Easter 2012!

We had a nice Easter Holiday with a fun egg hunt and coloring eggs with friends. We do the activities that don't pertain to Christ on Saturday so we can focus on our Savior and what Easter means to us on the Sabbath.

So Saturday April 7th we hosted a fun egg hunt in our community backyard. It is the perfect place for an egg hunt with lots of trees, bushes, rocks, flat areas, and even a creek. Anyone who wanted to participate brought plastic eggs to share. We decided Jaco was too old this year to hunt eggs so he was able to help the adults hide them.

 Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves so I think we will plan to do it again next year!

Later that evening, we had our friends the Werner's over to color eggs and eat Bunny Buns.

Nothing too wild and crazy this year but I think everyone had an enjoyable day.

Easter Day we were able to go to church where the focus was on our Savior and all he has done for us. I know the atonement is real and have personally felt it's influence on my own life. I know my Savior has felt everything I feel and he understands my every emotion. I love Him and I know He loves me!

Spring Break 2012

The last week of March brought Spring Break to the local schools and lucky for us it also brought the Webster and Jemmett families! We spent several days together sharing in the beauty of our favorite playground, Southern Oregon and Northern California!

Saturday March 24th brought the Webster Clan. I had not told the kids they were coming and it was a sweet surprise; especially for Care Bear when her all time bestie K was standing in her bedroom doorway. The girls in the group opted to go shopping then we left all the kids and just the adults went to dinner together. It was a nice break!

Then Sunday the 25th, the Jemmett's finally arrived after almost being here but taking a wrong turn and going over an hour out of the way! Things got a little crazy with 7 adults and 12 kids 12 and under. We had dinner together, caught up and got to know new friends!We talked about having the entire group under our roof overnight but decided sleep was important so the Webster's graciously found a hotel.

We met up again Monday morning with everyone and headed to California and the beautiful redwoods. Unfortunately the weather was not ideal with tons of rain, but we made the best of it with everyone in rubber rain boots! Thankfully the weather cleared while we played among the giant redwoods. We hiked and climbed and had a great time together.

For dinner that night we took over the local Denny's. Good food but way better company. The kids all had a ball running from table to table and probably frustrated the rest of the dinner crowd.

 Thankfully the hotel we stayed at had an indoor pool so we were still able to have fun despite the buckets of rain. I think every other guest at the hotel had the same idea because the place was packed but it was still fun. Just a little loud!

Tuesday we woke up to more rain so we had to find indoor things to do to occupy the crowd of kids. Crescent City has a pretty decent small aquarium so that is where we headed. Shark petting, sea anemone licking, and picture posing filled our morning. Well not all of us licked an anemone but La-La was brave enough to do it! Crazy girl.

After the aquarium we had to say good-bye to the Websters. They had to head home for work. The rest of us headed back to the hotel for lunch. We tried to go to the beach but after getting absolutely soaked after a matter of seconds we decided it would have to remain an indoor kind of day. We ended up going to a movie theater where we split the group and watched Hunger Games or The Lorax. Thankfully the theater also had an arcade so we were able to kill more time playing video games while safely watching the down pour outside.

Wednesday morning dawned a little nicer so we were able to go to the beach for a few minutes. It was still windy and cold so the kids especially my Care Bear were ready to go sooner than later. We hit the road and made it back to our neck of the woods in time for a final lunch together at Hometown Buffet. After lunch we made one more stop together at a cheese factory and then a chocolate factory. Then it was time to part ways. We had so much fun getting to know the Jemmett family better. I went to school with John Jemmett's younger brother Jacob. John was a few years older than me so I didn't ever know him as well. Then when Justin and I were going to school at ISU, we got to know John & Shauna better and we swapped babysitting with our Jaco and their Andrew. But then we moved to Iowa and did the whole med school journey and lost touch with them.

We love showing off our beautiful area especially when we get to do it with such great families like the Jemmett's and Webster's! Come back when it's not so wet!

I Know That My Savior Loves Me!

How do I know this? Because 3 times in the last 10 days, our family has had prayer's answered in such ways that there is no doubt in my mind He listens and loves us!

Saturday June 16th was a crazy busy day. I had so much to do but I had promised the girls I would take them to the park once we were done running errands. It was one of the first hot days we have had so we went to a busy park with a creek they could splash in.

I told them exactly when we had to leave because we were taking a friend to the airport. It came time to leave and we were down to just a few minutes to get to our friend's house with enough time to get her to the airport. We jumped in the van and I tried to start it. I put it in reverse and it died. I started it again and it died again. This has happened before when the weather was hot and sometimes it has required a trip to the mechanic. My mind was racing about who to call, what to do, and what about our friend counting on us to get to the airport! I tried starting it several more times but it just died over and over. Finally I looked back at the girls and told them we need to pray! Care Bear said a simple yet heartfelt prayer asking for help with our car so we could fulfill our promise to help a friend. As soon as she said amen, I started the van one more time and we all knew immediately that it would stay running because it sounded different. It never died again and we were able to get Dorothy on her plane back home to China!

Monday into Tuesday June 18-19th another prayer was answered. Jaco had left to go to Washington DC on Saturday the 16th. He had a small but deep abrasion on his leg by his ankle but it looked fine to me. We did cover it with a bandaid because his socks irritated it. Monday while he was sight seeing in DC, he texted me a few times about the sore. He said  it was quite painful, red, swollen, and hot. I told him it was probably fine and even joked about him being a drama king. His chaperone also texted me about it so I asked Dr Daddy what they should do and passed the info on to her.

I guess that night when they got to the hotel, she was more concerned and called the on call Dr for the group. He thought Jaco should be seen right away in the ER. Jamie the chaperone called us and told us what was going on. Before we agreed to have him seen at the ER, we asked for them to send a picture of his leg. When Dr Daddy saw it, he agreed it looked infected and said it was probably cellulitis. Thankfully we were able to call in a prescription to a local pharmacy in hopes of avoiding the ER. Jaco would not be able to start the meds until the next day so in the meantime we started praying and requested prayers from friends and family. Early the next morning, Jamie called me and said Jaco's leg already looked so much better! More proof of his love!

Today June 26th, another prayer was answered! This one took 4 weeks but it was answered in the best way possible! 4 weeks ago today, our beautiful and sweet momma cat Princess Aurora went missing.

She had done this in the past but when hours turned in to days, and then days into weeks, we knew it was different. We were all devastated and heart broken. We put up signs, went door to door in our neighborhood, checked the pound and talked to anyone who may have seen her. Countless prayers were sent to Heaven and thousands of tears were shed. We didn't want to give up hope but it was getting pretty hard to believe we would ever see her again. Last night La-La prayed like she has every night that if Aurora was already in heaven that she would be well loved and taken care of. If she was still here on earth she prayed that Aurora would be safe and somehow find her way home. This morning I was asked how long it had been and I said it had been 4 weeks today since we had seen our momma cat. Late this afternoon I got a text, an email and 2 phone calls asking me to call back ASAP! When I talked to the caller, a friend in the neighborhood, she said she may know where Princess Aurora is! I told the kids I would be right back and skeptically went to investigate. I just could not imagine any way she could still be alive! One of our neighbors had been gone for the winter and just returned a week ago. Yesterday and today while she was in her back yard she heard a few feeble meows from under her house. She remembered seeing a sign on the neighborhood mailbox about a missing cat. (We had actually just taken the sign down the day before because it got ruined in a heavy rainstorm.) The neighbor saw my friend, Sarah, and asked if she knew who it was who had lost a cat. That is when Sarah called me and I left to check it out. They showed me the small opening under some stairs where they had heard the meows. I called for Princess Aurora and was immediately rewarded by her response. I layed down and peered in the hole and started crying when I saw Momma's bright blue eyes looking at me. I ripped the screen out from the hole but Aurora could not fit through. Sarah asked Marsha the neighbor if there was any way in to the crawl space under the house. Marsha said there was a small door but she had never really used it because the crawl space was so dirty and yucky. She and I went to check it out. She opened the door and I called for Aurora. I saw movement in the dark and then our long lost kitty came running to me. I could not believe it! How on earth did she survive 4 weeks trapped under a house? Marsha said that a few weeks before she and her husband came back, some yard workers had come to turn the sprinkler system back on. We figure she must have chased a critter in when the crawl space door was opened and the workers closed it not knowing she was inside.I ran home to show the kids. Jaco saw me first but had a hard time believeing what he was seeing. La-La started bawling and Care Bear was shocked. Aurora immediately went to the food bowl and started eating. She took a few bites, came to us for some love then went for more food. She did this many times. It was so reassuring to know she still knew and loved us! We called a vet and they said it was a good sign that she was eating. If she was so dehydrated that she was in kidney failure, she would not want to eat. We wonder if she was able to get some rain water from the recent rain we had. Before she left, she weighed between 8 and 9 pounds. We weighed her today and she is only 6 lbs. At least 1/4 of her body weight was lost and it shows. She is so bony. It is sad. But I can't even begin to say how happy and grateful we are! 

I am humbled and so thankful these prayers have been answered. What a testimony builder for our whole family! I know Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers and I know he loves me. I love him and am so grateful for all He does for me!

Who's the Fool?

I have discovered the fun of a good April Fool's joke. When Justin and I were engaged, he convinced my mom and I both that we had to change our wedding date last minute because his yearly summer training for the National Guard was rescheduled right over our planned wedding day! Then he got me again really good when I was pregnant with Jaco. Right before April Fool's Day that year we had the big ultra sound that showed very clearly that we were having a boy! On April 1st, a "nurse" from my doctor's office called to confirm my next appointment. As we were talking she told me congrats on my baby girl! I informed her that we were having a boy not a girl. She said the picture in my chart looked very much so like a girl while I argued back that the picture I was looking at showed it was definitely a boy! She finally said I should bring a copy of my picture in to my next appointment and we would compare the photos. A little later and I found out it was all a joke. Not very nice to mess with a pregnant lady! LOL

A couple years ago I made a fun meal of foods that looked "normal"but were not what they appeared to be. It was so much fun! Last year I was not able to do as much so this year I was determined to have a crazy meal again. I opted to use the same menu from before but we invited some friends over to fool them! 

Menu: Jell-O Kool-Aid, Grilled Cheese (toasted pound cake with orange frosting), unflavored gelatin eggs, and shepherd's pie cupcakes.

Mmmm TASTY!

La-La, Em, Jaco, Lex, Ari, and Care Bear

What is in here?

Hey! My drink is solid!

Looks like frosting but tastes like mashed taters!

Kristine wins the best face award after she discovered the bright colored jell-o egg she bit into was actually unflavored gelatin colored with food coloring. She was not a fan!

I love a good harmless joke! I better start planning next year's menu. :-)

Snow Day! 3-13-12

Every time it snowed the kids were very disappointed when school was not cancelled. They had been spoiled in other areas we have lived where school would be cancelled for a dusting of snow. 

Feb 13th. One of the days the kids were so frustrated that they had to go to school! We left early for the bus stop and managed to make this mini snowman before the bus pulled up.

Finally on March 13th, the kid's wish was as close to granted as possible for this year. A 2 hour delay! Jaco slept in while the girls and I went to the golf course in our backyard and used it for it's best purpose ever; SLEDDING! A neighbor friend joined us along with Cody! Perfect way to start the day.

A digital scrapbook page I made showcasing our morning sledding adventure.

Valentines Day 2012

Thank you Hallmark and all the companies commercializing Valentines Day! Not my favorite holiday but having kids makes it fun. I found a fun card idea in the Family Fun magazine so the girl's and I made their cards for school.This was the first year Jaco didn't do anything for school. A little different at middle school.

Making the bracelets to give to school friends!

Finished product made with LOVE

On the big heart day, La-La was lucky and had a fun field trip! I was even luckier and got to go along. They had been studying a science unit on matter and how things change. The fieldtrip took us to different businesses in the area. We saw how cheese is made starting from milk and got to sample different kinds. 

Sampling cheese...mmm tasty!

This place was fun but stinky!

Then we walked to Papa Murphy's where each student got to make their own mini pizza. They baked them later at the school and got to see how everything changed when baked.

Focus...

La-La's class showing off their pizza's!

Finally we went to a glass blowing shop which was definitely my favorite!

A blob of hot glass waiting to be blown into a bulb.

When we got back to the school I bounced between Care Bear's and La-La's classes and helped with their parties.

La-La modeling her hand painted shirt and valentine card necklace!

Care Bear showing off her loot!

Care Bear, Mila, and Ariana! 3 besties!!!

The elementary had a balloon fundraiser where you could purchase a balloon bouquet for valentines day. I got each of the kids one but forgot to take pictures. We usually get heart shaped pizza for dinner but this year we went to Home Town Buffet as a family instead. There you have it. V-Day 12, just a couple months late. :-)