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A couple of days ago we were out running errands and wanted to stop by the school to see Paul. School wasn't quite out yet so I decided to take the kids to Arn's. Arn is a sweet old man that has a charming little wood shop down the street from the High School. He makes everything from dressers and beds to doll houses and wooden cars. We walked around the shop, got covered in saw dust, and found this bird house kit for $7.50. I got up to pay and he only charged me $5.00! To top it off he gave Rachel and Ben each a little wooden dinosaur for free! He said he was a sucker for cute kids - we've got plenty of those!!

So we came home, painted the walls, nailed it together and...

VOILA!!

The front is my attempt at "modern homemaker" - the rest is the natural talent of the children. I call it "Impressionistic Fingerpainting".

Whatever you call it, they're pretty proud.

And as if that weren't enough, today we made bird feeders in Rachel's preschool. We took pinecones, spread peanut butter all over them, then rolled them in birdseed and tied a ribbon on top! (Thank you Playhouse Disney)

C'MON BIRDIES WE'RE READY FOR SPRING!!!

you don't think birds have peanut allergies do you?

To Nap or Not to Nap?

That is a VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION! So I'm stuck with unscheduled nappers. Some days they do, some days they don't.

And it drives me nuts.

Because when they nap they end up going to bed much later (9:30-10:00-ish as opposed to 8:00-8:30-ish). However they are much happier children in the evenings if they nap. They eat their dinner better, and they are simply more pleasant to be around. But if we can get through the day with no naps, the kids can go to be MUCH earlier which leaves more evening time with the hubby...

SO WHAT DO I DO?!

Food Storage

So this week in Sunday School we talked about Joseph saving Egypt during the famine because of his ability to interpret dreams and store corn. That lead to a discussion about food storage. Which brings me to this...the sweet water filters you can buy online. Someone on our high council told us about this website that you can get these awesome water bottles with filters that have the capacity to filter lake, river, and stream water. So if you were in a position where you didn't have suitable drinking water you could filter questionable water and be safe. One bottle has the capacity to filter up to 100 gallons of water. They are certified to filter out anything from chemical toxins like anthrax to biological things like giardia, salmonella, and cholera. They are perfect for food storage/72 hour kits. The website is www.seychelle.com. Here is the cool part, we were given a discount code to use which is good for 50% off most items! The code is L8D8S. We bought 2 water bottles for our family. That's enough to filter 200 gallons of water for drinking. The FEMA website states that in storing water for an emergency you need a gallon of water per person per day. They also recommend having 3 days worth of water for your family. With these two water bottles we have the capacity to filter my family's water needs for almost 2 months! I realize I probably need to STORE water in addition to being able to FILTER water, but I can't carry around 12 gallons of water wherever I go. So these water bottles are perfect for our 72 hour kit. Check it out!"

So True it's SCARY!!!

Don Pedros

This weekend Ammy, Papa, and Dylan made a special visit out to Vernal. We went shopping (at Wal-Mart), read stories, played toys, and wrestled with the dog. One of the highlights of the visit was dinner at Don Pedros. As you can see we had a wonderful time...

As we were leaving the restaurant Rachel noticed that the gal who was helping us at the cash register had a diamond studded bar pierced through her eyebrow.
Rachel (with a look of awe on her face): "Mom look at that girl! She has a sparkle on her eye!"
Me (with a look of embarrassment on mine): "Wow you're right Hon! She DOES have a sparkle! Kinda cool huh?!" DON'T YOU DARE GET ANY IDEAS...
Ben: "I want see da spakow! Oh WOOK MOM!! (pointing at the girl's eyebrow) IT'S A SPAKOW!"
Girl: "heh heh. cute kids..."
Me: "Yeah thanks." Nice eyebrow - NOT.
When we got outside my parents asked what the kids were talking about with that girl having sparkly eyes. I said, "Didn't you see the diamond studded piercing in her eyebrow?" They hadn't seen it, and when they realized how the children had so blatantly pointed it out they truly LOL'ed!

Extreme Makeover : Home Edition

Have you ever seen that show? The one where the design team and building crew choose a deserving family and send them on a vacation while they demolish and rebuild their home...it's a tear jerker every time.

The family in the last episode was an amazing one. Father and Mother were both deaf. They had 2 sons - one who was 14 with no disabilities, and one who was 10 who was both blind and autistic. So basically the 14 year old son was the eyes, ears, and mouth piece for his whole family. See - you are crying already aren't you.

During the building process one of the designers made a comment that she couldn't believe the outstanding LOVE that existed in this family. She said that she ENVIED that love.

That made me think. If they offered her the chance to live with those challenges do you think she'd take them - HECK NO. I wouldn't either. And yet - it is BECAUSE of those challenges they have and the way they face them together that they DO feel that outstanding love and support from each other. You can't have the good without having the bad. And by BAD I don't mean WRONG. You don't need to commit every sin in the book to know the power of repentance. But the truth is, the times in my life when I have felt the most love and support have been the times when life is hard. Moves. Births. Miscarriages. Deaths. Let me make something else very clear - it's not that I don't feel loved and supported in the easy times too - quite the contrary. It's just that when you are cut down to your very core and it seems like the night is going to drag on forever - all the little things mean so much more. I remember standing at my in-laws' door, accepting dinner for them from a sweet woman in their ward, and sobbing thinking, "The human race has not gone to pot! How on earth could these people be SO NICE to my family?! AM I REALLY CRYING OVER CASSEROLE?!" Yes I was.

So when we RECOGNIZE that true greatness rises from the ashes of trial and tragedy, why don't we embrace challenge more? I'm not saying we all become martyrs, I'm just saying why do I shy away from things that are hard? Why am I so afraid of having my heart strings tugged a little? Elder Neal A. Maxwell said it best - "How can you and I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, 'Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken. Keep from me Lord, all those experiences which made Thee what Thou art! Then let me come and dwell with Thee and fully share Thy joy!'" Ensign May 1991.

Last fall I suffered a miscarriage. I wasn't far along, and it definetly wasn't the end of the world - but it was hard. We were excited and so were the kids. It was very disappointing to sit as a family in the ultrasound room ready to show the kids their new baby sibling on the screen only to find nothing there. No hands, no toes, no heart beat. And yet as hard as it was, I wouldn't trade that experience for anything in the whole world. Our ward reached out to us in love and kindness in ways I can't express. We got to hang with my mom for a week which was a wonderful experience for all of us. We took a spontaneous trip to Denver to process everything that was happening and ended up making an amazing life long family memory. And most important of all, I gained an appreciation for my wonderful husband and my sweet sweet children that I just didn't have before. That was a trial that made me realize how truly blessed I am and what a miracle it really is that I have TWO happy healthy children.

So to the sweet designer on Extreme Makeover - no. You will never feel the same love which that particular family feels. But you and I and all of us CAN feel a similar love - a love that will be tailored specifically for us. A love that only permiates when we are pushed to our very limit - the love of a Savior who has descended below all and therefore has the ability to lift us through anything.

I just hope that when the trials DO come, I can keep perspective and TRUST in a LOVING Heavenly Father who knows what winds need to blow in my life to keep me on a course of Love and Learning and Eternal Life.

Redecorated.

Rachel helped.

Chloe and the Kidlets

Many of you have asked, "How are the kids handling the new dog?"

Very well thank you.

Rachel Says...

Rachel: I think I'm going to go on a Macation.

Me: What's a Macation?

Rachel: It's when you go somewhere far away in a car and you don't sleep at your house and you see people like Ammy and Papa or Grandma and Grandpa.

Me: OH you mean a VAcation?

Rachel: Yeah that's it. Mom have you ever gone on a vacation all by yourself?

Me: Yes I went to Washington D.C. before I married Daddy.

Rachel: Oh. Yeah. Washington. I know that place. You go there to WASH your car. And if you want to build something you go to BUILDINGTON!

Me: Hmmm. Makes sense to me!

Chloe-isms take 2: "I should have known better"

A few weeks ago my amazing cousin-in-law Amber wrote a post about an episode her dog had getting into the garbage. We didn't have Chloe then, but I was researching dog ownership like crazy in preparation. "Dogs + Garbage Cans = trouble...CHECK."

Unfortunately I didn't listen. I was given a "free bee" - a get out of jail free card - a "trust me on this one" bit of advice and I didn't take it.

And this was the result.

Which got me to thinking. How many of those little gems lie waiting for us every day in everything, especially the scriptures?! How often have I HEARD but not LISTENED. And how many trials in my life did I bring upon myself because I put my "proverbial puppy" next to a "proverbial garbage can" after KNOWING it would only cause a BIG FAT MESS!!

So THANKS for the heads up Amber - next time I'll listen. Sheesh. p.s. congrats on Kael's sealing!