Cute Little Faces

Last Saturday we had such a crazy busy day.  This is what I found on the couch at the end of the day.  Two cute smiling faces! 

 That didn't last long and then Hailey was ZONKED OUT!

 still - I love these faces!

 Speaking of cute little faces, these are the faces of my darling nieces and nephews.  Almost every 3 day weekend we get together somehow and plan a lunch at the park.  My sisters and I talk while the kids run around and play.  It's a little bit of heaven for me!  This is our last Sister's Lunch before Melanie's family moves to Idaho. :(  I will miss those little faces . . .

 These faces are the scene of a typical Family Night at our house.  

 Kids wrestling (usually started by Kohler) and everyone just loving being together.  I LIVE for Family Nights!

 I am so thankful the Lord set in place programs like FHE that gives families a chance to "stop the world for a minute" and just sit and talk, cuddle, learn, and laugh together.  

 (I must have smooched Hailey's face a hundred times that night!)

We BEE ready for FHE

For Family Night this week, we chose to focus on Elder Ballard's BEE talk!  

We made little marzipan bees with almond "wings" and placed them on lemon cupcakes (gluten free :)  They were SO yummy!

We invited the Lee Family next door for dinner and FHE.  They are our new neighbors and are an awesome family in our ward!

I found these honey stix at Whole Foods and passed them out to everyone as we began our lesson.  They are little straws filled with natural honey, however, each straw is a different color.  Just as the members of Christ's church are all different, we can all work hard to make our own little "honey" contribution to the building up of the Kingdom of God on the earth.  

I suspect we will start to see more "honey bee" decorations, etc. at Deseret Book as Elder Ballard's talk is published.  What a great symbolism for us as members of the church to relate to.  It is the talk my kids remember most about conference.  There is so much work to be done to put Elder Ballard's words into actions . . . so let's start BUZZING!

Love Mondays Now

Monday morning, I headed to the gym for my weight lifting class.  I got into the car and began to drive away when I realized my phone was still in the house.  I paused for a moment, thinking, "I don't need my phone--I'm just gonna be exercising"--but then, I always think, "What if my kids need to get a hold of me?"  Then, of course, I run and grab my phone.  9 times out of 10 when that happens to me, there is never an emergency.  But, this Monday, somebody needed me.  As soon as I got in the car after my class I see a text that says, "Mom . . . can I come home?  I've never had cramps like this and I'm miserable!"  I remember all too well being in Junior High and feeling like that when it was "my time of the month."  It was the worst---you just want to curl up in a ball and lay on the bed with nobody touching you.  I rescheduled my doctor's appt., then went and picked Kelsey up from school.  She came home and I pumped her full of Ibuprofen, and she slept on the couch for a few hours.  When she woke up, I sat on the couch with her and rubbed her feet and legs while we talked.  Kohler came home and sat on the couch with us.  He usually has friends over and they are talking about Vemma business stuff or homework assignments.  But today, he was all alone.  The three of us sat there and talked about what life will be like when Kelsey is in high school with Kohler next year.  We talked about Oregon and how my two little "dental school kids" are old enough to be in high school now?  Wow---

After about 30 minutes, I switched and rubbed Kohler's feet and hairy legs!  (ha ha)  It was absolutely heaven being able to sit and talk with no distractions, nowhere to run off to----just me and my two oldest children.  Those moments don't happen very often and it felt like a dream---like time was standing still.  I didn't want it to end.


Then, the younger set walked in the door.  I thought, "well, that's then end of that."  But I was wrong.  All four kids came in the family room and we just chatted about everyone's day, what we should do for Family Night, and what vacations everyone is dreaming about taking!  It was so much fun to hear everyone laughing together.

I really try to guard my Mondays with my family.  It hasn't always been like this.  Kelsey used to have dance on Monday early evenings last year and it drove me nuts.  I am a firm believer of family dinners, especially on Monday nights.  This year has been so wonderful.  We have NO after school activities on Monday so I am home to make a nice dinner and visit with the kids while getting ready for FHE.  It is heaven!  

 After dinner, everyone helped with dishes (another miracle!) and we all went out to play frisbee at the park for Family Night.  I gave the reflection about how pearls are formed in an oyster.

  (I recently got a freshwater pearl ring and I showed them how to tell if it's real or fake---you scratch your teeth on the pearl and if it's sandy and gritty, it's a real pearl!)  Anyway, we talked about how each one of us in our family is precious like a pearl and that we need to be true to who we are and not fake--true to our family name and our heritage--true to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

It was a really wonderful day for me---one that I needed and boosted my spirits as a mother.  I used to get annoyed with Mondays driving all over town to dance and hurrying to get dinner ready--- but now I really look forward to them, having my precious "pearls" all around me!