Stake Conference!

Today was Stake conference, but it wasn't just any usual stake conference. It was a Tri State meeting that was broadcast from Utah. It was a wonderful experience that I almost didn't make it to. You see, my husband and I forgot to set the alarm before we went to bed last night. So when I woke up at 9:30 (I was awake prior of course feeding the baby and such, but didn't really open my eyes to the world until then) I rolled back over resigned to the fact that I was going to miss church today. But then I just had the strongest feeling that I shouldn't give in to that and that I should get my tired butt out of bed and go. I decided to go on my own, because to try and get EVERYONE ready when we were already late would have been impossible and stress full. The message given today was so wonderful! It was about missionary work and the true purpose for this life. I was able to come away refocused on being a good example to my family and teaching them the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I will share the Gospel with others too where I can, but right now my job is to focus on my family and making sure that we are doing all the things the lord wants us to do.

Friday, May 13th 2011

The Ironpigs game!

My handsome men!!!

This one cracks me up!

I just LOVE my goof balls!!

Smiles!!

So I realised it has been about a month and a half since the last time I have written in my blog. For a Friday the 13th today was an exceptionaly good day! We had Dr's appointments followed by a trip to Friendly's. The boys were wonderful at both! Yay! Don came home this afternoon (FINNALY!! ;) after being away all week. We are estatic to have him home. But after about an hour or so, he was off again, but this time with our 3 oldest boys! They had some fun father/son time at a local minor leauge game. The Iorn pigs (the team they went to see) WON!!! Yay! It was so nice for me to have a little time just for Eli and me. At first I thought that I should be doing something productive, like laundry or dishes (not that there were many of those to do for once) or one of the hundreds of other things I could have been doing. But then I realised that I don't get very many moments to just hold this precious little one who is already not so little anymore. So we sat, and I held him, and it was oh so sweet. As we sat I was able to catch a story on 20/20 about a woman named Stephanie Nielson (NieNie). She and her husband survived a plane crash in 2008. They are quite the inspiring couple! Her story really touched me deaply. The strenghth that expecialy she exues is amazing. I pray (and have been praying for a really long time) that I can be that kind of woman, and mother. To be so strong, unselfish and totaly devoted. I try to be as such but fail a good portion of the time. I just hope I never stop trying...

Art Time!

Isaac is definatly in his element! I love how creative he can get.

Loving the bright colors Caleb is using.

hehehehehe If you look closely you will see the orange paint in Gabes hair. :D

In Art class we have been talking about soooo many things. One of the topics was textures. I made some play-dough for the boys to shape into textured madalians(sp?). They had sooo much fun in the proses! After waiting extremely patiently for about a month and a half they finally were able to paint them today! And the fun continued... I love watching them while they create!

Personalize a photo album

Enjoy some of the first photos of Eli. :)

Create your own digital slideshow

The boys and our niece had a great time at the outdoor expo this past Saturday. The 2 older ones tryed out the rock wall and they all loved the lazer tag! Even Dad got in on the action and started rampaging agains the kiddos. lol he is still such a kid. :D

Here we go!

I am not sure how well I will keep up with posting the things that go on in our crazy world, but I will try my best! So our little family is not so little anymore. Don and I have 4 beautiful growing boys who, AT ALL TIMES, keep us on our toes! They are wild ones, but I love them all to death. Isaac is 7 as of March 2nd and is in first grade this year. We are in our 2nd year with Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School. He is doing quite well. His favorite subject is Art. lol. Its also the easiest one! He loves to read and do math... as long as its his choice to do it. He is quite stubborn that way, and it has caused quite a few frustrated moments. But all in all we are having a good time and learning a lot together. He is excited to start soccer again this year in June. Both he and Caleb played last year and loved it. Caleb is going to be 5 on April 19th and asks everyday if its his birthday yet. :) He and I are working on mastering his letters and numbers as well as all the other things he needs to know going into kindergarten this coming school year. He is doing very well and I am excited to see how next year will go with 2 of them learning full time. He is also excited to be starting soccer again in June. I am just hoping he ends up actually wanting to play when it comes time this year. Last year he had a little trouble with the whole concept of playing with a team and working together to get the goals. I think it will be a little different this year now that he knows what its all about. Gabe is 3 already!! He had his birthday on March 11. In the past year he really found his voice and hasn't stopped talking since! Gabe loves to learn. He wants to do school with Isaac and Caleb everyday. I think he might just skip the first few grades by the time he gets to go to school because of all that hes picking up from his older brothers. He also loves to read... although he can't read the words yet, he sits down with books all the time and acts like hes reading them. He loves story time when I read them to him and he can actually know what the books say. I am hoping to find something for him to do this spring. He thinks he is old enough now to play soccer with his brothers because he is a "big brother" now! But we will be finding something else I think. :) Eli was born on January 26th 2011, he was my birthday presant to his Daddy! I can't believe that he is already 2 months old! He has been a wonderful baby so far, and I am sure will continue to be one. Even through his hospitol stay at 4 weeks old he expressed very few complaints. Hardly any crying or fussing. He did however show his wilful side. He could definitely let us know when he was unhappy with whatever it was we had to do. And I can't say I blame him when he did, I don't like people poking and prodding me either! I am so happy to have him in our home. He has helped us refocus our priority's and realise some of the things we have been slacking on. Its funny how changes in life will do that to you. Don and I are happier then ever! We are coming up on our 10th anniversary in July. Its not that we don't have our disagreements or misunderstandings, because just like everyone else we do, but we have come so far in the years we have been together that we can appreciate the changes in each other and in our lives. I am grateful for him everyday.