Spokane trip

Girl Cousins are so fun! Some of my siblings. My oldest sister spent the previous day with us and we got some pictures of the three sisters but I don't have them. Maybe I'll post one after I get it.

She is the reason we were all together! We spent a fun weekend with most of our family, sharing in the joy of a lost sheep returned! We love you Niki and are so happy we could be in the Temple with you. The trip was short, but sweet. The kids were amazing travelers.

too much

I'm going nuts with yard work, planting a garden and other things I wish I enjoyed more.
We had a fun trip to Taber last weekend. Joel's birthday is coming up. The house is a mess. I have to teach a Relief Society activity about summer learning activities (any ideas?) And school is not happening! Tell me it will get better. I can't handle a whole summer at this pace.
I hope to update with pictures sometime.

Great Book

I just read an awesome book I want to recommend. It's called, Seven Miracles that saved America.
If you have even the slightest interest in history or the U.S. you should read this book. The authors did an excellent job of briefly summarizing events, giving you just enough information to understand the situation. It made me want to study more in-depth some of the events that were talked about.

Council Bluffs and Winter Quarters

This is at the visitor's center in Winter Quarters. We had a cute sister missionary give us the tour and she was SO patient with our extremely tired kiddos.

Brynn LOVES flowers so we take lots of pictures by them.

The stained glass windows at the Temple are so beautiful. Brynn was bummed that she can't go inside any of the Temples. We tried to reassure her that she can go when she turns 12. She looked at us and said in disgust "but I'm not even 8!" It's sometimes hard for us to remember those anxious times of waiting when we are kids.

This is at the Kanesville Tabernacle in Council Bluffs. We debated about stopping here. We felt pressured by time. We are SO glad we stopped. We got a different view of the Mormom Battalion and felt the Spirit of this wonderful building where Brigham Young was sustained as the 2nd President of the Church. Also Oliver Cowdery, (someone correct me if I'm wrong), returned to Church activity here.

The missionary couple who talked to us and led us through were with Mom and Dad T. in the MTC .

Of course the pictures are in reverse order!

Brynn got a hair cut!

We love our grandmas

We are so grateful for our wonderful mothers and grandmothers and great grandmother who have taught us so many wonderful things. They are great examples of service, sacrifice, unconditional love, patience, faith, and many other wonderful qualities! We love you so much.

D.C.

The background picture is the U.S. capitol with my mom and Aunt Lorene in front. Top left is me in front of the D.C. Temple. Directly below that is me with Laura and Bridget in front of the Mesa Temple. Bottom left, me with the Washington Monument in the background.
Top right two pictures are me at Mt. Vernon, George Washington's home/farm etc. Below that we are in the Library of Congress. Below that my parents and me in front of the National Cathredal. It is huge and we couldn't get any pictures this close of the whole thing. The bottom right picture is of us on a WWII army truck that was water and land ready.

Highlights of my trip to Washington D.C.:
-The Temple, I'm always so excited to see a new one, but most of all I just love being there. There isn't anywhere on Earth I'd rather be.
-spending time with my mom and aunt.
-Fiddler on the Roof-we saw it at the National Theatre. It was well done and moved along quickly. Much shorter than the movie. I hadn't really caught the story line before. I felt a little saddened at the loss of tradition they experienced, even though I don't agree with the practice of choosing spouses. I'm sure grateful I was able to choose my spouse!
-Amazing tour guides. We went on a lot of tours. They talk the whole time you are with them so it's impossible to remember all they say. I gained an appreciation for new ideas, many sacrifices from the founding fathers and others througout history. The night time tour was particularly amazing.
-The Lincoln Memorial was a favorite, he is an inspiring man. I'm excited to learn more about him and his life.
-Mt. Vernon-George Washington's farm and mansion.
-Holocaust Museum- so much to see there and too much to read and think about on one visit.
-Ford's Theatre where Lincoln was shot
-Korean War Memorial
-Arlington National Cemetary- we saw a changing of the guard and wreath ceremony. It was amazing. The cemetary seemed quieter than sacrament meeting. I probably wouldn't take my young children there anyway. It's a special place. I wish we would have had more time to walk around there.

I spent a really fun day with friends in Arizona. I had a big layover. We went to the Temple in Mesa and visited a lot. It was so nice to be able to see them and enjoy the beautiful warmth of Arizona in springtime.

I'm overwhelmed with the amount of things I want to study! What a wonderful time I had. I enjoyed some time away from the kiddos, even though I missed them. I came back refreshed and ready to begin again. Thanks to my wonderful husband who made this trip possible and for my parents for inviting me along!

In Nauvoo

The favorite activities for the kids included:
throwing rocks in the Mississippi River, and spending time with Grandma and Grandpa

The pictures, left to right, then down
top left: Brynn and Joel sitting in front of a mouse trap from the pioneer days
Macy had a thing for bending sideways, this is one of many
Brynn, Joel and Macy on the wagon ride(Temple in the background).
We are all at the blacksmith shop. Joel was right in there "helping"
Macy in grandma's apron, showing off her face wound.
Joel and Grandpa in front of some of the tools they used.
Stan and Joel in front of Grandparent's door to their apartment (the upstairs of a farm house)
Me, Brynn and Joel, rope making
Joel took the picture of us in the grass.
Mom and Dad T. are site leaders at the Family Living Center
Brynn and Macy on Easter morning
Brynn throwing rocks in the river, barge in the background
Wagon ride
Joel in front of the horses pulling the wagon.
Kids in front of Grandma and grandpa's home.

Did I really miss Macy's birthday?

Macy is 3 now! Brynn really wanted to help decorate these cupcakes and she had a great time doing it. Macy wanted to help too, maybe next year...

I LOVE these faces

Kids are so easy to please. I love the family parties with just the five of us. They played and played until way past their bedtime.

Why we love Macy:

-She is funny and entertaining (she often sneaks into Brynn's bed and eats her candy. I still haven't figured out why Brynn doesn't choose a different spot to "hide" her stuff. Macy always finds it. It's like she can smell it or something.)

-She is sweet and says "I love you" more times in a day than you can count.

We are so happy and blessed to have this special girl in our family!

"Now Let Us Rejoice"

For Easter we bought ourselves the book "Our Latter-Day Hymns," by Karen Lynn Davidson.
Since our kids are young and we wanted at least Brynn to remember this trip, I felt the need to keep talking about our experiences with the Church History sites and our testimonies of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I decided to give our Family Home Evening lesson on "Now Let Us Rejoice", Hymn no. 3 in LDS Hymnbook. This song was written by W.W, Phelps. I'm going to share a little history provided from the above book. I hope I'm not infringing on copyright laws.
The author quotes from the Comprehensive history of the Church: "In, 1833, a mob, plentifully armed and numbering between four and five hundred, came upon the settlement at Independence. They tore down the two story brick building in which the press was housed and in the lower par of which the Phelps family lived; they destroyed the press, burned the books and papers, drove Mrs. Phelps and her baby out upon the street;...and they served warning on all the Saints living in the county not to do any more work or build or buy or sell in their settlements." The Saints were soon after driven from their homes in the dead of winter.
Here is a link to the words of this hymn:
http://www.lds.org/churchmusic/detailmusicPlayer/index.html?searchlanguage=1&searchcollection=1&searchseqstart=3&searchsubseqstart=%20&searchseqend=3&searchsubseqend=ZZZ

This song is powerful evidence of the testimonies of the early Saints. I have always liked this song but it has taken on a deeper meaning to me now. After witnessing the strength of the parents of our nephew who just passed away, I know they believe this too. It is because of the Savior's atonement that we still can rejoice when really hard things come our way.

Salt Lake

We left Thursday, March 25, after work and traveled 5 hours to Lethbridge.
Friday morning we met up with family to caravan down to Logan, UT. It was great fun. Maybe because they took my two oldest kids and Macy slept for a big chunk of the afternoon. =)
The beginning of the 2 + weeks road trip. Click this link to see our route and note the kilometers and days traveled. I feel triumphant in accomplishing this adventure! We all still love each other and had a wonderful time!
http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=beaumont,+alberta&daddr=Pleasant+Grove,+ut+to:broomfield,+colorado+to:nauvoo,+illinois+to:Sioux+Falls,+Minnehaha,+South+Dakota,+United+States+to:keystone,+south+dakota+to:great+falls,+montana+to:beaumont,+alberta&hl=en&geocode=Fd0XLgMdb2s9-SnhkO3NwRygUzHFHVGccsDFcw%3BFVboZwIdVAFX-Snnx5tBH4RNhzEeLL208h-9pg%3BFZ0jYQIdRoG8-Sk7-IhbzIprhzGwQryQ6JcFBw%3BFZq-agId1ZON-im3UcGO4SXnhzFJYMOFT3_S4A%3BFReFmAIdWXg8-inXrL3gmLSOhzHP_LKoOv-V3g%3BFfjKnQIdevbV-Sm7AKUYFjZ9hzGgi8c_-4kZLg%3BFcvL1AIdOK9d-Sk7uIxljTdCUzGoRVmOsVbe1g%3BFd0XLgMdb2s9-SnhkO3NwRygUzHFHVGccsDFcw&mra=pe&mrcr=3,4&sll=46.591631,-102.398471&sspn=14.466076,43.198242&ie=UTF8&ll=46.589069,-102.392578&spn=14.466076,43.198242&z=5

Interesting sign. Joel lost his first tooth in Logan!

It was just a one room Pulled it out himself.

bathroom at a gas station.

We visited Temple Square. It was so much more meaningful

now that the kids are older. We went in '07 and Brynn didn't

remember anything. They loved the "big Jesus statue"

Fun to "touch" the Temple and talk about the pioneers who

built it by hand. Just these doors alone are amazing!

I'll put our trip posts in pieces so I can add the best pictures and some journaling with it. We don't have any from the funeral weekend yet and we had some great family pictures taken, just our crew and all the Torries. Those will come at some point...

Teaser

I have some updating to do. But, my computer is having trouble loading all the pictures from our trip so I'll try again later.
While visiting some great friends in Colorado on our adventure, they introduced us to this FUNNY and clean comedian. Here's a favorite.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bVblNA3drM

We are grateful for blessings of the Temple

We are so thankful to have the gospel in our lives! Our nephew, obituary attached below, was killed in an accident almost two weeks ago. The funeral was amazing. His mom and dad have been comforted by the prayers of many and the knowledge that Wayne is alive and they will be able to be with him again one day. We were able to have all the Torrie family together, which hasn't happened since the summer of 2003.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/hjnews/obituary.aspx?n=wayne-julien-torrie&pid=141131869

Run

So, my friend talked my into running a 1/2 marathon in September. The thought of running again was exciting but scary. It's been a long time since I've done any real running. I thought I was pretty out of shape. I decided to go jogging just before dinner last night and Brynn and Joel really wanted to come. So I told them the loop we were going to make and that we would be doing some walking. I had total confidence that they would be just fine, since I'm really out of shape. I forgot to take into account that they are 5 and 7. Kids seem like they can go forever and ever. After 30 seconds of VERY slow jogging, they stopped to walk. Our loop was just over a mile and we walked most of it. The funny thing was that they kept moaning and asking if we were ever going to be done, all the while knowing that the only way to get home was to keep walking. As we approached the last leg, out of nowhere Joel said, "where's a taxi when we need one?" Random and very funny comment. It also kept them minds busy for a few minutes.

School's out

Stan finished his 2nd class. It was much more difficult but he ended up getting a good grade. It's been nice having a break. We finished reading "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Great book. Stan's oldest brother Mel and some of his family came for a visit. It was really fun! We missed the boys but I have to admit that it was pretty quiet. The girls had so much fun together. We had lots of fun with other cousins that live here near us. It's fun to have visitors. We are preparing for our big trip at the end of this month to Mt. Rushmore and Nauvoo. Can't wait!

I LOVE THIS!

Here's a You Tube video someone shared with Stan. It is about 6 minutes long but I LOVE IT. It is a good reminder of things we often forget.
Sorry about that video. If you live in the U.S. you can see it on the NBC site. Canadians aren't able to view it from that site.

I love the Olympics

Brynn and Joel made their own Olympic rings.
Here's our big one we all made together with some trivia questions to the left.
We had fun making windsocks to cheer on our countries.
Sorry this is flipped. Picasa isn't working right now and I wanted to get these posted. I have to say I was surprised at how well they turned out! Joel is amazing with scissors. He is great with detail work. Brynn is great at making things look pretty. I was the supervisor who provided the ideas of how to put it all together. Go Canada and U.S.A.!
It was exciting and fun to prepare for the Olympics by seeing the torch pass through Beaumont, really close to our house, decorating, learning and talking about the history of the Olympics. The kids haven't watched too many events but they loved the Women's snowboarding Cross, the Ski Jumping, a little bit of speed skating. I think they would like the figure skating but they are usually in bed by then. It's been good to talk with the kids about how hard the athletes work to get to the Olympics, the goals they set, and sacrifices they make, even if they aren't the world's best. Hopefully they'll remember something from it that's important.

Some of what we love to do at home

Don't they look scrumptious? They always are. I LOVE this recipe.

Joel likes to take pictures of everything, including our work in progress.
Macy couldn't resist helping herself onto the counter and having some dough.
Happy Groundhog Day.
I wish I was a better photographer. The light is so bright in most of these. You get the point anyway, even if the pictures aren't great. Any ideas on how to solve this problem? Do I need to close all the blinds when I'm taking pictures?

Grateful

We have had a VERY mild January and February. What a blessing it has been for us. I had to update my blog background to welcome the thought of spring. We are still covered in snow here and I expect we'll have a few more snow storms and some cold weather but the days are getting LONGER. I can't believe what this does to me. Waking up to sunshine pouring through the windows makes it so easy to get out of bed. Eating dinner while it is still light out is so fun. The joy in small things.
Macy is done with pull-ups! She started her potty-training adventure about 6 weeks ago and she really didn't like the pull-ups at night. We made her wear them for our sanity, in case she had an accident in the middle of the night. As with all of my kids, she never had a wet pull-up and we let her sleep without one a few nights ago and she has been doing great! We are so proud of her. It really has been all her, and not us.

Inspire

I believe inspiration is going to be a HUGE part of our homeschool experience. This example might seem silly, but it rang true for me.
As most of you readers know, I was born and raised in the U.S. I'm proud of it and I'm trying to pass along traditions to our children that are important to me, as well as things that are important to Stan. For the last couple of years, we thought it would be fun to sing 'O, Canada' when we cross the border into Canada and 'The Star Spangled Banner' when we enter the U.S.A. The kids are fine to sing O Canada because they know it and sang it at school. I struggled to teach them the Star Spangled Banner. It's longer and less familiar because nobody here sings it, obviously. It frustrated me that they would whine and complain when we "made" them sing it. I finally let it go and thought that at one point they would appreciate it. The day came already!
I sat down one day last week and started playing and singing it. After I got done, I sat down and decided to tell them why I like the song and why it is important to me. End of discussion.
Later that night, Brynn asked if I would play the Star Spangled Banner so she could sing it. This was her exact words, "I've decided I like this song now, Mom." We have since sung it at least 15 times in the last 4 or 5 days. A silent cheer from me, for the kids!

Fun pictures

Brynn lost her first top, front tooth and the new one is coming in already.

Love Brynn's face. This is FUN!

Macy coming out of the igloo. I can't believe how grown up her face looks.

The kids and Stan inside the igloo he/they made. We have a great backyard.

Funny thing

I survived Strep. I always forget how horrible it is. I finally feel like a human being again!

Macy is potty training. I've had her in pull-ups for awhile so we could get out of the diaper mindset and a couple of weeks ago we were planning to start consistently using the toilet. She beat us to it and started herself! She is doing great and we are so proud of her. Just pull-ups at night and they are always dry in the morning. She hardly has any accidents now and she is good about going while we are out. It's never been this easy. She is too big. Yeah for Macy! First time without diapers for over 7 years! Wow, that is big...

Brynn lost one of her front teeth. She looks cute and I'll post a picture when I get around to it. It was right in the middle of my bedridden illness, see previous post. The tooth fairy forgot to come the first night. Brynn was a little sad so she asked her dad what happened. He told her maybe it was too cold outside. Brynn said "Dad, the tooth fairy doesn't go outside, she's just appears, like magic!" Stan didn't know what to say. The tooth fairy came the next night and all was well.

new weight loss strategy?

It's called Strep Throat.
Why it is effective for weight loss
-decreased appetite
-extremely sore throat (you couldn't eat something yummy even if you wanted to)
-strict diet which probably amounts to about 500 calories a day
-short length of time on the diet=quick results!
Would I recommend this to a friend? NO!
I don't even care if I gain the weight back. I want some real food. Stan was so kind and made some delicious potato soup for dinner.
I'm hoping to recover in the next couple of days. The kids are starting to get crazy. They have done really well without a mom or dad. I'm trying to keep them away from me so they don't get sick but they are running free all day and need some love and attention.
Stan was going to take me to a hockey game for our date night and we had to give away our tickets. =(

The New Year always brings change!

For some reason in the past year, when things change, they REALLY change. I've learned to adapt to and welcome change. Readers of my blog who have known me for several years, can attest to the fact that I've always despised change. I guess maybe I'm learning a lesson in life that I really need. I believe most of my adaptablity has come from the building of my testimony. Because I know personally that Heavenly Father loves ME and I know He is very much directing me in my life, I can move ahead with faith and trust. This doesn't mean that change is easy or that it doesn't require a crazy amount of work on my part, because it usually does, but I know I am blessed when I'm doing what I know I should be doing.
Some of the things we have done that has required my adaptablity: (and I have to add that I didn't always handle it the best)
-decided to not go on a mission, which led to marrying Stan!
-starting our family, before I finished College, but I finished after
-moved to Canada
-moved in with parents-in-law with a 5 month old baby and lived with them for 6 months
-moving to Edmonton before Stan had a job
-2009(becoming pregnant with #4, moving to a new house, town, ward, losing #4, and beginning research on homeschool)
-2010- Starting homeschool. Yes you read that right. I know many of you are shocked! As was I when I repeatedly felt the impression from the Spirit. I knew better than to question the Lord. After the shock and unbelief wore off, I dove in to finding out more about it and the direction we needed to go as a family. It has been very stressful, exciting, and, at times, exhilarating.
So, that is our new adventure for this year and life maybe.
The kids LOVE it. I'm actually loving it more than I thought. I really thought I wouldn't be able to handle my kids all the time. But, just as with other other things, the Lord is providing a way and it is fun.
If you have negative comments, please don't share them. I am new to the idea and I need encouragement. I'm just trying to do what is right for my family and I know we are!

Christmas

This is from Christmas morning. The kids were so excited to have tic tacs in their stocking. I LOVE how easy they are to please. I hope that lasts for a long time.

New Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve.

Our friend Tibi, from Romania, decided to be the donkey for a minute. Mary wouldn't ride, so Joseph thought it was better than walking.
The annual Christmas Eve Nativity. Macy got to be Mary.
My cute Christmas kiddos. Sometimes I look at them and still can't believe they are mine.
Nice, full REAL Christmas tree from IKEA. Fully decorated by the kids. I'd like to have a say but it's not worth all the fuss. They took pride in it and that's just fine with me.

Birthdays are special

My first attempt at homemade caramel was enjoyed by all these cute kids. The caramel was amazing. Thanks to April, my sister-in-law, for sharing. You could eat it straight from the pan plain, and that is what we did, and we dipped pretzels.
Brynn figured me out. I'm not a party mom, at least I haven't been. I'm not into party games and having 10 kids the same age over and trying to keep them all happy. Since we've been in this house, we've had lots of people over. Brynn realized if we invited the whole family, fed them dinner, etc. and made it less of a birthday party, I would go for it. And I did. I enjoy having the parents too so we can visit and the kids can play. We had 13 kids and 6 adults for Brynn's "party". It was really fun.
The kids were so excited to give Brynn her gifts.
Brynn LOVES to have dinner by candlelight. This was my attempt. It was a little dark. We could barely see our food. I need to get a few more candles.
This is Stan's sister Whitney. We had a b-day party for her. She turned 21 in November!


Brynn is now 7. It's hard to believe. We are grateful for her and we are so happy to have her in our family. When she was born, we borrowed a digital camera. We never did get the pictures digitally though. We printed them out and they are in her scrapbook. Maybe some year for her birthday, I'll scan them. She was a cute baby, still is cute.

Assorted catch-up

Brynn taking a spin.
We have an awesome back yard sledding hill! Stan built a berm because the kids kept crashing into our shed. It's just perfect.
Somehow Joel managed to get powdered sugar on his eye lash. Look at all the syrup on his plate. I'm glad his tummy can handle that much sugar.
Macy has always loved books but she is "growing up". She can often be found with the Friend magazine or book on the couch 'reading' out loud to herself or to us.
I love this picture of Brynn. The kids have been good about helping shovel. We've had to do a lot of it this winter already!

Baptism!

This is our friend Sarah and her son Carter.
Two years ago at Christmastime, the missionaries asked us to do some caroling with them. Sarah was one of the people we sang to. We were both very impressed with her. She is a very happy and beautiful person. She has a glow about her. She is very easy to get along with. A few months later she began the discussions. I was asked to sit in on one. We had two later at our house. She was progressing and gaining a testimony but she had some personal struggles. I don't know how many times she had the discussions or how many baptismal dates were set, but on December 12, 2009, she did it! It was such a special day. Stan had the opportunity to baptize them both. She asked me to speak about the Holy Ghost. It strengthened my testimony to witness and participate in this event. We are so happy for her and know that living the Gospel will bless her life.

What would we do without Macy?

I helped Macy get dressed this morning. After we were finished I asked if she would please put her dirty clothes in the laundry basket. This is what she said,
"Mom, you can do it, you are a good helper!"

Do we have room?

The missionaries came over yesterday and we talked about having room for the Savior in our lives. I've thought about this subject a lot recently. I loved this video, especially the song. We often wonder what we would have done if we lived on the earth the same time as the Savior, or Joseph Smith. Would we have the testimony that Jesus is the son of God or that Joseph Smith was the prophet the Lord selected to restore the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Earth in this dispensation? We all hope we would have followed them. We are here now because we were chosen to be here now and what can and should we be doing to make room for the Savior? Something to really ponder, regularly. Thinking about this can help us to understand what to share with our friends about the importance of the Savior in our lives.
Visit her website to here the music. The Youtube video isn't available anymore.
http://songsbyshawna.com/Site/Home.html

My friend Sarah was baptized on Saturday!!! I first met her 2 Christmas' ago. She began taking the discussions a few months later. She has had the discussions a few times and had some things to work out in her life. I'm so grateful and happy that she was able to take this first step in the gospel and I know she'll be blessed. What a happy day for her and for us. We are so glad we have been able to share and help her in her journey. I'll post some pictures when I get them from the missionaries.

Passed!

I have to brag about Stan for a minute. He started and finished his first 8 week course just in time to celebrate the Christmas season with us! He did very well and was excited about the things he learned. It was crazy but the breaks in between the courses will save us all from going insane. I do believe we were blessed with miracles. Stan was able to accomplish way more in his studies with the short amount of time he had. Everyone in the program is still working and has families but most don't have Church resposibilities. His group mates used Sundays to study as well. Another instance...we decided to go to the Temple and his final project was due that day. He was worried about not getting it done. He chose to go to the Temple and was able to complete his project in much less time. He knows it was because he made the right choice to put the most important things first. Way to go babe! One course down...lots to go but it's OK.

I really liked this

This is a great video about the true meaning of Christmas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcPSGJZwHA4&feature=player_embedded