The excitement of Christmas

I LOVE these faces! Not just how excited they are but for what. They are so easy to please and it makes gift giving so fun. I hope we don't become too materialized that these excited faces only show for expensive or electronic gifts. I have to admit that sometimes Stan wonders if what I bought will suffice. Then he sees these faces and his confidence grows.... I guess I know my kids better than I think sometimes.
We also bought them a candy machine. We are going to help them start a business. Stan has been too busy and we haven't found a place to put it yet, but it will happen and they are going to learn in real ways how to manage money so they'll be prepared for real life when they leave home.

the kids find fun

I'm reading a book right now about creativity and how everyone can and should develop it. It is fascinating. All kids ooze with creativity and imagination and I think over time many of us lose it, for various reasons. Not everyone is or should be creative in the same ways, that's what makes families, workplaces, church groups, etc what they are. It's good to have variety. I've been away from blogging for awhile for no other reason than too lazy to catch up. So I'm making an attempt. These pictures show some of the kids creativity and their excitement and love for life. What is it about my life that I don't find as much joy as these sweet kids? I'm missing something big...

Brynn's baptism

Brynn was baptized on a blizzardy night in early February. Thankfully the roads were fine the day before so the grandparents could travel here safely. It was a special time for us and for Brynn. We are proud of her for making this decision to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She is a great example to her siblings and friends. She even made invitations for all of our neighbors and several friends.

The Blind Side

I just finished reading a book that I found really interesting. It is The Blind Side by Michael Lewis. There is a movie made about it that I haven't seen. My sister-in-law was nice enough to edit her book with a lot of white out, so I could read it easier (I'm not afraid to admit that I don't like to read books or watch movies with a lot of swearing.)
A few things I really liked about the book:
-Tom Lemming, who is famous for gathering and compiling football stats to distribute to coaches, etc, began this dream without pay for 7 years! What sacrifice for something he really believed in and loved doing.
-this quote "what sets football apart from other sports is that what you don't see is often the most important thing." This is so true in many aspects of life. Motherhood is this way. Parenthood in general. I think many times in our lives as we give service, we do it quietly and unnoticed, as the Savior did.
-The Tuohy family was amazing. They LOVE sports, saw something unique in Michael Oher and helped give him the opportunities he needed to be successful in life They were mentors. They believed in him and helped in ways never could have happened without another mentor figure.
If you like sports, football especially, you'll love this. Even if you don't, the messages of the book were inspiring. (Remember there is a lot of swearing in the book. I'm not sure about the movie because I haven't seen it.)

The weather

We are almost half way through January and I always forget why I'm so frustrated this time of year. Winter didn't even come early this year but it never fails that January, February and sometimes March are horribly LONG months. It might just be because of my location on the planet. I can't change my circumstances but I sure am sick of being stuck inside, no sunshine, crazy kids, and overall tiredness. There is a TON of snow but it's way too cold to even think about playing in it. We tried the other day and poor Macy's feet took a long time to recover from the experience. How do you beat the winter blues?

follow up

Last night Brynn slept all through the night! She feels so much better today and we are so happy that we all got to sleep for a good, normal chunk of time. We had a chat with her and let her know there would be consequences for the crazy behavior in the night, the same as if it were day time. Prayers and other things worked! Here's hoping we've crossed the hump and returning to "normal."

Help

We are having a most unusual situation with one of our children. I'm at my wits end and not sure what to do.
This child as a toddler when put to bed would SCREAM until she fell asleep. She refused to be rocked, cuddled or soothed in any way. It just didn't work. It was awful for everyone involved in the bed time routine. By the time she was in a normal bed, this habit had ended. However, 3 nights ago, she threw-up and for some reason, her night time world has been thrown askew. She was afraid to return to sleep that night and was up until 1 or 2 in the morning, back and forth in our room and her bed. We don't allow the children to sleep in our room except as a privelege and what they call a "sleepover." I went and slept in the guest bedroom and let Stan deal with Brynn. He has more patience than I do at night. The next day she woke up, sweet as can be, as if she hadn't been freaking out for half of the night. We put her to bed the next night and she tried to become overanxious with us and say she couldn't go to sleep for whatever reason, begging to sleep in our room, stay up, be slept with, thousands of hugs and prayers. She was desparate. She finally drifted off to sleep when she realized we weren't playing games. However, at 1 in the morning, she woke up, demanding attention. She SCREAMED when she learned we still weren't playing the games. We had to take her to the basement because she was causing such a fuss. We had made a deal with her and in her completely overtired and overanxious state she didn't keep her end of the bargain. She was completely irrational and unable to be reasoned with, just like a toddler. It was FRUSTRATING, to say the least. Night 3, last night, started much the same. We did all the usual, this was after a day of praise of all kinds, for everything good she did, to make sure she knew that she is loved and appreciated, etc. She tried playing tricks again. We decided in order to keep our sanity, we would lock our bedroom door in the night time. If the kids need us, they'll knock. I wake easily. Well, she freaked out again last night, earlier this time. Screaming, beating on our door etc. We let her know we were here and we had prayed with her and for her. Several hugs were given, etc. Does anyone have any advice? Is this normal for an 8 year old to return to toddler-like behavior? She's too big to put in a crib she can't climb out of. We are all exhausted and by night time she is nearly delirious and then we start all over again. I have to say that we've been more patient than usual, thanks to the help of the Spirit, but we could use some ideas if anyone has any! I only post these details of crazy behavior because I want help.

Inspiring

I love this story of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. We also learned about Handel last week in our homeschool, from the December Ensign.
Two things that stood out to me from these learning experiences were:
1. These men were ordinary people, like all of us.
2. They were inspired to do something and ACTED on it. As a result, the world or mankind is blessed.
This gives me great hope as journey through the adventures of homeschooling. It is so easy to get discouraged and want to give up. I'm learning that every mother in this same journey, experiences all the same feelings. Even as mothers we have feelings of despair at times. These challenging experiences are what help us grow, and keep us on our knees seeking guidance from the one who knows our children the best.

Click here to watch a brief story of Longfellow's writing of I heard the Bells

Brynn is 8

I've been reflecting over the last 8 years today. I still can't believe that all that time has passed. It's fun to think of the ball of energy she has always been and continues to be, but more fun is seeing how she is growing and maturing. She has a testimony and is so excited to be baptized in a few weeks. I'll post some pictures of her friend party and other stuff when I get around to it.
The other thing I discovered and wanted to share was a new website linked with Lds.org. It's all about Christmas, there are videos, songs traditions, etc. It's great, check it out here:
http://lds.org/topic/christmas/christmas_video_2.html

Stan and I have listened to two interviews of apostles on the Mormon Channel. It is inspiring to learn of their lives. We listened to Elder Holland's most recently. Amazing! He and his wife have been through a lot in their lives, holding several busy church positions, and varying large responsibilities. It was inspiring to me to hear how they made it through. Spouses first, family next, then the rest of their energy was spent for all the rest. Plain and simple. Having a husband who is generally super busy, I can attest to this simple formula. Over the last few months we've spent 15 minutes together every day some time after he returns home from work. He lets me talk about concerns, excitement, or whatever. Occasionally he talks. I can't tell you what a HUGE difference this has made in our marriage. I feel heard and understood and loved, by only 15 minutes of focused time. I guess it suits my love language more than anything else right now. Random thoughts for the day...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEET BRYNN!

Thanksgiving

After I moved to Canada I often wondered why Thanksgiving was celebrated in October instead of November, like I was used to. As I read about the pilgrims this year, I think I learned why. The pilgrims first landed in Massachussets at the end of November but didn't reach their settling point, Plymouth Rock, until December. It was too late for a feast that year. The Indians were kind enough to share their food so the pilgrims didn't starve and die. Although, many did die because of exposure and sickness. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated the following mid-October where they invited the Indians to feast with them, expressing their thanks for their help in teaching them how to plant and care for their crops. I was happy to learn that, and put my wonder to rest for that question.

The test

I've recently been reading in my scriptures about righteous peopleof high church position, recieving great temptations to prove them, see if they are as strong as they are striving to be. Today must have been one of those days for me. I don't aspire to be someone of high church position, but I do try my best to live the commandments and do what I should be doing. I failed the test without even realizing it was a test but it has brought me to where I need to be, on my knees asking Heavenly Father for help. Being a mom is hard, I've always been one to admit it. Over the last year, since we started homeschool, many people say, "I don't know how you do it," or "you are so amazing to do that," or "I could never do that," or "you are so brave." The reply to those statements are "neither do I, it's not about me, yes you could, and brave is not the right word." The challenge I'm having this week with homeschool is being with the children on a never ending basis. At least it feels that way. I feel like a maid, a drill sargeant, and a servant. It's not even that the kids aren't always obedient, well-behaved, respectful, and kind. It's just that my personality demands a certain amount of rejuvination time and alone time. I never realize I didn't get enough until it's too late and I've gone crazy.
The positive note to this ordeal is that my husband is amazing. I would have left the house but it's -30C and I'm not crazy enough to go out alone in it. Stan locked me in my room with a book, a warm bath, and dinner by myself. He is currently working on an action plan with the kids of how they can regain my trust. Then he'll tuck them nicely into bed and I won't see them until tomorrow morning, when I hope to be refreshed. Why didn't I think of this earlier? Why did I wait until I was ready to sell the children to the neighbor? I'll have to remember to book myself some regular room time, it might just be all I need...

busted

I often find Brynn and Joel in her room talking or playing or reading. They were anxious to go in her room to spend some time together. After a little while, I decided to see what they were doing because I hadn't heard a sound. This was their confession...
Their expressions truly describe their reaction to being caught with the candy.

Joel's turn

It's so fun to see Joel doing what we all love.

HALLOWEEN

The Young Men and Women in our ward did a trunk or treat. It was simple and short and the kids came home with WAY too much candy.



Macy was completely worn out. It was a long week of late nights...

memorize

As part of our school, we have been working on the Articles of Faith. Macy is getting more than I realize. Here she is performing.

Brynn's project

My dad made this bookshelf for the girls and Brynn wanted to paint it pink, since I won't let her paint her walls pink. She also painted the wall shelf. She was pretty proud of herself.

dress up fun

Stan went to India in September and brought us back some clothes. For school one afternoon, we dressed up and made paper dolls and talked about different clothing around the world. It was really fun.

BOOKS

I love this. To me it portrays happiness, contentment and education. Macy had a class at the library
this morning. While she was busy, the older two scoured through the library books to pick their stack to bring home. It's so fun to watch them as they get so excited about the adventures they will read. Then, to come home and have perfect stillness as they all read and read and read. Guess what I was doing? Online scrapbooking. I should have been reading but they were so content, I had to get a jump on my first real project. It's for family history, after all.

front yard

We completed a project this summer. I don't even want to remember how many hours we put into this project. It used to be rocks, dying shrubs, a nice lily, and TONS of weeds. After removing all the unwanted stuff, we had to bring in some topsoil and then we got to lay sod. We are so happy with the final result. Everytime I look at it, I'm so grateful that we have nice grass that is growing. It makes a huge difference. I can't find a picture of the mess it was before so you'll just have to imagine a weed bed and some ugly shrubs.

Reality

I have been toting around my wedding dress for 9 years now. I'm not very attached to "things" and wondered what I could do with it. I thought of selling it but wasn't sure I'd get anything for it now, after 9 years. I wanted to make a blessing dress or suit out of it but the timing didn't work out, at least not yet. So, I had this great idea to use it to make a baptism dress for Brynn. I'm actually really excited about it. She turns 8 in December. I had to try on my dress one more time, just to see.... I hadn't worn it since I was married and I was positive that I wasn't the same size. Guess what I learned? It didn't fit. I didn't feel bad about cutting it up. =)

Thought for today

(this picture is from Whitney's wedding. Stan's oldest brother is with lots of the girl cousins)
I visited my sister-in-law's ward where she taught the Sunday School lesson and she gave me this quote to read. I don't believe it was by accident. It was exactly what I needed:
Elder Richard G. Scott said: "You must be willing to forgo personal pleasure and self-interest for family-centered activity, and not turn over to church, school, or society the principal role of fostering a child's well-rounded development. It takes time, great effort, and significant personal sacrifice to 'train up a child in the way he should go.' But where can you find greater rewards for a job well done?" (in conference Report, Apr. 1993, 43)
Anyone can read this and find something that will help them to be a better parent. For me, it was to not give up as a home schooling parent. It is so hard to home school but I think it is more for me than the kids, even though they love it and are benefiting from it. The hardest part for me is remembering and discovering the kids different abilities, interests, and strengths. There is no one-size-fits school program here, which makes it hard, but in the end, I believe for us, it will be better.

New Age Kids

Lots to update sometime.
For now, we just started our new year of homeschool. I have a little more structure than I did previously and I think it will help. It sure helps me to be organized but homeschooling is so hard! Today was day 2.
The thing about my "new age kids" is that I have to force them to play outside in very sunny and warm weather with lots of exploring to do, a trampoline, acres of land, etc.(we are at my parents' house). For some reason they think it's my job to entertain them all day everyday. Does anyone else have this problem? I can't relate. One day I had to negotiate lunch. If they didn't play outside for 30 minutes, there would be no lunch served. It sounds cruel but honestly, kids who don't want to play outside??? Maybe they'll remember that when it's 30 below this winter and there's lot of snow on the ground.
They are slightly better now that I call it recess, during the school day. What's the difference?

Fort Edmonton

Friends of ours invited us to go to Fort Edmonton with them. It was really fun.
We rode the train...

played checkers

And ate ice cream.

We also had some bannock, walked around the neat buildings, rode the ferris wheel, and the carousel, rode the streetcar, had a picnic, pet chickens and ponies and enjoyed a beautiful day.

Forgiveness: My Burden Was Made Light

Check out this video that was on lds.org:

Forgiveness: My Burden Was Made Light

Stan and I watched this last night. I wanted to cry! Then, inside I thought, if something like that ever happened, I hope I could do the same with the Savior's help. He makes these kinds of miracles possible!

Final trek

Thursday was our difficult trek day. On Friday, we had pioneer games, reenactments, crafts and a hoedown. The band in the back was brought in. They were awesome. The music was great and we had lots of fun dancing. This was the macarena. My least favorite. We did an interesting version of the virginia reel. they didn't have a caller so we made do and tried to figure out what was going on.

This picture is of the Sweet water crossing reenactment. It was hard to pretend that the water was icy because it was 30 C outside but I think the kids had fun with it. We were glad to be camping by the river. most everyone got in the dirty river, at least once to cool off and play. We found a crayfish, which was kind of cool but it was trying to make it's way in my shorts and so I was ready to get out of the water.
We had devotionals with everyone, every night and that was fun and neat. Then the last morning was the testimony meeting. I'm so impressed with the youth. Everyone was happy and having a good time, got along really well, etc. I haven't been with the youth since I was one and it was really fun for me.
Stan and I pondered our experience and decided in order for it to be meaningful to us we needed to think of how the experience changed us for the better and what we are going to do to act on those feelings we had. A big one was for us to help our kids catch the spirit of Elijah while they are young. There is so much you can do with family history. I want to make it a regular part of our homeschool. I was reminded several times of the primary song that goes like this "you don't have to push a handcart, leave your family dear, or walk a thousand miles or more to be a pioneer. You do need to have great courage, faith to conquer fear, and work with a might for a cause that's right, to be a pioneer."
We haven't been asked to leave our homes and our possessions behind to travel to a far off place. But the Prophet asks us each conference to do something. We need to have courage to do what he has asked us to do.
It helped me to realize that I need to camp more with the kids. i don't really like to camp but kids love it and I need to buck up and help them make memories.
I also learned how well you can get to know people in such a short time, working and having fun together. I love those kids who were in my family and hope to keep in touch with them.
I appreciate little things that are so common for us who live in first world countries, running water, warm or cold, beds, shelter, vehicles with air conditioning, washing machines, etc.
My parents were awesome and watched the kids while we were gone. They've had them for a week. We went to church without them today. We missed them but it sure was nice to have a break and for Stan and I to have some time together. Back to reality on Tuesday, stronger and more determined to act with courage and faith.

More trek pictures

A common sight for the pioneers. The story here was told of a man who had lost his whole family, 9 children and his wife. He continued on in faith to the Salt Lake Valley.


This was after the women's pull. My face describes how most of us felt. The U.S. govt called away the men for the Mormon Battalion. The way they portrayed it was neat. The men were there next to us to see the experience but they weren't allowed to talk or help us. It was HOT and we went up a pretty steep hill. Many families had only 2 girls so several of us helped many of the carts. We thought we were going to pass out from the heat and the exertion. We all felt similar, yet we weren't going to leave the other handcarts to themselves. It was a great sight of service. We were bonded as women, knowing we all needed each other to make it to the top. Many of the boys commented how hard it was to watch us. they wanted to help so badly.

Stan picked these wildflowers for me, on the trail. We took the picture for Brynn. She LOVES flowers and always wants to use my money to buy me some.

We went trekking

Instead of YM and YW camp this year, a Bishop from our stake, decided to organize a trek. It hasn't been done in this area for 20 years or so. He picked the outlying wards/branches so it was only about half of the stake. Our ward was one of the lucky ones involved. Since Stan workds with the YM, I knew he would be going and because women were involved, I asked if I could come along. We got to be a Ma and Pa of 6 great kids, half of them from our ward. Our ward was the largest unit there.
The scenery was beautiful, the enthusiasm and energy of the kids was contagious and exciting, the weather perfect, the food amazing, the trekking hard and much appreciated.

This is Brigham Young quoting parts of D&C 136.

Here are our children. This is the beginning after we assembled our handcarts and were preparing to walk and push.
Here are our blood children. Aren't they cute? Stan got these hats for free from a business trip to Calgary during the stampede.

Talented and brave sis

I wish I had a before and after picture, but I don't so this is just a quick story. I needed my hair thinned but didn't really want a cut and didn't want to pay for it. I purchased some thinning shears a couple of years ago. Stan is probably smart in not being brave thinning my hair. But, I have so much of it that it's pretty forgiving if you make a mistake. Whitney and I looked up some tips on You tube for thinning hair and she did a great job! I am so impressed with the amount she took out and the beautiful shape she gave my hair. It was awesome. I look forward to her doing it again in a few months. =)
And just so I don't do another post without a picture...
We've lived in our house for over a year and the light in the oven has never worked. I figured there was some sort of electrical problem, since all the appliances were well used before we moved in. I got the bright idea to check the light bulb one day. Now I don't usually do little fix it things because Stan is handy and it makes him feel good to fix things for me and I'm so happy to have him do it. However, he doesn't have a lot of free time so I took matters in my own hands this time. Guess what I found? the light bulb just needed to be screwed in! That kind of fixing I can handle and now I can see in my oven, after all this time...

a final thought

We watched the movie "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas." It's a movie about the Holocaust. Very sad, but very inspiring to us. We watched it for our date night and it led to an excellent discussion about what to do with our future. Seeing movies likes this helps us put life in perspective. We become much more grateful for all the comforts we enjoy. It helps us think of ways we can make more of a difference to those around us and ponder if we are spending our time as wisely as we can.
I find that as a mother, I don't get too down on myself. I'm far from perfect and I always have lots of things to work on but the fact that I get to be home with my kids, all year and all the time, makes me feel like I'm contributing to a better world. As long as I'm trying my best to raise these kids the best I can and the way Heavenly Father wants me to, I'm on the right track. Think about this moms and remember how important you are!

a 2nd post to inspiration

I read "As A Man Thinketh" by James Allen. It helped me look within and really think about where I'm at and who I want to become and ways I can get to where I want to be.
Here are some favorite quotes for the 5o page book:
"Man is made or unmade by himself."
"Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound."
"Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment."
"Thought allied fearlessly to purpose becomes creative force."
"Your vision is the promise of what shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil."

inspiring quotes

I've read a few things recently that have inspired me. I'll share.
This one is from Music and the Spoken Word, yesterday, I think...
It's interesting how two people can approach similar circumstances with entirely different outlooks. The optimist tries to look on the bright side, believes that good days are ahead, and holds on to the hope that things will get better. The pessimist sees dark rain clouds even on sunny days and believes that the best has passed him by.

There's no question whom we'd rather be around. As one commentator writes: "Optimists . . . make life better just by being part of it. They enjoy people, places and things. Their enthusiasm is contagious. . . . The greatest gift anyone can give another is a positive attitude, a smile and genuine interest. Some claim the only person you can change is yourself. Not true! You can and do change everyone with whom you come in contact. The question is whether you add to or subtract from the day's experience."

Some people seem to have more hopeful dispositions, more natural cheerfulness, and more affirmative expectations. But most of us are not always the optimist or always the pessimist. There's probably a little bit of both in all of us. We'd like to be the optimist more often, but depending on the day, the weather, the aches and pains, the disappointments and challenges we face, that can be harder than it sounds.

Even during our difficult moments, however, we can decide to be happier, more positive today than we may have been yesterday. Optimism is learned; we can practice and work at it until it becomes a habit. We can talk to ourselves and others in more upbeat ways, look for the bright side, and resolve to be more optimistic. When we do, our optimism is a gift not only to ourselves but to everyone around us.

RAIN...and thoughts

I feel like singing the song, "rain, rain, go away, come again another day" but it has been so nice to not have to water our garden or grass. This week, we had a huge amount of rain. To help us not go stir crazy, Whitney and I took the kiddos to see Toy Story 3. It was good. In fact, I liked it better than the first one. The kids loved it. It was a real treat for us as we hardly ever do things like that.

I LOVE having my sister-in-law Whitney living with us. It is so much fun. She and I have been exercising regularly and having a great time. Since this last stint I've been on, I can actually "see" progress being made. I don't know if I've lost weight, I don't like scales, but I can see something different in my shape. Finally! I plan to keep it up. I am loving the variety that we are doing, some cardio, some weights, some flexibility ie. pilates/yoga.
Exercising isn't been the only fun thing about Whitney. She cooks dinner for me periodically, babysits, gives comfort, a listening ear, and brightens our home with her happy, engaged self. I'm going to miss her more than anyone here at this house. We only have one week left and then she is off to southern Alberta to finish planning her wedding that is at the end of August.

We finished moving rocks off our front yard area, finally! I don't really want to know how many hours we have put into that job. I'm extremely grateful that it is done and we can move onto something else.

I'm not sure I mentioned that I'm in the primary presidency now. I love it. I was so grateful for the Lord's help today in giving a sharing time that I found out about yesterday. The counselor in charge became ill. We talked about the story of Nephi breaking his bow and related principles taught to loving others and serving, following the commandments, etc. I was really impressed with the senior primary. We made up a new verse to "Nephi's Courage."
Random thoughts. I know my mother-in-law reads this so this is mostly for her... Does anyone else read it?

What we've been up to

I guess Canada Day is first! We had a really fun ward party and Brynn invited our neighbors to come. They have two girls that are fun to play with. It was great.

A crazy attempt at flag cookies. They tasted delicious.

I have pretty much disappeared. Lots of projects going on around here. Moving rock, planting garden, playing, enjoying some nice weather, ripping out flooring due to broken washing machine that leaked. (only minor damage).

The first few are of the kids playing the hat game or some people call it scum. My sister-in-law has a really great collection.

Macy was crying at my door one day while I was having some quiet time. She was more tired than I realized and fell asleep in the hall outside my door.

Petting zoo for the Beaumont Daze. Bunnies, wombat, goats, turkeys, guinea pigs. the kids loved it and we had our niece Kali with us to enjoy it all.

You have to blow up this picture to see why I took it. Macy really wanting her shorts under her swimsuit yesterday. So I let her.

"New" washer and dryer. They work so great! They are much quieter than my old ones and I'm pretty sure we can put our closet doors back on.

After not having laundry machines for 10 or 11 days, I was never so excited to do my pile of laundry. It doesn't look like much but what I did do, took me most of the day, before dinner.

Happy 4th of July! This was so yummy. I'm addicted to angel food cake. I mixed whipped cream with vanilla yogurt and topped it with blueberries and strawberries. We even had 50 blueberries on there.

Our garden. I'm so happy with how it is growing, even though we've had tons of rain storms, wind, and some hail. Lots of tomatoes, peppers, hopefully peas and beans will give us something one day. My spinach is doing the best. I've harvested several times already and it is so yummy. The kids like it too. I love fresh stuff.

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

This is excellent. We all need reminders and encouragement that being a mom is important, challenging, rewarding, and a divine calling and that Heavenly Father will help us if we will rely on Him.