Tenderfoot!

So proud of Chase, he earned his Tenderfoot this week and his swimming merit badge. This scouting business is no joke, so I'm glad he's enjoying it so far.

 Chase getting pinned

 Mom getting pinned

Being presented with a sash, he's the newest scout in the troop.

Great job bud!!

His scout master read some pretty interesting statistics about Scouts. Rarely does an eagle scout stand before a juvenile court judge. Of the cadets at one of the military academy's something like 20% of the graduating class were eagle scouts. Only like 5% of boys that start scouts will go on to become eagles, (It's hard work, I can see why!) but Chase says its his goal to get one so, here's hoping!!

Enduring Love

My sister-in-law passed this video on to me and it is just beautiful. Warning: grab a box of tissues first.



I've had the privilege of taking a Marriage and Families foundation class. I can't even express how grateful I am that this is a required class for all BYU-I students. My love for my family and my gratitude to my Heavenly Father for his beautiful plan of families has grown so much just in the four weeks I've been in class.



This is quoted at the end of the video:

"Marriage provides an ideal setting for overcoming any tendency to be selfish  or self-centered...Pure love is an incomparable, potent power for good, and the foundation of a successful marriage." - Elder Richard G. Scott



Enjoy:)

FHE- week #4

This week Tanner was in charge of our lesson, (with help from Dad). He picked an article in the Friend Magazine titled You Are the Savior's Hands- by President Uchtdorf.  It tells the story of how a statue of Christ was damaged in World War II and the sculptor was able to repair all of the statue but his hands. The town decided to put a plaque on the statue that said "You are my hands"

We each traced our hands and wrote something we can do to be the Savior's hands.

 Sienna "leading" the music

 (I can be nice to Tanner, Chase and Mom and Dad)

 (I will watch less TV and spend more time with my family)

 (Less time on computer, more exercise, stop fighting so much)

 (I can help my family, help sick people and do less tablet and spend more time with my family)

 (Be more patient and loving. Play with my kids more)

We ended the night with a pretty wild game of Headbandz and Orange Julius's

Goals- week#3

I made 10 goals for 2015 and I'm going to report on them here, to help hold myself accountable.

FAMILY:

1. Family Home Evening every week. 

*Three weeks in! Whoop Whoop. You can read about those here if you missed them

I found this quote I liked:  “We all know the struggle necessary to retain family home evening. There are thieves among us who would steal our Monday nights. But the promises of the Lord made 84 years ago and reiterated by our Prophets today, have never been revoked and are there for us: ‘If the saints obey this counsel, we promise that great blessings will result. Love at home and obedience to parents will increase. Faith will be developed in the hearts of the youth of Israel, and they will gain power to combat the evil influence and temptations which beset them.” Neil L. Anderson, Prophets and Spiritual Mole Crickets. October 1999 General Conference.

2. Family Fun Day every month

*Originally scheduled for the 24th, but we'll have to bump it back to the 30th. Life keeps getting in the way.

3. Epic summer vacation

*More on that in a few months.

HOME:

4. New Floors

*We're waiting for tax season on this one, but we've measured and Hubbie's arranged time off in the end of February. I've never been so excited to do my taxes!

5. Finish "the list"

 *Bummer on the dryer front... I paid a guy $55 to come tell me my motor was shot and I needed a new one. So we spend 4 hours shopping around, find one at home depot, spend 30 minutes at check out cause their machine is acting up, rent a truck to bring it home, personally unload a HEAVY dryer, take the truck back. Get the dryer out of the box, realize we need the plug off the old dryer, realize that someone has already taken the old dryer off the curb, go back to home depot to buy a new plug, get the electric all put together, take the washer out so we can hook up the dryer, put the washer back, turn dryer on .... It's broken. Like making a terrible noise, won't spin broken. We call Home Depot and at first the manager was like, Sorry, I don't show record of this purchase, but we finally convinced him that we have a receipt... and he called around to another store, found us another one and had it delivered and took the old one back. In the mean time, we hit the laundromat with $20 in quarters and 7 loads of laundry. That sure piles up quick!
Back to "the list" though... since we were renting a truck, we bought a security door too and crossed one whole thing of the list. I'm calling it progress!

PERSONAL:

6. Get healthy/loose weight

*I rocked this week food/exercise wise. When you do the 21 day fix right, it works so good. I was completely dedicated and lost 3.5 pounds this week alone. I'm down 4.8 pounds- goal for January is 5 pounds and I have a week left!

7. Sew a new wardrobe item every month.

I made one for me and SiSi. Being a girl is so much fun:)  More details on mine here.

SPIRITUAL:
8. Daily, meaningful prayer. 
*I've been so busy with work, kids, school and life that I feel like my constant prayers are the only things holding me together.

9.Do my visiting teaching each month.
*Yay! I did my visiting teaching, and told my partner about my goal and she's happy to help me with it. Turns out my partner is pretty awesome.  And one of my sisters I visit is also pretty awesome and I hope I can become good friends with them. My other sister I visit had strep so we just dropped off cookies.
10. Attend the temple at least once a month.
*Well, it was on the calendar for yesterday, but we just couldn't make it happen. The scouts sprung a camping trip on me and took my babysitter up to Flagstaff to camp in the snow. I have one more week and by dang-it, I will make this goal.

Well, there's my report for the week. I'll check in again next week. 

Color Run!

 I did the Color Run in Tempe today, and it was so much fun!  My time was terrible, but it was very cold, and the course was full of hills which I was not expecting. It was along Tempe Town Lake which was a beautiful route!

 I got two "color packs" of powder to throw at the end, so I covered the three of us!

I don't think the picture does me justice of how dirty I was, the last tunnel you went through was the sparkle tunnel and I'll be picking glitter off my scalp for a few days, I'm sure! And can I just say that I have a light hoodie on under my Color Run shirt, and I have my gloves in the front pocket which is giving me quite the belly in these pictures. I just had to clarify that:)

FHE- week #3- Nephi Never Complains

I bought this "Who's Your Hero?" book many years ago, and don't know that I've ever read it. It came in handy on a last minute "crap it's Monday" moment. I think the only thing keeping me going with this is that I committed to it here. I guess that's ok though, because it'll get me in the habit! 

Today we talked about Nephi. It's a cute and concise cartoon of many of the struggles Nephi went through and then relates them to our time, and how we can learn to not complain ourselves. Sienna helped present the story and Tanner & Chase helped read the scriptures. Short and sweet just how we like it. For dessert: chocolate pudding!

Goals- week #2

I made 10 goals for 2015 and I'm going to report on them here, to help hold myself accountable. 

FAMILY:

1. Family Home Evening every week. 

*We've done week one and two without incident. You can read about those here if you missed them!

2. Family Fun Day every month

*Originally scheduled for the 24th, but we'll have to bump it back to the 31st. Life keeps getting in the way.

3. Epic summer vacation

*More on that in a few months.

HOME:

4. New Floors

*We're waiting for tax season on this one, but we've measured and Hubbie's arranged time off in the end of February.

5. Finish "the list"

 

*Ugh. The list... So I sanded down my front door frame, in preparation for a fresh coat of paint. Then went to price a security/screen door. Home Depot would have been about $450 (total with installation) which made me gag a little. BUT then our garage door broke ($200 repair), THEN our dryer broke (repair man coming tomorrow-praying I don't have to buy a new one!) THEN my car started making a really annoying sound (this is the 3rd time it's happened, costs about $100 to fix- it's not vital, but it gives me a headache, so it kind of is)... so the security door and everything else on the list will wait for another day.  Boo:(

PERSONAL:

6. Get healthy/loose weight

*I'm doing BeachBodies "21 Day Fix" and hubby has completely abandoned me. He did Pilates one day and it nearly killed him and I think that's the day he checked out! I've had a rough week food wise, and even though I exercised everyday, I didn't see any progress on the scale. Oh well, it's more about getting healthy then the number on the scale.

7. Sew a new wardrobe item every month.

I made one for me and SiSi. Being a girl is so much fun:)  More details on mine here.

SPIRITUAL:
8. Daily, meaningful prayer. 
*Still working on this, it'll be a work in progress, and today's lesson "Pray Always" from the Ezra Taft Benson lesson manual was a perfect reminder of what I'm working on.
9.Do my visiting teaching each month.
*Boom! I talked to my partner, and reached out to my girls, hopefully visits will happen this Tuesday.
10. Attend the temple at least once a month.
*Well, it was on the calendar for yesterday, but we just couldn't make it happen. We had things already planned for the morning and then had a birthday party for my father in law in the evening. 65 years young! Here he is with Chase and my niece Morgan.

Temple day is officially rescheduled to Jan 24th.

Well, there's my report for the week. I'll check in again next week. 

My first "wardrobe" project

I finally had time to breathe and think about my goal to sew one new wardrobe piece for myself each month. So, here is my project #1:

 Isn't it adorable??!?  Ok, only problem really is this is way too fancy to wear to church, the grocery store or the host of mundane tasks I do each day.  Honestly, I kindof look like a cupcake in it, but it is fun! So for now, it'll hang in the closet until I find somewhere fancy and fun to go!

It was really not that hard to make and it cost me about $14.  I followed tutorials from here and here.

Maybe I'll add it to my shop to sell in my $100 challenge for by Small Business Class. Lots more on that coming soon!

Student Of The Month

Chase got chosen as Student of The Month and I am so proud of him!  In his 7 years of school, he's only been chosen twice.  'Cause he's a boy. And he's loud. And he's a boy. Need I say more?

This is the boy who's first grade teacher suggested we get tested for ADHD (we didn't). This is the boy who "sits" with one foot on the floor and one foot on the chair - always ready to run off. This is the boy who has one volume- LOUD. This is the boy who lives to play basketball. This is the boy who is so oblivious, he didn't see me sitting in FRONT of him at the assembly!  This is also the boy who stole my sweatshirt that morning (he didn't think I'd notice- oops!)  This is MY boy:)

Here's what his teacher said about him: "Chase is a leader in the classroom. He has a good group of friends, and he knows when to have fun and when to get serious. He is a hard-worker, gets his work done on time, and is on task during the school day. Chase is polite to teachers and likes to help out in the classroom. I'm very happy to have Chase in my classroom!"

 Ms. Miller (principal), Ms. Harwood (teacher), Chase, Mr. Balliet (assistant principal)

Here are all the 6th graders, notice the girls are all a foot taller than the boys! Too funny:)

FHE Week #2- Cotton vs. Sandpaper

Cotton vs. Sandpaper Words

Tonight we talked about the types of words we use. BIG PROBLEM AROUND HERE!  I found the idea here. She is a school counselor and teaches this lesson to kids usually in Kindergarten thru 2nd grade, we took it to a more spiritual level, which the kids picked up on right away.  

They got to feel how fluffy and soft the cotton was, and how rough and scratchy the sandpaper was. They immediately said they compared to Jesus vs. Satan, but it really does work with words too. We pointed out that with the Sandpaper, when you rubbed it on your hand, it stung, and continued to sting for a while. Just like mean words do!!  The link has a list of good vs bad things to say, we cut them up and put them in a paper bag and let them take turns reading them. Even Sienna at age 4 could pick up on if they were Cotton words or Sandpaper words.  

We of course had to end the night with something yummy- This week: Oreo Milkshakes!  This is a great quick easy lesson, just in case you remembered while making dinner that it was Monday night, (not that that happened to me or anything!)

Goals- Week #1

I made 10 goals for the NEW YEAR and I'm going to report on them here, to help hold myself accountable.  

FAMILY:

1. Family home evening every week

     Week one went well, you can read about it here

2. Family fun day every month

     *It's on the calendar for January 24th- I'll let you know what we do.

3. Epic summer vacation

     *More on this in a few months:)

HOME:

4. New floors:

   *Waiting for tax season on this one.

 5. Finish "the list"

   *"THE LIST" hangs on the side of the fridge and is full of things that need to be done around the house to really get it to where we want it. It covers everything from hang quotes on the walls, to paint the ceiling, to plant a tree. I've done all of 3 things so far. *sigh*

*This week, I hung up the ruler (growth chart) in the hall, cleaned out the linen closet and hubby repaired our ever leaking roof.  Glad to have a few (even if they're small) things checked off the list.

PERSONAL:

6. Get healthy/loose weight

   (Hubby & I are starting the "21 day fix" journey and our goals for January are Me: lose 5lbs, Scott: lose 6lbs (he just wants to beat me). )

*I love this program, after just one week - I've lost 1.5lbs and 2.75 inches!! I'm thrilled and haven't even been focusing as good on the food side as I should, hope to do better next week.

7. Sew a new wardrobe item every month

  *I haven't had time to think much about this so far this month.

SPIRITUAL:

8. Daily, meaningful prayers.

   *Still working on this. It's hit or miss at this point, as I haven't really developed a good habit.  Here is another good quote I found on prayer:

President Spencer W. Kimball taught: “Some things are best prayed about in private, when we don’t have to be concerned about time or the confidentiality of our prayers. Prayer in solitude is priceless and profitable. Praying alone helps us to shed shame or pretense, any lingering deceit; it helps us open our hearts and be totally honest and honorable in expressing all of our hopes and attitudes.” (Quoted in Liahona January 2011, Why Do I Need to Pray on my Own When I Already Pray With My Family.) 

9. Do my visiting teaching every month.

   *I forgot to talk to my partner this week. The girl is pregnant with her 7th child, and I get exhausted just looking at her and forget to ask her about it, she is a saint I'm sure!

10. Attend the temple at least once a month.

  *Planned on the calendar for Jan 17th.

Well, there you have it. I don't think any of them are un-attainable. I'm excited to share this year with you, and let you know how I do!

School

This is the post in which I cry and whine like a 5 year old because school is the hardest thing I've ever done:(  And I'm only 4 days into it.

I'm taking 3 classes. I was only going to take two, but I got approved for financial aid (and I'd much rather have someone else pay for my classes than myself!) so I had to have a 3rd class to receive it.

Class #1 is Family Foundations, it's all based on The Family: Proclamation to the World, and so far seems pretty cool. So far this week, I've read about 20 pages (3 different articles) on the family, written a paper, taken a test and came up with a plan to add a better scripture study habit into my life, because I have more time than I know what to do with, apparently.

Here is some of what I've read that I thought was cool:
Julie B. Beck said:  "The creation of the earth was the creation of an earth where a FAMILY could live. It was a creation of a man and a woman who were the two essential halves of a FAMILY. It was part of the plan that these two be sealed and form and eternal FAMILY unit. That was the plan of happiness... When we speak of qualifying for the blessings of eternal life, we mean qualifying for the blessings of eternal families. This was Christ's doctrine, and this is some of what was restored that had been lost- understanding and clarity about family." 

From the church handbook: "We counsel parents and children to give highest priority to family prayer, family home evening, gospel study and instruction, and wholesome family activities. However worthy and appropriate other demands or activities may be, they must not be permitted to displace the divinely-appointed duties that only parents and families can adequately perform."

That second one made me feel good that our goals for our family are right on track!

Class #2 is Intro to Business, In this class I will write papers till my fingers bleed, work on networking, find a mentor to annoy shadow, work on a resume, and come up with a plan for graduation.

Class #3 has had me in tears more than once this week. It is "Small Business Creation" For starters, I had to choose a book (mine is 300 pages), read it and write a report by next Tuesday. NEXT TUESDAY. If that was the only thing this week, maybe it'd be okay, but I also have to read/watch videos, read about a HERO, work on case studies, come up with the 50 things I want to do before I die, and take 2 quizzes.  In this class I will interview an entrepreneur, Start a business (on my own), make $100 profit and donate it to charity (WHAT??); make a plan for a real business I'd like to start, interview faculty, start a blog about my journey, and who knows what else, cause my eyes glossed over.

All that, along with me a mom, clean my house once in a while, and do my full time job.

On my list of 50 things to do before I die: SURVIVE THIS SEMESTER.

FHE- Week #1- GOALS

So one of my goals is to have Family Home Evening every week.

For week #1, we sat down and just talked about what we all want out of the year. Last year was a crazy busy year with a lot of change. Now that we've settled down, it was interesting to hear everyone's input. Family really ended up being the theme. So far, our kids still like us, so we need to take advantage of that while we can!  Here is what we came up with.  This hangs on our fridge as a reminder!

We ended the night with Root Beet Floats, I'll get better in the habit of taking more pictures!

2015 Goals

Happy New Year! Where the heck did 2014 go?

 Here we all are STILL AWAKE at midnight. We kissed everybody goodnight at 12am, and were all fast asleep by 12:10!

I made 10 goals for the NEW YEAR and I'm going to report on them here, to help hold myself accountable.  

FAMILY:

1. Family home evening every week

     *I'm thinking I need to come up with some kind of list of topics, so that at 5pm on Monday, I'm not   caught off guard and tempted to forget it.

2. Family fun day every month

     *It's on the calendar for January 24th- I'll let you know what we do.

3. Epic summer vacation

     *More on this in a few months:)

HOME:

4. New floors:

    *This is the 3rd house I've lived in with white tile. I vowed on our house hunt, that if our house had white tile, it was coming out immediately. Well, our house has worse white tile than every before and although some of it has already come out, the rest needs to go. Can you see the lovely pattern in the picture above? Fortunately, the room above (the family room) and the living room, are now carpet. But it's still in all the walkways, office, kitchen, hall, dining room and bathrooms. Here's hoping Uncle Sam is kind to us come tax season!

5. Finish "the list"

   *"THE LIST" hangs on the side of the fridge and is full of things that need to be done around the house to really get it to where we want it. It covers everything from hang quotes on the walls, to paint the ceiling, to plant a tree. I've done all of 3 things so far. *sigh*

PERSONAL:

6. Get healthy/loose weight

   *More on this as we go along, but Scott & I are starting the "21 day fix" journey and our goals for January are Me: lose 5lbs, Scott: lose 6lbs (he just wants to beat me). 

 Here we are on day 1 after having our butts kicked by Autumn. This is Scott's first go around, I've had some success with the Exercise/Eating program before!

7. Sew a new wardrobe item every month

  *I haven't decided what to sew yet, but I have a pinterest board dedicated to this and I'm excited to pick something.

SPIRITUAL:

8. Daily, meaningful prayers.

   *I really worked hard on this for a religion class I took this last semester, but when the 8 week assignment was over, I just stopped.  President James E. Faust said:

  “Access to our Creator through our Savior is surely one of the great privileges and blessings of our lives. I have learned from countless personal experiences that great is the power of prayer. No earthly authority can separate us from direct access to our Creator. There can never be a mechanical or electronic failure when we pray. There is no limit on the number of times or how long we can pray each day. There is no quota of how many needs we wish to pray for in each prayer. We do not need to go through secretaries or make an appointment to reach the throne of grace. He is reachable at any time and any place.” (July 2002, The Lifeline of Prayer) 

9. Do my visiting teaching every month.

   *This will be such a challenge for me, I don't know why! I plan to talk to my partner on Sunday. Transitioning to this new ward has been tough for us but it's time to get down to business.

10. Attend the temple at least once a month.

  *Planned on the calendar for Jan 17th.

Well, there you have it. I don't think any of them are un-attainable. I'm excited to share this year with you, and let you know how I do!