Nerf War

Every year Scott gets the boys new nerf guns. And every year I ask WHY!! But then, every year during their epic nerf battles, I’m so glad. 

Tonight, it was getting wild so I retreated to my bed for a bit of safety. The war made its way into my room and I had to snap some quick pictures. These aren’t for show of quality, but to remember this awesome night! 

Christmas 2018

Christmas was wonderful this year. The kids got out of school on Friday, and with Christmas on Tuesday, we went right into festive activities. On Saturday morning we went to Inkom to see Scott’s grandparents. I’m so bummed we didn’t take a picture, but we had a great chat. We’re blessed that our children have a relationship with their great grandparents. I have always felt so loved from Scott’s grandparents, especially his grandpa, so it’s always a treat to be in their presence. I love them as my own. 

Sunday was church and we actually made it on time. I’m always surprised when the spirit touches me in the most unexpected ways. As we were singing the sacrament song, the YM leader got up and grabbed the gluten free cereal option from the back and placed it on the tray. It was no big deal. But he realized they forgot it and stepped in to help. I couldn’t help but feel his stewardship over those young men. My heart immediately felt grateful for a ward family that functions together as one body and looks out for one another. Then my heart burst for the love our Savior has for us that he organized his church in such a way. I broke down in quiet, grateful sobs.  It’s moments like these that confirm my testimony. It was such a sweet tender moment. 

Christmas Eve came on Monday. We made our traditional sugar cookies, but this year the older kids were less than enthused to decorate them. They did a few and then left Ky and Cache to do the rest. I had to grab something in the other room and got distracted for a couple of minutes. I came back out to see Kyle all alone frosting the cookies. He was using about 1/2 inch of frosting on each one, smothering them in frosting and then covering them in M&Ms. He was so proud of himself. 

After the cookies we opened our PJ’s and settled in for a movie. We watched, “A House with a Clock in the Walls”. It was rated PG, so we thought it was completely appropriate for our children. Wrong! It was so scary. They were all hiding under their blankets or cuddled up next to mom and dad or in Caches case... full body clenched with wide opened terrified eyes. Tayden kept asking us if we were sure it was a family movie, and after the 10th time we turned it off. Which is a good thing, because we finished it later than night and it just got worse! Anyway, we skipped the movie and went straight to our annual Christmas Eve game night. This year we played Yeti in my Spaghetti. It was a perfect game for everyone and we had a blast. Christmas Eve game night is my favorite and I can only imagine it getting more and more fun as the kids get older. 

We also witnessed a Christmas Eve miracle!! Scott became the dog whisperer. It’s not surprise with Luna, but he even had Tanner under a trance.

The kiddos were exhausted from sleeping by the tree the night before, so they went to bed without a fuss. Scott and I got to work putting gifts out. It looks like so much, but in truth I’m an amazing deal finder and spent less than normal. Also, we regifted tablets that we sent back to get fixed under their warranty. So basically a sweet free gift. But the kids were non the wiser and were so darn excited. 

Christmas morning was magical. The kids slept in until about 6:45 and we didn’t get out of bed until 7:00. We had a nice slow relaxed morning and the kids were so grateful for every gift. 

The rest of the day was spent playing with our new toys in our PJ’s. We ate leftover pizza and finger foods from the fridge. It was perfect. After the kids went to bed, I took down the tree and started clean up. Which is my favorite part of the holiday. 

The next day we woke up to Cache screaming in pain. His ear was hurting really bad. I knew from the previous cold and cough and now the ear pain, that he had an ear infection. I wasn’t going to take him to the doctor, but he begged and begged me, so I gave in and Scott took him. Along with the pain of the ear infection, it was also making him nauseous and he threw up several times. It was a really rough day! 

But today, we’re on the mend and everything is going well. Scott’s home with us during the whole break and it’s been awesome having him around. 

I’m so grateful for the birth of our Savior. As I get older I realize more and more how much we need him. He truly is our saving grace and the best gift we could receive. Not only as mankind, but as individuals. Because through him we will find our way back to the Heavenly Father, who loves us so much he gave us the gift of his son. It’s quite miraculous and I could spend hours pondering on the joy that this knowledge brings me. I’m so thankful we have this season! 

Clean Kids

Sometimes you open up your new vacuum box and think you’ll find a new cleaning tool, but you get kids instead. 

Wrestling

It’s been waaaaay too long since the kids have had a good wrestling session with their daddy. So Scott kindly obliged his boys and even endured a ridiculously strong headlock from Beckett. I love these moments of fun and giggles. 

Shoveling Service

Half the time I wonder if I’m doing this mothering thing right. Then, weeks like this, prove that I’m not getting it all wrong. 

Every morning my sweet baby boy, Tayden shovels the driveway. He gets ready for school quickly, puts on his snow gear and heads out the door. And not once have I asked him to do it. He sees the need and takes care of the problem on his own. It’s these kind of things that make me so extremely proud. 

Christmas Service

One of my favorite things about the Christmas season is the Light The World Challenge put on by the church. It is a month full of  different service challenges to help "light the world". This year, the church switched it up a bit. Instead of day to day challenges, they broke it down into weekly challenges. Week one is "Light the World" second is "Light the Community" and then "Light Your Family" and lastly, "Light Your Faith".

As we talked about different ways we could Light The World, something that resignated with my boys is that there are millions of poor around the world with less than us. And while there are plenty of ways to help world organizations, I wanted something a little bit more direct for my kids. So we decided to help the poor of Idaho Falls. There is a halfway house for single mothers called, The Haven, and they are always looking for donations. We chose to make cinnamon rolls, sell them for a dollar a piece, and take the proceeds to purchases needed items for the Haven.

It all started with a simple Facebook post on the ward page. I thought we would be able to make about 24 rolls and that would be enough to buy a couple of things. In less than 24 hours, we had 72 orders of cinnamons. I was a bit overwhelmed and intimated, but after a quick phone call to my mom about how orchestrate the cooking, I was feeling much better and that this was something I could do to help. After two days of baking, the boys delivered all the treats and gathered all the money. My heart was warmed as family after family gave more than they committed to. At the end of the night, we had $130 to spend on helping others.

The next day, we went to the dollar store for cleaning supplies. We purchased a trunk full of things and took it to The Haven. The boys witnessed first hand what helping others looks like. They saw the goodness of the people that donated more and they saw what it looks like to live in a different situation than ours. I was so proud of them.

I hope it touched them like it touched me. As a mom, my biggest goal is to raise boys that become kind, loving and compassionate men. And I try to provide as many opportunities to reinforce that as possible. However, most of the time, it ends up affected me more. The service touches my heart and watching my kids serve together is truly magical. They help me see everything that is good in this world.

Tayden and I also had one more service opportunity this week. My family was asked to ring the Salvation Army bell at Walmart. I volunteered and Tayden tagged along. While it was cold and neither of us were overly excited, it was a wonderful opportunity. Tayden even said at one point, "This is actually kind of fun". I think what he felt was the blessings of service.




I'm grateful for this season and the blessing of service. I hope as I strive to teach my boys to serve, that it becomes second nature for them and something they look forward to doing. Because when we serve the other Children of God, we see the worth of them and feel the love that our Savior has for them. And is there anything greater?

Snowy Kyle

It’s no secret I’m quite enamored with Kyle. Being the youngest, I find myself completely smitten with him and all the cute things he’s doing. Winter has been quite fun for him, especially with the snow. Even the littlest bit we have. No matter how many times I tell him how cold it is, he decides how cold it really is for himself. I swear the child feels no cold.  But, I never let him play for long unless he’s appropriately dressed. This morning he was adamant on shoveling the grass instead of the walk so he could still make rabbit prints on the driveway. 

After playing without warm clothes, he decided snow clothes aren’t such a bad idea. He always laughs when he puts them on and tells me how fat he is. This particular morning was my favorite. The Christmas music was blaring, I was washing windows, and he was playing out in the snow “fixing his engine”. 

It’s been fun watching him explore the magic of the Christmas season. He was quite confused about the Christmas tree and why we had to have it up before Christmas Day. Now he’s accepted that part and is excited watching the gift pile grow each day. 

I’m grateful to watch this last child unfold the winter world! I watched my other boys and loved it equally, but knowing this will be last time I witness it, I’m watching it that much closer and loving it that much more. 

Turkey Birthday

Scotts birthday landed on Thanksgiving this year. Which is quite convenient because he sure loves him some pumpkin pie. It was a really great birthday. After 12 years of marriage, we are finally getting birthdays down. Usually, we struggle, but this year we hit out of the park.

Wednesday night, Scott was looking at some shoes he had been eyeing for a couple of weeks. They turned up on sale, so he asked if he could run to the store to get them. I had nothing pressing at home, so I agreed. He got ready to go and said his goodbyes. Before he could make it out the door, I asked if he was going to take his phone. He saw it sitting on top of a very familiar box...he opened it up and found the shoes inside. I had already bought them for his birthday! He laughed and laughed that he unknowingly ruined his birthday present. You have to understand he ALWAYS guesses his gifts and I ALWAYS get mad. But this year I played it cool and he was shocked to see them. But it was still so funny that he wrecked my surprise yet again. 

His actual birthday I spent the morning cooking. We went to my parents for Thanksgiving this year, which was a change since we always go to Packards. I was in charge of pumpkin pie (which I made the night before) apple pie, orange rolls and regular rolls. The orange roll disaster was first. Apparently, I only have half of my mother in laws recipe. My dough wasn't rising and I was about to give up and throw it out. But, I decided to stick with it and try to salvage what I could. I made another yeast starter, kneaded it into my dough and eyed the extra flour. And wouldn't you know...it worked!! I saved the sweet rolls. And they tasted wonderful. I was so proud of myself.

The apple pie mishap was next. I decided to stick with my regular recipe which is so yummy, but sometimes yields a runny pie. I researched how to combat that issue and decided cornstarch was my solution. So, I cornstarched my syrup...but it was a little much. My syrup thickened to much I could hardly pour it over my pie (It pours over the lattice work and into the pie. This creates a sugary crunchy top). Again, I decided to trouble shoot. I deconstructed my pie the best I could, added some water to my syrup and sugared it back to taste. It was a hassle, but I baked it anyway and crossed my fingers. I made sure to cut it before serving it at my parents house and much to my delight it looked amazing. I put it on the serving table and had many compliments and requests for the recipe. Again, I was so proud of myself.

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have so much to be thankful for. But I love when it lands on my husbands birthday, because it is such a great reminder of how thankful I am for him. All of my gratitude starts with him. My kids, my home, my life in Idaho...its all possible because of him. I love him beyond words. 

Colored Rice

The two little boys were bored the other day and I’d had enough TV, so I mustered up the energy to make a mess. They love playing in colored rice, but it can get out of hand quick... I mean, kids playing with rice... it’s not exactly tidy. But, they loved it and I’m so glad I gave in.  They played for hours and it turned out to be just the mess we needed. 

School Pictures

I’m too cheap to buy school pictures, but I still love taking a picture of the proof. 

Tayden is doing well in school. His grades are good, although he hates reading. Having him read is like pulling teeth. He can read fine, but he’d rather be outside playing football or hanging out with friends. He has a lot of friends and enjoys the social part of school. He’s also quite the goof and loves to make people laugh in his class. Fourth grade is pretty great. 

Beckett loves school. He says he doesn’t like it, but really he just doesn’t like getting up for school. Math is definitely his strong suit. His teacher wrote each kid in the class why she was grateful for them and to Beckett she wrote, “I’m grateful that you always catch my mistakes in math.” He also has a good group of friends. Which makes me happy because I was so nervous while he was in speech that friends would be hard for him, but it’s totally not. Kids love my Beckett boy. 

Cache loves kindergarten. He is soaking up everything his teacher throws at him and brings it home to practice. He writes all day long and practices his letters and reading. He loves learning the most out of the three boys. The major set back with Cache is his talking, which is no surprise. But he is really getting a handle on it, so I’m proud of him!