Now on the brighter side . . .

I promised a post with Izak's puppet project, he did Derron Williams (NBA player for the Utah Jazz). He had some help with it since hot glue was involved-ouch! I think it turned out well, it was extra credit this time. Taran, Timo and Emily all had to do it. I have mixed feelings about it--are we dumbing down or simplifying? We still did it for the 4th time!:) I think these projects end up being more parent than kid so what do THEY learn? They need a parent to do a project? You should see some of these. I felt bad for Timo he did Jerry Rice (NFL receiver) and made the shirt and helmet out of paper. His friend showed up with another football player but he had a helmet they made out of some clay stuff and it "looked real MOM!" Unfortunately I was unkind and said, " Ya that's because his mom did it, you know he didn't do that!" Anyway, how can an 8 year old compete with an adult? So I am glad it's optional but we tried to let him do as much as he could--he even dented the styrofoam head when he spray painted it because he was too close! Okay, enough, that could have been it's own post!

Izak was the star of the week (a while ago) and this was his poster. Everyone gets a turn.

Gwen is now into tutus. Sorry if you are on FB I posted this photo there--notice over her dress the purple tutu? Gwen puts them on every day sometimes both the pink and the purple. These were Emily's. We've got a lot of mileage out of those! A wise investment for those of you with your first baby girl!

Zane came home today dressed like a pirate, it was X week in preschool and they had to find the treasure! Cute, he wore it all day.

Taran got his wisdom teeth out today, and no Erick that doesn't mean he won't be wise anymore. So far so good, if we can keep him from going to Wal Mart with his friends. Some of his friends, who are girls, brought him an ICEE and another Ben & Jerry's! I will probably post those photos on FB since some of them are there!


Micah was in the 1st grade program, all 169 of them!!!! It's the largest grade! It was amazing. They sang about America, it was very touching. I love this country so much and it pains me to see it how it is now. I am grateful to live in a community that is patriotic.

We are starting soccer season tomorrow and Timo starts lacrosse. For this reason we went from 70 degree weather to 40 degree and 25 degree weather with winds that are unbelievable. I seriously lost some of my stuff when I walked out of Wal Mart yesterday--I caught up with it, a tender mercy!!!

One thing I almost forgot last Sunday was the Draper Temple dedication. I stayed home with the younger kids who couldn't go-you have to be 8 and older. I think they had a good experience. Izak was especially excited to go to it. I hope it wasn't a big let down. It's really just a meeting with music, talks and a special prayer--the dedicatory prayer which I want to look up, they publish them sometimes. I am afraid I didn't prepare my kids very well for it so I am not sure they got very much out of it but hopefully they felt the spirit like they did at the Open House earlier in the month.

So the brighter side is that my children are children they don't have to worry about adult things and they are safe. In time these things may change, but for now they live an amazing life. I wish all children had the same blessing.


(BTW I actually do not watch TV for my news I keep informed via radio and internet. I don't trust the main stream media any more.)

Can I Vent , Please???

I tell you I am going to sue the government if I get an ulcer! I thought it best I write than turn to chocolate, less calories.

I know I have some friends who believe that everything is going to get better as soon as certain government programs go into affect. Bless your heart, I hope you aren't sold any swamp land soon either.

That's it! We've all been sold swampland when we thought (well, I didn't but many Americans did) we were getting the Promised land of milk and honey. I'm sorry but I can't take all the craziness. Now they want power to seize and control if an important business to our economy is in peril. I have noticed how well the bail outs have done--thanks Bush for getting the bailout ball rolling! SHEESH!

Does anyone believe in the Constitution anymore? Do you honestly know that what they are doing(--not just the president but congress the whole filthy bunch but maybe a few)? breaking contracts, legal contracts is UNconstitutional!

What you think the AIG people don't deserve the bonuses? Well, of course not BUT< BUT the bailouts provided them. Who's idea was that? And they knew about it all along. The public is duped thinking this is AIG's fault! Those dirty execs. Do you realize that had we let the pieces fall as they may it would have been painful but no contracts for bonuses would have been paid, they would not be bound. This IS all a distraction. So we don't notice all the power the government is taking and reaching for now as we breath. This is not a democracy it is becoming a tyranny.

I believe the Constitution is a divinely inspired document. You may say it has it's faults but I know God put it in place here for a purpose. Unfortunately people don't even know what it is and what it stands for anymore. Honestly, I don't feel I know enough about it but I know that all these powers the government is taking right now is WRONG! We must not stand by and watch we must try to let our voices be heard we must write our congressmen. I have written my reps more in the last few months than I have the rest of my voting life! Please stand with me in doing something you must feel the serious danger our country is in, not just financially but our liberties are at stake. Read what they are trying to pass now, it's going to send into the stone age. I am not an alarmist but a concerned citizen. I know what I am seeing.

I also have great faith in the people of this country to rise up and help each other and make good decisions. We need to have less government and more personal accountability. I know God will help us if we trust Him as individuals and as a nation. It is my hope we will merit His help by our goodness.

Okay, I feel better. Thanks for letting me vent. I believe in your goodness and I hope we can work together to bring this country back to where it should be!



https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

An Exciting Week

It started out Sunday with Stake Conference--a larger than normal gathering for church, several congregations. It's always inspiring. Emily was asked to sing a small solo in part of a song (the descant) while the rest of the children's choir sang another part. She did a great job--she is so brave! Tim and I wonder where she came from!:)

We had St. Patick's Day and I did a post on that, it was fun.

We found out that night that one of our kids has been forgetting to turn in his work. It's the last week of term so we worked with that child to remember to do it. He has done much better since. We'll just have to remember to check more often!

On Wednesday our own Wal Mart opened here in our little part of the world. There has been a lot of controversy over it but now that it's here we have done our part to pay sales tax to our city instead of other cities! Our oldest boys set up flags at 6 AM around Wal Mart. Then they participated in the flag ceremony at the Opening. Tim and Emily went to watch. I got the little boys off to school. The others went late. We promised the little boys we'd take them later. After I dropped off the preschoolers (carpool) Gwen and I headed over. I was in desperate need of sinus medicine. I wish I could have found a photo on the internet of it completed but alas I could not. So this gives you an idea of it while it was being built. It's a nice looking Wal Mart. I am glad it's so close but I worry my kids will drive me crazy wanting to go there all the time! I hope it turns out to be as good for the city as the city leaders think. I have to admit Wal Mart has been very generous to the schools and city and our scouts already.

Thursday my sister Teresa was hospitalized for chest pain, arm pain and numbness. Yes, it was scary. They ran a bunch of tests and they let her go home. It wasn't a heart attack but she is going to see a cardiologist next week, hopefully she'll get some answers soon. I took Gwen and Zane with me to visit her for awhile. Earlier Gwen and I planted some peas and spinach. Hopefully they'll grow! Zane was at a birthday party. Taran had his driving range test--here in Utah the kids practice driving in an enclosed area. They have to pass this course before they can do the road practice. Taran passed which was a relief to all! I had Enrichment that night and I learned some great organizing and photography tips! I am excited to try out these new things! We also were up late helping Izak on a school project he isn't quite old enough to do all alone, it was optional but he wanted to do it! I'll post it later!

I gotta go. I spend way too much time on facebook and blogging than I should. I am loving this beautiful weather--my kids wore shorts today to school! They are eating popsicles now! Love it!

Our St. Patrick's Day

So we had Lucky Charms for breakfast--not too exciting. I have a friend who colors the milk green, my kids would die! The kids found candy in their shoes left by the leprechauns and Zane made a leprechaun trap at preschool and found candy in it instead of a leprechaun--they are so tricky! They were out of corned beef at our local grocer so I got steak and we had corn, red potatoes, green Jell-o (Gwen helped me with that) and rainbow sherbet floats. We took some of our neighbors mint brownies. Tim thinks I am so weird to celebrate it but hey it makes great memories and breaks up the monotony of everyday dinners! We are so lucky we can do this kind of thing!

Spring is Just Around the Corner . . .

We had the pleasure of going to A Year with Frog and Toad musical. We were blessed with free tickets from Zane's preschool teacher. I had paid for myself to go with the class earlier in the month. They gave her some complimentary tickets, I guess I was the only one who wanted tickets. We have the books and are great fans so it was pure delight since they did a fantastic job! The kids having been talking about it ever since we went. There is a story called Spring is Just Around the Corner. And it actually is here. I took pictures of some of my tulips that are coming up. I planted them in a garden box I reserve for flowers. I was so excited when they first started to poke through. It gives me great energy and a sense of renewal to work in the dirt with my hands.
Here are some random pictures of Gwen. She is starting to enjoy the Disney Princesses and dressing up. It is very cute! I thought I'd take this opportunity to share these with all of you! My how the time flies!

Young Woman at Harvard about being LDS

My friend who lives in Washington emailed me this link and I watched it last night. This young woman is amazing. If you are not LDS/mormon she explains things in our church very well. She was part of a panel discussion on faiths--it looks like they had a young woman who is Muslim too. Here is the link, you really want to watch this!!!http://hillel.harvard.edu/media/videos/550

Happy Birthday Tim!!!

Today Tim is 42! But we all know that 40 is the new 30 so he's not over the hill YET! Tim was born in San Jose, California. He has lived many places: Glendora and Lancaster, California, Houston, Texas, Denver, Colorado and Orem and Cedar Hills, Utah. His father worked for IBM on the space shuttle hence the moving around. Tim is the 6th child of 9. They got tired of moving around and settled in Orem, Utah. When my parents moved to Utah from California they bought a house down the street from his parents. Aren't we all glad? Tim went to Finland on his mission, he's never skinny-dipped but he has rolled in the snow naked--I was going to try and scan that photo from his mission but we aren't quite sure where it is! They were allowed to sauna, which is done naked in Finland, then they roll in the snow in the winter or lake in the summer and run back in. He is very talented and the best person I know. Have a great day!!!

More randomness. . .

Okay, I MAKE, yes, MAKE my kids write in their journals every Sunday. So I thought, I should do more for myself. I help Zane and Gwen write their entries and usually forget about mine. I used to be an avid journal writer but motherhood has caused me to be less consistent about it. I feel really strongly that my kids write down their experiences. One, it helps them see God's hand in their life and two it helps with their writing abilities. I am probably not going to write every week but I thought I should still put down some things we have done lately. We are truly blessed with many experiences every day of God's love for us and we are happier when we acknowledge this.

So a couple of weeks ago we decided to head to the dinosaur museum for Family Night. We called my brother to see if they wanted to join us since our guests get in for $5. (If you are interested let us know we'll call you the next time we go!) We also did the 3-D movie. Our kids have been begging to see one. So after a quick walk through the museum we went to the 3-D movie about sardine migration off the coast of South Africa. It was amazing! They had 2 other shows but we picked this one because it had dolphins and Zane is partial to them. We had a great time.


Friday night Tim took Izak and 3 boy cousins to a Jazz basketball game in honor of his 9th birthday. Tim's brother Erick, his wife Liz and daughter Erin were here from Idaho so they joined in and so Tim invited two other brother-in-laws too. They had a great time and the Jazz won which was helpful to making it a success.

Taran and some of his friends have started a band. Their name is Northern Knights (knights is the name of the mascot at the high school they go to). They have a written a couple of songs. Taran does vocals and the bass, his friend taught him. He was playing the piano but they got another friend to take that over so he can do bass. It's pretty fun. I don't mind their music. They are hoping to play one song at the prom-we'll see! I love the photo of Taran and Zane in the background with a toy guitar! (These photos were taken at our house and the drummer's house.)

Last night we got together with Erick, Liz and Erin at Tim's parents' with the families that live around here. It was fun to visit and the cousins had a blast playing. Taran and my niece both went to their high school state championship games unfortunately Provo and Lone Peak lost. Timo went to a birthday dinner for his friend John. So we missed having them there. But I am so grateful to have a great extended family around. We truly enjoy being with them.

Random Updates . . .

Gwen and Zane have become cookie experts lately. They enjoy helping me bake. Yes, it can be a little unhelpful at times but it has been fun. This other photo of Gwen and Timo, I found her snuggled in with Timo as he napped in the chair! Very cute, Timo hardly noticed since he sleeps like a rock! Emily had a big day last Wednesday (March 4th), she was in the school Storytelling Contest. She did a great job. Only one kid gets chosen to represent the school and it was a boy (I missed his story) but it sounded funny he made fun of Edward and Twilight. Don't get me wrong I love Twilight but it sounded clever. The runners up were a brother and sister combo-- tI did see their story and they were fantastic! Zane liked their story best! Later that night Emily had the district competition for the science fair. She is now moving on, they take the top 60 projects and go to BYU for a regional competition. We were surprised but she is very excited because Timo told her how fun the BYU competition can be. The weird green food is in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday (March 2nd) we ate green eggs and ham (w/ homemade hash browns and fruit (not shown)) --sorry I am not a food artist! It's a goofy tradition we started a while back. I think the kids are finally getting used to it! Zane asked if we could have it again this week!

Happy 9th Birthday Izak!!!

Izak is our 4th child, third son. I was pregnant with him as we built our house in Cedar Hills--never want to go through that again! He was born 2 weeks after we moved in. Yes, we were in chaos--or still are actually. The TV and stuff was not hooked up for another month so I remember trying to keep 2 year old Emily happy with lots of books while taking care of him. He was early probably because I was busy unpacking and getting things done before he arrived. I was so tired my body had a hard time just getting into a good rhythm of labor, once they broke my water he was born 30 minutes later. I think it was a five hour labor but seemed forever to me! He was a little colicky but I just had to deal with it subconsciously because we were putting grass in our yard and unpacking still and life! Once he outgrew that he was so much fun. I adored him and got such great joy in him as a toddler and on up to now. He is very sensitive but also very chatty, a deep thinker and very fun! He loves to have his dad read to him at night HP, Narnia etc. He loves sports like crazy, following his dad and big brothers. He is a great kid, and we hope he has a fabulous day!

Another great website . . .

I know that this is a personal blog BUT I am just voicing my concerns here since I really don't know how to get the word out. I have lost all faith in the mainstream media. Here is a website that shares some information we need to know:
American Thinkerhttp://www.americanthinker.com/ I haven't read ALL the articles to say that I believe everything written BUT I do believe that we need to stay aware of the problems out there that our government is creating. We need to hold them accountable, we must demand they be responsible. Please don't become numb to what's going on, do something! Thanks for listening/reading!

Glen Beck has a great idea . . .

I've meaning to post this since I read it. We have had internet issues. Please take time to read this and then do something about it! Thanks!



WE Surround Them

February 27, 2009 - 11:00 ET



Do you watch the direction that America is being taken in and feel powerless to stop it?

Do you believe that your voice isn’t loud enough to be heard above the noise anymore?

Do you read the headlines everyday and feel an empty pit in your stomach…as if you’re completely alone?

If so, then you’ve fallen for the Wizard of Oz lie. While the voices you hear in the distance may sound intimidating, as if they surround us from all sides—the reality is very different. Once you pull the curtain away you realize that there are only a few people pressing the buttons, and their voices are weak. The truth is that they don’t surround us at all.

We surround them.

So, how do we show America what’s really behind the curtain? Below are nine simple principles. If you believe in at least seven of them, then we have something in common. I urge you to read the instructions at the end for how to help make your voice heard.

12 Values

* Honesty
* Reverence
* Hope
* Thrift
* Humility
* Charity
* Sincerity
* Moderation
* Hard Work
* Courage
* Personal Responsibility
* Friendship

The Nine Principles

1. America is good.

2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.

3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.

4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.

5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.

6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.

7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.

8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.

9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

You Are Not Alone

If you agree with at least seven of those principles, then you are not alone. Please send a digital version of your picture to: wesurroundthem@foxnews.com and then stay tuned to the radio and television shows over the coming weeks to see how we intend to pull back the curtain.


We Surround Them-The Unveiling
March 13th on FOX News 5pm ET

Website: http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/21018/