{ Austin’s Love of Soccer }

I feel like I am almost restating the obvious about how much Austin loves soccer-but man this kid just eats it up! Almost every waking moment he spends with that soccer ball at his feet. He is constantly using our front room as a practice field for his juggling tricks. He gets ready for school early in the mornings so that he can go out in the garage and practice doing soccer tricks before the bus comes. This kid LOVES soccer!

He has been begging me for the last few games to bring my camera to get some good action shots of him doing his thing. And man, does he do that “thing” good. He is so much fun to watch playing soccer. He just has so much passion for the game, yet is one of the most humble people I have ever seen play. He is not about running around the field making a scene every time he scores or bad mouthing anyone. He just wants to be there and play. As a parent I think some of my most proud times I have had has been watching him interact on the field. He can pretty much make any goal he has the shot for, but on more than one occasion I have seen him, deliberately look to the side, see a teammate and pass the ball to them to give them the glory of shooting a goal, knowing that he has already scored one that game, but they haven’t. It almost brings me to tears each time. He know what it means on the inside to be a real champion.

He has this goal every game to try some kind of new trick-a bicycle kick or a nutmeg or a header right into the goal. He thrives on getting his body into the game. He is so funny, because he thinks that the more he rolls, and falls while kicking the ball, or sliding into the ball, the more fun it is. The best part is that he is always doing it with a smile on his face. Boy, that kid just LOVES soccer.

Before the game starts.

One of his coaches on the far right. He has some amazing coaches this season, and they love Austin. They can see his potential and are so encouraging of all the kids on the team. Funny story about his coach-after one practice he was racing the boys running and beat them, except he was running backwards and they were running frontwards! He is super fast, and loves to get out there with the kids and really challenge them. Both of his coaches are so positive. I have never heard either of them belittle or even yell at the boys from the sideline-then definitely know how to coach in a positive way, and it shows-Austin’s team is ranked #1 so far.

Some fancy foot work.

Setting up a bicycle kick.

Love the little lip biting he does when he plays.

Always smiling when he plays.

Goal #1

Goal #2

Goal #3

He was pretty happy with his hat trick (3 goals in one game) tonight.

After Austin’s games we will walk to the car, and I’ll ask if he’s tired. He usually says “no”, and then I ask what he wants to do and he always answers, “Go play another game!”

Yep. He loves soccer!

{ Abby’s 6th Birthday }

After spring break we got kicked right back into our busy schedule of running around to school, and sports, and church activities. Abby’s birthday celebration was planned for the 45 minutes between track practice and Young Women, Scouts, and Activity days. We had the presents wrapped, the cake baked and frosted, dinner ready to eat beforehand…and then life happens and we get to move into our “be flexible” mode.

Luckily, this sweet little girl was just thrilled to get to open her presents that she didn’t really care how long her party was, or how much the rest of us (me manly) felt rushed.

When Aaron got home he informed me he had a bishop appointment at 6:30 not 7pm. Mmm. That may throw a wrench in things. Down to 25 minutes instead.

I jump in the car and run to grab Brianna and Austin from track. Sitting in the car waiting and waiting watching the clock slowly tick away. 20 minutes. 15 minutes. 10 minutes. Yep..flexible is the name of the game. When we get home Aaron happily announces he isn’t going until 7pm. Back up to 20 minutes instead. I’m sure we looked quite comical with all this running around. The whole time Abby just smiled and waits patiently to open her gifts. As we hustle to get candles on the cake and dish out dinner to eat while we watch her open presents, Ryan climbs on the island and opens one of her gifts. We grin, and make do by wrapping the ribbon around the cute pink box it came in. All is well. Erika is impressed with my spontaneous wrapping fix up, and then says, “Oh, those are cute shoes!” and points to the picture on the side of the box. Realizing that within minutes those cute shoes will be discovered anyways, I give a grin then just turn the box to the side where Abby can’t see it. Spontaneous wrapping x2. Yeah, I’m pretty much feeling like super mom today.

Our chorus of Happy Birthday signals the start of her official birthday celebration. She is tickled with her birthday book , If You Give a Dog a Donut, and tells me with big wide eyes how she saw it at the book fair earlier that week. I give Scott a little wink and keep our secret safe that we were sneaky enough to get it for her after we shopped with her at the book fair the day before.

She is super excited to find out what was in her “big” present.

New big fairies to go in her fairy house Austin had built her last year for Christmas. She instantly recognizes that there are 6 fairies and she is 6! She was so excited to get them out of the box..”only one picture mom. Sorry, don’t like the smile, not good light. To bad..you’ll just have to be flexible I guess.”

The best “be flexible” part of the day came when we got to eat the cake. When I was baking it earlier I realized that I only had 2 eggs instead of 3. I looked online for a quick substitute and mayo was recommended. This cake turned out to be the moistest cake EVER! The kids couldn’t stop talking about how good it was. I think our “Mayo cake” is going to be a special request on purpose now for our birthday cakes.

By the time we sang happy birthday, blew out candles, and ate some super good cake, we had just enough time to relax and look at this cute girl and realize she is the most flexible 6 year old I know! We love you so much Abby! We hope you loved your quick but super special birthday celebration.

6 Special things about Abby at Age 6

She loves to say the prayer on her prayer night (Friday), and always says the most sincere prayers that remind us of Jesus Christ. She takes the time to mention everyone by name and something about them during her prayer.

She has lost 2 teeth so far-both on the bottom. They both had permanent teeth that had come in behind them before her baby teeth even fell out, so no cute teeth holes yet. She was thrilled that the tooth fairy wasn’t too busy with other kids teeth this time of year, and managed to come after only 1 night. A record I think.

She has the sweetest little giggle when she laughs. When Grandma Bonnie comes to visit she calls her “Abby Giggles” for a nickname.

Abby is learning to read and loves to read us her stories from school. A few weeks ago something just clicked, and now she can recognize and read so many words. She has been reading almost a whole verse by herself at scripture time in the mornings.

She likes to take her lunch to school almost every day. She prefers ham and cheese over peanut butter sandwiches, loves juice to drink, and most days finishes her lunch at home as an after school snack.

Abby is one of my super great helpers at home. She is first to be a peacemaker with Scott and go get something that Ryan needs. She likes to carry Ryan around and entertain him by reading to him and playing doggies with him.

{ Pizza Pete }

I love Family Home Evening! I love the time together. I love the spirit that is there. I love to see my kids take turns sharing what’s important to them. I love all of it. And I know someday my kids will have the same passion for it like I do. Now.. they love it too. They love the treats. The love the time together. And the treats. Did I mention the treats? The idea of family home evening appeals to them, and they would never let us miss a week even if we wanted to-glad that we don’t-but non the less they keep us on track. They love the silliness, and loud. Wow, do we have that loud thing down. They like to conduct and be in charge. They like to hold the Harry Potter wand and lead the music. But when it comes down to who’s turn it is for the lesson-there are eye rolls. We have a chart, we have had a plan for each week, but having to prepare something is where we struggle a bit.

Me on the other hand. I get panicky every time I think about how few family home evenings we have left with them. As of now, only about 1200 left for Brianna until she leaves for college. ONLY 1200. When I think of everything I want to teach them and share, that number hardly seems enough. My mind starts to swirl with everything they should know and feel before they leave our little nest.

It was Scott’s turn for the lesson tonight at family home evening-which means it was really my turn for the lesson. I was determined to keep with our value a month approach we have started (we did courage last month, which I still haven’t written about. Let’s just say I really don’t have the courage to write it yet. It’s been a doozer of a month in the parenting department lately. I am seeing how difficult parenting can be sometimes.) By the time that the after school crew tumbled in the door, homework and papers made their way on the counter and time was spent studying, track stars needed to be picked up, and cries of “what’s for dinner?” filled the air-quite frankly my mind was spinning. Insert {tender mercy from the Lord }, as I am finishing up the pizzas and I have an idea for the perfect lesson. It was the perfect mix of 3 year old help and story, with the Spirit.

Our theme for the month of April is RESPECT. Dinner tonight of homemade pizzas led to a perfect object lesson/story. Scott helped to make our Pizza Pete to go along with our story/mom’s made up parable/listen to the Holy Ghost and pray it will all turn out /lesson.

RESPECTING our Maker Baker

Once upon a time in a small little village on the far edge of somewhere great, their was a Maker baker. He owned a pizza shop, and made the most amazing pizzas around. People would come from far and near as the smell lured them into the bakery where they would wait patiently for their pizza. The Maker baker was so talented, but his masterpieces took time.

Pete was a pizza at the bakery who was a little sad about his plight as a pizza. He looked around at Billy the biscuit, and Marge the muffin, and wished he were destined for greatness like them. Yet, there he lay a big lump of pizza dough, waiting and waiting to rise. (1st pizza with only the eyes)

He questioned the Maker baker daily about just how long he would have to wait to become one of those amazing pizzas he saw the people admiring. The Maker baker patiently encouraged him to wait, for surely greatness takes time. He would be wonderful. He would be delicious. He would be amazing. Time would give him that. Pete the pizza felt reassured for a time, but as the days went on, he continued to compare himself to those around him. His Maker baker was constantly squishing him and tossing him, and at times he felt pulled in all different directions.  (2nd pizza with a frown)

One day the Maker baker pulled out all sorts of things to dress poor little Pete in. “Today is the day my friend” he declared. He got busy spreading and dressing Pete is an array of things. Sweet smelling aromas filled the air. Pete was excited as he was garnished with the finest of toppings around. Pepperoni, and fresh green peppers, black olives sliced to perfection, and who could forget the plump mushrooms. All pilled on freshly shredded cheese. He felt like a king. His excitement all but vanished as he saw his Maker baker friend approaching the oven.

“Wait! What are you doing” Pete cried out in fear.

“My little friend. The only way to become the pizza you were destined to be is to be cooked to perfection in our hot oven. Then and only then will the smells fill the streets, and the crowd will gather to see my masterpiece. The heat will make you great.

Pete was scared. Would the heat of the oven be too much to bear? Would he be able to trust his Maker baker friend. Would he really be all that He had promised? He approached the oven with courage in his heart.

Time went by, and the oven door leaked the smell that slowly lured in people by the dozens from the old cobblestone streets. The small bell on the front door, jingled and jangled as the crowd filled the small little bakery. At last the time was here to see the Maker bakers latest creation! He opened the oven door, and out he took his masterpiece. The crowd oohed and ahhed as they awaited a taste of this wonderful smelling pizza. Pete caught a look at himself in the shiny oven door, just as his Maker baker was passing by. (3rd pizza with everything on it) Yes, his patience had paid off. Yes, his Maker baker friend was right. He was great. All he had to do was trust the one who made him, for only He knew of his greatness from the very beginning.

THE END

I love that I can still mesmerize even my big kids with a story. Okay, too much credit for myself. I am totally impressed that the Spirit can mesmerize my kids so much. They listened so intently as I told the story, and Scott helped to uncover our little pizza's at just the right time. I cried over our pizza story, and the Spirit was felt. Mission accomplished. I wanted them to see that they are amazing! That it definitely takes that knowledge of ourselves and our greatness to be able to RESPECT ourselves and others around us. So grateful for my amazing kids. They are SO amazing!! As a parent it kills me at times to see them as they see themselves as Pete the first little pizza. I wish they could see more that last pizza and how great they are and can become. The endless duty of a parent to help them see what our own Maker Baker sees in us. Love. This. Mom. Job. Never has such an intense job brought me so much joy, and man are there times when I certainly feel in that oven. Parenting is tough. Making our children into who they are destined to be is tough. Being patient amid mistakes is tough. Seeing those perfect little pizzas..amazing.

{ Easter Sunday }

The Easter bunny visited our house early Sunday morning, and left some little treasures for everyone before church.

Aaron-new tie, Snickers, Reese’s peanut butter cups , new egg and crepe pans

Monae-new green necklace, bag of york peppermint patties, Reese’s peanut butter cups, pink kitchen towels

Brianna-brown polka dot bins for closet, white under armor shirt for soccer, big Kit Kat bar, chocolate bunny, Reese’s peanut butter cups

Austin-big Kit Kat, Reese’s peanut butter cups, chocolate bunny, under armor shirt and shorts

Brooke-big Hershey’s bar, chocolate bunny, Reese’s peanut butter cups, small gumball machine, play dough, 2 packs of earrings

Erika-big Hershey’s bar, chocolate bunny, Reese’s peanut butter cups, small gumball machine, play dough, 2 packs of earrings

Abby-big Hershey’s chocolate bunny, Reese’s peanut butter cups, small gumball machine, play dough,

Scott-Kit Kat bar, chocolate bunny, Reese’s peanut butter cups, play dough, Cars 2 Hot wheels cars

Ryan-Twizzlers, Reese’s peanut butter cups, Cars 2 Hot wheels cars

I loved the sweet spirit that filled our sacrament meeting today. The Clarke family all spoke, and they were so inspiring. They are moving to Germany next month, and boy will they be missed. I love to hear their simple but strong testimonies, and the personal experiences they shared with how the Atonement has affected each of them. I felt like I walked away with  a new resolve to better recognize the blessings of the Atonement on a daily basis.

After church we had our Easter dinner of roast, potatoes and gravy, deviled eggs (my favorite), sweet potatoes, salad, and our bunny bread guy. I have wanted to do this for years, but always forget and only remember when I sift through my pile of recipes. It turned out really cute, and tasted even better.

We ended out our day by watching the Lamb of God video on utube. I LOVE this video. My heart is always so full with love for our Savior, each time we watch it. I realized it was the first time watching it for some of the kids, and I loved watching their faces as they took in every bit of what this day is all about. I think for some people the whole Atonement is something very hard to grasp, but my kids reminded me that His love for us is really what it boils down to. That intense, pure, love He has for us and our Heavenly Father was enough to drive Him to endure the ultimate sacrifice for US. Wow,… my heart is full as I ponder what that means for me. Unworthy, undeserving, and at times ungrateful is how I sometimes feel I am, yet so amazed at how His plan all works together for each of us. What a beautiful day. He truly does live again, and because of Him someday we will too.

{ Easter Weekend-Egg Dying Party }

We have managed to skip dying Easter eggs for the past couple of years. No good reason, it just didn’t make the cut of things to fit in our full April schedules. This year we broke out the dyes and let the kids have at it. Aaron was at the hospital doing OB call, so with one parent to monitor all the mess fun, we smartly waited until Ryan’s naptime to have our little egg party. Poor Ryan-when your almost 18 months, and have managed to scale every surface in the house and explore (especially counter tops), sometimes you get uninvited to some parties. Egg parties for instance.

We started with a little of this…

..and added a few of these..

…got a little crazy..

..okay, maybe a lot crazy…

..and had some super colorful eggs for Easter.

The kids were trying to see who could get the darkest colored egg. Brooke made one that was super bright green by putting it in the orange and then the green. It was a pretty cool experiment. Austin and Brianna were trying to have their own little experiment as well, as they were daring each other to drink the dye and see if it would turn their skin that color. Yea..parties usually lead to not-so-smart behavior we are finding. Happy to report neither of them took each other up on the dare, and skin color remains intact.

Thought I would note this is Scott’s “party” face, and that Brianna was really not thrilled to have her picture taken-I think a Saturday nap was interrupted to attend this party. Totally worth it Be-be.

No egg dying party would be complete without an Easter egg hunt too. We used plastic eggs instead of our real ones, and filled our backyard with hundreds of colorful eggs. We invited our new neighbors over for the fun, and they were so cute. All week they had been hiding empty Easter eggs around the house to find for each other, and totally thought these were empty too. Super cute to see their 3 year old’s face when he opened an egg and discovered it was filled with some candy.

Luckily, Ryan was totally invited to the egg hunt, and loved picking up the eggs and putting them in his basket. He loved it even more when he too discovered that these pretty little eggs had surprises in them. He helped himself to quite a few tootsie rolls that day, out of his basket, and anyone else’s he could find.

{ Brooke’s 9th Birthday }

 

At times I can hardly believe this girl is 9 already. I look at her and feel her spirit and think she may be an “old soul”. The depth she carries with her is unreal. She has this amazing way of seeing those around her and feeling and knowing what things are all about. I love her quirky sense of humor and spunky light she brings to our family. We love you so much Brooke!

We were writing in our journals the other night, and she promptly busied herself with others things she would rather do. In an attempt to motivate her to record something great, she agreed to a little birthday interview. No rhyme or reason to it, just random questions I could think of. I love her answers, they are SO Brooke!

Happy Birthday Brookey!

How would you describe yourself?

Organized, kind, brown straight hair, gum-lover (if I could choose I would be chewing gum),and creative

What is your favorite subject in school?

Art, because you could draw whatever you want and be creative

Who are some of your friends?

Mallory, Lauren, Cindy,and Daisy,

What has been the funnest thing you’ve done in Activity Days this last year?

Doing a service project, I would help with Ryan and say thank you more often

What were some presents you got for your birthday?

A jewelry box, post it notes and a pen, notebook and markers, birthday book-A Perfect Princess book series with necklace, fancy diamond earrings with matching necklace, other cute earrings, small earing case for carrying around earrings. (this girl loves! her earrings)

What kind of cake?

A donut cake. Cream filled donuts are my favorite

Who is your teacher in Primary?

Sister Day

What is something you like to do after school?

Draw or go outside or watch Netflix

What is something you are good at?

Can I say the same answer twice? Being organized

What is something you are afraid of?

The dark

What is something you’re most proud of?

When I come up with a new jewelry piece

What size shoe do you wear?

Size 1

What your favorite way to wear your hair?

Up in a bun

If you could travel anywhere in the world for a vacation, where would you go?

To Hawaii because I’ve never been there and it seems exciting

What is your favorite outfit?

T-shirt, jeans, and a hair bow

What is your favorite color?

Light blue or light green

What is your favorite chore?

Making my bed because at night I sleep on top of it with another blanket over me, so it’s already made in the morning. And because it’s fun

What do you like to cook?

Zucchini casserole

What is your favorite thing to eat?

Chicken and rice

What is a habit you have?

Organizing things

What animal is your favorite?

Baby cub. Baby cub what? A cub can be more than one thing. A bear mom. Cubs are bears

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A mom

What is the hardest part about being an older sister?

People nagging me about my mistakes

What is the greatest part about being an older sister?

Being in charge

What’s your most prized possession? What would you grab if there was a fire in the house?

My jewelry box, wait a minute NO..the scriptures!

Who’s your hero?

Heavenly Father because he gives me multiple chances.

What do you think Heaven will be like?

Happy, because it’s where righteous people get to be

 

Here are some random pictures from her birthday activities-donuts at school and a lone birthday party picture of her reaction to her new jewelry box. What I need to take a picture of is and the after picture of her super organized jewelry box. This jewelry box was so meant for her-big, with lots of little drawers and compartments for all her stuff-jewelry, gum, tiny notebooks, shiny rock collection, candy, pens and pencils,etc. A organizers dream for sure!

Brooke with her friend Cindy at school

We love you so much Brooke! You are the most amazing 9 year old I know. What fun you are to have around!

{ General Conference }

I love General Conference. I love the timeliness of all the talks, and messages. It’s always a sweet reminder how much the Lord is aware of us and what we are going through and feeling at all times in our life. Saturday morning session spoke to my heart especially, as well as Sunday mornings session and President Uchtdorf’s talk. I love these worthy Priesthood holders who love the Lord and us so much.

It was a wonderful experience to be in our house and enjoy conference for the first time since being here. I can’t believe we have already lived here for almost 6 months. Time does fly. The best part was having our new iMac and being able to move it over to the front room and get to all watch together with spots for everyone to sit. I don’t think I heard one complaint the entire time about someone not being able to see or having a comfortable place to sit. It was nice.

Brianna eating her huge 2 foot Twizzlers-with braces mind you. We will be REALLY happy when those things are off.

We moved our makeshift dining room table/huge fold up table behind the couch for the kids to sit at while they watched. We taped a large piece of paper from a paper roll across the top for them to draw on and take notes. I bought a new huge pack of crayons (96 pack) just for the occasion-a serious treat since I pitched all the broken and random crayons when we moved.

We had a waffle breakfast Saturday morning with Aaron’s sister Cathy and her husband Jason and their kids. They have been living here for the last 3 months as Jason has been doing training at Ft. Benning. They were on their way out of town moving to Virginia. We ate yummy waffles and said our goodbyes to cousins. I made little conference baskets for each of the kids with all kinds of snacks and treats for the two days. They were a big hit, and I didn’t have to worry about constantly pulling outs snacks. Something I will definitely be doing again next time. In each of the baskets the kids had:

• water bottle
• juice box
• box of raisins
• peanut butter crackers
• goldfish
• bugles
• cheese and crackers
• mentoes
• Twix candy bars
• 2 foot long twizzlers
• fruit by the foot

We didn’t do packets this time.  I love packets, but I am little bit burnt out of them. I think I need to take the time between now and next conference to come us with something of my own. I usually just print some of of the internet, which have always been fabulous-so much talent from others. I was always grateful they were willing to share their creativity. I just need something new for next time. For this time I gave everyone their own pack of post it notes and we had them write down questions from the talks. We folded them up and put them in  a large bottle until the end of each day.

Saturday night before the Priesthood session, we took Easter eggs and put a piece of candy and a question in each one. We did an Easter egg hunt in the front room, and then took turns opening the eggs and if they knew the answer to the questions then they got the candy.

Sunday the kids were much more into taking notes about all the talks, and writing questions. We still haven’t got to all the questions, but we’ll work through them slowly during dinners in the coming month. It was such a uplifting weekend to feel our testimonies strengthened.