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If you have $20.12 or more than you want to donate to a good cause, consider being a part of the President's Day money bomb for Ron Paul's new PAC.  We can all say that we want improvement in our government, but putting our money where our mouth is is really important.  Ron Paul is a true champion of the Constitution.  He's amazing.  If only all of our leaders in Washington could see so clearly and live such a tirelessly principled life as him.

Read more about it here

The goal of Liberty PAC is to fund Congressman Ron Paul’s political activities as he travels the country to fight for the principles we hold dear: Liberty, Limited Government and a strong, pro-American foreign policy.

Liberty PAC is sending a message loud and clear that Americans do NOT have to compromise on these principles and can stand up to onslaught of Big Government, Socialism and Corporatism.
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Liberty PAC is to assist these candidates and to recruit others in order to elect more freedom-loving people like Ron Paul to office.

Congressman Ron Paul is known to millions of friends and supporters as “The Taxpayers’ Best Friend in Congress.” He is also known, by his political opponents and detractors, as “Dr. No,” in recognition of his steadfast refusal to cast votes in Congress for unconstitutional measures. Ron Paul is a champion of limited government, lower taxes and reduced government spending and he has won countless awards and honors for his work and votes in behalf of freedom.

Please join Congressman Paul and millions of other freedom-loving Americans in this crucial job of electing candidates who will fight for liberty and vote to defend the Constitution. Let Ron Paul and   Liberty PAC hear from you today as you join their battle for the future of freedom in our nation.

Play it Again Sports March Madness

Some friends of ours asked Bob if he would like to be in a commercial they were involved with. So, he did it! It is so fun to see. Bob had a lot of fun being a part of it. It started airing on TV today. Let us know if you see it on TV!

Families Can Be Together Forever

My kids and I love watching the "Mormon Messages" as part of our daily devotional. I really liked this one. I'm so thankful for our church and its emphasis on eternal families. Nothing would really matter if we couldn't be together forever.

Abby's Singing

Abby sings all day long, and we've always loved how she makes up her own songs.  She belts out any song she knows, and if she doesn't know all the words, it doesn't dissuade her a bit.  She'll just carry on with her own words. 
This is the latest that she made up herself:
"This land is my land,
This land is your land,
from the red ripe strawberries
to the newborn kittens."

When I laughed and asked her "where did you learn that?" She replied:  "from choir!"

Croup & some of my thoughts about life

I'm home from church today with my sweet little Taycie Grace.  She is croupy.  (This is why I've had the time to write 13 blog posts today! I'm finally catching up!)  

She really is doing all right, but I don't think I'll ever get over feeling completely panicked when one of my children has croup.  Anyone who has had children suffer from this and struggle to breathe knows what I'm talking about. You just worry so much about them.  Watching Zach stop breathing when he was Taycie's exact age is an experience I'll never get over.  I'm so thankful he's here with us.  

Here she is rubbed down with chest rub, sleeping soundly.  I kept Abby and Andrew home because their noses are runny also. 

Oh, I love this baby.  

Thinking about croup reminds me of a poem I read a long time ago in the Ensign magazine.  When I read it, I was absolutely amazed, not because of eloquent prose, but because it put into words perfectly the way I felt when Christian and Tara were getting married.  I'm always excited for people to get married, but sometimes I just feel a little overwhelmed about the long journey they are beginning so naively and blissfully.  It is such a learning and growing experience, and a lot of people go into it so unprepared.  

Here's the poem that I could have written:

Martha P. Taysom, "The Wedding Reception", Ensign, Apr. 2005, 25

I sit and watch her.

My pastel punch and thick-iced cake

(On delicate plate)

Balance awkwardly on my knee.

I think of me 12 years before.

Her smile beams

First on this reception guest,

Then that.

Sometimes blushing,

Sometimes laughing,

Always turning

Eyes of admiration to the handsome groom.

.
Should I tell her?

Tell her of face-down peanut-buttered bread

On new-mopped floor?

Of a two-year-old stretched out

and kicking angrily

In the grocery store

(And everybody watching)?

.
Can I tell her?

Tell her of the almost-can’t-cope days?

The lonely evenings

Waiting for bishopric meeting

To end?

.
Will I tell her?

Tell her of the terrifying cry

Of croup

Deep in night?

Or the quickened step

Of the home teacher

Summoned to help administer

To a feverish brow?

.
No.

But neither can I share with her

The thrill of a newborn’s nose

Bobbing in my neck;

The pride of seeing a six-year-old

Begin to read.

.
I cannot tell her

Of a husband’s gentle touch

On my hand

As we pass briefly

In the chapel foyer.

.
So,

Standing, I brush away the crumbs

From my not-so-new dress,

Smile,

And wave a little

To the bride

Across the room.

.
Oh, I get tears in my eyes just reading that.  I think I've reached a point in my life where parenting is not as hard as it once was.  I have older kids to help, I recognize when I'm tired or need more nutrition in order to feel sane, and I've made a bit more reasonable expectations for myself.  But remembering those times when all my kids were little brings back the feelings I had back then.  

I didn't need to worry about Tara.  She's taken all the hard parts of mothering in stride, and made probably the most joyful home I've ever seen.  Check out her blog at: http://hahnlife.blogspot.com/

Anyway, two more thoughts of married life:

President Gordon B. Hinckly quoted Jenkin Lloyd Jones with this quote:

There seems to be a superstition among many thousands of our young who hold hands and smooch in the drive-ins that marriage is a cottage surrounded by perpetual hollyhocks, to which a perpetually young and handsome husband comes home to a perpetually young and ravishing wife. When the hollyhocks wither and boredom and bills appear, the divorce courts are jammed.
Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just ordinary people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. . . .
Life is like an old-time rail journey--delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.

I have to admit that when I first heard that quote by President Hinckley, I really disliked it, because I really feel like I've had an un-typical, blissful marriage.  But that quote really is true.  The joys of family life are mixed with lots of hard work, long days, and mundane tasks.

I agree with this quote from my favorite talk about marriage:

"While marriage is difficult, and discordant and frustrated marriages are common, yet real, lasting happiness is possible, and marriage can be more an exultant ecstasy than the human mind can conceive. This is within the reach of every couple, every person." - Spencer W. Kimball

I love living here

We have had so many deer this year.  They are beautiful and it is so fun to see them around here.

Planetarium

We went on a field-trip to the BYU-Idaho planetarium

Zach and Andrew watching a drawing machine while waiting for the planetarium show

In our seats waiting.  The show was really interesting.  It made me just feel in awe of God's creations.  Outer space is just amazing!

Big headed Zach

Andrew meeting a visitor from outer space

Early Morning Scripture Study

My kids like to really thoughtfully ponder what we are reading each morning

Art

Each Wednesday, our children are involved in homeschool group classes called iFamily (http://ifamilyidaho.weebly.com/) Jace, Courtney, Spencer, Mallory, and Zach are taking classes - debate, guitar, knitting, sewing, a math enrichment class, art, Knights of Freedom (a boy's class where they study great men and adventurers), drama (improv), unit studies, and choir.  The classes are taught by homeschool Moms, and they are fabulous.

 Two weeks ago Zach and Mallory's unit studies class went to the Art Museum in Idaho Falls.  We saw art exhibits and then the kids did an art project - a self-portrait.  They learned about guidelines for drawing faces. 

Zach studying his face.  Cute!

Here's his first draft of his self-portrait.

He got to use paint in a spray bottle

Here is a piece from one of the art exhibits.  Pretty time consuming, each of the little marks is a brush stroke.

This was a neat piece by a lady who took a lot of closeup pictures of old things in junkyards. This is a picture of rust, then she painted on an eye, etc. to make it look like a horse.  You can read about it below.

 Mallory didn't go to the art museum because she was finishing up her sewing class.  She usually comes in the unit studies class after sewing ends, so she doesn't come on the field trips with us.

Back at iFamily classes, Spencer and Courtney were doing their art class.  It is a fabulous class taught by Keri King where they are learning art techniques with charcoal, acrylic paints, watercolor, etc.  They love it!

Spencer next to his friend, Seth

Eve, Courtney, Keziah, Arianna, Hannah

Flashback to the 80's

Courtney had two of her friends, Keziah and Eve over.  Aliysa decided to give them crazy hair do's. 

If only they could sing and play the electric guitar.

Entrepreneurs

Andrew and Zach decided to open a snack stand in our kitchen.  They prepared fruit & veggie kabobs.  They had good business sense - they opened it right when we were all getting hungry during school.

The kabobs they made are on the counter

Whenever they needed to go use the restroom or do something else, they'd put up their "closed" signs

Maybe Bob and I will purchase their business from them. 

The Beehive Spa

Courtney and I planned a Beehive activity at our home.   We had a spa night with a cooking class, yoga/stretching routine, foot scrub, foot baths, pedicures, and healthy snacks.  We gave them a handout with quotes about being healthy.  It was a fun evening!

Sadie and Ryan

Riley and McKenna

Riley, McKenna, and Cammy

Taycie Grace

I love this little girl dearly.  It is amazing how such a little person can add so much to your life.  Taycie is the sweetest and best baby anyone could ask for.  I love her big blue eyes, I love how she smiles at me when she wakes up, I love how she pops her thumb in her mouth and cuddles up to me.  I love how she just studies everyone and everything.

We are realizing that she has a very determined little personality.  She wants to see everything that is going on.  Sometimes when she is nursing, you can tell that she wants to know what is going on behind her, and when she can't stand it any longer, she'll stop nursing just to turn around and watch her siblings. 

She scootches all over the place now, not a real crawl, but kind of a fast army crawl with lots of flops.  Aliysa kindly vacuums the family room at least 3 times a day so that Taycie won't choke on anything.  In December, Abby fed Taycie an almond.  She actually swallowed it when we weren't watching.  Abby told us matter-of-factly:  "she was choking on it, and then she swallowed it!"  I'm glad she must have guardian angels watching over her.  It scares me to think of all the dangers for a baby.  Just last week she crawled over to the fireplace, and burned her head. I felt so bad!  We're trying to figure out some sort of a barricade to put around the fireplace now. 

This week Taycie got her first tooth.  She has been quite good about it, not fussy at all.  

Little Taycie, thank you so much for coming to our family.  I wish I could explain how much I love you and how much you have added to our family already, but it is impossible to put into words.  I adore you, little girl.

Merry Christmas, 2010

Christmas eve was kind of a hectic day for us this year.  I was feeling kind of down about it as I realized how busy we had been, how little time we had spent on making family memories and traditions, and how I had wanted to focus more on the real meaning of Christmas.  I had only read a few of the many Christmas stories that I wanted to read aloud.  

The whole month the kids had kept saying that we didn't decorate enough for Christmas, but I just had been busy, busy.  

We had a wonderful trip to Utah before Christmas, but we had gotten home the day before Christmas eve, and I realized that I hadn't taken the turkey out of the freezer in time to defrost it for Christmas dinner.  

Anyway, Bob had some last minute things to do on Christmas eve, and he decided to take ALL the kids.  The house was so quiet when he left!  I was suddenly struck with lots of ideas, and I rushed around, cleaning, cooking, and putting up lots of decorations.  We hadn't found our nativity scene earlier, but I hunted in the attic and found it.  I put up more Christmas lights, scented candles, and put on Christmas music.  Not long after Bob left, our sweet neighbor stopped by with a Glenwood smoked turkey, our very favorite thing for Christmas dinner!  So, I popped the turkey in the oven, and made lots of yummy snacks too.  Bob was gone for just long enough for everything to be perfect.  When the kids walked into the decorated family room, they were all so excited.  So, they changed into pjs, and we read the Christmas story, put nativity ornaments on our tree, and each of the children got to open a Christmas gift from one of their siblings.  It turned out to be a wonderful Christmas eve! I felt very blessed.

This is Christmas morning.  Abby was supposed to lead all the kids downstairs to open presents, but she was not in any mood to cooperate.

 

Everyone else was excited!

 Taycie's first Christmas.  Sorry for the bad lighting.  It was a new camera, and I forgot about the flash.

Now that she has candy, she's decided that Christmas morning is okay

 Abby gave Jace a ninja hamster for Christmas.  She was SO excited to give it to him.

 Bob gives the presents out one by one.  Each year he wears his Christmas shirt.  He used to wear it other times, but I complained so loudly, that he's decided to save it for Christmas morning.  He loves it.  It is really soft, and so very, very red. 

 Bob keeps Christmas morning quite organized.  Every piece of wrapping paper is disposed of before another present can be opened.

 The kids gave me lots of fuzzy socks and slippers.  I love having warm feet!

 Dad and Abby reading Abby's new Christmas book

 Andrew and Zach got BYU baseball caps.

 Jace got a remote control helicopter.  It was really neat, unfortunately it only worked for one day.  Then I had to work for a month and a half to get a refund.  But I finally got it!

 Abby got a tutu, and a purse with jewelry and chapstick in it.  When she opened the purse she yelled "makeup!"  I think she used it up within a week or so.

 Jace got a monopoly game which everyone had fun playing.  They were all beaten soundly by Bob.  He was the Monopoly King until I decided to play and beat everyone (this is the first time I've ever beaten Bob).  I'll never play again.  I don't want to chance being de-throned.

Jace reading Christmas books.  He's going to be such a good Dad someday.

I love Christmas day with all my children.  Christmas was fun as a kid, but it so much more fun as a Mom.  I love thinking of what Christmas presents will make their eyes light up.  It's true that giving is a lot more fun than receiving.  And, I love having a day where we just can be together as a family.