Family

Family Reunion 2012

p.s. I know the abbreviations are weird... forgive me.

Ruckus with Cousin AV



Cousin KT with sister #3



Cousin MB braiding my niece, DV's hair

Lou happy with  his face painting



Cousin M with cousin LH

The JO Clan

SC Fam with cousin NO (sorry your initials spelled "no") :)



Cousin HV with Little C

Can we say trouble?

L: Cousin CO w/daughter, cousin NH and Uncle MS
R: Aunt JO and cousin KT

L: Second Cousin DH
R: Aunt CH

L: Cousin JH
R: Aunt VS

back bench - The Beloved - whoot whoot!
Front from L to R: KH, Cousin MB and spouse TB (shoot TB is pretty horrible too... so sorry)

L: Cousin HH
R:  Cousin D.... you haven't been married a year so I can be forgiven for forgetting your last initial :)

People looking at camera only:
Uncle KS with wife LS and daughter MS

Aunt SH and yours truly



Me and the Papa Macho (he was feeling ill :(

My mom working her can off preparing for water balloon volleyball
(My sister is reaching for the balloon - nothing else. Whoopsy.)

My lovely sister #3 with the Papa - both exhausted from being sick and sleep deprived.

worlds cutest partners

Little C with cousin JV

Lou with second cousin MO

on the right... cousin DV and MV waiting anxiously

My mom and sister trying to help Ruckus and his partner....

He did not appreciate their help.

Isnt' she a cute little Mama?
Uncle KO in the background

The Baby. Ahhhhh. So cute.

Ruckus recuperating in the tent after receiving "unneeded help" in water balloon volleyball. :)

The Beloved... ready for a nap but has to pack up instead.

The Baby bonding with his Papa...
me, hiding in the background so the baby won't see me and will be able to continue his bonding.

So, Family - I think we should really call each other by our initials...

My favorite may be Aunt SH... but I really like Cousin NO as well. Hmmm... :)

To my cousins who planned this event - job well done.

We had a wonderful time!

Goodbye and Hello....

A shirt my dear Madre' made for me

Prepping to blow out the candles on the cake my Mom created. I think it is called "better than sex cake".
But that title shouldn't apply during my early 30's right? At least that's what "they" say.  :)

I rolled into my first day of being 30 with braids in my hair.

My flat iron decided to die as a welcoming gift to my 3rd decade of life.

But all is well... it had been a long time since I had turned to one of my older sisters and asked, "can you braid my hair please?"

It was nice... and comforting.

Throughout my life my b-day has usually fallen during the time my family reunion takes place, out in the wild (wild for us), roughin' it, camping underneath the stars.... with my favorite people.

Some would complain, but I'm the dork who is crazy in love with her extended family and wouldn't want to be any other place.

Plus my family goes above and beyond making me feel special and this year wasn't any different. Thanks sisters and my Mawampskidog (that's my mom's nickname and she isn't very happy right now that I shared it with the world - but it's FOR SURE a term of endearment. Love you mom.) for all of your preparation and consideration - also you, The Beloved. I love your guts the most.

30 is kind of a big deal.

I should be 30 right... I mean, I have four kids... 25 wouldn't be ideal.

But it's weird.

I sometimes wonder, do I look 30? What does 30 even look like?

I've been fretting about turning 30 since I was 27 so in a way it is a relief the day finally arrived. It's over with. No more worrying. Plus I have 5 good years until I start worrying about turning 40.

Ridiculous. :)

I created a tiny, tiny bucket list of things I wanted to accomplish before the big day.

1. Shoot a gun (check. Sucked at it, but check.)

2. Learn how to play the guitar. (check. Loving it.)

3. Work out at least 3 times a week. (check. I have five unruly lbs that don't seem to care about my efforts but check nonetheless.)

4. Stop drinking Pepsi. (Nobody's perfect.)

Before the big day I had an afternoon date with my little mother. She spoiled me rotten with clothes, lunch and her time.

 I so love your company Mom - thanks for the memorable day.

I ended my 30th b-day at The Beloved's parents house. My mother-in-law and I share the same birthday and it was fun being together to celebrate. She's wonderful.

A friend told me the second 30 are better than the first...

and I believe it.

Less pressure, more adventures, discovery, and people around you to love.

I'm a lucky girl.

So, farewell 20's.

I've enjoyed the trail.



So many things...

I have so many things to blog about but haven't been able to find the perfect occasion to sit down and embrace it so here's a quick, completely random, unimportant update -

*Got my car detailed.

I do this once a year and it truly brings pure joy into my life. Plus, we eat less fast food for about two weeks afterward while I'm pretending that we'll never eat in the car again because I am bound to keep it in this fresh, beautiful condition.

I love cleanliness. Makes me fall in love with my sexy gold van all over again.

*Read the book, Heaven is Here by Stephanie Nielson.

Wow.

I read it in one day- her words leading me to re-dedicate myself to being a more attentive, loving, patient mother and wife - but then felt torn because I had been ignoring my children all day, basking in this great book which led me to not being attentive in the least.

Tomorrow we'll start anew.

My cousin recommended this book so I have to throw out a thank you to her! She's already on the ball, being one of the best mother's I know.

One of my favorite excerpts from this book was in the epilogue:

"... our hearts matter most. Your heart matters most, so be gentler and more patient with yourself, and their hearts matter most, too, so be kinder and more compassionate to others. It's a beautiful heart, not a perfect body, that leads to a beautiful life."

Don't you just want to be Stephanie Nielson's best friend? She's perfectly delightful.

*Date night

The Beloved and I hit the town for a little dinner and a movie but after the dinner/before the movie part we saw an almost identical truck to The Beloved's in the wide spread parking lot.

We had a ton of boxes stacked into the back of our truck and I thought it would be funny if we parked next to this stranger's identical truck and maybe the owner would get confused, seeing our truck first, and begin wondering as to where all these boxes had come from and why were they in the back of his truck? Is my plan making sense?

So, The Beloved humored me and we ran into the Dollar store, peaking through the windows to see my plan unfold.

And they fell for it.

Confusion embraced the little family of three we saw strolling toward our vehicle.

When they realized it wasn't their truck the owner took out his phone to capture this coincidental moment forever.

Loved it.

Anyway, farewell for now.... promise more blogging updates to come! You should update too...

remember, I'm the gal who doesn't have Facebook so I am depending upon you for an outlet. Do it. :)



Brave

Loved the movie Brave - Loved IT!

But, if I hear my kids say, "Feast Your Eyes..." in a Scottish accent one more time while sticking their (covered) bummies out -

 I'm going to have a break down.

In the Genes

Lou is an aspiring little artist - all inherited from The Beloved's gene pool.

(papers are a little crinkled from much love)

Phineas from Phineas and Ferb



Hiccup riding atop Toothless fleeing from the other dragons.

Seriously impressive talent - my little four year old Lou dog!

Taking Care of Your Plant

Yesterday Ruckus was helping me prepare the visual aid for my Young Womens Lesson on How Can I Gain a Testimony?

He planted a seed in a cup with soil and sat it down, staring at it.

"Mom, It's not growing," he said sounding a little taken a back.

"Sweetheart, it takes time."

Deep exhale from the three year old, and then more staring ensues.

"Mom, It's still not growing!"

Being taken a back - has now turned to utter devastation.

"Buddy, all we have is a seed, we have to wait for it to grow. It takes water and sunlight and checking in on it everyday. Be patient. If we do our part it will grow."

His response was perfect in comparison to Alma 32 where Alma asks the people to try an experiment -all it requires is just a particle of faith. Just a tiny bit. And then he asks the people to use that tiny particle to help them discover if the "word" (gospel) is true.

He compares the "word" to a seed and if what they are hearing feels good - will they be willing to hear more in order to allow that seed to grow?

Alma uses the adjective delicious.

Once we feel the delicious-ness of the Holy Ghost confirming the gospel is true what happens next?

Well, it takes time -

we have to continue studying, praying, and checking in on that tiny seed of a testimony everyday so it will continue to grow.

We have to be patient. 

We have to take care of our plant.

Everyday.

We can't only rely on spiritual confirmings of the past.

Or, our plant will die.

And everything we felt that allowed the little seed to grow in the first place will be forgotten.

I asked the girls I was teaching to think about if they had a testimony?

If so, how did you plan on keeping it?

If not,-

do you want one -

and how will you get it?

I encouraged them to bear their testimonies to someone this week.

Sometimes that's all it takes to remind you, you have one.

I have a testimony of the gospel. What this means is that the Holy Ghost has confirmed to me, many times, by a pure feeling of deliciousness that it is true. That Heavenly Father knows and loves us and his son Jesus Christ is my brother; that he died for my sins and yours. Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and we have a living prophet on earth today who leads and directs us. I love our sweet men who lead this church.

That's the foundation of my testimony my friends.

My testimony started out with a sliver of hope and has grown impeccably -

with a little work everyday -

I'm taking care of my plant.

Father's Day/Birthday 2012

A list of things you may or may not know about The Beloved are listed throughout His Father's Day/B-day blog post - Enjoy!

Father's Day:

The Beloved is NOT a morning person- definitely a night person- you will find him prowling around the house as late as 3 a.m. 

(last night he was lifting weights in the garage at 2 o'clock in the morning.)

His new watch he received for Father's day with a picture of the SLC temple on it.

 After church every Sunday The Beloved makes lunch for everyone in the family.

The Beloved's 33rd B-day

Playing a game on his phone during his B-day party - He's grounded!

 He takes turns taking the boys out for late night goody runs... like at 11:00 at night. The boys get so excited when it is there turn! When we lived in IL The Beloved and Lou would go on their goody run and then watch the raccoons play in the garbage can outside the convenient store.

You'll notice a girl in the picture... that's Little C's good friend who's our new surrogate daughter :) or so we say.

 The Beloved HATES going to bed. He'll sleep in our bed about three times a week and on the other nights I have to go on a hunt in the morning to see where he fell asleep the night before :).

Itunes gift cards so he can purchase things while playing his "super cool" fantasy game on his phone :).

 He is great at everything he does unless you have to attach something other than shoes to his feet. (skiing, rollerblading, ice-skating are out of the question). He received used golf clubs for his b-day and has been aggressively trying to develop that new found talent. This is a good and bad thing for his spouse. :)



The Beloved received Bop Its -so he can BOP our kids softly and safely when they're driving him nuts!

 He is a handy man. If something goes wrong around the house e.g. - sprinkler system, rotted floor board, disposal, etc. -

he'll fix it.

This usually takes a phone call or two to his father who relays an experienced crash course on how to solve the issue.

These men are amazing!

 He is a great cook!

When The Beloved has time he is quite the gourmet chef extraordinaire!

I am way more ornery than him.

The Beloved is pretty laid back and chill unless we are packing up the car for a trip.

Scary things happen.

:)

 He has all of these sports stats in his head that would amaze you.

College, professional - it's almost unnerving.

If you need to be updated on Football, basketball, baseball -

he's your man.

 The Beloved would rather hang out with his family then have a guys night any day of the week.

He loves being at home, hanging out with his kids and wifey.

 He loves Broadway musicals. We have seen Phantom once, Wicked twice, and are scheduled to see Les Miserables in the fall.

We had a little s'mores b-day party in the backyard - I only snapped a couple pictures -they kind of make The Beloved look like a serious polygamist. It just so happens that most of our friends have daughters :).  Next time I'll capture more of the male support. :)

 The Beloved has a wonderful testimony of the gospel.

 He gets emotional when he shares his love for the atonement and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. It's Beautiful.

 The only thing that can put The Beloved to sleep early is when I get chatty while we're laying in bed.

I put him right to sleep.

Hmmm... don't know how I feel about that.



The Beloved and our not so happy Baby sitting around the s'mores B-day fire.

Still so many things to share -

*He doesn't truly have a favorite food because he is the variety man. He loves it all.. except -

* He doesn't like, ranch, mayo or any cold salads like - potato or macaroni salad.

*He possibly may be addicted to energy drinks.

*He has been blessed with a huge talent of being an incredibly skilled artist.

*He's SUPER smart. Too smart sometimes. I'm usually on the losing side of the who's right/who's wrong debate. Good thing I'm so humble :). Right.

*He's a jump into life sort of fellow - not really a planner.

*He's usually going to like you. Unless you're a loud chewer. Drives him NUTS. :)

*I think he's addicted to school.

*Calls his wife Dear

*He is fluent in American Sign Language.

*He's a romantic and a spoiler!

* He is FAST. I mean FAST. He still holds state records in UT for the 100 meter dash.

*Loves to go on dates with his eternal companion.

*Movie guy - for sure.

*If he can help you out - he will. He's the guy behind you who will pay for the rest of your groceries if you're short on change.

*When he grows up he wants to design and own an amusement park.

...there are many, many more things about The Beloved that are not listed...

but at least this gives you a little brief view into the world that's- The Beloved.

We love you dog! Thanks for being ours!



Prison Experience

Imagine with me here for a moment:

A. Being asked to speak at the prison for their Sunday Service....

B. Assigned topic:

Being worthy to enter the temple - no matter the circumstance.

(big sigh) .... a daunting task.

But, I am up for a challenge, especially when it comes to public speaking - I'm the weirdo who enjoys that, especially when it comes to baring my soul about the gospel.

Plus, The Beloved and I were asked to speak together - and he is an amazing speaker plus my favorite person so...

game on.

When I sat down at my computer to find material nothing really felt right. I kept going back and forth from one general authority talk to another, pulling out my scriptures hoping to land upon the perfect information for our topic.

Usually, when scoring through the scriptures and other resources the layout easily begins to form in my mind.

Nothing was forming,

except for this recurring thought:

These people need to know they are loved.

They need to be reminded about where they came from, why they're here, and where they're going.

AKA: Plan of Happiness.

But that wasn't really my topic.

So,I ignored it.

I proceeded in preparing my talk to the best of my ability

(which was the problem)

and typed my layout on the computer to be printed off bright and early Sunday morning.

The Beloved was in the middle of finals and was locked in his art room so the time to compare notes never arrived.
Sunday morning I pop out of bed (that's a lie, I never pop)

open my laptop....
 and
NOTHING HAPPENS - THE SCREEN IS BLACK -
EVEN THOUGH THE POWER IS ON.
I have no notes, no references, nothing.
I scramble to write down as much as possible but not a whole lot is formulating.
Some people cry in hard situations - I laugh.
I alternate laughing and praying for the next two hours as I get myself and the children ready for church.
The Beloved and I drop the kiddos off at our ward building where some friends will be taking care of them and continue our destination to the prison.
We are met there by some other LDS couples whose regular church callings are to assist at the prison during Sunday services.
I tell them I have nothing prepared because my computer died but I'm sure something great will happen.
They laugh nervously and look away. :)
The Beloved and I will speak twice, first at the women's prison and then at the men's.
At the beginning of both services I see inmates file in, nobody stands out in particular, just a mass of faded blue uniforms. I try to smile, then end up looking down, trying to ignore the butterflies in my stomach and the "what did they do to get here?" thoughts that keep surfacing my mind. 
We have found out that a majority of the women attending the service aren't members. So, not only do I NOT have a talk but I have to stray from using "mormon lingo" so they can get a glimpse of what I am trying to share. (whatever that may be)
The service begins and I am introduced as the first speaker.
After the prayer I rise, head to the make-shift pulpit and,
smile.
And once again feel the overwhelming sensation that -
these people are loved.
So very loved.
Heavenly Father desperately wants to live with them again.
But, they must follow the commandments He has given, living clean and repentant lives. Starting now. Please start now.
Hmmm... similar requirements to being worthy to enter the temple, no matter the circumstance.
And my new talk, that the spirit was trying to share with me since preparation day #1, enters my mind.
So, I tell them how incredibly loved they are.
And everyone can feel it.
I remind them of the life we had before we came to Earth. How we knew our time on Earth would be hard but amazingly joyous and would build us into the sons and daughters Heavenly knew we could be.
We knew we would mess us a bit... maybe even a lot  -
but that we could be forgiven, if we repent.
I remind them of our eldest brother, Jesus Christ, who sacrificed his life for everyone; providing us with a gift - to return to live with our Heavenly Father through repentance and obedience, if we so choose to open it. 
I talk about my life.
How, I've been there - unfortunately, done that.
How I wasn't happy but pretty great a pretending to be so.
And I made a choice.
A humbling choice which led me to my knees and then to scheduling an appt with my bishop.
My repentance process was beginning whether my pride liked it or not.
It was lonely.
My "friends" decided not to be my friends anymore because I had changed too much. They worried I thought I was better than them and could hardly stand my presence.
I was a young single mother attending church all by myself but ironically felt nearly complete for the first time in a long time.
I had found myself.
The Beloved and I call this finding your "me" - a little zen like, but wonderful.
I would look in the mirror and think, here I am.
This is Me.
The "me" I found when I did things HIS way. Following His plan.
When I got my temple recommend I thought,
oh my gracious,
they're really going to let me in :).
And it was delicious.
I spoke about increasing our communication with our Heavenly Father -
how I pray 24/7. No joke.
It may get out of control a bit :).
I use the example of when I would pray constantly for Little C to be sealed in the temple to our family.
How this seemed impossible since his biological father has been telling me no for the last 5 years and his consent HAS to be given.
But, I tried to remain worthy of this blessing and prayed for it continually.
When I found out we would be moving to IL I arranged a meeting with Little C's father to discuss custody arrangements. We were just going to do this between the two of us, not involving the court system, and told him I would be prepared with a few different custody agreements.
As I was sitting at my computer, coming up with different schedules and such I kept having the thought to type up a permission form, agreeing for Little C to be sealed to our family.
Why?
He's said no sooooo many times.
But the thought was constant so I ended up typing something real fast, hurrying to get back to my original task.
The time came for our little meeting and Little C's father would not agree to ANY custody agreements.
 He wanted more time. He needed time to think.
My argument - we don't have anymore time. We are moving in three weeks.
Still nothing... then a thought hits my mind.
I say to him, I will give you one more week if you agree to sign this other paper.
I slide over the form the spirit had been prompting me to make.
He reads it over and laughs.
Then asks, you're serious?
Completely.
After 30 minutes of staring at the paper he signs it.
A week before we move to Illinois Little C is sealed to our family -for time and all eternity.
If I hadn't prayed, been listening (maybe being elbowed) to the spirit, or been worthy at that moment to enter the temple -
we would have missed our opportunity to be sealed.
Wow.
I tell them the best way we can help our children return to live with our Heavenly Father is by our example.
I share the story about our prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, when he was sitting at the front of a congregation during a conference he was attending. He looked over at the members and noticed a young boy looking at him, copying his every move. If President Monson crossed his legs, the little boys crossed his legs. If He rubbed his arm the little boy rubbed his arm... (this story is from my memory, not verbatim, but close)
President Monson started making a game out of it. The boy copying his every move.
The little boy thought this was so cool, he tugged on his dad's arm to show him what the prophet was doing. When the dad looked up, President Monson's attention turned back to the speaker, and with a smile on his face, pretended like nothing had happened. :)
President Monson's point in sharing all of this is that...
our little children are watching
our every move.
Closely.
It is our duty to be good examples to them.
I bore my testimony again about the truthfulness of the gospel.
Because,
it is true -
And sat down and waited for The Beloved to speak.
Since we hadn't compared notes I was amazed to find out that our talks were almost identical.
He also spoke about finding your "me" and how the only way to do this is through Christ.
The Beloved had obviously been more in tune with the spirit while preparing his talk and didn't have to have his computer stop working in order for him to pay attention. Good guy.
Since our talks were very identical he decided to focus on the importance of the atonement.
He shared an amazing analogy he used on his mission of Christ's sacrifice -
An epidemic was spreading across the earth and everyone everywhere was dying. The best scientists in the world were working night and day trying to formulate a serum, desperately trying to come up with the cure for this horrible deadly outbreak.
They start looking at different blood types, DNA that could possibly aid them in this resolution.
They come across one boy who may be able to help.
To save the world - you might say.
The doctors call his father and say, your sons blood contains the cure for this horrible out break. Can we take it?
The Father responds, Sure, of course! How much do you need?
The doctors slowly say,
All of it.
In order for this serum to work, we must take it all.
The Father is shocked and tells them he must think it over.
He presents his son with this massive request and his son softly replies,
Do it.
Take my blood.
So, the son's life is sacrificed and the disease is eliminated. Millions of lives are saved and the world rejoices.
A few weeks later they hold a memorial for this selfless boy who gave up his life to save all others.
The father is preparing for thousands to attend and is anticipating this great event.
The day of the memorial arrives,
but...
 only a handful of people show up.
Everyone seems to have forgotten about this boy who died so they could live.
And the father is heartbroken.

The Beloved goes on to say,
the price has already been paid by our Saviour.
All we have to do is show up.
Live the commandments.
Repent.
Be worthy to enter the temple,
no matter the circumstance.
And we can return to live with our Father in Heaven again.
He loves you.

After the services were over The Beloved and I stopped seeing inmates dressed in faded blue uniforms.
We saw mothers, daughters, sisters.
Fathers, sons, and brothers.

They came up to us afterward and shared stories of their children, how when they get out they're going to be better parents and some even told us how they were planning on taking their families to the temple.
3 women asked if they could be baptized.
We have hope for them.
The spirit in those services was the strongest I have ever felt during a sacrament meeting in my entire life.
It was a testament to me
 that our Heavenly Father truly does love all of us,
no matter the circumstance.
And He desperately desires all of us to return to live with Him again.

Poo or Prison

So, I was bugged today and before I was bugged I was conjuring up a lovely little post in my head to bestow upon you.... but now all the positivity is gone and I want to vomit my minuscule troubles all over this post.

.... I just got done cleaning up poo. Not human poo from diapers -

I so have a handle on that one.

But random, don't know where you came from, probably animal poo strewn in front of my house, sidewalk, and garbage can. 

This tale originates from last Sat when a stinky bucket accompanied with lid was found underneath some fence building materials we were moving off our RV pad in the backyard.

We have lived here for almost two years - this job was a long time coming - and we avoided it as often as possible because it was cluttered with random pieces of wood and fence building materials from a few years back.

But, we (meaning mostly The Beloved :) finally put our work gloves on to conquer this beast....

and there we found the bucket.

Stinky, stinky, bucket.

Left from rental tenants of the past.

It was so smelly that The Beloved did not want to put it in the back of his truck along with all the other debris because if it spilled it would leave a not so pleasant lingering fragrance for time and all eternity.

So, it ended up at the top of the garbage can ready for this Fridays pick up.

Where they spilled it.

Bucket cracked in half,

littering the putrid, chunky liquid all over my street.

(now is an appropriate time to gag a little bit)

It smelled like horse poo but had to be dog feces scooped up and left in a bucket from a long, lllooongggg time ago.

The garbage man was kind enough to inform me of the incident but this was soooo not on my to-do list today.

What do ya do?

Unfortunately you (meaning me) cleans it up.

And then you feel sorry for yourself and go buy a Pepsi and some Taco Bell because YOU ARE SO SICK OF EATING HEALTHY,

cancel the scheduled trip to the zoo because you can't stand the thought of smelling more animal poo,

and then you blog about it -

because it brings you joy and makes you feel vindicated after being victimized by pet owners and their lack of responsibility in the poop and scoop (into the trash receptacle) department.

The End. 

P.S.

When I am over feeling sorry for myself I will gladly share my original post idea re: our spiritual experience at the prison.



Spring Night -

Sunday evening was a beautiful spring night.

The Beloved designed our own little make-shift fire pit, perfect for smores making.

Little C falling over in his chair, due to the fact that I kept telling them to get closer for the picture :)

Ruckus and the Lou-dog

 After smores all the men went camping in the backyard - Me and the baby on the other hand declined. I know, party pooper. All about it in the woods but when I'm just a few feet from my own comfortable bed of love - I had to say no.

 Sorry guys! :)

The beloved and the boys prepping for the backyard camp out.

But look at those little cuties!

Love 'em!

While the boys got comfy in the tent, The Beloved and I sat around the fire for a bit waiting for the coals to burn out. It was such a comfortable evening, just sitting there next to my best pal talking about life, plans for the future, laughing at each others jokes, etc.

I really feel like I have it all. I love my husband, love my kids.

 I'm so very blessed.