Mother's Day

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Mothers day was great! Hope you all had a good one too!

Logan brought me some "flowers" he found in the yard on friday and told me "Happy Mother's Day, early."
I will post pictures as soon as my photo-dude gets home from school.
Logan also told me on mothers day "Mom, I will me nice today, and do anything you want me to." You don't know what a HUGE gift that is from Logan!

Tanner drew a beautiful picture of a flower for me, and wrote an amazing note to go with it!

Emerald said she would give me my present on monday (today) I think she may have left it at school? She gave me a big hug!

**Update--Emerald didn't have something at school for me, she needed Miguel to take her to the store and we didn't have time over the weekend. So monday she bought me some cookies I was eyeing at the health food store. They are SO GOOD! Ingredients: butter, flour, evaporated cane juice, nuts! How could they get any better than that?

I am so proud of my kids, they are all so good, and just make my life more meaningful, happy and fun!
Love you guys!

I almost forgot about Miguel! He made me a great breakfast, and cleaned up! He said my mother's day present is in the mail? I have no idea what it could be.
Do you think they can mail chickens and goats?

Longboard

http://www.tiffanystable.com/

So Tanner got it in his head that he should build his own longboard, and you know what he did!

He paid for it all himself.

First he ordered the "special" wood that he needed. Then he glued two pieces of wood together, then cut it out etc etc etc.

The finished product turned out great! I told him that he should make and sell them.

He was a little bummed because the drawing he put on the bottom smudged a little when he varnished it. It still looks great, so no worries!

Anyone want to order a longboard?

Where I Want to Live

http://www.tiffanystable.com/

For those who know me, this comes as no surprise. I want to live out in the country REALLY bad!

Someone tell me how to make that happen, sooner than later!!

**Donations accepted!.......................Just kidding!!

Draper Temple Open House

These 2 pictures were taken from the bus. This temple is considerably smaller than the other temples I have been in. It was very cozy feeling.

Everything was SO ORGANIZED--they had the busses and buildings all color coded. So you could get back to the building you started from.

This was taken at the Stake Center right next to the temple. No picture taking is allowed in the temple--but ANYONE can go through the tour.

We were bussed over to the temple from a church building--so they could accomodate the crowds.

This is Alex from our ward. Hi Alex hope you don't mind me putting this on my blog!

Who is this beautiful girl? Oh wait--she is mine! Lucky me!

We were lucky enough to get to go to the Draper Temple open house. The temple is beautiful inside and out. Stone and wood imported from other countries, it's just amazing.

I also was priviledged enough to serve there during the open house a couple of weeks ago. I was with a group covering the first shift. So when we got to the temple no one else was there. It was so peaceful and wonderful to sit in the house of the Lord for about 30 minutes before the tours started.

One person that came through commented "A lot of trees died for this temple." I just smiled and quietly whispered "yes," because it is a silent tour. But what I really wanted to say is "we are just giving the trees back the the person who made them, the trees are not ours:)"

18th Anniversary!

Miguel and I have been married for 18 years. At least 1 of them has been good! Just kidding. They have all been good. Miguel is such a great husband and father.

Our anniversary was really lame. I was not feeling well but we still wanted to go out to eat at our favorite Indian (middle eastern) restaurant. The food was GREAT! The company for Miguel was not. We joked that he should have just taken my picture with him instead of me, and he would have had more fun.

**I have got to learn how to cook more middle eastern food. WE LOVE IT!!

Kudo's to Tanner

I have to brag a little bit for just a minute. Tanner my 14 year old got an award from school in the mail last week.

They did Iowa Tests at school and Tanner placed in the top 10% in the NATION in 4 categories!! Reading--Science--Social Studies--Total Composite

Way to go Tanner you're awesome! Could you please just start taking some business classes to help me out a little?? Oh and by the way he is not too bad in math either, I stopped being able to help him with his math in about 4th grade. I don't do math, I cook, remember!

Attracted to me!

Logan has been saying the funniest things lately. Last night he was teasing his brother and sister about crushes they had on someone at school. So of course they started teasing him about girls at school liking him. Then Logan told us "Belle is attracted to me, I sat down at school (on the carpet squares) and Belle followed me, so I moved and she moved too! I am serious, she is attracted to me!!"
My baby is talking like a grown-up! How did that happen?

A Remembering Aid?

The other day we were teasing Miguel about not being able to hear very good. I told him I was going to get him a hearing aid for Christmas. (We then found out that he just has selective hearing:)
Today at dinner we were joking around again and Logan said the funniest thing. He said "we should get Dad a remembering aid because he always forgets things." Maybe this is one of those times that you "had to be there" but it was very funny!!

Thanks

I just wanted to take a minute and express my thanks for the many blessings that I have. These are in no particular order, this is just what I have been thinking about lately.

1-Good health-as I have been doing some research and reading about other people who now have Crohn's disease, I once again am reminded what a blessing it is to have good health. I feel great! Physically I am able to do ALL that I need and want to do. Mentally I feel strong, more confident in WHO I am. Spiritually I have been blessed beyond measure and have been given more gifts of the spirit than I am worthy.
2-My family-As I watch my husband continue to work a horrible shift and the sacrifice that he is making so that I can be at home with our children, I am in complete AWE. He does this without complaining!! My oldest boy is such a good kid, fun to be around, and a good example to his younger siblings. My favorite daughter, is so thoughtful and caring, she has such a big heart. My youngest boy, is a spitfire, he is fun, he has taught me so much, and he tries so hard to be good. My dog is growing up and not such a crazy puppy anymore. She is so obedient lately. I feel safe with her around. (And I thought I didn't like dogs:) Who knew!)
3-The wonderful blessing of being able to be a stay at home mom. As I have faced the idea of having to go to work it has made me realize just how much I cherish the time I am at home, and what a HUGE blessing it is. I wouldn't trade it for anything!
4-Peace-I have felt a wonderful peace in my life lately. I am grateful for it, strive to keep it that way, and hope to eminate that to others. With the Lord in charge, life gets so much easier! It truly takes all the pressure off me.
5-Eternal families-The thought of being able to be with my family (extended etc.) is such a blessing. There are 2 special people I look forward to getting to know again. Miguels mother, and my paternal grandmother. For some reason I have a special connection with these two ladies. My grandmother passed away when I was 5 years old. Miguel's mother passed away when my oldest son was just a few months old. Both of these women were ill for a long time before passing, so I didn't have the opportunity to know them very well on earth.
6-I am grateful that Miguel's father moved back to the states, and he made it in time for the holidays. Special circumstances made that happen.

There are SO MANY more things, but that's all for now, feel free to share what you are thankful for also.

MY BOOKS HAVE ARRIVED!!!

My books have made it all the way from Korea!
My unbelievably generous neighbor, offered to let us borrow his truck and trailer to pick up my books. He drove his truck and trailer to the publisher, loaded the books, brought it back to our house, and unloaded the books. All on his day off! Thanks Dave! It is hard to tell from the pictures, but the trailer was full from front to back, stacked 3 boxes high. It's a huge trailer. There was a total of 186 boxes. We brought home 181. The publisher kept the other 5 to distribute.
Above is my awesome family! Miguel, Emerald, Logan, Tanner and me. And down in front Boo our dog. Miguel only got 1 hour of sleep before we went to pick up the books. He worked the night before, all night and then we got the call that my books arrived. He only took a 1 hour nap, then went with to load the books. I am so grateful for him and all that he does for us. He works so hard so that I can stay at home with our kids. He has also ALWAYS supported me in this book venture. Thank you Miguel, I love you! As you can see, we just stacked the books all over our home. I guess I will have to sell them fast to get them out of my living room. Tanner sort of wants his room back too.
ANY ONE NEED A COOKBOOK? HA! HA!:)

Hiking and a Rattlesnake

On Saturday we decided to take a hike up in the mountains. It was so nice! The weather was beautiful, it greatly improved my mood, and it gave all of us some really good exercise. We hiked over 4 miles. My little guy Logan who is 5 years old, did the whole hike as well. What a trooper.

One exciting and scary thing happened though. We were on a path that was very narrow, so we were walking single file. Logan was leading the way with Tanner behind him, then Miguel, Emerald and me. All of a sudden we heard "chkchckhckhkchhckhckch." Tanner quickly pulled Logan back. There was a HUGE rattlesnake right in the middle of the path. We all crowded around and waited for it to move. It SLOWLY slithered into the bushes, and we went on our way.

I have never seen a rattlesnake in real life, except at the zoo. I was amazed at how loud the "rattle" sound was. I am also very grateful for the warning to stay back. It would have been an extremely scary and dangerous hike back if someone had been bitten. We were about 1 1/2 hours up into the mountain. That means another 1 1/2 hours back down, with a lot of rocky terrain. Not the kind of thing you want to run down.

This experience also made me think of how blessed we are to have a living prophet. Heavenly Father did not leave us here on this earth to just flounder around without further guidance and direction. He gave us the First Presidency and a living Prophet. When we are on a narrow path, and danger comes our way, IF we look to the Prophet and follow His counsel, he will pull us back, away from danger, we will be safe. The Prophet, lives in our day and time, and knows the struggles and trials of this day and age. He can give us direct counsel, even revelation to what we all should be doing. Do you see what a blessing that is? Do you see the magnitude of help that brings into our lives. Do you see the Father's love in giving us this gift? I am so grateful.

Moving?

Monday we went to look at homes and land in a few different small towns. It was fun. The kids had a good time, and are excited about moving. It will probably take us about a year to be ready to move, and we still don't know if we will build or buy an existing home. Yesterday we went to look at some model homes near here, and found the homes that we really love. So if we can get that builder to go that far south, then we will probably build. However that will add about 10 months, because it will take them that long to build the home we want. It's so fun and exciting to dream with faith. The future looks bright!

Schools out, Yeah!

These past couple of weeks seem to have flown by, with so many things going on. I am glad school is out! It gives me more time with my kids, especially the older ones. I don't get to just "hang out" with them as much as I would like during the school year.

I have so many things going through my brain right now, it is hard for me to pinpoint what to write about.

I have become completely OBSESSED with moving to a place where we can have more land. Maybe 5 acres or so. I want a huge garden, fruit trees, nut trees, grape vines, maybe even some animals. Goats, chickens, even a miniature cow. They are really cute! Of course I want to do this with help. Ideally I would like to hire someone part time to take care of the animals, so we wouldn't be tied to them 24-7. My dream is to be as self sufficient as possible. I believe it would be a great learning experience for my whole family.

So, if you are ever talking to me, and I look like I am not listening. I am probably on my little farm (in my head), walking down my dirt road on a cool summer morning, with a slight breeze in the air. It smells of fresh cut grass, rich soil, and clean air. Every once in a while, you get just a whiff of blossoms on the fruit trees, and homemade baked bread from an open window. Mmmmm. All I can hear is the breeze and children playing and laughing in the background, maybe a dog barking once in a while "come play with me."

Sorry I have to leave now, its time to go check on the animals.......................................
Oh, and don't wake me up from my dream please, even if I am already awake!

Miguel makes ice-cream?

So Miguel made me some ice-cream for mothers day. I REALLY had a craving, and since I don't, can't, won't, shouldn't, couldn't, wouldn't, eat store bought ice-cream because of the sugar and other evil ingredients......I asked Miguel to make some for me. For those who don't know him, Miguel really doesn't cook. He's great at making eggs, salsa, and tuna fish, and that's about it.
He very dutifully went over to the computer to find my recipe. (My book should be finished by June 2008)
Me: "Are you going to use that recipe?"
Miguel: "Ya."
Me: "We don't have all of those ingredients."
Miguel: "Which ones do we have?"
Me: "We don't have this, and this, and this. (we only had 4 out of 7)"
Miguel: "So what do you want me to do?"
Me: "Make it anyway, I'm a woman on the edge!!!!"

My sweet husband made me the ice-cream. I have to tell you, it was the best ice-cream I have ever had!!! I am still hoarding it to this day. There is just enough for one more bowl for me. Don't tell anyone please, I am hoping they all forgot about it!!

Thank you Miguel, I love you!!

Funny Mother's Day

Saturday I was away at church most of the day helping with a funeral. While I was gone, my sweet kids (Tanner and Emerald) went and got me a Mother's day gift. When I came home, I was in the kitchen getting something to eat, when Logan walks in and says "Happy Mudders Day Mom!!!", while holding up the gift Tanner and Emerald got for me. It was a mat to put on the floor in front of the kitchen sink. Tanner and Emerald were disappointed that Logan spoiled their surprise, but I was extremely grateful. I had been on my feet (in high heels, which I never wear) all day at the funeral. My feet hurt really bad, by the time I got home. It was so nice to stand on that very soft mat. Thank you Tanner, Emerald and Logan, I love you all very much!!!

I LOVE being outside!!

The last few weeks we eat dinner, HURRY and clean up, then go to the dog park and tennis courts. It has been so nice. And to think, I was going to buy a Wii, so we could spend more time together as a family. I am so greatful I couldn't find one in the stores.

The problem is, we have a 13 year old boy and a 4 year old boy, so sometimes it is difficult to find an activity that everyone enjoys.

We take our dog to the dog park, and let her run around for about 30-40 minutes. Then she's happy, and not so annoying at home.

We then go over to the tennis courts and we all play tennis, and run around, so then we are not so annoying at home. We get exercise, fresh air?, and play. We usually play tennis for about 30-40 minutes as well. It is GREAT!!! We all look forward to it everyday. Right now we are going about 4 nights per week, because of other activities on the other nights, or we would probably go more.

There is just one problem with this scenario. I REALLY want to live somewhere, where we can spend time outside all year long, without freezing to death, or burning to death. Does a place like that exist?

Dog Whisperer

I know this is totally "off" the subject, but this stuff amazed me! So....... I am talking about the Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan. I have never seen, or heard of dog training done in this way, it is different, and makes a lot more sense to me. To be honest, I sort of thought the guy was a quack in the beginning, because he kept talking about "dog psychology." He also does more training on the people than the dogs!
For the first time in my life I am starting to understand dogs, and all of the things I have been doing wrong. We have a 10 month old German Shepherd. She has been a really good dog, but for about the last month, she has been driving me CRAZY! I was ready to get rid of her, but knew I couldn't do that, so I turned to the idea of training instead.
A friend of mine recommeded the Dog Whisperer to me, so I got the videos at the library. What a difference they have made! Seriously, I have seen IMMEDIATE results. Like you don't believe that something so simple, could make such a big difference, but it does!
So if you have an out of control dog, check it out!

Don't forget: calm, assertive!!!!!!!!

My nieces birthday presents

I made these for my 3 year old neices, Abbey and Kaleigh. A skirt and purse to match. I hope they liked them, they are cute little girly, girls who love purses and jewelry.

Report Cards

This is just a little brag session. Sorry if that bothers you, but I am really proud of my kids.

Tanner (7th grade) got his report card a couple weeks ago. These are his classes and grades. Art-A, Career Tech-A, Fitness-A, Language Arts-A, Reading-A (and he tested out at college level in reading) Music Appreciation-A, Algebra-A. Great job Tanner, especially in algebra, because that has been a tough class! (and he certainly hasn't had any help from me, since I am horrible at math)

Emerald (4th grade) got her report card today. Reading-A, (she is reading at a 5th grade level) Social Studies-A, Math-A, Science-A, and Type-A. Super job Emerald, keep it up!

I also want to add, how proud I am of both of you, for your self motivation and great responsibility you take in getting your homework done. I never have to ask them to do it, they just come home from school and do their homework before they do anything else.
I love you both!!

Poor Emerald

Well, it happened again. Emerald's ear piercings got infected. I guess her body just doesn't want her to have pierced ears. I am proud of her though, she decided all on her own, to take out her earrings and let the holes close up. She said she will just get clip-on earrings. I am proud of you Emerald for handling this so well. (once we got the earrings out, anyway) I guess people will just have to look at your beautiful eyes instead!
Love, mom