Where is the Christmas Spirit!!

I am having a really hard time this year. I do not feel like it is Christmas. I told the kids that we are going to read one book a night in front of the tree so when it gets closer to Christmas we will know and understand the true meaning. I have been explaining to them that it is not about Santa and the gifts but about Christ and service.

I had them help me clean out the basement the other night and we bagged and boxed up A LOT of toys. I explained to them that we were going to give the toys away to children who need them more then we do. They were a little uneasy with this idea but they need to learn sometime.

When we got to D.I. and I finished unloading the truck, there she was crying in the back seat. " I am only five and do not want to give away my toys" she stated. I pulled off the the side of the road once again explaining what we were doing. I told her how proud I was of her to be such a big girl. That didn't seem to help so the next best thing CHOCOLATE made it all better!

We have been reading Genealogy lately and our relatives were happy with just a quarter or a new pair of shoe laces. I think that the time should be about family and sharing the fact that we are here and with each other not the gifts and I want, I want, I want. My kids are only allowed to ask for ONE thing at Christmas. They have both asked and only time will tell if this idea gets rejected.

Taking a step in the right direction....

These last couple of weeks I have been very mean, I want to apologize to EVERYONE! I finally realized the other day (before my nephews baptism) that being stressed out and not relying on anyone (the Saviour) to help was allowing other things (negative) into my life.

With Thanksgiving around the corner I want to list some of the things I am thankful for...

The Atonement

My Saviour

My Family (even though we NEVER get along)

Examples

Friends

Temples

Prayer

My kids

Sundays

My Callings

Service

I have a little girl in my primary class who's spirit is of GOLD. Every time she sees me she gives me a big hug and I am scared. She keeps asking me to talk to her Mom and ask her if she can be baptized, she wants this so bad. Her Mom was just diagnosed with cancer and I could not imagine going on to my next life not being able to feel the STRONG spirit of your child's baptism. We (my family) has been to every baptism in the last 2 years in out ward (except the ones last Saturday)! I love to see them come out of the water so clean, so pure, just as clean as a new born baby! I love getting to know each and everyone of my primary kids, I think they teach me more then I teach them. Today we learned about Mormon and the word SOBER!! ( look it up it was very fun) Here are some pic's of the kids...

This is what happens when you leave the soap in the tub with Shayla.

Our new punishment...The Ruler!

At the end of my rope...

Lately I feel like I am being challenged at EVERYTHING I do. I feel like someone wants me to quit and say enough is enough! There is not enough time in the day to finish anything that needs to be done and when I help someone things just get further and further behind. I love helping others and do not mind when things come up but I just need two or even just one day to myself to get all that needs to be done, done.

Me and Michele (my sister-in-law) went to the temple Friday night and even there I felt challenged. It was VERY busy and when it came to our turn I happened to glance down at my names and "oh no" I have NEVER had such long hard names!

On the drive home from Orem tonight (the last couple of unplanned days in Orem, in other peoples clothing) I though I am just going to go home and finish my lesson for Sunday and things will be just fine. Well on the answering machine was "by the way you have 4 new kids in your class all boys and one is Autistic". My heart just stopped. My Primary class already has 9 kids, 4 girls and 5 boys, I need a bigger room and Carter is hard enough, I need a miracle!!

First day of school

This year is going to be a busy year!! I volunteered at the school with the PTA and also in the classrooms then came my new calling one of the Webelos leaders. I am still hoping to get released from ward missionary and the activities committee. I have the CTR 8 class still and maybe going to be released at the end of the year. I figured being released would be to much of a change in a short time for Carter to handle (since I teach his class)

Carter is now in Third Grade!!

Let hope that this year goes better then last year. I have paid a lot of money for those teeth and he still will not show them.

Shayla is in Kindergarten....She says there is a lot of boy at school.

Compliment's of Wal-Mart!

I asked Matt to stop and pick up some tortilla's on his way home. Dinner was ready just to heat up the tortilla's when I found this!!!!!!!

Fresh off the shelf at Wal-Mart......
People please wash EVERYTHING off that comes from a store!!! I am kind of a germ a phobic when it comes to some things but I about died when I seen this. My fist thought was where is the mouse. I do not like mice let alone a bag of tortilla's that a mouse has ate through all the tortilla's and Matt nor the checker even noticed!! When I worked the graves at Smith's we had our far share of cat poop in the bulk items as well! Gross, Gross and Gross.

Our Temple Sealing

Our Sealing was GREAT! Thanks to all that came to support us and to share with us this experience. The kids were great inside the temple the second we got outside neither of them wanted their picture taken nor wanted to hold still.

Shayla was so upset that Grandma Carter pulled out the good old bubble gum and she was very quiet and content just to set and chew her gum!Exploring while Grandpa Carter rests

Shayla kept trying to look inside the temple.

Everyone asked us why we choose the Salt Lake temple. We choose this temple because we let Carter choose and this is the one he wanted. He is fascinated with the fact that they brought every piece of granite down by oxen and how long it took them to build this temple. I can not count how many time he said "I can not believe all this granite" even inside the temple he was still saying it!

I am very glad that my family had the opportunity to be sealed for all of time and eternity. I never thought this day would come and was in shock when it did. I know that the lord walks in his temples.

Temple

Matt and his sister Michele took out their endowments on Saturday. After they were sealed to their mom and dad! It was really nice but I do not think reality has set in for me yet. It was great to be in the temple with my husband (which I had came to realize was never going to happen). Here are some of the pic's we took.

Matt and Michele
Matt, Ken, Joan and Michele

Matt and I

Michele, Joan, Truman (the old neighbor) Ken and Matt

Matt pinching his dad's bum and Ken elbowing him back :) Just kidding

4Th of July

Lauren's Baptism

Matt got to baptize my Niece Lauren (12). He was glad that he could do this for her! We Love you Lauren....And all the other niece's and nephews!

Swimming

Both of my children were so talented and ended up at the bottom of the slide without going in!!! Only my kids.....

Swimming with Nancy

Carter did so good with Nancy at swim lessons!!

Should have listened

Today I was informed about a ward member's and also someone I considered a FRIEND passing. The last couple of week I have been thinking about her. I was planning on going to see her but didn't want to just show up. I drove up by her house Friday afternoon and was not sure which one it was. I cam e home and should have looked it up and went back but I didn't! A couple of calls to tie up loose ends with primary would turn into a couple of hours of talking over the phone. We had somethings in common. She had a lot of stress in her life but her Testimony of the church was GREAT it was POWERFUL! In my eye's she had it all. She definitely had her trials in this life but we learn and grow from them and when you talked to her the light would shine through she had DREAMS and HOPES for the future and will greatly be missed. This will serve as a LIFE lesson to me to NEVER second guess myself and to ALWAYS listen!

Carter's Baptism

I am so proud of my boys! I still can not believe that Matt baptized and confirmed Carter. That took a lot of courage and faith.

Carter could not stand this band around his waist and was pulling on it the whole time.Carter and Chase before the baptism
Food

Updates from May

May has been a VERY busy month. I was just hopping to get it out of the way. Now that May is over I am just hoping for a better June but so far it has not started out that way because the basement flooded yesterday. Well here is what was going on in May along with many other school programs that I did not take my camera for.

Shayla's Pre-school Grad.

This is her "boyfriend" Dylan

Swimsuits

I was looking for a swimsuit for shayla and I can not believe what I found. What are we teaching these young children?? Do you think this swim suit is cut a little low for a 5 year old??? Not to mention the back is little straps! No wounder 14 and13 year olds are getting pregnant and are into online prostitution. If we start this at the age of 5 what do they wear at 10?

Happy Birthday Carter!!

I can not believe that Carter is 8 Today!! I do not know where the 8 years went! Today we went to my aunts house because Carter has been begging to go. They kids had a blast and did not want to leave. Here are some of the pic's.

This horse has stitches...ouch!

Carter trying to ride the goat. It was smart!