Trent. Sarah. Reeghan. Paetan. Easton

Reeghan is 8

2011-05-27T17:28:00.001-07:00

I have an 8 year old girl today and she isn't little anymore. I just can't believe how far we have come since this. Don't I look hot in that post. Wow we look so young and not only that but we had no idea what parenting would be like and here we are 8 years later and still don't know.

Reeghan has been such a joy to have around and I feel blessed to have her as my first born because she wants to be sure that we approve of all she does and wants to please us. She also has a great mind and thinks very logically which I struggle with most of the time but its one of the lessons I need to learn about her.

In preparation for this age we have taught her many gospel principles to prepare her for her baptism which will be happening July 2nd. She is anxious and I know she is ready and is fully aware of what kind of decision she is making. I am so grateful that she is in our family.

I was able to take some muffins to her classroom yesterday and her teacher, Ms. Beardsley, has this cute idea to celebrate birthdays in her classroom. She has the parents write a letter to their child and then they share it with their classmates as they eat their goodies.

It was such a treat to be there and witness the letter that we had written to her. She just lit up and her smile was priceless. At that moment as her mother I just looked at her and was overcome with emotion. It doesn't help that I am pregnant but she came up to me afterward and gave me the biggest hug! That just topped it off for me. I have had lots of moments with her lately that haven't been as pleasant and I get frustrated but I know that I need to have more patience with her and the way her mind works.

39 Weeks Today

2011-05-27T17:26:00.001-07:00

If Stratton doesn't want to come to us on his own then his birthday will have to be May 31st! I can't wait to meet this little guy and welcome into this crazy fun loving family. Wish me luck!

Why is it so hard for me to PLAY

2011-05-18T22:17:00.000-07:00

I'm a big list maker and a very task oriented mother. My poor children! I just don't make time to sit down at their level and just PLAY. Recently I have been poring over information of why I am the way that I am and what I can do to change it.

I've learned what a powerful, simple tool play is to a happy home. My kids are happier when I play with them. They behave better, they listen better, even I'm happier after one of our laughing fits. And because they want to repeat these games so many times, it's a quick, easy way for us to get the most out of our interactions.

Despite knowing all this, when I get caught up in the day and the business of life it's easy to put play on the backburner. I keep having to relearn how important playing with my toddler and children is.

According to the American Bureau of Labor's recent findings of how much moms play with their kids under 6 I'm not alone. Full Time working moms play 11 min. a day, Part Time working moms play 21 minutes, and moms who stay home with an extra 36 hours a week over their FT colleagues play only 50 min. a day. In comparison, each day Americans watch 2.62 hours of the boob Tube.

Well, I hope we can all spread some love and brighten our kids' day with a little more play.

Creating a Positive Atmopshere in the Home

2011-05-18T22:10:00.000-07:00

1. 10 Minutes A Day For Each Child. Focus a minimum of 10 minutes a day on each child when they are enjoying you. This helps build a strong connection with Mommy. You want his greatest pleasure to be spending time with Mommy.

2. ENJOY Your Children. YOU spend a minimum of 10 minutes a day enjoying your children. We all know how fast time flies by. ENJOY THEM!! Make sure to savor their childhoods and not get bogged down by all the diaper changes, carpools and meals. Take time out of each day to watch them play or try new things. Step back and take it in, and try to seal it in your memory. Take in the joy they are giving you and realize what a blessing it is.

3. Just Because I LOVE YOU. Once a week, do something for your children ‘just because you love them.’ This shows them that you love them for who they are, not what they do. Don’t have this be a reward or something they need to earn, rather have it be purely because you love them, and tell them that! For instance, ‘We are going to ice cream today JUST BECAUSE I LOVE YOU and I want to spend some special time with you!’

4. Physical Touch. Make sure to have physical touch with your kids at least three times a day. Hug them throughout the day, and pat them on the back. Give them high fives and smile at them. Physical touch is another way to give them attention for good behavior!

5. 4:1 Ratio of POSITIVE FEEDBACK vs Negative Consequences. Be conscious of how often you are giving your children positive feedback vs. negative consequences. You should be giving them four positive feedbacks for every negative consequence you say to them. This can be anything that provides goodwill, such as praising, smiling, lovingly touching, and talking with them. Magnify the positive while giving them your full attention and energy. Create opportunities for your children to succeed, then take it a step further and explain to them how they succeeded once they do.

Baby Bump Week 34

2011-04-21T20:37:00.001-07:00

That's our temporary room at my in-laws and that red thing in the background is a Turbosonic vibrating machine.

I finally got my toes done! It feels so good.

Interruptions

2011-04-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

I speak of interruptions today because our life is now on hold for time away from our things and our household. Most would enjoy this time like I am but others may not. This is my view of how our life has been like this last week.

What an interruption means to Sarah:
a break (too much sitting), a time to refocus, thinking outside the box, rethink future goals, work on tax documents, blog a little, and read a book in a day (which I never do) I read this book here.

What an interruption means to Reeghan and Paetan:
a time away from chores, freedom at Grandma's house, late night's because of Spring Break, day camp, and just plain old fun.

What an interruption means to Easton:
mommy hater, more curious, off schedule, grumpy, out of sync, terror, sadness, telling me "Mommy I wanna go home", and just plain out of whack

I can't speak for Trent but I guess it helps when we don't have to pay rent for a couple of weeks.

Trent's ear

2011-04-20T18:52:00.000-07:00

Doesn't that look interesting? It's a wax candle funnel thing that you stick into your ear and then light the end. The purpose you ask? The heat is supposed to draw out the ear wax... but it didn't really work. He had surgery on his right ear, a couple months after we were married, because he had cholesteatoma.

So he already had hearing loss in that ear since they had to also replace the 3 ear bones with prosthetic bones. Then, about a month ago, he started to lose hearing in his left ear. Its been a rough month for him and for me because I get stick of repeating myself because he can't hear me. I didn't have the patience for it I guess.

We were talking with his mom about it and she has had ear problems herself so she recommended that he go down and see her ear doctor. He got right in the same day and the doctor realized that the hearing loss was from ear wax blockage. He cleaned all the wax out of both of his ears and found years and years of build up in there. Now he can hear.

His right ear, that he had surgery on 9 years ago, was checked out as well because Trent hasn't been back to get it checked out since his follow up visit after his surgery. They did a CT scan and Trent will go back in May to get the results and see if more damage has been done and if the cholesteatoma has caused more damage.

More Move and Lake Perris

2011-04-17T18:32:00.000-07:00

At the end of our moving experience we were invited by our friends to go camping/boating at Lake Perris. Which they didn't even know we were even moving when they called to ask us to go. They called Thursday night while the 1st wave of moving was happening.

Trent was on the phone with them and told them he'd call them back after he talked with me about it. He thought I'd say no. But at this point I was exhausted and I also wanted to be spontaneous because of my busy week. I've neglected my children all week and felt awful. This was the perfect opportunity to unite our family once again after all the caos.

The second wave of moving happened Friday morning along with my "angels" otherwise know as my sisters from church who showed up and helped deep me clean the whole house in 4 hours! They were incredible and felt like they did so little but in my mind just this simple act of kindness went along way for me and meant so much to me.

I was reminded of the hymn "As Sisters in Zion" as I watched them throughout my home clean. The part when it says, "the errand of angels is given to women", we as women have this within us to help one another as angels to fly in a moments notice, which happened the night before, to come help someone in need.

I have to thank my great friend, Shauna, for allowing me to say ok for help because she sent out the email and these women showed up! I have not only had cleaning help this week but also babysitting help from these great women in my life. I feel so blessed and my burden was made light.

Lake Perris

That evening we packed up once again for an overnight camp trip to Lake Perris with the Haws. We got to camp around 7 and setup and just let the kids run wild and they just enjoyed themselves. Then we lit up the campfire and did smores and then wound down and went into the tent.

It was a rough night of tossing and turning for me because we didn't bring a pad for me to lay on. We don't camp much at all so we need to create a punch list for our next one. It didn't help that I was pregnant either but I woke up every hour turning for one side to the next but I actually slept ok and didn't even have to get up to go to the bathroom.

The next day we got into the lake around 7:30am and just enjoyed our whole morning watching the boys wakeboard and Trent got up on the 4th time and did an amazing job. He made it look so easy. It was fun to watch him enjoy himself. Buddy just may have a new wakeboard partner because Trent wants to keep it up he had so much fun.

The children got onto the tubes and would have stayed on it all day long if they could. Paetan actually tried wakeboarding but only one run and got up for a bit and then crashed and it startled her so she didn't want to pursue it anymore. Maybe another boat trip. I was so proud of her she was so brave and she is my weakest swimmer in the water I thought for sure she would never try. Reeghan didn't even try and she is my strong swimmer.

Sara and I are both pregnant and are 4 days apart so we just enjoyed riding on the boat and enjoying the sun. We got a little too much sun though at the end of the day. We were so sun drained but it was so much fun and a great relaxing trip. Easton was quite the trooper and didn't have any issues with him being stuck on a boat for 8 hours. Such a good boy!

Trent Wave Surfing

2011-04-16T21:10:00.000-07:00

Paetan Wakeboarding

2011-04-16T21:02:00.000-07:00

The Joy of Moving

2011-04-14T23:05:00.000-07:00

Its been a very long month and I feel that I've been consumed with dejunking, trashing, making numerous trips to the DI (thrift donation), and taping up boxes.

My poor children have not had alot of attention lately especially Easton gets more and more confused each time I tape up another item of his. Yesterday Trent took down the TV and that broke the string for him. He kept pointing at the wall and said, "No show?" I just sat and watched him walk around the room trying to find the TV. In a 2.5yr old mind I'm sure this situation is just so hard to understand and you can't explain it to them. I hope he adjusts well that's all I'm asking for.

I pretty much packed up the whole house myself because I was just so antsy to get it done and Trent has been so busy with work that all I asked him to do was his closet and the garage. But it ended up me going through his closet and then I had to pack up all this tool stuff which I just threw into a box and did no organization. Hopefully its ok.

I am now sitting down at my in-laws and have settled her short-term with a few things like clothing and books. I feel so free its incredible. I've loved watching my townhome shrink in size as I packed. Do I really need all those things to clutter up my life and my family? I guess you do to create memories but for right now I just feel like I don't have alot of responsibility to take care of my things and its a nice feeling.

Trent and I were invited to a spontaneous camping trip with friends and I said, "Yes" and you might wonder why. But if you knew my craziness this last month I NEED it to just get away and just enjoy nature and I am excited and I'm sure my children will be too because it will be family time and will be able to give them my full attention.

So the joy of moving is only for a small moment and I can't wait to see where our new home will be.

Farewell 333 Oak Ave

2011-04-04T21:25:00.000-07:00

It's been a sweet experience living in this area! We've enjoyed our time here by the beach and being able to walk around the village and enjoying the little shops around us. We were lucky to be in this place as long as we have. It was for sale the whole time we've lived here.

I got the phone call from Sandi (our landlord) telling me that the condo sold and I was really praying for one more summer at this place and not to let it happen now while I'm 7 months prego but hey what can a girl do?

Its been a long 3 weeks since she made that phone call and I've packed and walked through at least 15 homes to rent and I just get more and more frustrated because I have really been a spoiled girl the last few homes.

Trent and I found another beach condo in Oceanside but it wasn't going to be very functional for a family of almost 6 but it was super cute go look at it here.

We've seen a few options but its now crunch time. We are scheduled to move out April 16th!

Reeghan's Weekend

2011-03-30T12:05:00.000-07:00

I returned home from a wonderful girls weekend getaway with my college roommates to Reeghan telling me all about her wonderful and exciting weekend!

First she was invited to a Daddy Daughter date with our church. You see its for 8-11 year old girls but she got to go because her birthday is very soon. Trent even videoed her dancing on stage with the girls to the Justin Bieber song, "Baby, Baby, Baby, Oh! It was hilarious.

Then she was able to attend a Baptism Review which was a special night for those in our church who are turning 8 years old this year. They will be baptized this year and its a big deal.

I happen to teach them in Primary so I missed out on a great night I'm sure.

They each were given a binder with pages of memories that they will write down as their day approaches and the experience they will have. They were also given a white bag with a white towel, white soap and white socks.

To top it off they received a copy of "My Gospel Standards" which lists the goals and standards they are to strive for and accomplish.

Then about an hour later she was disappointed with me trying to tell her what to do to get ready for the next day and she had this box sitting outside her door to her room. Note "My Gospel Standards" under her paper!

Her paper says:

Dear Sarah,
I hope you have fun with another 8 year old. She can have my clothing and this stuff. From somebody named (arrow pointing to her crossed out name then a ?)

The box had her Valentines day letters and cards from her classmates at school along with her white bag she got from her Baptism Review.

She has had a few episodes of this type of behavior when she just wants to leave us and pack up and get "sold" by the curb. But she ends up realizing what she has and then humbles herself with a little talking to about what she has and what other kids don't have in this world.

Times like these make me hurt inside that she truly isn't happy and what I have done to make her go to these extremes in my mind to try to run away or sell herself.

I watched this video today and was reminded that this little girl will one day be like these girls and I want so much for her to realize her potential and to just strive to be the best example for her.

I have really been putting forth effort into learning about Reeghan and how she thinks and what she needs from me. She loves spending quality time with me and being artistic and creative. She loves to figure things on her own and I know that I can help her become her best self when I sacrifice my wants.

Baby Bump Week 29

2011-03-21T20:30:00.000-07:00

Good Friends

2011-03-11T22:31:00.001-08:00

Easton went to his first friend birthday party. It was Jones Martindale. We met Jones and Errin (mom) through my other friend Shauna who happens to be her SIL.

This party was so much fun. Her mother is a party planner and did the two of them present quite a party for this 3 year old. Color coordinated, cotton candy, snow cone, sawdust dinosaur dig, and the best part was Oreo cupcakes! (I need that recipe) Wow so much fun and Easton had a ball. Thanks Errin and Brent!

Errin and Shauna are fun to hang with and we have some good times. They have only lived here in California for a short time and have both have showed me places that I hadn't been too and I have lived here for almost 10 years! Even a tour of Trader Joe's! Man I need to get out more.

Queen Califica

One of our adventures was to Queen Califica (sp?) an art structure in Kit Carson Park. What a hit for the kids! They had so much fun climbing these very interesting pieces of art and it was very colorful and engaging. Thank goodness for Shauna's camera and her talent and that she takes pictures of my kids. The first 3 are of my Iphone which you can tell and the last on of Easton is from her camera. Then the two top ones of Easton at the party are her's as well.

I really want to use my nice camera too. I just don't want to lug it around. Any suggestions to get me motivated to use it and to lug it around? Maybe I need a new handbag that will hold it?

Our trip to the Library

2011-03-09T16:01:00.000-08:00

Have many of you have had this similar experience? I pray that I'm not the only one and that you feel my pain.

Each Wednesday I have made it a point to get to the Library with my kids to use the resources there and so today I don't usually take all 3 because Easton is just curious as it is and its just best if I take him myself.

But today I took him along with the girls and at first it was okay and he was playing with the toys that they have there and a 1/2 hour goes by and the girls have still not made their decisions yet and I can just tell that Easton is just going to SNAP and loose interest soon.

I give them the 2 minute warning and they still haven't made their final picks yet. I just decided to bite the bullet and just grab Easton and the two library bags and head to the check out desk. Paetan follows along and Reeghan is frantically looking for her last 2 allotted books.

I put Easton up onto the counter to help contain him so he doesn't run off by himself while I do the self-serve checkout because the librarians weren't at the desk. Then they come when I am almost done and see that he's on the desk and ask me to take him off. I still had one bag to finish checking out and I knew that if I put him down I would be in trouble.

I asked Paetan to watch him while I hurried to check out but he ran off back to the children's section which Reeghan luckily was still at so she grabbed him and then Paetan follows. All I hear is him screaming for his sisters to let go of him and I finish up and round the corner and drop the 2 bags I just checked out and an old lady says to my kids, "Where is your Mother!" in a sharp tone.

I am behind her at this point and I said, "I am right behind you!" grabbed Easton and picked up the bags and walked out!

Whew!!! What an ordeal and I continue to remind myself that its just a moment and that I just need to Breathe! At the library I could only picture in my mind what those people where thinking. "Look at her and she thinks she's going to bring another one into this world" but as I got into the car I told myself not to think such negative things and just realize that if I keep going consistently Easton will learn proper library etiquette (is there one?)

I can do this and I will come off conquering!

P.S. Easton picked this book out at the Library I thought it was very fitting.

BRIDGE

2011-03-07T22:30:00.000-08:00

Since November our household has been chaos and part of the problem is that Trent and I have slacked in the parenting department and just let the kids run loose but not too loose. I've been more snappy at my kids and more irritable with them as well and I truly want to change and have been reading and praying alot for help and direction to overcome this barrier. I keep blaming me being pregnant but I can't do that to myself anymore. It has got to STOP!

Through all my readings I've been lead to a simple discovery that has changed my life: Parenting is supposed to be hard because it’s a process that challenges me to become my best self.

So I read about BRIDGE- it's about making a Bridge from chaos and misdirection to understanding and peace.

B- Breathe. Breathe deeply to move from the automatic, reactive self that is the first to hit the scene under stressful situations. Find that place of centered peace that is the most empowering to draw strength from to effectively problem solve and teach kids a better way. Help kids to calm down too! Calming under stress is a difficult skill to master, and gets easier and faster with practice... more on this later.

R- Reflect. Provide an accurate, undramatic mirror of what just happened by describing the child's actions: You pushed the chair over /You hit me/You threw the bowl on the ground /You are crying. Since young kids usually don't have the words to describe or explain what they did I've found it's helpful to then say what their intention might have been: You were trying to get his attention/You are tired of waiting/You wanted me to know you didn't like what I said/You seem angry and hurt. Reflection can be validating, it focuses on identifying and solving the problem instead of making the child feel they are the problem. It gives words to feelings, providing a safer release for them. Questions like: "Why did you hit your brother?" "Why are you crying?" put kids on the defensive and make problem-solving harder.

I- Invite a Response. After reflection, invite the child to talk now to get clearer picture of what they were trying to do and help them understand their own actions better. Sometimes silence invites a response. Sometimes asking "Is that right?" or "Is that what happened?" Sometimes I get their intention wrong and they correct me. I've been amazed at the things I've learned here, most of the times my kids were trying to do really legitimate things but it got misdirected. Even my little 2yr old little boy could say "Daddy sleeping" and I can deduce the rest. Sometimes it's hard to get a response. It takes time, the child needs to feel safe in order to talk. Putting out their own words is a skill they need to develop. Sometimes kids respond by crying harder, or wanting a hug, or nodding. Any response is a start. Sometimes the Reflect/Invite-Listen cycle can repeat a few times until all the information has been presented. We try to get it out there. When we go back to Reflect sometimes I find it's also helpful to Reassure- I have a hard time waiting too. and I don't like it when someone has something I want too. Sometimes though my kid was just being a stinker. There was no positive intention behind their motivations. They can learn from that too.

D- Direct a new course of action. When the child feels safe, validated, and their emotions have been understood this is the golden teaching moment, the opportunity for growth that is parenting at its finest. It's best if the child can direct their own course- I can ask him for a turn. I can wait until tomorrow when the show is on again. I can tell him I was trying to build a building. But while they're learning, I help them find a solution: You may not hit, look at how much that hurts your brother. When you want the toy say "Can I play with it when you're done?" or You may not push- your brother is so sad because that hurt. When you want his attention say "let's go play together" or We have to be patient when we're waiting for dad to come home. Let's look at a book or color a picture.

G- Go Over the Scenario. Hear the child speak the words you just taught them. Get them to practice- Let me hear you say it. Put them back in the scenario with the offender/offendee so everyone can learn. If they won't practice it I then send them to time out until they are ready to do so.

E- Encourage. Instead of just saying "good job!" describe what using their words is going to do for them. You did it. You helped him to understand what you were saying so he could help you better. You found a way to tell your brother what you wanted that made you both feel safe.

10 Areas of Awareness or Goals

2011-03-06T09:57:00.000-08:00

10 areas of awareness or goals I've started working on to strengthen my family and home:

Build Routines- Routines don't just happen (at least in my family) but are an amazingly powerful tool to help everyone's day go smoothly, eliminate contention, meet everyone's needs, create a feeling of order and calm and... keep cavities at bay. Also a tool to teach kids the power of work.

Practice Calm and Connected Discipline- A number of my readings prove the most long-term effective way to teach kids is by remaining calm and focused with prepared tools on hand when disciplining instead of giving in to yelling, anger, frustration, and "losing it".

Support Good Choices- Often the parenting paradigm is backwards- kids get more payoff and attention from parents when they make choices that have a negative impact than when they are making good choices. By noticing, verbalizing, rewarding, and stickerizing good choices I hope to help build and reinforce them.

Enjoy One Another- Consistently having fun as a family through building family traditions, strengthening relationships and skills, laughing together, connecting and building memories.

Speak Love- I speak love to my children as I pay the price to really know them individually- spending one on one time together, making eye contact, giving gifts, giving affection, noticing things that make them unique and listening to them. Also may prevent a host of discipline and esteem problems.

Record and Remember- Capturing happy moments in photos, journals and videos, then organizing and taking time to go through them builds family joy in the present and motivates us in different ways to be better for each other.

Explore-Discover-Learn- Kids are wired for creative exploration, discovery and play and are happiest when they do this. Providing time, opportunities and tools to keep this enthusiasm alive keeps my kids in good moods, strengthens our connection when we do it together and leads to the development of talents and a love of learning that may build a foundation for a productive and happy career.

Strengthen our Community and Build Friendships- Getting to know our neighbors, building our schools and community, connecting with families who have kids my kids' age and providing my kids the time and availability to build and prioritize friendships teaches them to be a good friend and build good friendships. It gives us opportunities to lend a hand and find a hand when needed.

Give and Be Thankful- The development of gratitude and awareness of blessings ever-present in our lives came up in almost every book I read as a tool for strengthening family connections and increased well-being. Part of that awareness for thanks is giving back and finding opportunities to serve our community, country and world.

Nurture Faith and Spirituality- A relationship with God helps bring out my best and builds joy and happiness in my life. Many experts recognize it as an important foundation for wholistic childhood development.

A Neighborhood

2011-02-22T10:04:00.000-08:00

I've longed for the day when my family will be settled into a home that we own and my children grow up with the same great friends that they have made on our neighborhood.

That was my life as a kid and my neighborhood growing up was just like that! I had 3 additional mothers who took care of me and feed me and treated me like their own. We took care of eachother's yards and grabbed mail while they were on vacation. We played baseball in the street and rode our bikes up and down Wasatch Way. It was truly a great place to grow up.

We were even able to do alot of service for our neighbors and one in particular was for Tom who was in a wheelchair. On many occasions we helped him out even though he was stubborn about it most of the time and didn't want to accept help. I mowed his lawn and we shoveled his driveway when it snowed.

I want this so much for my children and I long for that day for that type of neighborhood. I want to be the house that my children's friends flocks too to feel safe and secure and more importantly to feel the spirit. I want to host parties and to have annual block parties in the street!

One day, One day I pray!

A Gift of the Human Body and LOVE

2011-02-14T13:15:00.000-08:00

A new perspective on the gift of the human body was brought to my attention today as I listened to a conversation here.

As I listened to their story and the strengths and trials they've had to endure and are still going through today I became just more grateful for my body. Even my pregnant body which continues to change and change each day.

I was hoping with this pregnancy that I would keep up with my exercise regimen but that hasn't quite panned out the way that I wanted it to and so the last few weeks I have been complaining to my husband who gets the grunt of all my complaints. But each time he reminds me that I have a life inside of me and to be grateful that I am healthy and can carry one full term.

Then I listened to this today and just a wave of emotion set in and each time I sit down on my computer I have this picture set up in front to remind me that I can't do it alone and when I start to feel those awful feelings and start to doubt that I need to rely on him for strength to get me through my day as a wife, mother, and friend.

Stephanie Nielson in her conversation was asked about what she is trying to teach her girls about the importance of beauty and she said something so profound to me. She said that inner beauty was created before their mortal body or shell was created so she tries to teach her girls to find that beauty within themselves and then their outward appearance will shine no matter how it looks to others.

So this Valentine's Day I just felt the need to write about this today to remind me that I am beautiful and loved and that I have a wonderful body that God has created just for me! Thank you Nielson's for sharing that perspective with me today.

Also to my Valentine, Trent, who puts up with way more than he should and loves me more and more despite my weaknesses and short comings. He wants to be sure that I am well taken care of and tells me everyday that I am beautiful.

The one special thing that I love about my Valentine is that each Sunday while sitting in our meeting he will lean over to me, even when the kids are being naughty and laying all over me and coloring on me, and whisper that he loves me. I love that and it melts me each time and I know when to expect it and its just a small simple act that I love about my man.

Pre-Valentine's Day Actvities

2011-02-11T13:44:00.000-08:00

Paetan and Sydney at the grandkids Valentine's Day party hosted by Grandma Chapman.

The girls busily writing out their Valentines for their friends.

These can be found here and they were yummy and not made with any marshmellows!

Vintage Postcard Calendar Journal

2011-02-10T14:30:00.000-08:00

I was browsing around today and found this brilliant idea. I was thinking of tweaking it to make one for each child so that they can start their own way to journal. Of course I'd make it kid friendly.

My first 911 phone call

2011-02-08T09:50:00.000-08:00

This evening was pretty eventful for our little family. This morning Easton had woken up with a fever and has had congestion for a few days but I just took no serious thought to it. He would be off and running around and then the next minute just want to hold me and snuggle with me. It was on and off all day long.

After dinner I noticed that Easton went and put himself on to the couch to lie down and that he didn't finish his dinner so I just assumed he was ready for bed. During that same time we had planned on having a few people come over to start a scripture study group and the missionaries were invited to come over as well. It ended up only being the missionaries who came so at the end of their time with us Trent asked them to help give Easton a blessing.

About 10 minutes after they had left Easton was lying on Trent's stomach and all of the sudden picked up his head and started to look at Trent really funny and just became limp. Trent was talking to him and trying to figure out why he was acting that way and then I noticed that his face became white and his lips were turning purple.

My immediate thought was call 911 because I didn't know CPR. But just a few days ago we had an Emergency Preparedness class at church and talked about the emergencies that we may have in our homes in regards to certain household things and was brought up about CPR and I remember specifically on that one turning to my friend April and saying, "I need to learn how to do that properly."

Trent got up with him and walked back and forth from the door and he was just a noodle and not aware of what was going on. His eyes were dilated and it was just a very scary 3 minutes until the Paramedics arrived.

911 kept me on the phone asking me questions for about 2 minutes and once I hung up I took a look at the girls and they were just wondering what was happening. I reassured them that help was coming for Easton and that we needed to pray for peace and comfort because we were all scared.

They arrived and Easton started to notice who we were and was looking around the room and you could tell that he had some sort of seizure but he didn't do the convolutions or shake or fall over because I think he was in Trent's arms the whole time. The paramedics concluded that it was indeed a febrile seizure and that they needed to take him over to the hospital to run a few tests.

So Trent and Easton were off in the ambulance for a nice ride. ($$$$) That's going to be a fun mail piece. But at this point I myself started to have some peace and reassurance that Easton was going to be just fine.

Poor Reeghan started to cry when she saw him take him away to the hospital and was trying my best to console her and then I broke down so I am sure that didn't help. I just felt alot of guilt on my part as a mother for not doing the simple things to take care of my son that day that is why I was crying. I looked over at Paetan and she was all confused and couldn't decided if she should be crying or consoling both of us. It was a tender moment for all 3 of us.

It was a great teaching moment as well for me to tell the girls whenever an emergency happens and when we feel scared that we need to turn to the Lord for help and immediately get down on our knees and pray. Then the girls started asking questions and running through scenarios when they should themselves call 911 and why that number is so important and when and when not to use it.

A sister from my ward came over until Tyler and Lauren got to my house to be with the girls while I headed off to the hospital to be with them. I made sure I packed something for us to do because our ER trip last time with Easton here we were there for 5 hours! So I came prepared and sure enough I am thankful that I did.

I arrived at the ER and Easton recognized who I was and was so happy to see me for a few seconds and then it was back to Dad. He is such a daddy's boy! We waited to see the doctor and when he came he told us about this type of seizure and then wanted to run like 5 different tests on him to just be sure that's all it was.

We had blood work and the guy couldn't find the right vein to get blood and I about passed out because he was fishing around with the needle, a chest x-ray, urine sample for a 2 yr old (that one didn't happen he didn't get a chance to pee in the bag), nasal drainage where they clean out his nasal passage and check for infection, and then it was concluded after all that that he has RSV!

Poor guy would fall asleep because he got to the hospital at 8:30 and he was just tuckered out with all that had happened to him and then nurses had to keep waking him up to do tests and he decided after the 2nd time to just stay awake so we watched Thomas the Train and Caliou on my phone. These are the times I really appreciate technology for my children when they have to sit through something so traumatic and long.

We were able to check out at midnight and headed home and thought for sure he would sleep for hours and hours but no he kept waking up and crying and just hurt and couldn't fall asleep till about 2am. It was a long night I guess its just prepping me for what is about to come with this baby.

What I learned from this experience is that Easton adores his dad and I have such an amazing sweet husband that takes care of us as a family and can bless his family with his priesthood.

I learned that I need to learn CPR and be prepared to help my children in emergencies and to stay calm not only for me but for the other children who are not involved.

I learned that the power of prayer once again does work and especially when your whole family is praying for your little family. Work got out fast with text messaging another great reason technology is a great tool.

G.R.A.C.E.

2011-01-29T20:21:00.000-08:00

What do you think of when I say "men are that they might have joy?" I was able to attend a lesson tonight on just that topic and they spoke of grace. We are all given the ability to have joy but we need to choose to have it.

The speaker broke up the word GRACE into an acronym to help us remember the key elements of her lesson.

GRATITUDE
The speaker is a woman who works with addiction recovery and she sees alot of broken people who come and speak with her and each time they do she leaves them with a small notebook and tells them to write down 2 things they are grateful for. So think of gratitude each day and that's why prayer is so important for our daily life.

RELATIONSHIPS
She then went on and talked about that most of us can like everything about ourselves 80% of the time and what happens to the other 20%? We pick out the negative about ourselves and more importantly others in that 20%. It was fascinating to think about.

I personally was put on the spot for this section of her talk. She asked who's birthday was coming up soon and mine happened to be the closest (which happens to be 13 days 9 hours and 30 min away. But who's counting!)

So I was asked to come up and she preceded to tell us that in her household when it was someone's birthday they sat around the dinner table and each had to say one thing they liked about that person.

Can you guess what happened? Yep! She asked everyone there to tell her something nice about me. Wow! That was a special experience for me especially for what my week has been like. I felt so special and so uplifted. Then she asked me to say what I felt about that experience.

Of course I was overcome with emotion because I just felt so loved and appreciated. I knew some of the the statements were true but then I thought about the 20% of the time when I think of the negative about myself, my kids, my husband! It was truly a gratifying experience to see that I do try to do things I should and be the example that Christ would want me to be even though I don't think I am.

ACTIONS
She referred to this one in regards to service and how in order to have joy we need to love and serve others. This happens to be my love language and I love to serve others and it makes me realize that when I get in my negative moments is when I need to find someone to serve and it quickly changes.

COVENANTS
I've made some important promises and covenants in my life and to keep them in the forefront of your mind is the key to having joy in your life. Because if you keep them they will keep you safe and on the right track so that I don't falter.

ENLIGHTENMENT
She ended with enlightenment and how we each need to have the spirit in our lives to help us make correct decisions and to lead us to where we want to be in life. It's definitely on of the greatest gifts that I will ever receive in this life.

Kitchen Facelift

2011-01-28T17:11:00.001-08:00

As you may have read in the past that I have been making some improvements in the kitchen. I have been enjoying finding and researching some "tools" to help me and to also have fun in the kitchen.

I have been enjoying reading Weelicious.com and learning a few tips and tricks as she likes to call them. I have been involving the kids in some recipes as well. Our kitchen is slowly changing its atmosphere and I can't wait! Paetan and I made her Strawberry Wee-Pops. Yum!

I have also been interested in green smoothies from this gal. My children have been loving them each morning as have I. I recently tried her Hot Pink smoothie pictured below. It was really good even though beets seem to have a dirt taste to them it but overall it was tasty. We have had our "Champ" for the last 5 years and has been very good to us and I am so grateful I have it now because I use it twice a day now.

Then of course with each of my pregnancies my interest in ice cream, yogurts and sorbets sky rocket through the roof and so I decided that I needed to learn how to make my own with this handy dandy Cruisinart maker. Love it! The key is to always leave the bowl when not used in your freezer so your always prepared to put something together.

My first try was Coconut sorbet and it was ok I used coconut milk in a carton instead of the can so I don't know if that makes a difference but it wasn't what I expected but it was ok. I froze it that night and tasted it the next day and its not the same.

So I learned to eat it up right when its done being made. So anyone wanna come over for dessert? The one pictured below is frozen vanilla yogurt I made today! Yum!

Next on my list of what to find was a citrus juicer. We recently have fallen in love with limeade at our house and who also doesn't want fresh orange juice and lemonade as well. I knew I had to find something because Trent broke our hand held one with the batchs of our limemades that we have been making so I got this one.

Its been great so far and I am disappointed in the fact that I sit and juice 10-12 lemons for a half hour and only get 2 cups of juice! But oh well it tastes so good. So who's got a good fresh lemonade recipe to share with me? I got limeade's covered.

My knife drawer has always bugged me so I finally broke down and book a wood block organizer to make it look decent.

I also updated my kitchen tools and utincels into nice crocks. That way they aren't tucked away buried in my drawers I can see them and use them.

My kitchen is making me happier now that I have a few fun tools to test with!

Back to the Duck Pond

2011-01-28T12:43:00.000-08:00

We returned to the park today to feed the ducks with bread. That's what the kids wanted to do today so that is what happened. It made us all so happy and it was very peaceful. I love days like this.

Let's Play Music Program

2011-01-23T20:11:00.000-08:00

The girls have been involved with a phenomenal music program that teaches them the basics to the piano. It's called Let's Play Music and you can check them out here.

I found out about this when Reeghan started Kindergarten when she was 5. Her teacher, Lori Halverson from Oceanside, gave word to my then weekly basketball get togethers with some girls from Vista. So I decided to go check it out and feel instantly involved and I love the company's philosophy of how they introduce concepts of basic music notation in a very fun kid friendly way.

It's a 3 year program and now we are here 3 years later and now Paetan is in her 2nd year of which her teacher, Allison Browning from Escondido, had been teaching piano and I introduced her to the company and she started teaching Paetan last year.

Each year I get more and more excited about this stuff. I am learning right along with these two because its not one of those classes where you drop them off and are never involved but making sure they are practicing. This program the first year you are going to class with them every other week. Then 2nd and 3rd year you only go once a month.

The 3rd year is where you get to see all the magic happen and watch them just blossom into these piano players! Its so fun to see all of them and see their excitement when they get something. I myself get impressed with myself in what I am learning and catching onto. Reeghan is a wonderful teacher for me because I only go once a month she teaches me at home what she was taught by Lori.

This week in particular after class she was bummed a bit because each week for practice at home they are to memorize the notes on the staff and this time Lori timed them to see if they could do it under a minute. Reeghan said she had only 5 cards left and was so close and happened to be the closest out of all the other students.

So I thought that this would be a golden opportunity to give her a challenge because she was so upset about it. I told her that if this next coming week she practiced with a timer over and over again she would be able to finish the stack of cards to memorize.

She has been working hard everyday and its fun to see her work for something. I don't know what Lori will give to them if they do but she is trying her hardest to make sure that by Thursday if she times them she will finish.

Puppet Shows

Along with the program is that each semester which happens to be two a year they get to witness and participate in 4 puppet shows a year for a grand total of 12 by the time they finish the program. These puppet shows are amazing to witness and just puts a smile on your face each time you witness one. Well I wanted to make sure that the girls take good care of their copies so I decided to laminate and color code each show into their year of the program. The girls got them out the other night and wanted to do them all to see if they remembered them.

The puppet shows create a story line from a classical piece of music. It's hard to describe but until you see one you will know what I mean. I'm sure the girls will be doing them all the time now that I have them in a safe spot in the home.

Monster Truck Show

2011-01-22T20:43:00.000-08:00

We were invited by one of Trent's friends to attend the Monster Truck show down at Qualcommn stadium. The kids were thrilled and Trent prepped them with highlights from other shows that were pretty fun to see.

Once we got down there it was a sold out crowd and can I just say that this crowd was unique and really enjoyable to watch. I felt like I was watching Nacho Libre at times with some of the things people were wearing supporting their favorite monster truck drivers.

The first hour and half was the qualifying races so it was pretty boring but once they started the free for all started to spice up a bit but only a bit. It wasn't anything compared to the highlight videos that Trent had shown the kids.

The highlight I'm sure was them talking Trent into buying cotton candy of all things. Gross! We payed $8 for just sugar but hey the kids enjoyed it for about 1/2 hour.

Easton fell asleep about 2 1/2 hours into it and Paetan was bored so we ended up leaving early but hey now we can say that we've been to a Monster truck show.

They were advertising the motor-cross races that will take place in February now I could sit through something like that.

Duck Pond Park

2011-01-21T22:07:00.000-08:00

Friday's are great days for me. The kids stay home from school and we just go to a park and just play because we have no backyard except the beach but you know what the kids are getting sick of going to the beach all the time. Yeah, can you believe that?

Anyway the girls had been to this park before when they were younger and I wanted to take Easton. Check out Paetan's 2nd Birthday post here, look familiar?

Its a park in San Marcos that has ducks in the pond too bad I forgot the bread. Then we started on a little walk but the weather was in the high 80's and they were getting tired but hey I got a few shots of them enjoying holding hands and playing in the ditch.

Popcorn Bowls

2011-01-21T21:34:00.000-08:00

Growing up we loved popcorn and each time we did my mom didn't want us to use her kitchen bowls so we came up with the napkin popcorn bowl. You take each corner and twist and it creates a bowl. Simple and easy.

I went to Henry's and bought some of their kettle corn and had it in the car while we waited for Reeghan's music class to get over and the two were getting ansy. I noticed that I had napkins in the car so I showed them how to do it and they each created their own bowl and we ate popcorn in the car! (don't tell Trent, I just broke our family rule) but I was desperate and the kids loved making their own bowls.

My Organizational skills are getting rubbed onto........

2011-01-20T20:50:00.000-08:00

Reeghan!

Last night I found my favorite household item on my stairs with some remains of unwanted labels that someone had created. This item is my label maker. Every household needs this item because it will not only help you but also your husband and kids find things.

So I put it away and just thought they just enjoyed making a few labels and then I find today that she actually put it to good use. I have at the bottom of my stairs a console table with 4 openings with these baskets and each one of us has a basket for our things to go into it and then haul upstairs each night after the day is done.

I made some cute labels for the baskets with our names on them but they never stayed on the basket so Reeghan last night decided that she was ready to get smart and do her first organizational task all on her own.

So proud of my little girl! Taking after the footsteps of her mother. It will be a good thing for her, right?

Another note about Reeghan

Trent has been out of town the last 2 nights and he typically puts Easton down for bed and so the last 2 nights I've had to do it and its been very enjoyable to sit down on his chair in his room and read him a few books and cuddle before he goes down. He did a great job with me.

But tonight Reeghan asked if she could read to him so she took him up and later came back down and said that she read him 6 books and put him in bed. Wow! I was so impressed but I'm glad that I gave her that opportunity to do such a minimal task because I asked her if she liked that time with him. She said, "Mom, he is so cute and I love to read to him I think I will have to do this more often!"

Reeghan I am sure you will have many opportunities to do so and it just made me sit back and think that you are very capable of alot of things that I don't think that you are. You impress me each day with the way you carry yourself and how responsible you are and how dependable you are. I can't wait to see you grow!

Paetan's Sharing Circle

2011-01-19T16:24:00.000-08:00

Each Wednesday Paetan's Kindergarten class has a sharing circle which means show and tell. We got half way to school and she called out to me that she had forgotten to bring something to share. Of course she got upset about the whole thing so my mind starting racing with another option for her.

Then I thought of it. Instead of having her share something have her classmates share with her what they think her baby brother's name should be. The idea passed with flying colors!

The result is what you see above. Her sweet teacher, Ms. Anne, sent her home with an envelope of all the results. So cute. I personally like the ones like Preston and Reese (spelled Rhys) those were from Ms. Anne. Other funny ones were Eamon, Finton, Lochlainn to name a few.

In the Kitchen

2011-01-16T22:13:00.000-08:00

I've always dreamed about being the type of wife/mom like the picture above (which is a mom in the 1950's when it seems like that era had it all put together) I've wanted to be the one who has it all put together in the kitchen and just whips up amazing meals for her family. It's a great dream but have since realized that it can be a reality if I change the way I think and face my fear.

I have a confession to make and some of you already know this but I have never really enjoyed cooking at all! I've been married for almost 10 years this coming September (yikes that went by way too fast) and I've not been so happy about being in the kitchen.

We've ate out a lot and its gotten so bad that each time we go out in the car the children ask where we are going to eat today! Okay I know I've done something really bad here but I know it can be fixed.

The very first goal that I've been working on this year is this exact problem or weakness that I have. I'm happy to report that its day 17 of January and I've cooked 10 meals out of 17! That is really awesome for me! It's been a lot of work though and I've realized that I have to plan accordingly each day to make sure that things are started at a certain time to get dinner on the table at 6pm!

These past few weeks the kids have actually ate 3/4 of all those meals that I made. Of course there are a few that weren't so good to them but Trent enjoyed them.

What changed my thinking you might ask..... Well I knew it had to be done and I knew there had to be something/someone out in this world that would help me go back to the basics and really find out why I was so scared and had to face this fear of mine. Her name is Liz Edmunds or otherwise referred to as "The Food Nanny" go here to check her out.

She breaks down meal planning into a weekly theme night so I jumped on board with that idea. I used her website to plan some meals but I have a lot of my own recipes that I want to try first so I'm going to hold off on hers for a bit but she's got a great tool to help you plan and prepare.

I've watched a couple of her episodes as well and related to a few of them and helped me realize that I just need to get over this fear because it has to be done so that I can have a nice family meal each night to help in creating a unified family. Dinner time is important and I want that to be our focus each night as we end our day together.

I've also enjoyed watching others and stealing recipes from them, like:

Natalie Riley - my college roomie, food connoisseur, Shelf Reliance Thrive test cook, A-mazing food critic. Look her up here and here.

My sisters - we've started our own cookbook blog because we all have recipes to share and one sister wanted to make a cookbook of my grandmother's recipes but I suggested that we just start a blog and that way we can all contribute and then put our favorites on it as well as family tradition recipes. If you'd like to check it out go here.

Sam the Cooking Guy - He is a San Diego cook here and I love watching him as well and he is so simple and honest and hilarious so he makes cooking look like a breeze. Check him out here.

I really enjoyed watching the film, "Julie and Julia" and thought for just a second that I could tackle a project like that one and start my own blog of my journey to becoming a women of confidence in the kitchen but then chickened out because it may require a lot more work and with #4 on the way that's not happening.

I gearing up for a personal field trip by a friend to Trader Joe's sometime this week. I've only been in the store like 2 times but I want to know more about this store because I've heard raving reviews about it. Stepping out of my comfort zone when it comes to grocery stores!

Question:
I'd like to know what other moms do with their kids while they make dinner? I've done dancing in the kitchen before with the girls but Easton doesn't last very long and I've had them help me measure and of course set the table, but am I missing something? What else could they do or not do?

The Family Tree

2011-01-15T11:06:00.001-08:00

I have finally found the family tree that I'd been looking for, for quite some time. I have this vision of creating a family wall by my front door and its been quite the project and I've been searching and searching for all the right knick knacks to finalize the project.

It's been in my current project list since September and its still not done! But now I see the end in site now that I found this. I've been on her website before looking and looking but not until recently did I find this one. I love it and can't wait to blow it up and put the finishing touches on it.

Wish me luck!

Sick Day Realization

2011-01-14T10:48:00.000-08:00

Sick days don't happen very much at our house, thank goodness, but when they do it seems that the whole household is on pins and needles and waiting for something to explode. It seems that my kids only get sick in January or February of each year.

It's January and that's what happened this week to our Easton. He is starting us off. In times past I would have just felt guilty all day that I didn't get much accomplished on those days when they stayed home but this go round I felt something different.

It may be helpful that I've got a belly in the way this time and I try to make every excuse possible to just sit and do nothing but my mind shifted this time. I no longer had that guilt feeling because I finally realized that Easton is starting to get too big for my lap because he sat on my all day for two whole days while he had his sickness. Literally, he would not let me leave his side.

I actually enjoyed every minute of it and had no worry that my house was becoming a disaster and that the girls where taking things from their bedroom down to the dirty garage to play house. I wasn't that bothered. I was cherishing this moment with my son because I am this year trying to enjoy those little moments with each child and to slow down.

At one point a friend asked if we wanted to go to the beach and we hadn't been out all day and the girls were antsy and I figured that Easton needed some fresh air so I went and it was so nice to just relax and sit by the sounds of the waves crashing and he was quite content just sitting on me, of course.

I'm already good with simplicity and slowing down but I want to do it in regards to my children and not my "to do list" I know that if I focus on this with my family that all my to do's will fall into place and I will be OK.

So when sickness come and its yucky and you feel like its never going to end just think that these little ones will not be crawling up to your lap when they are 16 and wanting you to just "hold them"

Easton kept telling me all day "hold you, hold you" and at one point he actually said to me, "Mom, go into my bed?" Wow! I really didn't want to because I was enjoying him snuggling with me but the belly was in the way I'm sure and he was getting uncomfortable. So cute!

Love them, cherish them even amongst the vomit and fevers!

Our Gender Scavenger Hunt

2011-01-10T20:50:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to think of a good way to tell the children the gender of this baby and I am a believer of copying people's ideas but it failed! They were all the same and I've seen them done by others and decided that I didn't want to be that big of a copycat.

I decided to figure it out on my own like a big girl should and came up with this scavenger hunt idea and gave the girls clues and they had to pick a boy and girl version of the item.

Before the girls got into Target I went ahead of them and put the ultrasound picture in the last clue spot and then we began the hunt.

It was fun to see them figure it out but more importantly have a fun time doing it. Well Easton had a different plan of course. Mr. Grumpy! But I wasn't going to let him spoil my game plan.

At the end of the game Trent and I had to show them where the pictures were because they couldn't figure it out.

Items the girls ended up with after the game

The Reveal of "It's a Boy!"

Paetan is not so chipper about it she really wanted a girl and Easton well he was just grumpy still.

Boy items we ended up taking back home with us

Another Powerful Moment

2011-01-08T21:37:00.000-08:00

Started the day with a baptism and it was beautiful it was Reeghan's friend McKell from her primary class. I took the two girls and we enjoyed sharing that time together and talking about the importance of baptism.

That evening we had our adult session of stake conference. As a stake we are sustaining a new stake presidency tomorrow so the beginnings of the meeting were parting comments from the counselors.

We then were privileged to have Elder Allen Packer there. He is Pres. Boyd K Packer's son. The message was simple yet direct and it was that we need to tap into and find out from our own personal revelation how strong our testimonies are of our prophets, seers and apostles. Do they truly speak for God on earth?

I know they do and have known that but he then went on to say, Do your children know that you know? Wow! That was an eye opener for me and in this past year of General Conference I heard most speak about the importance of teaching righteous principles in the home and about family so I knew it was important but for some reason being in the presence of him and the way he said it meant more to me. I had received my own personal witness of it at that moment.

I returned home rejuvenated from my experience from being taught about listening and coming to your knees in prayer to find things out for yourself.

Then I walked into my bedroom and it was a disaster! The girls had clothes toys, etc strung all over the place and I just blew up and couldn't control my tongue and said things that just were wrong but of course no bad things, just in the moment stupid things.

It finally came to a point where I needed a timeout for myself and I do it quite often but this time I took the advice I was taught this evening and dropped to my knees and BEGGED for help.

I've had a few hard months as a mother and these girls are testing me and I was always looking for mans answers in books that I've read and not turning to the Lord to receive my own personal revelation as to what I needed to do for each child.

I've prayed all my life and knew I needed to pray when things got hard but became selfish and wanted to figure it out on my own which then lead me to books.

But tonight was a prayer like no other. I was very direct and it was a very humbling experience for me. I sat in my room crying and pleading for one more chance to be that mom I've dreamed of and to have my children feel loved by me. It was an amazing experience and I was so grateful to apply my knowledge that I had learned tonight and put it to practice.

It's in the simple acts of prayer and scripture reading where great things can happen and I can't wait to prove myself as a better mother and wife as I do those simple things that will bring me more happiness and harmony in my home.

After all of that I began to look for more answers and came across this great article and felt more motivated to really dig deep and teach my children to "love" the scriptures.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-02T22:03:00.000-08:00

Utah Trip

We began our Christmas break with a trip to see my side of the family in Utah. I flew out and met up with Leah to hang out and have a college roommate reunion while Trent and the kids drove up but they ended up driving all day so I didn't need to fly out but oh well it was nice for me!

I met up with my college buddies for breakfast to catch up and to see them all again. I love these times where we talk about our lives and what we are doing and what our kids are doing it just makes life wonderful to see that we are all roughly in the same situation and enjoying life. We missed a few of you but we have our annual weekend trip planned for March in Park City so that should be great!

That evening was the annual Peterson Family party and beforehand we did family pictures once again. This was the time that I announced to my family our big news! So it was fun to see their reactions. We had a great evening of the gift giving game we do each year and it gets better and funnier each year. I ended up stealing an ITunes gift card from my grandpa. I knew he wouldn't use it!

The next week we just relaxed and just let the kids play with friends and cousins. Trent was so bored he couldn't stand it so he did snowboarding one day. But the kids and I enjoyed ourselves just hanging out and having no schedule. We saw alot of old friends and I enjoyed just being with my sisters!

We had our own immediate family party at Grandma Wood's house and had dinner and some exchanging of gifts.

We stayed at Leah's house (my best friend) most of the time and one snow day Trent and Easton headed out to shovel. Easton was having a blast! Good Daddy helper!

California Christmas

We started our drive home on Christmas Eve and made it home by 4pm and unpacked and settled down. That whole drive home I started a cookbook blog for me and my sisters because for my goal next year I want to be able to cook dinner 4 times a week. That is a big step up for me and in order for me to accomplish this task I needed some help from my sisters. So we started a blog and are putting our favorite recipes on it.

I was able to plan out our whole Christmas weekend meal plan and went shopping right when we got home and cooked my Grandmother's Chicken Casserole that I grew up eating alot and Trent and the kids loved it.

That night we just hung out as our own little family and just soaked it all in and hung around the Christmas tree in our PJ's. Each of the children got to open their gift that was given to them by their sibling. Then we concluded the night by watching "Joy to the World" to be reminded once again of why we celebrate Christmas and sent them to bed.

I was tuckered out and so Trent had to play the part for the night and did an amazing job. Our family room looked adorable the next morning for the kids.

We awoke to our children in our bed wanting us to get up at around 8am which wasn't too bad. My children love to sleep in. I went and got the camera all setup and prepared for the mad dash to the tree. It sure was for the girls but Easton had a different plan he was a little upset coming down the stairs. But he soon realized from his sisters that he had some special things waiting for him under the tree and changed his attitude.

For breakfast I got an amazing recipe from my sister Aleece and it too was a big hit with the family. I was scoring 2 for 2 now. I'm feeling a little bit more confident about my decision to just do it and not over plan and under deliver meals for my family. It was an exciting moment for me. Call me crazy!

That morning and into the afternoon was just relaxing and not at all messy. The kids kept their things under control and found new homes for the few things they received and then we decided as a family to go see the new movie, "Gulliver's Travels" in 3D which by the way you don't need to see in 3D! It too was not for little kids I didn't think maybe for 10 and older due to some scenes and some adult humor. But the kids still enjoyed it and we laughed alot.

We then went over and spent time at Trent's parents house and played card games for the remainder of the night.

Simple but enjoyable. That's how it should be, right?

Our Simple Christmas 2010

2011-01-02T21:47:00.000-08:00

I was reminded today while I sat in church why Christmas 2010 was so special to me.

A sweet sister mentioned the fact that while she was out shopping and running around she kept hearing people say, "Oh Christmas I just hate Christmas!" or "I can't wait until Christmas is over." She told us that these statements reminded her that yes some people especially in our economy are suffering and are spending money they don't have on Christmas but they were missing something more important, Christ.

As I listened to her I thought about our simple Christmas this year and how I didn't fuse about doing tradition after tradition and run us from this party to that. I kept it simple. Part of it may have been that I wasn't really energized to do all that type of stuff because I was sluggish but it felt nice.

I thought more about Christ this year and felt his love for me and my little family. I may look back at this year and question why I didn't do that or why I didn't keep up with that tradition but I need to realize what's most important.

An Annoucement

2011-01-02T21:21:00.000-08:00

I had to take the pictures with my phone camera because my doctor ran out of paper.

For the past two months if you hadn't noticed I have been a little sluggish and its all in part of the fact that I am prego with Baby #4!

The #4 is expected to come sometime at the end of May or early June. Still don't know due date due to the fact that #1 I don't know when my last period was and #2 my doctor's office on my first visit was with her nurse practitioner and she decided to tell me that my doctor wasn't delivering babies anymore. What! Who does that to someone without telling them on the phone when you made the appointment a month ago! Obviously it was just decided that the doctor wasn't going to do prenatal care anymore but still.

To make a long story short Trent has a friend who just so happened to have his wife deliver a baby with this same exact doctor back in September and got a hold of her about me because he has personal contact with her because he does some marketing consulting for her.

But I knew deep down that she would take me despite all that has gone on so far. I just saw her in April and had a great visit and told her alot of personal things and so I knew that once she heard my name she would take me.

Sure enough I got a personal phone call from her telling me that she was sorry for all that had gone on and to come in and see her. I don't know when my last period was so we were going off an estimated date and was told that I was 15 weeks but then she hooked me up to her ultrasound machine to start measurements and the baby was pretty active but she was able to calculate that I am 18 weeks! Wow that's a big difference but she wants me to go to a special ultrasound place to find out for sure my due date and to finalize all of this madness.

My doctor could also tell the sex of the baby so I've got to be this far along but she didn't tell me because Trent wasn't with me and I didn't want to find out myself so now I have to wait until the 10th of January.

What a whirlwind of an experience but all I care about is that I am healthy and the baby. The first trimester was awful and I got night sickness and it was just so different from the first 3. The only thing that made me feel good was to eat which was different as well from the others.

My kids were well aware of my favorite seat in the house it was the very corner of my couch! I sat there alot and slept alot. This one has really tuckered me out maybe because I have 3 others to care for as well but man I can't wait to feel energized again. Its slowly coming back and I actually have a desire to exercise.

Lights on Temple Square

2010-12-20T09:32:00.000-08:00

Our traditional temple square outing with my family!

The Power of Prayer

2010-12-20T08:47:00.000-08:00

On Monday night we went to Temple Square with Sarah's parents and a few of her siblings and nephews/nieces. We wanted to see all the Christmas lights and walk around the visitor's center.

At the top floor of the visitor's center, there is a large statue of Jesus and they have benches for you to sit while they play a brief audio clip about Jesus and his atonement. As we were waiting for the audio to start, the kids were wandering around the statue and Sarah took Easton around to look at some pictures in a little hallway on the same floor. When they came back into the large room with the rest of us, Easton walked over to where the other kids were and Sarah started talking with her sisters.

After only a minute or so, Sarah glanced around to check on the kids and noticed that Easton wasn't with them. She walked across the room to where I was sitting and asked if I had seen Easton. We both started to search for him assuming he had just wandered down the ramp where the other kids had been playing earlier. After about 30 seconds we started to get very worried since none of the kids or the adults in our group had seen where he went. They all began to search for him while I ran down the ramp to the main floor and checked the escalator that went to the floor below that as Easton and I had gone down there a few minutes earlier.

I called Sarah on the phone, hoping that they had already found him, only to hear her voice more frantic and worried. I assumed the worst and decided I had better check all the exits and ran around temple square to the South exit as my mother in law checked the North exit. During that time, one of my sister's in law told the staff at the visitor's center that Easton was missing and they made an announcement on their PA and described him and what he was wearing.

As I ran around the block, my deepest fear set in, that I might not see my little boy again. I began to become very emotional and I began to pray with so much desire to find Easton as strong a desire as I have ever had for anything. In that instance, I felt a glimpse of the pain of what it would be like to lose a child and not be get to see them again in this life. I don't ever want to feel that again and I feel so much more sympathy and understand for those who have lost a child.

When I came back into Temple Square, I felt sure that Easton was still in the visitor's center and I ran back inside to continue searching with everyone else.

The problem with being frantic is that your mind is not clear and you are not receptive to promptings. I went back to the same stair well on the East side of the building which I had previously searched, but this time, I started going into roped off areas and closed doors, knowing that Easton wouldn't care that an area was closed to the public. My mother in law must have had the same idea come to her as she searched the roped off hallway just to the West of where we were when Easton was lost. She walked past the area that was closed to the public and went down some stairs. About 3 floors down, she could hear whimpering and when she reached the bottom floor, she could hear Easton crying. She went through a set of swinging double doors and then through another door into a dark room where Easton was crying.

Easton had wandered down the hall, down to the basement area and into a foyer and a dark room and could not get out. He must have been pretty scared during this 10 minutes that he was missing... but I don't think it was anything compared to the fear that Sarah and I felt. We had both become very emotional and very stressed after a couple minutes as our fear set in that we may not find him. We are so glad we had family with us to help us as they remained calm and were able to help find Easton.

As I had finished searching the East stairs and came out on the basement floor, I headed to the escalators again and just then, Shauna, my mother in law was running towards the escalator with Easton in her arms. I've never been so happy to see my mother in law ; ) ...the truth is she is an amazing woman and a great example. She has so many Christ-like qualities and I am grateful that she followed promptings to help us find Easton.

We learned a lot during this "extreme" family night lesson, but for me, the one thing that came to my mind as I was running around the outside of Temple Square was a thought, as if God was teaching me something, "Imagine how I feel when I lose my children to spiritual death when they chose to disobey".

I know that as bad as it felt when I thought we had lost Easton, it is much worse after this life when we chose to follow a Worldly path instead of seeking and doing God's will.

Christmas at San Diego Botanical Garden

2010-12-15T21:44:00.000-08:00

The San Diego Quail Botanical Garden Christmas walk was where my kids got to see Santa Clause. I'm not the mom that takes my kids to see Santa and it was reminded to me why because they didn't even sit on his lap and Easton was afraid of him.

The lights here were a bit cheesy and lame I was quite disappointed but it was night out and they had color activities for them to do and Easton adored the train set. He sat and watched it for about 20 minutes. So cute!

What do you Believe?

2010-12-13T13:17:00.000-08:00

San Diego Quail Botanical Garden and Field Trip

2010-12-10T21:49:00.000-08:00

We went with some friends to visit the gardens. I had only been once before and they told me that they had made some changes and had this amazing kid zone. So we went on a play date all of us to see this place.

Wow it was incredible and the kids loved playing in the giant tree house and the little water creek. They also had a musical station and an art station. Very creative I felt like I was in a children's museum but outdoors.

So we ended up buying a membership!

Reeghan's School Field Trip

We were able to use it again when I chaperoned Reeghan's class field trip to go on a tour of the gardens and find out some interesting things about plants that live around us.

They were able to eat lunch there by the play area and then we let them run loose for about 2 hours and then headed back to the school. It was a pretty easy chaperon field trip.

The Carlsbad Handels Messiah Performance

2010-12-02T16:33:00.000-08:00

Our church is hosting a great performance on Handel's Messiah. The choir members consist of various christian churches in the area and it will also have an orchestra to accompany them.

It would be well worth your time to come see the musical talent in our area.

Its Dec 10th or 11th.

Watch this video to get a glimpse into what the event will be like.

Cabo San Lucas

2010-12-01T16:09:00.000-08:00

I am officially now in Cabo San Lucas taking my break as I mentioned and can't wait to finish all my reading material and to continue to work on my blog and re-evaluate my life as a mother, daughter, friend, and wife.

Trent is lucky enough to travel at times with his business and I too get lucky at times because I get to tag along and it just so happened that this vacation that was planned 2 months ago happened when it did! I couldn't have come at a better time.

My plan is to just engross my mind with goodness and start anew.

We attended with Trents marketing group that he and Dustin run together. I was able to meet some great people who have a desire to help others in their business.

I was able to sit in on one of their sessions and we all spoke about goal setting and how we are to implement our goals into action and spoke of what are are our downfalls and road blocks.

My mind has constant guilt about my priorities and how I don't put God first in my life. I've known this for a very long time and don't do anything about it. It just mulls over in my head daily and I do make sure the children are aware but it's not everyday.

We had many conversations between Sean, Donica, and Sarah about God and his role in each of our lives. It was great to see their prospective of he works in their lives and what they have done to accept him in his life.

One particular night we spoke with Sean and he is just a very happy guy and is constantly smiling and just enjoyable to be around. Well he opened up to us about he was not religious at all until he met his wife and has since enjoyed his journey.

He asked many questions about our faith and missionary work. Which others did as well because of Trents Spanish so it was a great opportunity to speak of what we believe and especially our choice to not drink because that is what everyone else around us was doing.

Each time I'm around this atmosphere I think of Elder Perry's talk about how he'd ask for milk and it became a standing option for him each time he was with his business associates.

I was reminded time and time again just how much joy and happiness I feel when I keep doing what's right.

Each time I attend these business outings with Trent I become more and more impresses with the knowledge he has and how much these people look up to him. These people each pulled me aside and just raved about just how lucky I am and how much they've enjoyed learning from him. I get a little giddy each time that happens because I know just how much effort he puts out and the joy he sees in helping people and helping them implement what he teaches and does.

I feel very blessed and just before this vacation stared I knew that my attitude had to change and to be more grateful and I think this has opened my eyes once again to keep an attitude of gratitude.

Girls home for break

2010-11-30T15:50:00.000-08:00

Its been a very long Thanksgiving break with the girls home and I as the mother should have planned and prepared things for them to do but I didn't! So I guess you could say that I deserved the constant fighting and quarreling that has ever happened and I'm afraid that this is just the beginning for these two sisters.

But as I have reflected on my experiences with them it all started a few weeks ago when I began very lax in my parenting and have let them just have free reign of the household because I was in the spirit of Christmas and wanted them to enjoy all the movies, games, etc. while I just sat by the Christmas tree on the couch.

I also haven't been on top of my Accountable Kids system either. Just another thing I do to keep it sain around my house. I know that when I do it the household runs alot smoother and I'm happy as well as the girls.

I too realized that I hadn't been taking care of the person inside the mom and just let things Go! We all have those moments but this one tended to last a bit longer than usual.

It all hit me when I went to the temple of just how bad I had been and how I've let my "mom" let go. I needed that alone time for 6 hours to just think and contemplate on my goal as a mother and why I've always wanted to be a mother. Because the mother I was being was not who I envisioned in my head. I didn't like that mom and I wanted my old self back. I then realized that I wasn't taking the time to spiritually connect as a daughter of God and that I neglected my Savior and that in turn my family too was neglecting him too.

I know we all have our weaknesses and we constantly are learning and growing from our mistakes as well as others and I hope that by writing this out for myself I will recognize just how lucky I am to have these 3 children in my care. I adore them and want them to love and cherish me like I do to them.

I am currently reading "Parenting with Love and Logic" I've been really impressed with it so far and can't wait to finish it. Recap will come later but until then I will go take care of myself and have a slight break to recommit myself to Accountable Kids and the mom that I want to be. Wish me luck!

DSC-CM Thanksgiving Feast

2010-11-18T14:09:00.000-08:00

Each year around Thanksgiving the girls school does this feast with all the students and family. This school is only 2 years old so its their second one and I wasn't able to attend last years because we were out of town.

This year was great and we had a ton of food that each of us brought to share. The students performed the entertainment. Each class did their own presentation and Val Beh is their music teacher which I love her! I've been taking my kids to her music classes since they were babies.

Reeghan's class did the Indian section of the program. They sang "Hey, Yaunna, Hoe Yaunna!" song. She already knew this song because of Val's music class but it was fun to see their hat creations and then dancing around.

Paetan's class did a funny one about not eating too much food at Thanksgiving and when Kindergartners are doing it its going to be hilarious and they just kept going on and on around in circles. They didn't create anything for their song they just sang.

They have it at Felicita Park which is a great setup for our school. They have the stage and then a play area close by so they were able to run around after the feast.

Decorating has begun

2010-11-13T16:19:00.000-08:00

Trent is out of town this weekend and the girls had school off so we made it a weekend of getting ready for the holiday season along with Lauren. We carried up all the boxes from garage and the party began with the Christmas music playing in the background.

What a wonderful time of the year and I just can't get enough of the ambiance of the holidays with all the decor and lights. It just makes me so happy and grateful.

The girls enjoyed being my helper and taking out each of the nativity people.

Easton didn't do much at all and it was so fun to see his reaction to the tree once all lit up because he didn't seem to get it last year.

Let the season begin!

Short Sale Invititational

2010-11-05T16:24:00.000-07:00

Trent and his compadres at the office get together will all of their members in their business about twice a year and this month they did it in downtown San Diego. It just so happened to be around election time so they did an election themed conference.

I got to attend the first 2 days and actually stayed inside and actually learned something. I tend to usually go shopping or just hang by myself but this go round I wanted to be in the action and actually learn. Trent did say that it would be good for me to learn about what he does so that I can better explain to others what he actually does.

The first night they had a nice dinner outside on the hotel patio and Tyler Angel who works for Trent and his family band came and setup and played for the evening. It was wonderful we enjoyed our time together and I wanted to bust out my dance moves but it never happened.

The second day happened to be Ryan's birthday (Trent's brother) so they made him a cake and all the group sang to him.

I just sit in awe at these types of events because I see Trent and what he has accomplished with this company in the last 3 years and to see the fruits of his labors all attend this conference was great to see. I love talking to them and them telling me how much they have learned from what Trent and the company has taught them.

I jokingly put on my name badge that I was Trent's better half and of course received lots of comments about that. I don't think I am better than him by any means but I do believe that if you have someone at your side it makes a difference. Someone who believes in you and has faith in you to listen to all of the ideas that run through your mind is powerful.

I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed watching him grow and broaden his horizons. Its been a whirlwind of an experience and I am excited to see what the next few years brings. Bring it on!

Bates Nut Farm

2010-10-27T15:35:00.000-07:00

Each year around Halloween time we go to Bates Nut Farm and because I despise Halloween so much this is a wonderful treat because......

hay rides
maze
animals
and
Pumpkins galore!

Its just a great start to kick off a wonderful October and to celebrate the Harvest time of the year. Not that I harvest anything of course but hey I've learned that Halloween can be a time to celebrate the harvest and what we have to share.

I don't like the scary, googly-eyed, bloody, nonsense that Halloween tends to be about. Which this year I've heard that the Halloween stores sell bloody eyed little babies! What in the world! Thank goodness I didn't step and have never stepped into one of those stores.

Trent and the girls didn't make it this year so Easton and I went on a little date together with some friends from church.

M.O.M. Organization 2 Part Series Workshop

2010-10-10T12:29:00.000-07:00

Hello Moms or Soon to Be Moms!

We are excited to announce a two part workshop where we will teach you how to use Mind Organization for Moms. What is Mind Organization for Moms? This is what April Perry, creator of this wonderful program, has to say about it:

Let me guess...you're pretty stressed out sometimes. You have hundreds of things on your mind and dozens of balls in the air and even though you feel like you're busy every minute, you can't seem to make a dent in your "to do" list. Am I close?

Mothers are the busiest group of multi-taskers out there, and if anyone needs their minds organized, it's us! We want to relax and enjoy our families, but is it possible to have a great time with our loved ones AND respond to all the pressing demands? Absolutely.

Although I can't make "the madness" stop, I CAN teach you how to get your brain in order so that you will feel completely almost on top of your life once and for all. Sound like a plan?

Based on the best-selling book Getting Things Done®, by David Allen, I (April) have put together a simple, powerful program designed specifically for busy mothers. I've included mom-friendly instructions, photos, and checklists to support you every step of the way.

Price
The price of the two part series is $50. We have been given special permission to offer this workshop at half price. This includes full access to the program plus the workshop where we will show you how to use it.

The first night we will introduce the program so you can walk away with a very real plan of how to get your brain organized. You will leave with the tools to collect and process your mind. The second night we will follow-up with you on your progress, answer any question that might have arisen, bounce ideas off each other, and share with one another what we did that worked (and even what didn't work).

Before you come

For you to be most effective on your path to organization we are asking that you carve out some quiet time (no more then an hour) to write down everything on your brain. Here are some ideas of what might be on your list:

1. Tasks that need to be done right away (paying car registration before it expires on next week)
2. Things that need to eventually get done (like cleaning out a child's closet)
3. Anything you want to do but really doesn't need to be done (like crafting or reading a certain book for fun)
4. Traits you want to develop (learn a new language or become more patient)

Basically this list should cover anything and everything that you need/want to do, be, or become. We recommend starting this list right away and keeping it on hand. That way as more items come to your mind you can quickly get them out of your head. We will show you what to do with that list, at our first meeting.

Time and Place

Time: We will meet on Friday, October 22nd from 7:30-9:30pm and our second meeting will be Friday, November 19th 7:30-9:30pm

Place: At my house

Personal Consultation

If you'd like further individual help in between the two workshops I will be charging an additional $50 for a 2 hour personal consultation where I will physically come into your home and help you get started. I will only be available on Tuesdays and Thursday's during the day. If you need help during the evening let me know and we can work something out.

My sister-in-law Susan will be joining me in introducing this and we are anxious to be of any help.

Please reply back to me if you'd like me to save you a spot!

Trent & Sarah = 9 years

2010-09-28T17:44:00.000-07:00

Our 9th wedding anniversary is today and I am in a charge of anniversaries because my birthday falls by Valentine's Day but I totally forgot my monthly temple assignment for church was this morning so my day plans fell through. But I do have to say that I am a lucky girl to married to this man and it shows in this simple example of what happened this morning:

I got up at 5:15am to get ready to go to the temple and received a text message from a girl we know from our church and she was in desperate need of a babysitter for her twin boys because her daughter has been sick and decided to take her to the ER. I of course couldn't do it because I was leaving for the morning until noon but Trent jumped in and texted her that he would take the boys for her. I didn't suggest it at all and I was trying to figure out who I could call to help her.

Why do I feel like I have to help solve someones problem? Honestly, I'm way to nice but Trent also has that problem so the two of us put together makes a lot of people happy when they need our help most of the time.

The plan was he was going to meet me at the temple at 10:30am to do some work and then go to lunch so he was going to hand off the boys to someone else but it didn't work out. So he ended up not meeting me but picked me up and I took him to lunch at my new favorite hotel in Del Mar called L'Auberge and ate at Kitchen 1540. It was a very unique and quaint place with a lot of charm and the food was excellent. I'm anxious to return one day for a stay.

Trent and I plan on having a wonderful getaway this weekend so more on that later.......

Trent thank you for being the man that I've dreamed of and making me a very happy wife and mom! I'll write more gushy stuff in your own special letter. Haha

Our Clean & Safe Media Pledge

2010-09-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

Today at church we had a great lesson on the dangers of pornography that encroach and surround our lives and what we can do to help avoid and prepare ourselves for the future. We live in a dark time in our world but at the same time we can receive alot of light and use it to do good if we allow good things to flow into our homes.

What a better way to safeguard our homes by making a pledge and at church we received a copy of one that was taken from here.

I love things like this because it goes right along with some of the family systems I have already put in place. I've been inspired to have a decision journal for each child and this pledge goes right along with what I wanted to do with them.

We were given 4 things to help our families:

1.) Discuss the important nature of a man and a woman and the importance of a marriage found here. Of course this needs to be age appropriate but make sure its taught in way that is pleasing and correct.

2.) At Family Home Evening read through the Pornography pamphlet that the church has created for all families to have in their homes and discuss and ask their feelings on it.

3.) Set Family guidelines like the pledge above.

4.) Emulate the relationship that you have with your spouse. Take care of eachother and show affection so that your children see it and know that you love eachother. I been learning alot about the "Physical Touch" love language and if I don't use it properly my children will go find it somewhere else.

The discussion was critical and I've been in alot of meetings within the last 2 years about this subject and just hits a core with me about how important as a mother and wife how much I need to "safeguard" my home!

Back in May 2008 I attended a meeting where Jill Manning was speaking and she has written a book about Pornography and I went back to my notes from that meeting and here is what I found:

Recommended Sheri Dew's book "Saying It how it is"
Suggestions for teaching truths about our bodies:
1.) Model appreciation and respect for our own body
2.) Teach anatomically correct names for body parts - Parent's Guide Book is a good reference for this section. Use the right respectful language
3.) Bear testimony about the body and why pornography use is in congruent with our beliefs
4.) Help children identify when the body is being portrayed in deceptive or profane ways

If you get into an uncomfortable situation with a picture with your child you might want to consider saying, "Let's look away and show privacy to that woman as we would your mother or another woman that you respect."

Our homes are a dedicated and safe place for our children and be fiercely determined to not allow any such thing to enter in.

Talk with your children about internet use before getting on the computer and then go through the home and "clean out"

Prepare their minds and hearts:
1.) Ask Heavenly Father how my home and family may be safeguarded
2.) Install filters and parental controls on the Internet
3.) As a family, create and implement an plan (The link above "Our Clean & Safe Media Pledge and then list:
a. time of day to use
b. what to do when uncomfortable
c. Internet safety Plans/contracts

Teach sexuality to your children. Pornography is Satan's sex education. Its primary source of sex education. Trent and I need to be the first source for this important information to our children not someone else.

Take a look at this:

PORNOGRAPHY vs. GOSPEL
lust a core theme - love a central commandment
harmful and degrading - nurturing and respectful
sexual relations between any combo of people - sexual relations reserved husband/wife
involves using someone else - involves loving someone else
fosters disconnection & isolation - fosters connection & unity
offends the spirit - honors and invites the spirit
involves deception - rooted in honesty
publicly displayed - guarded with privacy
humans are carnal & animalistic - humans are children of God

1.) Start discussion early
2.) Teach about the harms of pornography and how it hinders our ability to be intimate
3.) Help youth understand what they could do to prepare themselves for marital intimacy. Learn how to be a good friend, take care of the body, work on resolving emotional issues or habits that affect ones ability to love and serve others.

General Relief Society Broadcast

2010-09-25T22:49:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share with you some thoughts about the Relief Society broadcast that happened this last Saturday:

The opening song was "Count your Many Blessings" and I encourage you to go read over the words and be sure to know that no matter where life takes us or the trials we go through if we count what we are grateful for then angels will attend us and be by our side through the tough moments.

Sister Beck
We were encouraged to study our Relief Society heritage and learn about the sisters in years past so we know what to do. It will help us change and understand who we are.

As visiting teachers we are teaching and watching over eachother.

We need to increase in dignity and the R.S. sisters are always the 1st, last and always there to help and serve.

If we utilize the Holy Ghost we will receive inspiration for the responsibilities in which we are apart of

We need to set goals for ourselves and we don't need to be applauded for our efforts we just do it secretly.

Sister Allred
The question that she asks alot of members of the church is:
What helps you keep fast and immovable through trials?
1.) acknowledge Heavenly Father
2.) hope through Jesus Christ
3.) knowledge of the plan of redemption

We have divine attributes so how do we strengthen ourselves?
1.) prayer
2.) scriptures
3.) obedience
4.) service

These things are easy to apply if we just put forth effort

Sister Thompson
Some have compassion and those are the ones who make the difference.

Compassion means love and mercy towards one another. Comfort those who stand in need.

Prayerfully consider each sister you visit teach. The beauty of V.T. is not to get 100% on paper its the other side of it that counts. Its the acts you do and it will never be DONE!

We need to bring them the enrichment that they need personally and at times you just need to listen.

Look at it like a blessing not a burden.

Truly seek to love when its the sisters who are the ones are tough to visit.

These sisters have been entrusted to your care.

"More Holiness Give Me" hymn - I've learned that I can do more!

Pres. Monson
Sisters are always a splendid sight to behold.

He opened with a story about a husband and wife who recently moved into a new place and their neighbor always hung her wash out to dry and the wife mentioned every morning to her husband that the neighbors wash doesn't get clean. This went on for a couple of times until one morning the wife looks out the window and sees it clean for once. She quickly told her husband who then proceeded to tell the wife that earlier that morning he got up and washed the window.

How do we view each other? Do we make judgments to soon?

He talked of Mother Teresa and quoted this from her:

"If you judge people you don't have time to love"

Mind Organization for Mom (M.O.M) Pictures

2010-09-23T13:25:00.000-07:00

Here is the way that I do my system at my home:

This is my command central

My inbox is on the right side corner of my desk

I use the Mead Flex notebook for my "On the Brain once a Week" lists and projects

I use an expandable file to do my Tickler for each month of the year

My Routines & Responsibilities

Information about (M.O.M)

2010-09-22T10:48:00.000-07:00

After the second retreat I got even more excited about Mind Organization because April Perry made a few tweeks here and there and it seems more clearer now. I've been using this system since July and I have feel in love with it.

I just look around at all the mothers I see out in the world and want to share with them this concept! I know it will do wonders to their mind and to clear up their lists and dreams that they have in their mind.

I've been asked by April Perry to be a Mind Organization Coach for the mothers on their website. As you can guess April has been doing all the Q&A and now she needs to delegate that responsibility and asked that I help her with that. I couldn't be any more thrilled to tackle this project. I love to help others and to help them find a system that works best for them. Plus I just love to see their faces once they feel at peace with their surroundings! What could get better than that at the end of a long process!

The end result for me is actually going into their homes and consulting with them one on one to help them go through the steps of the process! I am so excited for this part because not only am I helping them "jump start" their organization I am helping clear up their mind as well so they have more time and energy to put towards mothering their children. That is what we all want!

Susan (SIL) and I will be hosting workshops for groups of no more than 15 people to introduce the program too and then from there with an additional fee do one on one consultations with them if they want that option.

I feel so blessed to be apart of such a wonderful organization and to help me blossom in areas where I feel weak and also in the areas that I have strengths. Please let us help you!

Go here to learn more.

To Conclude My Retreat

2010-09-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

To end a great weekend, I sat in church this morning and the speakers solidified what I had just been through the last two days. It put things into perspective for me and made me re-adjust my patterns and priorities and my time that I use with my spiritual life and my family.

We are easily distracted in our world and I need to think about what is most important in my life and strive to make better choices in regards to what I feel is most important.

Are we in patterns that will lay up treasures in heaven?

Our time is a responsibility and there is a time for EVERYTHING. I enjoyed the fact that Pres. Perkins who is a member of my church said that he uses lists! I love it! He even has a list about his wife and her favorite See's Candies chocolates. Brilliant idea by the way. He came up with an analogy for the word "RECAPS" which is, Read, Exercise, Chores, Appreciation, Prayer and Service. I thought this was brilliant and I want to incorporate into my Mind Organization that I have already started.

He then went into Priorities and asked this question,

"What is the greatest good of the moment?"

Am I using all my moments of time for the greatest good? My priorities are most visible as we use our time. I can name quite a few things to limit to open up more time to have good moments, especially in my children's lives.

As I go into each day preparing my list I need to do it prayerfully. What sets the course of my day? Morning prayer and my reading of the scriptures. That's it!

Time is a gift from God and its easier to use our time wisely if we are doing it on his timetable to have those good moments.

A church hymn "Have I done any Good" is a perfect example of this and the question resonates within me after what I have experienced this whole weekend. I couldn't be more excited and ready to tackle my lists, my priorities and my time!

That evening I had the privilege of going to a devotional at the San Diego Temple for the Receptionists that work there each month. I only go once a month for 6 hours and I love it. I was again filled by the thoughts and messages that were shared there and told that my service there would be accepted and that's what I needed to hear to fill my love language bucket.

I listened to Julie Beck's interview with her and her daughters and she mentioned about priorities and she said if your priorities are in control you will have power otherwise it won't be there.

I am a pretty optimistic person and I know that if I include God into my life all will be made well and I can conquer anything I put my mind too. It was proven to me this weekend and just feel so honored and blessed to be where I am in my stage of life.

Love Languages

2010-09-18T23:30:00.000-07:00

Susan did an absolutely great job presenting the "5 Love Languages" session. Right at the beginning she took us through the emotion of having our first child and the first few moments of the baby being placed into our arms. She delivered it with so much passion and conviction it was incredible. She was so concerned about it but she did wonderful.

I've read the book and have been aware of the love languages particularly the last 2 months but I still learned more about my own, Trent's and our childrens' love languages yesterday as she went into more detail and posed many different situations that I hadn't even thought of before.

It was another eye opening experience for me.

Sarah

Mine is definitely, without a doubt, Acts of Service! My secondary however is Quality Time and those two just go hand in hand in my opinion. I feel and show my love by doing kind deeds and acts of service to those I come in contact with. I tend to be the first one to volunteer myself for a lot of things, but I do it in moderation because I don't want to juggle too many projects.

I've concluded why I struggle so much to prepare meals and cook in the kitchen... I want to have someone right by my side with me helping me and serving right along with me! Is that funny or what!?!

I give and give, and love to fill my bucket, but its hard to see my children not understand my love language. I wish I could just tell them that cleaning their room all by themselves would show me that they love me but I've tried and it didn't work. I wonder what age that will happen?? When will they recognize that they need to be of service to me or others to show that love language to me?

Trent

Trent's love language is Physical Touch and his secondary is Quality Time. As his wife, in order for me to show him I love him I need to grab his hand when he least expects it, rub his back, etc. For both of us we really enjoy just being together and it doesn't matter what we are doing. That is why we travel a lot especially alone as a couple.

Reeghan and Paetan

My girls are both Quality Time and their secondary is Gifts. Reeghan always uses the line when every she gets frustrated with us that she wants to leave our family. I know its not a good line for her to use, but I finally figured out that she just needs me to spend "time" with her, which I have really neglected to do, especially the last few weeks. She's growing up so fast that I want to take this time to show her that I really do love her. Its also important to use eye contact while spending time with them as well.

Paetan, on the other hand, is only 5 and she can still change her love language(s). As Susan talked about her daughter Emma, who is a very well rounded person and responds well to all 5 of the love languages, I thought of Paetan. Paetan enjoys all of them and I've recognized that she feels love in all 5 of those areas, which is a good thing. At times I wish I really enjoyed Physical Touch or Gifts but those two are at the very bottom of my list.

How do you figure out what your child's language is?
First, ask yourself this question: What are they constantly asking for?
Next, ask your child:
How do you know Mommy and Daddy love you?
Or you can give them an actual 'love language test' as is found in the Love Languages books (In the kids edition of the book, there is a "kid friendly version" of the test)

As I push away the girls while I am working on 'busy work' or my own little projects, it tells them that I don't love them and I'm withholding something... am I conditionally loving them? A great idea, to overcome this, is to spend 30-40 minutes before you have to go tackle a "to do" and spend that time focused on them and what they want to do and need and then after a time limit is set then you can go do your "to do".

This not only fills us but more importantly it fills their love bucket as well.

It's a very interesting ideology and I am so fascinated by it and wonder what other people's love languages are so that I can use them to better show love towards them. So let me know, ok?

Susan and I plan on presenting this in our workshops and retreats that we will be doing in the future but go ahead and go by the book. The book is written for adults, kids, teens, and even a Men's edition. Its written by Gary Chapman (same name, but no, the author is not my father-in-law)

Retreat Day Two

2010-09-18T22:03:00.000-07:00

That morning I worked out all alone I invited some to come but I was all alone so I did my Insanity workout which that is another post for later. I then joined the walking/running group down to the beach and it was overcast and chilly but a very enjoyable walk/run.

We got started for the day with a yummy breakfast buffet and then off to the meeting room for more sessions. We started the day with Saren and Family Systems. I love these kind of topics because I just love "systems" and I love to plan them but its the implementing the plan part is where I seem to struggle a bit. I've got a similar system that I mentioned in my Day One section.

I do need to work a bit more on the money management side of the system so I'm anxiously to try handing out play money instead of real money and maybe incorporate some checks in there as well. I loved the idea of "The Chapman Family Bank" and to put it into my computer so that the children can visually see it.

She then went onto talking about Family Identity and us Chapman's already got that ball rolling back here. Susan was asked to sing the song that her and her family made up and its just adorable and its sung with the same melody as "We are the Champions" and it goes a little something like this:

We are the Chapman's my family,
and we'll endure all things to the end.
Pray, Read and Temple that makes a Champion,
Chapman's are Champions and we are the Chapman's, Eternally!

I also have a few other ideas up my sleeve and a family wall that is still in the works so that post may be here sooner than later.

Another big hit was Susan's session on "Love Languages" she did an incredible job because she knows the information so well and has analyzed and studied it for quite some time to prepare her for this. You could see her Passion in her face and she got us emotionally connected right at the beginning. I should learn a few things from her about presenting.

We took a test to see what love language we were and then we were split up into the 5 different languages and brainstormed ideas to help us improve and figure out what gets to us. It was a great session and alot of involvement. She also gave each of us a test to test our children too. Very eye opening and I've studied it the last 2 months and still find out more about my children, my husband and myself that I can do better at!

The finale then came to April and her Mind Organization which I already wrote about and this go round she video taped it. Which will do wonders hopefully to mothers to actually see her in action with her stuff she uses.

All four of us together we did it!

To conclude the retreat we did a trainer session afterwards with 3 other moms who want to get more involved. We brainstormed ideas and then went through the retreat that we just did and analyzed it and told them about how much we learned about this whole process. It was great to hear April and Saren's view about where they want to take this great organization and I am so thankful to be apart of it.

Retreat Day One

2010-09-17T13:40:00.000-07:00

The Whole Group together

We arrived at the magnificent Laguna Cliffs Marriott in Dana Point to get situated and to setup our room and finalize last minute details. I was so giddy to meet everyone and was just ready to "jump in" and learn lots of fun things. But first we did a speed friendshipping game with everyone to get to know eachother.

Heather Cowdell, Amy Chapman (SIL) and Emily Cowdell

Erin Rollins, Ann Morley and Melissa and Benjamin Beck

Susan and I did some prep work beforehand. We made cute nametags and bought folders for their paperwork. We made "homemade goodie bags" filled with BYU mint brownies, carmeled/chocolate popcorn, toffee, and homemade bread and jam! We wanted them to feel "at home" but also pampered so these treats were a hit!

We began the sessions on, "Taking Care of the Person inside the Mom" and "Finding the Time" which we discussed all that we put on ourselves and what we do to make us first in our life so that we have more to give to those around us.

My session was on "Finding the Time" and it went over very well. I was pleased with how it turned out and feel a little bit more confident in myself in my presenting skills. I shared with them my typical daily schedule that I try by best to follow each day and how they can make time for themselves throughout the day.

My Daily Schedule

I brought up my nap that I wrote about here and realized that some need it and others don't in order to get through their day. It was a great session to bounce off ideas and how other's structure their day. I also shared with them my "Routines and Responsibilities" section of the M.O.M. and how each household needs this.

I briefly discussed the Accountable Kids system that I use for teaching my children chores and accountability. This system goes right along with Saren's session on Family Systems. We also touched on a book written by Merrilee Boyack with is phenomenal which is called, "Parenting Breakthrough"

The Wall System for Accountable Kids

One Ticket equals list

Free Activity List

After my session we walked down to this amazing restaurant called, Mahe, and sat outside which was a beautiful evening and had yummy food. We started table topics and I lead the "Family Traditions" topic. These moms are just great and their insight was what I needed because this topic is a weakness of mine.

That evening we went back to the room and had our last session of the night about "Picking your Priorities" which was a panel discussion with myself, Susan, my MIL Kelly, April and Saren. It was a great discussion on various topics related to the questions that Saren asked us but mainly it was Priorities and how we all juggle too many balls and want to help others but sometimes we just need to say, "It's not for me right now" to politely tell someone "no"

We then had group games which April lead us in so we got to have a little fun and be silly for a minute. After the games Saren asked about the connections that we may have with some and it was interesting to see just how many people had so many connections with eachother either in the areas they've lived or the people they knew. I loved listening to everyone.

To finalize the night we ended up in the hot tub and took the silly "celery" picture idea that April came up with so go read her reasoning here.

Don't we look lovely?

Day One, Check!

My Nap

2010-09-15T22:17:00.000-07:00

I had a NAP today for the first time in a very long time. You wanna know the reason why? Well let me just tell you what brought this on. First of all I NEVER nap during the daytime because it just wears me out to where the rest of the day I don’t do very much. Trent tries to talk me into napping on Sunday’s with him but it doesn’t ever work.

I get that most moms need a nap and I understand that but for me it doesn’t work even if its a cat nap. But today I just wanted to crawl into a ball on my bed and just not wake up for a while. I wanted to sleep away my frustrations.

What are my frustrations you might ask? I am a person that doesn’t like to get frazzled and worked up about random things that are pulling at me. I tend to just tell myself to endure and to just get over it and move forward. I’m a pretty easy going person that at most times flies by the seat of my pants.

Until now....

I’ve had alot on my plate this last week and people pulling for my time. Of course I don’t want to brush people off and I do like to tell people “No” if it gets hairy but for some reason I thought I could take on this load but I crashed hard today!

Your probably waiting for the reasons why and I will tell you:

*Power of Mom Retreat in 2 days
*Trent’s New Office Makeover and Organization
*My 3 church callings! Yes you read it right. I have 3 and all had to be done this last Sunday.
*Being a Mom and Wife
*Dinner Time!

There is alot going on in my mind and with my new mind organization system I think I would have been taking naps everyday this past week! So thank goodness for that to keep my sanity.

When Trent got home today I am sure he wasn’t expecting to rush through his “Costco frozen orange chicken out of the box with instant mashed potatoes and strawberries” to comfort me on the couch when I just let it all out.

I truly love motherhood and my life I do! Its just these moments when I have to suck it up and realize that it will pass and life will go on.

As I was cleaning up Cherrios off the kitchen floor this afternoon that happened to be spread all over by Easton while I was napping, I asked myself the question, “What am I Grateful for?” It made me stop thinking of myself and my little pitty party and realize that I am healthy, I am living a great life, I am a great person and I can handle all things if I have the right attitude.

So there you have it my day in a nut shell. Hopefully some of you can relate.

A Lesson to be learned.....

2010-09-09T23:04:00.000-07:00

What a mom day this has become. To start off we are Day 3 of school and the girls are thrilled as can be to be back to school and we have begun our Lets Play Music classes as well click here if you want to learn more about that. So schedules are put back into place and life seems to be flowing nicely.

Trent's mission friend and his wife and daughter came for a visit from Scottsdale, AZ. Their daughter, Miley, is 4 years old and my girls hit it off instantly with her and they just really enjoyed each other and we had no contention which was great. They invited us to go to dinner because they are staying with us and we suggested Ruby's diner on the Oceanside Pier. It a family fun atmosphere and the kids really enjoy walking the distance to get to it.

On our way back after dinner Reeghan and I were at the tail end of the group and out of the blue she said, "Mom I enjoy being with you, Do you have space in your heart for me?" Of course I immediately answered YES! and we had a special moment together walking along that pier and it was in this moment that I needed to fill her love bucket. Reeghan wanted me to just be with her and spend time alone with her even if it was walking together.

It was ironic that this situation would come up because the last two days Susan and I have been planning our Power of Mom retreat, which by the way we have a few spots left, and we were discussing what we'd like to present to the group. The love languages kept coming back to us because after our first retreat we concluded that all we learned all steamed from what each of our individual child's love language is and the order that they are born in. Its a very fascinating concept and philosophy and I am eager to learn more.

As that moment happened with my daughter I recognized that she loves quality time with me and I was speaking her love language and she preceded to tell me that I was the best mom in the world and that she enjoys asking me questions and learning from me. I then asked if she would prefer me spending time with her or a gift because gifts is her second love language and she told me that gifts don't matter that she would rather just be with me.

I was so grateful for that experience because when we returned home the girls all went up to play and then we hear this screaming and crying. Reeghan decided to throw a plastic bracelet into the toliet that the other two girls were playing with and yada yada yada. DRAMA! So Reeghan began throwing her upset fit kicking the floor and the walls and just letting us know that she was angry and frustrated. This was all happening while we were downstairs having a conversation so I causally went upstairs and decided beforehand that I would remain calm.

I get up there and she is just out of control and just not settling down. I tried the trick that always seems to work at least with my girls and that is to smell the roses and blow the bubbles concept. A deep breathing technique. It didn't work this time. She was just far from calming down. But I kept telling myself to remain calm. I was so glad I followed through it was rough and wanted to throw in the towel but in the end it worked out.

I had to leave and let her vent some more by herself and then I came back in a second time and she then told me why she was so frustrated. She felt left out and not loved. She told me that I only loved her this much (her hands signing with palms facing eachother only an inch apart) and that I loved Paetan and Easton that much (which was about 5 inches apart)

Right then and there a distinct impression came to my mind to go grab a book in our library for the kids a book called, "Your're All my Favorites" It talks about 3 baby bears with their parents and how each of them wonder if their parents even love them. They begin to wonder how their parents could love them with patches or if daddy loved the other two more than the other or that the others are bigger then the littlest one.

So they then go to their parents and ask them who is their favorite because they all can't be the best. The first baby bear asks and is told that he is the most perfect first baby bear that anyone has ever seen. The book then goes through the same with the other two but substituting the words to second and third. The lesson to be learned is that the parents love them just the same and that they are all favorites.

It was a great reminder to me to analyze the time I am spending with each child and how Reeghan and Paetan both have the love language of "quality time" and that I need to reach out to them more equally and to not show any signs of favoritism. Reeghan is alot harder on herself than Paetan is and I believe that comes because she is the first born and she wants to please Trent and I.

Parenting is hard work but if you can learn about each child individually and find out what their needs are it will be a win win situation for both of you. This is about teamwork here and I have been constantly telling my girls our family motto of "Yes You Can" because at times life can get real hard and Yes I can be a good mom and love my children the way that I know how.

I just pray that this all made sense because it was a powerful lesson for me to learn today and now I want to share it so there you have it. Now go get "The 5 Love Languages for Kids" by Gary Chapman its a great read and will blow your mind!

First Day of School

2010-09-07T22:52:00.000-07:00

The girls got to go take a peak at their classrooms before actually starting school and to also take pictures with their teachers.

Reeghan and Ms. Beardsley (her 1st and now 2nd Grade teacher)

Paetan and Ms. Anne (Kindergarten teacher)

This was the first year I took "first day of school pictures" in front of my actual front door. I thought I would jump onto the bandwagon that has already begun. Growing up in my family it was in our front yard in front of our bush. Gotta start a tradition!

Reeghan's first day

Paetan's first day

Balboa Park Museums

2010-08-24T15:11:00.000-07:00

San Diego Hall of Champions

To continue on with our "Chapman's are Champions" we went to visit the Hall of Champions museum downtown at Balboa Park. Certain museums are free to san diego county residents on Tuesdays of each month. It just so happened that this particular week this museum was free.

It was actually a small museum I was kind of disappointed and their was more words than visuals but I guess these types of places aren't necessary "little kid" friendly. Easton, the girls and I breezed through the museum and talked about the various types of sports and noted certain athletes that helped improve their sport to make them champions.

We went into the baseball section and I was hoping to find a "Easton" baseball bat but no such luck they only have Louisville Sluggers and Rawlings. I wanted to get a picture of Easton and the bat.

San Diego Automotive Museum

Easton loved this museum all he kept chatting away the whole time through was, "Car, Car, Car!" It was awesome to see his delight and the expressions on his face. They of course weren't able to touch any of them but they did have an explore section of the museum that was designed just for kids.

They had a car they could sit in that just had the frame of the car so that the kids could see the insides of the car. They also had a motorcycle that they could sit on. This museum was a quickie one as well.

We ended up staying there for only 1.5 hours because Easton was done of course. The girls were bummed out that we didn't get to go to the Air and Space Museum. Maybe next time!

Time is winding down for Retreat Goodness!

2010-08-23T22:23:00.000-07:00

Family and Friends,

So here's the latest on the retreat I have two options for you:
Deadline is this Friday the 27th!

1.) I have a family and friends discount because I am organizing it that can work toward your retreat click here.

If you want an additional $10 off that discount you can get your check in the mail today or tomorrow and mail it to:

Checks should be made payable to: Power of Moms, 3052 N. Snow Canyon Pkway #96, St George, UT 84770 and MUST ARRIVE BEFORE AUGUST 27th.

2.) I just got word from Saren (cofounder) that she would be willing to put a deposit option on the retreat. You can pay half of it now and the other half by Sept 8? Would that be more doable for any of you that is tight with money. I know that I have had a few moms do extra odd side jobs to earn their money to come to it. (She will have to add it to the website so give her a day to do that option, it will show up in the same drop down box)

Please leave a comment if you have questions. I would love to see you all have a "mommy break" and be more organized in your mother minds! My post below proves that changes can happen and they will if you allow time to be away and ponder on the inspiration that comes to you for the welfare of your family.

Family Wall

2010-08-23T22:20:00.000-07:00

I'm on the search for the perfect family wall to display my ancestors and our newly formed family motto and law. I've been searching for a few months now and finally decided on a location in my house for it and I'm excited to get the ball rolling.

Too also be continued.....

It's amazing how much I've been able to accomplish now that my mind is clear of all the "stuff" that I thought about all the time. But now with my M.O.M (Mind Organization for Moms) derived from the book, "Getting Things Done" I am actually getting things done and I love the thrill of accomplishing and making improvements.

I thrive on change for some reason and I enjoy whatever is thrown at me. I thrive on creativity and trying to figure out the next thing to change. Trent may not like it all the time but hey I've got to move things here and there to help me to visualize.

But then there's times like recently where our rental property is in limbo I don't want to face that change so I am praying all will work out for the best because I've done alot of hard work to create my space, my home!

Chapman's are Champions

2010-08-23T22:00:00.000-07:00

This evening we had a joint family night with all of Trent's side of the family. I was able to put this activity together along with Susan and Kelly. It was one of those nights that I had dreamed of doing for quite some time but didn't do anything about it until I was pushed a bit when I went to my motherhood retreat back in June.

At the retreat we talked about Family Systems and how it was important to create a family identity to unify eachother. I had the thought and inspiration right then that this type of night needed to happen.

I want to do this with my side of the family too one day so that will be next on my next actions list which I learned about also at the retreat.

To preface the night I have to tell you about the homework that we did. I asked each of the families for the month of August at their family home evenings to research a champion and find out the reasons why they are a champion in their minds.

Next we met up tonight to spotlight our favorite one that we picked as a family. We met up at the beach which was a perfect day until the mosquitoes came out. We enjoyed the beach for a bit and then went into our family discussion.

We had a great experience sharing together and I could feel from each of the presenters from each of the families a true love and gratitude for these individuals.

Here is some of the "Champions" each of the families spotlighted:

Jesus Christ
Coach John Wooden (legendary college basketball coach
Jeff Burns (cousin in the family)
Stripling Warriors (in Book of Mormon)
Ameila Earhart (first women to fly)
Travis Chapman (my brother-in-law who 2 weeks ago challenged the whole family to read the Book of Mormon for one hour a day and write down impressions in our journals)

and finally our family choose:

Team Hoyt (father/son duo who runs ALOT) click here to see more.

We chose Team Hoyt because of his devotion to his son and that both of them together changed eachother's lives through their act of service. Running race after race for 30+ years. I admire champions like these who just go and do and don't want to receive praise or recognition they just know that it makes them feel good inside.

I also found this awesome song and please pay attention to the lyrics. Its moving and brought me to tears. Click here to watch.

Wow! What a night this was. A night to remember and when we returned home during our evening prayers Reeghan thanked Heavenly Father for teaching her about champions! This is the moment as a mom when you say, "They got it" At times I don't think much is going in and I just talk and talk and lead by example but until a night like this happens it just makes you feel sooo good inside to know your doing the right thing.

To continue with our theme for the month we will be going to the "Hall of Champions" museum down at Balboa Park tomorrow. It just so happens to be free Tuesday for the particular museum so it worked out perfectly.

Finally on Saturday we will host our first "Cousin Chapman Olympics" where the kids will be able to showcase their way of a champion. I'm looking forward to seeing how this day will turn out.

To be continued.......

"Get Organized" Retreat in September

2010-08-11T15:18:00.000-07:00

Susan (my SIL) and I were given the sweet opportunity to research a place for our first ever retreat for Power of Moms. Best of all Saren and April will be coming to it to present and to bask in their wealth of knowledge and goodness.

We were going back and forth on locations for about 1.5 months. But nothing was feeling quite right about some of the spots that we had picked out. Plus we needed to find a location for at least 30 women. Susan took the grunt of all the work with phone calls she put in too much time but learned alot about herself and just knowing the right questions to ask.

Ideally the best suitable location would be to rent out a home but we could only find 3 homes that would fit that criteria. We found some great cabin type feel homes in Lake Arrowhead that had treehouses and bunk beds. Then we went to the beach and found an ideal one in Del Mar but they never responded to my inquiry. Too bad its there loss. Finally our last beach house we went to look at was just way too small but said it could sleep 30 but very cozy.

So we went back to the drawing board and just went to the typical hotel style retreat. We came across Laguna Cliffs Marriott in Dana Point and looked at their website and just "assumed" they were over our budget. But we learned quick not to make a quick judgment because Jennifer who we are working with is awesome.

She grasped on to who we are as an organization and being a mom herself just feel in love with the idea. So she has pulled strings for us to come and to host our event at her hotel.

It has been quite the experience and I am ready to take on many more like this and to learn to ask and not to assume.

So with that said...... click here to attend.

Come to our RETREAT in September. You will not be disappointed and I know that your husband will thank you for coming too because you will come back fired up and motivated to conquer your fears. Well that's what it did for me but each of us is different and we might take away something else but at least we are trying.

We are America

2010-08-09T13:13:00.000-07:00

My cousin Jim Funk wrote this song and his talented wife, Jessie, sang it. My grandfather is the one pictured in the first scene. He served in World War II and has shared many memorable stories about his time in the service.

He actually served in the San Diego area in Escondido for a time which is about 15 miles away from me now. My mother, Shauna, gave to each of us children a written history or his autobiography and it is definitely something I will treasure along with my other grandparents and greats.

Just last night Reeghan asked us about our history and about how we became members of the church. It was a great opportunity to show her the book that my parents had given me of our deep rich pioneer history about the Peterson and Wood side families.

I can't wait to share more with my children about our family history. Its just a great reminder of what I am doing here on this blog. I am creating our own family history here and some of the time may be cheesy information but at other times it will be well worth recording our special events and happenings in life!

Arizona Day Two Afternoon

2010-08-06T21:14:00.000-07:00

At my first Power of Mom Retreat back here. I had meet some exceptional woman who are moms and I've always dreamed of going into each of their homes and watching them "in action" doing real mom stuff. Well I got my first opportunity to do so this afternoon with a mother that I admire and look up too.

Meet Shawni....

I would consider her a Super Mom but she is so real and upfront with real life and writes beautifully. I contacted her because she lives in Arizona and I knew that somehow someway I would get to see her and it worked!

She got my post comment and wrote back and we got to meet up and she happens to live one mile away from the friends that we were visiting. So perfect.

I invited the friend I was visiting to come along and walked into her home which is adorable and just had a great visit.

During this time she has been in the middle of potty training her last child and it was just great to see her doing all the motherly duties while friends are over and just holding her children while they were sad or explaining to a daughter to be very careful about handling their "6th child" which happens to be her beloved SLR camera!

I loved every minute of it and I just thought to myself just how important life is as a mother and to cherish all these moments even when their is company over and to just appreciate great friendships.

We went back and forth about all of our ideas that we have been doing and the new ideas that we are currently working on as mothers. We went from home decor to schools to travel to blogs to power of moms stuff which you can read more about here.

Overall it was just such a treat to be in her "mom life" for a moment in time and to catch a glimpse into her role in that part of the world. I hope I can do this more often to bring into perspective just how real mom life is and its not always going to be a pretty painted canvas.

Thanks Shawni for a great afternoon!

Arizona Day Two Morning

2010-08-06T09:04:00.000-07:00

I awoke to breakfast in bed. Trent had slipped out of the hotel room and came back with stuffed french toast with blackberry jam and syrup along with eggs and crunchy potatoes that you knew were baked or broiled. It was all so scrumpcious!

I turned on the television because I never get to do it and watched a snip it of Good Morning America and they were doing their concert in the park series and they had John Legend on. His voice is incredible and has a great talent with the piano. I've bought a few songs of his but some aren't that uplifting.

Then my only favorite show on TLC, What Not to Wear, came on. I love watching people get a makeover and seeing the joy on their faces as they watch themselves grow into a new individual that has confidence and great self-esteem because they look good.

This particular one was exceptional and actually made me cry! This older woman was about to celebrate her 20th wedding anniversary and was given a chance to get this makeover just before it happened. Just to watch her husband see her was enough for me and the words he said to her just made me cry.

It just makes me always want to look my best for my husband and I know that for me I need that confidence to walk tall and realize that I am special and I can be very happy in my skin.

Arizona Day One

2010-08-05T21:34:00.000-07:00

I get the privilage on many occassions to tag along with Trent on his business trips which I love to do. Its a great time for both of us to get away for a bit and realign our goals and visions as a couple.

This time it brought us to Scottsdale, Arizona. Trent participated in a panel discussion along with 4 others to speak to a group of 250 real estate agents about short sales. Go here to learn more about his company.

We drove to Arizona which road trips just the two of us we tend to get alot done whether reading, talking or listening to books. I did alot of planning for my Power of Moms stuff that is coming up here in the next few months.

After the panel discussion we headed off to the Scottsdale Fashion Mall to kill some time and to finish up the last of the girls school shopping. If you haven't been to H&M their kids clothing line is adorable and cheap! Another good find I found in Scottsdale is a clothing and home furnishings consignment called "My Sister's Closet and Attic."

That evening we went to Oregano's for dinner. Wow! That was alot of food and good food too. I had to wait for my fresh chicken lagana for 45 minutes and when it finally came out I took 4 bites and was stuffed because of the artichoke appetizer and salad that I had ate previously.

We went out to dinner with the Weavers and the Kaufmann's which are Trent's buddies that participated on the panel eariler that day. These guys are great and their wives are fun to. Thanks guys for sharing that place with us.

Forgiveness

2010-07-31T13:39:00.000-07:00

Forgiveness

I came across this incredible video of a man and the tragedy that he has been faced with and just cried my whole way through the video. It makes me want to have a better relationship with my father in heaven as well as my elder brother, Jesus Christ.

I always have wondered how I would do spiritually when trials and tragedy come to me and I pray that when that day comes I will remember Chris Williams and his enduring testimony of forgiveness and love.

Threasher Shark

2010-07-30T05:17:00.000-07:00

I missed out on Trent's shark catch while I was in Utah but I am sure their may be more coming. Once you catch one I am sure it doesn't stop there.

He had just got home from his week long seminar in Las Vegas and couldn't wait to go out kayak fishing early the next morning. He usually gets up at 4:30am and heads down to LaJolla shores.

So the catch goes a little something like this:

He went out about 1.5 miles off shore and got the shark and it pulled him about 1/2 mile and it was on his reel for about 40 minutes and he told me that it was quite the bicep workout holding on the line.

He brought it up and then it all the sudden shot down straight into the water and had to hold on to it another 5 minutes and brought him back up again and then he gafted it. Which means he killed it.

Put it onto his kayak and then took it to shore everyone gathered around him and oohhed and awhhed about it.

I am glad I wasn't there to see all the cutting and filleting the shark. He showed some pictures of him using my kitchen and refrigerator. I guess this is just the start of it though.

I Am Doing God's Work!

2010-07-05T11:46:00.000-07:00

You Raise Me Up!

2010-07-05T11:44:00.000-07:00

Mom and Dad touring the Far East

2010-07-01T23:47:00.000-07:00

Its not everyday you get an email like this from your parents!

This email is coming from Taipei, Taiwan. We have been to Hong Kong, Manila and Taipei Temples. We are on our way to the Fukuoka Japan Temple. From there we will go to Seoul Korea , then to Detroit on Sunday and on to Atlanta. Monday we will be heading to Guayaqui Ecuador and back to Atlanta Wednesday morning. That is as far as we have planned. (Assuming all the connections will work out).

Everything has worked out perfect so far. The Lord has truly been with us in helping us find our way and get our airline flights (The flights were oversold but we were able to get on each of them so far) We have met some wonderful Saints in all the areas. We will have tons of stories (as always) when we return.

We love you all and hope everything is good at home and you are all well.

We'll get in touch when we get into the states again.

LOVE,

MOM AND DAD

My parents are temple hoppers and have been doing it for quite sometime now. They both are teachers and take their holidays and summers to just travel the world to go to the church temples. Our church has built 132 temples and my parents on my last count was at 90 but I am sure its close to 97 now.

They are inspirational to me and they only take a carry on with them and are on limited sleep and maybe even food. Who knows. But I love them for it.

I appreciate them showing my children their love for temple work and their sacrifice to be away from family to help others. My parents truly are service minded individuals.

I called my Grandma Peterson the other day (my dad's mom) and talked with her. Each time I talk to her she tells me how much she loves my parents and the example they have set for her and how much they serve her. I am ever so grateful for their silent example of service, they don't need praise or recognition for it.

Love you Mom and Dad!

The Remarkable Soul of a Woman

2010-06-29T16:16:00.000-07:00

Its down to the last two days of the month and I had been wanting to find some special gifts for some of my friends that I visit with each month and came across this book.

I was able to write to each one of them a special note in the front of this book. I felt that each one of them needed to feel loved by me through this book. Its a very quick read and one I could read each day to be reminded of my special role.

One friend in particular has had many life experiences and has had quite the life and I have enjoyed getting to know her and her personality. I stopped off for 10 minutes to give it to her and to have a little small talk and then we said our goodbyes.

The next day she called me. The conversation went a little like this:

"That book you gave me yesterday saved my best friend from having an abortion today!"

I had to have her repeat what she had told me. I was shocked! I began to ask more details and how this all had happened. She explained that as she was driving her friend to the doctor appointment to have an abortion, her friend asked her about the book that she had in the car.

Then her friend begins to read it and began to cry and told her that she wasn't going to go through with it anymore. WOW! I knew that I was inspired to give that book to my friend and that my friend was an instrument in the Lord's hands to help that woman know her true value.

It just goes to show you that the Lord does have a hand in all that we do and it also reminds us just what is important in life. It is a life of a baby! Its the most beautiful experience a woman can have to carry a special spirit and to bring it to this earth and cherish it.

This experience that she shared with me taught me to recognize the hand of God in my life and how if we "pay attention" and recognize all the little things, that you don't think matter, it can bless lives.

I encouraged her to write down this experience that she had with her friend and to hold on to those memories tightly because life throws us some fast balls and if we aren't armed and ready to catch them they will whack us hard and bring us down.

That's why I felt the need to share this with you and I hope that each of us will recognize our own little trials and blessings in life because we don't know if we will be the one that will help another and maybe even be a part of saving a precious baby's life!

Wow! I'm still shocked!

Train and Car Puzzle Project

2010-06-28T22:33:00.000-07:00

For our masterpiece today we created a train and a car that I picked up from Michael's for $1 for our project today. The girls enjoyed taking all the pieces off the wood sheet but they weren't really interested in actually putting it together because it had some intense pieces.

They call this type of project "a puzzle" and I was really getting into it for a while there and really started to enjoy it. I even started a third one of a plane but I didn't last very long because this one piece wasn't cut correctly so it was causing alot of problems so I took a break from it.

Next on the project is to paint them and I think I am going to display them in Easton's room and maybe start a room decor project from these pieces. We shall see.

Summer Schedule

2010-06-21T22:20:00.000-07:00

I took an idea from a friend of mine that she did for her children one summer and tweeked it a little and I'd like to share it with you now. Its a weekday schedule to keep your children entertained and to look forward to a particular day of the week.

Sabbath Sunday - a day to rest period.

Masterpiece Monday - is a day of creating or doing an arts and crafts project.

Take a Trip Tuesday - is a day trip day to a museum, park, library, etc.

Wet Wednesday - a day to go to the beach or swimming pool or create a waterslide.

Take Time to Serve Thursday - a day to give service to someone or do a service project.

Friend Friday - invitation to bring a friend over to the house to play also Wii day.

Spontaneous Saturday - surprise your family with a spontaneous activity for them.

I am looking forward to seeing how things will go so far its been great and the kids are asking me what day of the week it is and have now memorized what each day means. It been about 1.5 weeks since it started but I can see that it will keep my kids from asking the question this summer, "I am bored what can I do now?"

Let me know what ideas you may have in regards to my day of the week program

The Day After Effect

2010-06-14T16:32:00.000-07:00

Drive up to Costco parking lot and I jump out to get the cart to get my chore done of grocery shopping. My almost 2 year old refuses to get into the cart which happens to be one of the very few times that he has done this.

My 5 year old didn't bring her shoes so she has to get into the cart with her brother too. I get them all buckled after I think is 5 minutes but really was probably one minute.

I then turn to find my 7 year old is opening the back of the car to find her sister's shoes and balloons almost fall out of the car that belong to the 5 year old who starts screaming to shut the door so that they don't fly away.

By this time my 2 year old son has already been in standing position in the cart with the buckle at his ankles. I continue to put him into the cart once again and then my 5 year old thinks she needs to be a "big girl" and sit in the bigger section of the cart.

"Really! Is this what is happening to me?"

I try to keep my cool because others are walking too and from their cars and I really don't want to make a scene. I finally get the two back into the buckles and just start walking hopefully the 2 year old will be distracted by others and watching cars go by.

My vision didn't work out he continued to scream and climb out of the buckle once again and then my 7 year old pipes up that she is hungry and wanted to stop and get a Costco hot dog.

Then my 5 year old agrees and all 3 at this point are all just talking, asking and screaming! I didn't even get 5 car lengths away from my car and just threw in the towel and just gave up on my mission to get my chore of grocery shopping done and just turned around and walked back to the car.

How many of you have done that before?

Everyone is crying by this point and everyone refuses to get into their car seats. I already have a hard time putting my 2 year old in the car anyway so this didn't help out.

The parking spot next to us was open I love when this happens when I have to get my son into the carseat so I can climb in and put my body over the carseat to get him in. This time a car had to wait for me because I was just fuming at his point and I could tell that my face was getting red and his carseat buckle was having issues. So needless to say this car waited for about one minute until I got it figured out.

I tell you this story because I know some of you out there have related to this in some way or another. I just returned from the Power of Mom's retreat and this is why I called my story "The Day After Effect" because I'm sure its happened to alot of us. We go off to enjoy ourselves for a couple of days to come back to our children really missing us and just out of whack!

I was taught while I was away about perspective and I thought about this while on the drive home from Costco and decided that I just needed to do something fun.

I got out of the car and asked the girls to get ready for a bike ride and they were thrilled. I just needed to get fresh air as well as they did after all that had happened. I just knew that if I did this spontaneous activity with my children my perspective would be changed a little and really enjoy the moment.

Well it lasted for quite sometime and we were enjoying the weather and Easton and Paetan were sitting in the bike trailer so Easton had had enough and started to pull her hair.

Why do boys find this to be funny? Honestly he does it to get their attention and its his way of picking on them because they do it so much to him.

So needless to say we ended our bike trip early! But in the end they were just happy to be back with mom and gave me alot of loves!

What a weekend!

2010-06-11T20:26:00.000-07:00

I don't even know where to start! I've been looking forward to this weekend for quite some time now and it came and went by way too fast.

I found the Power of Moms from a book I read and have loved the site ever since and then they introduced learning circles and a bunch of girls from my church started a little group and we meet once a month. Then the website announced a Retreat! I knew I wanted to get involved with such a great support group so I jumped right in!

I am so grateful that I did go. It was my Mother's Day gift. Susan and her sister, Laura, came along too. I met some amazing, real, down to earth moms. I am so grateful to call them my friends now.

The highlight for me of course was to met, talk and eat with the Eyre's (Linda, Saren and Shawni) to be quite honest here. I've enjoyed their readings and knew that I wanted to model their style of parenting.

I learned a great deal about just taking care of myself first and then I will have more to give to my children. The biggest struggle that I face as a mother is going to bed early and waking early.

Once I got home I came to the conclusion that I am just a crabby mom and I am quick to snap at the children if I wake up late because I slept in. I would get a good 2-3 hours work done in the morning before my children need me. Then I will have more to give to them and spend the day just playing!

Another great thing was April Perry's Mind Organization. Boy, I thought I was organized this girl put me to shame! She is amazing. She has the know how and to get our mom minds organized. I would love to share with you what she taught me but she sells it on the Power of Moms website click here to find out more.

I excited too because I was trained to be a Power of Mom's trainer in which I will tag team with my SIL Susan to host workshops and retreats for moms here in our area. I am anxious to get it started and we have alot of great ideas flowing already to take on this new challenge.

More information will be forth coming when it comes available.

Overall I was just empowered to combat alot of my weaknesses about what I struggle with as a mom but also was uplifted because I am a mom and I am doing the best that I can.

So excited to see how much the Power of Moms will change the culture of motherhood!

Summer Bucket List

2010-06-07T14:11:00.000-07:00

Summer goals for each family member:

Dad
* weekly interview with children
* lunch date with a child once a week
* turn off computer and limit phone use while at home

Mom
* print a blurb book of our family blog
* teach the girls how to make a meal (but I should learn how first, haha)
* focus on my weekly schedule and execute the planned activities
* schedule all retreats and workshops for the rest of the year and find locations
* read one book a week
* take 2 dance classes

Reeghan
* piano practice 3 times a week
* learn swim strokes and diving
* set up a tent

Paetan
* learn to ride a bike
* Finish 100 Easy Lessons of reading
* swim lessons
* swing on the monkey bars

Easton
* practice being soft and not hit
* learn 5 new words and speak them

List of activities to earn this summer are:

Camping trip
Legoland Waterpark
San Diego Fair
Sea World
San Diego Children's Museum

I really do enjoy the area that we live in. We have alot of activities for the children and of course we have alot of the amusement parks as well.

A great way to start your morning

2010-06-06T22:18:00.000-07:00

I am going to take this little girls advice and run with it and actually do it! Positive affirmations is what we all need! Test it out and see for yourself.

Check her out here.

Why we go to Stake Conference with little children.

2010-06-06T14:33:00.000-07:00

I knew that this morning was going to be a difficult one already because the children were not getting along at all. Plus Trent is out of town as well so I had to do it by myself.

I know you probably thinking that that's not a big deal because I know alot of you out there deal with it all the time by yourselves with more kids then me. I get it. But I just wanted to write this all out to make me feel better.

We got to conference 15 minutes late because Easton fell down 2 steps and got a bloody nose. We get there and were put into the Primary room because everything was filled already.

We were able to sit down for 2 minutes then the arguments began about what pen or pencil that they wanted. Easton was quite content for a 1/2 hour or so because of the little girl behind us. They were being cute together and sharing food with eachother.

It was my older two that were giving me a hard time! You would expect it from a 2 year old but not them. It was quite frustrating. I've learned that they enjoy seeing me get into this position so that they can easily persuade but I stood my ground everyone.

I stuck it out and just hung on with all my might not to walk out the doors and go home but I know how important it is to teach our children to sit and be reverent and endure to the end!

Carlsbad Stake Conference

2010-06-05T22:04:00.000-07:00

Adult Session of Stake Conference

I was asked to speak in the adult session of Stake Conference about 2 weeks ago and was quite shocked when they asked me to speak. The Stake Presidency doesn't even know me at all and I am new to the area and the stake. I was taken by surprise but when Pres. Perkins told me my topic I was really excited to do it. I have a passion for temple service and he wanted me to discuss with the members how it has blessed me and also my role as a mother and juggling kids and getting to the temple.

I have spent quite alot of time comtemplating what I was going to speak about but to finally put it down on paper this time it just kept flowing out of me. I worked on it for a while and more and more thoughts kept coming.

Tonight I was so nervous and I got sunburned this morning from the mudrun so that didn't help either. I got their early and saw Pres. Perkins and introduced myself and I was curious as to how they would pick me. But I wasn't going to ask him.

My words were coming out but boy my mouth was so dry! I wish I would have taken my water bottle up there with me. I got through it all and didn't shed a tear until the end I was so proud of myself.

I will share with you what I complied and shared with the members of my stake:

I've been fortunate to have grown up in the church and was raised by parents who have a love for the temple. They have been to 90 out of the 132 operating temples around the world. I remember as a child they would tell us about the Salt Lake temple where they were married and I watched them get into their car and drive off to attend that temple quite frequently. My parents have been truly great examples of temple attendance.

I developed a love for and a strong interest in the temples at an early age and always made temple photography the predominant decor of my bedroom. Which has now been incorporated into my own home decor and in each bedroom. When it was my turn to enter the temple I felt like I was ready but didn't quite understand (like many of us) what amazing spiritual experiences that can happen there.

I have the great privilege of working in the temple as a receptionist, which I look forward to each month. When I was given this assignment to speak these thoughts came to me, "Do we love what we have been commanded to love?" Our temples are not as busy as they would be if we loved being there. The absence of patrons at the temple as I have worked has been saddening. We need to keep in remembrance this thought of "no empty chairs" in regards to the temple now but more importantly up in heaven.

A scripture came to my mind in D&C 60:7 and a part of it states, "I am able to make you holy". If we feel inadequate or unlearned what better place to be, than in the temple. He will help us, guide us and make us holy. Pres. Rosell when he spoke in our ward a few weeks ago mentioned that "we need to be in places where we will be filled with goodness" Isn't that what the temple is all about?

I was married 8.5 years ago and my husband and I make a commitment to eachother during that first year of marriage that we would attend the temple every week. During this time I noticed a great change in us as a new couple and we began to grow together in our knowledge of the importance of temple worship and our newly formed eternal marriage.

We made it through that first year or so and then came the children and we became more lax in our temple attendance. We knew that we needed to make a conscience effort in attending at least once a month. We found ourselves coming up with more things to do in our spare time than attend the temple.

In Stake Conference a couple years ago in the Escondido South Stake, president Haney encouraged us to sacrifice our time to attend the temple. He asked each of us to analyze how much time we spend watching TV, spending time sitting at home or using our time unwisely, but we still come up with the excuse that, "I don't have time to attend the temple". The Lord expects us to make sacrifices to show our love and devotion to him and his Kingdom. The reason it is called a sacrifice, is because we are giving up something we want for ourselves, for something better that the Lord wants for us to do.

The First Presidency wrote a letter that was read over the pulpit dated March 11, 2003 in regards to temple service it states:

"We are grateful for the increased availability of temples worldwide and invite adult members to have a current temple recommend and visit the temple more often. Where time and circumstance permit, members are encouraged to replace some leisure activities with temple service. ….

All of the ordinances which take place in the House of the Lord become expressions of our belief in that fundamental and basic doctrine of the immortality of the human soul. As we redouble our efforts and our faithfulness in going to the temple, the Lord will bless us."

If you need to, make a temple budget and eliminate another lesuire activity that require money so you can afford to pay for a baby sitter if needed. You will be blessed for your sacrifice in many ways.

Our ward conference had a special adult meeting where we met with a couple from Riverside who work in the temple there. The sister spoke to me that night and I would like to share with you a powerful statement she made to us, "Weekly temple attendance is a commitment and monthly temple attendance is an inconvenience."

If you go once a month you would be doing the work for 12 individuals a year but if you went weekly it would be around 48 individuals taking into consideration temple closings. Thats a big difference. I would like to propose that each of us make a goal to count individuals rather than the number of times you go.

The San Diego temple if you haven't noticed has already been in the process of getting some improvements made and being washed so why not add ourselves to improving and recommitting ourselves to set a goal for individual service in the temple.

Pres. Hinckley said this, "If you are geographically able, go to the temple on a regular basis. You will be better fathers and husbands, better wives and mothers. I know your lives are busy. I know your have much to do. But I make you a promise that if you will go to the house of the Lord you will be blessed; life will be better for you."

Elder Perry in last conference, along with many others, spoke of the importance of teaching your children, he said, "Teaching in the home is becoming increasingly important in today’s world, where the influence of the adversary is so widespread and he is attacking, attempting to erode and destroy the very foundation of our society, even the family. Parents must resolve that teaching in the home is a most sacred and important responsibility. While other institutions, such as church and school, can assist parents to “train up a child in the way he [or she] should go” (Proverbs 22:6), ultimately this responsibility rests with parents."

I feel this weight and my children are under the age of 7 so I can only imagine what it must be like for those of you who have teenagers! Yikes! Once again its the temple where burdens are lifted and then will you come out strengthened.

As a mother I know that it is difficult to schedule time to attend the temple especially when you are juggling activities or when you have little ones. In our ward we are starting to organize temple babysitting swap. Maybe a lot of you out there are already doing something similar but a couple who needs a sitter can ask another couple to watch their children and then swap later that week or month.

If finances are tight and your reason for not going is because you can't afford a babysitter, consider asking the young women to help. They will be blessed by giving service to you as you attend and you will be blessed for attending. I would encourage you parents that have teenage daughters to talk to them about what they can do to help couples in their wards get to the temple more often.

We are all facing so many different situations that might appear to be obstacles to attending the temple, but I just encourage you to pray for what is best for your family and ask for a solution to your challenge. Temple attendance will enrich your lives like it has mine on so many different levels especially motherhood because quite honestly it's the hardest but most fulfilling thing I will ever do. Even if you only have an hour just go in and be filled.

Why not take the whole family down to the temple on occassion and mom and dad swap and do initatory work. That way you are allowing the children to grow their own love and testimony of the temple through your attendence. You could even go as far as bringing sketch books for the kids to draw a picture of the temple or other temple related activities. If you don't have a current temple recommend try to get a limited use recommend and go do baptisms with the youth, another couple, a friend, your home or visiting teacher, or your family.

Recently I have gone to the temple with a particular question in mind and I really didn't want to know the answer to it but I knew that if I didn't pray about it that it would be selfish of me. I've been quite content with my life until this point and I've struggled with this question for quite some time and was just pushing it off. I now know why personal revelation is needed for each of us for our progression here and what better place to receive it than in the temple where we are closer to that God who gave us life. I felt the spirit so strong as I prayed to know the answer to my question. The Lord answered my prayers and helped me to know what I needed to do to continue to progress.

In closing I was touched by reading Pres. Utchdorf conference talk directed to the young women in their broadcast. He spoke of fairy tales and how we can live our "happily ever afters" here. He said, "I understand that, at times, some may wonder why they attend Church meetings or why it is so important to read the scriptures regularly or pray to our Heavenly Father daily. Here is my answer: You do these things because they are part of God’s path for you. And that path will take you to your “happily ever after” destination." May I add the temple in that part as well.

My testimony of the temple worship resignates within me and I know that I will be a better daughter, wife and mother to those around me because of my service there. I bear this in his name Jesus Christ, Amen.

Now I know how important it is to give thanks to those to whom you appreciate their thoughts and preparation. I was now on the receiving end and have to say honestly how great it felt to feel their spirit and to share with me their thoughts about what I had discussed. I love that feeling! I too will pay it forward and express gratitude.

Carlsbad Mud Run

2010-06-05T10:32:00.000-07:00

I volunteered myself to join a group of girls from my ward to participate in the World famous, Camp Pendleton mud run this upcoming Saturday. Its a 10K so 6.2 miles and I haven't ran or trained for such a thing in a very long time. Hopefully my Jillian Michaels workouts have been sufficent enough for me to make it and actually finish it with my head held high.

Of course it will be more difficult because of the obstacle course as well as the MUD but wish me luck and I've heard great things about it. I just get a feeling that I am just going to be laughing most of the time and just enjoying myself. If I keep that in mind I'm sure the pain in my knee once I hit 3 miles won't hurt as bad.

If you are interested in knowing more about this race go here.

UPDATED on June 5th day of the race

It began this morning with the Camp Pendleton mud run. I didn't train at all to run 6.2 miles and it was hard! I came into this last minute because a girl backed out of a team that some of the girls from the ward put together.

They figured I'd do well because I workout but I soon found out real quick with all the uphills that that was not the case. Man! That was grueling and hot and steep! Then came the mud and boy that was so much fun plowing through it. I felt so good to just get dirty!

The obstacles were fun as well jumping over 5 foot walls and I did them on my own by the way. The slithering into a tunnel and then crossing a river of water up to my chest and then to top it all off at the end with a army crawl through mud. We had to cross the finish line arm and arm as a team so 2 girls were waiting for the 3 of us to get to this point and then crossed and finished 1 hour 35 minutes.

I have to say that I went into this not knowing what I was getting myself into and not expecting what I actually did but overall I was very satisfied even though those hills did it for me it was well worth it.

Potty Training Post

2010-06-04T17:34:00.000-07:00

I found a great Potty Training Post and I wanted to keep so click here.

Girls and Bandaids

2010-05-26T17:35:00.000-07:00

We had quite the episodes today in regards to getting hurt and TRYING to put on bandaids. Why is it in my household that these girls are such sissy's when it comes to getting hurt and its really not that bad.

First one was with Paetan and she got new shoes but didn't wear any socks so she got a blister on her ankle and was going crazy in the back seat of the car. I couldn't calm her down with anything I even got to the point that I would bribe her to go to get something to eat. Didn't work! She saw the excess skin and just went nuts!

Its like pulling teeth to get these girls to put a simple bandaid on. Really does it have to be this difficult?

Second was Reeghan and she was putting her pants on and somehow cut her fingernail and it was bleeding. I was in the garage when this happened and her hear screaming uncontrollably in her closet of her bedroom. That's quite a distance but that's what happens when she sees blood its just instant panic attack and screaming.

Try putting a bandaid on her too, Oh no!

So she decided to ask for us to pray with her and she said her first one and noticed that it didn't work so she had to do another prayer. The second one was much more detailed and she said something along these lines:

Heavenly Father bless my owie on my finger. Bless it to heal tonight and make it so that when mom puts on the bandaid it wont hurt and then help me to calm down.

Missionaries who feed me!

2010-05-24T20:37:00.000-07:00

We have had the great privilege to feed the missionaries about once or twice a month. I didn't realize just how important this was until a great friend who moved from here to Utah said that the one thing she misses most is feeding the missionaries. It made sense cause I cannot every remember growing up ever having the missionaries over to eat. That really opened up my eyes to be more grateful that I have this opportunity to show my children the spirit that these young men and women carry with them.

I've enjoyed it through the years while living here in California. Each time they come they challenge us to be better about letting others know about us and what we are about so that they can get the correct information from the right source.

This evening for some reason their message touched me in a way that I've never felt before about missionary work and the simplicity of it. Maybe because their was 3 of them instead of the normal 2. Our ward currently has a three some until transfers next week. The power of 3 is incredible and if you look at it we have 3 witnesses whether it be in a presidency of the church, or bishopric, etc.

The story they shared really hit me hard and I would like to share it with you:

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The following event took place in a ward in SLC in 1974. It occurred during a Sacrament meeting and was told by a regional representative of the Twelve (Arther Cottle), who was attending the meeting.

A young man, just before leaving on his mission, stood in Sacrament meeting and bore, in essence, the following testimony:

"Brothers and Sisters, as you know, during the past few weeks, I have been awaiting my mission call. During the time I was waiting, I had a dream. I dreamt that I was in the pre-existence and was awaiting my call to come to earth.

I was filled with the same excitement and anticipation that I had felt before I received my mission call. In my dream, I was talking to a friend. He was a dear friend and I felt a special closeness to him, even though I've never met him in this life.

As we talked, a messenger came and gave me a letter. I knew that it was my call to go to earth. In great excitement my friend and I opened the letter. I gave it to him to read aloud. The letter said:

"You have been called to earth in a special time and to a special land. You will be born into the church and you will have the blessing of the priesthood of God in your home. You will be raised with many advantages and many blessings. You will be born in a land of plenty... a land of freedom. You will go to earth in the United States of America."

My friend and I rejoiced as we read my call, and, while we rejoiced, the messenger returned. This time, he had a letter for my friend. We knew that it was the call to earth for him. My friend gave me the letter to read aloud. It read,

"You have been called to go to earth in circumstances of poverty and strife. You will not be raised in the true church. Many hardships will attend your life. Your land will be frought with political and social difficulties which will hinder the work of the Lord. You will be born in Costa Rica.

We wept, my friend and I, as we read his call. And my friend looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, 'When we are down on earth, you in your choice land and me in Costa Rica, my friend...come and find me.'

Then this young missionary, with tears in his eyes, said, "Brothers and Sisters, I have received my mission call. I am going to Costa Rica."

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There is a sequel to this story. About a year after this sacrament meeting, the Bishop of this ward received a letter from the missionary in Costa Rica. This letter had one sheet of paper in it, and on that sheet, written in inch-high letters, were five words.
"I HAVE FOUND MY FRIEND."

What is our Family doing this Summer?

2010-05-24T15:57:00.001-07:00

Last summer we had the opportunity to go live in Utah for the summer and be by my family. If you want to read what we did click on the label on the right "Salt Lake City Summer 2009."

What a treat that was to just have no set plans and just live day to day and figure things out without a long list of "to do's."

However we did go to alot of places that I hadn't been to before even though I grew up there. Those moments were the best because I got to experience them with my children for the first time.

--Natural History Museum at the University of Utah
--Beehive and Lion Houses (I think I went as a kid but I don't remember)
--Top of the Church office building view

When I began thinking about how this summer could be better than last summer I What to do this summer you ask? Well I recently have been inspired by this quote:

"Enjoy the little things in life. For one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things."

My children will only be young once, and summers don’t last forever. This summer I am committed to 'treasure the doing’ of the ‘little things in life.’ I’m determined to make it a summer to remember.

How Does our Chapman Family say "I Love You?"

2010-05-24T15:43:00.000-07:00

Each night after we say our family prayer we gather in a circle and try to kiss eachother at the same time! I know its cheesy but it works and the kids eat it up.

At times it turns into a kissing game afterward where they each are trying to see who can kiss eachother the fastest and then they roll on top of eachother too.

I am currently reading "The Five Love Languages for Kids", by Gary Chapman. I've heard about his books but have never read them until now. I don't know why I waited so long. I am so intrigued by how each individual feels loved and how we can recognize what their love language is.

I found out that the girls both have the same language of quality time. I knew it as soon as I read the five options at the beginning of the book but a close second place for both of them was Gifts.

Trent and I are now aware of what we can do to show love to our girls by spending time with them, quality time that is not quantity time! I'll keep you posted as to how our love will grow with these girls. Too bad I can't figure out what Easton's will be I guess I will have to do all of them.

For Trent and I we took the assessment also and figured out our personal love languages as well. We found out that I enjoy acts of service and I feel loved when someone does something for me (ex. doing dishes, opening my door, etc.)

Trent and I have the same secondary language and that is Quality Time. We really enjoy our time together as a couple and have getaways quite often. We fill our love tank when these activities are done.

Trent's love language is physical touch. I already knew it before I took the test because I had read the book. I came to the conclusion that if each of us work on the other's love language just a little harder and concentrate on doing these acts for eachother then our love tanks will be overflowing.

I encourage us all to read these books and to find out what language we are. Its really fascinating to see what others are and how we can be more sensitive to them when we are around them to help show them we love them.

No more walking...

2010-05-23T16:02:00.000-07:00

Ever since Sarah blogged about having to walk Paetan to school, I felt more pressure to get her a car to replace her Expedition (the lease was up May 2nd and we hadn't found another car before turning it in).

Before I get into that, let's go over the back story of Sarah's 'next car'. She has been wanting to get a GL 450 for several months now, but I personally didn't care for them much until we test drove one at the Mercedes dealership in Escondido. They really are nice and don't drive at all like a big car/truck.

Sarah knew her lease was coming to an end and that I would have to get her a new car, but what she didn't know was that I would use this as leverage for my own plans. You see, I want to have a couple more children, but we hadn't really talked about it too much and so I thought I would use this 'want' for a GL 450 so that I could get what I want. So I gave Sarah 2 options:

1) Since we only have 3 kids, we don't really need anything more than a 5 seater, so I offered to buy her a 1991 Honda Civic Hatchback (2 door... a little more difficult with car seats, but still good enough):
Kinda like this one, with the sweet multi-style wheels... 14 inch hubcaps in front, 16 inch 'custom' wheels in the back ($2,050... so I could probably pay cash for it... maybe).

OR

2. If Sarah decided we were going to 'need' more room, then we could justify getting her a GL 450. As you can see, the one below is what she chose:So, I guess in the next year or so... we'll post some other low resolution pictures (probably in black and white with weird shapes on it).

Here is one more from a different angle:
I think Sarah made a wise choice... however, I still might get a Civic Hatchback for the weekends.

Sunday Goodness

2010-05-23T15:40:00.000-07:00

Our Sunday went a little like this....

Kids woke us up, as usual on Sunday because Trent and I stay up too late on Saturday's and we love to sleep in on the weekends.

Trent walked into the girls room and they were already helping each other zip up their dresses and getting ready for church and Reeghan says to Trent, "we are getting dressed without your permission" or in other words, we are doing it without you telling us to.

The girls and I got the Friend magazine out and we read a story about modesty. I've taught this to them ever since they were babies and have made sure that I didn't veer from it. I've bought them a lot of adorable sleeveless dresses but the girls would add, "Now which color shrug do we need to wear with that one?"

Easton has had a continuous snot nose for 3 weeks now! What is it with boys and their noses? I figure that it's something to do with his ear infections. I'm not even sure if Easton currently has one, because he doesn't complain. So he stayed home from church so as not to spread the snot to other kids.

In Sacrament meeting our Stake Presidency taught us and warned us about the issue of Pornography and gave us extensive details about the dangers and statistics of this problem even within the church. The average age that a young man sees his first pornographic image is 11! Wow! I had heard this before but it is scary to think my kids will be dealing with this in the near future.

The one thing I took away from their message was to just fill our lives with good. That is why we go to church for 3 hours, attend the temple as often as we can, read scriptures, pray together as a family, go to seminary (when in high school, have our weekly family home evening, etc. We keep ourselves from being influenced by the wills of Satan and his evil designs if we are too busy filling our lives with good.

Yaun came to church today and that just made my day! He is a member of my primary class and I have been great friends with his mom since we moved into the ward and she was assigned my visiting teacher. But since Christmas I hadn't seen her or Yaun at church. I got called in January as his primary teacher. The kids were so excited to see him and I just watched them all talk with him and it was such a joy to see. We sang Happy Birthday to him as well.

After Trent made us lunch, he sat down to relax with his phone and started playing a game on it and the girls immediately ran over and told him that he wasn't keeping the sabbath day holy. Because on our way to church this morning we passed the baseball fields and the girls mentioned that they weren't obeying the sabbath either. So Paetan proceeds to tell Trent that he wasn't obeying the church! It was so true and literal that as parents we need to be careful because their eyes see everything and their ears hear it all.

A Tribute to my Mother, Shauna Peterson

2010-05-19T10:27:00.001-07:00

I have had my mother in my life for 29 years and I am sure that in the pre existence we were there together too. I love her with all my heart! I feel so blessed to call her mother and to call her whenever I need anything. That is what moms are for, right?

Shauna Peterson is:

--literally doesn't think of herself...always puts others first (anyone who knows her can vouch for the fact that I'm totally not exaggerating)

--loves the Savior and has instilled that love in each of her children though how she lives her life

--can travel around the world with one little carry-on bag (so low maintenance)

The last almost 9 years I have lived far from her and I remember our first year of marriage I went home almost every 2 months to see my family and more especially my mother. It's been hard to live so far from her but I know with that phone call I make to her that she will drop anything to talk to me even if she is taking tickets to a high school activity. I know she loves me and cares what I am doing with my children and wants the best for me.

I remember times when I was growing up when I got frustrated with life and just went to go cry in my room and my mother would come in and all she had to do was just "be there" saying nothing just watching me cry and rubbing my arm which was one of her favorite things to do. I can still feel her doing that to this day.

I love you mom! I pray often that I will be more like you. You are one to first sacrifice your time to help serve others and to show love to them while doing it. I admire your patience and your spirituality and your drive to visit all the temples in the world with dad!

I just hope that you and dad will go away and serve a mission soon because I know how much it means to the both of you to serve wherever you can. You two are truly AMAZING!

Why Montessori Method of Teaching

2010-05-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

I am currently reading about the Montessori style of teaching. I have 3 books and have started in one of them and love it. I have been sending Reeghan to a charter school that teaches Montessori style this year and she and I have feel in love with it. It's there first year of the school and I have just seen great things in Reeghan and her desire to learn has improved.

One quote in the current book I am reading, "Teaching Montessori in the home, The Preschool Years" by Elizabeth Hainstock, sums up Montessori for me, "Education need not be imposed on the child; given a learning environment he will be free to act and to develop himself along the lines of his own inner direction. Thus Montessori felt that there must be freedom within the prepared environment to develop his physical, mental and spiritual growth. The young child is very hand-minded, and the materials are geared to his need to learn through movement, because it is movement that starts the intellect working. The true Montessori classroom is functionally arranged for the child, enabling him to work, move and develop freely. The room itself and all the furniture in it are proportioned to the child's size; his coat is hung on a low hook, and the materials are arranged on shelves that are easily accessible."

There you have it! I am excited to see how Paetan will do with it next year in Kindergarten. This book is great and I will be doing some things with Easton at home as well. I am all about creativity in learning and hands on experiments to help learn.

Stroller Adventures

2010-05-11T15:52:00.000-07:00

Since being car less now for one week I have had the opportunity to take a lot of stroller rides to and from Paetan's school which happens to be a 3 mile round trip adventure back and forth so a grand total of 6 miles.

It was great the first few times and I was really enjoying the nice fresh air and of course the 6 mile walk I was getting but after 3 times of doing it and in the afternoon of the heat it was starting to get old.

I had the thought to finally call a friend whom I visit teach who's son attends the school as well and finally ask her to just take her one way. I don't normally complain about this type of thing but here's the thing.

Paetan's school starts at noon so I have to leave at 11:40 and get there and then get back not until 12:30 at the latest.

Easton naps and then when he wakes up or i have to wake him up at 2:40 to go back to get her and not get home till 3:30. I'm just a slow walker I guess but when you have two in the stroller it tends to take a while.

I was really good a couple of times when I would run and just feel so great! Maybe I should try tomorrow to actually run the whole way. We will see what happens.

By the way car shopping is over now and hopefully we'll be picking it up tomorrow morning!

Early Morning Temple Time

2010-05-11T08:30:00.000-07:00

In the San Diego temple on Tuesday's it opens up at 5:00 and I was able to attend this morning and I have done this on many occasions where I would go while my children were still sleeping. Its a great way to start your day. My MIL, Kelly, has been faithful about attending this session in years past and has now added more family members to come with her.

This particular morning I thought it would be a good post Mother's day to get all of us SIL's to go together but of course I think of these great ideas last minute so it just ended up being Kelly, Lindsay and her friend Lauren and I. It was a great session and experience to share with them this morning. I love to go feel just peace and serenity while i sit in and listen and learn. I look forward to my time there to contemplate on my own life and where I could use some improvement. But I have also found that the temple is also a place where I can share with others around me what they are experiencing in their own lives and to recognize that I can be there for them and show my love and support.

Trent and I have gone together in the past to this session when our live-in help didn't have to go to school early in the morning, but now we have no excuse not too go since we have Mandy living with us. So lets make it a date, Trent!