{July 2015: Beach Fun, Visit Family & Friends, 4th, Park, Apple Harvest}

We had a blast at the beach; visiting with my friend Megan, her husband Jeremy, and their 5 kids.  Water Fun.  Sand castle Building.  Lovely day, spending time with friends.

 Such a beautiful day visiting at the beach.

 Such a wonderful time playing at the beach.

We loved visiting with my friend Megan, and her family.  We stayed overnight & spent the day.

4th of July Celebration at my parents house.  Delicious Barbeque.  Independence day Festivities: Singing Patriotic Songs, U.S.A. History Trivia, Popsicles, Watching Fireworks & Treats.  We went to the Baptism, of our nephew H. Such a wonderful day! 

 Visiting with Family {my side}, in Washington. Our kids with their Grandparents {my parents}.

Yummy Popsicles.  Our kids having fun with their cousins and Uncle Joe.

 So much Fun at the park, visiting with loved ones.

Visiting with my friend Adrienne and her family & my sister Celestia & her family.

 Such a lovely day, playing at the park.

We had a great time, swimming and visiting at the stream by the Children's museum, with family {sister Angela, sister-in-law Mandy & 3 cousins}.  While my older 3, went with Daddy, 2 Uncles and 10 cousins on an overnight hike by Mt. Rainier.  Afterwards, we went out to eat Fun & Delicious Sushi.

Beautiful Sunset.  Summer Family Fun.

Family Movie Night.  Snuggling Baby D.

Sweet Sibling Moments.

Family Yard Picnic.  Playing at the Park.

Our family had a blast playing, at the park together.

 Harvesting Delicious Apples, from our Yard.

 

{Family Fun, Mother's Day, R's Baptism, Talks, School: May 2014}

In the month of May, with our Family, there were a lot of awesome things happening.  We went to the Family BBQ {Picnic}, at Mark and the Kid's School, we Celebrated Cinco De Mayo, by eating Yummy Mexican food.  Our son E, was Principal's Pride in his class {Student of the Month}.  We were so proud of him!  Our daughter K gave a talk in Primary, on Easter Sunday {April 20th}   K's "Easter Talk":  {K did a Wonderful Job!}

"Jesus Has Risen.  Jesus Our Brother.  Jesus Our Friend.  Joy Fills Our Hearts.  He Lives Again. "The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven..." (Joseph Smith Teachings) I am thankful that Jesus was resurrected, so I can be resurrected too someday, and be with my family forever.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Our son E, also gave a talk in Primary "God Speaks Through Prophets" E's Talk:  {E did a Wonderful job!} "There are many ways that Heavenly Father can talk to you. He can speak to you through the Holy Ghost. He can speak to you through the scriptures. One very important way that Heavenly Father talks to His children is through His living prophets. When the prophet speaks, he tells us things that Heavenly Father wants us to know.
In the Book of Mormon the people of King Noah were very wicked. Heavenly Father sent His prophet Abinadi to preach to them.  Alma, one of the priests, believed Abinadi’s words and learned the way to obtain God’s promised blessings.
In the Bible we read of God’s promises to the children of Israel. Through Moses, His prophet, the Lord delivered them from Egypt. Moses taught the children of Israel the way to obtain God’s promises and blessings.
There was not a prophet on the earth when Joseph Smith prayed to find out which church to join. He became God’s prophet and restored the true Church of Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith taught the people what they needed to do to obtain God’s promises and blessings.
 If you knew that Jesus Christ was coming to speak to you, would you take time out from your playing to go and listen to
Him? Each April and October, the prophet and other General Authorities speak to us in special meetings called general conference. They tell us the things the Savior would tell us if He were here. Their words are like the scriptures and will guide us in our lives.
Today PresidentThomas S. Monson tells us what God wants us to know and do. When we listen to general conference, it is as if God Himself is speaking to us. We can learn the way to obtain God’s promised blessings when we listen to our prophet.
Our prophet loves us just as the Savior loves us. If we do the things he teaches, we can be happier in this life. We can learn how to live again with Father in Heaven and the Savior, Jesus Christ. It is wonderful to know that through our prophet, the Savior is speaking to each of us!  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen"
Sources:
Elizabeth Ricks, “Sharing Time: I Will Follow the Prophet Today,” Friend, Oct 2006, 14–16
Diane S. Nichols, “Sharing Time: Listen to a Prophet’s Voice!,” Friend, Apr 2001, 13

We celebrated Mother's Day.  The Kids and Mark spoiled me, with Breakfast in Bed, a Wonderful Lunch and Dinner, Flowers, and Special handmade gifts from the Kiddos.  We also called and sent cards to our Mothers.  It was a great day!

Our Daughter R had her Baptism in the month of May.  We were so proud of her.  I did a Photo Shoot of her in her Baptism dress, {that my Mom made for her--it's so beautiful!}  To view more of her Session, click here.  

Our Daughter R, had her Baptism, up in Oregon, with her Best Friend, L.  They had a wonderful experience together.  They sang "When I am Baptized" together, and they also sang "I am a Child of God" with their siblings {they have siblings who are all the same ages as our first 4 kids, and they are all best friends}.  I also played the descant on my violin, for that one too.

It was so fun to have a combined Baptism, with our great friends, the Smith family.  The program was all done by both of our families.  Mark's Dad {R's grandpa} gave the talk on The Holy Ghost, and Nette's Mom {L's grandma} gave the talk on Baptism.  Both R and L's Dad's Baptized them.  It was a Beautiful Baptismal service.  Mark confirmed R.  It was such a wonderful day!

 We went back to Mark's parent's home, with both sides of our family, and took some lovely pictures {thanks Riana!} with our family.

Our Daughter R, with her Grandparents, Parents, and Siblings.

R and L had such an Amazing Baptism day!  R with her Cousins, at her Baptism Luncheon.

Our Kids had such a Blast playing with Cousins from both sides of our Family.  It was a wonderful Baptism day!  We all had a great time spending time together.  We are so glad that so many of our Family and Friends could be there for R's special day!{Thanks to my awesome sister, Angela for taking care of our sick Baby H {without being asked!}, during the Baptism!}

{R's Baptism Invitation & 8th Birthday Party!}

Since we only recently moved to Idaho from Oregon; our Daughter R, wanted to have her Baptism in Oregon {Plus she gets to have her Baptism, with her best friend L Smith!  The girls are super excited! :)} 

 We Celebrated our Daughter R’s 8th Birthday {yay!  It’s Great to be 8!} Party with a Disney’s “Frozen” themed party!  We had a total Blast!  Click here to View More from our Party!

{Friends, Baptism, Visits: Dec 2013}

We visited with my Amazing Friend Adrienne, and her Family while we were in Washington.  We have been Friends for Over 25 years.  We had a lot of fun with them.

We attended our niece K's Baptism.

 {My Sister Angela and Grant's Daughter}

It was a Beautiful Baptism.  We were proud of K for making the choice to be Baptized into Jesus Christ's true Church.

 On our way back to Idaho from Washington, we stopped in Oregon to visit Family and Friends.  We enjoyed visiting some of our Favorite Friends: The Smiths.  Nette & I.  Our Daughter R with Friend L.

We enjoy spending time with them and each of the kids (except Baby H) have a Bff their age in their Family.  Our daughter K with friend N.

We had fun going to McD's with them.  Baby H {who LOVES Baby Dolls!} with Daddy.  Our sons E & C with their friends M & T.  We had a lot of fun with them.

It's so crazy to see our Home on the Market.  It's even more surreal for the Kids.  Our 3 year old {C}, keeps saying, "We used to live there in the Yellow House Mommy.  I miss our Yellow House."  Sad.  But I guess change is not always easy, especially on children.

October Events: Baptism, Sealing, Halloween

Little Man E's 8 year Session, to see more from his session check out my Photo Blog.

E's Baptism was so wonderful.  We got to have a Baptism for just him, and we had a lot of Family and Friends attend.  The whole program was by our Family (from both sides: Prayers by Grandpas, Talks by Uncle Joe and Grandma, Pianist and Chorister: Grandmas, Confirmation Circle: Little Man E had his Daddy, our Bishop, Both Grandfathers, and 7 of his Uncles) and it was awesome.  Little Man E sang with some of his cousins and siblings, "I Come to the Water," a Baptism song that I sang at my own Baptism as well, so it was really special for me to have them sing it. 

Little Man E was Baptized and Confirmed by his father (Mark), and it was a wonderful, Spiritual experience.  I was very moved seeing my oldest child be baptized and confirmed by my dear husband.  We were all so proud of Little Man E for making the right choice to be baptized into Jesus Christ's true Church.

We were so happy to have so many Family and Friends attend, it made it even more special.  We had a dinner afterwards, and we got to have many lovely conversations with those who were there.

We went to the Temple for Mark's oldest brother's (Scot) sealing to his wife (Laura), and all of Mark's siblings, their spouses and his parents got to be there.  It was really special to be there with all of them.  We went on a Hayride, (driven by Mark's Dad) with Mark's side of the family and it was really fun.  Little Man E (and Little Miss R) have been learning to read, and making some great progress towards independent literacy.  Last picture of Little Man C and cousin C.

We had a Fabulous Halloween this year.  During the day, I took Little Miss K and Little Man C to Little Miss R and Little Man E's School Halloween Parties and Parades.  They were a lot of fun to attend, especially for the kiddos.  Little Miss R and Little Man E loved having their siblings there also.  The kids enjoyed treats, snacks, activities and games together.  Little Man E and Little Miss R's classrooms are very close together; so Little Miss K attended Little Miss R's party and Little Man C attended Little Man E's party (and I went back and forth between the two of them).  In the evening, I took the kiddos (Little Man E: Ninja, Little Miss R: Vampire, Little Miss K: Witch, Little Man C: Pooh Bear) to the Trunk or Treat, and they had a lot of fun (while Mark handed out candy at home).  Then we traded and Mark took them Trick or Treating around our neighborhood and to family members (while I handed out candy at home).  The kids were So Excited about all of the treats that they got in their buckets!  We had a Wonderful Halloween this year!  We always Love Halloween. :)

Invitation to Little Man E's Baptism

The Faith of Children

I have been neglecting my blog a bit lately. I think I have this misconception about having to do chronological in my blogging, and always having pictures. Well, I don't have to do either right? Well, I wanted to write about a little experience that the kids and I had a few weeks ago.

The kids and I were driving up to caravan with my mom (she was up helping out her mom and sisters) two hours north (she got to come down and visit with us a few times, for the 4th of July, etc too), we were going back for my niece S's baptism, and the van was driving fine, until we got to our exit (5 minutes from my grandma's place) and the van just died. The engine was smoking.

Luckily, I pulled off the road in time, and a nice lady stopped to help. I know absolutely minimal about cars. That's what I have my husband for right? LOL, yah he was not there to help and I couldn't reach him on his cel phone. My kids started crying in the back, "I want Daddy! I want Daddy!" Apparently they knew also that mommy knows nothing about cars! LOL. I knew my kids were intuitive.

I was trying to hold it together and figure out what to do, and from the back of the car, I heard two little voices (my 4 and 3 year olds) saying, "Heavenly Father, please bless our van to work, and get us to Grandma's house!"

I tried to start the van and it worked! And we drove down hill to my Grandma's house. When we arrived there, my children proceeded to tell me, "Mommy, we prayed so Heavenly Father made the car work." (I'm crying even as I write this). The faith of children is amazing isn't it? I am in awe of them at this moment.