Ten on Tuesday

1.       Henry has been taking steps. The most we have seen in 4. So soon he will be joining the crazies in this house. We wouldn't want it any other way.

2.  Saturday our family went and helped out UCAN (a local city organization) and raked leaves for those who cannot do it them self. Wow our 2 yards had a ton of leaves. I think I never want to own a tree ever. Our kids did great. It was a long morning but it was worth it.

our friends holding up the signs that we place on the yards

our first house. the front was so much easier than the back

Jed and the others did lots of this, mostly Jed though

Annmarie helping to stuff 1 of the 46 bags we did at the first house!

3. Will got baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on Saturday November 3, 2012. Chris baptized and confirmed him. A family friend Landon Sandburg gave a talk on Baptism and David Bowen gave a talk on the Holy Ghost.  It was a great moment to see him get baptized. But also to know that I married a man who can perform these ordinances without hesitation.

 Chris and Will

this photo is classic. no one was there yet. The kids were singing primanry songs. the one that Jed is singing as he is swinging at Jeffrey is I'm trying to be Like Jesus. Pretty sure that is not how to be like Jesus.

4. Halloween started off our crazy beyond crazy week. My kids had 2 nights of it here and I ended up throwing away candy on Saturday. (sorry all the photos are sideways)

5.        My parents came by for a quick visit after getting released from their calling. My kids had a great time with them. Then a day later Chris’s mom came. My kids had such a great time having other playmates. I’ve decided that we love visitors!!

6.  Sunday we went to a meeting that realigned most of the boundaries in our stake. Needless to say half my ward went to a different ward than we did. My street because that street that is the exception. Gotta love that ;) The change is bitter sweet as most change tends to be. We are happy to be with those we are with but will miss being in the ward with our other friends. This gives us the opportunity to make even more friends. 

7. I substituted a lot of classes last week and I am so tired!!! I think I will take my 3 classes a week and happily stick with that.

   8.Chris’s semester is quickly coming near to the end. He is loving tax and all things related to it. And wishing some classes were over. Once again he is doing great and we are so proud of him!


9. Michelle (Chris’s sister) will be graduating from Nursing school in a month. We are so excited and proud of her. She has worked so hard and we couldn't be happier for her. Now she needs to find a job in Iowa ;)

10. Random fact – today is election day. I’m so thankful that I get the right to vote. I’m thankful that I voted early. So glad I live in a country where we can still make a difference. Hopefully the winners in each position will turn to God and seek out his guidance, and not trust in man.

5 days of thankful photos

I should be good like my sister and do this everyday. Well I take the photos everyday, but not blog. So here goes my first few days of what I am thankful for.

1. My "Bosses" These 2 ladies are awesome!!! Gwyn standing is my official boss. We have run ragnar together and have done many other things together. So glad I have gotten to know her and that we are friends.  Britt (sitting) is the executive director at "my" Y. she has been the kindest lady since the first day I met her. I didn't know for months that she was in charge of the Y. She is awesome and has agreed to run the Chicago ragnar with me in June.

2. for those who know me know my kitchen never ever looks like this. So today I am thankful for clean counter tops!

3.  Saturday Will was baptized. It was an awesome afternoon. He had so many friends there. I am so proud of him and the great decisions he has made in his life. 

4.  I am so thankful for my ward (church congregation . Sunday night at 6 is got changed. (this seems to happen to us a lot). We are in a different ward as some of my good friends but still have good friends in the new one. We have always lived in the best ward ever. I have no doubt that this new one will be just as great.

5. Grandma Carmen - the kids love love love when she is here. As you can tell they love to play with her. She has kindly watched our kids many a time so we can run races etc. We are blessed to have such a great lady in our family.

Ten on Tuesday

1. Henry "turned" 9 months this past week. Here he is in all his glory. We are so blessed to have him in our family.

2. Jed has improved in so many ways lately. Here is a photo of him from march and from last week. Eating (or refusing to eat) the same soup. Oh how things can change in a few months! He loves preschool and loves being a big brother.

3. Speaking of eating our kids still love ice cream. . . all of them :)

4. This is a time lapse photos of Henry eating. he starts out so straight up. .

then this happens

then this. I think this means that he is all done

5. Our primary program was this past Sunday  It was so wonderful to have 4 of my kids up on the stand. Chris and I sat close and Henry slept. It was a wonderful time. The kids did wonderful and it was so nice to hear their sweet testimonies.

6. There seems to be a food trend this week. Sunday afternoon we made brownies. The kids love brownies for a few different reasons. to eat them  and to eat the batter.

6. Henry discovered the pot drawer. He loves it. I would rather have him here than our Tupperware cabinet.

7 to say this past week has been a breeze would be a total lie. 2 of our children have been having a very hard time listening and not throwing fits. Oh how I thought we were over this. The joys of parenting.

8. I got to go visiting teaching this week. I must say I truly love the sisters I see. I wish only the best for them and their families

9. I am going to copy my sister again and will be taking a photo each day of something I am thankful for. I will post them here (probably weekly not on Tuesday's).

10. Random item of the week. I wear bandannas when I workout. It keeps the sweat from hitting my eyes, most of the time.

ten on tuesday

I almost forgot!! what would you all do

1. Jed is loving preschool. HE told all the teachers his name was Jedidiah, and he didn't want to be called Jed. funny funny kid. He sure makes our house very interesting.

2. Henry is everywhere and into everything. He is walking along furniture and while holding hands. seems that sometime soon he will be walking. . . makes me sad :(  (as I was posting this he "technically" took his first step, but we are not saying he is walking yet)

3. Annmarie turned 7 on Sunday. She and I went out to Red Robin. we had a great time. I think I need more dates with her. She loves to read, and she got a diary and loves to write in it. She is an amazing helper (when she wants). I am so thankful for her and love her so much.

4. The reason it was just me with Annmarie on her birthday date was that Chris as in South Bend, IN. what is there? why Notre Dame. He went with a few people from our ward to watch them play BYU. I think Chris and our friend were the only people from the ward not cheering for BYU. Chris said had he gone to a football game there before law school, he would have done everything he could have to go there. He said the atmosphere there is amazing! Hopefully some day I will get to experience game day in south bend.

this is called the "touchdown Jesus" building

Chris and the other non BYU fan :)

Did I mention they had pretty good seats?

5. Monday for FHE we (Chris) carved Henry's pumpkin. I think it turned out pretty awesome!!

6. I am so lucky to be a mom! I get to see this many many times a day.

7. Have I mentioned lately that my Y is the most awesome place! Other than my house there is no place I would rather be. So thankful for that wonderful blessing in my life.

8. Sunday Will met with our Bishop for his Baptismal interview. I cannot believe that he is getting baptized in 1.5 weeks!!! so crazy.

9. we have had some amazing weather the last few days. it has been in the low 70's!! it is beautiful and we will be sad when Thursday the reality of where we live will come back in full force.

10. Random fact: I love listening to my kids learn to play the piano. It is awesome to hear them actually start playing songs that I can figure out what it is from their playing.

Ten on Tuesday

 1. Does it ever slow down?!?!?! It seems that life just gets busier. Jeffrey and Jed had their last soccer game this Saturday  It was fun to see how much they have improved. We had our last soccer practice for the U8 team. We played parents vs kids. It was so much fun and I got a good workout too.

2. I have neglected to mention how much Henry is moving the last few weeks. He goes up the stairs so fast! luckily he has not moved down the stairs very fast. He is walking along furniture  and just moving moving moving along. Soon he will be walking on his own and my infant days will be over. I love watching him grow. He is the happiest kid I have ever met! I am so lucky to be his mom.

3. In the mail we just got my new favorite workout equipment. I have been taking a TRX class and I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!!! This way I can put Chris to work :) plus the kids love doing it too. 

4. Chris came with me to the gym today. We did HEAT class together and then he let me make him work his legs a little more after. I love making him work :) I also love seeing him work hard to reach his goals.

5. We had a big Birthday party on Friday night. We had 1 party for Will, Jed, and Annmarie. It was fun and so much easier than having 3 parties. we told the kids they could each invite 4 friends. It worked out nice that they have siblings that are friends so we basically invited families. We had a great time, and a great cookie cake. Love the great American Cookie company. No other cake compares!!

6. This past week I reached my realistic goal weight. It took 8 1/2 months from when Henry was born. I have always been worried about my number being so high. but I've realized that I'm at a healthy weight for me. I am happy to say that my goal weight was 170. I have only been less than this in high school. So needless to say I am 5 lbs away from my high school weight. I wish that somehow I could help people understand that the number is not the most important thing. The way you feel is so much more important!

7. I went to the Gladys Knight concert here in town. She brought her Choir her. I was in the audience with a friend I invited. The I started to recognized a few faces from my stake from Vegas. Then as I look up and see the Choir I noticed a really familiar face. Then I looked across and saw a former bishop! My friend and her husband were there in town! I was able to talk to her after. I so needed a friend that day from that part of my life. Heavenly Father truly knew what I needed that day and a hug from her was what I totally needed.

8. Chris had a "break" from school. He is working so hard studying this semester. He took a break today and went to the gym. I am so proud of him and all his hard work. He does such a great job of balancing school, family, and church. I love him and cannot imagine life without him. 

9. our van got new tires, and an alignment. It is amazing how these 2 things makes a huge difference. It is almost like driving a brand new car!

10. random fact of the week from Chris. . . Chris graduate Cume Lade from ASU. 

Ten on Tuesday

1. I got my camera back today!!! so what did I do? Took photos of the only available person. He is sure getting big and is still so cute!

enjoying chocolate

.

2. Wed our neighbor and good friend Karen took some photos for us. we love them!!! a big thanks to Kris for her editing skills. Our Christmas photo is not included. this way you will wait for our card to come in the mail :) 

 If only I was able to figure out why I cannot add photos to the top or the side of my blog I could change our photos!

3. Today our little crazy man turned 4!! how could that have gone by so fast. He loves preschool, the computer, playing with his brothers, being in charge, play soccer, playing with friends, "playing" with Henry. I love when we get one on one time. He is so happy and it appears this past year we have gotten his EE in control!!! yeah for wonderful Dr's and great medicine (and a dad who realized something I didn't)

4. Soccer was a bit cold on Saturday  it was maybe 35 when we played. Must say I will be a bit happy when the season is over. I love going, but I love having Saturday with nothing planned. Will did so well he is turning into a good little player. Annmarie did so well holding her own against a boy who was a bit rough. I love watching them play.

5. Fall is in full bloom here and I love everything about it!!! I love living here. I love love love it here. I hope to stay here forever! so any friends who live somewhere else please move here and make it perfect!

6. So we have a thing for inviting people over for dinner usually on Sunday's. We feel this is the only true way to get to know people from our ward (church). I am so happy we do this. This is how we truly have made friends. Hopefully we will someday get to everyone we hope to. Although it is a tall order in our wonderful ward.

7. General Conference was this past weekend. I loved the few talks that I got to hear. The spirit was so strong. See previous post for more detail. Here is a link to the talks

8. Annmarie lost another tooth!!! she is getting rich! I love to see her toothless grin hopefully I will get a photo now that my camera is back!!!

9. Jeffrey was having a rough day and I said "who is your hero who do you want to be like?" his answer stunned me. He said "Jesus." It has made some of his difficulties so much easier to handle now that I know who he wants to be like. Thank you wonderful teachers who have helped him realize this! We cannot do it without you!

10. Randomness of the week I love pumpkin flavored cookies. A lady in my ward makes AMAZING ones. hopefully she will share her recipe.

thoughts after the 1st session of conference

These thoughts are too long to post on Facebook and to profound to me to forget so here it goes. Conference today had a huge announcement  They lowered the age that boys could serve a mission to 18 and girls to 19. It was amazing to be there (in my house with my family) as the prophet of God announced this revelation. It made me so thankful that I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am so thankful that we having a living Prophet today one Thomas S Monson. I have never felt the spirit as strong singing We thank the O God for a Prophet as I did today. I could not sing. I am so thankful that I can reread these talks as I didn't get to hear them all. Elder Bowen's talk about losing a child was so powerful. I loved the honesty, and his strong testimony of the life to come. He spoke in our stake a few stake conferences ago and I loved listening to him sing. I loved the advice of President Ucthdorf's wife. It is not a race, enjoy where we are now and what we are doing now. I loved the other bits and pieces that I was able to hear. I am so thankful for a wonderful Heavenly Father who allows me to feel the spirit even though I do not always her what is said. I am so thankful for the spirit. I am so thankful for a wonderful husband who loves and adores me. I'm thankful for wonderful children. Who try hard to do what is best. I hope that I may live up to the things that the Lord asks of me and love and support my husband, and raise my kids in a way that would be pleasing in the sight of God.

Ten on Tuesday

who what a week . . . where to begin

1. Thursday, Henry got his pinky finger shut in the front door. This problem happens when your child is way to mobile, and you have other kids running in and out of the house while the baby wants so badly to crawl out to the rocks and eat them. I figured it wasn't a huge deal, and Henry cried for maybe a min. well. . .

2. Friday afternoon (this one is a bit more graffic so skip if your stomach doesn't handle stuff well) Henry was crawling around and I saw the skin and nail on his finger kind of flipping off. My thought was I wonder if I have to wait for it to fall off or if I can cut it off. Thankfully we have intelligent neighbors who said take him to the ER because he would never have a nail grow back. The door had cut in between the knuckle and the nail. It went under and detached the nail from the nail bed. . .

3. The ER was awesome!!! it took 2 hours for everything. I was so amazed. the Dr's stitched his nail back to his nail bed, then stitched the skin back to the finger. I have not seen it yet as Henry has left his bandage on. He was so awesome and his been his wonderful happy self.

4. WILL TURNED 8! on Saturday. We took him out to Lunch at Red Robin, and took him to see Hotel Transylvania  It was a funny movie. Think Adam Sandler for kids and that describes the movie. He will be getting baptized November 3rd at 4 pm.

5. Chris and I signed up for the Living History farms race. it is Nov 17th (freezing!!!) and 7 miles of non road running. Hopefully 1. I don't freeze and 2. I can actually run on uneven ground.

6. Chris had Lasik on Friday. He only got it in 1 eye done. He can tell the difference already. He also said it was like getting pepper sprayed, only pepper spraying was worse. He is still adjusting to seeing so well without his glasses.

7. Saturday night was the Relief Society broadcast (women's organization at church). It was so wonderful to listen to people speak about Christ and what we need to do to make him more center in our lives.

8. I had a work party. We went to a park had food and played. It was fun. Chris was surprised at how many people knew Henry. We also happened to win a gift certificate to a restaurant  We have a free date!!! I love where I work and I love my job. I couldn't be happier there.

9. Gladys Knight and her Choir Saints Unified Voices are coming to Des Moines next week. I actually opened my mouth and have invited 2 people to come with us. For those who know me know this is a big deal. (another big deal of the week is I mopped my floors 2 times in a week. another shocker I know)

10. random fact of the week. I love really bright shirts, expecially workout shirts. . . and workout pants if I can find good ones