In The Land Of Runia

Merry Christmas

2011-12-28T19:39:00.000-08:00

It’s amazing how fast Christmas can come and go as an adult. I love the anticipation leading up to it. The spirit that is in the air. Drinking eggnog or hot chocolate. Making yummy treats and then giving them to others or enjoying them with your family. Listening to the Christmas music or watching the Christmas movies. I get so excited the entire month of December. The anticipation of watching your kids open up exactly what they asked for and watch their eyes light up with wonder.

Like most families we have our traditions we like to do every year. I like having traditions, it gives you fun things to look forward to. Some of ours are the kids get to open up one gift on Christmas eve, it’s always pajamas. We have a Christmas book that has a scripture, song, and a Christmas story for every day in December leading up to Christmas. I love reading those stories, all of them have lessons about what is really important and the spirit of Christmas. The story on Christmas eve is the scripture account of Christ’s birth. I love making cookies with the kids, every year we get together with a group of our friends on Christmas eve day to decorate cookies for santa and to make “Reindeer Dust” for santa’s reindeer. Every year I get them a new book of some sort to add to their collection of books, I need to add more Christmas books. We get out all the Christmas movies and watch them all month long. This year we added a new tradition of a “Secret Santa” we put our names in a hat and all of us drew out a name to get a gift for, we weren’t supposed to tell who each other had, but obviously Keira and Jayda didn’t really follow that, so we all knew who they had.

Here is all the cookie making fun we have had. Keira REALLY enjoyed the sprinkles! We had a lot of cookies to decorate if you can’t tell, we didn’t even decorate them all. We had a ton of fun as usual.

On Christmas Eve, the kids got their new PJ’s and then we went on up to the Runia’s for the festivities. We acted out the nativity, ate food, and had lots of fun.

Santa came! Let the unwrapping...begin! The kids were so excited to open up all the presents. Nyah was so excited about getting an IPOD Touch that she started hyperventilating and was saying “I need to come down” she then started to take deep breaths it was so funny. After they opened all of the gifts that were for just them, they all seemed satisfied. Nyah got her IPOD Touch of course along with some new black boots (they look similar to UGG’s only the brand that is in our price range ha ha), a webkin, DS games, etc. Keira added to her collection of stuffed animals with a my little pony, yoshi backpack, giraffe, dog, etc. Jayda was so excited to get a DSI, an Ariel doll, Tiana doll, and then a HUGE collection of coloring books, crayons, etc. Connor, didn’t care about opening his presents, once he opened the vacuum that was for him, it was all over, he just wanted to play with it, he did like his light saber, he also got a ride on tractor, some swords, and of course some tools, etc.

After all that, it was on to some family gifts we got. The first one was a WII. I think we just might be the last family on earth to get one of these ha ha. The kids, especially Nyah was super excited. It was a blue one, then we got three more remotes for it, one more blue one and then 2 pink ones. We also got around 6 games. We have played most of them now and they are all pretty fun. We got the Just Dance 3 and then the ABBA Just Dance and all I can say his HOLY WORK OUT! Although, I am not the best judge, I am really out of shape, but I do know that I am pretty sore after all that dancing around I did with them.

Then came the BIG surprise! We got a new puppy! It was mostly for Keira and to help her with some of her issues, but we call it a family pet, since everyone will get to enjoy the dog. It’s a girl, she is a Mini Goldendoodle, which is a cross between a Golden Retriever and a Poodle, since she is mini she will get to be around 30 lbs, so about a medium size dog. Santa had brought Keira a stuffed dog and it was in a wrapped box with a lid that comes off, then some of the presents she unwrapped were things for her “stuffed” dog. After we opened up all the presents I “found” a note from Santa, that said something like he had another surprise and to follow the directions, the first direction was to put Keira’s new dog in the “magic box” then it sent them on a hunt, first it told them to go where “Nyah does the dishes” then it said “go where Perry and all Keira’s friends are” (which is in Keira’s room with the stuffed animals) then it said to “go where Connor’s favorite shopping cart is” (it’s where we keep the toys, there is a shopping cart we have that Connor loves to push around) then it said to “go where Jayda is Sally the Mermaid” which is the bathtub, when taking a bath, Jayda always says she is “Sally the Mermaid” then that one said that he did his magic and to check the box to see what happened. They came upstairs and inside the box was the real puppy, they were so excited and then all other presents were forgotten for the time being. They immediately wanted to name it and of course Keira wanted “Sprinkles” no surprise, but I was like, “well there is the dog book that Keira has and there is a dog in there named Bella, what if we name her Bella Sprinkles” and Keira was like “ya, Bella Sprinkles!” So that is her name, we just call her Bella.

This is our house in the aftermath of the mad house that is Christmas morning. The disaster zone our living room turns into. I think Jayda spent the majority of the day coloring. Connor was mostly vacuuming, but he did like playing with some of his other toys, like his light saber. Nyah alternated between playing with her IPOD and the dog and Keira spent all day with the dog and trying to cart her new stuffed animals along with her all day. While this was all happening, Jared and I traded of taking naps!

We had a great Christmas, in Keira’s words “best...christmas...ever!” She said that before they got the puppy, so you can only imagine how over the top that was for her. Now we have been winding down, I took down all the Christmas decor, which is bitter sweet really. I am sad to see the holiday come and go so quickly, but I also ready to move on to our regular routine. Which I don’t even know that is yet with the new puppy, we are still figuring that out. Well...on to 2012 I guess.

Our Digital Christmas Card

2011-12-22T19:25:00.000-08:00

It’s been quite a year in the Runia house. I guess with a family of 6 things are typically never dull. It’s funny how quickly the years seem to fly by these days. Here is how our year went for each of us:

Jared, is still working at IHC, he enjoys it, which is a really good thing, not many people can do accounting and not be bored to tears. For us, it’s just nice to have a good and steady job. He is a hard worker to, so that always helps. He still works out at the gym as often as he likes. Which is usually 3 times a week. I can picture him as this old man in his 90’s pumpn’ up those weights. He will be going to the gym until the day he dies. He recently got a new calling in church, he works with the 11 year old scouts. He seems to enjoy it, right now there is only 2 boys in there with him and another guy. One of the boys rarely comes, so it’s typically the one scout to the 2 leaders ratio. I think this boy will be earning quite few badges with that ratio

Jessi (me), is busy running around taking the kids to and from school, running millions of errands, helping the kids with this, that, and the other. You know, the typical mom thing of making sure everyone else in the family’s lives runs smoothly. I saw a bumper sticker once that said “If I am called a stay at home mom, then why am I always in my car?” It is so true, once your kids get school age, it feels like you basically live in your car. The days where I get to stay home all day are few and far between. We took another year off the “extra’s” again. This will probably be the last time we can get away with it. They really do well going to there little “extra” activities. So I am sure this next year we will just get that much busier. I just got a new calling in church, I was bummed to stop teaching Relief Society, I really enjoyed that. Now I am going to be back in the primary, teaching the Valiant 10-11 year olds. I am excited for that, I have taught that age before and it really is a fun age. They listen and respond and ask questions pertaining to the lesson, which is really nice.

Nyah, turned 9 this year. She is officially what I call a tween. She is growing like a weed! Especially her feet. She is already in a women’s size 7, she can wear my moms shoes, which is just crazy for me. She loves going to activity days. She is my little social bug. Everyday after school at pick up time, she is getting later and later, because she is in her classroom still, talking to friends or the teacher. She is really creative and is constantly working on some sort of project. Now, getting her to work on her projects at appropriate times is another thing altogether. She has gotten into trouble at school for working on her projects when she wasn’t supposed to. It’s fun watching her, she is always thinking up different, creative ways to have fun with her siblings. She really likes make believe, I think she would really like being involved in drama and doing plays, she thrives on stuff like that. It makes me happy that she isn’t afraid to get in front of people and perform. It makes me a little sad, watching her grow up so quickly. She is at that in between age, where she still likes toys, but she is starting to like more electronic gadgets as well.

Keira, has had quite a year. She turned 7 this year and started 1st grade. The transition from going to school 1/2 a day to going to school all day was interesting to say the least. We alway knew there was something special about her. Something...unique you could say. We actually thought for a long time that she possibly had ADHD or something because her attention span was so bad, among other things. Well, this summer, after talking with a psychologist/social worker about some of her issues. She had us take another route. We had her school do testing on her and they agreed with us about her issues. She qualified for an IEP (which is an Individual Education Plan) under Autism. We believe she has Aspergers. She hasn’t been officially diagnosed, but at this point I figure we are getting her the help she needs with the IEP without the “label” of being diagnosed. The school will be giving her extra help in speech, reading, math, and social skills. I will do another post all about this later. She is still in love with stuffed animals and has dozens (the word dozen is a huge understatement). She has fun at school and she does have a few friends which is great.

Jayda, she turned 4 this year and got to start preschool. She loves it of course! She goes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and is learning so much from there. She is so funny and loves to go around teasing everyone. She especially loves to pick on her little brother. I keep telling her that one day he is going to turn on her and give her the smack down and I am going to let him. She lives everyday, in her own little princess world, full of cupcakes, party dresses, ballerina’s twirling, and Mickey and Minnie singing and dancing.

Connor, he turned 1 this year, he learned to walk. He is into everything. His favorites are anything that is electronic. He walks around with electronic things and makes sound effects for them. His top choices are the vacuum, our electric mixer, and the blow dryer. He loves driving on his little battery operated 4 wheeler he got for his birthday and he is actually pretty dang good and navigating that thing around. He is starting to talk and say things. Of course he won’t talk on demand, only when he wants to. It has been so much fun having a boy in the house to change things up for us.

Well, that is basically what we have all been up this past year. Definitely not overly exciting, but we love it. We want to wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Being THANKFUL Day 23

2011-11-23T16:23:00.001-08:00

Today I am THANKFUL for Holidays. I love having the holidays. We get to spend time with our families that we don’t ALWAYS get to see. If gets us out of the day to day ROUTINE and allows you to do DIFFERENT and fun things. I love having different kinds of TRADITIONS. The joy it brings to my KIDS and families. I always get excited when the HOLIDAYS come around.

Being THANKFUL DAY 22

2011-11-22T22:36:00.001-08:00

Today I am THANKFUL for CAMERAS. I love having a camera to capture such memorable moments in time. Whether it’s from a BIRTHDAY party or a VACATION, your baby’s FIRST steps, etc. Usually at most functions you will see some kind of CAMERA with me. I LOVE both and most of the time have them both, either taking PICTURES or capturing treasured video. I love watching HOME movies and looking at old PICTURES. I am grateful to have ways to remember these SPECIAL moment even BETTER.

Being THANKFUL Day 21

2011-11-21T22:25:00.001-08:00

Today I am THANKFUL for books. I love reading. It’s FUNNY cause when I was younger, I didn’t really enjoy reading so much. It wasn’t until I got OLDER, that I really started to enjoy reading. I love CURLING up with a good book. Just getting LOST in a different REALITY for just a little while. I am GRATEFUL to be able to just sit and read a BOOK whenever I feel like it.

Being THANKFUL Day 20

2011-11-20T18:28:00.001-08:00

Today I am THANKFUL for prayer. It is such a great COMFORT for me. If ever I am having a bad day, I know that when I PRAY I will feel that PEACE and that comfort that I so badly need. I LOVE having that relationship with my FATHER IN HEAVEN. He is the ONE that KNOWS everything and still loves me. The one who makes me feel as IMPORTANT as I should. He is there to listen to us, to help us, he wants to help us, all we have to do is ASK. I love that I get so many ANSWERS to my prayers even if it seems like a silly QUESTION. Through prayer my TESTIMONY is strengthened. Some days it’s my LIFELINE. I am so grateful to have that KNOWLEDGE about prayer.

Being THANKFUL Day 19

2011-11-19T07:58:00.001-08:00

Today I am THANKFUL for the SNOW. Yes, thats right, I said the SNOW! Growing up in a place were you get 9 MONTHS of winter, you learn to appreciate it. You learn all the FUN things there is to do in the snow. We would get A LOT of snow. We built these HUGE snow forts in our front yard, COMPLETE with different tunnels, and SLIDES up top. We went SLEDDING almost, daily. Our house was right next to the mountain, we would HIKE up there and go sledding for HOURS. We had snow machines, yes I just called them snow MACHINES (we did NOT call them snow mobiles)! I LOVED to go snow machining, it was so much fun. I LOVE coming in from a cold winter day, to sit and have hot chocolate. I think when there is fresh snow on the ground, it is BEAUTIFUL. I am grateful that I have been able to experience the JOY you can have with the snow.

Star Valley, Wyoming in Winter

Being THANKFUL Day 18

2011-11-18T11:57:00.001-08:00

Today I am THANKFUL for MUSIC. I love music, it brings me so much JOY. Listening to it can put me from a bad mood to a good mood. I have always felt that music is POWERFUL. I have had important ANSWERS to prayers come in the form of music. I can LISTEN to a song and be REMINDED of an important moment in my life, a good memory will come, when listening to certain songs. I have SPECIFIC songs that remind me of my each of my KIDS. I like sharing MUSIC with them. It’s such a wonderful part of my LIFE.

Being THANKFUL Day 17

2011-11-17T12:34:00.001-08:00

Today I am THANKFUL for my kids GIGGLES. I LOVE that sound. I tickle them all the time just to hear that joyful sound. The sound of that laughter and play is MUSIC to my ears. Just knowing that they are HAPPY and thriving when so many CHILDREN in this world are not. Knowing that I can give them a GREAT childhood, filled with many memories, learning, and wonderment is such a great BLESSING for me.

Being THANKFUL Day 16

2011-11-17T12:31:00.001-08:00

Today I am THANKFUL for modern conveniences. With just the push of a BUTTON we can have so many things at our FINGER TIPS. We can cook things very quickly and with very little HASSLE, we can look things up with just the simple CLICK of a mouse, we can have the internet ANYWHERE we go, we have the ABILITY to watch all kinds of TV shows and movies from the comforts of our own HOMES, we can get to and from places very QUICKLY, we can send a message to a friend within SECONDS, we can talk to people and even VIDEO chat with people clear across the WORLD. Our lives are quite EASY when you think about it, especially when you compare it to a while back before all of this was INVENTED.

Being THANKFUL Day 15

2011-11-15T20:45:00.001-08:00

Today I am THANKFUL for hot running water. I think this is something that is taken for GRANTED. There have been DAYS and times when we have run out of HOT water for whatever reason while I am in the SHOWER and boy do I miss it those days. I am so GRATEFUL that we have running water and HOT water. I can soak in a nice hot bath, or stand in the shower and get CLEAN. I can give my kids baths/showers, all with their own WATER. This is one of the many LITTLE things we typically don’t think about.

Being THANKFUL Day 14

2011-11-14T19:25:00.001-08:00

Today I am THANKFUL for DISNEYLAND! I love that place. It’s like my HOME away from home. It’s so MAGICAL there. I love that my kids LOVE it there too. I love the atmosphere. It’s so friendly and INVITING. Seeing my kids eyes LIGHT up when they first experience things from there. Whether they are meeting their favorite CHARACTER or going on a ride for the first time. I am so GLAD that Jared likes it as much as I do. With kids, you have a SMALL window were they LOVE it there before they start to grow out of it. I am GRATEFUL that I get to have this EXPERIENCE with my kids before they are too GROWN up for it.

Being THANKFUL Day 13

2011-11-13T16:56:00.001-08:00

Today I am THANKFUL for my house. We BUILT it over 9 years ago. It was our FIRST home purchase. I am thankful that we have enough SPACE for our family. It keeps us WARM in the winter and keeps us COOL in the summer. My kids have NEVER lived in any other place. It’s in a GREAT neighborhood, it feels safe enough for us, which is so NICE. My kids have plenty of friends they can PLAY with. There is a YARD for us to play in. I LOVE having a place to call HOME.

Being THANKFUL Day 12

2011-11-12T18:12:00.001-08:00

Today I am THANKFUL for my MacBook Pro. That was one of our BEST purchases. I never thought I would like a laptop for some reason. Now that I have one, I would NEVER want to go back to desktop. This is just way to CONVENIENT. I love that I can type this while sitting in the PLAY room watching the kids play. I can sit in my nice COMFORTABLE, warm bed and watch my FAVORITE shows on it. I can take it to my mom’s HOUSE and get things done and it will be SAVED to MY computer. It’s, small, and light weight. I really like the APPLE brand. I used to be a PC girl and we switched and it’s so much more CONVENIENT. There a few things that I miss from my PC, but the emphasis is the word FEW. There are far more POSITIVE things about this computer then NEGATIVE.

Being THANKFUL Day 11

2011-11-11T13:14:00.001-08:00

Today I am of course THANKFUL to all the men and women who have SERVED our country. They sacrifice there TIME, time that could be spent with their LOVED ones. They spend DEFENDING our country. Giving us the FREEDOMS we enjoy today. Freedom is something I don’t EVER want to take for GRANTED. It comes at a high PRICE. People give there lives so that I can have the LIFE that I live today. I owe them a HUGE debt of GRATITUDE. They truly are HEROS. So THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart THANK YOU for all that you have done and continue to do.

Being THANKFUL Day 10

2011-11-10T21:30:00.001-08:00

Whenever I HEAR the song of a BIRD. Or look at the BLUE, blue sky, Whenever I feel the RAIN on my face. Or the WIND as it RUSHES by, Whenever I touch a VELET rose. Or walk by a LILAC tree, I'm GLAD that I live in this BEAUTIFUL world Heavenly Father CREATED for me. I always have LOVED that song. Today I am THANKFUL for the BEAUTY of the world we live in. There are so many BEAUTIFUL places in this world. Many of the places I have been and I feel PEACEFUL and happy. They truly are remarkable. I am THANKFUL we have such a beautiful world we get to LIVE in.

Being THANKFUL Day 9

2011-11-09T23:05:00.001-08:00

Today I am THANKFUL for the HEAT. I love to be nice and WARM. I have many DIFFERENT ways to get warm and I LOVE them all. Wether I am in a nice HOT bath, laying out on a hot SUMMER day, curled up in a BLANKET with hot CHOCOLATE, reading a book by the FIRE. I love all these things.

Being THANKFUL Day 8

2011-11-08T21:11:00.000-08:00

Today I am THANKFUL for the TEMPLE. I remember growing up in primary my FAVORITE song was “I Love to See the Temple.” There is no where else that I can go and feel such PEACE. I love to go there and FORGET about all my worries and things that I have on my to-do list. I can just be there and feel the SPIRIT. I can get answers to PRAYERS there. I am grateful that I live so CLOSE to so many. I can go whenever I want.

Being THANKFUL Day 7

2011-11-07T22:05:00.000-08:00

Today I am THANKFUL for my kids school. I am so thankful that my KIDS were lucky enough to get into the SCHOOL they are in. It has been AMAZING for them. They have learned so much and have had awesome TEACHERS. They have been so HELPFUL so far in dealing with Keira and her SPECIAL needs. I actually still remember the day I got the PHONE call telling me they had an AVAILABLE spot for Nyah in the school. I REMEMBER where I was and what I was doing. It was that MEMORABLE for me because there school really is that good. I just LOVE there school. I also LOVE Jayda’s preschool she goes to. Her teacher is so CUTE with the kids and she ABSOLUTELY loves it there. I am so thankful that we were LUCKY enough to find a preschool that is so GREAT, and AFFORDABLE, not to mention so CLOSE to our house.

Being THANKFUL Day 6

2011-11-06T19:05:00.000-08:00

Today I am THANKFUL for Jared’s family. They really are an AWESOME family. I got pretty LUCKY in the in-law department. I hear HORROR stories of peoples in-laws and I don’t have that, they are GOOD people. I LOVE having them as a part of my LIFE. They look out for one another. They RESPECT each other. They have such good RELATIONSHIPS with one another. It’s how I hope my CHILDREN will be towards each other one day.

Being THANKFUL Day 5

2011-11-05T15:17:00.000-07:00

Today I am THANKFUL for my FAMILY! We have been through a lot TOGETHER. But that’s just it, we have always been together. Hanging in there, through LAUGHTER through TEARS through TRIALS, and through FEARS. We don’t always AGREE on everything, but we all LOVE each other and would do ANYTHING for one another. We will kick anyones butt, who is MEAN to one of our family members. We have so MANY great memories from growing up. Now we are OLDER and having KIDS of our own. We SUPPORT one another. We may all be a bunch of NUTS but, we are the COOLEST nuts around. I wouldn’t trade my FAMILY for anything around, I love them and will LOVE them FOREVER!

Being THANKFUL Day 4

2011-11-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

I am THANKFUL for all of my FRIENDS! The ones who STAY up until the wee hours of the morning, LAUGHING at the DUMBEST things until our sides hurt. Crying together over the things that HURT. The ones who you HELP them with anything at the drop of a hat, no questions asked, the ones who RETURN the favor TEN FOLD. The ones who we can LAUGH together over the FUNNY things the kids do, or CRY for each other when our KIDS are hurt or sick or struggling. The ones we tell EVERYTHING to. The ones who tell us EVERYTHING. I am so THANKFUL to have them in my life!

Being THANKFUL Day 3

2011-11-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

I am THANKFUL for The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter Day Saints. I am so GRATEFUL to have this in my life. To have a TESTIMONY of the gospel. To be able to feel the SPIRIT. Without the gospel I don’t know were I would be. It give me COMFORT. It gives me STRENGTH. It gives my life PURPOSE.

Being THANKFUL Day 2

2011-11-02T18:33:00.000-07:00

Today I am THANKFUL for my husband. He is so AMAZING. He must have the patience of 10 men to put up with the likes of me. He always helps around the HOUSE. He is an AMAZING dad. He will sit and play with the KIDS forever. I have seen him with dress up GIRL shoes on. With BARBIES, the whole girl works. I love that our SON looks just like him. I LOVE him more today then yesterday and will love him more TOMORROW. Love ya, BABE!

Being THANKFUL Day 1

2011-11-01T18:38:00.000-07:00

I was thinking that for NOVEMBER I would post something that I am “THANKFUL” for each day. My first thing is my KIDS. I am thankful for EVERY one of them. I am so thankful that I was BLESSED enough to have them. To be able to be a MOTHER To be able to stay HOME with them. To HANG out. To watch them LEARN and GROW. Each one is so SPECIAL and UNIQUE in there own LITTLE way. I LOVE them so much!

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-01T18:25:00.000-07:00

We have been BUSY these past couple of weeks. It’s always like that during HOLIDAYS. Can’t really complain. They are always FUN. I am glad when they are OVER though.

We had “Red Ribbon” week at SCHOOL. On the last day was CRAZY hair day. The girls get so excited for that part. We had MOHAWK Nyah and RAINBOW pony tails Keira.

One of the kids FAVORITE things in October is to paint the PUMPKINS! We got to do that. They all got really into it. Keira knew exactly what she wanted for her pumpkin weeks before we actually PAINTED them. It’s a GHOST for anyone that can’t tell. Nyah just got SILLY with hers. Probably because the neighbor boy was over, so she had an AUDIENCE. We all know how Nyah likes to have an audience. Connor thought this was GREAT. Although, I haven’t quite figured out if it was the actual PAINTING the pumpkins that he loved or the fact that we STRIPPED him down. Jayda just had fun with all the different COLORS. They all had fun though and that is what COUNTS.

My FRIENDS and I had a halloween get together. We decided that we should dress up like the “PEOPLE OF WALMART” as you can see some of really got into it and the other “party poopers” who shall remain NAMELESS not so much. I even got Jared to wear some of my pj PANTS, which was great by itself! It was FUN coming up with COSTUMES for this. However, while in costume I remember DARTING across our street, HOPING nobody saw me ha ha!

Dressing up for HALLOWEEN has to be one of my favorites! I didn’t dress up on Halloween, but I did do WITCHES night out and the people of WALMART. So that should count right? I love coming up with COSTUMES for the kids. This year mom was a little MEAN, and I kind of persuaded the kids on what to DRESS UP. I don’t mind them PICKING their own, I just didn’t want to spend a ton of MONEY this year. Nyah did CHOOSE her costume. Keira loves RANDOM costumes, so JoJo worked PERFECT for her. Jayda loves anything GIRLY so being a FAIRY was easy, and Connor, well he is to SMALL to care what his costume is yet anyway. So AFTER it all, I only ended up having to buy the FACE PAINT because my BESTEST friend had a bunch of stuff on HAND and we had some stuff as well. The kids were all HAPPY with their costumes so that was GOOD. Of course I had to throw in the PICTURE of my brothers costume. He is always so CREATIVE with his costumes, I LOVE it! He even did an IMPRESSION for us, it was HILARIOUS!

Now, HALLOWEEN night, the kids had fun going and getting a bunch of CANDY. Connor, was so EXHAUSTING! We brought a WAGON to cart him around in. Which at first was all he wanted, he didn’t WANT out. It wasn’t long before he figured out that at each house you got CANDY Then it was over! He REFUSED to stay in the wagon. He didn’t want to be HELD. If we put him down, he would take OFF He LOVED every minute of this. He even started saying his version of “TRICK OR TREAT it sounded more like “dee, dee, dee, dee” it sounded like that is what he was TRYING to say. It was so CUTE!

KEIRA, what can I say. I LOVE this kid! She DECIDED one day, she would make a “Perry the Platypus” COSTUME. She did not tell us of COURSE. We were at GRANDMA’S house, when she pulls this BOX out of their garage. She starts COLORING it. I remember thinking “why is she coloring a box?” She got some SCISSORS out and started cutting away, which was quite SCARY at times, I swear she was going to STAB herself with the dang scissors, but she never did. Then all of the SUDDEN she puts it on and there you go! She CREATED this with out any help from us! It was all HER! From the IDEA of it, to the PUTTING it together. To be in that CHILD’S head even for an hour. You NEVER know what she is THINKING.

It’s been a BUSY month. A FUN month, but very busy. Our being busy is not about to LIGHTEN anytime soon either. Gotta love the HOLIDAYS!!!!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-28T22:19:00.000-07:00

I love holiday traditions. We always go to the pumpkin patch in October. They have tractors there. That part was Connors favorite. He got so mad at us when we took him off. We literally had to pry him off. They all had fun picking out pumpkins. Nyah had to choose the biggest one she could carry. The other kids were happy picking smaller pumpkins. They also have a corn maze. The kids always like going through it. It was so much fun.

Gardner Village

2011-10-28T15:31:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to Gardner Village to see all the fun witches! My favorite is Sweet Aftons, they have yummy candy and it's named after my home town! We walked around looking in all the fun shops and seeing all the cool witches. We took our picture with the "Breast Cancer" witch for my grandma. We tried some super cute hats on Connor. We ate some cookies. It was a lot of fun. The kids had a good time.

The Girl vs The Boy

2011-10-13T15:52:00.000-07:00

I have always lived in the land of PINK. My life has always been girls, GIRLS, girls! Now after 3 girls, we finally got our BOY! It seemed like the moment he was born. People were constantly asking. Do you notice a difference? Now when he was a newborn, the only difference was the diaper changes. But as far as TEMPERAMENT. They have all been the same. They eat, sleep and poop. As he started getting older. I started NOTICING the differences. . .

Girls: They are emotional. They cry very easily. The tend to whine. They scream. I always have said I will be deaf at a young age. After 3 SCREAMING girls. It’s no wonder. If you are stern with them. They will CRY. When girls fight amongst each other. They can get down right mean with the NAME calling. The infamous line of “your not my FRIEND anymore!” It’s devastating for a girl to hear that from her SISTER or a friend. With girls, it’s more about MIND games. They are just emotionally EXHAUSTING. On the flip side of this coin. They are so CUDDLY. They will sit and let me READ to them for hours. They will spontaneously tell me “I LOVE you mommy.” Or. My favorite “mommy, you’re CUTE.” They like to dress up. They LOVE to pretend to be little mommies. They love to TWIRL and DANCE around. I know if it’s QUITE in the house with the girls. It’s usually because they are entertained by something that is quiet. I will find them COLORING. Reading a story. Playing HOUSE. Or other quiet things. They are so FUN to shop for. I love buying girls clothes. There is so many ACCESSORIES. So many fun COLORS. Hair things, SHOES, tights, COLORED SOCKS, belts, JACKETS, etc. They love just SPENDING time with me, just hanging out. Going shopping. They are pretty SWEET most of the time.

Boys: They are destructive. They are aggressive. They keep you BUSY. They are always getting HURT. They get into THINGS all the time. They never seem to STOP from sun up to sun down. They CLIMB everything. They tend to not realize their own STRENGTH. You find yourself constantly saying the word “NO.” “No, don’t touch that, no put that down, no don’t hit, no don’t WRESTLE, no don’t stick that in the OUTLET, no get down from there, no you are gonna get HURT if you do that, etc. On the flip side of THEIR coin. They are CONTENT. They are typically pretty EASY going. They are fairly HAPPY. When they want to CUDDLE it means the world to you. Everything can be a WEAPON. They can make a TOY out of everything. They KNOW what they want and go for it. They are so EASY to get ready in the morning. They don’t care what they LOOK like. They don’t care what gets DONE to their hair. Picking out clothes is so EASY. Just grab jeans and a t-shirt and they are SET. SHOES are optional. They don’t get SCARED as easily. They like to figure out how things WORK. They are independent. They make sound EFFECTS. They are TOUGH. They are pretty low MAINTENANCE.

My conclusion is, that basically girls, are EMOTIONALLY exhausting and boys, are PHYSICALLY exhausting. This probably doesn’t apply to every child of course. I have SEEN pretty emotional boys and I have seen some pretty ACTIVE girls. But in general this is the CONCLUSION for my kids. I have seen people prefer one OVER the other. As for me, there is some pretty FUN things about girls that I love. There is some pretty AWESOME things about boys that I LOVE. There is also things about girls that DRIVE me crazy and there is things about boys that make ME want to pull my hair out. I don’t really have a preference. I just love watching them GROW and learn new things. Watching their eyes LIGHT up at certain moments. Making memories as they get older.

It’s like that old saying “Life is not measured by the BREATHS you take but by the moments that take your BREATH away.”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAYDA!!!!

2011-09-30T22:02:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official. She is turning into a LITTLE girl. How did this happen. Her HAIR all of the sudden grew long. Her face started changing. That transformation from being a TODDLER to a little GIRL. Maybe it's harder because she is my YOUNGEST daughter. What can I say about her really. She is so HAPPY all the time. I think she goes through life like it's fun GAME to her. She is always GIGGLING. She loves to TEASE.

Some of her favorites include: CoLoRiNg, DrEsSiNg Up, playing with her PrInCeSs', watching MiCkEy MoUsE, SiNgInG, ReAdInG StOrIeS with mom, playing with FrIeNdS, going to GrAnDmA's, and of course going to PrEsChOoL!

This year since she was turning an even number "4" she got to have a party with her FRIENDS. This just so happened to be her FIRST friend party ever. It turned out pretty good. We invited 7 of her friends, so there would be 8 kids there total. She wanted a RAPUNZEL party. I got CREATIVE and made some Pascal cupcakes, I liked how they turned out. We played some fun GAMES and even got to make Pascal party BLOWERS. We played toss the bean bags in the frying pans. We played pin the "frying pan" on FLYNN RYDER. Last but not least we played find the CROWN. Keira decided she wanted to be MAXIMUS so she got in her HORSE costume for the party. That kid! Always entertaining with her around. Her party turned out pretty good and we had a lot of FUN. I guess that is all that MATTERS.

Her "friend" party was on Saturday so on her ACTUAL birthday we had a little family gathering for her. We got more CAKE and ice cream. More PRESENTS! More FUN! The only down side was she started getting SICK. She started running a fever that night. She was sick the rest of the next day. She is BETTER now. I felt so bad for her. Nobody should be sick on their BIRTHDAY or on Christmas or Halloween either. Lets just make a rule no getting sick on any of the HOLIDAYS! She got a lot of fun NEW toys, clothes, books, coloring books, etc. I like to think she had a GOOD time.

This is her in one of her NEW birthday outfits. I think she LIKES it. What do you think? She LOVES dresses and would wear them EVERYDAY if possible. She has a quite a few in her wardrobe. It's been a WONDERFUL 4 years with this little GIRL. We love this little STINK! Our little "Shay-Shay"

HaPpY BiRtHdAy JaYdA!

We LoVe YoU!!!!!

Back To School

2011-09-15T16:12:00.000-07:00

I just LOVE the fall. Maybe it’s just the change of seasons. I always get excited when the seasons change. What do I love about FALL? There seems to be a crispness to the air. It is COOLER so you don’t feel so blasted hot. I love to see all the COLORS. The reds, oranges, browns, and yellows. It makes me want to have a HUGE tree with TONS leaves on it that fall to the ground so that we can PLAY in them. I remember playing in the leaves when I was younger. It was so FUN. I don’t think my kids have ever experienced that. Most likely because we don’t have any big trees. The trees we do have are barely surviving, seeing as I am not much of a “green thumb.” Maybe we will just have to find a park with a BIG tree. I love seeing all the SCHOOL SUPPLIES out this time of year. It makes me want to buy some. Even if I don’t need them. It makes me want to have a “bouquet of newly sharpened PENCILS” out to display. It sort of feels like a “new beginning.” It makes me want to start new GOALS. To start new routines with the kids. The only other time I feel like this is during the new year. It’s like starting FRESH. Like starting something new.

The girls all started SCHOOL. They LOVE it. They are in 4th grade, 1st grade, and preschool. They all LOVE their teachers. So do I. We always worry about Keira but her teacher has been FABULOUS! It has been a tough transition with that child. It usually is. We are still LEARNING what will work well for her. Just thinking about getting this child into a routine gives me a headache. On her first day. It took her about 1 1/2 hours just to accomplish eating BREAKFAST. It’s been 5 weeks now. Today it took her an hour to make her bed and to eat breakfast. We have PROGRESS. Not all the days are bad. Some of them are GOOD. Some days she can make her BED, EAT, and GET DRESSED in 45 minutes! Nyah’s teacher is new to the teaching world. It’s kind of fun watching her figure it all out. Right now she is super SWEET. I am guessing that she will figure out how to be firm. Which 4th graders really need. Yes, of course it should be FUN, with laughing and friends. But, there is a TIME and a PLACE for all the fun. They need teachers that won’t put up with their shenanigans. Which, with a class full of 9 year olds, there is a lot of shenanigans! Her teacher said she is very CREATIVE. She likes to think out of the BOX. However she doesn’t seem to be creative at the APPROPRIATE times. I think a good nickname for her is WINNIE THE POOH. She is my little day dreamer. Always thinking of a new PROJECT. She is definitely a RIGHT brain type of thinker. Jayda LOVES school. She loves her TEACHER. Her teacher loves her to. She ALWAYS gives her hugs. Every time she goes. She goes 2 days a week. She SKIPS into class each time. She is going to be my POPULAR girl. She always has friends everywhere she goes. The KIDS love her. She is so SWEET with them all. If only we could get her to be the same way with her BROTHER. She has a devious little STREAK. She is just like her DADDY. He loves to TEASE. Likes to make the girls SCREAM. Sometimes I have to get after him for making them scream. I have to get AFTER her to.

We have been enjoying our structure. Getting back into a ROUTINE. I don’t love GETTING into the routine. I like being on a routine. Even if that means getting up EARLY. I am not a big fan of that. I like my SLEEP. I am excited for the cooler and CRISP air. For the BEAUTIFUL colors. It makes me EXCITED to go pick out PUMPKINS. And Halloween COSTUMES.

Love,

30 Thoughts on Turning the BIG 3-0

2011-09-12T10:42:00.000-07:00

"When you turn thirty, a whole new thing happens: you see yourself acting like your parents."
-Blair Sabol-

On Saturday I turned what they call the BIG 3-0. I am reminded of some lyrics of a song by Tim McGraw "I think I'll take a moment, celebrate my age. The ending of an era, and the turning of a page."

*1. Is it any coincidence that "XXX" is the Roman Numeral for 30?
*2.I’m at the age most pro athletes are considered to have finished their prime and are headed downhill for the rest of their career.
*3. It’s now near scientifically impossible to fit that many candles on a regular-sized cake. Not that the fire marshal would allow such a hazard.
*4. When filling out customer surveys I can’t click on the “Age: 25-29” box anymore.
*5. Toys and TV shows I played with as a kid are retro and back in style. Examples: Smurfs and Care bears. Similarly, I find myself regaling youths about stories of “back in my day.”
*6. By age 30 … Ben Franklin had regularly published “Poor Richard’s Almanac,” purchased The Pennsylvania Gazette, printed the currency for New Jersey and been appointed Postmaster of Philadelphia … John Wayne had already appeared in 76 movies … Albert Einstein had already come up with E = MC(squared) and the Theory of Relativity … Michelangelo a year before finished the statue of David .

Makes one think "what have I done?"
My sister asked how it felt to be 30 and I thought hmm, not much different then 29. Now going from 29 to 30 in a days time isn't likely to be a dramatic change, but has made me think of things that have happened over the past decade.

*7. We have lost a total of 6 grandparents.
*8. I have gained a total of 18 immediate family members
*9. I became a mother
*10. We bought our first house and we still live there
*11. I have witnessed 4 baby blessings of my children (countless others)
*12. I watched my daughter be baptized
*13. I watched my husband get his masters degree
*14. I had my own business for a time
*15. I started working for my mom
*16. My kids started school
*17. We owned a dog for a while, (until he ran away, that's a story for another blog)
*18. We have felt what it was like to have money and not worry about it
*19. We have felt what it's like to loose money and have to be very frugal
*20. I have potty trained 3 kids
*21. I have probably slept for somewhere around 3 years in total (that's a little crazy when you think about it)
*22. I have gained a total of around 180 pounds (not all at once)
*23. I have lost around 150 pounds (for you math genius' out there, yes I still have 30 pounds to take off)
*24. I have gained a love of reading
*25. We are on our 2nd video camera, fridge, washer & Dryer, Vacuum, Microwave, TV, counter tops, & house painting. We are on our 3rd computer, our 4th & 5th cars (we have 2), and our 4th picture camera. However, we still have the same carpet, same bed, dresser, nightstands, dishwasher, air conditioner, stove, couch, and one of the TVs from when we got married.

That is what we have accomplished just in the last 10 years. It may not be the Theory of Relativity, but I am happy and I am so very blessed with so many great things in life. It's been a great 30 year and as the song I mentioned before is titled "My Next 30 Years." What will I have accomplished in my next 30 years or even 10 years? Who knows? But, it's always good to set yourself some goals. . .

*26. Have 1 more baby
*27. Get a house with a bigger yard (okay, I know this one is more of a "thing" and shouldn't be important, but hey, it's something that I would like.
*28. Travel more, not just Disneyland and Lake Powell, although they would be on the list.
*29. Be closer to the spirit, this is always a worthy goal and it keeps you happy.
*30. Do more fun things as a family and with my kids.

I know some of my goals are quite broad, but if I tried to make them more specific then it would be a lot more then "30 Things" and since that was the point of this post, I will be more vague and broad. My yearly goals can be more specific right?

Well, another decade has passed, I am now 2 days into my 4th. When they use the term "Over the Hill" what age do you think they are talking about. I think when I was in high school I probably would have thought 30 but now that I am here, it doesn't really feel that old. I guess age is viewed in different perspectives. I remember as an elementary student, thinking high schoolers were old, until I passed that age. In high school, I thought missionaries and people in there 20's were old and mature, until I have now passed that age. It's all in what your perspective is. I still think I am climbing that hill, when I finally get to the age that I will consider "Over the Hill" I guess I can look forward to it with the thought, that coming down a hill is a whole lot easier then going up it right? "Just remember, once you're over the hill you begin to pick up speed."
Charles Schulz

"Age is strictly a case of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."
Jack Benny

To Anyone That was Offended in Any Way by the Recent Facebook Issue

2011-09-09T10:35:00.000-07:00

So, I had no intent of ever posting an actual blog post about this issue, but to say I have had an enlightening week is quite the understatement. I am not good with words so I apologize for any grammatical errors or any other mistakes made in this.
As most people know there is a new “game” to help raise awareness for breast cancer going around on Facebook where people post “I am X weeks and craving (fill in the blank)” it is based off when your birthday is, so my birthday being September 10th would be I am 13 weeks and craving meatballs. My first contact with said game was when I saw a friends post and immediately thought she was pregnant. So I “liked” her post and said my congratulations. Only to find out later that she was actually not pregnant but was doing this for a good cause, I was curious so I asked what it was all about and she sent me a message which explained it.
Now me, I have had personal experience with cancer, specifically breast cancer. You see, my grandmother at the tender age of 61 was ripped from my life by this awful disease. I had to watch a wonderful women, who was a joy, and so full of life go from energetic and happy to so sick she was bed ridden. I had to watch as her body destroyed itself. I prayed and prayed, I begged God to let her live so she could be here longer with us. However, God’s plan and our plans don’t always coincide. It was seven years ago but I still remember the day she died as if it were yesterday. I remember getting up in the morning and just knowing, that she was gone. The call came at 6:30 that morning to tell me what I already knew. I remember going through all the stages of grief, so many ups and downs and so, so many emotions. Seven long years I have ached to hug my grandma, to be able to just call her and talk to her about my day or how my kids are doing. You see, I was close to my grandmother as was all my cousins. She was very interested in our lives, she was a cosmetologist and owned her own beauty salon in our small town. I remember her “shop” being as sort of a sanctuary for all of us. I remember going there after school just to hang out, or she would sometimes pay us to dust her shelves. I remember all of her fun little corks and the made up words she would call us like “Haguana” and what not. I loved her so much I miss her every single day. So, as you can see from my personal experience, I had a passion about this subject as it is very near and dear to my heart. When I saw this “campaign” to help raise awareness for breast cancer I was all for it. I had participated in some “Relay for Life” events and I this was something that was simple to do. I didn’t really want people to actually think I was really pregnant because truth be told, I really want to be, but my husband wants to be done having kids, I mean we are lucky enough to have 4 amazing kids, so I know I should be grateful to have what I do have but I LOVE kids and I really want another one. So, this is something that my husband and I with the help of our Heavenly Father will have to work out. Alright, back to my story, I decided to try not to lead people to believe I really was pregnant so first before anything else I emailed all the women on my friends list what this was all about, after that I put up the post on my wall. Me trying to forewarn them, it didn’t work, people still thought I was really pregnant and I ended up having to correct them.
In all this, little did I know the turmoil that was brewing about this. It came to my attention by a friend of mine that this “campaign” was hurting people. Honestly, at first I was confused, I remember thinking, “what? How does this hurt anybody?” She posted a link to a blog. I read it, it pointed out that this game was really insensitive to those women out there that are having fertility issues. To be quite honest I was annoyed by it. Not, that women were going through the pain of fertility issues, but it called this game being played “stupid” and other similar adjectives. I felt like they were taking something that was supposed to be about breast cancer and making light of it and then shining the light on there own struggles. I felt like they were accusing people of being insensitive and making light of something that is very sacred (the miracle of creating life) but in the post it felt like they were being insensitive and making light of breast cancer. So, after this, I felt the need to reprimand my friend, which I did, this went back and forth just a bit before I finally decided that my friendship with her was more important then a difference of opinion. I am sure she felt the same way because she was usually pretty heartfelt with her replies.
After this, I came across my sisters blog, who wrote a post about this subject as well. She shared a similar opinion to mine. She sympathized with all those going through the pain of infertility, but didn’t understand why people get offended so easily. There was a girl who read her post, who was also suffering from infertility and she was deeply offended by her blog post. She then posted her own blog post and started to dissect my sisters post. We all felt like she was attacking my sisters opinion. I was fuming mad!! I mean nobody gets to make my sister feel like that! I decided to sleep on it before commenting. I did and in the morning, I was still pretty angry at the whole situation. So, it was in that angry state of mind that I decided to comment on her post. To say I ripped her a new one is a big understatement, I let her have it. Now, what this girl and others would be surprised to know is that I have NEVER ripped anyone a new one before. I am actually quite terrified of confrontation. Normally I am the one hiding when a confrontation happens. I remember once having to tell a women, whom I babysat her kids that I was raising my rates and it was making me physically sick to even think about doing it, my husband had to come to help hold me to keep me from passing out over this. After I did this to this girl, part of me felt great inside, I had finally done it, I had spoke my mind. That was short lived before I realized that, yes I had finally stood up to something, well, no matter what I felt this girl did she didn’t deserve 29 years of pent of frustration just waiting to come out. I responded out of anger and nothing good comes from responding in this frame of mind. I believe that this may have been what the girl had done with her post, responded out of hurt and anger.
Now through this girls blog, I actually came across a few other blog posts. One was talking about this subject and I got it, I finally got it! She was so respectful about breast cancer and that it is a noble campaign as is infertility. I was finally seeing it from another persons perspective. I think the wording and the tone is what made all the difference for me. You know that old somewhat cliche’ saying “you catch more flies with honey then with vinegar.” I think that applies to this situation. This blog was the one I finally needed to read. Here is the link for anyone interested in reading it, http://cgwardphotography.blogspot.com/2011/08/regarding-facebook-breast-cancer.html like my post, it’s quite long but it’s good.
Through all of this, it felt like people were really arguing over what is more important breast cancer awareness or the pain of infertility. In reality, neither is more important then the other, both bring pain and despair, they are just simply different. My current opinion on the subject is that while breast cancer awareness is really important and we need to talk about it, I don’t think this Facebook game was thought through all the way. It wasn’t so much that the person who came up with it was insensitive to others, I think they just were not informed. We took something that was supposed to spotlight a noble cause, breast cancer and ended up arguing over whats the bigger struggle. While I don’t even know if anyone actually scheduled a mammogram or even did a self exam over this, who can really know. We still need to do it. So here is my plea; schedule your mammogram or do a self exam, do it today, don’t wait! It’s that waiting to get the mammogram that killed my grandmother, had she gotten one sooner, it may have saved her life. So, save the life of those you love, especially yourself, the best thing you could give your family is time with them. I think there should still be awareness campaigns, they could be fun, we just need to pay attention to what they are about, we should probably be more straight forward. On the blog I mentioned above she gives some examples, there was was one years ago that was a picture of the breast cancer pin and it said “I touched my boobies?” Now, while personally I wouldn’t want to use that specific saying, simply because I don’t like the term boobies, it just bugs me. I think we could all post on our walls, “I touched my breasts! Have you?” It’s straight forward and would probably get people at least talking about the subject. Another idea I heard about was maybe we could get a button for our page that says something to the effect of “I donated my $1 to cancer, what did you do? I don’t know this is just something I thought of off the top of my head.
Through all of this there was some articles on lds.org that came to my attention that are really good. The first one was by David A. Bednar in the 2006 General Conference about not getting offended. This talk is referring to people who don’t come to church anymore because of being offended but I think it applies to this situation as well. I will now share some quotes from it, that I liked.
When we believe or say we have been offended, we usually mean we feel insulted, mistreated, snubbed, or disrespected. And certainly clumsy, embarrassing, unprincipled, and mean-spirited things do occur in our interactions with other people that would allow us to take offense. However, it ultimately is impossible for another person to offend you or to offend me. Indeed, believing that another person offended us is fundamentally false. To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else.
In the grand division of all of God’s creations, there are things to act and things to be acted upon (see 2 Nephi 2:13–14). As sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, we have been blessed with the gift of moral agency, the capacity for independent action and choice. Endowed with agency, you and I are agents, and we primarily are to act and not just be acted upon. To believe that someone or something can make us feel offended, angry, hurt, or bitter diminishes our moral agency and transforms us into objects to be acted upon. As agents, however, you and I have the power to act and to choose how we will respond to an offensive or hurtful situation.
I agree with this wholeheartedly! Nobody can MAKE you feel or do anything, you always have a choice, it’s called free agency. This is something I am trying to teach my children. Whenever one of them comes to me upset about what another one of them has done and they are saying “they made me cry” I will usually respond “who are we in charge of?” To this they know to respond with “ourselves” they usually do so in a deflated or annoyed tone and then I simply tell them “They can’t MAKE you do anything or feel anything, that was YOUR choice to be upset over this.” I want to teach my kids that nobody can make them feel bad about themselves or feel inferior, I like what Eleanor Roosevelt once said: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” I think through all of this people were struggling with this and it’s human nature to need to place blame somewhere and this was the outlet they needed.
The Savior is the greatest example of how we should respond to potentially offensive events or situations.
“And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men” (1 Nephi 19:9).
The savior is our supreme example. They did ALL that to him and what is his response? “Forgive them for they know not what they do.” He didn’t say “I hope they suffer, because I am deeply offended!” If the savior can endure all that he endured and still be forgiving, I think it’s only right that we forgive also.
Now, having said this part about choosing to be offended or hurt or any other emotion. I feel like there is another side to this coin. I came across another blog and an article that were a perfect example of what we need to do.
Here is a quote from one of the blogs:
As we move along…I want you to think about some of the big signs with big messages that I bet you wish you could wear around your neck sometimes so that people would be more gentle….or even that you could put around the neck of someone you love….so that you didn’t have to go into a big long story to defend yourself or someone else….so that people would just stop judging and and just be kind.
I bet we each have several signs in mind that we would want to have on. For me a couple of them would say, “Please, be gentle and don’t yell at my daughter, we believe she has Asperger’s and doesn’t know any better.” Or “Please don’t judge me on the state of what my house looks like. I have ADD and can’t focus long enough to get it done, I am trying to get help so please be patient with me.” Think about what all the signs around each of our necks would be. Now, think about how we would treat people if we saw what it was that they were struggling with and what is sensitive for them. We would treat each other so differently if we were even just aware. Now we won’t be going around wearing signs around our necks stating our very personal trials, we simply don’t know what other people are going through and that is exactly why we need to be sensitive to those that are around us. This brings me to the other article I came across on lds.org, this was an article in the Ensign in June of 2008, it was written by a women named Andrea Worthington Snarr and it is titled “Cultivating Sensitivity to Others. I will share some quotes from it:
One sunny day I walked to my mailbox to retrieve the mail. Among the bills, I saw an envelope with my name typed on it. Excited to receive a letter, I quickly opened it. Then my hopes were shattered as I realized that someone had sent me an anonymous letter containing parenting tips. Photocopied articles explained how to say no to children and outlined the social ills resulting from parents’ failures.
Obviously, the sender had noticed our son’s difficulties. What the sender apparently did not know, however, is that our son has a neurological condition related to autism. Our efforts to help this son had been extremely time-consuming and expensive—including therapy, doctors, medications, parenting classes, alternative schooling, research, conferences, and consistent routines. If only the sender had known how hard we were trying.
Now, for me this hit close to home. While I have never had this experience I can imagine the hurt and tears that would surely come if it did happen. We all need to remember to have tact and be sensitive because you don’t know what could be going on or what anyone’s personal struggles are.
Alma’s counsel to his son Corianton can guide us in our efforts to become more sensitive: “See that you are merciful unto your brethren; deal justly, judge righteously, and do good continually” (Alma 41:14).
I love how the scriptures are always so straight forward. I also love the term “judge righteously” as humans it’s our nature to judge things. That is simply what you do, you judge things and people in one way or another when you first meet. If we simply lived by the term “judge righteously” then the world would be a kinder place.
Unfortunately, we are often unintentionally insensitive simply because we are unaware of what others are experiencing. Often when we make assumptions about another person, we are mistaken. This is because we rarely understand the complexities of another’s life.
This is basically what has happened with the whole thing on Facebook. This was something that was unintentionally insensitive. I participated simply because the thought never crossed my mind that it would hurt people because I was unaware of these struggles and have never gone through it myself it makes me that much more unaware. I think the whole issue with my sisters blog that happened was because a lot of assumptions were made. There was a lot of assumptions about my sister and her point of view that were wrong. Just as there were a lot of assumptions about this girl that were made and I am sure we were wrong.
Kindness and understanding should be at the heart of our relationships with others. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:
“Kindness is a passport that opens doors and fashions friends. It softens hearts and molds relationships that can last lifetimes. …
“Kindness is the essence of a celestial life. Kindness is how a Christlike person treats others. Kindness should permeate all of our words and actions at work, at school, at church, and especially in our homes.”
^{Now we are back to being Christlike. If we truly, I mean really strive for this, then these misunderstandings, harsh judgments, and insensitivity would not happen.}
Fortunately, our status—marital, financial, or social—does not define us as individuals. Nor should it determine the way we treat others. As Brother Terrance D. Olson noted: “Respect is an expression of our sense of universal brotherhood or sisterhood—a testimony of our membership in the human family. It acknowledges our common humanity and shows our reverence for children of God.”
I agree with this. Our pain and struggles do not define us it is not who we are. We can’t let that happen. I recently had the opportunity to attend a Relief Society night to listen to this man Matt Townsend speak to us. What he said truly made sense. He talked about what is called our ego and our essence. Our essence is who we are in our core, perfect beings, sons and daughters of God, it’s how our Father in Heaven looks at us. Us as humans is our ego. We need to watch what we are feeling because whenever we feel useless, jealous, down, alone, hurt, offended, etc that is our ego talking. He used the scripture mastery scripture Mosiah 3:19 “For, the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.” The “natural man” is our ego. Your ego is trained to compete with yourself. He said, We are spiritual beings having a human experience, not humans having a spiritual experience. When you are in your essence is when you feel peaceful and full of joy. Picture yourself, standing before the savior with your family, he puts his hands out and says “come to me” he puts his arms around you and hugs you and just holds you there for a while. Then he puts his hands on your head and blesses you, he calls you by name, he knows YOU the real you, the core you. Now that is your essence, that wonderful feeling you get of absolute peace and harmony when talking about situations like this. His talk truly put things in a better perspective for me. We need to look at ourselves the way HE looks at us. We need to look at those around us the way HE looks at them. We are ALL his children, and only HE truly knows our hearts. Now, all of us having this “human experience” we don’t know what is going on inside the hearts of others, the best we can do is offer sensitivity, tactfulness, patience, and love to others.
In the end, to all of you suffering with infertility that were reminded of that pain through this Facebook thing, I am truly sorry for your hurt and your pain you are going through. To all those who have lost a loved one to cancer, any kind of cancer I am deeply sorry for your pain and sorrow. To all those who struggle with a child with Autism, ADD, Bipolar, Anxiety, Depression, etc. I am so sorry you are enduring this, I am sorry for the pain you feel for your precious children. To those who are suffering financially and fear how they will put the next meal on their table, I am so sorry you are facing this. To all those whose pain and sorrow has not been mentioned I am sorry for what you are going through.
May we all stand up with our head held high, that we can face the things around us with courage and faith. That we won’t give consent to other people to offend us, because we know they actually can’t! May we all be more sensitive to those who are struggling around us. We all are struggling, every single person we come across is struggling with something, just because we are unaware of what it may be doesn’t mean they aren’t having deep pain inside them. May we treat each other with the kindness and respect that we feel we personally deserve!

Oh What Do You Do In The Summer Time. . .

2011-09-07T13:42:00.000-07:00

When all the World is Green,

Do You Have a Big Fight,

(We had our first set of staples, when Keira pushed Nyah off the bed.

Poor Connor, had to endure Jayda dragging him up the steps out back.)

Do you Light up the Night,

With Family and Fireworks,

Is that what you do, so do I

(Great 4th of July, with a yummy BBQ and of course fireworks! There was also plenty of family and friends to help us celebrate. Jayda thought she needed to watch from inside the house, so Uncle Blake, and Uncle Cameron decided to join her. Connor thought it was great and kept pointing at all the fireworks).

Do you go to Cherry Hill

(Cherry Hill was a lot of fun as usual. My entire family was there so that was awesome! We had a few mishaps, Keira kicked Nyah in the face by accident and she got an awesome bloody nose. Poor Jayda tripped and the flat services at least 6-8 times and that is NOT an exaggeration! One of the times, she was crying and said "Why do dese fings always happen to me!" It was quite sad. Other then that it was a blast. Don't even ask what Keira's obsession with all the tubes but she LOVED them)!

Or, Bear Lake for a Thrill,

With a Boat, Smores, and a Fire

Is that what you do, so do I

We went to Bear Lake with Jared's entire family! We stayed in a cabin, had lots of yummy

food and went boating ALL DAY! All Connor wanted to do is drive the boat!

Do you have a Big Birthday,

Keira turned 7 in August. She wanted a "Tweety" cake so that is what she got! Jayda decided ice cream is something to be eaten with your hands! I bet you will never guess what kind of presents she wanted. . . give up. . .oh ya TONS of stuffed animals. I think the count is now up to 56! After she opened them all she layed on them all and just sat a played with them.

Or, sit down to play,

and Make Silly Faces all Day,

Is that what you do, so do I!

(Okay, so these are just fun random pictures. Keira lost her two front teeth, so we had to document that. Although, the way in which they came out was a post all by itself! I will be VERY happy when she is done loosing her teeth! The one of Connor is him falling asleep at lunch time and I thought it was supper cute, so it's time to take a pic! Now, the one in the middle ha ha! Keira was asking for something and she can get VERY animated when she is like that. It went something like this: "Mom, I want those flat red monkeys {as she claps her hands together, to demonstrate flat} that are in da barrel {as she bends her wrists in front of her} dat wook like dis!" The picture is what they look like! If you can get it, she wants. . .a "Barrel of Monkeys" Oh, this kid, definitely never a dull moment!

We had a great summer and I hope you all did to!

Oh, what do you do in the Summer Time when all the World is Green !

Nyah had a birthday. . .

2011-06-11T15:47:00.000-07:00

So Nyah's birthday was June 1st. I checked her out of school and took her out to eat.

Then, it was on to Classic so she could play the games. Deal or No Deal was her favorite.

After all that, it was cake and ice cream.

This was all the knick knacks she got at Classic with the tickets she won.

After all that, was the best part! PRESENTS!

We surprised her this year with a new bike.

She had fun opening all the fun new things.

One of Uncle Blake's goofy presents!

She had a pretty good birthday and enjoyed her day and all her new things.

Runia Updates!

2011-05-31T17:19:00.000-07:00

I swear I only post on this thing every four months or so. Well, I updated this on what we have been up to since after Disneyland. It starts with newest to oldest. The last one is Easter. So enjoy. Hopefully I will be better about keeping this thing up to date, we shall see though.

Connor's Tubes

2011-05-31T17:14:00.000-07:00

So, after constant ear infections since last October, Connor had to get tubes in his ears.

Here he is in the cute hospital pj's for babies.

This was the hardest part for me, right after the surgery, when he was still pretty out of it. So sad!

Here he is drinking his juice, in his little bed.

This was within an hour after the surgery! I think it went pretty well, if ya can't tell.

Connor One Year Pictures!

2011-05-31T17:04:00.000-07:00

So, we had fun taking pictures of Connor. He is one of the happiest kids I swear!! Enjoy!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY DOY!

2011-05-31T16:30:00.000-07:00

So sad, that it is almost been 2 months ago and I am just now posting this, but it is what it is. So our Connor turned one! We celebrated "Rock Star" style.

The Birthday Boy!

Here is some of the decor.

Every time one of my kids turns one I like to put up pictures of them from their first year, so this is Connor's picts.

The kitchen decor

The gift table

Yes, we put tattoos on my baby ha ha! It fit in perfectly with the theme. He had three in total.

We, did the star here to match uncle Blake's hee hee.

He had started walking about a month before her turned one. Not all the time, but quite a bit and he really liked it, he thinks he's pretty big stuff!

Time for cake!

Testing it out

and. . .sugar coma!

He really liked opening the presents, he was really into it!

The big gift from mom and dad. He really likes this thing and it did not take him long to figure it out either. He can't steer it at all, but he knows how to make it go!

Complete with his personalized licence plate!

The song "Born to be Wild" goes through my head when I see this one. "lookn' for adventure. . ."

The Doy, had a pretty good birthday I think, he got lots of cool new things and we are really starting to get our collection of boy toys, which is a definite change of pace.

Happy Birthday Connor, we LOVE you!!!

Easter

2011-05-31T15:45:00.000-07:00

Well the Easter Bunny came, bringing oh so many sweets that sent the kids on a sugar high that lasted a few weeks I swear. They had fun though and that's what counts.The Easter picts in our Easter clothes. First is Keira, it was trouble getting this kid to give us an open mouth smile, she is at that wonderful I like to smile with my mouth closed age.Oh, Jayda she is such a princess and was dancing in this dress all morning long. She was loving this.
Nyah was just done with it all! Didn't want the hair curled, didn't want to wear this particular dress. She was okay with getting her picture taken (such a drama queen)!
This one absolutely HATED being dressed up and having to sit for pictures especially the group shots! He is one busy little guy!Here we have the many mishaps for the group shot, I think this was about as good as it was going to get.
Look at Jayda, if you are wondering what is up with her. Well, she decided that she was Rapunzel at that moment and was singing "flower gleam and glow, let your power shine. . ." she really gets into that song as you can see by her facial expression and the closed eyes. Of course Keira with her "closed" mouth smile! Connor oh so done! And, Nyah, you would think I wouldn't have to tell my almost 9 year old to look, but of course she is distracted.Really, Keira you had to grab that stuffed animal for the picture, I swear we are going to be taken over by stuffed animals if she keeps up her obsession with them. I have no comment about Nyah's face, it says it all.
We had a good time on Easter, lots of candy, nice clothes, church, Easter egg coloring and egg hunt, and of course yummy dinner. It was a lot of fun.

Our Trip to DISNEYLAND!!!!

2011-03-19T17:50:00.000-07:00

So we went once again to Disneyland. I know what you are thinking "didn't they just go?" The answer to that is yes we did. You see, we like to plan a Disneyland vacation for every other year. We went in October of 2008 and so our plan was to go again in Feb of 2011. We had it all planned out, some of our friends were coming along with us even. Then we got the offer to go to Disneyland in November over Thanksgiving with Jared's family as a Christmas gift to us from Jared's parents so of course we had to accept that, but then our vacation was already planned, so we just thought oh darn we will just have to go twice hee hee.

We did go with some friends and we had a BLAST! The weather wasn't too bad, we even got to go swimming one day. So our trip posts are following this one. First there is Jared's birthday post and then the Disneyland one. Enjoy. . .

Jared's Birthday

2011-03-19T17:43:00.001-07:00

So on our vacation, first stop is Vegas, to see Jared's brother. We were there during Jared's birthday, so we couldn't help but celebrate it. We let the kids blow out his candles. Jayda apparently thought the candles were edible, I am guessing she isn't a fan of wax since she didn't continue eating it.

He got lots of good presents, the wrapping paper was the best part for Connor! He had a good time with that.

Jared got some gym clothes and couldn't resist trying them on his future body builder.

I think he had a good birthday, it was fun celebrating in Vegas with everyone.

Disneyland 2011

2011-03-19T14:38:00.000-07:00

DAY 1

We were so excited to get to Disneyland and we had 5 fun filled days planned in California.

First things first. We got to see some characters. Jayda was in LOVE with Minnie Mouse. We saw her a few times and every time she just kept hugging her and had a HUGE smile on her face.
Next was Keira's favorite; Dale. She loves him and talks about him all the time. Although she had the names mixed up she actually talked about "ship" all the time but she kept referring to the red nose ha ha.

After a fun-filled day with a whole lot of rides, we ended it with the firework show. They actually have a show they do on "It's a small world" like video clips and what not and then they have the fireworks, plus the fireworks for the castle going at the same time so it's like surround sound fireworks, it was pretty cool.

DAY 2

On our 2nd fun-filled day, we started the day off with "Breakfast with the Characters" If you haven't done this before, I suggest you do it. The breakfast is buffet style and it's really yummy food. Plus, there is a bunch of characters going around to all the tables signing autographs and posing for pictures with you. It's a lot of fun. The characters are usually different, this time we saw Gipetto, Eeyore, Tigger, The fairy godmother from Cinderella, Br'er Fox, Chip, Dale, Max (Goofy's son), and of course Minnie Mouse who is always there.

Gipetto actually sat down at our table and acted like he was eating.

Connor tried to grab Gipetto's glasses right off his face.

Next, it was on to the princess' We bought a dress for Jayda to wear. We figured we did it once before for Ny and Keira, so it was only fair to let Jayda have her turn. She LOVED it, of course, she practically lives in dress-up at home.

We got to see Snow White (one of Jayda's favorites). Look at Nyah ha ha. We went with some friends and that was their son Braiden, they spent the week trying to bug the other and they succeeded.

Next, we saw Ariel.

and last was the fairy godmother again. I think she had just come from the breakfast we were at. So we saw her a 2nd time. She was super cute though and Jayda really liked her.

Next was who Jayda was dressed up as. Rapunzel. She was super cute and they had her hair draped all over that room, it was pretty cool.DAY 3

On our 3rd day, we decided to spend it, having fun at the pool, the beach, and resting. (The resting part was for mom and dad). I took the kids to the pool while Jared took a nap with Connor. Then Jared took them all to the beach while I took a nap. It was MUCH needed.

The kids had fun though. It was overcast this day, so it was a good thing that pool was heated.

I love how there is Mickey Mouse heads every where you look, it's fun looking for them all.

DAY 4

On our 4th day, we went on over to California Adventure to enjoy their rides. Here is my favorite popsicle stick benches they have in "A Bugs Land" I think I have a picture of every one of my kids on these. Connor was like this all week, I think every picture I took of him he had this HUGE grin on his face.

Keira LOVED spending the week with her best friend Paige and going on ALL the rides together.

Connor wasn't so sure about this guy, he was big and hairy. No nose to chew on, no glasses to pull off the face, that means a no go.

Next, we went to have lunch with the princess'. It's really fancy and good food. You also get to see 5 different princess' so that is fun. We did this one year for Ny and Keira, so I wanted Jayda to have this experience when she was still young enough to really enjoy it. The desserts were VERY good, the shell and the Ariel stand were white chocolate, mmmm!

It was fun having time with just me and the girls, I enjoyed it. The boys went and had their own lunch and did their own thing.

Keira had to tell EVERY princess all about the Tower of Terror. This ride takes you up in an elevator and drops you. You would think the drop is what she is talking about, oh no that doesn't even phase her, no she is talking about the story they tell you on the ride, something about it being haunted. So every princess got this story.

Later that evening, we were looking at this thing for face painting, Nyah, had wanted her face painted this whole time, but me being the mean mom that I am wouldn't go for it. She really lucked out though cause, the guy in charge of the booth asked us if we would be interested in a free demonstration. So Nyah got her face painted, the only catch was he got to choose the design, which was fine with us. She got to choose the color it was though.

This just cracks me up, only Keira.

That night we went to the new show they have called "World of Color" it is AMAZING! I really enjoyed it, they have all these fountains with different colors, then they have different clips from Disney movies come on across this screen made of water spraying up, it was really neat.

DAY 5

This would be our last day at Disneyland. We decided to spend it going on rides we may have missed, or rides we wanted to catch again. First we went to Toon Town, we got to inside different characters houses. First was Minnies house. Keira wanted to pretend to sleep here.

We got to go through Chip and Dales Treehouse.

Last, we told the kids they could choose a souvenir they wanted. So, we go to Disneyland, they have been here for a week, seeing all the things that they have at the different stores and what do my kids choose. . .um ya Build-A-Bear, seriously!?

Keira got a dinosaur (shockingly random go figure), Jayda got a Teddy Bear, Nyah got a Dog, and we picked out a Monkey for Connor. My only stipulation was, since we were at Disneyland, they had to put something Disney on their animal.

Connor just wanted to EAT his

This is the finished products, we have; Jack Sparrow the Monkey, Eeyore the dinosaur, Flying Girl the bear, and Kaite the dog. My favorite is Jayda's name for hers, but oh my gosh the dinosaur in the Eeyore costume cracks me up EVERY time ha ha. Keira never disappoints us when picking out the weirdest looking thing she can find. Nyah's has roller skates so she can actually pull it around, which is funny. As you can see they have something Disney on them.One of the other things we got were these name things. We already had some for Nyah and Keira, so now we have them for all of the kids. They have TONS of sparkles on them which you can't see in a photo. I really liked how they turned out.

I love all the stuff they have in Connors, they even have Jack Sparrow.

Well, all in all we had another fun filled vacation to Disneyland. We LOVE that place, it's so much fun. It's sad to think that one day the kids will be to old to want to go, I figure if I am going to live vicariously through my kids with Disneyland, I better get all the fun in when they are young and like going there.

Well another one bites the dust, it will be about two years before our next Disney vacation, but I am already thinking about when and what we will do. . .