Me: Murphy, what have you learned about the Savior from the studying the Book of Mormon this year?
Murphy (10): I learned that Jesus came to America and taught the new commandments.
Me: What are the new commandments?
Murphy: 11, 12 and 13
Nolan: There’s a spider over there!
Dad: So step on it.
Nolan: No! I have feet on!
I know we all have photos of our kids sleeping…anywhere, anytime, every which way. I’ve just taken so many lately that I had to look back on some old ones…here’s just a few of what I found…It may be long…but mostly pictures.
In the swing…in the car,
In the pool…at the park!
In a stroller…on a lap,
With a drill…at Disneyland!
At church…after church…
On the floor…at the store.
On the stairs…with a book,
With a book…on the stairs!
In uniform…and in costume, 
as a king…and at the zoo! 
Pay no attention to his hands, isn’t that what all boys do?!? 
In a chair…or dreaming of hero’s,
I guess he needed another pillow!
Supposed to be cleaning…after a treat,
Maybe he’s playing hide-and-seek.
Sometimes sick…or half out/half in,
Sometimes you just need a friend.
In a fort…or on a bed too small,
Sometime rest is needed…no matter where you fall!
We recently had to do a pet re-do. Daisy is a Great Dane. Everything about her was great. Including the amount of hair she shed. It made the boys’ eczema flare up. My aunt is now the busy owner of two Great Danes along with two other dogs.
Daisy (right) will be one this Tuesday. She was so much fun. She will be hard to replace. Especially when we can’t agree on a dog/pet. So in the meantime, we bought the smallest pets.
Meet: Raptor: the evil beta fish, Captain America and the Avengers: the red, white, and blue neons, Iron Man & Thor: guppy’s, Pepper Pots: a glo fish, and Loki: a sucker-mouth catfish.
They can’t kiss you, goose you, hug you, sit on your lap, or love you, but they’re pretty to look at.
When we bought this house, I knew it came with a lot of projects…..there is oak everywhere! Cabinets, doors, paneling and moldings. This is room 2 of many, many more, that will need all that wood painted or replaced…one room at a time. Dustin, however, said that he won’t be sanding/painting any more cabinets. I don’t blame him. This was hard!!! It’s definitely worth saving up and paying more $$$ to have a professional do it.
Big thanks to my aunt Janet who removed all the ugly backsplash, sheetrocked, and re-routed some plumbing. And thanks to my dad who helped with the shoe-shelf design, beadboard, and use of his truck for the many trips to home depot. He tries to convince us he is retired from this sort of work, but we still get it out of him. Love you Pops!
Before…dark and dated. (I hate my floor tile. But can’t take it up until we redo the kitchen)
After…light and updated. Makes me want to do laundry! (Except who’s going to fold and put away?!?)
Check out that awesome shoe cubby! Dustin built it himself. (with a little help from my dad) There are no screws. Only dowels and glue for the top shelf.
For art, all I did was cut out an image and mount in on colored paper. Ikea frames are super cheep and have pretty decent sized mats. I double the mats in the center picture.
For the art near my sewing desk, I took 3 canvas’ and covered them in graphic black and white fabric. I then used ribbon, bows, and buttons to decorate them.
I’ve used many a job chart/reward system in my 9.5 years of being a mom – from store bought sticker charts to cute and crafty ideas to try to keep my kids interested. It seems nothing ever seems to work!!! I kept telling myself “the older they get, the more help they’ll be.” NOT! With each child the messes get bigger along with my frustrations. I didn’t know how to keep a tidy home while being attentive to all my children and their needs, and giving myself personal time. I didn’t want to spend every day repeating the same chores I did the day before. I felt like I was wasting my personal time and time spent doing fun stuff with my kids and family. A clean/ORGANIZED home is very important to me. It helps me relax and feel at peace. But I felt I was sacrificing my peaceful feelings with frustration, disappointment AND the things that mattered most.
I found a page on ‘zones’ while searching for something that would better fit our family. (I’m sorry I can’t find the link) I fist divided our home into 4 zones. (I’ve since added a 5th)
1. Kitchen & Dinning
2. Living Room & Family Room
3. Bathrooms
4. Utility Rooms (Pantry, Laundry, Office)
5. Outside
There are 6 of us. One too little of course for his own zone. So each person is assigned a zone…FOR ONE WEEK. Starting Monday, you get a new zone. It’s your job to keep your zone looking tidy throughout the week. Then on the weekend, you deep clean your zone. You may think that the kitchen or bathrooms seem unfair. But, everyone is responsible for after-meal clean up. And, if you’ve got all the bathroom cleaning stuff out, why not move from one bathroom to another. Besides, you only have to do it every 5 weeks! And by having the same zone each week, you learn how to keep it clean, the right way to deep clean, and to hold others accountable for the messes they make. I love the system, however, with any system I’ve found that it’s me who needs to follow through more. That’s what keeps it a success.
They have other jobs too. Each is responsible for their bedrooms, each has a section of the dishwasher to unload, and they help with and put away their own laundry.
To make the zone chart, I just printed each zone/name on magnet paper and used a dry erase board!
We just celebrated our 12th anniversary! When throwing out ideas, one came up and we jumped on it! During our anniversary, I was going to be gone at girls camp, and Dustin really wanted to see Chipper play as it’s his last season. So we planned it a month early, and good thing too. Who knew girls camp could wear you out so much! I came home exhausted and sick!
On our way to the airport we were so excited! Leaving our kids home with my mom and sister felt great. We didn’t feel rushed to get home and relieve the babysitter or worry about whether or not the kids were okay. We just enjoyed an entire day and a half being together and alone!
Never seen a bigger smile!
It was the perfect game too! It went 11 innings, Braves had 19 hits, and Chipper had a great night including a solo home run!
The game went so late we thought we were going to miss the late night showing of The Avengers that we’d bought tickets for. Dustin had injured both calf muscles the day before we flew out. And after being on a plane and taking his cancer pills that cause water retention he could hardly walk. We didn’t know how we were going to rush back to the car with the huge crowds. 
SO, we paid to be pulled in a buggy by a cyclist! I’ve never been so scared and giggly in all my life! We were going so fast and I was laughing so hard I couldn’t take a good picture. People were yelling at the guy as he was weaving in and out through the crowds and a few times I thought we were going to flip (which has happened to me before as a child with a friend and her older brothers friend doing the cycling) we missed a few previews but…WE MADE THE MOVIE! We only had 30-40 minutes to get to the movie from the time the game ended.
I think we decided we need more of these mini time outs! Denver was close and cheep, and if I find more things to do in nearby states that just require a family member sleeping over for just one night while we get away I think it’s totally worth it!
Happy 12th Anniversary!
It’s been a little over a year since Gracie was diagnosed with Type1 Diabetes. It’s been a year of trials, frustration, patience and learning. We knew that eventually we’d be putting her on a pump. A pump is a device that delivers small amounts of insulin directly into your body through a small tube throughout the day. Gracie has been taking about 5-6 shots a day and will now only be doing 1 every three days. (still poking her fingers about 8 times a day) At first I thought, GREAT! Less shots, more convenience…but Friday, after seeing her connected to a machine, dependent on a machine…my heart broke. She’s super excited though! I’m so grateful for modern medicine…
She also just finished her second recital. She played, “You’ve got a friend in me!”
For Mother’s Day I made my own plans. The night before I got together everything needed for a picnic! After church, we headed up the canyon and did just that. I was a little chilly, but everyone had a good time and my house wasn’t the usual Sunday disaster!
We went back up the canyon Monday night for FHE. We roasted mallows, grilled sandwiches, let the kiddos explore, and played a Book of Mormon quiz.
