Conference- My random thoughts

Disclaimer: For Journaling purposes

As many have written, conference was great this week-end. It is always the re-fuel that I need. I was telling Aaron that when I was a teen-ager I didn't really look forward to conference that much. The main reason was probably because growing up we didn't have TV so we had to get dressed in our church clothes and watch conference at the stake center with all the missionaries. Kind of lame when your 15.
This past week-end I would have given anything to be able to sit in a quiet chapel and listen to the inspiring words that were spoken. Instead I tried to listen while simultaneously trying to entertain the girls. I found myself cleaning up breakfast and listening from the other room when the story of Mary and Martha from the bible came to mind. I had a distinct thought, "this can wait... go listen to conference." I was glad that I followed that prompting and was truly uplifted by the talks and the music. Speaking of the music... I love the choirs. Each session the music was amazing. I found myself getting choked up on every song, especially when the children sang. I loved the hope and the optimism that was conveyed. There is so much in the world to be worried about and sometimes I tend to focus on those things. The talks were a great reminder of the blessings that we all have, and those things that we can do as individuals, parents, and spouses to help keep ourselves and our families protected from the influences of the adversary.

This morning after I dropped off Anna at pre-school I took Brooklyn on a walk. It was a beautiful day, there was morning rain but now the sun was shining so bright. I just felt happy. It wasn't that the concerns on my mind went away, it was that I focused on all that I have. I have a beautiful family, we are all healthy, Aaron has a great job, we have a place to live that keep us protected from the cold and rain. If my girls get sick I can take them to the doctor. We have healthy food to eat and clean running water. I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. Our ward building is 2 minutes from our house. We have a temple within 25 minutes from our home. Our family can be together forever. These last couple days I have heard some really sad stories that have happened to people that I know. A friend of my sister in laws', 1 yr old little boy died after being trapped underneath their luv sak bean bag. She gave birth a week later to a daughter. What strength they must have had and what faith in the plan of salvation. I have been blessed so much and this weekend my faith and commitment to my Savior and my family was re-newed. There is so much I have to work on and I am thankful that each day I can try again to do just a little better.

Interesting

HowManyOfMe.com

There is 1 person with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Babies Babies!

I just wanted to congratulate my beautiful sister Angela and her family for the birth of their little Emma Jane who was born last week. She is perfect and angelic and I know that Angie is so glad to be done being pregnant! Yeah! Ellie and Paige are exciting to have their baby sister here and I wish I was closer so I could cuddle that little piece of Heaven.
Ellie and Emma
Paige and Emma
Thompson Family
Also that week my amazing sister in law Jenny and Aaron's brother Jared welcomed their 5th baby into the world. Joshua Amos at a whopping 9 pounds arrived after a long labor and I know Jenny is grateful to be done with this pregnancy too. Jenny is wonder woman and a great example of how to be a great mom! Way to go Jenny.

I also have two other sister in law's pregnant (My brothers wife Amanda and Aaron's sister Jenn) so our families are growing and I love it! No news from us just yet. I am still trying to talk Aaron into it!

Take me out to the ball game

Seattle Trip

This past week-end we took a trip up to Seattle to visit Aaron's brother Michael and his family. We had a great time eating too much, hanging out and going to a Mariners baseball game. The girls had so much fun playing with their ruff and tumble boy cousins (4 of them to be exact) and asked when we could go back again to play. The car ride home was a little long and Anna asked, "Mom next time we go see our cousins, can we go on an airplane." Needless to say we don't travel well in our little car; little girls sitting a little to close in proximity to one another. We had a great time though and wished we could see our families more often.

Disclaimer

FYI: The video posted below was posted by Aaron. We are in no way affiliated with these "radical" tree lovers. We just thought you would like to have a good laugh.

Tree Lov-ers!

We love Cheese... and ice cream!

This past week Aaron took a couple of much needed days off of work. He was able to make it to Anna's soccer game, & Anna's first swim lesson. Yesterday we decided to venture out to the Tillimook cheese factory. They have tours where you can watch them make the cheese through large glass windows and then sample cheese and get fantastic ice cream. I thought that the workers must feel like lab rats with everyonw staring down at them as they work. It was a beautiful day so we decided to drive another 20 minutes to the coastline. We got some advice from a local to go to a place called Cape Meares. It is a beautiful point high on the cliff of the coast where they have a light house you can tour and a neat "octopus tree." (See picture below) Over-all it was a great day together and we were all tuckered out by the time we got home. Enjoy the pictures below!




Say cheese!



Aaron's reflection from the inside of the lighthouse

Little Update

Well we made it.... barely. The 15th is tomorrow and we are officially out of busy season. Aaron has been working 6 days a week about 10-12 hour days for the last month or so. It has been long and hard being a single mom, but I thank my stars everyday I have such a hard working man in my life. I keep telling myself that in the long run all of this is going to pay off. I tend to compare myself to others, (ie: my friends that already own homes and seem more settled than us) and I have to have a huge reality check. We have a wonderful family, the gospel, great friends, we live in the USA, we're all healthy, that Aaron has a good job that provides for us, and countless other blessings. Life is good!

On a lighter note, I thought I would fill everyone in on the random happenings of the last little while. I survived my first week of teaching pre-school. You wouldn't think that teaching 6 pre-schoolers would be so stressful, but when you have one that just wet her pants and another painting all over his hands and 4 others that need your attention, suddenly 2 adults just doesn't seem like enough. Anna loves it though and it will really be nice for the months I don't teach to be able to drop her off two days a week and spend some time with Brookie. Anna is still doing soccer as well. She had another game and I had to laugh because all of the other kids for the most part are running after the ball and Anna, is kind of looking around with a confused look on her face like she doesn't know what to do. Maybe soccer won't be her thing but in the mean time she is having fun.

Brooklyn is doing well. I am a tad frustrated because she is showing NO interest in potty training. Anna was potty trained at 2 years old, and so I am a little lost in trying to get this process going. I know that I probably just need to be patient until she is ready but each time I go to Costco to buy diapers, I vow to start that week. No luck though. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! :) She is a joy though. She is very independent and wants to do things all by herself. Lately she has been really attached to a purple dress that she got while in California. She wants to wear it everyday! At bed she'll come out and have taken off her PJ's and want to put the dress on. I have stopped fighting it so she has it on a lot lately.



Aaron was excited yesterday for the big Ohio State VS. USC game. He had to work most the day but made it home by kick off. Here he is in his Ohio State chair, and shirt. (He also has a hat and red shoes that you can't see) He was decked out trying to show his buckeye spirit but it sure didn't help the bucks, because they got killed 35-3. Sorry honey.


Last night we also had a great game night with some friends in the ward. The kids had a great time playing and we had a great time laughing and playing games. I made a while chocolate fruit tart which turned out pretty good. If you want the recipe you can go to domestic goddess under by browsing link or click HERE

Anna's soccer debut

Our stake is offering a free soccer league so we signed Anna up. She was so upset the first practice and cried quite a bit. This is the first time she has really done a class of some sort where I have had to leave her so it took a little adjusting. She did much better when we got her on a team where she had a friend and she did much better. Since then she has done great! 4 and 5 year old don't really play soccer, they kind of just run around and chase the ball in a giant clump. It is great to give her time to run around with other kids and follow instructions from someone other than me. Below is a video of Anna chasing the ball. It's for you mom!
Sage and Anna


We also started preschool yesterday. Brooklyn is going to be staying with me this year when I teach and co-teach as well. She seemed to do well yesterday and I am looking forward to a good year. Aaron is still super busy with work. I am looking forward to the 15th when things will slow down and we will have our daddy and husband back. I am grateful that he is such a hard worker but we all really miss him when he is gone. Brooklyn always asks if dad is coming home on the airplane because she thinks he is out of town, because there are some weeks where she goes a few days without seeing him. Someday they will understand "busy season(s)!"

First day of preschool 08'

Anna soccer video

Recipe Blog up and Running

A big thanks to everyone who responded to my interest in a recipe sharing blog. I think that it is going to be just great! My good friend Maurisa went ahead and organized the blog and it is great. Each month we are going to have a theme that will be emailed out and/or posted on the blog. ie: Chicken, soups, appetizers, beef ect. Feel free though to share a great tip, kitchen gadget or recipe anytime no matter what. The blog is www.diningasadomesticgoddess.blogspot.com I have a link on by blog as well under "browsing." I encourage everyone to sign up as a contributor. I know that we all have things to share even if it isn't that often. :) To be signed up as an author please email maurisa at maurisawalker@mac.com. Enjoy and check back often.

Happy 4th Birthday Anna

Feedback Please

Dear fellow bloggers,

Cooking is one thing that I really enjoy. Before we had kids I would sometimes spend all day trying a new recipe. Sense our little rascals have come though, my time is understandably short. I have been mulling over this idea in my head for a long time. For selfish reasons mainly. I want to create a menu/menu planning, fun kitchen gadget, shopping strategy, cooking tip, healthy short cuts or secrets,etc. BLOG where we can share things with each other that make our "job" as the chef's in our homes a little easier and enjoyable. I love when I come across a great recipe and think, "wow, my sister could sure use this recipe. I bet her kids would love it." or "I wish that everyone knew this trick or about this great product and where to find it." I know that we have so much kitchen/home knowledge as a whole that if we had a blog where whoever wanted to participate, could be added as an author to the blog. Then whenever you came across something that was Fabulous, all you would have to do is log on and post your tip/recipe/idea! Even if you didn't want to be added as a contributor, let me know if you would still like to visit the site. I just don't know if this is something that anyone else thinks would be interesting/beneficial. I'm trying to gauge interest, if any :)

Clip Holder

Lately I have been frustrated with our "bow and clip situation" in the girls bathroom. I've been storing them in a lock and lock (literally the best storage containers EVER! Can you tell I'm enthusiastic. They are airtight and watertight and I use them for everything, you can check them out here) Ok, back to the bow situation. I've been wanting to find a better way to store the clips because I was spending money on clips and bows and then they would get smashed or lost because there were just too many in the storage container. Well I got crafty this weekend and decided to try my version of something I saw on Etsy. (I am in love with that site lately as well but that's for another post)They were selling for around $15 a piece, and this week-end I got the two letters, paper, ribbon, mod podge, and an exacto knife for $17. Well I just had to share the finished product. Aaron was a huge help in the hardware department, even though he said I didn't need to list him as a contributor on this post. I'm not very crafty so I am pretty proud of myself.

My little "carrots"

Today when I took the girls to the library, they were insistent on getting a drink at the drinking fountain.(A ritual we have to do each time we go) Usually I have to lift each one up while simultaneously trying to push the button, and balance them so they don't get drenched from water dribbling down their faces. Today Anna informed me very matter of factly that she could do it by herself. She walked over pushed the button, got on her tippy toes and got a drink. I started to get emotional. I don't even know why. (Side note: I've been getting emotional a lot lately, when I see the flag, hear the national anthem, the Olympics is a bad combination for me, or hear a sappy song. and no, I am NOT pregnant) Anyways, the simple act declaring her independence was scary to me. As a mom I worry so much, too much Aaron would say, and I am scared about her growing up. Granted, it would be nice if she could wipe her own bottom, but secretly I want her to stay my little bubbly, snuggely, red head. She is very smart and assertive and isn't afraid to tell me exactly what she thinks. She has a temper sometimes to match her hair, and I just hope as a mom I can teach her the things she'll need to make good choices and to be able to navigate this sometimes tricky world. I love her and Brooklyn more than words can say and feel truly blessed to be a mom!

Beavers Game

Baseball

Aaron's work had a baseball night the day after we got home from California. The girls were excited to ride the train (which was extremely crowded I might add; I wish I could bring my camera to show you the "interesting" people that you encounter on the train) and to meet dad at the game. There was a big dinner and a great game. The highlight for the girls was the cotton candy! It was a great night together before Aaron had to leave to Seattle for work. He has been traveling pretty often lately. I hope it isn't a long term trend.

California Trip

Trip to California

The girls and I had a great trip to California. The girls were pretty good on the plane. Brooklyn was a little wiggle worm and didn't really want to sit still with her seat belt on but we survived. I was excited that my brother Brandon and his family were able to drive up to see us that first week-end. I've never seen their youngest boy Jason and he is 18 months old. My Sister, John and the girls were also there and Anna and Brooklyn had so much fun playing with their cousins. We filled up the rest of our time with a trip to the beach, swimming in the pool, eating too much, shopping and watching the Olympics (Go USA!) We missed Aaron very much and were glad to get home to see him. He stayed very busy working and told me he was glad to have me home so he could have some decent lunches. Glad I'm good for something! :) I was so happy when we arrived home at 10:30 pm to a spotless house. Thanks Honey