New Chapter!

Yeah! We've moved into our new home a couple of weeks ago and LOVE it! With our new chapter in a new ward we get to once again settle in. With this move changes are happening also!

The kids will start at the neighborhood school in January. There are some important goals that I need to reach asap and I can't keep up my health with that and homeschooling my kids. I never thought it would come to this, but I know this is the wisest decision for our family at this time! Yes, we are all nervous. The school is one of the top in Gilbert, so I'm excited!!!

Been a while?

So, it's been quite a journey since I've recorded anything. The whirlwind of events have kept us running and I hope in the right direction.

I'm still working on improving my health and pinpointing the cause of the discomfort, but it's narrowing down. Bowen Therapy is very helpful! Prolotherapy for my lower back pain has been amazing! Diet, exercise, and a less stressful life are also keys that I'm finding I CAN'T ignore.

We're enjoying the holiday season right now and are so grateful for the blessings we've seen daily in our family and look forward to spending time with family even more!!! I've been blessed to be a mom of 6 amazing children and a husband who is truly my best friend!

Bowen Therapy

Have you ever heard of Bowen Therapy? Some family members heard about it and I've tried it out now 4 times and have had amazing results. I'm sure it's not over yet, but I'm excited about the progress I've had. I felt so good today I over did it! What symptoms do I have now? Simply minor back pain here and there. Sometimes a little pain in my limbs, but NOTHING like I had. The pain has gone down from a 5 on my good days to a 1!!! I sure have taken advantage of my good health for years. I appreciate the little progress each week! Check it out! www.bowtech.com

I think I'm good to go with Homeschooling another year! I was worried that I wouldn't have the strength, but have received a blessing from Heaven.....once again!!! The inspiration came so quickly as I planned out the year, made up the schedule to start out with, and then be able to figure out how best to help each child. YEAH!!!!

When it rains it pours.....

....and I don't mean in a negative way. My heart is just full of the gratitude and love for the people in my life. I love the fact that I have an opportunity to love many people at a deeper level. The service we've received in the past week reminds me of God's love.

I still haven't received a definite answer as to the cause of this, but I have been to a couple of dentists to find out if I have infections in the gum area or deeper. With their capabilities nothing was detected.

Another shot in the tonsils wasn't enjoyable, but I feel improvement. I've added a couple more natural substances to my day also. Gargling, swishing, more rest,.....water, water, water!!! Something's working this week to lift the pain a little.

Prayer....prayer.....prayer....I know the Lord is mindful of me!!!

AND I'm not finished yet. I have been gathering a lot of information from many reliable sources and look forward to trying the next step as the Spirit guides.

I look forward to each day to see what it brings! More positive rain to help me grow!!!

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

My Good Things....

If you haven't watched the clip "Good Things to Come" by Elder Holland I recommend it before reading my post! It's after this post.

With more detoxing this past couple of weeks I have not felt the best. The kids and I enjoyed working on Unit Studies, swimming, scrapbooking, and anything else we could do. When my energy gone they let me take naps when I reached my breaking point! I love having children who are old enough and responsible to take care of each other.

The thorough test results showed only one thing. An infection of some sort. I was relieved to see that there wasn't any autoimmune issues as well as rheumatoid, thyroid, etc. So now what? With the signs of an infection the Doctor sent one test back to get more information on it. I then hesitantly, yet in faith, started on an aggressive antibiotic. Not fun! I can tell that there is medication in my body and am replenishing the negative side-effects with all the natural supplements I have.

I received the results from a more in-depth test on this infection two days ago. It seems that there is a Chronic Strep infection that is pretty intense. Looking back to where my tonsils are he saw they have atrophied and basically are not helping the issue.

The bottom line is that my immune system is shot! Amazing! I wonder if having 6 children in 8 years had anything to do with this. Tough pregnancies? Stress? Depression? :) No matter what it is I added a couple more techniques from my Doctor. He gave me a shot in my tonsils to help "wake them up". I have to admit that I have felt somewhat better from that! I am still getting an IV of Vitamins weekly as well as taking all the supplements here at home and eating as organically as I can with my no-wheat-yeast-dairy diet. Man, it's been a learning experience!

Back aches are still there and my head feels like I'm taking meds, but I feel progress! I don't feel like I have the flu ALL day!!! I hope to continue on this path.

I look forward to getting rid of the infection, which is causing the inflamation through my back, and rebuilding my immune system to "run and not be weary, walk and not faint".!!!

I agree that "Good Things" are happening and I love what's in store!!!

Good Things to Come

Please take time to watch this. Prepare to be inspired!

Good Things to Come

Love it!

So the past two weeks have been a little tough. Detoxing is never fun. The consistent pain isn't subsiding. I look forward to the results of the blood tests!!! I hope that out of the 15 tests there is something we can narrow it down to...

Yes, I'm tired. Yes, I still have pain. BUT I am so grateful that I have this to learn from when I have children to take care of!!! There isn't any other options but to focus on them. Since Greg's working this summer I can't rely on him as much. I love it! What a blessing! Great "growth opportunity"!!!

I have to agree with the Dr. Porter that the optimism about this is helping keep the pain to a minimum. However, after visiting with a friend I realized that my faith is Christ is so much stronger now. It was fun to reflect on years past and to see the growth. I love it! It's what I've always wanted. A stronger foundation built upon Christ.

The atonement was a huge part of my life when I was single and faced with many decisions. I'll never forget the tough moments when I was on my knees begging for understanding in situations I'd never dreamed I'd be in. And here I am again. I love it!

The strength of my past experiences have brought me this far and now I'm asked to grow even more. Have you watched the Christian-based movie called "Facing the Giants"? I feel like the young man who is asked to keep walking/crawling even though he is tired. He does. Why? Because he has enough faith in his coach to keep pushing forward. It was painful. Where does he end up? In a place he never dreamed he'd be!!! An amazing moment!!!

I believe that Christ is asking us to do the same thing. Whether we are faced with one trial or another I know that he is asking us to keep putting one foot in front of the other on the path of righteousness because there is something amazing ahead. I know that He will not give us anything we can't handle and that when we're through we'll look back and say, "Wow! Look at how far I've come." Love it!

Miracles are happening everywhere and I count them daily. I hope you do to. I'm cheering for anyone reading this who needs extra support and love. I love the fact that we are here on earth together and don't have to work through life alone.

Today I had plans to sleep! The Lord had other plans. I laugh at His sense of humor. My prayers this week have been to find opportunities to serve. Since my ways of being able to serve are limited I wasn't sure how it was going to come to pass. It happened!!! I had the opportunity to provide service two times with physical labor and I LOVED IT! Comfortable??? Are you kidding? BUT when the calls came this morning I knew it was a blessing from Heavenly Father. Little did I know that multiple blessings would come on the same day. Peace, the strength to serve, babysitting, and then a simple act of service to us later that day.....leftovers from Girls' Camp dropped off at our door!!! Sounds strange, but with the debt we're trying to pay off our Dr. bills don't seem to be helping. The "blessing" of food was given and we now will be able to pay off debt quicker.

Yes! I loved it! I look forward to a new week! No expectations!

My Personal Plan

I loved my appointment with Dr. Jason Porter, a Naturopathic Doctor, who I was referred to. I told my story and he listened and asked a lot of questions. Here's my personal plan.

Food Allergies?
The shortened story is right now to start by eliminating the top 3 foods that most people are allergic to with my same blood type (O+). That is dairy, wheat, and yeast. Not only did I get the what NOT to eat, but what TO eats!!! I'm not left hanging... Without actual blood tests this is based on the number of patients he treats with similar symptoms

Pain?
I also had acupuncture for the first time yesterday and that was cool. I should've had a better breakfast and more water that morning to avoid the lightheaded feelings after, but it wore off as the day went on. I look forward to seeing how this help to alleviate the pain I carry day and night!

Neurotransmitters?
I have instructions on how to quickly and simply attack this to help eliminate the depression signs I have once again.

There's my personal plan for now! My goal is to be a more loving mother who can continue to teach and guide her children having energy to keep up with them! The fatigue and depression symptoms aren't the way I want to live. I'm sure this will always be my trial in life, which I'm grateful for, but I want to kick it out for the time being. :)

I can't wait to start another week!

General Conference to Fill up My Bucket

In the wee morning hours, when I would love to be sleeping, my body kicks me out of bed to start my day! Although I haven't slept well I look forward so much for the time I get to read the Conference talks that were given last April. Wow! Talk about filling up my spiritual bucket. It's so much easier to get through the day and be loving to my children EVEN with the pain. I think my body's used to it enough that although I'm waiting for answers I can continue on basking in the spirit each morning. I wouldn't trade this for anything in the world. It's so peaceful! My spirit craves the words of the living prophets.

I just read somewhere that even mothers who aren't feeling well can have the Lord's strength and I'm here to testify that it's true! I've loved the topics I've been able to review from Conference; Mothers, relationships, true love and complete fidelity, and much more.

With my Bucket full, it's time to help my kids!!!

Grandma Show

We just finished our Cousins' Preschool Semester and held a little Grandma Show. I loved having this preschool with all the cousins about the same age that could come. They learned so much more than I ever expected! I think it was fun for the Grandmas to come and let them sing and show off a little. Isn't that what young kids do best?
My Orson in the middle needs an award for the best dressed....LOL! LauraJo loves getting her picture taken and is always smiling (on the right). It has been a blast getting to know my sisters and their kids better! I'll miss it this summer!

Small Tender Mercies!

I love it when miracles happen! With my back aching more and more this week's been tough. I love getting blessings and feel the reassurance of God's love. I know He knows what I'm going through. I also understand that the education I will gain from this experience is something I need to learn. It's still tough, though. Trying to be loving while in pain is so hard.

A couple of days after the blessing I visited with a Dr. and received more guidance of what I could do. It was great, but I unfortunately worried about how much everything costs. We counted every penny and didn't see how we were going to pay for it all. As I drove home I received the answer to my prayers. Someone was prompted to call. Tears fall frequently these days, but I didn't realize how stressed Greg was until I shared with him the blessing!!! The Lord answered our prayers different than we thought. Tender mercies once again! Love it!!

My New Life

As I watched the following, tears streaming down my cheeks, I was reminded how important it is to embrace our own "New Life" that happens. How many times will we have a "New Life"? I don't know, but our loving Heavenly Father does....

Enjoy!

My New Life

My Dreams and Goals

As I enter into different stages in life I always have dreams or goals! It's interesting, though, because each stage has brought challenges that almost make it seem impossible to reach them! I realize also that my goals may not happen in the time frame I have, but I have learned over and over that if I aim for the stars I may at least hit the tops of the trees. How much greater is that than staying on the ground?

I have to admit that it's hard to keep going, but I am determined to reach certain goals!!!

San Diego, CA Family Vacation 2010

Our family vacation this year was in San Diego, CA where we participated in a couple of Homeschool Field Trips. We were able to visit:

-Mormon Battalion Historic Sight (great tour for kids) where we learned about our ancestor, Alma Zamira Palmer.
-The San Diego Temple grounds! We loved it! (Great bonding experiences!)
-Sea World (This was perfect for our kids' ages!)
-San Diego Zoo (I just love going to the zoo with kids)
-The Beach (Cold as it was my kids LOVED playing in the sand and water)


Where's Samuel? Can you find the picture where Samuel is hiding? We didn't know until we looked at the pictures....

The trip was so worth it. I was so impressed at how well my kids traveled. We LOVED taking this trip with our kids!!!

My Truth

President Gordon B. Hinckley said: "Never forget that these little ones are the sons and daughters of God and that yours is a custodial relationship to them, that He was a parent before you were parents and that He has not relinquished His parental rights or interest in these little ones.

"Now, love them, take care of them. Fathers, control your tempers, now and in all the years to come. Mothers, control your voices, keep them down. Rear your children in love, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Take care of your little ones, welcome them into your homes and nurture and love them with all of your hearts.

"They may do, in the years that come, some things you would not want them to do, but be patient, be patient. You have not failed as long as you have tried. Never forget that" (Gordon B. Hinckley, address to the Salt Lake University 3rd Stake Conference, Nov. 3, 1996).


I read this and would LOVE to be perfect in all these areas. Unfortunately, my selfish ways get in the middle and I lose sight of what's important. As I've been reading about topic this week I've really tried to narrow down how to conquer my hardest bad habit. Raising my voice at my kids is hard to stop. Some days are better than others, but I'm trying to use more self-control to find the time to remember my truth. My own selfishness. I am also studying in the Real Love Bible Workbook by Greg Baer and came across the following quote which I need to read ten times a day and carry it with me:

"The people around me are doing the best they can. When they behave badly, they're just drowning. For me to insist that they do better than their best is foolish and selfish."

First day I tried I pretty much failed, but the second day I remembered and it was much better! I look forward to keep trying it. It reminds me that I'm not the judge of them and need to leave them in God's hands. With my children I remember the quote from Pres. Hinckley above. They were His before mine.

I love being a mother! It's hard, but I wouldn't trade it for the world!!!

Do I Undertand My Children?

So...this week I've been having fun telling Greg at night the neat experiences of learning about my kids' personalities.

LauraJo has just been showing us all lately that she can yell louder than the rest of us. This is typical in my kids, so we've been laughing at how she's finally standing her ground and gets her brothers to jump. Now we get to teach them the proper times to give in and when they don't need to! I'm amazed at how many letters she can already recognize and all the songs she loves to sing.....nice and loud in the car!

Orson is hilarious! In the book Little Britches young Ralph learns, “If you want to be a good horseman the first thing you'll have to learn will be how a horse thinks, and next to think the same way yourself.” Well, I'm still learning how my little horse thinks. During preschool we all (my sisters and I) chuckle to ourselves every time Orson gets a worksheet. He starts all excited and then without warning will viciously either tear it up or wrinkle it up and throw it behind him. Why? We never know. I just try to get a hug in to him before he runs off frustrated. He loves to cut, color, and glue! He's a leader of LauraJo and a follower of his older siblings with a touch of himself.

Lincoln is going to be a heart surgeon. Let me explain. Tell me what you think. His ultimate goal in life is to create a life-like Robot. Talking and breathing. When creating a Robot out of cardboard a couple of weeks ago it was all done EXCEPT for the heart. He searched all through my closet of junk (art supplies!) and found a small wooden heart which he then colored red and glued it inside where a heart should be. He was satisfied. Now, though, any bug that he comes across I feel sorry for! Really. He keeps them for a couple of days as a pet and then dissects them to find what??? The HEART!!! Tiny black beetles, caterpillars, and today was a grasshopper. We are so glad we are not bugs....

Samuel is 7 1/2. I can tell he's going through a growing spurt. He LOVES his Taekwondo class, even when the instructor makes them do push-ups till they are just about dead, makes them hold 1lb. weights for about 5 min. or more, and just pushes them HARD. Samuel is holding on and loves to go back and take this class. Today he just couldn't think of what he wanted to explore or learn about. We talked and talked and finally he sat down with 5 recipe books. We wanted to just experiment in my kitchen! Great! I didn't care. He decided on and made a great 1776 Flag Cake with the original 13 colonies. He read about it and taught his siblings all about it when he was done. He just loves to use his hands....

Hyrum is in the same Taekwondo class and even though he doesn't have the natural confidence about his strength his coach pushed him till I was expecting him to quit and break down. NO!!! He didn't. He was pushed to the edge and even further and he didn't break at all. I was so amazed and grateful to watch this first hand. I loved the confidence level that shot up as he realized himself what he could do. Hyrum's been really studious this week and always finding something creative to work on when he has his own free time.

Mary's latest passion is babysitting! The 13 books and 2 dvds that she's been immersing herself has been preparing her for this time. We hired her last weekend and she had another job today. We'll hire her again soon and just keep letting her practice what she's studying up about. I know she wants to do this, so I'm so excited to see her learn how to take care of children at a young age to prepare her to be a mother. Our relationship is changing as she grows up! I love having her around and having awesome experiences together. She always greets me with a hug in the morning!!!

We had fun taking our school work to the park this week. I can't get over how beautiful the weather is and it takes us outside all the time!!!

Do I understand my children? I can't say I know them perfectly, but I am sure enjoying the time I have with them to watch them grow up!

Letting Go....

I feel this is a great theme in my life. As I look back over my 34 years I have seen many moments when I've decided to let go of something precious to me to receive a greater blessing. Not all decisions have been easy, but I find that the stronger my faith is the more I can let go.

A song I was introduced to on my mission was that of Michael McClean's called "Let it Go". It was powerful as I worked through challenge after challenge. Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vMOpFe9nU4

Mosiah 3:19 talks about putting off the natural man to be able to be more like Jesus Christ "..submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him..." This is hard for me. My pride gets in the way. It stops my ability to feel the spirit or my being able to let Christ's unconditional love flow through me. Something to work on forever!

I have been making important choices this past couple of years and see myself more and more being able to let go some of this "natural man" and rely on Heavenly Father to guide me. For example, it was hard to let go of my beloved home in Maricopa. After I built a life in the Homeschooling and LDS community I knew that I needed to walk away from it and "let it go". I treasure what I've learned there and carried these teachings to our new smaller home. Now, as I let go of more treasured items I find myself having more strength to do it. Beautiful furniture, my prized piano, new bikes, and even my old ways of schooling to embrace the Thomas Jefferson Education philosophy. Why? I know it's what the Lord's asking of me. I hear Him asking me to "Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you." (D&C 88:63) How can I when there are things in the way?

Letting go? Yes, I've shed tears and I haven't always agreed to let things go before, but right now I feel at such peace. I know that in my heart it was the correct decision.

Greg and I attended an inspirational evening to listen to Dan Ralph's message this past weekend on Greatness. It was very inspiring to be reminded about what the Classics can do for us when we seriously study them. It's neat to be able to walk away with ideas of how to inspire our kids to also love the Classics and to love to learn!

THEN this amazing Easter weekend was filled with all the messages from General Conference! A Spiritual Feast! What an experience! We loved staying home Sat. and Sun. and allowing our children to feel the joy of listening to Latter-Day Prophets. I was impressed at how quiet they were for two days!!! I wouldn't have traded the time we had to spend with our children for anything. They asked the best questions of real life issues; pornography, marriage, family history, about the lives of some of the speakers, real unconditional love,and then about the scriptures and stories they've heard before. I love the moments where we can teach and bear testimony right then.

After the weekend was over I just felt an overwhelming gratitude in my heart for my Heavenly Father. Also, to be able to understand and love Jesus Christ more has helped me to increase my faith which in turn allows me to "let it go". As I am learning to apply the atonement in my own life my love for the Savior has deepened.

If you haven't seen this I hope you'll listen today! I know that Christ lives! I have felt it in my heart through the power of the Holy Ghost. Enjoy!
He Lives

Love,
Anna

Taylor Birthday Dinner

I can't believe LauraJo is 2 yr. old already! She definitely is her own princess. She has such a fun personality that we've all enjoyed getting to know her each day as she brings smiles to our faces, makes us laugh, and gives us hugs when she's ready to!

In the past I've always been ready to deliver another one and yet it's not happening this time. A strange feeling! :)

We enjoyed the BBQ and spending time visiting and playing games w/ all the kids.

The Tender Mercies of the Lord

I hope you take a moment to watch this!

The Tender Mercies of the Lord

Tender Moments in My Life

I love being a wife, mother, and homeschool mom. There are obvious challenges that come into my life, and yet through each event I find opportunities to grow in ways that I've never imagined. These past 2 weeks have been a great example of this.

I'm trying hard to find my personal time each morning to meditate, read, and pray so that I'm spiritually prepare for the day. I've found this to be a great strength to myself and my children also. I have found such peace and an immense feeling of love that I can treasure in my heart and then share with my children all day. This is my personal goal to feel the tender mercies from the Lord.

Through my children I've had to once again change how I'm schooling them at this time. It's hard for me to change, but through their patience we come up with some interesting schedules. Just a week ago I had to basically put all we were working on to the side. Why? Well, when a child is burned out it's hard to motivate, inspire, and feed them knowledge. So we (the kids and I) sat around together one morning after our devotional and discussed what we could do. They came up with some great ideas and were excited to create their own schedules. After two days of trying their own schedules they realized it wasn't as easy and they were bored by 10am. We all know how childrens' minds change quickly and the excitement wore off. Yes, we were back to having another discussion in the family room. I presented a schedule of sorts that I'd found through my own reading and explained what subjects we would be studying and when. The next two days were much better. The kids were able to add their input and lead me to the topics they were interested and I had a blast coming up with the worksheets and activities to carry it out! So fun! Even with my two youngest sick it worked!!! I have to say that that evening it was fun for all of us to tell Daddy Greg about our day. The kids had so many things to report on, and I was able to share special moments that night when the kids were in bed. Needless to say we have our schedule for the rest of the year.

One of my favorite times with the kids is our reading time. I love choosing classics, but more than that I love, love, LOVE to have the kids come around and quietly work on something! Mary enjoys creating pictures about what I'm reading. Her abilities are improving by leaps and bounds! Hyrum enjoys coloring, drawing, or building. There are times when he can't do anything simply because he's fascinated with the story. He'll just sit and listen and watch me. Samuel is my visual and hands on learner. I know this is not as easy for him, but he loves to sit by me so I can scratch his back. I never realized how much this would bond us together. Lincoln loves to create a project out of my arts and crafts closet that is in the garage. Last week, for example, he created a robot out of a cereal box with all the facial features. He then glued a heart in the middle so the robot would be more like him......realistic! Orson loves to cut all the paper he can get his hands on, colors by his brothers, and sometimes puts his head on my lap so I can rub his head. LauraJo is napping during this time.

This past week my kids were listening to our recent book (The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli) and the young boy in the book was carving. I couldn't help it. I had to ask the kids if they wanted to carve soap while I was reading. What a blast. They were quiet carving their soap with butter knives while I read. Yes, it created a mess all over the coffee table and floor! Quite the mess to vacuum and wipe up, but I didn't care. To see their excitement, frustrations, and multiple attempts as they learned one more skill was worth all the clean up.

Ok, so who is having more fun here? I wouldn't trade if for the world.

Challenges? Yes, I have plenty. They are usually about my selfish desires, though. I have to give myself a "time out" when they are unmotivated and I wish they were different. This past week is my perfect example.

I was so frustrated last week when I realized how burned out the kids were. I could tell that this was showing way too much and giving the wrong message to the kids. As I left I asked them to just give me time to cool off and find out why I'm so selfish. So, I sat on my bed and put my head in my hands. Now what? I believe in prayer and know that Heavenly Father truly knows my needs and so once again found myself on my knees pleading for peace again. Selfishness always drives out the spirit and it was gone. I then opened my Book of Mormon for something to help me. There it was! Just what I needed and didn't know it.

3 Nephi 17:20-23. My eyes fell upon these verses as soon as I opened the book!!! Can you believe it? I completely forgot about this and boy did it help me. As I read it my heart jumped for joy. Of course a gratitude prayer was expressed as I sat back on the bed and realized I'd forgotten the first step to teaching. LOVE!!! Here I was trying to teach my children and I forgot to LOVE them first. How many of us want to learn when we aren't really ready??? Can we make a horse drink water or just lead them to it? Through the Real Love books by Dr. Greg Baer I've learned the importance of this. Loveandteach, loveandteach. It's one word.

Yes, my day went much better after that.....and I wasn't expecting that answer nor the direction it took me, BUT I'm grateful for that learning experience! Yes, I have felt and want to remember these tender mercies of the Lord.

Mary loves Rachel's Puppy!

Mary has loved meeting my sister's new puppy, Brownie! She spent time today with Rachel and Brownie and has come closer to this puppy than any other. It's touching to see how comfortable she's getting! Thanks, Rachel, for letting Mary get to know her.

Reasons why I LOVE homeschooling:

1. Hyrum enjoyed working on his homework in a tree last week, making a Pinewood Derby car with his Dad, and attending his Knights of Freedom class where the boys discussed Thomas Edison. His love of reading has taken off!
2. After discussing the Revolutionary War we enjoyed popcorn while we watched the American Girl movie about Felicity. We talked about what we would do. Can we stand up for our beliefs? Even if it means losing a friendship?
3. Lincoln enjoyed learning about worms in a park while Samuel climbed up as high as he could in a nearby tree to get his P.E. time for the day.
4. Orson & LauraJo started using the little potty after being encouraged all day by the older siblings to keep trying. They sing "Twinkle Twinkle", and the primary song called, "I Know That My Savior Loves Me". Soooo cute! I hope to capture it on camera/video.
5. I get to go to sleep at night wondering how I am going to prepare myself to inspire them the next day!!! Who needs an extra dose of love? What are my first priorities? Am I ready to face the unexpected?
6. I get to spend my quiet time in reading and preparing myself spiritually earlier than the kids. I LOVE my time to read, pray, and make my choices ahead of time to unconditionally love my children a little better each day.
7. We are reading The Island of the Blue Dolphins now and the kids don't ever want me to stop! We love to stop and guess what's going to happen and then ask each other what we would do if we were the girl.
8. I get to start preparing next year's curriculum. I love shopping for curriculum!!! (Yes, I'm very peculiar....and love it!)

There are plenty of reasons that I'll have to list another time!!!

Time with Cousins

My kids LOVE to go on walks around the neighborhood. When Sidney and Reagan came for Piano Lessons we planned to let all the kids play. After the request to go on a walk they all climbed trees, slid down the favorite green hill many times, and even got stuck in some mud! I don't know who was more tired at the end, but my kids were happy!

Eventful Week!

We really enjoyed this past weekend for a couple of reasons:
1. My Grandmother, Mary Anderson Taylor, has been struggling with her health and passed away last Tues., Feb. 2nd at 11pm. I love and miss her dearly! Yesterday we held the funeral to celebrate her life. The reunion of distant cousins was awesome!
2. Due to the above mentioned event my brother brought his family over from California. This brought 7 more kids to add to the bunch and my kids had a ball!
3. We were able to celebrate all the February Birthdays at once while they were here! It was fun to see how Dad surprised Mom for her 60th B-Day with all the pics of her kids and grandkids.

New Years' Family Pictures

Make a Smilebox scrapbook