emma's talk

*I just found this in my drafts but want to publish it, even though it is now 6 months later...

Spencer will forever claim that the best Sunday of the year is the Primary Program Sunday.

Emma was asked to give a talk on forever families last October, for the primary program. She did fabulous, of course. Here it is:

Nine years ago my mom and dad got married in the temple.They were sealed, which means that we will all be together forever.  I was born, and then Tyler. My baby sister Macie died right before she was supposed to be born. It was really sad. But it would have been more sad if we didn’t know about Heavenly Father’s Plan of Salvation.We had lots of talks about how we will all be together again someday.

On the drive to the cemetery on the day of the funeral I started singing “My Life is a Gift.” Everyone in the car started crying. Our lives do have a purpose and began in heaven. I will live there again, with my entire family, including Macie.

I’m grateful that we can have families and be sealed to them in the temple. One day I will be married in the temple too.

The chapel was silent. I don't think I've had a prouder moment.

I know there is a hole in Emma's heart, longing for that little sister.  She told me a few weeks ago that it's ok if she doesn't have a baby sister...but then she asked for a fish instead. I love that girl of mine.

Easter and spring break

Our kids always get the Friday before Easter, and the entire following week off for Spring Break. This year we took the motorhome out for one night on the weekend and because we missed the local egg hunt, the Easter Bunny brought the eggs to the campsite!

It took Tanner a minute to figure it out but he caught on quickly and has been saying "candy" pretty consistently ever since.

We made the big kids wait inside for a minute until Tanner figured out what he was doing. They were hovering like vultures...

I know the grocery bags are super trashy (ha) but we were in the motorhome and it was all we had...

Don't you love watching your kids discover things for the first time? It just doesn't lose its novelty, even when it's discovering something as simple (or unhealthy) as Easter candy.

We spent several hours at the beach, where each of the kids did their own thing and had a lot of fun. The weather was gorgeous. Nice...considering all the rain we've had lately. Tyler is so different from Emma and Tanner. He is so fun, and I have learned to just "go with it" with him...and he's much happier in his very own element.

Here is our traditional Easter picture in front of our bright pink azeaelas. I stuck Tanner there and told him to say "cheese" and he did! Maybe we're past the screaming for pictures stage...? I sure love his face. And all of their faces! The fact that his face was even clean is a reason to celebrate. And...you can't tell me this isn't the sweetest picture.

I taught the lesson in YW that day and treasured the hours I got to spend preparing. I made up booklets for everyone about the last week of the Savior's life (events, etc.), split into the different days. We also showed some of the church's new Bible videos, and because some of the girls recognized someone in those videos it kept their interest even more.

Rain has kinda dictated our week. We went to the beach again on Monday, during the one clear/warm-ish day. It is pure heaven to let your kids out onto the huge sandy playground, where they are happy and entertained for hours. We took a risk and headed to a mostly-outdoors discovery museum yesterday (and stayed dry! - phew)...the target age was probably about 2-5 so no one had the fabulous time I was envisioning. Tomorrow we finish off the week with an indoor pool/waterslide trip. I love having these kids home...it makes my job of entertaining Tanner so much easier. And they are so enjoyable! Can't wait for summer!

junk room turned toy room

March was a big RE-ORGANIZE month for me. I still don't quite know what got into me. I went through closets and shoes, trying to cut back on the clutter and on the crap. We have been in this house for 3 years now, and before that we had moved at least once a year. Moving was my way to de-clutter before, so I needed to do something about all the 3-year-accumulated stuff we had.

We have this great room between our kitchen/dining room and the garage - a HUGE laundry room. One side was always for the laundry stuff and the other was for junk. We had a couch that pulled out to a bed in there but it has only been used ONE time in 7 years so we decided it was no longer necessary. And by "we" I mean me. Spencer had his "office" in there as well, but with how often he works from home (almost never), I made the executive decision that he did not need an office.

We had two desks in here, so we got rid of the big one. We got rid of the couch, bought this 5x5 storage shelf thing, and moved the toys out of the kids' rooms (their rooms were ALWAYS messy) and into our new toy room. Spencer was sure the novelty would wear off but it hasn't! Tanner can often be found with his cheek on the floor, pushing trains or cars around. The kids play with pet shops and Legos in here now.

Before:

And the after...

I put a cork pinboard on the side of the shelving unit and decided to make it a little cuter. Spray paint!

The best part is having a toy room off my kitchen!! They ("they" meaning Tanner) can see me, and they still feel like they are close to me or next to me and aren't missing out by being on the other side of the house in their bedrooms.

I love it!