Having a Ball

Last weekend Jared took the oldest kids down to see the BYU Game and let Becca hang out with her friend who moved to Utah.  The "Littles" were pretty devastated about being left behind as he drove away.  Alyssa figured that being dressed (in summer clothes) with her pjs in hand was enough of a ticket for dad to let her come with him.  But since one of the seatbelts is broken in the car, it wasn't an option. 
After being pretty sick with the flu for half of the week, my house was looking pretty chaotic with piles of laundry and dirty dishes.  It was my plan to tackle it that evening.  But with 3 kids in tears I could see I wasn't going to get much done.  I decided instead to have a spur of the moment princess party.  We turned out the lights, ignored the clutter and lit a scented candle for our feast.  We covered the table with a wrinkly white bedskirt with a pink ruffle, because Emily insisted that the pink "tablecloth" would be the most fitting for princesses.  We feasted on apple smiles, (apples w/ marshmallow teeth) heart shaped honey toast, apple juice in goblets and "the Queens" famous stew (taco soup) as we addressed each other in perfectly polite tones with our princess names (Queen Kristine, Princess Nicole and Princess Kathryn).  Prince Jared (Joshua) was safely strapped up in his high chair:)
After the feast we changed into our ball gowns and  danced around the family room to Beethoven's Emperor Concerto and a Disney Princess CD.  We ended the night with some princess stories and 2 very delighted girls who got to have a "sleepover" in Emily's room for the night.  I don't think I ever played pretend like this even as a child.  But it was definitely a night to remember and I wish I'd captured some pictures.
The next morning Emily woke up early and surprised me by doing all of the kitchen chores!

Halloween

My parents came to visit us before Halloween.  My mom planned a superfun Halloween party with games and festive food.  We played some Halloween Bingo, Vampire M&M Bloodsucking and Draw the Pumpkin.
Trick or Treaters

Perfect Fall Day to Remember

 I gave a talk on gratitude in church today.  It was the perfect topic for me because its something that I need to work on.  Its easy for me to be honest, to be obedient, but being grateful and optimistic is a continual challenge.  I think I am more like Sariah, who tended to murmur when things got challenging even though she was obviously a woman of faith.   But I want to me more like Job who after having most of his temporal blessings stripped from him was still able to say

·       " Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hathtaken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly."

 When I came home from church today, Becca and Jared were heading off to choir practice and the house was unusually peaceful.  My first thought was, I wonder what naughtiness Joshua and Alyssa are getting into.  But fortunately I found Emily and Alyssa outside enjoying the sunshine and playing pretend with some sticks out in the garden.  I had "Prince Josh" join them and snapped a few pictures of them playing in the leaves and taking care of their pet ladybug.  I love beautiful days like this!

 One of my favorite conference talks ever is entitled "Oh, Remember, Remember" by Elder Eyring.  I have revisited it several times and one of my revolving new years resolutions (because I never quite attain it) is to record my own moments of God's hand in my life.
After experiencing an act of service that touched him, he said."I heard in my mind—not in my own voice—these words: “I’m not giving you these experiences for yourself. Write them down.”I went inside. I didn’t go to bed. Although I was tired, I took out some paper and began to write. And as I did, I understood the message I had heard in my mind. I was supposed to record for my children to read, someday in the future, how I had seen the hand of God blessing our family.  I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day."

Finally... the 4th of July

 This year we had a blast when our Neal cousins came to visit for the 4th of July.  We were so busy having fun, I didn't capture too many photos, except for this little hike we went on.  I'd love to make it a yearly tradition to have  different family come and visit us each year at this time since our yard is perfectly situated for the fireworks.  Next year we're already booked!

A desk of my own ... shaping our destiny

This year I received one of my favorite and most used gifts ever for my birthday... a tablet.  I loved marking scriptures on it, videotaping piano students and exploring the new youth curriculum as a basis for my gospel study.  But this only lasted a few short months when my daughter decided to put it in the bathtub.  Jared offered to go buy me another one, soon after this happened, but the frugal part of me wants to wait until I can afford to upgrade to an ipad w/ the capability for more music apps. So I've gone back to doing everything old school.  Tonight I revisited the youth curriculum after a long hiatus and read an article "Two Principles for Any Economy" by Elder Uchtdorf that I love!

One of my aspirations is to instill in my children a love of learning, as my mother did for me.  I remember thinking it was so exciting to borrow the neighbors encyclopedia for a report and being able to skim through articles on a variety of topics before returning it.  And even now, as I rediscover things about the Renaissance, Exploration, American History, Light, The Solar System, etc. with Daniel during homeschool I find so many things captivating.  So this quote by Elder Uchtdorf really touched me as he described some of the destitute circumstances of his childhood that later improved with hard work and patience.

He said, "It seemed to me that having a desk of my own would be the most wonderful thing in the world." I had to wait a long time before that wish was fulfilled. Years later, I got a job at a research institution that had a large library. I remember spending much of my free time in that library. There I could finally sit at a desk—by myself—and drink in the information and knowledge that books provide. How I loved to read and learn! In those days I understood firsthand the words of an old saying: Education is not so much the filling of a bucket as the lighting of a fire."

I'm finding this is easier said than done.  It is so easy for my children to be lured into the world of entertainment  and excitement of sports, Studio C, Youtube videos, etc. that aren't necessarily bad, just not as "educational" as I 'd like, but I'm grateful that, even though I don't have a tablet... I have a desk of my own to constantly discover new inspiring and educational things each day.
A final favorite quote from Elder Uchtdorf,
"I know this for a certainty: it is often in the trial of adversity that we learn those most critical lessons that form our character and shape our destiny."

Football + Homeschool=

No time for blogging!
This fall I decided to try a new homeschooling adventure.  I love learning and teaching my kids, but when they are all home at the same time and I'm juggling scouts, piano lessons, sports, etc., I rarely get the one on one time with them that I'd like.  Ideally, I'd like to homeschool each child who wants to for at least a year, so I get to spend more quality time with them, accelerate their learning, and fill in the gaps that just aren't covered as much as I'd like in public elementary school like American History, Science, Music and Spiritual Morals and Values. I decided to start with Daniel.  I didn't realize the significant impact it would have on me taking on a "part-time job" as learning coach and still trying to keep up with laundry, meals, housework , church callings, piano lessons, etc. It has been pretty overwhelming, and although I have had moments that measure up to my dreams, I have a new appreciation for school teachers.

Jared coached Daniel's football team the past few months, so for a kid who's love language is quality time, he hasn't been lacking for love lately :)  Following is his personal story he wrote about it:

"I’ve been playing football for a long time and wanted to play quarterback.    This is my first year getting my own  position.  I play second string quarterback and linebacker for the Cougars.  Then the other quarterback had to play for someone else, so I got to play quarterback against the Grizzlies.  We played at Ellis Elementary School.  I was seven out of nine passing.  My dad was there also to coach the cougars.  I had a lot of fun passing to the wide receivers Wyatt, Ezra and Chase.  I hope I get to be quarterback next year.

Jacob got to play pads for the first time this year and he totally loved it.  He was defensive end and sacked the quarterback a few times in some exciting plays. I enjoyed watching both of their games.
I'm kind of relieved that the season is over now and that there our life is not filled with practices and games every single dinner time.
Rebecca tried out for the school basketball team with some friends.  She is on the B team and I am so happy that she faced her fears so she can have a new, fun experience... practice every morning and 6:45 am!

Celebrating Emily One Year Older

Emily has been counting down the days until her birthday for weeks.  Last night we hosted a pizza/American Girl movie party for Emily's Birthday.  I guess one benefit of having my kids get older is that it is a lot easier to plan their parties.  No complicated games or activities to try and entertain the kids every second!  As the years go by I've planned less and less for parties and tried to just go with the flow.

A birthday cake with no candles or pink frosting?!

Emily chose to have a strawberry poke cake with our favorite pudding/cream frosting.  It's a little harder to decorate with, but it tastes so much better than ordinary buttercream!  We realized at the last minute that we were out of red food coloring for a pink heart so this was our spontaneous frosting creation.  Sadly, I couldn't find where I had stashed the candles, so she was a sport and blew out the imaginary candles :)

Melted Crayon Art Creations

 Becca had the great idea of making melted crayon pictures while we were waiting for the pizza to arrive.  Some streets were closed due to serious flooding from a crazy rainstorm so it took Jared a lot longer than expected to pick it up. Fortunately our basement didn't flood at all.  Our neighbors were not so lucky :(
After cake, presents and movie, the girls had a great time playing with the 24 pack of play-dough that Emily received from her friend.
This summer Emily decided to try out gymnastics.  She has loved it and it is nice for her to find something she can excel at.  It was quite humorous the other day when she showed us some of her skills and the boys tried to do the splits.  Emily makes it look so graceful and natural... the boys and I not so much!
She has always been a kind tender-hearted girl and I love finding the pictures and sweet notes that she leaves around the house.