Dog show

Just Luna and Dad watching the dog show. 

D.A.R.E

Tayden graduated the D.A.R.E program this week. It’s been a great opportunity for him to learn about the dangers of drugs, alcohol and peer pressure. He enjoyed his time with the police officer who taught the class and has a new respect for them. The graduation itself was painful. Long, kind of boring and cheesy as ever, but the kids loved it and I’m glad they do something special for the kids.

Tayden and his good buddy, Austin Snarr. 

2020

And just like that we enter into a new year. A new decade! Its amazing to look back on the past ten years and see how our life has changed. We have moved four different times between two states. Scotts changed jobs three times. We've had three different schools and more wards than I can count...but I'm thinking five or six? We added three boys to our family and another dog. We bought property in Ashton. But my favorite thing about the past ten years in how we've settled into a great life that we love. We're coming up on five years in the same home, longer than anywhere we've ever been. Our kids are grounded in a great school and neighborhood with friends everywhere. We know our town and see friends at the store. Life is constant and familiar and we love it so much.

We rang in the new year the best way we know how, with our friends. We played games, watched football, ate good food and stayed out entirely too late. A perfect evening.

Calyn Peterson and her daughter Laynie, Jodie Hansen, Stacey Packard, Heather Petrus with her daughter Leah and Kristie Denning. 

This year we have decided on some family goals. The church has changed the youth programs and are implementing a new individual goal based program. Our kids aren't quite old enough to be doing it on their own, so we decided as a family what we wanted to work on. We made a weekly chart to help us study, "Come, Follow Me" and then decided on outdoor skills we want to learn to help keep us safe in Ashton. Once we learn the outdoor skills, we will decide on new family goals. I'm excited to have family goals and I'm crossing my fingers we can stick with it.

2019 was so good to our family and I'm looking forward to 2020. I love the renewal that a new year brings. I love fresh starts, new color coded planners and the chance to reevaluate life. I'm feeling so blessed today! Happy New Year!!!

Christmas 2019

Christmas was great this year. As always! My favorite thing this year was finally cashing in our Christmas Jar. Over the year we have collected our change in the Christmas Jar with the intention of doing something good for someone else. I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t fill the jar and was completely shocked when the total reached almost $40.00. My friend recently divorced and has had a rough year. We decided to help stock her freezer with the money. We went to Walmart and filled a box with goods to drop at her door. It wasn’t much, but my kids loved picking out their favorites and seeing what a huge difference a little change can make. I hope with my whole heart that my kids grow up learning to think of other people and find ways to help where they can. 

 Christmas Eve was spent with our usual traditions and a new one. We made sugar cookies, opened pajamas, watched a movie and played a new board game. We even spoiled the kids with a second hand ping pong table. Its gotten a lot of good use already.  However, our new tradition was the best of the day. Kristie Denning, a good friend of mine, gave us a beautiful handmade manger with a book. The book tells a story of a family struggling to feel the Christmas spirit. They decide to draw names and do something kind for that particular family member. Every time they do, they put a piece of straw in the manger. The goal is to fill the manger up with good deeds to create a comfortable spot for baby Jesus to lay on Christmas Eve. We started off by drawing names and trying to do secret acts of goodness, but I soon found out that my kids do better with some recognition and encouragement. We opened it up to all acts of kindness qualified for straw in the manger. So if they did something kind at school and told me about it, or I saw them doing service to a family member or what not, they got to put straw in. It wasn’t exactly as the book directs, but I will never shy away from praising my kids for being kind and serving others. They eat up the compliments and it drove them to do more. It was fun to watch the manger fill up more and more each day. By Christmas Eve our DI baby Jesus was comfy as could be. 

 

Christmas morning was wonderful. We spent the day hanging out and opening gifts. We bought some mini bikes for the Ashton property and showed the boys on Christmas morning.Not really as a gift, but because we couldn’t hide them any longer. Scott and I enjoyed a couple of rides around the block and we can’t wait to take them out this spring. 

Christmas was wonderful. Every year I wonder if I am teaching the boys enough about the birth of our Savior and the true meaning of Christmas. I hope that I don’t emphasize the gifts and the commercialization of the holiday rather the quiet night long ago. I hope they know that their mom loves the Savior and tries very hard to bring the spirit into our home. I don’t think we’ll ever be that home where the spirit abides naturally and the gospel learning is abundant, but we will always be the house that works hard to earn the spirit of the Lord and works to teach our children. And I am proud of that. I am grateful for the Christmas season and the reminder to slow down and enjoy the treasures we have been given. Our family, our home, our friends, the gospel and the land around us. I’m learning more and more about peace and what a gift it is. And because the Savior was born, peace is possible. Joy is possible because of Christ. Hope is possible. Eternity is possible. Happiness is possible. Because of him, all things are possible. 

Day Date

After another week of being sick, Kyle needed a morning of fun away from the TV. So we headed to KidsTown while his brothers were in school. I expected to be there for maybe two hours, but three hours later I had to drag him out so we would be home when his brothers got home. It was a blast and I’m not sure who needed it more, me or him. I love one on one time with my kids. 

Strep and a Story

Poor Kyle. Its been another long week. He was feeling under the weather again and all signs pointed to strep. Sure enough the strep test came out positive and he was on his way for another antibiotic. This is his second case in 30 days.  I have a feeling we'll be head to the hospital soon to get his tonsils removed. I'm hoping not, but I guess only time will tell.




We were invited to a Christmas play at a Christian church by Scotts friend/co-worker. We took the kids and attended the Friday night show. It was a good play and the message of love for the Savior was obvious, but there was so much lacking. And the kids noticed it as well. Mainly Tayden. We commented on the difference in prayer, and lack of reverence for Christ as they casually called him Jesus, and the absence of the spirit. It was my first experience in a church setting of another faith and it made me more grateful than ever for the truthfulness of the gospel. I'm grateful to belong to the restored gospel with all the facts and truth. I'm grateful to know that our Prophet has been called of God and we receive modern revelation.   I'm grateful for the Book of Mormon, the keystone of our religion. And I'm grateful that I get to feel the spirit on a regular basis.

Ugly Christmas Tree

Every year, Black Friday kicks off our Christmas holiday. We crank the Christmas tunes, burn the Christmas candle and my favorite, set up the Christmas Tree. I love Christmas Trees. And I take pride in them. This year, Beckett was gone at a friends house while I was setting everything up. When he came home, he said, "I just wish you would make our Christmas Tree prettier. Its kind of ugly." I was blown away. I'm not saying I am a professional decorator by any means, but I wouldn't call our tree ugly by any stretch of the imagination.

I told him that was rude and asked what was wrong with it. He told me he wished it had more color. All of a sudden, I realized all the red and green blend into the pine for my sweet color blind boy. We're not exactly sure to what extent he can or can't see color, but Scott downloaded an app onto his phone so we can get an idea of what he sees. My heart sank when I saw his version of the Christmas Tree. He was right, it was ugly and needed more color.

We talked it over and decided that the day after Christmas when everything is on sale, he and I will go get new ornaments that he can see. I'm sure it will be bright and little obnoxious and totally not my style, but more than anything I want him to experience a beautiful tree. So I bid farewell to this tree, but allow Beckett to welcome his own. 

Its magical the things we do for our children. Even though giving up a beautiful tree is a small sacrifice, I think we can compare it to gift of our Savior. Heavenly Father loved the rest of us so much, that he sacrificed his son for the rest of us. He saw a bigger picture and could focus on the truly important things. I hope to be a parent in his image.