Family is Forever Day

The kids looked forward to celebrating our Family is Forever day (aka Mine and Rory's anniversary). Monday, September 22nd was the actual date, but with school, lessons, and wet weather our celebration was limited. We still enjoyed eating pizza and watching family videos together. But the kids favorite part last year was going to the temple, so we waited until today when we could spend some time on the temple grounds.

Rory first took us down to the trail below the temple where he first told me he loved me. It was amazing to stand on that same bridge where just the two of us stood a few years before, and feel the difference that the seven of us made. Of course, we were trying to keep Kali from jumping in the water, and the others were busy throwing leaves down the stream - but they understood how special it was too.

We then went onto the temple grounds. It was such a beautiful day, and I was amazed at how quickly the spirit touched the kids. The kids looked around the water fountains and found their chosen rocks on the temple side. It was such a neat day to reflect on the love of our family and the special spirit of eternity you feel at the temple.

Happy 13th Anniversary!!

It was no accident me finding you

Someone had a hand in it long before we ever knew

Now I just can't believe you're in my life

Heaven's smiling down on me as I look at you tonight

I tip my hat to the keeper of the stars

He sure knew what he was doing when he joined these two hearts

I hold everything when I hold you in my arms

I've got all I'll ever need

Thanks to the keeper of the stars

Soft moonlight on your face, oh, how you shine

It takes my breath away just to look into your eyes

I know I don't deserve a treasure like you

There really are no words to show my gratitude

So, I tip my hat to the keeper of the stars

He sure knew what he was doing when he joined these two hearts

I hold everything when I hold you in my arms

And I've got all I'll ever need

Thanks to the keeper of the stars

It was no accident me finding you

Someone had a hand in it long before we ever knew

I LOVE YOU, RORY!!!!

What was I thinking?

Those of you out there who blog or scrapbook, do you ever categorize your life into scrapbook pages or blog posts? Well, the minute I walked into my bathroom this morning I new I had a new one, and the day just kept on going.

I was checking my email this morning when I heard the water running in the bathroom. As a mom, you usually subconsciously know where your kids are. So, when I heard the water I knew that it was my Kali playing in the water. After a minute or two I even went in to check on her. She was brushing her teeth - innocent enough I thought. So, I went back to what I was doing. I must have gotten involved in some of my Scentsy stuff, because before I knew it Sabrina ran in the office yelling that Kali had gotten into the make-up. I didn't think too much of it because I knew Sabrina's little make-up kit had been sitting within Kali's reach and she probably had glitter on her. So I waited a minute more (my thought was "she's happy"), then at Sabrina's persistence I went into the bathroom. This is what I found.
She had climbed up on the counter (she can scale anything), and gotten into MY make-up. I know the picture below isn't the best, but you can see the make-up better. She had used my mascara to color her face, arms, and feet. My fabulous lipstick, that doesn't come off for the entire day, was colored on her arms and face. I couldn't take too many good pictures because as I found her, she was wiping liquid soap on her face and got it in her eyes. It wasn't until I cleaned up that I found the wand to my favorite lipstick. She had removed the plug to the sink and dropped it down the pipe! It became quite the discovery session as I later put on my own make-up and found my eyeshadow applicators soaking wet, my chapstick lid full of water, and mascara fingerprints on my deodorant and water inside it. (Note to self: If Kali's happy AND quiet, she's probably into something.)Later this morning I started to make bread. The girls pretty quickly were up on the counter ready to help. After getting the ingredients in we let the mixer kneed the dough. While it was mixing, the girls started playing in the flour container. It was innocent enough, they were just stirring it with spoons. So, thinking I had a great idea, I poured the left over flour into a big silver mixing bowl so the girls could play. Well, I pose the question again, "What was I thinking".
You'll notice that Kali is only in her diaper. Due to the aforementioned incident, she had water, lipstick, and mascara all over her outfit and she wanted it off. You may also be able to see the lipstick down the right side of her face, I still haven't been able to get that off. After they'd been playing for probably twenty minutes, Kali dumped a cup of flour on the counter. Sabrina's comment was, "Kali! You made a mess!" That's calling the kettle black.Here is a bit of video I got to capture the moment.

Then things went from bad to worse, Kali dumped a cup of flour on top of Sabrina's head. At that moment a mom is put in a quandary. Do you comfort that offended child, scold the offender, or grab the camera to capture the moment? It's pretty obvious what I choose.

I guess it's time to shut down the computer, mop and sweep up the floors, throw away the flour, and check on Kalista (she's been quiet for a while). You would think after almost 11 years of being a mom, and raising 5 kids I'd learn. But hey, what would I blog about then?

Time-Out for Me!

Last Friday and Saturday I got a much needed Time Out! Deseret Book does a conference called Time Out for Women. When my mom called and asked if I wanted to go I was thrilled! We spent Friday night and most of Saturday at the Kent Concert Hall at USU listening to beautiful music and being filled with the spirit. We were able to listen to Kenneth Cope, Mary Ellen Edmunds, Amanda Dickson, James Farrell, and others. What a needed get away! Like my mom said, we seldom have the opportunity to spend any time together that isn't constantly being interrupted by my sweet angels. It was just nice spending the day together. Thanks, to my dear sweet husband who took care of the kids so we could get away. Here's a shout out to all you men out there. Want a happy wife? Send her to Time Out!

Circle of Love

Last week my sweet sister Brianna called and said she would take family pictures. We all gratefuly agreed and she spent a couple of hours chasing us around taking wonderful pictures of the whole extended family. There were even times that she layed on her 20 week pregnant belly just to get the right shot. She's amazing(she took the picture that's in our header). One of the pictures that I loved was Grandma and Grandpa Farr with the grandkids. Getting all those kids to be happy was a trip! It made me think back to a picture Brianna took of the kids with Grandma and Grandpa four years ago.

At the time there were only 6 grandkids, with 4 of them being ours. Now, four years later here they are with 12 grandchildren and 2 more on the way!

The number of grandkids more than doubled in 4 years! Does that mean by the year 2012 we'll have 24 cousins? My siblings had better get busy :)! How grateful I am for this bunch. With each new family member that is welcomed in, our hearts just continue to expand. I guess this is what is meant by a "quiver full". That's always been a favorite scripture of mine, it's nice to see what it looks like!

Down by the river

Grandpa Joe and Grandma Carol live on a beautiful farm. The land is a child's paradise of exploration. The kids have had fun playing in the streams, looking for frogs and snakes, and exploring the overgrowth in the trees. We usually make sure that they have on shoes that can get wet and clothes that can get dirty, because chances are they're going to do both. One night I was in the house a little longer than I'd planned. When I went outside looking for the kids this is what I found...


I'm not sure
who had more fun, Grandpa or the kids!

Like Father Like Daughter

It seems as though Dunk Tanks are our thing to do this summer. Our school carnival was this last week. They only let fifth graders be in the dunk tank, so the opportunity is anxiously awaited. Miranda finally got her chance. It was cold, but she loved it.

Kindred Spirits

I think every once in a while the Lord puts people in our lives, if only for a brief moment, that shift our perspective closer to His and make a lasting impression on hearts.

We met Roberta and Wayne as soon as we pulled into our campground on Labor Day weekend. As camp hosts, they showed us to our spot, got us settled, and quickly became dear friends. Roberta and Wayne were originally from California, but now spend all of their time in their beautiful RV traveling between their kids and running from the cold! It was only due to a slight glitch in their plans that they even ended up in St. Charles for the summer. They were amazed by all the kids us "mormon's" have, and impressed by the nature with which we live our lives. But we were even more touched by their story. They were 7th grade sweethearts, who have stuck through the good and bad times right up to their 70's. Roberta now has Alzheimer's. She's able to remember the past, but has a hard time with day to day things. She doesn't say a whole lot, but constantly smiles and her spirit shines through her beautiful eyes. Wayne is so devoted to her. He takes constant care of her, and even drives her to Oregon to meet with her doctor because she really responds well to this certain doctor. Wayne is excited because the FDA has recently approved a drug that may help stop the process that is slowly taking his sweetheart away. They'll release it in the spring. The doctors were able to put her on one drug that helped so much. He said she is constantly happy now-always smiling. Wayne had so much advice and wisdom to share, but the thing that touched me most about their relationship was his devotion to her and her constant happiness towards him. Wouldn't our marriages be so much easier if we lived the same way? Why not simply be happy more and show that same devotion to each other. Wayne said, "Nothing and nobody else matters, just her". I guess I'm journaling this for selfish reasons. It's one of those things that perhaps you had to be there to feel. But I don't ever want to forget the lesson I learned from watching that dear couple.

Wayne and Roberta started collecting Beanie Bears a few years ago. With a collection of over 500 they finally decided they didn't want to anymore. Instead of selling them on eBay and making money off of their collection, they are giving them away. They had given around 350 away already. Our kids were thrilled when they were each given one. When we took the kids over to deliver a thank you card, Wayne opened up his bin and let the kids all choose another one. The kids didn't let go of the bears for the rest of the trip. Here is a picture of the children with Roberta, Wayne and their beanie bears. Wayne just wanted to make sure that no one thought he'd become mormon and had all these kids himself! Thankfully we're going to get to keep in touch with them. Wayne decided Scentsy was a good thing to help Roberta with her focusing, and he thought they were great for full-time RVers like themselves, so they signed up to be consultants. I'm just glad we have an excuse to keep in touch.

Labor Day Weekend

Early in the spring we sat down with our friends, the Lambs, scheduled out our camping trips, and made the reservations. Labor Day weekend was the last of our trips. We have had a blast going camping with them. It's great that they have a kid for everyone of our kids to play with. The kids have had a great time exploring together, but they really seemed tight this last weekend. Perhaps it was knowing it was our last trip for the year. Miranda even prayed in her night time prayers that we'd get together with them more in the winter than we usually do. Thanks, Lamb family for so many great memories!

So, we headed up to Bear Lake for the weekend. We set up reservations at a campsite that none of us had seen. It was way up in St. Charles, but it turned out to be one of our favorite places. Bear Lake North campground had fun places for the kids to play, ride bikes and just be kids. Saturday morning we went to Minnetonka Cave. It wasn't what we expected with all of the hike being inside the cave, but we all loved it. If you go, dress warm, it's a constant 40 degrees in there! The kids were troopers and did all 888 stairs just fine.

By the time we got back and ate lunch and rested, we didn't have a whole lot of time to spend at the beach. We went for just a couple of hours. The kids made plaster hand prints in the sand for a souvenir to take home. It was starting to get cold, so it wasn't too hard talking the kids into leaving.

Sunday and Monday we got soaked from the rain. Sunday we just went to church, napped, and played games the rest of the time. On Monday afternoon the rain let up a little, and since we were so close to Montpelier, Rory suggested getting his favorite breadsticks at Studebakers. We'd also been told about the tabernacle in Paris, so we dropped in for a quick look around. It was amazing!

When it came time to leave we were all reluctant. Back to work, school, lessons and life, but stopping for shakes and ice cream cones on our way out of Garden City helped to sweeten the journey.