Thought for the Day


"Oh, it is wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us - even with all our flaws! His love is such that even should we give up on ourselves, He never will. We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever. Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won't, for He sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming."

- Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

Thursday, February 28, 2008

For all my AZ Cheapies

Children's Orchard (second-hand children's store located by the Basha's on Camelback) is having their Fill-A-Bag Sale!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this event!!! Last time I went I got about 7 pairs of jeans, 5 or 6 shirts, a few skirts, a couple of jackets and a few more things (probably close to 25 items) for under $30!
Anyway, the fill-a-bag thing is that they open their doors at 9:30am and they have a bunch of bins out front. There are employees walking around giving you bags (large or small) and you just rummage through the bins and get things you want. Then you cram as much as you can into the bags (handles have to touch). Large bags are $12 and small bags are $6.
Last time I took Elizabeth with me to help. We had a lot of fun.
I wonder if Bret will let us go again and how much I'll be able to spend?! :)

Well, I really need to go and get some things done. Things I've been procrastinating on. :(

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

More Pages (have I slowed up your computer yet?)


New Scrap Pages


Jake's Kindergarten Graduation


I am really enjoying this digital Scrapbooking. I'm not very good at the normal Scrapbooking so this is easier and faster (and cheaper). :)
Does anyone know where to print my pages off? Preferably an online place. My printer isn't the best quality and it's expensive for ink.

Needed...

really good LDS quotes for youth!!!
I am in the process of making a thought book for the Young Women to use whenever they have spiritual thoughts to give. I need more quotes! If you have any, please email them to me or post them on my comments.
Thx!

I Really Should Be.....

cleaning my house! I'm supposed to be doing laundry, vacuuming, cleaning the bathrooms, sweeping and mopping the laundry room and kitchen, watering the garden, straightening the garage, and anything other than sitting in front of the computer! Where is that cleaning maid when you need her? Oh wait, that's ME. :)

I have a very cute 4 yr. old that has been taking a 1 hour bath (she really does love it) and now talking to Dora. She's been SO good as I've done things on the computer that I've "had" to do!

I have a friend that I send LONG emails to (she sends long ones too) and she did a funny little thing in one of her emails that I thought I'd try to emulate here in my blog. She wrote things about what's going on in her life in short one-liners.
Now for those of you that know me, this is going to be real tough. I often feel the need to share my feelings and other nonessential bits of info. So here goes my attempt...

Fugitive hold up in Buckeye yesterday, everything blocked off.

Helped one of my YW with one of her some Personal Progress things.

Babysitting a neighbor girl after school yesterday and today. (Yes, getting paid)

Eli has Blue and Gold Banquet on Saturday. Trying to finish a couple of Scout awards.

Having a homemade foil dinner on Wed because of above comment. (Scouts doing an outside meal and flag ceremony).

Trying to get some spring cleaning done around the house. Really wanting to paint upstairs right now.

Bret's parents coming soon! :) (Part of the reason for the above comment)

Weather here has been GORGEOUS!!!!!

We started a garden - very excited! Planted strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, corn, sunflowers, cucumbers, and a lot of containers of different flowers.

Well, that's pretty much all I can think of now. I'm sorry that this post is a little boring. I'm feeling real guilty for not doing what I should be doing. And I'm also wanting to play with my digital scrapbooking too. SOOOO I better get up and get busy so I can play on my scrapbooking!

Friday, February 22, 2008

Do you have a hard time letting go?

So yesterday was Jake's BDay. And as you probably saw I made a picture tribute to the little guy and posted the slideshow on my blog. Well, in preparing the slideshow I went through all our pictures of the kids from birth till now. Man was that difficult for me!! I can't explain the sadness in the pit of my stomach for the rest of the day.
Everyone always tells you that the time with your babies will go fast and to enjoy it before it's gone. Do any of us young mommies ever listen to that? That's a big Nope!
"Yeah, Whatever!" we all think. And honestly in that phase of our lives we are a bit selfabsorbed (and dramatic). It isn't until you look at old pictures of those cute little faces and diaper butts that you really REALLY miss those times. Why is that?! That's going to be one of my questions for the Big Man when I die! Why not let us just enjoy our stages in life WHILE we are in them. At least for a month or two. Even now, do I enjoy where I'm at in my life now?! Not when I'm sitting at the computer getting a headache crying over pictures of my little babies! :) Or not when I'm wishing that my 9 yr. old daughter were married with kids of her own (maybe then she'd understand me more). My mom will be the first to tell me that even then it's still not the perfect relationship - she wishes her daughters were closer now! :)

You wanna know what sets off my moments of regret (regretting not to cherish it more)? Every morning when they get out of the car and walk into the school; every night when I go in to check on them; every time I see a little 2 yr. old who looks like one of my kids did back then; when a cartoon comes on that they used to watch as a toddler; old pictures (of course); every time they cry over something tough at school; when I see a little tiny Buzz Lightyear toy; every time they cuddle up to me on the couch; when certain songs come on the radio; every time I look at my gravity loving body and think of how it felt to fit into a bra and jeans comfortably; when I drive by our old house; or on their birthdays and I reflect on my life with them in it!
Is it any wonder that I'm a bundle of tears every day of my life with thoughts like this?! :)

Thursday, February 21, 2008

My Jakie!!! 7 Today :)


My blog is full of Birthdays and other special events this month! And I have another sweet birthday to send out! My Jake was born on February 21st 2001. He turns 7 years old today and sometimes still seems like he's 5 - to me. I love my little guy! He has brought so much laughter to our home. He's the funny man in our group!
I love you Jakie! Happy Birthday!

Saturday, February 16, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!



How's this for Birthday Songs?! I might not have been the first to call (smooth Greg) but I bet I'm the most creative (as well as the most favorite)! :)
And here is a pic. of one of your gifts. The other one should come soon! I love you!

Friday, February 15, 2008

Possible Controversial Post

I was listening to a radio station today that really got me thinking. Today they had a Medium/Psychic. First of all, I don't know if they are "real" or not. I don't really care, honestly. I'm bet that some are real. Maybe they DO talk to spirits. But I don't agree with it. I believe in Spirits and the Afterlife. I prefer to call it the Spirit World and I see it as part of the Plan of Salvation.

Now, having said that, here are my thoughts about this Medium/Psychic:
I have a lot of thoughts going on in my head right now. I'm just going to spit them out and not worry about the cohesivness of it all.
I believe that life is about the journey, not the destination! Things that we really want to know from "spiritual powers" are things that often times we need to figure out for ourselves. Is trial and error in life such a horrible thing?
I can't tell you how amazing it has been to look back on uncertain times in my life and to be able to see the growth that I received just from wrestling the ideas in my head and finally making a decision. And honestly, in the grand scheme of things, there are only a few VERY important life-altering decisions in our lives. things that have dire consequences if chosen poorly. And even those are fixable eventually. Sure, it will cause more pain and energy to fix, but that also leads to more growth - funny how that works! :)
And now it's important to add that we DO have Spiritual help to turn to! and this is were my other problem with Mediums, etc. comes in. The Spiritual (notice the capital "S" - a whole lot more important than just a little "s") help we should be seeking is Heavenly Father (through Christ). He is the One! He knows ALL things! Do you imagine for a moment that the Spirits know all things?! Do you dare presume that they have the knowledge and love that Heavenly Father has for us. NO! And their job isn't to run around talking to Mediums to give everyone help.
When we ask the "spirits" for help, we cut out the most important person - God. And He knows not only what we need to know, but why we need to know it (or not know it as the case may be)!
Imagine for a minute that God had a certain lesson that you needed to learn. Now, if you go to the "spirits" and ask them what to do then you'll do things differently and you won't learn the lesson you needed to learn. And I mean REALLY learn - there's no learning more powerful than experience. You take the learning and the pain and the growth right out of that experience.
Also understand that God wants you to turn to Him for help and answers and strength to get through the things in life. He has the Power to help you!
SO, the big point is.....
who cares if Mediums or Pyschics or anyone else has a skill to talk to the dead! The only result to deter us from the REAL source of answers and strength!

The End (of my ramblings)!!!

Monday, February 11, 2008

Catch-Up Post

Well, I changed my layout back to a normal one. For those of you wondering, I had a Puppy Dog layout for Livvy. It was her B-Day last week and she thought it was so cool that I had done the Puppies just for her.

Things have been pretty slow for us (for now). I'm enjoying the calm before some sort of storm - there's always something that comes up!

I have been enjoying my new laptop. What's my favorite part, you ask? Honestly - its that I can take my laptop on the couch and play Solitare while I watch TV. It helps me wind down once I get the kids in bed. :)

How's everyone feeling about the Presidentials? It's amazing to me how as you get older, things like this become more important to you. Romney sure made it more important to me this time 'roun. I was bummed when he dropped out.
I have quite a few Baptist friends over here (odd huh?). I've really tried to steer clear of the topic of Presidential Candidates. I don't wanna fight! :) I've been trying to give my shovel a sabatical.

I have to share a real neat/funny experience that I had with my kids last Tues, AKA Super Tuesday. At dinner that evening we were talking at the table and Jake turns to Lizzy and says, "Sissy, what did you vote for today?"
I was a little surprised, but just listened.
Lizabeth's response was, "I didn't get to vote today, but I'm gonna vote for Gummy Worms. What are you going to vote for?"
Jake - "Gummy Worms too."
At this point, I asked them about it all. And come to find out the school had the 1st Graders pick a few different candies out of a big list. Then each student in the school got to vote for what candy they wanted. And then the candy that got the majority of the votes was what everyone in the school got. Pretty clever huh?! I was impressed. And then I thought - Great teaching moment. So we all talked about Super Tuesday and what it means. The kids asked me LOTS of questions about who I wanted for President and why and also why I didn't like some of the other candidates. The topic of Huckabee came up. I mentioned how I didn't like how he was treating Romney. I told the kids that no matter what your religion or color or anything was, you don't treat people rudely. I also talked to the kids about finding out who has the same ideas as you and why you want to vote for that person.
SOOOOOO, after our little talk, the kids started talking together. I went into the kitchen to clean-up. A little while later Jake says, "Mom, who's the mean guys' name?" I laughed and said, "Huckabee." And they continue to talk together.
Then all 4 of them come walking into the kitchen and Elizabeth (she seems to have been assigned as the spokesperson) says, "Mom, if Huckabee becomes President, we'll have to move to a different State." Obviously I haven't done such a good job at Geography with them! :)
I smile and say, "Honey, if Huckabee becomes President, moving to a new State won't help. It's still part of the United States."
The four little heads get together again. Then Spokesperson, Elizabeth, turns to me, "Is Utah a State?" Cringe! I REALLY have dropped the ball on Geography!
"Yes Honey, it's a State."
Again, they have a conference. This one takes a little longer and finally they come to me again and this was the final decision:
"OK Mom. First of all, is Canada a State?" (I have to add that Jake pipes in - 'How about Mexico?' NO NO NO - Mexico isn't an option!!! We practically live there now!)
My response, "Nope, Canada is not a State."
"Do they speak English there."
"A bit, but also French."
"Well then, if Huckabee (again Jake pipes up - 'the Meanie Man') becomes President we'll have to move to Canada - the part that speaks English!"

I've got some funny kids!!! I didn't tell them this, but if Huckabee becomes President (not possible, I know); but if he does then Heaven help us all!!! :) And if McCain gets it, then I really WILL be living in Mexico - his immigration ideas SUCK!!! And that's a big one for us Arizonians!

Friday, February 8, 2008

Check this out...

Bret let me get some Scrapbooking software the other day and I've been having a little bit of fun with it. I haven't had much chance to do too much because of sick kids and YW and Talent shows. I have so much to share about all that other stuff, but I'll save it for later.
Right now I wanted to see if I could get the first Scrapbook page up here for you to check out. This kills 2 birds with one stone for me:
1. You can see what fun I'm having.
2. You get to see Eli's car from the Pinewood Derby.
Enjoy!

This New Background Is For Livvy!

Her Birthday was on Wednesday - big 4! She is so big; I can't believe where the time went. I have really enjoyed getting time together just the 2 of us when the big kids are at school.
For her B-Day we had a fun morning (I kept the big kids out of school) playing with all the kids. Then for lunch we went to Peter Piper Pizza. She LOVES this place! When we got home she took a nap and then we had cake and presents. It was a real fun day. The only down side was that some of the kids got real sick. Jake is the worst right now.

So anyway, I love my Livvy! I can't imagine life without her. She such a joy!
Happy Birthday Baby!

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Yuckies and Cloudyness

Well, today we all got up and started getting ready for church. Things were getting a little crazy frustrating just before it was time to leave. I was trying to print out something for YW, Bret had some Scouting stuff to print as well, the kids were starting to get crazy, Lizzy was getting shakey and nautious from fasting, and suddenly I hear Livvy cough. It was nasty. Then I started thinking about this morning and she's had an excessive runny nose now with the cough - she's sick and I really did't want to pass it to the rest of Primary. So Livvy and I stayed home from church. I think I might be getting the cold too - we'll see.

On a happier note, it's cloudy and on the verge of rain here in AZ! I'm sure everyone is loving it for the SuperBowl. :)
Yep, the SuperBowl is here in Phoenix (just in case you have been alseep in life and don't know)! It's all I've heard about for months now. My main thought has been - I'm so so so so so glad that we don't live in our old house. It is just down the street from the Stadium! BUT then I did see in the news a photo of some famour person (can't remember who) leaving a gas station. It looked a lot like the one I used to frequent VERY often (for my soda fix). So there is a little bit of coolness that comes with being a populer city for a weekend.

Other news - the kids have a talent show coming up. I think we are going to dress the kids up like Orphans (somedays I wish they were) and sing a song to the musical Annie - It's a Hard Knock Life. We'll make up some motions to go with the song too. I sure hope we can pull it all together! :) The kids (mostly Lizzy) has been wanting to perform in various talents shows for a few years now. But that is a lot of work for ME and I wasn't up to it at different times. So now we'll try it. Wish us luck!

Well, I have stuff to do and kids to deal with (they've been a bit naughty today). Take care and have a great week!

Friday, February 1, 2008

New Computer

Well, we bought a new laptop. We've had one from the school (Bret's work), but it is not performing well. All the schools' laptops aren't very good and he has to take it to and from school for teaching. :( So seeing as how Bret and I are starting back to school, we needed a laptop. We have our Mac that is still doing well, but the programs for our online classes aren't Mac compatible.
Bret filed our taxes and we'll be getting a bit of a return (8-15 days) and we went and did some looking around trying to find the best deal for what we need. The rest of the return is going to pay bills and sit in the bank. I DID get Elizabeth some new undies today and the boys some new socks though. I hope that won't break us. :)

Today is date night! I love Fridays when we get to go out. I didn't get to be with Bret on Date night 2 weeks ago, and last week was our turn to watch kids. So I've missed being with him. :) I'm not sure what we'll be doing tonight. Probably dinner and a movie. I just can't wait to be with my Sweet Hubby without the littles in tow.

So, I really had better clean up the house or do something productive.