Last week Daniel had a turn to give a talk in Primary. He wasn't too thrilled. Surprised?
I took him to Deseret Book and we bought a Mormon Ad packet that had a picture about prayer (the blue one with the white phone...for those of you still "up" on your Mormon Ad posters). He wrote his talk without too much help from Chad and me. (OK. After reading through, Daniel wrote the first half, I gave him the scripture, hoping he would tie it in somehow, and Chad gave him the "testimony." It was a joint effort.) It was kind of a funny one, so I thought I'd share it with you. Here is it...unedited. ;)
How do you talk to god? Do you run to the phone and ask your parents what Heavenly Fathers pone number is. No. You reverently get down on your knees, bow your head, and fold your arms. But what do you say? You can say anything from being gratefull that you didn't fall of the the seat in the bus to being gratefull that you didn't get yelled at by your parents. In Doctrine Covenants section 25 vers 12 it says, For my soul delighteth in the song of heart; yea the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me and it shall be answered with a blessing upuon their heads. I know prayer is important. It is how I can talk to Heavenly Father. In the name of Jesus Crist, Amen.
I don't think I'll run spell check on this post. But what a great talk, don't you think? I can't wait for a year from now when he's giving his first Sacrament Meeting talk as a 12-year-old. I'll try to sneak it away from him then and post it for you (and us) to read over and over again. *sigh*
Joseph has a talk tomorrow morning. We haven't written it yet. Do you think we can use Daniel's?
-Having 5 kids in Primary at one time means a lot of talks, prayers, and scriptures!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Cute and Irritating
This is a post about my oldest and youngest. I'll start with the youngest first. ;)
Sarah is sleeping in a toddler bed...has been for several months. She is pretty good about staying in it. She doesn't get out at bedtime, but she will sit in bed and cry a complaint or two! She does get out in the middle of the night or in the early morning when she thinks it's time to get up. If it's after 6 AM, I'll lift her into the bed and let her snuggle up. Don't think I use "snuggle" casually. This girl will try to become one with you!
If I am about ready to get up anyway, I enjoy the moment. She is my baby, after all! I am soaking up as much of this lovin' as I can get! But I do fear that it will go too far and I will have a screaming child on my hands in the middle of the night. I'm always weighing the decision to let her in the bed.
Last night, she came in just before 2:30 AM. Yeah...that's a little too early for me. I carried her back to bed and covered her up (with 4-6 blankets) and then heard her saying, "Lee-Lee...Beka. Lee-Lee...Beka."
How sweet that she wanted her sisters! Thankfully, she fell back to sleep for another 4 hours. In a year or so, she will love being upstairs with the rest of the kids (and then there really be a party at bedtime)!
And now to my oldest...
I'm going to chalk this all up to the fact that he's eleven. This is mostly because I can't bear the thought that it's a personality flaw.
Anyway, Leah was practicing her spelling words for a spelling bee today and tomorrow. She was stuck on a word and just as she was getting it, Daniel spelled it as he walked out of the room. Grr. I wanted to whack him in the back of the head! I yelled after him, which I'm certain really had a lasting effect.
As the kids were heading out the door and I was encouraging Leah to spell a word on her way out, Daniel did it again! Does he intend to be rude or is it just coming naturally? We seem to be struggling with gaining a level of consideration. Luckily, my foot was too far away from his rear end.
Sarah is sleeping in a toddler bed...has been for several months. She is pretty good about staying in it. She doesn't get out at bedtime, but she will sit in bed and cry a complaint or two! She does get out in the middle of the night or in the early morning when she thinks it's time to get up. If it's after 6 AM, I'll lift her into the bed and let her snuggle up. Don't think I use "snuggle" casually. This girl will try to become one with you!
If I am about ready to get up anyway, I enjoy the moment. She is my baby, after all! I am soaking up as much of this lovin' as I can get! But I do fear that it will go too far and I will have a screaming child on my hands in the middle of the night. I'm always weighing the decision to let her in the bed.
Last night, she came in just before 2:30 AM. Yeah...that's a little too early for me. I carried her back to bed and covered her up (with 4-6 blankets) and then heard her saying, "Lee-Lee...Beka. Lee-Lee...Beka."
How sweet that she wanted her sisters! Thankfully, she fell back to sleep for another 4 hours. In a year or so, she will love being upstairs with the rest of the kids (and then there really be a party at bedtime)!
And now to my oldest...
I'm going to chalk this all up to the fact that he's eleven. This is mostly because I can't bear the thought that it's a personality flaw.
Anyway, Leah was practicing her spelling words for a spelling bee today and tomorrow. She was stuck on a word and just as she was getting it, Daniel spelled it as he walked out of the room. Grr. I wanted to whack him in the back of the head! I yelled after him, which I'm certain really had a lasting effect.
As the kids were heading out the door and I was encouraging Leah to spell a word on her way out, Daniel did it again! Does he intend to be rude or is it just coming naturally? We seem to be struggling with gaining a level of consideration. Luckily, my foot was too far away from his rear end.
Monday, October 17, 2011
My excuse du jour
Dear Fate,
I really wanted to be successful today. Since I've showered, eaten and have a load of laundry going, I guess I could call it good. But I had plans for a little more.
The problem is that you gave me a sick 2-year-old who kept me up all night and keeps saying "Up, please." It's not even 9 AM!
I may accomplish a bit more before I attempt another night of sleep, but just in case I don't I wanted you to know why.
Sincerely,
Arlyn aka Nurse-slave
P.S. Thank you for the beautiful sunny morning.
I really wanted to be successful today. Since I've showered, eaten and have a load of laundry going, I guess I could call it good. But I had plans for a little more.
The problem is that you gave me a sick 2-year-old who kept me up all night and keeps saying "Up, please." It's not even 9 AM!
I may accomplish a bit more before I attempt another night of sleep, but just in case I don't I wanted you to know why.
Sincerely,
Arlyn aka Nurse-slave
P.S. Thank you for the beautiful sunny morning.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Losing my mind...and the phone
I couldn't find a phone that I'd just had in my hands. After a few minutes of looking for it the old fashioned way (walking around aimlessly), I picked up my cell phone and called myself.
It was on my 3rd call (hanging up when the answering machine came on) that I finally found the darned thing. It was under a pile of clothes that I had folded BEFORE I made my last phone call. How in the heck? I can't even blame it on anyone...all the kids were downstairs (fighting).
Things must be bad if I'm doing dumb stuff like that. And to make things crazier, I just became the Box Top lady for the elementary school. I spent hours trimming Box Tops in preparation for submission. Did you know they need to be trimmed? If you are sending in Box Tops for your school, do the coordinator a little favor and trim them. You will be an anonymous angel. But don't trim off the expiration date...that makes it invalid.
Each Box Top is worth 10 cents. I threw away a couple of dollars of invalid Box Tops last night. It doesn't seem like much, but it adds up...isn't that what we tell our kids when they put a penny in their bank? With all the Box Tops and online earnings over the summer, our school will be getting a check for over $1000 this December...just for cutting those little things off the packages!
Some of you will be getting an email to sign up for online Box Tops stuff. Just delete it if you aren't interested. It is worth looking into, though. :)
There...that's my Box Top soap box.
Now I'm off to anchor my cordless phone to the wall so that I don't lose it again.
It was on my 3rd call (hanging up when the answering machine came on) that I finally found the darned thing. It was under a pile of clothes that I had folded BEFORE I made my last phone call. How in the heck? I can't even blame it on anyone...all the kids were downstairs (fighting).
Things must be bad if I'm doing dumb stuff like that. And to make things crazier, I just became the Box Top lady for the elementary school. I spent hours trimming Box Tops in preparation for submission. Did you know they need to be trimmed? If you are sending in Box Tops for your school, do the coordinator a little favor and trim them. You will be an anonymous angel. But don't trim off the expiration date...that makes it invalid.
Each Box Top is worth 10 cents. I threw away a couple of dollars of invalid Box Tops last night. It doesn't seem like much, but it adds up...isn't that what we tell our kids when they put a penny in their bank? With all the Box Tops and online earnings over the summer, our school will be getting a check for over $1000 this December...just for cutting those little things off the packages!
Some of you will be getting an email to sign up for online Box Tops stuff. Just delete it if you aren't interested. It is worth looking into, though. :)
There...that's my Box Top soap box.
Now I'm off to anchor my cordless phone to the wall so that I don't lose it again.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Sunday, 25 September 2011
A beautiful fall morning with a bit of significance in Daniel's life. It was Daniel's last Primary Program and I wanted to freeze him in time. I had them all line up on the sidewalk. (Well, almost all of them.)
Hmm...too shady. Everyone back up into the sunshine. There, now they are blind. It will be a perfect picture. ;) And we get to include Joseph. (Sarah sees a dog.)
Joseph is really dedicated to tantrums lately (like the past 3 years) and this morning was no exception. Oh well, document it, too!
Hmm...too shady. Everyone back up into the sunshine. There, now they are blind. It will be a perfect picture. ;) And we get to include Joseph. (Sarah sees a dog.)
Joseph is really dedicated to tantrums lately (like the past 3 years) and this morning was no exception. Oh well, document it, too!
What a great looking bunch of kids!
Spud Day Parade 2011
Spud Day was September 17th this year. The weather had been a bit unpredictable, but this morning was beautiful. It was also cold. We were bad parents, not far enough out from summer weather, to think about how cold the morning might be. OK. It was my fault. Chad had some of the kids getting jackets and I didn't think they would need them.
Anyway, we survived.
The parade is a huge candy parade. Here are the kids. They are not looking at what is coming down the street, except for to see if candy is being thrown from it. The significance of any parade vehicle is completely lost on them.
CANDY! There they go! The are greyhounds chasing the robot rabbit. As you can see, it is not only kids who get caught up in the action.
Sarah gets to enjoy her prized tootsie roll. Her face is splotchy red because she'd tipped a camp chair over backwards...in the street. No worries...candy helps a lot.
Since this is a parade to celebrate potato harvest, there are tractors. There are semi trucks. There are HUGE pieces of farm equipment. Normal parade participants, right? There are also a few "floats" from religious groups, and local businesses. The parade has a theme every year and judges the entries. But I don't think anyone really cares about that. It's really about the candy.
The local grocery store has a gigantic grocery cart in the parade every year. Joseph had seen it in their parking lot a day or two before the parade and couldn't stop wondering over it. So this picture is mostly for him ;)
You can see how far I really was from all the action. It was a much safer distance than the wall of candy grabbers (my own children included) that were so close to the traffic that they had to back up to let the larger vehicles make the turn. I think think the city police should be out there and monitor that all a lot better. I think I was a little too far away, though. :)
Anyway, we survived.
The parade is a huge candy parade. Here are the kids. They are not looking at what is coming down the street, except for to see if candy is being thrown from it. The significance of any parade vehicle is completely lost on them.
CANDY! There they go! The are greyhounds chasing the robot rabbit. As you can see, it is not only kids who get caught up in the action.
Sarah gets to enjoy her prized tootsie roll. Her face is splotchy red because she'd tipped a camp chair over backwards...in the street. No worries...candy helps a lot.
Since this is a parade to celebrate potato harvest, there are tractors. There are semi trucks. There are HUGE pieces of farm equipment. Normal parade participants, right? There are also a few "floats" from religious groups, and local businesses. The parade has a theme every year and judges the entries. But I don't think anyone really cares about that. It's really about the candy.
The local grocery store has a gigantic grocery cart in the parade every year. Joseph had seen it in their parking lot a day or two before the parade and couldn't stop wondering over it. So this picture is mostly for him ;)
You can see how far I really was from all the action. It was a much safer distance than the wall of candy grabbers (my own children included) that were so close to the traffic that they had to back up to let the larger vehicles make the turn. I think think the city police should be out there and monitor that all a lot better. I think I was a little too far away, though. :)Tuesday, October 11, 2011
State Fair 2011
We went to the Eastern Idaho State Fair again this year. We always go to the fair. Chad and I talked about how the fair is really not very exciting. The fair does very little to really entice us. We are not concert-goers. The fair needs something new and exciting. Something amazing. Anything!
Anyway, here are some pictures that we might have taken any other year in the past or future, but at least the kids are older this year.
Leah is introducing Sarah to a huge horse. Leah is in love with horses. Sarah is in love with Leah. ;)
I don't fully understand the fascination with touching the animals. We are surrounded by them at home! Then again, none of them are this calm or clean. This is really a stretch for Sarah.
More amazing animals. Nathan and Sarah are feeding this goat.
Daniel seems to be pondering this goat. Maybe they are silently communicating with each other.
More goat-gazing. Sarah is offering her finger. :) Joseph seems a little more hesitant (safety-minded).
Incidentally, have you ever been confused by a closely shorn sheep and not sure if you're looking at a sheep or goat? Sheep's tails are down, goats' tails are up. Think of me next time you are walking through the sheep shed at your local state fair.
I know that fair food is a major highlight for most. I would love to indulge, but I can't afford it. With a family this size, we're lucky to pay for parking and get in the gates. But we have just about made a tradition of getting ice cream. These are big ice cream cones, so Sarah didn't get one of her own...she shared with everyone else. :)
Yep. Big ice cream cones. Messy, too.
Before we leave the fair each year, we head to the carnival rides and let the kids walk around to choose one ride. We tally up the number of tickets and buy just the right number. It is very difficult to choose just one ride! We often have to redo our calculations as the kids change their minds with each new ride they find.
This year, we needed 22 ride tickets = $22. Sarah was asleep and didn't know that she was missing out on anything. Daniel was finally tall enough to ride a "big" ride and asked me to go with him. When the ride ended, I was a big dizzy and Daniel wrapped his arms around his stomach. (It cost $10 for the two of us to get spun to the point of nausea.)
So after spending so much money in one place, I was anxious to save it in another. Shopko used to have a Kids Tough guarantee on their kids' clothing. Leah wore a hole in each knee last school year, but by the time I remember to take the pants in to exchange them, I was one month after the time they discontinued the program. Yes. Shopko lost a customer.
Anyway, I got creative. Leah got dots. :) And last week she showed me a new hole in those knees. Argh!
Anyway, here are some pictures that we might have taken any other year in the past or future, but at least the kids are older this year.
Leah is introducing Sarah to a huge horse. Leah is in love with horses. Sarah is in love with Leah. ;)
I don't fully understand the fascination with touching the animals. We are surrounded by them at home! Then again, none of them are this calm or clean. This is really a stretch for Sarah.
More amazing animals. Nathan and Sarah are feeding this goat.
Daniel seems to be pondering this goat. Maybe they are silently communicating with each other.
More goat-gazing. Sarah is offering her finger. :) Joseph seems a little more hesitant (safety-minded).
Incidentally, have you ever been confused by a closely shorn sheep and not sure if you're looking at a sheep or goat? Sheep's tails are down, goats' tails are up. Think of me next time you are walking through the sheep shed at your local state fair.
I know that fair food is a major highlight for most. I would love to indulge, but I can't afford it. With a family this size, we're lucky to pay for parking and get in the gates. But we have just about made a tradition of getting ice cream. These are big ice cream cones, so Sarah didn't get one of her own...she shared with everyone else. :)
Yep. Big ice cream cones. Messy, too.
Before we leave the fair each year, we head to the carnival rides and let the kids walk around to choose one ride. We tally up the number of tickets and buy just the right number. It is very difficult to choose just one ride! We often have to redo our calculations as the kids change their minds with each new ride they find.
This year, we needed 22 ride tickets = $22. Sarah was asleep and didn't know that she was missing out on anything. Daniel was finally tall enough to ride a "big" ride and asked me to go with him. When the ride ended, I was a big dizzy and Daniel wrapped his arms around his stomach. (It cost $10 for the two of us to get spun to the point of nausea.)
So after spending so much money in one place, I was anxious to save it in another. Shopko used to have a Kids Tough guarantee on their kids' clothing. Leah wore a hole in each knee last school year, but by the time I remember to take the pants in to exchange them, I was one month after the time they discontinued the program. Yes. Shopko lost a customer.
Anyway, I got creative. Leah got dots. :) And last week she showed me a new hole in those knees. Argh!
The kids enjoyed a night of sleeping in the living room. They all wanted to sleep in the shark tent. None of them actually did. Rebekah was surprised to wake up under the tent! ;)
Sunday, October 09, 2011
Still alive, really!
What's this thing called a blog? I can hardly remember the address for it! We have just survived two weeks of Spud Harvest, including a trip to Disneyland. So you KNOW pictures are coming!
I just spent 4 hours of my life getting the Relief Society blog updated (I had dinner, played a game with the kids and got everyone off to bed during this time), so I am a little "blogged out."
Hopefully, these pictures will keep you satisfied until I can get more time at the computer.
We skipped Fall this year and headed right into Winter. The week after we returned from Disneyland, we were dealing with a blizzard...on October 6th! Oy, our poor garden.
But the kids were ready to play. :)
I'll be back. Don't change that channel! But do get something to eat and use the bathroom...I'm not coming back THAT fast. ;)
I just spent 4 hours of my life getting the Relief Society blog updated (I had dinner, played a game with the kids and got everyone off to bed during this time), so I am a little "blogged out."
Hopefully, these pictures will keep you satisfied until I can get more time at the computer.
We skipped Fall this year and headed right into Winter. The week after we returned from Disneyland, we were dealing with a blizzard...on October 6th! Oy, our poor garden.
But the kids were ready to play. :)
I'll be back. Don't change that channel! But do get something to eat and use the bathroom...I'm not coming back THAT fast. ;)
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