April Happenings - Bean Museum Trip with Family & Cousin Party

Unfortunately I am not tech savvy enough to figure out why my card reader only works randomly...hence the posts about April happenings in May.
In April we took a trip down to Utah for Jared's work Conference. While my parents watched the kids for the first day I spent an entire day alone in the hotel room while Jared was in his trainings and it was like a bit of heaven. I scrapbooked, listened to music, wrote in my journal, analyzed some piano music, exercised, read a good book and enjoyed not feeling guilty for not cleaning house- because I couldn't. But by the end of the day I was ready for some company and realized that although I enjoyed being an "empty nester" for a day... I sure will miss my kids when I'm truly an empty nester. Jared & I enjoyed a nice peaceful evening together. In the morning I headed off to my parents during a snowstorm. After encountering a couple of accidents and nearly getting in one myself... I started to wonder if all the peace was worth the intense anxiety I experienced on my drive back. I'm so grateful for Jared who does the bulk of the driving - because I really dislike it!

While Jared sat in training meetings all day the kids and I and both sets of grandparents headed off to the Bean Life Science Museum the next day to enjoy the exhibits there.



Daniel's favorite part was playing with the toys in the kids room.

Then we headed to my sister Kara's house to celebrate Justin's birthday with some ice cream and Reeses Peanut Butter Cake-mmmmmmmm!
Kara's hoping to adopt a little girl... but until then she had my girls pose a bit modeling hair bows for her etsy store.

I love visiting family. I just wish we lived closer.

"Preschool" Camping

I love how Daniel and Emily play so well together in the mornings while the older kids are gone at school. One cold morning I found them "camping" on the back porch. Daniel "set up" camp for he and his wife (Emily) and their baby(doll).

It was so cute to watch them tenderly tucking in their baby...Then Daniel tucked Emily in...


and climbed in for a snooze.
Lately for Dan every day revolves around "campin' and huntin'." He insists on wearing camo colored clothes every day. On our last trip to the grocery store he was sporting his Robin Hood hat, khaki shorts (covered in paint), an olive green shirt and some toy binoculars around his neck. After a few kind remarks from some people in the store saying how cute he looked (with a little chuckle) he got pretty upset and tore off the hat and binoculars because he was "sick of people making fun of him." But I don't blame them... Its hard not to smile when you see a kid this cute trekking around the store with his binoculars and twangy voice.

The Magic of Spray Paint

Thanks to some inspiration from all of the amazing (yet inexpensive) projects on my sister Kara's blog, Jared has recently been refinishing some cool projects for our home with spray paint. I wish I had taken some before pictures so you could see the transformation. I especially love my "new nightstand." One of our neighbors almost hauled it off to the DI, but despite the yellowish brown color with brass handles I rescued it so I would have something other than the headboard or the floor to put my stack of nighttime reading material on.

A New Grin

Jacob finally lost his top tooth that has been barely dangling there for a while. He looks so grown up with the new hole in his smile. I'm hoping the other one will "slip out" today when he visits the dentist so he won't be constantly tempted to stick his fingers in his mouth to wiggle it anymore:)

Music Therapy

The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.
-- Johann Sebastian Bach

Last night I felt so thankful for the "refreshment of the soul" I felt as I played the piano to wind down after a stressful day. For me, playing the piano is the best kind of therapy to help me feel peace, optimism and gratitude after a hard days work of meeting the constant needs of my 4 (soon to be 5) children. I find the "best medicine" for a hard day is to play joyful, energetic songs to lift my spirits... like an Ecossaise from Schubert's or Clementi Sonatina and then ease into some calming hymns like "How Firm a Foundation" and "How Great Thou Art."
As I played last night I felt a renewed sense of appreciation for my mom who taxied me to & from lessons, sewed my orchestra "concert dress" and provided calming hymns for me to listen to every night as I fell asleep. My dad filled our home growing up with the sounds of a variety of classical music from his record collection and helped me gain an appreciation for music from Baroque to Jazz. Although neither of them played an instrument, I am forever grateful for the opportunities they gave me to discover the power of music. I hope to pass on to my children and my students the "medicine of music" for it truly is healing to the soul.

Happy Birthday Rebecca!

Rebecca turned 10 today! It's hard for me to think that half of her life at home with me is already over:


I enjoyed making a texas fudge cake decorating the pinata and making decorations for her party with her yesterday. She had a fun pizza party with her friends. I don't remember being quite that energetic when I was 10. It was fun to watch their excitement while playing spoons, the m&m game, sardines and breaking the pinata (Jacob was the lucky one to break it open).
It was snowing outside so Jared had to stand on a chair in the basement and hold the pinata on a stick for the kids to hit.

I didn't realize we were out of candles for the cake- so she blew out one of my scented candles instead.


10 Things I love about Rebecca:
1. She is a great storyteller. It touches my heart when I discover her reading stories to all of her siblings on the couch.
2. She likes to cook. I'd love to train her a little more so I could turn this job over to her every day:) So far she knows how to make macaroni, rice-a-roni, muffins, cinnamon toast, swedish pancakes, cookies, cooked cereal and smoothies.

3. She has a keen mind and great knowledge of the scriptures. Yesterday I overheard her telling the story of Elijah to Emily. She knows more of the details in the story than I do and recites it in such a captivating way. She'll make a great primary worker someday!
4. She sets high goals for herself in spiritual, scholastic and social matters. I love to read the lists of goals she has posted in her room and in her journal. She's always trying to be a little better.
5. She is frugal and is already saving money for college.... and an epidural... and a house.
6. She doesn't get caught up in the praise of the world. She'd rather avoid contests.
7. She is very kind to younger kids in the neighborhood - in fact they're always knocking on our door to see if she can play.
8. Punctuality is important to her. She's usually the first one up in the house in the morning (except for Jared who gets up at 5:45 a.m. to play B-ball.
9. She is content with what she has. In fact it is always hard for me to decide what to give her for gifts because she rarely asks for anything.
10. She's beautiful, but not vain. She likes to have her hair fixed and her clothes clean but doesn't worry overly about her appearance.

Just What I Needed

This has been a great month overall, mostly nausea-free, but a few nights ago I felt another wave of nausea return and the depression that seems to come with it. After trying to fill my day with good things like exercise, teaching my children scripture stories, reading piano blogs, I was still feeling pretty icky. But then I read this inspiring I found in a book from the local library entitled "May Christ Lift Thee Up" by Virginia Pearce from the 1998 BYU Women's Conference. So many of the things I read spoke right to my heart and helped lift me out of the swirl of negative thoughts I was having. Here are a few of my favorite ideas:
The simple scripture "Lift up your heart and be of good cheer" (3 Nephi 1: 13)
The definition of humility " ... to joyfully, voluntarily and quietly submit one's whole life to the Lord's will."
A quote from Marjorie Hinckley, "We each do the best we can. My best may not be as good as your best, but it's my best... when we do our level best, we experience peace."
A quote from Brigham Young, "Strive to live the whole day to God and nobody else." (basically don't worry so much about pleasing other people or worrying about what they may think).
By doing this we "...will do our daily temporal tasks and duties differently- as offerings, not repetitive or meaningless drudgery."

Check out this video that Jared just showed me on youtube about Stephanie Nielson - survivor of a near fatal plane crash. Watching this just helps me count my blessings and helps me see life with greater perspective. I love her optimism and faith!