Happy B day Mayah

WOW I just can't believe our youngest is three. We are so happy that there will be NO more diapers and wipes to buy. We are truly blessed to have Mayah in our life. She is so much fun and such a character. I love her personality and she fits perfectly into our family. She is very strong willed and knows exactly how to get what she wants.

I sit here and think back about her birth three years ago. My favorite part of giving birth is when they put the babies on my chest. As soon as Mayah was born she was having some difficulty breathing. I didn't get to hold her on my chest that day. It was sad. The nurses and dr. worked with her for a while and then informed us that they were going to have to ambulance her over to a better hospital. I was pretty scared. Don was scared. I had to stay behind and Don would follow behind the ambulance. I remember we called our bishop at 4 a.m. and he came to the hospital with his wife and he and Don gave her a blessing.

I remember they had to stick a needle into her chest to drain the air from her lungs. That was successful but they needed us to take her to the other hospital to keep an eye on her to make sure everything was going to be OK.

There are alot of things I can't remember about this day. I was afraid. I think I was in a bit of a shock. I can't even remember the name of what was actually wrong. I do remember Don telling me that while he was following the ambulance they quickly pulled over to the side of the road and he could see alot of activity in the back but wasn't sure what was going on. He really thought something serious had happened to her. We still do not know what happened. He was SO SCARED.

I am so grateful everything turned out OK with her. I cannot imagine my life without Mayah. She brings us a lot of joy. She definately keeps us on our toes and brings alot of laughter into our life. She is a huge blessing. We love you so much Mayah and we are so glad you are in our family.

We celebrated her birthday before going to Washington State so daddy could be a part of it. Our friend gave us free bowling tickets that we took advantage of. Mayah had been talking about a pink honey bee cake so I attempted that. It was a pretty funny looking cake but she was happy and LOVED it. Her presents came from the basement this year. :) Rachel went down and picked out some cute things and put them into a cute elephant backpack for her. She was so excited for all her gifts. It was cute and we all had fun.

Joys of having a great father and husband

I am very blessed. I am pretty spoiled too, I think. I have a great father and a wonderful and caring husband.

My father!!!
I have been blessed with a great dad. I am lucky. I am so happy to have him as a father. He is amazing. I have learned so much from you dad. You have taught me many things that have strengthened me and helped me to grow. You have the greatest attitude about life and your positive influence has been a huge inspiration to me. Your love for the family has helped me in many ways and as I try to raise my kids I use many of the things you taught me. Thank you dad for being you. Thank you dad for being a great father and one that I can look to for advice and help and understanding. You are loved by so many people. SO many look up to you. You have been a great example to me in so many ways. I love you and want you to have a wonderful Fathers Day. You are the best.

My husband!!!
OK I have been double blessed. I have a wonderful husband as well. I wonder how I got so lucky to have such great men in my life. Don...I love that you are so caring. I love that you know JUST what to say to me to make me feel better. You have so many amazing compliments for me that always make me feel loved. You always go out of your way to make sure I am OK. Thank you for always giving your best. Thank you for working so hard so I can stay home and raise our children. That means more to me than anything. I am so thankful that you have always gotten up after falling. You have proved such an example of a never quit attitude. I love that. I love your enthusiasm for the gospel. I love your knowledge but most importantly your drive and love of your country. You have so many talents that you share with me and the kids and you bring a variety of things into our life. And how grateful I am for that. I am so grateful that you are so forgiving. I am so grateful that you are so helpful and aware of what is going on in my life. You can ALWAYS tell when something is not right with me. Thanks for being such a great husband and putting up with my flaws. I love you more than life. And I am so glad we have this life to spend together and I am excited for the many years to come. It just keeps getting better and better. Happy Fathers Day. You are the best.

Caleb's turn...class of 2016

Caleb in his classroom after the graduation. The teacher had ballons and a cake in front. It was a great place to take a picture.

Caleb is in the orange polo shirt. This is after the graduation walking back to their class.

This is when they were recognized for their good grades. YEAH CALEB.

Here he is walking up to the front to receive his certificate.

This is just a picture of the front before everything got started.

Ok so Caleb graduated from elementary school. He is on his way to middle school. Now that is a scary thought. He will be in the 6th grade next year. Not too sure what I think of that and not too sure that it is possible that he has grown up so quickly.

His graduation was held in the cafeteria. They held a slide show a half hour before and it was so nice to see the all the pictures of all the kids in 5th grade. They had music playing to the slides and it got me a little teary. Thankgoodness I had Ethan and Mayah to tend to otherwise I would have cried more. I just can't believe my kids are growing up so fast. I loved all the pictures of Caleb. They did a great job including all the kids.

Then they had the graduates come in from the back while they played the graduation song. It was cute. My favorite part was when they announced those students that have received all A's and B's. They had those students stand up and face the audience. I was so proud of Caleb and so excited because he has worked SO hard. It is more impressive to me to see a student that really struggles in certain areas achieve good grades than it is to have a student that just gets good grades. Certain things do not come easy for Caleb and it made my day to see him standing there with a huge smile on his face. You could hear me yell for him throughout the quiet room. I was thrilled.

Then they were called up to the front to receive their 'diploma'. I gave the video camera to Zach so I could take a few pictures. They reserved the middle of the room for parents to take pictures. I was sitting near there anyway so it was an easy shot. I left Ethan at the table we were at to continue playing with his cars while I took Mayah up with me to take a few pictures. As soon as Caleb's name was called I again yelled for him and then I could hear Ethan in the back yell "YEAH GO CALEB". Then you could hear some of the parents laughing at him. We have it recoreded and it was so cute that Ethan was yelling for his brother.

I sit here and think as everyone else is sleeping. I think of how Caleb is growing up and how he is moving into another part of his life. It is both exciting and scary as a parent. I know he will face more opposition and he will have to make good choices to keep him strong and faithful. I am a little afraid for him to go to middle school but I know he is a great kid and I know he will be OK. I might not be but he will. :)

Congrats Caleb. I am so proud of you. I am so proud of your hard work and I am so excited for the things to come.

Rachel's graduation

Rachel enjoying cake after the graduation.

Rachels whole class.

Here they are singing some songs. The picture is dark.

Another dark one. My camera isn't the greatest but atleast we have some for memories. Here she is going on stage. She was the first one called so that took me by surprise and I had to hurry and grab the camera. PHEW.

Here she is with her teachers....Mrs. Ebersold is her teacher right next to her and Mrs Pauley is sitting. She is the asst.

Thurs. night Rachel graduated from Kindergarten. WOW. I can hardly believe it. When the principal got up an announced that this will be the graduating class of 2021 it seemed like such a long time away but I know how time flies. Rachel will never be in Kindergarten again. It made me a little sad. She looked so pretty in her dress and it is so fun to see your child accomplish things. She can read so well and has improved so much since the beginning. I am so proud of her for transitioning so well to the new school. She cried for a while about missing some of her friends and her teacher but she soon made some new friends and has stopped mentioning her past school.

Goodbye Pony...Hello Horse

Our little pony. Look how small this thing is compared to the horse below. WOW.The new horse. I can't wait to see this thing in use. It is HUGE. LOVE IT.

Yesterday I received a phone call saying I had a delivery coming from Washington State. They said they had a tiller for me. I couldn't believe it. They told me where it was coming from and I instantly knew it was from my mom and dad. My parents own a small engine repair shop. And my dad is the best mechanic around. NO JOKE. He is smart. He is honest. He is funny. He is amazing. And he is good at what he does. My mom does the books and NO ONE can take over for her because there is NO one good enough. She is smart. She is honest. She is a bit more serious. And she is amazing. She know's her stuff and it is all organized.

When the driver called to get my address he said there was NO way they would be able to get up the hill to the mountain. OH BOY. I had to think fast. I decided to rent a trailer and meet him at the bottom of the hill. I was so glad that they couldn't deliver it until the next day and sometime after three. I thought Don would be able to make it home in time but he didn't. So I had to brave it. I took all the kids with me and the driver pretty much did it ALL. He was so awesome. I tried to help him but he wouldn't let me. He unhooked the trailer and had me turn around and then he pushed the trailer up to his truck and used the part of the trailer that goes down and hooked that part up to his truck. All he had to do was pull it out (it was on a crate) and slide it down into the trailer. I had 2 boards there but he didn't need them. SO glad it all worked out.

Man that thing is BIG. And we are so happy to have it. Our little pony just wasn't doing the trick very easily. And then it broke down for a bit but Don got it running. But with a big garden and 2 acres of land we needed a big horse tiller.

As I was driving home with this amazing tiller I kept thinking how thoughtful my parents are. They are some of the most giving people I know. They are always looking out for others and not themselves. I know it was SUPER EXPENSIVE to ship that thing all the way from Washington. I am in awe. I almost cried. Mom and Dad...you never cease to amaze me. You guys are wonderful. I am so grateful and so lucky to have such selfless parents. Thanks. Thank you so much.

These are the words from the driver, "WOW, this thing came a long way".

I love you both so much. Please tell me what I can do to repay you. Don't make it too painful. :)

Teaching children to work

Don took this picture. I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted because I was busy working. But we all know that the GIRLS work the hardest. :) Here we are planting corn. Rachel and Mayah LOVED putting the corn into the holes and putting dirt on top of it and stomping it down. We planted Kandy Corn and can't wait to eat it. It should be ready end of Aug.

Here is Zach. He is a good worker too. Here he is digging the new holes for the posts. We have to put up a fence to keep the deer, rabbits, and other things out. But Zach is funny. You will find him working hard..... Or being goofy and doing this. He was playing in the mud. Then he would pick up some rocks and work a bit and then leave. We also found him....

doing this....Now does this look like someone who is trying to pick up rocks? It looks to me like he is trying to body surf on the dirt. Funny kid. He makes everyone laugh with his funny jokes and crazy behavior. He is going to be the life of the party. He makes friends easily and he is very fun to be around.

Caleb loves driving the riding lawn mower. Anytime he can use that he is more than willing to work. So we needed someone to take out the posts from the other area of the garden and bring them to the new area. He was excited about it and had a 'plan'. Don and I have both learned that EVERYTIME Caleb has had a plan it worked. So we let him do his own thing. He thinks ALOT and everytime he has been able to do just what he had planned. He went up and wiggled the posts until they came a bit lose and then he pulled them out. Then he hooked a rope the the mower and had an old sleeping back underneath the posts. He told me it would drag easier. Then he tied the rope around the posts and he easily brought all the posts to us. He had the biggest smile on his face. Now this is one smart cookie. He is going to make us rich one day. He is going to invent something and it is going to WORK.

I think it is so important to teach children the value of hard work. My parents were awesome at this. They taught us to work hard and we all did. They didn't care if we didn't like it. We had to work and we had to work hard. I feel that was one of the things my parents thought was very important. I also think it is important. I am working on teaching my kids to work hard. It isn't an easy task to get five kids to do something. It is even harder to have them doing it with a smile. Most of the time they complain and think they have to do "everything". But that is exactly what I thought as a kid. I wondered why I had to do everything. :)

So on Saturday we all went outside to move our garden to another area. We moved it closer to the house. I will spare you the long story but finally after Don got the tiller up and running he tilled a new area and we picked up rock after rock after rock. Have I ever told you we have alot of rocks in this area? We filled up two small trailer loads and that was only 1/3 of the garden. Our kids worked pretty hard getting those rocks out of there. They also ran through the sprinklers and ran and played and came back again. It was pretty cool. It was funny to see the kids run whenever Don or I complimented on how hard someone was working.

Butterfly Wings

I remember going to a Time Out For Women about 4 years ago in Washington State. I LOVED IT. I went with my mom and it was such a fun time. I can't wait to go to the one here in October. They always have a talented musician. We were able to enjoy Cheri Call and she was lovely and very talented.

I found this clip from her and it made me cry. SO many times all of us judge ourselves so harshly and compare ourselves to others. I am guilty of it. But as talented as she is with her music she still compares herself to other musicians. That goes to show that there will always be people better than us (even our greatest strengths). But what really matters is how we compare ourselves to ourselves. Are we progressing and growing and becoming stronger in the things we are weak at? Are you striving to do our best? Are we asking God for help in these areas where we feel we need it the most? If we can do that and better ourselves it doesn't really matter who is better. We are on this earth to better ourselves and to turn our catapillars into butterflies. We are not in a race with another person to see who can win. We are here to see how much we can progress and stay on the straight and narrow. It isn't always an easy thing but the peaceful feeling it brings is so amazing. I am so grateful for the talents of others and I am so glad we all have something to contribute....otherwise what a boring world it would be. I hope we can all look within ourselves and see what talents we have and what things we can offer someone else. Everyone has been blessed with something and I honestly believe that those talents are given to us to help others. It is our job to figure out what those are. I am still looking?



Already a Butterfly
by Cherie Call
June 01, 2009
Several weeks ago my little two-year-old daughter was playing with her toys and decided to strap on her butterfly wings. She was having a pretty good time for a while, when she got further down in the toy box and found her purple super hero cape. She wanted to put it on. When my husband tried to convince her to take off the wings, she refused. So he velcroed the cape on right over the wings. It was awkward. She yanked on it for a while to keep it from being so jagged, but she looked like a jagged purple hunchback. She tried to go with it for as long as she could, but pretty soon she flew back over to us and uttered a very profound truth. I only wish I could remember her exact toddler jargon for this. But essentially, she said, "No cape. Already butterfly." Think about it. You don't need a cape if you're already a butterfly! The moment I heard her say it, I knew it meant something. But it has taken a little bit of time for the meaning to unfold for me. Maybe it means something different to you. But for me, this is it. I spend a lot of time, too much time, really, trying to fit into a cape. I see my neighbor in a beautiful cape, making incredible gourmet dinners with vegetables from her backyard. It's usually on a day I hardly had time to pick up a pizza. I see songwriting friends writing songs I truly wish I had written, they're so good. I see their capes billowing in the wind. I go to the mall and try to find something that can make me look amazing, and I notice the ridiculous price tag. Capes I can't afford. I get discouraged. All the while I don't remember that I have wings! If I paid better attention, I might notice some of those super hero ladies admiring them, and wishing for them. I have my own set of gifts. My own list of things I do best. Is being a butterfly better than being a super hero? Not necessarily. But is a super hero better than a butterfly? I'd say not. Could butterflies do some of the same things that super heros can? Sometimes, maybe. If they practiced. But that's not the point. I'm already something pretty great. I'm a butterfly! I have to admit that most of the time I feel more like a caterpillar than a butterfly. But I'm starting to remember more often that I really do have wings. I want to use them to do what they're best at, and fill this world with the things that only I can give. I want to quit trying so hard to be someone else. Easier said than done, I know. I have lots of heroes in my life and I'm so grateful for them. I will always try to be more like them. But I'll try to do it in my own special butterfly way, because that's who I am. And I get the feeling that God loves butterflies quite a lot.