the crazy chicken lady...

yes. this is a post about chicken. i have a new obsession... ALL-NATURAL i really, really love eating chicken that was Farm Harvested by the Alexander family.(this is a picture of Mr. Alexander feeding my dinner) i love eating a chicken that really lived... free rangefed yummy food free of chemicals growth hormones and antibiotics. and i like free range eggs better too... i think natural chickens taste better. and... they are only about 5o cents more expensive than the regular chemical ones. UNLESS you try to buy them at United. seriously, Wal-mart is the place for All Natural... farm raised poultry. a $6 chicken at Wal-Mart cost $17 at United. for $10, i'll eat chemicals. :)

anyway. just wanted you to know something that is making me happy these days. actually, i would kinda like to raise my own chickens...they could sleep here in this cute chicken coop... and then we could eat em.

garage sale... day one

see this cute guy... he bought some stuff from us (i think mainly Todd's old t-shirts so he could sleep in them)... THEN, he came back AND brought us some peppers that he grew in his garden. Isn't that sweet?! this cute Hispanic man sang Lily her first ever Happy Birthday serenade! she's ONE today!!can you find her amidst the junk?this cute guy is one of our sweet neighbors-- they brought us COOKIES while we were selling!! leah was a little sad watching other kids BUY away HER toys... but overall, we had a fun morning. I'm SOO glad that I only advertised from 8am to Noon!!! We're ready for NAP TIME! But... who knew garage sales could be so fun? AND we got... garden grown peppers, homemade cookies and a Hispanic SERENADE!!! what a morning!

tutu dance bags and ballerinas

See... I am sewing a LITTLE bit. the girls both started dance with Ms Diane. i LOVE it... they LOVE it. it's LOVEly. Sew... i was out of budget BEFORE spending $20 each on a dance bag for them... this is what i came up with... for just a few dollars (we purchased the polka dot fabric and the ribbon roses...) i got the idea for a tutu bag from this blog... if you're needing to make a bag anytime, i found these other great sites... - for a bagsket look here... -for a draw string backpack try here and here....Cute huh?! the bags AND the girls... Here is Anna's class... Here is Ellie's class... doesn't Anna look like a real ballerina? yes. the girls are VERY quick to remind me that they need to PRACTICE their tap and ballet... not as quick at REMEMBERING to practice violin and piano.

happy

yesterday, the kids and i took an afternoon trip to amarillo to meet my aunt and uncle and cousin. we swam at their hotel pool and went out for a fancy/crazy Burger King lunch... (so fun!) we continued our month of no-screens in the car and all the kids brought books. i brought tapes to The People of SPARKS (sequel to The City of Ember) by Jeanne DuPrau... I LOVE THIS BOOK!! i LOVE that my kids heard this book. It had a sweet lessons on history and good vs. evil... peace vs. war... choosing the right even when it's hard. One quote I'm semi-quoting was "It's easy to do the wrong thing. It takes courage to do the right thing even when you don't really want to." OH... I LOVED that all those little ears were listening to this great lesson with me... On the way home i saw this sign... Happy 1/4 mile. I smiled and thought to myself... "I'm ALREADY THERE."

sharpie sheets...

[i heard this tip from Marie Ricks... she spoke at the conference I attended and has written WONDERFUL books about home organization that you can find HERE... my mother in law bought me this book, Project Organization. It's great.] Anyway... here it is... LABEL all your sheets with a sharpie-- K for king; Q for Queen; C for Crib; etc. Every corner, so when you pick them up you know what size they are. You can't see the label because it's on the bottom. Great idea! just thought I'd pass it along.

planning for success...

we made some tags last week... the kids and i. we picked out our outfits on Sunday night... we checked them twice to be SURE they were just as the girls wanted them.we laid down the LAW. NO CHANGING. ever. even if you don't like the shirt that you picked out... the results... 30 minute outfit re-negotiations each morning have disappeared. ellie is happy every morning. the girls are fairly matching... and, there is peace here. Monday- Saturday clothing labels... simple. but effective. we made ours with stuff i had because it was Sunday and i'm saving money these days, and, i was even out of ink... but... -here are some printable hangers... - this is where i got my idea... theirs are cuter! -and here are some fabric covered hangers that would be fun too!! -you could try felt... oh the possibilities... (even my boys made some clothing hangers, although the only problem that they have with picking outfits is that they wear the same thing everyday, because it is on the end. ROTATION is a good thing...)

a bit draining...

Let me tell you a little story...About a cute, cute baby in the tub...Smiles and funny faces... And then the smiles become a little... shall we say, strained? we decide to drain. The End.

a fourth first...

Ellie (sneaking out of bed when she heard the professor was home): "Dad, did you know that I had piano today, and I was GREAT!" The professor with satisfactory sounds of encouragement... Ellie: "Yeah, and my teacher even gave me homework. AND, i still liked her." Good Luck with piano, Ellie!!! You are GREAT!!!! [note-- i love her hands in this picture... it's so ELLIE!!]

family GAMES!!!

this is a picture of MOM getting Jakob in "Don't Cry Kitty..." it's SO fun!

we LOVE to play family games!!

OK- here are the ground rules... (i wasn't even going to write this stuff, but i realized that game night isn't naturally fun. you have to teach them how to have fun and enforce their good sportsmanship... ] This is what we do... it's usually evening when we play so i am pretty strict- 3 strikes you're out!

[one warning, 2 min. on the bench, bed...] 
this is for ANY contention or poor sportsmanship-- i say it with a happy voice and fast-- no extra warnings or chances, (ok, if you do have to give an extra warning, you do it with your eyebrows, not your mouth) "Oops, that wasn't very kind... this is your warning. Ok, Drew, 2 minutes on the bench... We sure love you, but if you aren't having fun playing games you need to go to bed." Once the kids knew i was serious they all were very carefully polite to each other...


i remind them at the start-- the goal is to have FUN, we don't really care who WINS. you may have to tell them what to say... so, at the end of the game when you can tell one kid isn't very happy, you say in a loud voice, "great game [winners name]! boy, everybody played so well. we'll have to play this game again sometime. Anna, I'm so proud of you that you were such a good sport. Wasn't that funny when Leah said UNO real loud?" soon, you will hear laughs and echoes "Good game..."


and, one more tip... if one kid is getting a little hot, praise the other kids who are being good... as the game facilitator it is your job to keep the focus on the positive things. it's like i'm the circus ring leader. there may be a fight among the clowns that i quickly move off stage, all the time keeping the focus on the fun, fabulous juggling monkeys. attitude is everything.
you want the kid sitting on the bench to REALLY wish they were playing with you. if you don't nip the crank quickly and quietly soon family game night will turn into family pain night...
so, when anna got sent to the bench for pitching a fit when she lost the "bubble gum" game, i ignored her and quickly started playing her favorite game "Don't Cry Kitty" with the other kids. She QUICKLY changed her attitude, apologized and came to join us.


Those are the ground rules. and. i usually put the little kids to bed after we play a few games for them. Sometimes i have 3 or 4 levels of games... kid games then little girls to bed; bigger games then big girls to bed; hard games then boys to bed; just todd and i games. ;)

OK... want some fun ideas for kids and adults of all ages??
--SINGING GAMES-- Ring around the Rosies... 
we always start with games for the youngest child. 
 EVERYONE loves a good game of Ring around the Rosies... after we all fall down, try we all jump up, or we all freeze, or we all dance around... it keeps the kids listening and laughing... 
5 Little Ducks, Once There Was a Snowman, I'm a Little TeaPot, London Bridge (big kids LOVE this game), Hokey Pokey, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, Duck Duck Goose, etc... 

It is so fun watching the little kids GLOW when you sing a song they know. And, it's so fun watching the big kids making it fun for the little kids. You know these games/songs... why do we have to wait for a birthday party to play them?

  -- Hand Games-- 
 Can we forget Paper, Rock, Scissors? Or Bubble Gum, Bubble Gum?
 Everyone has two fists out, IT bumps every one's fists, one of their fists and their chin [representing the fist they are using to bump...] Everyone chants... "Bubble gum, bubble gum in a dish. How many pieces do you wish? [the person landed on picks a number... Four.] one. two. three. four.-- the fist landed on is OUT. You remember this one. And, who doesn't love BUBBLE GUM??


--The Animal Sounds Game or the Motion Game... you know this one too... I think my mom called it "Peter, Paul and Mary..." We have each kid pick an action or an animal sound... then you start pat, clap, pat, clap... the IT person says their sound first then someone elses sound, the next person says their sound and someone elses... you pass it around and are OUT if you mess up the rhythm. Remember? "Peter to one. One to Peter. Peter to five. Five to three. Three to Three... oh man, I'm out." 


--Another version of this that is a bit more advanced and a lot more fun is "Dippidy, Dippidy, Dip"... (here's a you tube link- it's not great quality, but this is the game!) My big kids are good at this... and I LOVE IT. But, I can't explain in words, so if you want to know how to play just stop me sometime and I'll SHOW you.


-- CHARADES!!!! OK, this is our families FAVORITE Sunday game. We play it ALL THE TIME, especially when we have company. We almost ALWAYS play SCRIPTURE CHARADES. This is how you play... i pick a kid and whisper in their ear something that is in scriptures... they act it out and everyone tries to guess... Youngest Kid Ideas-- a bird, a snake, a lion, a tree, an angel, a rock, a fish, Jesus on the cross, a star, etc. Get it? Easy things they can act out. Bigger kids- a rainbow (this is our all time FAVORITE to try out on our guests...), Noah's ark, Eve eating the apple, the tree of life, Daughter of Jarius being raised from the dead (another favorite), no room in the inn, angels appearing to shepards (No, it doesn't need to be Christmas for you to act out the Nativity), etc. Older kids-- they sometimes pick their own story from the scriptures and act them out, ammon and the sheep (Yup, another favorite), Abinidi, Christ healing the lepers, Abraham and Isaac, Moses parting the red sea, etc. I can't tell you how much we love this game. It is not only fun, it helps us teach the scriptures. Todd and I have fun testing each other by whispering harder things for the kids to act out to see we can stump each other. LOVE, LOVE this game!!


--"Don't cry Kitty..."-- Leah LOVES this game, actually we ALL love this game. The person who is IT goes to every person in the family and strokes their cheek while saying, "Don't Cry Kitty" The non-IT person must meow three times without laughing. We play it that mom picks the next IT from the one that laughs least. Note... don't make anyone "OUT"... just keep laughing and at the end say who is next.

  --The Thimble Game-- another Moss favorite... get a thimble full of water, or any other cup with just a little bit of water in it. Mom picks a topic, like Prophets or months or candies or cereal or presidents or colors or vegetables, etc... Everyone thinks of one... The person who is IT whispers in Mom's ear what they pick (this is necessary to help the little kids and avoid changing for the big kids)... Mom can still play and the kids don't really care that she knows the answer. Anyway, the person who is IT goes up the each person with the little cup of water. The non-IT kid says a prophet and if they pick the same prophet as the IT kid, IT gets to throw the water on them. You keep going around and around until someone gets wet. My kids usually LIKE to get wet so they are always begging me for more water in the cup. (A couple of times I've tricked the Professor and filled a cup all the way full... i've told the kid to just dump it on Dad no matter what he says... they can ONLY do this if I tell them too...) :) Fun times!!

  -- Pictionary or PlayDoh Pictionary... No, we don't use the real game. Just paper and a pencil. We play it much like Scripture Charades... Mom either writes up things ahead of time on little pieces of paper that the kids can choose, or I just whisper them in their ear. I like whispering the best because I can adjust to skill level. Youngest- a ball, a smile, an L, a tree, a snake, a line, an X, hair, a grape, etc. (These are so funny because it takes just as much skill to guess as to draw.) Older- a knee, love, a book, happy, mailbox, Jesus, church, cow, family, sacrament, prayer, bed, [name of one specific person in your family], dinner, etc. Oldest- sharing, Joyland, Library, Idaho, running, soccer, school, [a person NOT in your family], President Obama, Noah, etc. For 60 cents I bought a little spinner from the teacher's store and wrote on it All PLAY, just boys, just girls, pick one, teams... sometimes i use it and have the kids spin before they get their topic. It's FUN. NO POINTS or WINNERS, just memories. You can do the same thing with playDoh... have them create things like snakes, letters, people, etc...

  -- ALL AGE GAMES-- Memory, Jenga or Tumbling Towers, Twister, Candy Land (i don't know why i HATE this game-- it's just not fair), Trouble, Chutes and Ladders, etc.

  -- DOMINOES-- we love Mexican Train... here is a link with directions...

  -- SPOONS! this is a great beginner card game... here is a link with directions... IT IS MY FAVORITE LITTLE KID CARD GAME... we played this for a LONG time on Friday night... it's short and fast and simple and FUN!! we laugh and laugh... (you can't play the card game spoons without taking a break to balance spoons on your nose... i can't do it. the kids tell me "Don't lick the spoon first.") -- The FAKE Scrabble game- everyone starts with 6 tiles and the rest of the tiles are in a pile. you make your own cross word type grid of words... all connecting. when you use all of you tiles you say TAKE TWO... everyone grabs two more tiles... the person to use all their tiles says TAKE TWO again until the end when you only have enough extra tiles to say TAKE ONE. The Winner uses all of his tiles on their own created cross word. After checking the spelling to be sure all of the words used are actually words, everyone gives the winner their non-used tiles. You count up the number of tiles you've used and keep track of your score. The winner get's everyone elses extras added into their score... the first one to 500 pts wins. (this is one of my favorite games, but doesn't work well with kids who can't spell well... unless you don't worry about spelling... but, you may have an 8 year old police officer in the family who freaks out if someone spells sorry SARY and wins the game.)

  -- The Newly Wed GAME adopted for families... I got this one from Ms. Teague, Anna's first grade teacher. We had SO much fun with it. So, give everyone a paper and pencil. Have them label 1-8 or however many people are in your family or write the name of everyone down the edge of their paper. Say a topic (favorite color, worst food, favorite book, best friend, favorite thing to do, what they want to be when they grow up, favorite restaurant, middle name, hero, etc.) Have each kid write their answer and what they think everyone else would answer... DON'T GIVE POINTS if they get it right. This just created WW3 in our family-- "YOU LIE... Your favorite color is too Pink." "No, it's white, black and teal." So, just keep it for fun and it is way more fun. [Note- when i played this with anna in her classroom, her teacher asked who their hero was... i was so curious to see what anna answered. i think she answered Amy, her aunt. anyway, that got me thinking and thus our whole summer theme on Heroes was born.] I LOVE what you learn about your kids from this game!!

  There are HUNDREDS more games we love... Pass the Pigs... Bop it... WAR... UNO... CLUE... Chess... Connect Four... Guess Who?... LOTS of board games... etc... etc... But the final two I'll dedicate to my Grams... I learned to hold a hand of cards and count dice from her...

  -- BONES!!! we play this game ALL THE TIME!! here are the directions... i love to see the kids different personalities in this game... are they safe or risky?? fast deciders or contemplators... oh, i LOVE this game! And, you can buy REALLY cute colorful dice for CHEAP at the teacher's store. here are some directions for Farkle... i thought it was just like BONES, but these directions show some more ways you can win points... oh! doesn't everyone LOVE dice?

  -- May I?!! todd's family calls it BarnYard Rummy and the way they play is not nearly as KIND as the way we play. (well, if you happen to sit behind Todd's Dad... Yes, it's been 10 years and I'm still bitter that he took EVERY SINGLE CARD I WANTED.) Here are the directions... these directions call it Contract Rummy... but, i read them and it's May I... Oh, this is so fun... the best thing about this game is that you can play with a lot of people (i have so many memories of sitting with all my aunts and cousins around the table... it was such a right of passage when you could hold your own hand and play by yourself)... I also LOVE shopping for snacks and prizes. There are SEVEN rounds, so you have a winner for each round, an overall winner, and an overall highest scorer. (9 prizes...) and, lots of mid-game snacks. 
 Love it!!

  What are your favorite family games???
Hope your family loves these games as much as we do!!!

for little hands...

Oops... forgot to show you this COOL thing that helps little kids hold their cards... I bought ours at Target for $4... The Original Little Hands Card Holder love it! here's the amazon link...

makin bread...

this is us on saturday morning we're grinding wheat and making bread... i added flax seeds. i had been avoiding it... do you know that i had everything rising by 8am? it really didn't take a long time, even with the grinding part... it turned out good, but was a little flat. (kids LOVE to help make bread!) do you have a great wheat bread recipe?

born again... again.

this is my lunch... i'm eating it right now... mmmm. this is my week. i've made lots and lots o' lists... this is my closet... doesn't it look nice?
and SIMPLE. my HOME is going on another diet. life is better every time i knot a garbage bag and write "pants size 6/8 $3"
yes. i think another garage sale may be in our future.
actually, my whole life is going on a diet.
well, it's not a diet, it's a LIFESTYLE. right?
Drew said to me last night. "Mom, I really don't want to play this game anymore."
Nope. This isn't a game... it's a plan. a GREAT plan of happiness.
i have many good friends who are Baptist, and i love them.
i remember a conversation i had with a sweet, sweet wife of a baptist minister in Michigan about being born again.
one thing i just don't agree with is that you are "saved" or "born again" just once...
for me, i am saved again and again... as i grow and learn and progress...
i can feel my Savior strengthening me and cleansing me and teaching me and saving me.
the first time i remember knowing without a doubt that God was real and that He loved me was when i was 8...
I was laying on my bed with my bunny, and i was singing "I am a Child of God"...
i felt a warm wash over me...
tingles from my head to my toes...
i felt a sweet hug from above and the thoughts... "I am here, you are not alone. I am your Father, I love you and I will always guide you."
That was real. and, it changed me.

but, there have been many times since then that i have been born again...
and, last week, i was born again... again.

i am a new person.
i feel healed and cleansed and saved.
i took some time to reconnect, to hear God tell me that I'm not alone, that He loves me and that He will guide my steps... and, it has changed me.
Like Martha, I had become "careful and troubled about many things" and i was reminded that only "one thing is needful." (Luke 10:38-41)
i love the scripture in Psalms 37:23 "The steps of a good [woman] are ordered by the Lord: and [she] delighteth in his way."
and, "The Lord shall increase you more and more, you and your children." Psalms 115:14
and, this sweet prayer, "Order my steps in thy word: and let not iniquity have dominion over me... Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes." Psalms 119:133, 135
i came home focused on holy ORDER...
God's ORDER.
I love that word- order.
It's easier to achieve ORDER than perfection...
i just need to know one step ahead, and i can have faith that even when what i am doing is not enough, HE will compensate.
He will turn my water into wine.
I know that we are saved by GRACE after all that we can do.
actually, i think we are saved by GRACE while we are doing...
So, I'm doing stuff... just one day at a time, one thing at a time, one step at a time... and, it's working.
I'm happy.
My home is orderly.
My life is orderly... and it's only been ONE WEEK.
i can't believe it.
specifically, here are some things i'm focusing on...

- Early to bed, early to rise ( i know!! can you believe it? i USED to be SUCH a night owl)

-First things first-- each morning i start by taking time for myself to pray, read, ponder and write an ORDER for my day (on a blank index card.) it is NOT a service to our children if we loose ourselves in their care. we serve them better when we are whole. (Note- someday I'll include exercise here... but, i haven't really figured this one out yet.)

-NEVER forget the ARMOUR... seriously. we are living in a world that is HARD. we need to protect ourselves and our children, to teach them right from wrong and to teach them where to look for knowledge... family prayer, family scripture study, service, forgiveness, work, exercise, etc... these things really do strengthen us and protect our family.

- Put away the laundry while it's warm (totally changed my life- i do wash every morning, just a couple loads and it is my PRIORITY-- i stop whatever I'm doing, fold it and put it away. do you know it only takes 4.5 minutes to put away a load of laundry... i spent longer than that feeling sick everytime i saw a clean load sitting in a laundry basket... just DO IT!)

- HEALTHY fuel for my body and for my family... grains, fruits, vegetables... you know, healthy stuff not chemicals and unhealthy stuff. when i think about NOURISHING my kids not just FEEDING my kids, i actually love mealtime. Do you know it costs over $100 a month for many anti-depressant medications? I would much rather spend my money on healthy, nourishing food and vitamins for my family.

-Morning maintenance... (my house had gotten so bad that i had to start a room at a time... so, monday i did the entryway, living room and kitchen. tuesday, i did morning maintenance of the entryway, living room and kitchen then good clean of my bedroom. wednesday, maintenance of entry, living, kitchen, master bed and good clean of girls bedroom... get it? seriously ONE WEEK and it's getting there.)

-FINISHi've been trying for awhile to figure this out and finally it "CLICKED"

-Make one big project 3 smaller projects... i do this by storing big messes to work on later. (for example, because our house is small and we don't have a play room, cleaning the kids' room is awful. i usually spend all day making hundreds of piles... shirts, pants, socks, dress-ups, dirty clothes, kid books, baby books, paperback books, hairbands, barbie shoes, doll clothes, etc.... i don't really finish before the kids get home then they mess my piles and i feel completely frustrated. this time i just threw all the toys in a big pile... to sort later. my objective at first was just to ORDER the room... even if a pile of toys didn't seem clean, it became the place i put toys so it was orderly... i felt finished in a short time and the next day i could go back and do "toys" as a job.) same with closets... you take everything out of the closet. you have one bag labeled "Goodwill" one labeled "Trash" a basket of "stuff that goes somewhere else" and a basket of "stuff i want to put back into the closet." so. In ten minutes i could be "DONE" with a closet. I stick the basket of stuff to go into the closet, into the closet and shut the door. Tie a knot on the Goodwill bag and stick it in the trunk of my car, put the trash in the trash pile for the boys to take out when they get home and put the basket of stuff to put away... away. IF i have time, i might decide to actually organize the closet I just sorted. IF the kids are almost home, i can still have an orderly home and do that smaller project another day. Get it? seriously... changed my LIFE.

-FORGIVE!! i LOVE this one. One way we can forgive is through our words... speaking is using our agency and our faith... kind, forgiving words can change our heart and help us to get rid of negative emotions that consume us... anger, hurt, fear, frustration, guilt. SAY IT. Say, out loud... "I forgive myself for spending too much money at that store." or "I forgive Ellie for being sassy this morning." Get it? Even if you have to say it over and over for the same negative feelings... and remember, you don't forgive for the other person, we forgive to change OUR heart. It's a great way to get rid of negativity. seriously. i've tried to forgive before but, i didn't know how. i really think there is healing in WORDS. now, i make my kids say it. along with I'm sorry they say, "I forgive you Mom for getting rid of my play shoes." and, it changes their heart. LOVE THIS!!

-Write it down so you can think instead of remember... seriously. do you know how many things i can think of at the same time? A LOT! but, i don't need to. i cleaned off my little desk. i put a calendar there and started some permanent lists... to buy, to do, to make... as i cleaned out the kids' closet i took a minute to write down a list of what each kid needs... as i got rid of my favorite pink shirt with a stain on it, or my favorite black dresses that are just a bit too short, i wrote down a list of "things i want..." when i write these things down in an orderly place, my brain is free to think about other things. and... i don't just have random lists floating around... it's orderly and simple and i love it.

-Be STILL so you can hear. although this is last, it was actually first. we checked the INPUT around our home and decided it was too much. We needed more time to think and BE. So, we turned off the TV, banned movies, gameboys, computer games, etc. It's just a 30 day fast. a cleansing. i'm afraid that my children have forgotten how to play outside or ride their bikes or be creative... too much input... too little living... i don't miss it. even when i'm trying to clean and leah cries to watch a movie... do you know it is just as easy to sit her at the table with a place-mat and a container of play-doh, or a coloring book and a bowl of crayons, or on the couch with a stack of books, or turn on a Wee Sing tape and let her dance. seriously. she can entertain herself with those things just as long as she did watching a movie. Is Dora bad? nope. but for us, this month, it's just not best. my life is calmer, i can feel more and breathe easier without all the noise. love it. so, these are the things I'm working on today. life is good. now, i'm going to take a nap. then, i'm going to make bread and pizza dough for our Family Game Night tonight (it's replacing Family Movie Night.) Have a GREAT weekend!(sorry for the book... you knew i was just waiting to spew forth everything going on in my brain!)

boo hoo or YAHOO!!!

2009-2010 School year...

breakfast at home with the gang...

Ellie, first grade, Ms. Teague

anna, second grade, Mrs. Payne...

drew, 4th grade, Mrs. Alexander

jakob, 5th grade, Mrs. Kittley

so.. today was the end of their vacation and the beginning of mine. i love our school. i love their sweet teachers really, love them.... and, except for jakob, every one of my kids are in a class with a teacher who has had one of their siblings. it's so fun that they get to see just how similar and how different my kids are. this is going to be a GREAT year. and... i think i'll love the quiet life at home. next week. AFTER i'm finished playing catch-up. today was NOT restful, it was catch-up full. For family night Todd gave each of the kids Back to School blessings. They were so sweet. I take notes as he prays, and type them up so the kids can refer back to them throughout the year. I really want to start a "lesson's we're learning" binder where I can keep a record of the little ways that we see God's hand in our lives... starting with these blessings. It was a great way to start our new year. i have so much to tell you about my trip... it was GLORIOUS. seriously... why don't we do things like this more? I mean... you are NOT qualified to work as a mother unless you take at least one refresher course a year. :) And, although the classes i attended were amazing and inspiring and helpful... I'm certain that just having the evenings ALONE to pray and ponder and study and set goals and plan out my year... just this, has made all the difference. It's like I'm starting the year with a full tank. and, although this summer was lots of fun... i'm afraid by the end i was running on fumes. Trust me... I'm definitly home and in 5th gear. I'm loving my life... taking time to sing itsy bitsy spider and so ready for tomorrow. my advice... JUST DO IT. pretend your appendix has ruptured and you need to spend a weekend in the hospital... rent a room, be alone, and REST... because, if you don't... you may actually end up in the hospital with a burst appendix. so today was a welcome home and a go forth... both were necessary and great. life is really good. no?!

Lily Stands Up! (sort of)*

*Disclaimer: This is the professor's first attempt at blog posting. There will be no fancy font, picture editing, cute "..." or all words in lower case. Once blogmaster Jen is back in the house from Education Week, all of the cute, endearing Jen-ness will return. It looks like all it takes is a little motivation (aka, Loving Family action figures) and Lily will choose to stay in an upright position. Once she knew that her favorite toy was on top of the ottoman, she cried and struggled to pull herself up to no avail. Thanks to loving sisters she grabbed the prize and continued to stay standing for about 3 seconds--a new record! Stay tuned for more professor posts as Jen continually requests visual updates on all happenings great or small. I love you Schatz! :)

miss me...

see you in a week... i'm off to byu education week. it's one week full of enriching classes about parenting, scripture, the Savior, gardening, finding joy, etc.... excited seems too mild a word. i hope i come home full and rested. i hope todd has a great week here with the kiddos... miss me!

so grateful...

leah cried for 20 minutes when grandma and grandpa left. i did too... seriously, i love my in-laws. we had a rocky start, but the past 12 years have been good for us. before i had kids i would look at other moms and take notes on the kind of mom i wanted to be. now, i look at grandmas and take notes of the kind of mother-in-law i want to be... i'm grateful for the grand models that i have. as Mom and Dad Moss were pulling out of our driveway, we looked at our lawn... mowed, fertilized and sprayed for weeds we looked at our vacuum... handle securely attached we looked at our kids' room... holes all caulked we looked at the kids' bikes... tires filled, oiled and chains ready to ride bathroom door squeak free, a new fan for white noise, a box of red river in the pantry... the girls had smiles on their faces and mocha painted nails... and could quote every cute romance movie made in the last 10 years. lily makes funny grunting sounds every time she picks up a plastic animal. there is a sweet peace in our home... there is order where there was chaos... when i grow up, i want to be just like them... i'm so thankful that they made the trek south when they heard the professor was going to be out of town... love them. and, when they get old and immobile they have an open invitation to live in our guest suite...

fun in the sun...

grandma and grandpa moss came for a visit... SO FUN!! this is a little splash park in Brownfield... about 30 minutes from Lubbock. i think the kids are going to have raisin fingers and toes till October (we've been in the pool so much this summer!) All the big kids are super swimmers... Leah makes me laugh... she thinks she's big. With her little frog floaty she swims all around with the big kids... she jumps off the diving board and even goes down the water slides... Lily gets compliments on her tan wherever we go! She's a golden, glowing baby... and super easy to have on all of our adventures. As long as she can kick and play in the water, or sit with a snack on a towel, she is happy for hours at the pool. we LOVE the water. what a fun summer this has been. AND... it is especially fun when we have grandma and grandpa to share it with.