Family Pictures

Too many cameras+Too little sleep=Sleep Deprived Pictures of Me:)

Jon came all the way from North Carolina!

After attending church to hear my dad give an inspiring talk we all gathered for family pictures in my parent's backyard.

H Family Reunion

This month has been so busy it has been hard for me to find the time to blog about it. I enjoyed visiting with my cousins at our H. family reunion. I gathered some more fun family history stories to read. I am so grateful for my ancestors who took the time to write in their journals so I can learn about them!

My sister Kara was so kind to hold Alyssa for me every moment she could.`

When our kids kept asking when it was time to go. We finally set them up with a movie to watch. They were about as excited as I was as a child to chat with people at the family reunion :)
At some points I wondered if the 10 hours in the car with 5 kids was really worth making the trip.... blogging from my computer is so much easier:) But when it was all over - I was glad we made the effort.

Rebecca's Words of Wisdom

I often find random writings of Rebecca's laying around the house. Here's a recent find from her collection of deep thoughts she is composing.

Rebecca's Words of Wisdom
"Even in your worst moments, you should be able to find one blessing (Please Note: The blessing is usually that you are not dead, because if you were, you wouldn't be able to think of the blessing).

All in a Day's Work

The Mind of a Child
Episode 1: Bike Stunts
Yesterday Emily came running in the house with blood streaming down her face after a bike accident. I thought she had knocked out a tooth- but she just had a bloody nose. Initially, one of the kids said she was hit by a car - actually, she hit a parked car. Between the sobs she told me, " I was just trying to ride my bike with my eyes closed." Apparently she thought this was next on the list of bike stunts to try. She's seen her brothers trying to ride with no hands - so she thought she'd take it to the next level - no eyes! After she got cleaned up she was anxious to go outside and check to see if the truck that she ran into was bleeding too!
It's a miracle that with 5 kids we still have never made a trip to the E.R.
Episode 2: A New Use for Ceiling Fans
When I was tucking the boys into bed I adjusted the ceiling fan setting in their room when Daniel asked this question in all seriousness. "Mom, what if I took that thing down (the fan) and strapped it to my back, would I be able to fly?" I think he's watched the library video "There Goes a Helicopter" a few too many times. He wants to be a helicopter pilot someday so I guess he figured that if the propeller lifts the helicopter, couldn't the fan lift a boy?

An Inspiring Poem

I discovered this insightful poem today on one of the piano teaching blogs I read regularly. I think it applies so well to motherhood - as my main role is to be a teacher to my children.

I have come to the frightening conclusion

that I am the decisive element.

It is my personal approach

that creates the climate.

It is my daily mood that makes the weather.

I possess tremendous power to make

a life miserable or joyous.

I can be a tool of torture

or an instrument of inspiration.

I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal.

In all situations, it is my response that decides

whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated,

and a person humanized or de-humanized.

If we treat people as they are,

we make them worse.

If we treat people as they ought to be,

...we help them become what they are capable of

becoming.

-Goethe

For some reason yesterday was a success in a lot of ways in our home - even though you wouldn't think so if you saw me still wearing my PJs with messy hair when Jared came home (Sorry- no pictures on this one:). I spent an hour with Jacob "racing" to see who could fill up their weed bucket first in our garden and now you can actually see the corn that was growing under all of those weeds. Then we spent another hour making a spaghetti dinner together to help him pass off one of his scouting achievements. I enjoyed reading stories with Emily and was somehow able to overlook the kid's messy bedrooms (although for another Scout achievement Jacob and I discovered all of the hazards in our home - like books on the stairs and toothpicks laying around on the carpet). Daniel came to me asking to do his floor mopping chore and Rebecca helped rock the baby to sleep just when I needed a break. Later I headed off to a Relief Society Activity and ended the day with a nice walk with Jared.
But today (so far) has been different (not in a good way). The messes are starting to mess up my mood and I've been seeing things with a "glass half empty" approach. I guess some days are like that - even in Australia. Hopefully after pondering this poem I can make our home life today not miserable- but joyous. So I think I better go take a nap while all is quiet on the home front.

A Memorable Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend creating memories including Jacob's baptism, Alyssa's baptism and 4th of July that I decided I wanted to post all of them separately while they are still fresh in my mind so here's my own justification for blogging so much this morning instead of cleaning up my house....

Cleaning and Scrubbing can wait til tommorow
For memories will fade we've learned to our sorrow
So quiet down cobwebs and dust go to sleep
I'm recording my memories and memories don't keep.

Unfortunately its a lot more than cobwebs and dust that are sleeping at my house so now that all of my blog posts are done I better go tackle the dishes, the laundry, the toilets and the floors even though I feel like Alyssa in this picture:)

Jacob's Baptism

Jacob has been so excited to get baptized. On the night before his baptism we took him on a little "date" on a picnic to the park. He received his own set of scriptures and excited to start reading from them everyday on his own. We talked a bit with him about baptism and then headed over to Farr's for an ice cream cone.

Jared baptized and confirmed Jacob on July 3rd.

During the opening song "When I Am Baptized" of Jacob's baptismal service I was already teary-eyed... music does that to me. I love the words of the song when it says "I want my life to be as clean as earth right after rain. I want to do the best I can and live with God again." Rebecca told Jacob he had to try and be perfect for at least one whole day... and I think he was! When I asked him how he felt after his baptism and confirmation he just said " I feel happy."

Jacob -trying to be taller than his primary teacher - Kristin Merrell. Sister Jensen came to support him too but left before we could catch a photo.
Family members attending Jacob's baptism
Jacob with his Grandparents