Never A Dull Moment

Today we had Stake Conference.  There were some great things taught.  A member of the Quorum of the Seventies Elder Gene R. Chidester came to our Stake Conference.  At about the last half an hour, Silas started getting restless and hungry.  I took him to the mother's room so I could nurse him and that was when the "fun" started.  

Apparently, as I was taking care of Silas our two oldest decided that would be a perfect time to fight so Brian took the kids to the nursery.  That is when Zach decided to take off.  When Brian turned around, Zach was gone.  We were looking for him everywhere....everywhere except for the most obvious place.

After the meeting was over, I went to my friend and visiting teacher Audrey Maiers and asked if she'd seen Zach.  She told me she had seen him up on the STAND!  Yep, in front of our Stake Presidency, Elder Chidester and our entire stake!  We weren't completely mortified at all.  Haha!  

Thankfully, Sandy Howard from our ward (our previous Bishop's wife) saw him and had him sit with her.  She said he did really good though.  I wasn't super worried.  I knew he was okay.  I'm just glad someone we knew and trusted found him.  

Now, if that wasn't enough, as soon as we found Zach, Tali had taken off.  Our current Bishop's wife (Jamie Belnap) stopped me in the hall and told me she was with our friend and neighbor Camilla Frank.  So, my search continued while Brian took the boys out to the van.  

About this time we were feeling like super awesome parents (insert sarcasm).  I went back into the chapel portion of the church and there I found our friend.  Sure enough Tali stayed alongside her.  Why our kids don't do that with us, I will never know.  All I can say is there is never a dull moment with our kids.  Instead of being furious and incredibly embarrassed, I'm choosing to laugh it off.  

The day ended up okay because I got to snuggle with these two little cuties!

Daddy/Daughter Prom 2016

Every year around Valentine's Day the local high school sponsors a Daddy/Daughter Prom.  Tali and Brian had gone last year for the first time.  This year we thought it would be good for them to go again.

Brian and Tali decided to go to Leatherby's for dinner while the boys and I stayed home, hand decorated some mugs with Sharpie markers, ordered pizza and watched Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey.  Here are some photos I snapped before they left.  The lighting in these pictures aren't the best, but at least I got some.  

She loves getting all dolled up and going out with her daddy.

Her beautiful corsage.  

Awe!  Aren't they so adorable?

Last minute primping.

Making sure her hair looks nice for her date.

I love this picture of them even though it's kind of dark.

Bye baby girl!  I hope you have fun!

Jairus's 100s Day

Today was Jairus's 100s Day at school.  I was a little nervous because Brian does the kids' make-up better than I do.  Although, I did do Tali's this year and it turned out okay so I wasn't as worried with Jairus.  I thought He looked pretty good.  I was even able to do the bow tie!  First time ever!  

Hehe!  I love the look on his face!

Hardy Boys!  He's got to be exposed to great books!

Oh my back!  (No offense to anyone with back problems).

Now listen here sonny!  You respect your elders!

Yep, he's a pretty hip grandpa!  He's got mad scooter skills!  Lol!

Here is Jairus with his Kindergarten teacher.  They looked great!  Although Jairus, his teacher and one other classmates were dressed up.  I felt kind of bad that he was one of the only ones dressed up.  Oh well.  It was still fun.

Tali's 100s Day!

Every year at our local school the kids have 100s Day where they get to dress up like grandmas and grandpas.  Tali's 100s Day was on February 5th.  She loved hamming it up.

What a cute little old lady!

She's still hip and down with it.

Oh wise one.

Those arthritic hips are bugging her again.

I (Amy) became a consultant for Usborne Books.  This is one of the many titles.  I have no shame.  😊

This girl cracks us up!  

Zach and Silas Cuteness!

Our kids are so sweet and do some pretty cute things.  Today was no exception.  Silas was crying because he wanted to be held and Zach being the sweet, tender hearted boy that he is, came over and started to play with him.  Silas got such a kick out of his big brother.

He was singing a made up song to Silas about him smelling yucky.  It was pretty funny.

These kids are so fun.

I love how sweet they can be to each other

Park Play

Today the weather was supposed to be considerably warmer than it had been.  Brian thought it was a good idea to get out of the house.  Jairus suggested we go to the local park.  So that's just what we did.  The kids had fun playing on the playground, playing soccer and frisbee.  It was such a nice day.

Tali got mad because she fell and got wet and a little dirty.  Ha!  Brian eventually got her to start playing again.  

A little cuteness from Silas...

And Zach.

He was really enjoying himself.

Jairus loved playing frisbee with Brian.  I married a good man!  He's so great with our kids!

Tali and Jairus made a game of hiding the frisbee in the snow for Brian to find.

Tali and Zach were so cute pushing Silas home in the stroller.

Happy 6 Months Silas!

Our baby boy is now officially 6 months and as cute as can be.  Here are some fun photos to enjoy!

Hey baby!  How you doin'?

Tali was helping me out by holding the lips.  She is such a big helper.

It's Valentines Day and I don't get chocolate?!?  

We just LOVE this little guy!

What is this Valentines you speak of?

I love you too, baby!

He got such a contagious smile!  What a little charmer.

Say you'll be my Valentine!

Don't go breakin' my heart.

Happy Valentine's Day!  I ❤️ U!

Making Sunday a Delight

     Having four or more kids can get a little crazy at times.  I grew up in a family with six kids.  It was still fun, but crazy.  Anyway, our family decided we were going to try to make our Sundays more meaningful and more focused on the Savior and his atonement. 

     Growing up, I remember hearing and loving several different songs from different LDS artists that helped me to feel the spirit.  As I got older, I bought the sheet music to some of the songs I liked.  This past Sunday I rediscovered my love of music and playing the piano (as best as I can anyway).  It was so fun and a little nostalgic to go through and play songs I used to sing as a child and throughout my youth.  Music certainly sets the mood.  

     My Sunday was not perfect, but just the music alone made me feel more peace.  We ended up having some fabulous lessons in church and some wonderful testimonies were shared that seemed to echo my feelings of struggle as well as peace I had received.

     Here are just a few samples of the music I attempted to play on Sunday.  I realized that I need to work more at developing my musical skills even though I know I will never be as good as so many others I know.  For me, this made my Sunday a delight.  

A Joyful Calling

A few weeks ago I (Amy) was asked to move from working as the Wolf Den Leader in Cub Scouts to Webelos Assistant Leader.  I was a little hesitant because it is more work.  I wasn't sure I could handle that, being a mom with a baby, being the room mom (planning the parties) for Jairus's kindergarten class, and keep up with everything at home.  

I have been in scouts going on two or three years and was expecting to be released.  I really struggled with the idea of being a scout leader because I wasn't "one of those types of people that could be a scout leader."  The BSA (Boy Scouts of America) had launched a new scouting program last year and I was really nervous about all the new stuff I would need to do.  There had also been some things that happened politically with the scouting program that I was just not wanting to support.  I had asked for a release months ago shortly after having our last baby, but later got the feeling that God was not finished with me in scouts.  He needed me there a reason.  I remained in my calling just "waiting out my time" which sounds more like a prison sentence.  In all honesty, I just didn't see much value in scouts.  

This past week, I attended a scouting training meeting for our stake.  As I sat and listened, I began to gain a testimony about my calling.  I had some insights and thoughts come to me as I was in this meeting.  I can honestly say I am genuinely excited to be involved in this program.  I now see the value in it.  I'm really excited to dive into my new calling and be able to learn new things along with the boys.  There is so much useful information!  I got my new manual today for Webelos so now it's official.  

When I got home from Pack meeting today, I started looking through the manual with my daughter.  She kept telling me how much she wanted to be a scout.  It looks like I may need to purchase my own scout books so we can go over the skills together as a family.  There are some great things to learn!  Wow!  I am feeling so blessed and so grateful for the opportunity to be in scouts.  It's awesome!  I'm so glad that God knows what he is doing and that I didn't get the release I asked for.  This is gonna be great!

No Face on Facebook

If you haven't seen me on Facebook lately, it's because I've deleted my account. Amazing enough I feel just as connected as before. Maybe I could make some custom memes for this page.... :) or not. I just don't see enough good on Facebook to make it worth my time. Instead, I'm focusing on this blog to keep the people close to me informed about our little family. I realize that blogging is like Facebook, I guess it's an excuse to cut back on social media and progress to real meaningful human contact again. Amy tells me that she's quitting Facebook after Tali's baptism.

After rereading what I just wrote it sounds like we're quitting a dirty habit. Well, it should be interesting how this goes.