11:00PM

DELIVERY!

Last weekend we were doing the typical:

SLEEP-OVER-SWITCH-EROO

with my sisters and our kiddos... and I had some of Carrie's kids, and

Chrissy had some of my kids and Carrie's kids, etc...

We are all late people... so no surprise that we were all still awake when our doorbell rang at 11:00pm... with the above YUMMY delivery. ha ha. (of course from the kids who were staying at Aunt Chrissy's house, no surprise there was a late night party car over there)

I think the rule is:

ANY TIME is a GOOD TIME

for Krispy Kreme donuts!

FAMILY PICTURES!!

I am sooo nervous waiting to get our Family Pictures back!! We haven't done a nice family picture since Sophie was born.

This year we brought our couch.

(which you just know Bruce was grumbling about...)

Thank you to Ashlin's friend CariAnn,

who came with her truck to help...

I am going to have to say that we had so much fun. Last year half the family was crying when we tried to take a family picture for a Christmas card. This year I vowed to have a different experience and keep spirits high. I told the kids we were like models at a photo shoot. During the individual shots, we were honestly laughing and kept saying

"Work it, Work it!"

Elena the Photographer was awesome.

thurstonphotographs.blogspot.com

The lighting and colors were beautiful...

now fingers crossed she makes me look skinnier!!!

The reward for good behavior...

going out to eat as soon as we finished.

Gather Together

A few weeks ago I was asked to teach a 45 minute class at our Stake Women's Conference about the essentials of "Family Home Evening". We all know that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are counseled to gather their families every monday evening to teach our children essential things. What a blessing in our families life to have this blessed tradition.

Years ago I read this little story below from our prophet at the time, President Gordon B. Hinckley... and something he said changed how our family held Family Home Evening every week, can you guess the change???

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"In 1915 Joseph F. Smith (the Prophet) asked the people of the church to have Family Home Evening. My father said we would do so, that we would warm up the parlor where Mother's grand piano stood and do what the President of the Church had asked.

We were miserable performers as children... In the beginning we would laugh and make cute remarks about one another's performance, but our parents persisted. We sang together. We prayed together. We listened quietly while Mother read Bible and Book of Mormon Stories. Father told us stories from his memory.

Out of those simple little meetings, held in the parlor of our old home, came something indescribable and wonderful. Our love for our parents was strengthened. Our love for brothers and sisters was enhanced. Our love for the Lord was increased. An appreciation for simple goodness grew in our hearts. These wonderful things came about because our parents followed the counsel of the {Prophet} President of the Church."

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We had already taught lessons, sang songs and had fun family activities... but I loved how performing for each other was a part of his families tradition.

Now in our family each week, sharing talents is part of our tradition. I invite my children to do a special musical number every week (they share the songs they are already learning in their guitar and piano lessons)... but I also save school work they've done well on, crafts/pictures they've made, or we spotlight them and share their accomplishments in sports, scouts, etc. They love being recognized in front of their siblings and told how proud we are of them for their big and little accomplishments. I love this part of our Family Home Evenings now... and I think it helps my kids to be proud of each other.

What is something your family has loved doing in Family Home Evening???

Gratitude

real conversation last night:

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Me: Now that we know how good you are at massaging my feet Logan, we should do this every day!

Logan: Will you pay me $2 a day?

Me: How about $2 a week if you do it every day?

Logan: (big smile) I'm gonna be rich!

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(totally posed picture of a fake Family Home Evening that I took to use in a lesson)

Yesterday Bruce gave the Family Home Evening lesson on gratitude. I had been crying because of some stressful stuff, and he challenged all the kids to think of something they could do to show me gratitude for making them a yummy dinner.

After Family Home Evening Logan got the couch all ready with a towel and lotion to rub my feet, while I laid on the couch having my feet rubbed, Dallin got out his guitar to play me his new reverent Christmas songs so pretty and Ashlin, Lily and Emma cleaned the kitchen.

So thankful for sweet moments, because there've plenty of moments that aren't so sweet going around lately. ugh.

It was really endearing to have my kids do kind things for me to show their gratitude... so in my prayers last night, even though I wanted to just beg God to fix all my stress... I told Him everything I was thankful for that He's blessed me with. I wanted to show Him gratitude like my kids did for me.

Important Stuff

For Logan's birthday last month Bruce took him and Dallin camping.

(Just the 3 of them for 3 days, lucky boys)

Dallin had been begging to take Logan to this abandoned train tunnel that the boy scouts went to in the spring. He thought it was so cool. And I thought it was so sweet that as soon as Dallin had gotten home from the campout in the spring he wouldn't stop talking about wanting to take Logan there too... finally Logan got to go:

They had to hike to it.

Bruce said they spent hours climbing and exploring

in the cave and rocks/cliffs around.

They spent 3 days:

HIKING ❖ BIKING ❖ COOKING OUT ❖ CAMPING

And you know Dallin found himself some creatures...

Bruce spent so much time packing everything needed for the trip.

I don't think in all the world there was anything more important he could have been doing with his time.

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"There is no other relationship quite like that which can and should exist between a boy and his dad. It can be one of the most nurturing, joyful relationships in life, one that can have a profound impact on who boys become."

-M. Russell Ballard

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Bi-Polar

Yesterday during church I held up 1 finger to Bruce and said, "Just one more"...."Please"

And Bruce whispered back, "one more what?"

So I took the back of the church program (below) and wrote, "Baby"

And then he got a red marker and gave me the program back with this mean addition:

ha ha, he thinks he's so funny.

Then last night I cried to him and told him all the kids were driving me crazy, and nobody helps clean enough around the house... blah blah blah. And he was like, I can't believe you even asked for another baby this morning, then now tell me everything is driving you crazy.

I realized that was a little bi-polar of me yesterday.

But when everyone was sitting so peacefully in church, dressed in their nice clothes looking darling... it seemed like such a great idea. Then I came home and saw our kitchen and laundry pile and was like,

never mind.

Dallin

The other day I got home, and as I walked in to our house, this is seriously what I heard...

Dallin yelling: "LOGAN- THE SUGAR IS BOILING AND YOU ARE NOT TYING STRINGS ON TO THE STICKS FAST ENOUGH!!!"

It actually freaked me out and I walked in to to the kitchen, to sure enough, Dallin boiling sugar in a pot and Logan tying strings on sticks, and a big mess all around them.

Me, kind of scared: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING??"

Dallin: "We are making rock candy and Logan is not tying the strings fast enough!"

Dallin wears me out and he is always doing some kind of crazy science experiment. After they finished their stick contraption over pink liquid, this is the "experiment" displayed on my kitchen window sill:

After a few days Dallin lifted the strings up, and it's actually kind of working: