Oregon with Puzey's- part one. Cobble Beach.

we have been surrounded by family since the summer started!!

first, we had todd's cousins visit for a week.
these are GREAT people!!
it was so fun to tour oregon with them!!
we are still missing them and can't wait for them to visit again soon...
you can read about our crabbing trip- here.
and, you can read their blog about our vacation- here.

we celebrated father's day together!

we visited cobble beach where there are cobblestones instead of sand... you should hear the waves roll in!

we read some great signs!  i love signs.

we visited my favorite light house!

We played on the beach!  (i just LOVE the rain-forest-like path down to the beach!)

We stopped at a quaint covered bridge and met Maude who collects antique doorknobs and lived there when the bridge was built.

We jumped like crazy!

i LOVE spending time with GOOD people doing FUN things. and that is only HALF of the fun we had!!  

this is what life is all about!

4th of July 2012

We spent a lovely 4th of July in the backyard of a friend, surrounded by good food, lots of kids, and homemade fireworks.
it was perfect.

i have a dear friend who was born on July 5th.
she is a saintly woman, mother of 7 boys-- john, josh, jacob, joseph, jared, james, and jesse.
i am one that learns much from other people.
this sister has taught me so much about serving, loving, working hard, not complaining, finding the good in everyone...
did i mention working hard?

she is a modern day pioneer woman.
she is a wonderful mother, a great friend, and a wise woman.
i love her.
i'm grateful for her.
i want to be more like her.

eve was so excited to see the fireworks, but very afraid of the sound.
she would cry and then clap.
sweet baby.
we ended up watching from an inside window-- it was perfect.

i hope my friends will forgive me... but i LOVE these expressions.

hope you all had a happy 4th!!

jakob, trying to make silly faces in the picture like drew always does.  i love this picture of my boys!

Life is Good.
I love America!!

the experience.

i love this quote shared by my friend heather...
and from one of my favorite women ever, Julie Beck.
hope you're enjoying your experience today!!

cranky?? read this.

i have so much fun reading the links to old posts on the bottom of my new blog posts.
i LOVE re-reading old posts and remembering where i was and exactly how i felt.

THIS is a great post!  (if i do say so myself.)
it is cranky, pregnant me-- pulling myself up by the boot strings.
if you're cranky-- read this!!
"If Momma Ain't Happy."

and, i loved this reminder--
"BEHOLD."

baby eve, last summer, shortly after we moved to Oregon.

hope you're enjoying your summer!

Pruning.

Ok, I'm trying to post from my iphone...
I am enjoying the beauty of family here in Idaho.
Todd went home, so it is just me and the kids here visiting with my in-laws and sister-in-law's family.
It has been so nice.
To be honest, I usually have a hard time visiting because I'm pretty insecure.
I get defensive and snippy.
I'm overly strict with my kids and that makes them crazy-er.
This visit I have been praying for peace and confidence and healing.
I want to be completely free to love and feel loved.
I have had such a nice visit. I realized I analyze things too much.
I try too hard. (ha! You've probably figured that out already, haven't you?)
And,the funny thing is I find myself trying too hard not to try to hard.

in one conversation, before we left, i was talking to my mother.
i was actually crying and saying, "I'm just not perfect mom.  i can't do it."
she said, "Jen, we all know that.  Why do you think that YOU can love US imperfect, but we can't love YOU when you make mistakes?"
as simple as that concept sounds, it changed me.

the whole time i have visited with my mother in law, i just keep reminding myself-- she loves me imperfect.
it feels good.
i'm not crazy trying to keep my kids perfectly behaved.
i'm not defensive or insecure.
when one of my kids acted up, i just smiled and think, "this is normal.  she is their grandmother, she can love them still."
it was SO nice.
to love and be loved-- that is the JOY of life.

This is the truth I am remembering this summer.

This world is so full of goodness!!
This world is full of joy!
This world is full of beauty!
Families are a gift...
Nobody is perfect--but we all know how to love imperfect people.
They love me imperfect-- and I love them.
{it is not what you are looking at, it is what you see!}
I want to see goodness in people.
I want to learn from the very best of my family and build on it.

This month I have been surrounded by my family and my husband's family and I have felt so blessed.
I believe it is easy to listen to the whisper in your head that tells you that you are alone and different.
But, we are not alone.
Ever.
We all have family... Heavenly and earthly.

I am so grateful for my family.
I want to be more like them.

 This morning I read a BOM allegory about the Lord pruning his vineyard. (Zeno's allegory.)
In this story the Lord is grafting wild branches and tame branches.
I have felt this grafting in my life.
I am a result of a loving Father who has pruned me and helped me keep my good roots, loose my wild branches and become a tree that bares good fruit.
I am grateful to be in the hands of a master gardener.
 He is healing me step by step.
And, in the mean time we are having so much fun!!!
Life is good!
Summer is delicious!
Families are forever!

pulling weeds.

the one sad thing about my blog is that when my life gets busy and full of great things, i have a hard time taking the time to write about them.
(i hope that last sentence doesn't make you feel like there are times of my life that are not busy.  i'd say busy... and busier... is more accurate!)

we are travelling and playing and working.
having so much fun together and driving each other crazy.
our days are full and as unscheduled as possible.
i feel both a pull to do less and a pull to do more.
i LOVE these summer days.

we ignored our big garden for too long as our days got full at the end of the school year.
when we finally visited again, it was a JUNGLE of weeds.
yesterday we weeded for a LONG time.
holy hannah!!!
that was probably one of the hardest things i have EVER done!!
i am an old lady.
my bones and back and arms are SORE!!
drew said, "mom, this isn't even the hard part.  we still don't have any animals.  are you sure you want to be a farmer's wife?"
he makes me laugh.

while we picked i told them this story...
Elder Eyring told a story about his father, Henry Eyring, a renowned scientist. His father was 80 years old and suffering from bone cancer when he was invited to work on the stake farm. His job was to pull weeds from the onion field. His pain was so intense that he couldn't kneel; he pulled himself on his elbows. The other workers said that he kept a smile and laughed all day. After he had spent the entire day pulling weeds, someone noticed that his father had pulled the wrong weeds, Bishop Eyring said. The weeds he pulled had already been sprayed and were going to die anyway. Bishop Eyring asked his father why he only laughed at the mix-up. "Son, I wasn't there for the weeds," he said. The importance of the "weeds" aren't always seen at the moment, but being steadfast and waiting upon the Lord will bring blessings for those who endure to the end, Bishop Eyring said. Relating this story to BYU Students, Bishop Eyring said that we aren't here for the weeds, "we're here for the Savior." 
(Daily Universe Newspaper)

by the end of the rows i felt like crawling up the rows... my kids kept saying, "You're not here for the weeds mom!"

today, i am packing up for a short trip to see family in idaho.
i'm excited.
isn't life funny?
every choice we have has a consequence-- to choose something we are not getting something else.
last weekend i got to go with my husband to my cousin's wedding.
it was beautiful.  she was beautiful.
we are not that far apart in age.
while i have been married for the past 15 years, Tracy has been living in New York as a Nanny.
We are not that different, but for the next two weeks she will be in Peru and i'll be home here pretending i'm Super Nanny.   ha!
i am a bit jealous of her.
i would DIE for two weeks in Peru.
a friend asked me, "Would you trade one of your children for a million trips to Peru?"
(i thought, "do i get to choose the child?"  ha!  just kidding.)
NO WAY!  i wouldn't.
i didn't.
i chose this life and in choosing to marry young and have a large family, i have not chosen other things.
and, sometimes those are really great things.
like a trip to peru.
SOMEDAY, i'm going to choose that!!
really.

i feel this pull in other aspects of my life.
to go to family reunions or not go.
if i go, it is a lot of work for a short amount of time.
a 12 hour car ride, laundry, cost, packing, navigating children and family relationships that takes effort...
fun times, good memories, building relationships
if i stay home there are other hard things and other good things.
i am craving some time at home with just me and my family.
but oh how i love time to visit!

i do laugh, at the end of each blog i write...
it is always the same message--

CHOOSE YE THIS DAY whom ye will serve.
what ye will do with your day.
CHOOSE to be happy and enjoy the life you are building.
CHOOSE to invest today in your tomorrows.
For we will ALL reap what we sow!!
we are NOT here for the weeds... we are here for the BECOMING.
perhaps we are all becoming farmer's wives!
perhaps my cousin is becoming the wife of a rain forest explorer and i am becoming a farmer's wife.
BOTH lives are beautiful.  BOTH lives are hard.
Life is good!!
(remind me of this at the END of our 12 hour drive...)