I really can't...help...
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
I believe...
...in letting my kids believe in Santa Claus. I believe in him as a symbol. We let our kids believe in many things, cartoon characters, heroes, people. I like this book using Santa as a Christmas symbol for Jesus. Isn't that what he is there to remind us of? Love. Giving. Joy.
We took a ride on the Polar Express this week. The girls were so excited. What fun is that, to be excited to see this jolly old man!
This was little Bay, the picture of all seriousness. She took this whole experience very solemnly. She was going to see Santa Claus and get a bell. She is a very focused kid.
And Boo switched back and forth from complete awe to jumping up and down excitement at it all. This is her face right when Santa walked into the train.
We took a ride on the Polar Express this week. The girls were so excited. What fun is that, to be excited to see this jolly old man!
This was little Bay, the picture of all seriousness. She took this whole experience very solemnly. She was going to see Santa Claus and get a bell. She is a very focused kid.
And Boo switched back and forth from complete awe to jumping up and down excitement at it all. This is her face right when Santa walked into the train.
it just might have been that way...
...baby Jesus on the roof of the manger, with an adoring sheep gazing on. This is my girls nativity. They love it. They play with it daily. They have learned about the shepards.
If you ask little Bay (the one year old) "what did the angel tell the shepards?" She will reply, in her barely discernible baby talk: "Don't be scared. Jesus is born."
If you ask little Bay (the one year old) "what did the angel tell the shepards?" She will reply, in her barely discernible baby talk: "Don't be scared. Jesus is born."
Sunday, December 14, 2008
express yourself...integrity...
...or, through gingerbread houses! 
We have enjoyed the holidays so far, especially the time we have had with family. During Thanksgiving, family parties, etc. There is nothing I love more than to be around them. We nit-pick each other, tease, torment, and in the end just accept each other for who we are, faults and all. Holidays are a good time to express thanks for this, I think.
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We have enjoyed the holidays so far, especially the time we have had with family. During Thanksgiving, family parties, etc. There is nothing I love more than to be around them. We nit-pick each other, tease, torment, and in the end just accept each other for who we are, faults and all. Holidays are a good time to express thanks for this, I think.The real point to this entry, started with these shabby little gingerbread houses we had so much fun making. They sit now, in my living room. On a table. Within kids reach. My girls don't touch them. Oh, they look. They reach. They point. But they leave them alone, with me in or out of the room. That goes for our Christmas tree, ornaments, presents, my nativities, etc...and it amazes me. Of course, I had to teach them. I learned this well after coming into the room to find every present completely unwrapped and strewn all over the floor. It's not just once that I've had to teach them, it's over and over and over. But they get it! At their age, they get it. What's theirs to touch, is okay. What's mommy's, is not.
That got me thinking about my childhood.
(homemade flowered Christmas pajamas...thanks a lot mom!)
I remember, we could find a piece of candy belonging to one of our 8 siblings and when we found it wasn't up for grabs it could sit there for a year without anyone touching it. Simply because it wasn't ours. Oh, we might look at it every time we passed it. Even pick it up. But we always put it back down. I wish I could say this lasted, but it changed in teenage years when we understood that after time the person probably wasn't coming for it. Or didn't care. Or they ate ours, so we might as well eat theirs and just endure the wrath of the sibling.
Integrity. I like to define it as: how you act when you think no one is watching. Or how you would act if you thought you would never be caught. I think there is more to it than just teaching them what is theirs to touch and what is not. Somehow my good parents taught us this...how do you teach this? What a wonderful gift to give your children!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
what was I?
...are we back to real life again? elections are over? whew. . .
...so what were we for Halloween? I don't know if the girls will ever remember. We had so many fun costumes that I turned it into dress-up month and we spent the entire month in one costume after another, everyday! So if you ask Boo what she was for Halloween her reply is: "Candy!"
...so what were we for Halloween? I don't know if the girls will ever remember. We had so many fun costumes that I turned it into dress-up month and we spent the entire month in one costume after another, everyday! So if you ask Boo what she was for Halloween her reply is: "Candy!"
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
...the countdown...and hope....
REMEMBER TO VOTE! YES ON PROPOSITION 8
...as crazy as this election has been, the final countdown still brings excitement.
In the last few weeks, I've felt that I can't always just live in my own little private world of me and my family. I feel more responsibility to the world and it's issues. I feel that God is holding me responsible for my participation in the battle for good in these days. With all of this, it is not a feeling of pressure or of fear...but of hope. Real, comforting, hope. Especially as I have become involved. This God-given world is still an incredibly beautiful, good place full of good people. I hope my children will grow to love it as I do.
That said, I want to give a big reminder to issues at hand, especially those that I can only participate in by word of mouth and not vote directly: the issue of defining same-sex partnerships as marriage. There are a few states voting on this now. Some wonder, what's the big deal, it's just a title. I think of it as I have heard others say, this is the drop of water into the pond. The tiny drop may not seem very significant, but the ripple effects cover the entire pond.
A friend's brother wrote some thoughts on proposition 8, I wanted to share his summary:
"Proposition 8 is not about telling people who they can and cannot love. It is not about telling them who they can and cannot be with. It is not about preventing the legally recognized sharing of property, privacy, and privilege. Proposition 8 is about defining marriage. It is about the right and freedom of society and religion to abstain from a multiparty agreement deemed unacceptable. It is about preserving the coveted title of marriage as a stamp of approval for that fundamental institution which contributes the most to society. It is about protecting the unique status of the family and ensuring its place as the first and ultimate priority of civilization. Only the union of a man and a woman can create the greatest of all resources – human life. For that, we honor them. For that, we approve of them… and for that, we marry them… for only they have the power to create our future and the future of all humanity." Click here for the whole article.
...as crazy as this election has been, the final countdown still brings excitement.
In the last few weeks, I've felt that I can't always just live in my own little private world of me and my family. I feel more responsibility to the world and it's issues. I feel that God is holding me responsible for my participation in the battle for good in these days. With all of this, it is not a feeling of pressure or of fear...but of hope. Real, comforting, hope. Especially as I have become involved. This God-given world is still an incredibly beautiful, good place full of good people. I hope my children will grow to love it as I do.
That said, I want to give a big reminder to issues at hand, especially those that I can only participate in by word of mouth and not vote directly: the issue of defining same-sex partnerships as marriage. There are a few states voting on this now. Some wonder, what's the big deal, it's just a title. I think of it as I have heard others say, this is the drop of water into the pond. The tiny drop may not seem very significant, but the ripple effects cover the entire pond.A friend's brother wrote some thoughts on proposition 8, I wanted to share his summary:
"Proposition 8 is not about telling people who they can and cannot love. It is not about telling them who they can and cannot be with. It is not about preventing the legally recognized sharing of property, privacy, and privilege. Proposition 8 is about defining marriage. It is about the right and freedom of society and religion to abstain from a multiparty agreement deemed unacceptable. It is about preserving the coveted title of marriage as a stamp of approval for that fundamental institution which contributes the most to society. It is about protecting the unique status of the family and ensuring its place as the first and ultimate priority of civilization. Only the union of a man and a woman can create the greatest of all resources – human life. For that, we honor them. For that, we approve of them… and for that, we marry them… for only they have the power to create our future and the future of all humanity." Click here for the whole article.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
BLOG LIKE YOUR FAMILY DEPENDS ON IT, BECAUSE IN FACT IT DOES...
YES on Proposition 8....WHY??? (click here to read more)
I make a simple but urgent plea for understanding. What will really happen to society and especially, the family, if Proposition 8 does not pass? There are many places to get the facts. Click on all of my links for more information.
Won't Gay people loose thier rights?
Failure to pass Proposition 8 will affect children.
Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt churches.
This is my belief:
Doesn't this just involve California?
I make a simple but urgent plea for understanding. What will really happen to society and especially, the family, if Proposition 8 does not pass? There are many places to get the facts. Click on all of my links for more information.
Won't Gay people loose thier rights?
In California, the law provides for marriage-related benefits to be given to civil unions and domestic partnerships. Proposition 8 does not diminish these benefits. This is NOT the real issue here.
Failure to pass Proposition 8 will affect children.
If gay marriage remains legal, public schools will put it on equal footing with traditional marriage. Children will likely receive “age appropriate” information about sexual relations within heterosexual and homosexual marriages.
Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt churches.
The court’s decision will inevitably lead to conflicts with religious liberty and free speech rights. Society will become more and more hostile to traditional beliefs about marriage and family.
Having tolerance without condoning.
We can love others while still maintaining and advocating our standards and beliefs.
Proposition 8 will allow us to continue to teach our beliefs and standards.
This is my belief:"All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose." The Family- A Proclamation to the World
Take the challenge to get the word out, especially to your friends in California, Arizona, Florida...
Another way to support this cause, is to join a nation-wide fast with much needed prayers on Sept 12. Check out the information here.
TAG! ....if you are reading this, YOU'RE IT! Blog about it! PASS IT ON!
(feel free to copy and paste this onto your blog!)
Monday, October 6, 2008
Joy...
...it's amazing, the technology that we have today. that the entire WORLD can listen to the Prophet speak the words of God and hear him share his powerful testimony of Jesus Christ...and in their own language...in an instant...
...a few things inspired this General Conference from the Prophet Thomas S. Monson:
...a few things inspired this General Conference from the Prophet Thomas S. Monson:"find joy in the journey, now."
(paraphrasing) "never let a problem to be solved be more important than a person to be loved."
...and another inspiration from Elder Hales of the Twelve Apostles:
(paraphrasing) "let us gather up our Christian courage and move foward..."
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
women of today...
...this is who we are:"Sisters, now, more than ever we need women to step up and be strong. We need women who declare the truth with strength, faith, and boldness. We need women to set an example of righteousness. We need women to be anxiously engaged in a good cause. We need to live so that our lives bear witness that we love our Heavenly Father and the Savior Jesus Christ and that we will do what They have asked us to do. We need to “rescue all that is finest down deep inside of us” so that as daughters of God we can do our part to build the kingdom of God. We will have help to do this. As Joseph [Smith] declared, “If you live up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrain’d from being your associates."
At the recent General Relief Society conference for the world, we were inspired to give ourselves credit for who we really are. I liked this summary of the conference.
...why was that again???
...after this recent slew of posts to get a little caught up, I once again am asking myself: why blog? To improve my writing? Is there somehow I can scrapbook all of this? Do I need to? Is it just for me? Just for the Grandmas? Help me out here...
express yourself...ABC Zoo...
...shutterfly came through for me once again with a code for a free 8x8 book and our newest children's book is:
tiya monkey...
...This is the Place Heritage Park....
...it's MUCH more than "just a monument"...
...it's little train rides, big train rides, pioneers, handcarts, horehound candy....jpg)
...and Lucky the horse, and "Tiya" our friend! Pony rides!
I'd heard about Hippotherapy used in many ways, including helping autistic children, and children with other learning delays, and speech delays. I thought I would see what happened when we put our Boo on a horse, so I brought her to the only pony rides that I knew of....and, wow! She immediately lost inhibitions that otherwise render her shy and quiet. She was talking to the people, to the animals, pointing to objects, naming things...I was amazed! We immediately bought a season pass and bring her for the pony rides. Boo made a friend she calls "Tiya," who was especially helpful and understanding of Boo's needs. Boo returned the favor by calling her favorite stuffed monkeys: Tiya monkey, and Lucky monkey, after a favored horse.
...it's MUCH more than "just a monument"...
...it's little train rides, big train rides, pioneers, handcarts, horehound candy......and Lucky the horse, and "Tiya" our friend! Pony rides!
I'd heard about Hippotherapy used in many ways, including helping autistic children, and children with other learning delays, and speech delays. I thought I would see what happened when we put our Boo on a horse, so I brought her to the only pony rides that I knew of....and, wow! She immediately lost inhibitions that otherwise render her shy and quiet. She was talking to the people, to the animals, pointing to objects, naming things...I was amazed! We immediately bought a season pass and bring her for the pony rides. Boo made a friend she calls "Tiya," who was especially helpful and understanding of Boo's needs. Boo returned the favor by calling her favorite stuffed monkeys: Tiya monkey, and Lucky monkey, after a favored horse.
Monday, September 22, 2008
End of summer fun...
...I realize that summer has been over for a month now, but I wanted to add some pictures to finish it up...we were gone almost every other weekend. At first this was hard, and I wondered if even the kids were getting anything out of it...then as we got use to packing up and leaving, it became a lot of fun...
...motorcycle fun...
Trip to the cabin with the in-laws...
...playing in the river with cousins...
...playing in the river with cousins... 
...motorcycle fun......even Lil Bay loved it with her uncle...
...Boo really loved the motorcycles...
...all the men chopping wood...
...and our first snow of the season...
...other things this summer:
...Boo really loved the motorcycles...
...all the men chopping wood...
...and our first snow of the season...
...other things this summer:get-togethers with the Hermanas, sister missionaries I served with:
...weekend at Bear Lake...learning from Great-Grandpa...
...playing in the sand with second cousins...
...and of course...SWIMMING...
...SWIMMING...
...and now the summer is over...
...WE LOVE AUTUMN!!!
...weekend at Bear Lake...learning from Great-Grandpa...
...playing in the sand with second cousins...
...and of course...SWIMMING...
...SWIMMING...
...and now the summer is over...
...WE LOVE AUTUMN!!!blessings...
...come in all sizes. The newest grandchild/cousin was given a Priesthood blessing by his father in church on Sunday. 
I love that the church has this ordinance, to give a name and a blessing to a child, usually given by the father. It's for any child. Just like in Bible times. These little ones, who don't yet need baptism or any saving ordinances, as they are still completely innocent and perfect. Simply a name and a blessing to start them out in life.
I love that the church has this ordinance, to give a name and a blessing to a child, usually given by the father. It's for any child. Just like in Bible times. These little ones, who don't yet need baptism or any saving ordinances, as they are still completely innocent and perfect. Simply a name and a blessing to start them out in life.
express yourself...mountain climbing...
...my hubbies latest adventure, the high peak of Montana, Granite Peak...
"2000 ft drop" huh? that sounds like fun...
...natures high points are what he loves to reach, so I love that he does it...he always comes home more in love with life, nature, God, and me! no complaints there. especially if I choose to come (slow speed and bad knees permitting), or be base camp with the kids.
express yourself...autumn project...
...here is the latest art project by Boo...and me! (can you guess who did which?)
Well, this project was to welcome in a favorite season: autumn! We painted these colors on wax paper...then...
..cut leaves to hang on the windows...so if you are missing those autumn colors...here's a project for you...
Well, this project was to welcome in a favorite season: autumn! We painted these colors on wax paper...then...
..cut leaves to hang on the windows...so if you are missing those autumn colors...here's a project for you...
Friday, September 12, 2008
it's all about bodily functions...
…around here. That's what the wife of my former Bishop said of having small children. Well, we started introducing potty training…both girls! Little Bay is young to start this, (and Boo's a little older...but who's keeping track?) and Boo does better with her sister’s peer pressure and support. When Boo sits on the potty, she wants her sister right there on the little potty next to her. I have no expectations for them right now. Boo has just been stripping down and showing other signs lately so I wanted to try it. All expectations are on myself. I hope they just have fun with it and we’ll see where it goes, but, it’s not very much fun for me…any advice in this area is greatly appreciated!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
inspire me...full time wiper...
...in church us women have a program called Enrichment Night. It’s similar to community learning classes, where we learn all KINDS of things, and better get to know our friends and neighbors. It was one of the ‘get to know you’ nights that my friend, mother of four small children, was planning on attending. She was supposed to make a basket of things representing herself, her talents, etc, to share with the group. She is the type of person who likes to be accurate; she didn’t just want to throw any old things into the basket, so she tried to give some thought to the task. Activity time came, however, and she had no basket. No time! Then inspiration hit as she was doing what she does daily: wiping up messes, wiping fingers, wiping faces, wiping bums, wiping noses, wiping dishes/counters/floors/windows/take your pick! She is a talented wiper! She filled that basked with all the ‘wipes’ she could find from Clorox wipes to diaper wipes and had a good time with it.This silly situation has inspired me, as my friend often does, that we see the positive in our present situation and find our hidden talents as well as happiness. Her attitude helps me be content to be a professional wiper at the present time.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
winner!
Woo Hoo! Babinskis Baby a cute baby boutique had a give-away and I won! I got to choose a FREE Petit Bateau Spring onsie. Cute!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
shout out!
against pornography...here are just five scary facts:
*1 in 5 children (10 to 17 years old) receives unwanted sexual solicitations online
*As of December 2005, child pornography was a $3 billion annual industry
*Hollywood produces 400 feature films a year. The porn industry churns out 11,000.
*The Internet was a significant factor in 2 out of 3 divorces
*The pornography industry brings in more money in one year than every NBA, NFL, and MLB team combined
A friend who worked in a prison, told me that %100 percent of the prisoners he met were into pornography. Every man he met in that prison had pornography involved in the beginnings of their criminal records. And everywhere he looked, the addiction continued with posters on the wall, etc.
There are many issues that face us and our kids today. And most of them I'm willing to fight by starting in the home. Teaching my children morals. Helping the future generation know right from wrong. Voting and having a public say when I can. And being an example. But this issue, pornography, I'm willing to go the extra mile to fight.
So, I've joined a group of moms who are fighting this legally.
The Lighted Candle Society is fighting pornography with statistics, research, and in courts. The courts are telling them, come to us with facts, not morals. And this is their goal.
Mary's Army is a branch of this, the group of mothers who want to help.
You can join by clicking on the link.
*1 in 5 children (10 to 17 years old) receives unwanted sexual solicitations online
*As of December 2005, child pornography was a $3 billion annual industry
*Hollywood produces 400 feature films a year. The porn industry churns out 11,000.
*The Internet was a significant factor in 2 out of 3 divorces
*The pornography industry brings in more money in one year than every NBA, NFL, and MLB team combined
A friend who worked in a prison, told me that %100 percent of the prisoners he met were into pornography. Every man he met in that prison had pornography involved in the beginnings of their criminal records. And everywhere he looked, the addiction continued with posters on the wall, etc.
There are many issues that face us and our kids today. And most of them I'm willing to fight by starting in the home. Teaching my children morals. Helping the future generation know right from wrong. Voting and having a public say when I can. And being an example. But this issue, pornography, I'm willing to go the extra mile to fight.
So, I've joined a group of moms who are fighting this legally.
The Lighted Candle Society is fighting pornography with statistics, research, and in courts. The courts are telling them, come to us with facts, not morals. And this is their goal.
Mary's Army is a branch of this, the group of mothers who want to help.
You can join by clicking on the link.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
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