Oh what do you do in the Winter time, when all the world is cold??

i

We have found a fun pass time this year~ taking pictures of the kids through the frozen layers of ice we find around the yard. ;)
Then, we smash it! lol It is a fun family activity.. And it did not cost us anything!

Weeks and weeks ago..

LILLY IS CUTE TOO~


So, the big kids took part in their schools Christmas choir.. they were going ot get to be in many performances, but this was the only one they were both well enough to go to ..
Fun times!!







KATIE is the one with her hands out singing like a star~

Sam is the kids at the very end ;)

Watch Kate give it her all for a moment ;)
Swing away Kate, Swing away~

Tom Turkey you just got Pardoned, what are you going to do now? " I'm going to Disneyland!! "

Turkey Mercy

Most Americans have heard of the Presidential Turkey Pardon, but what’s the real story? How did it get started? And which president was the first to let his turkey off the hook (or out of the oven, as it may be)? Here are some facts to set the record straight:

• In 1947, the National Turkey Federation and the Poultry and Egg National Board started the tradition of donating a turkey to the White House every year. However, they originally gave the birds for Christmas, not Thanksgiving.
  
• President Harry Truman was the first president to receive a turkey, and it became his dinner.
  
• President George H.W. Bush was the first president to show a little mercy in 1989: “But let me assure you—and this fine tom turkey—that he will not end up on anyone’s dinner table, not this guy. He’s been granted a presidential pardon as of right now.”
  
• President Bill Clinton believed that each of the eight turkeys he met during his terms had distinct personalities.
  
• The pardoned turkeys resided in Frying Pan Park in Virginia until 2005.
  
• In 2005, President George W. Bush started sending his turkeys to live out their days in Disneyland, where the birds were, in their own years, named Grand Marshall of the Thanksgiving Day Parade!!

LOL

The Lucky Tom Turkey gets to go to DISNEYLAND!!
When will we get to go??
Maybe we should give our kids up to the White House and we would get a trip to Disneyland out of it?? :)

~Lilly~

I was putting Lilly to bed one night and helped her change out of the outfit of the day and into her PJ's and while I was doing it I was singing her a little song about her new unders.. (Yes I even make up songs about new underwear~) So as we put the said garment on she looked at me and smiled one of her big smiles and said...
"Mom, my hiney is so happy with you!! "

I love being her Mom..Even when her hiney is not happy with me;)

So far so good...

For my Bday this year I asked for a Great Big Present~ It was not one that I had ever thought of before..

I asked Rune for the gift of Daily Companionship Scripture Study and Prayer..(DCSSP)

Not to say that we wont continue to do it with the fam or by ourselves but to study and pray together..:)

Well... So far so good! we have had a day or two where our reading was a little later than the set aside 6:30 am that we agreed to , BUT we have gotten it done each day!

I am proud of us~ I like it because everyday I am getting a great big gift, Love. We both love the scripture, went on Missions, serve the Lord..
But I am not sure we were taking time together to show our Love & Dedication to each other and to Father in Heaven in a meaningful way.

It has surly given our evening and morning prayers with the kids a great boost too~ Sam, who is not a strong reader has been more excited & even told us his interpretation of a scripture that was wonderfully insightful! I know that that kids scriptural growth is directly related to ours~

What a wonderful thing!! Plus think of it..It's a year of getting a birthday present ever day!! :) Yahoo~

Birthdays

Yesterday was my Birthday... (I case you had not heard)
I really feel so blessed that I am where I am at this moment of my life.
There have been other moments where my heart hurt so much that I did not think it would be possible to move forward.. There have been moments that I felt like my entire life had crumbled.. But, right now is the best moment. I hope the snap shots that I keep in my heart will always be these ones.. of a Happy marriage, Happy children, Happy family, Happy Me~












My Life has been blessed, it's a gift from our Father in Heaven~

Weddings

Once upon a time when I was 18 years old my Brother and Sister-in-Law gave me my very own baby niece to play with.



She prayed for me that I would get married.

We were best friends.

She was always a joy to me.

Congratulations Heather & Stuart Welker~

She that inspires Me~

For a while now myself and many of my other Blogger pals have read a blog that inspires us to be more..
NieNie Dialogues it is written by, Stephanie Aurora Clark Nielson.
She now writes of her journey and life, of surviving, of Motherhood & Marriage.
She and her husband were in a plane crash just over a year ago.. read more at her blog.

For some readers it is an inspiration to be a better cook, home decorator, craft/party planner extraordinaire, writer, wife, mother, daughter, sister & friend.
But the thing I bet we all read it for it to watch and learn how to be more loving to ourselves & how to endure life and all it's trial with a realistic outlook .. and she helps us know that God is always with us.. ALL~

Rune and I read it together. We use it as a reminder to love each other more fully and to enjoy our life's in every moment. We have tried t odo and be more loving in our actions and thoughts towards others, we have had FUN remembering to be better friends.


I am always touched by her words..

Well, Wednesday October 7th she will be on Oprah.. I am Not an Oprah watcher.. But You can bet that the tivo will be used ;)

So, If you want to watch something that will make you feel and grow please take a look and see what I mean.

Dinner by Candle Light

This week for our Family Home Evening we had dinner by candle light. Sam wanted to eat like the pioneers. (they are talking about pioneers in 3 grade.) So after we said the payer Sam said "This is just like how the Pioneers had it, right Mom?" I looked around and said , "It's really close pal!" I did not want to ruin it for him by mentioning that they did not have a fridge that magically poped out crushed ice.. or a convenient Fred Meyer to buy their Marion Berry pie at. I am guessing they also had no Ikea plastic glass's.. And I do NOT remember hearing any old time family stories about my great grandparents crossing the country just so they could pick up pear scented candles at Walmart for a buck! :)

For Sam, it was a great pioneer night! That's all that counts right?

I survived..

We did it.. went camping and I did not die!
BUT...lol We took NO Pictures!! I *forgot* ;)
I know you feel shocked and disappointed to not see pictures of me in a sleeping bag or Rune trying to figure out the tent, none of the kids in their Pj's all day and none of the OutHouse/honey bucket.. None of the great food and none of our neighbors who camped in our grounds with us. You also are not seeing any pictures of the air bed that did not hold the air OR the lizard that the kids found.

It was a fun time I have a true belief that Camping should last longer than 15 hours..Maybe next time *lol* we will go for more than one night! :)
It was nice to spend time with Church pals in the great outdoors!

PS..it rained.

CAMPING

We are going on our ward camp out this weekend! Just thought I would tell the whole world...
(I am not a great camper)

BUT, I AM GOING CAMPING

The last time we went to the ward camp out Katie was cutting her first tooth and cried the whole night... We were lovingly told by a few friends that they were overjoyed to hear our family all night long...lol So I am a little worried!

But we will do fine right?? Right!!

OK,
I will return and report;)

My 11 week Hiatus or *How I spent my Summer Vacation*

When this last summer started I thought I would take a break from the world of blogging.. It had really become a chore that took me away from the fam.. (I am sure I did not replace it with anything better..lol ) BUT, you know us... we still took all the pictures so that we could share them. So here are a *few* lol
There are of course stories for each picture but, I will never get it all done if I write them all :) SO, if you want to know more ask!





















Leaburg Fish hatchery

Lilly by the McKenzie..( she was named after it)