Made with Love...

Ken and I decided to celebrate Valentine's Day with our kids a day early. Ken went with me to pick out our surprises. We bought a heart shaped pan, some fondant, pink spray, and cookie cutters.

This is what we created...


It was more fun to make than to eat....!

I enjoyed just spending time with Ken, doing something for our children. But more than just serving our children, we were building memories with each other!!!

I wouldn't have wanted to spend the day any other way!

Finally Bloomin'

Two years ago, a plant that belonged to Ken's grandmother that we had recieved starts from after she died, died. (Wow! That was a great sentence! Did that make any sense? Where's my editor?)

Ken's mother was coming out for Shaelynne's baptism and so she brought us some starts off of the original plant and starts off of another similar plant she had. They sat in the window in a cup of water for several months. Finally we felt there was enough roots and we planted them.

After 2 years, they finally showed some life!!!

We saw a couple buds.... ? ? ?





Then more buds.... :) :) :)


And finally blooms....! ! !





The red plant is from Ken's grandmothers' plant and the white one is from his mother. We have loved these plants.

There was so much irony for us in the timing of their blooms...and the flowers brought a little bit of spring and cheerfulness into our gloomy winter kitchen window. I love what the bright colors of flowers do for my mind!


I wonder how long we will have to wait for blooms again.... :(

BLOG HIGH JACK

I've seen one of Laurie's blog friends have her blog high jacked by her husband, and felt like a recent event in Laurie's life merited having her blog high jacked today. Laurie is amazingly taking 15 credits this semester at C.S.I. while running a household, and seeing that everyone's needs are taken care of. I don't understand how she is able to keep up with it all, but she is doing an amazing job! Recently, she had an assignment that was due in one of her education classes where she decided to do a Powerpoint presentation. The assignment was worth 30 points, and she got 35 points on it....way to go. Her professor sent her an email asking her for permission to use her Powerpoint in the future as an example to her future students. Here you go....created by LAURIE!

A little motivation... !

A couple weeks ago, I was asked to sub three days in a row for the math teacher in the junior high at the charter school. I was scared to death!!! I had six classes and each one was a different math level. I'm not exactly a math genius so I knew I was in over my head!

The first hour was Zach's math class. I enjoyed meeting his friends and being with him. His class was chaos but nothing too bad. Zach told me after class, "If you think this class was bad, wait until 4th hour." Fourth hour came and he was right! It was bad. One of the students had a tutor that sat with him. After class, the tutor, Dr. Banks, approached my desk. He asked me a little bit about myself. I told him I was a student studying elementary education. He asked me if I would like to work in a bank instead. I thought that was a random comment and asked him what he meant by that. He then proceeded to explain to me that he had been a high school teacher for years and was now currently a college professor. He explained that one year he had a young girl student-teach in his class room. She was in her final semester of getting a degree in secondary education. He said she was of petite build, soft spoken, and very kind to the students. He said that by the time she finished her student teaching, she had convinced herself that she was not meant to be a school teacher. She did graduate but shortly after that she took a job at a bank where petite, soft spoken, kind women should be.

His message to me was very clear. I'm not that easily deterred though. It was my first day and I am not planning to teach math after I graduate. As a sub I was definitely at a disadvantage but I still had two more days to go. I would prove him wrong!

The next day I was more prepared. Still not exactly what I had envisioned as a teacher but I was on the right track. Mr. Banks' comment to me as he left fourth hour was "Nothing like trial by fire!" Grrrr..!

The final day, I approached each class prepared, still kind to the students, but very much in control. After fourth hour, Mr. Banks approached my desk for a final time. He shook my hand and commended my efforts. He listed the classes he taught at the college and told me that if I was ever interested in taking any of those classes, he would be honored to have me in his class. He was fascinated with my problem solving abilities and thought I was very intelligent. He told me after 3 days of watching me teach, he still convinced that secondary education was not my forte but that I would make an excellent elementary teacher. He told me to stick with my goal and wished me the best of luck in the future.

Ha!!!! Mr. Banks, thank you for the motivation you gave me on that first day to prove you wrong!

Something I learned

Ken and I were recently taught a lesson about marriage. I am a very visual person and so when I saw this, I got it! I'll try to explain it...

A marriage is an arrangement between 3 individuals... God, the husband, and the wife.
When placed in the proper positions, the three make a triangle. The spouses are equal partners with God at the head.


So where do the children fit into a marriage?

Between the husband and the wife?


No!!

They make another triangle, joined with the marriage, but seperate from the original three.


As the husband and wife work towards becoming closer to God, the triangle becomes smaller and the couple naturally becomes closer to each other.

And the children naturally become closer to the parents and to God as well!!!

With everyone focused on God, the family, as a unit, is guaranteed to become closer together.


The Lord says, "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble;[...] for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them" (Ether 12:27).

No matter what trials arise within our marriages or our families, as long as our focus remains on God and each other, we will be shown the way to hold our relationships together.

As we humble ourselves and allow the atonement to heal our souls, we will become stronger individually, as a couple and as a family unit.

It's so simple!!!!

Ask, and ye shall recieve...

In Family Home Evening last night, it was my turn for the lesson. I have had the lesson now for 3 weeks because, well, we haven't been so good at getting FHE done the last few weeks, mostly because I haven't been able to come up with a lesson and for some reason our evenings are total chaos anyways and trying to add FHE to Monday evenings has not worked out so well for us. So, yesterday, we were determined to have FHE. After doing a couple errands last night, Ken asked me what my lesson was on. I shamefully hung my head and said I didn't know yet. He asked if I was going to have one ready in time. I positively answered "YES!" and then silently prayed like crazy for an answer to my lesson.

Here's my problem, it's not like I haven't tried to prepare a lesson. I have! I have spent hours searching the internet for something to teach. Maybe I'm being a little picky but normally when I prepare a lesson, I just start browsing through church magazines or lds websites and I always come across something that stands out and it ends up being exactly what our family needed to learn that night. So for 3 weeks I have gotten nothing. I knew the end result I was going for, I just didn't know what or how to teach to get to that point.

Ken suggested that we call the children around the table with their scriptures and we just read as a family.

BINGO! I got it!!!

We taught the kids how to research a topic in the Topical Guide (example: Prayer). Then we found references that looked like something we would want to read more about. Once they were comfortable using the Topical Guide and finding the references in the scriptures, I had them each research a topic of choice, find a scripture to teach us about, then find a picture from the Gospel Art Kit to support their lesson. After a few minutes of researching and planning, we then went upstairs for our lessons. Each of the children shared a scripture, talked about their picture, gave a little one minute lesson and ended with bearing their testimonies. It was awesome!

The spirit was so strong! Their testimonies were priceless! And I was humbled at the simple answer to my silent prayer. What I learned: That I don't have to prepare the lesson. I just have to guide and allow the spirit to teach my children. Through the use of the scriptures and other church resources, the Lord will teach my children the gospel principles that they need to learn.

The words, "Lead me, Guide me, Walk beside me" kept going through my mind the rest of the evening. The words are so simple. They aren't "force me, push me, make me". The Lord's way is through example, service, and unconditional love. Any other way is not the Lord's way. I have known this principle but as my children enter the teenage years, I have felt so inadequate in my abilities to teach them. I'm still trying to figure it out for myself.

I read a quote yesterday that said "Simply having children does not make mothers." ~John A. Shedd

Fourteen years ago, I brought my first baby boy home from the hospital. As I looked around my tiny apartment, I realized that though so much looked the same, I was now a mother. That small helpless child laying in my arms was my responsibility. As I looked into his face, I was humbled that God would trust me with this spirit. I wasn't very good at keeping commitments up to that point in my life. I was pretty selfish and if I didn't want to do something, I didn't. My word wasn't worth much. I felt overwhelmed as I realized that my decision to have this child was an eternal commitment. I was scared of myself. I felt like Heavenly Father had loaned me this perfect child to love and enjoy here on earth and that someday I would be asked to return his child and I would be accountable for the condition I returned him in. I knew that at that moment, I couldn't raise this child on my own. I did not have a degree in parenthood. He didn't come with an owner's manual. I knew there was one person who knew him intimately, who loved him more than I ever could, and who had the perfect answers to this earth life. I couldn't raise this child without constant guidance from our Heavenly Father.

Now he is almost 14 and I have invited 5 more of God's precious children into our family. As I watch them struggle and learn, make mistakes and look for answers, I am again reminded of how inadequate I am in my role as the mother in this family. I don't have the answers most of the time. I hurt like they do, I make mistakes like they do, I'm learning just like they are.

It's in those private moments of searching for answers, that I plead with my Father, not for my sake but for these precious spirits he has entrusted me with. And as the answers come, I am humbled that he would answer my small insignificant prayer in such a powerful and perfect way.

Giving birth to my children made me their parent, but Heavenly Father has shown me how to be their mother.

Daddy's Boy

Henry has become his Daddy's boy lately. He throws fits and only Ken can calm him down. Ken is the only one who can put him to sleep at night. Ken is the only one who can feed him and get him dressed. It's really cute but frustrating when Ken isn't around because I can't do anything with him.



Daddy's Footsteps

~Author Unknown~

“Walk a little slower, Daddy”,
Said a little child so small.
“I’m following in your footsteps,
And I don’t want to fall.

Sometimes your steps are very fast,
Sometimes they’re hard to see;
So walk a little slower, Daddy,
For you are leading me.

Someday when I’m all grown up,
You’re what I want to be;
Then I will have a little child
Who’ll want to follow me.

And I would want to lead just right,
And know that I was true;
So, walk a little slower, Daddy,
For I must follow you.”