What Have I been up to for the past 9 months.

  Well for the past 9 months I've been a busy mom. Between school, church, family, and neighbors, I barely get time to put my feet up.

  Last August the boys went back to school. Brent is in the 4th grade and reading at a 6th grade level. Teegan started 2nd grade and has had A's and B's all year. Jakob has struggled in the 1st grade. He has an A in math, but his reading has suffered. He knows how to read but will only do it if HE wants to. He and his teacher have spent the year butting heads, and he'll be doing the 1st grade again.

  In October part of our ward and part of another ward were combined to make a new ward. We were in the part of our ward that was made into a brand new ward. I was called as 1st counselor in the primary (over Cub Scouts) and Brad was called as the ward mission leader.  It was a real challenge to help build a primary from scratch; teachers, music, ect...  I also started a Cub Scout program from scratch, which included a crash course in the policies of the Boy Scouts of America. As challenging as it has been I have really enjoyed it. I was able to make a new good friend and have come to love each of the children we work with. Scouts has been a bigger feat but is turning out to be great too. It's a lot of work, but I love it.

  In November I was able to meet up with my AWESOME mother-in-law and my sister in St. George and attend Time Out For Women. I loved sharing it with them. And now I get to volunteer again when it comes in September.  I've also been doing some sewing, bags mostly.

  Thanksgiving and Christmas were a blur, but I always enjoy them and enjoy having my family gathered around me.

 
  I had the amazing opportunity to go with my Dad to Maui for a week, just he and I. Brad's mom and my sister watched the kids.  It was so nice to relax and have time for me. Dad spoiled me, but the best part was witnessing the humpback whales and their babies.  We spotted them from shore for the first 2 days and then I said I wanted to go on a whale watching boat. So we went the next day and spent 2 1/2 hours on a boat with whales as close as 10ft from the boat. I am still in awe of them.

  This spring has been extra busy as I've been helping drive my neighbors around to bus stops, dr. appts, and dialysis.  We were able to spend several days of spring break in  SanDiego with my Dad along for the ride. We spent one day at Sea World and 1 1/2 days at the zoo. We also visited the Mormon Battalion visitor center and spent a few hours at the beach. The beach got cut short because Brent cut his foot on something sharp in the water.

  Sea World was awesome, the kids loved every minute of it. They were so worn out form Sea World that we spent less time at the zoo than we had planned but it was still great fun. We also had a great dinner in Old Town at the Coyote Cantina, it was some of the best mexican food I've ever had. Jakob loved being sung the happy birthday song in spanish.  A few days after getting home Brent fell off his top bunk, while sleeping, he hit my sewing table on the way down and it cut his head open between his eyebrows. So I hauled him to the ER, hobbling all the way because his foot was still freshly cut. He took it like a champ.

  Now we are gearing up for the end of the school year. I've been doing a lot of praying for a friend's brother, who I know, that is dying of cancer.  I made another watch for them to auction to help raise money for his medical bills. I wish I could do more, even take on the pain they are feeling knowing there is nothing more they can do. 
 
  We also had a great visit with Brad's parents and have decided to put the ball in motion to move to Washington.  It will take us a while to get there but that is the goal. It's made Brad really homesick so I just keep telling him we'll get there in the Lord's time.

  Little miss Kayla is growing so quickly we can't keep up.  She is a great light in our home. She loves animals, especially penguins. She is smart as a whip and loves to be dramatic.

  We have been really blessed these past few months and are grateful for those blessings. We are learning a lot and loving our life.
 

More Crafting Going On

Well since the summer started and the kids have been home all day, I've felt a little imbalanced. So I've decided to allot some time to crafting. Something that helps me relax and feel accomplished.

So here's the starter craft. A beaded watch. It took me about a half hour to put it together. I can't wait to make more to switch around with whatever I'm wearing.

I'll be posting more of the things I make here on my blog so I have a running history of what I'm making.

Happy Crafting!

Learning Old Lessons

It still amazes me how we forget the important things in our lives. Our little family has had to relearn some lessons lately. With all we have going on in our lives it's easy to forget the little things that make an enormous difference.
All I can say is...Prayers are answered, especially when you are doing the things the Lord has asked of you. He knows each and every one of us. He loves us and is there for us when we need him.
Some changes may be in the works for us in the near future and it'll be good for us all. Probably not easy, but good.
I'm grateful to know that, as we move forward, we'll be watched over and blessed.

About Time

This post is about time and how most of us no longer have any to even keep up with fairly simple things, like my blog.
We seem to be just keeping our heads above water these days. The holidays stormed past in a whirl and then suddenly Brent turned 8 and shortly after was Kayla's 1st birthday.
Because of Brent's 8th birthday we were all able to enjoy seeing him be baptized and confirmed. It was such a special moment, and we are so proud of him.
Brad has started his final semester at UNLV and has started the process of looking for interships and will shortly begin the job hunt. We are really looking forward to this new journey and we're sure we will learn a lot along the way. He was also given a new calling as the ward financial clerk.
I was released as RS chorister and am still enjoying being part of the activities committee.
Even with as busy as we are we try to keep enjoying those precious few moments of time when we can just be together and have family time. Nothing is better that being together and laughing together and loving each other.
We're looking forward to spring, we've started a garden and now have about 100 ladybugs as pets. Jake keeps asking when we can put the pool up and go swimming. As the weather warms, so do our spirits. And we're ready to take on some adventure.
Enjoy the pictures.

Playing Catch Up

Okay it's been a while but things seem to keep coming up and we are all very busy. Brad, Brent and Teegan are all back in school and excelling. Church also has us all busy. Brad and I had a great experience helping with a Hangi where we heard Elder Groberg speak, as well as our first camping trip. And I'm still trying to find my groove as the Relief Society chorister. The boys have even been preparing for the Primary program next week. After that I have the Trunk or Treat to prepare for. Thankfully there is no ward activity in November so I'll get a little break before Thanksgiving. We love the holidays and look forward to the spirit of the holidays. Kayla is now 9 months old and ahead of the curve. You can tell she is going to be a smart girl. She's always observing things around her. She loves to play peek a boo. Last week she figured out how to stand up and three days later started to try walking. She's ready to keep up with those brothers of hers. It won't be long until she's chatting up a storm as well. I've included some video for you to enjoy.