Chocolate faces and Marshmallow smiles

It's finally cooling off here (yay!) and to celebrate we roasted hot dogs and s'mores around the fire pit last night. Troy, our local scout man built us a beautiful fire out of Grandpa's orange wood (the coals smell so good).
Annie and Taylor love s'mores and eating/cooking outside. I think Annie had more chocolate on her face that in her mouth, but that is the fun of eating this treat.
Tyson had a lot of fun running around, throwing rocks into the fire and eating bites of everyone's hot dogs. He really had fun when he got to eat his s'more.
Daddy pointed out these wonderful chocolate prints on the glass door. Hmmmm. I wonder who did that?
Ah, here's the culprit. We caught him red handed, I mean chocolate handed! We tried to get him to clean the window, but since he wanted to lick the chocolate off the door it didn't work.
I'm so glad for the cooler temperatures. I just have too much insulation to enjoy summer here. :)

Oh Yuck!!!

One of the kids I care for is 6 months old, and Tyson usually loves to play with her (or step on her...depends on his mood). Today he doesn't want her here at all because he wants all of Mommy's attention.

When it was time to feed her he decided to sit on the table to watch me. I noticed that he'd start yelling at me each time I put the spoon of food in her mouth, so I asked if he wanted some baby food too. He nodded, so I scooped a spoon full of green beans into his mouth (I made sure Annie had the camera ready first). They didn't stay in his mouth very long and as you can see from his face, he didn't much like them. The look on his face still makes me laugh. He hasn't asked for anymore baby food and shortly after the green bean incident he went to play with Annie. I guess Mom was no fun after that (or maybe he just didn't want any more of the green bean kind of attention). I love my job. :)

Talent

I got this link from some LDS message boards I'm a part of and it's so funny! Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f86qKQJg3Z8

Unexpected and Sad

I received some very sad news yesterday evening. A friend of mine who is a sister in our ward passed away. She was only 32 and leaves behind her husband, 3 stepchildren that she was very close to and a 20 month old little girl.

Brenna and I got to know each other through sitting in the mother's room and walking the halls with our babies. She was such a good woman with a sweet spirit and a beautiful smile. The thought of walking into Relief Society and not seeing her there makes my heart break. I still cry when I think about everything I will miss about her.

A few weeks ago, in Relief Society we had a lesson titled, "Words of Hope and Consolation at the Time of Death". I remember sitting there and feeling the spirit so strongly and then very clearly, the thought came to me that we would need the teachings from the lesson very soon.

Being the self absorbed person that I can be, I thought it was just for me...that I was being prepared for the death of a family member. I thought that it would be someone that had lived a long and happy life and that would be ready to go. I did not expect to experience the loss of someone so young and with so much ahead of her.

Anyway, I read that lesson again today and gained a lot of comfort from it and I wanted to share part of it. Here is an exerpt of a talk that Joseph Smith gave at the funeral of his friend, Elder King Follet:

"You mourners have occasion to rejoice, speaking of the death of Elder King Follett; for your husband and father is one to wait until the resurrection of the dead-until the perfection of the remainder; for at the resurrection your friend will rise in perfect felicity and go to celestial glory..."

"I am authorized to say, by the authority of the Holy Ghost, that you have no occasion to fear; for he is gone to the home of the just. Don't mourn, don't weep. I know it by the testimony of the Holy Ghost that is within me; and you may wait for your friends to come forth to meet you in the morn of the celestial world..."

"I have a father, brothers, children and friends who have gone to a world of spirits. They are only absent for a moment. They are in the spirit and we shall soon meet again. The time will soon arrive when the trumpet shall sound. When we depart we shall hail our mothers, fathers, friends, and all whom we love who have fallen asleep in Jesus. There will be no fear of mobs, persecutions, or malicious lawsuits and arrests, but it will be an eternity of felicity."

I love those paragraphs and the teachings contained in them. I have such a testimony of God's will and of the Plan of Salvation, and I'm very thankful to have this knowledge. I don't know how people go through life without it. I can imagine Brenna on the other side doing the work that the Lord needs her for and waiting patiently for her husband and children to join her.

This experience has also made me think very hard about my conduct. If I were to go to bed and never wake up would my husband, children, family and friends know I loved them? Would I have said everything I should have said? Would my children remember me as a mom who was bossy and yelled a lot, throwing in the occasional swear word and would Kevin remember me as a grouchy, nagging wife? Do my family and friends know the impact they've had on my life?

I can honestly say that I'm not sure, so I decided that I'm going to start right now and rectify that:

To my sweet husband Kevin: I love you so much. You are my very best friend and the only constant person in my life who have ever believed I was worth something. You have stood up for me, taught me, loved me, laughed with me and treated me as a queen. I am so blessed to have you and the love that we share.

To my children: I am so proud of each of you. Troy, you are an example of how to be strong in a world of temptation. Annie, you are an example of sweetness and love. Taylor, you have helped me laugh on the days I don't want to, and Tyson, you have taught me to love through trial, tribulation and mischevieousness. Each of you is special to me and I'm thankful for the chance I have to be your mother.

To my family (immediate, extended, in-laws, etc): I love each of you. You are great examples to me and you are my friends as well, and that means so much to me. Life is so much better because of you. Life is also more fun with my siblings around...we are quite the group. :)

To my friends: I want to mention each of you by name, but because I'll probably forget someone I won't. So, to you that I count as my friends. I love you! Each of you has gotten past my "wall" and into my heart (not an easy task). I love spending time with you in work, play and worship. I love seeing your faces and making you laugh. I appreciate your love and support that comes my way. I love being there to help you in times of need and I also appreciate knowing that if I need any help, one phone call is all it takes.

I have learned so much from this experience and I hope that by sharing what I have learned that I can be a help to anyone else that may be hurting right now. I am so grateful for the teachings of the Church.

Jumpy the Walk

Inside this creature catcher is a bug that has entertained Taylor and Annie most of this afternoon. His name is Jumpy the Walk.
Annie and Taylor caught Jumpy today. He's a fly that can't fly, so they decided that he's really a walk and they named him Jumpy 'cause he jumps. They have watched him non stop all afternoon and even went so far and to give him a piece of cheese for his dinner. He has slowly gotten less jumpy, so they are worried he'll die soon.

As a mom I know I should be encouraging them in their adventure and showing the proper sadness at Jumpy's upcoming demise, but I'm having a hard time with this. The best I can do is pretend that I like him and give them a "this is part of the circle of life" speech from Lion King. Seeing as how they have had so much fun and how they are determined to catch another bug, I'll have to come up with something better I guess. ;)

**quick update...Annie and Taylor just brought Jumpy in to me, and he is on his back with his legs in the air. Time of death: 8:11 pm. They are so sad and I still can't find it in me to mourn a fly, er, I mean walk. I may need professional help....where is SuperNanny?

Jersey Day

The kids have spirit week this week and today was sports day. They all dressed in their jerseys...Cowboys of course. Kevin will be so proud. Taylor is wearing Troy's old jersey but in protest. He asked me today..."Mom, will you PLEASE buy me Cardinals jersey for Christmas?"

Pioneer Day Celebration (belated)

The primary had their Pioneer Day activity today. Taylor and Annie had a lot of fun making dolls and toys and shaking their own cream into butter. Each of them dressed up and we turned the wagon into a covered wagon. It's amazing what a couple of tent poles, some duct tape and a white sheet can do. :)
We even added a "bumper sticker" for a little fun. We wrote it on the back of a pepsi box since Kevin's idea of being a pioneer and roughing it is drinking pepsi instead of coke.
Tyson didn't get to go to the activity, but when we showed up for the official primary parade he decided to ride in the wagon. He had daddy's old cell phone and was riding and making calls at the same time...what a pioneer. :)
They went around the church and then back into the cultural hall for their treat of homemade bread with homemade butter. There were a lot of cute wagons and a lot of cute costumes and they had so much fun.
Thanks Primary Presidency for all your hard work. You did a great job!!

Mmmmm, Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting

I was visiting blogs today and a friend of mine posted a personality thing. It's surprisingly accurate and lots of fun. You get to pick a dessert and then read about yourself based on what you chose. I picked chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and had a lot of fun reading my profile...it fits me to a T! ;)

I enjoyed doing it so much and reading about what other desserts say about you that I'm putting it here. Have fun! :)

If all of the eight desserts listed below were sitting in front of you, which would you choose (you can only pick one)! Pick your dessert, and then look to see what psychiatrists think about you. No changing mind!!!!! Here are your choices:

1. Angel Food Cake
2. Brownies
3. Lemon Meringue Pie
4. Vanilla Cake With Chocolate Icing
5. Strawberry Short Cake
6. Chocolate Cake With Chocolate Icing
7. Ice Cream
8. Carrot Cake

OK - Now that you've made your choice, this is what the researchers say about you...SCROLL DOWN---No Cheating

1. ANGEL FOOD CAKE -- Sweet, loving, cuddly. You love all warm and fuzzy items A little nutty at times. Sometimes you need an ice cream cone at the end of the day. Others perceive you as being childlike and immature at times.

2. BROWNIES -- You are adventurous, love new ideas, and are a champion of underdogs and a slayer of dragons. When tempers flare up you whip out your saber. You are always the oddball with a unique sense of humor and direction. You tend to be very loyal.

3. LEMON MERINGUE -- Smooth, sexy, & articulate with your hands, you are an excellent caregiver and a good teacher. But don't try to walk and chew gum at the same time. A bit of a diva at times, you set your own style because you do your own thing. You shine when it comes to helping others and have many friends.

4. VANILLA CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE ICING -- Fun-loving, sassy, humorous, not very grounded in life; very indecisive and lacking motivation. Everyone enjoys being around you, but you are a practical joker. Others should be cautious in making you mad. However, you are a friend for life.

5. STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE -- You care about other people, can be counted on in a pinch and expect the same in return. Intuitively keen. You can be very emotional at times but a true person in every way. You like to do things for yourself and help others learn about themselves.

6 . CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE ICING -- Romantic, warm, loving..Sexy; always ready to give and receive. Very creative, adventurous, ambitious, and passionate. You can appear to have a cold exterior but are warm on the inside. Not afraid to take chances Will not settle for anything average in life. Love to laugh.

7. ICE CREAM -- You like sports, whether it be baseball, football,basketball, or soccer. If you could, you would like to participate, but you enjoy watching sports. You don't like to give up the remote control.You tend to be self-centered and high maintenance.

8. CARROT CAKE -- You are a very fun loving person, who likes to laugh.You are fun to be with. People like to hang out with you. You are a very warm hearted person and a little quirky at times. You have many loyal friends You were meant to lead and teach others. A wonderful role model.

Happy Birthday Troy!

Troy turned 14 on Saturday and to celebrate we had several get togethers. Friday night, his friends Paul, Wyatt, Dusty and Austin came over and went to a movie and had a sleepover. We made homemade egg rolls and cupcakes and they watched movies and played video games. The highlight of the night was a visit from 4 sheriff's deputies on a complaint from our crazy neighbor. I would have never thought that our family was scary enough for the entire force to come out, but I guess we are. :)
We also had KoraLee and J.T. for the weekend, so between Troy's friends (who stayed up ALL night) and the smaller kids (who stayed up for most of the night), we didn't get much sleep. The bags under my eyes are the size of carry on luggage. :) Saturday we did a few things with Troy and on Sunday, we invited friends and family over for cake and ice cream. We had a fun time visiting and laughing with everyone. Here is the cake we made for the occasion. It was a little too big (I got a little carried away), so we had a lot left over. Thankfully, we were able to send some home with our friends.
Troy had a lot of fun. He got some much needed money which will help him get some new shoes for church and a new scout shirt and he got a really neat sword from Uncle Brian and Aunt Julie. It's a sword from "Eragon" and Troy played with it all night. He may have even slept with it, but I'm not sure. :)
Thanks to our wonderful friends and family Troy had a wonderful birthday and we had a lot of fun with him. Thanks everyone! And, happy birthday to you Troy. You are such a good kid and we are so proud of you.