they are renovating. It still isn't quite done yet. I thought maybe if we dropped by today they would let us tour it. Caleb doesn't like new situations and he hates it when he doesn't know EXACTLY where he is supposed to be. But they said there would be alot of people in the halls to help the kids get to where they need to go. He was a bit relieved and thought that would be okay. WOW. The school is huge. It is two levels. I think it is a great looking school and I think the kids will be happy with it.

Here are Ethan's teachers. The one of the right is the teacher and the other is the helper. What an awesome teacher. I can already tell.








Here is Rachel's teacher. She was also very cool. I am really happy with all the teachers on a first impression.

And lastly here is Zach's teacher. She is going to be good. She has taught for many years and I was so happy to know that the supply list she sends out for the students is MUCH LESS than the normal 4th grade list. SO glad we didn't get all the supplies. I really am excited about this new year for the kids.