It's finished!

Bob finally finished fixing up the four-plex.  Yeay!  It is now ready to rent, or sell (we have it on the market).  Here is a picture of the outside.  It has a new roof & windows, steps, etc.  

Here are some "before" pictures:

 Those are the stairs that were leading into the downstairs apartment - scary!  Bob doesn't have an "after" photo of how he re-did this entry, but I'll try to remember to go take some.  It looks much better and much less dangerous now. 

 Nice closet, eh?

 Inviting entry

And here are some "after" photos:

I think Bob (and our kids) did a great job! It absolutely amazes me that he can even dare to jump into a project like this.  When I look at an old, run-down building, I just cannot fathom how on earth it would be possible to make it a nice place to live.  But Bob is great at it.  What a man.

Look closely at the photo

 It seems a common theme from talk radio hosts to say that they agree with what Ron Paul says, but don't understand his foreign policy.  Bob and I thought this short video was a good explanation for his stances.  It includes data from members of the armed forces, former CIA officials, and other experts.
http://www.ronpaul2012.com/2011/12/17/have-trouble-with-ron-pauls-foreign-policy/

Ron Paul Money Bomb - Donate Today!

Ron Paul needs more to reach his goal and have a chance - if you believe in the message that he brings to our country - that we should follow the Constitution - Please donate even a little bit!

http://www.ronpaul2012.com/

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

 A few weeks ago, we got out the Christmas decorations for Family Home Evening, and decorated.

 Our pre-lit tree wasn't so pre-lit anymore.  Only two sections were working.  So, we decided to fix it.  After working for a short time, we decided that we would take all the lights off the tree, fix them, and then put them back on.  Well....that sounded good.  

When a tree is "pre-lit", it means that it has strings of lights that have no beginning or end, and they are attached to every single branch with about 20,498 little green plastic clips, and 2675 black zip ties that have to be cut with scissors.  At first, we were carefully removing all the clips and ties, and we ended by using all our muscle to rip the lights off the tree.  It is no longer pre-lit.  

Our tree has been sitting un-decorated this whole month, and I finally decided to shell out the money to buy lights for our tree.  I stopped at Wal-Mart the other day.  I guess they don't plan for us people who take this long to light our trees.  They only had one set of Christmas tree lights (too short for our tree).  They had lots of icicle lights, net lights, etc., but no more simple strings of lights.  Argh.  What happened to the olden days when people would bring a tree in on Christmas Eve, and put lights on it then?  Maybe we'll try candles?  :)

Thanksgiving

 For Thanksgiving, I really wanted to go to Utah to my Grandma's home.  It has been many years since we've spent Thanksgiving with her, and even though I knew we would be going down again in December, and it was a lot of work to pack, I just couldn't miss it.  

My Grandma is the dearest person in the world - there is no one like her.  She is full of love for everyone, the most forgiving and sweet person I've ever met.  She has eleven children, tons of grandchildren and even more great-grandchildren, but each and every one of us knows that we are loved by her.  She has always made me feel like I was one of her very favorite people.  I can remember her telling me that "people are more important than things", and she really believes that.  Her home is always full of people.  She is talented with decorating and keeping a clean home, but you never feel uncomfortable in her home.  She has been such an influence for good in my life.  When I was little, going to visit Grandma was my favorite thing to do, and I always cried when we had to leave.  When I was five, I got to go spend a week at her house, and I loved it!  Later, when I was engaged, she let me live in her home.  I'm sure it was a pain for her - we were always coming in late, but she welcomed Bob, and any other friends we brought to her home.  I love her!

I only remembered to take a few pictures.  I need to hire a photographer to come everywhere with me! 

 Here are a few people visiting after the feast.  We had so much good food, it was simply amazing!

Aunt Christie with Mally

We stayed at my parents home while we were in Utah.  It was a much needed break for our family.  I loved being there, and eating my Mom's wonderful, healthy food, getting to sleep in after black Friday shopping while my Mom took the kids swimming, going through my parent's cupboards and choosing all sorts of healthy powders and supplements to make a smoothie, going jogging by myself and knowing that while I was gone my kids were having a great time, and getting to talk with my family. 

Festival of Trees

 Courtney, Spencer, & Mallory got to perform at our local "Festival of Trees" (a fundraiser benefit for Primary Children's Hospital).

 Courtney is playing the violin, Spencer & Mallory are learning the cello.

I love hearing their practicing each day - I am extremely unmusical myself, but I love and appreciate music.  I think stringed instruments sound so beautiful!

A Bit of This and That

Here are a few pictures from the past little while . . . trying to catch up.

 Jumping in piles of leaves

 Our ward etiquette dinner

 Headstand contest at gymnastics!

Andrew kept his legs up straight the whole time (in his class, you are allowed to have your knees on your elbows)

 The cute gymnastics assistant

 Spencer won again.  It came down to him and his friend Caleb...again.  They are so competitive!  When he realized he'd won, Spencer did a breakdancing move, and spun around 3 times on his head without hands before coming down.

 Courtney was the last girl in the class to be up!

 Spencer went on his first Boy Scout campout - the temperature was in the 20's, brrr!  I think scout leaders earn their place in heaven.  Two of the boys got the flu during the night, so the leaders had to be awakened and informed that boys were losing their dinner.  Sounds like fun!

Beehive class activity - crazy hairdos. 

Make yourself comfortable

Whenever Taycie sees this little box of books, she takes the books out, then sits on top of the tiny box to "read" the books.  It makes us laugh.

Lots of Learning

Here's some of what we've been up to at our homeschool group classes over the last couple of months:

 Going on nature walks with friends

 Delving into chemistry

 Reading nature books

 Exploring the great outdoors,

 Meeting friendly reptiles,

 newly hatched butterflies,

 birds of prey,

 and hedgehogs!

 Feeling all sorts of animal skins,

 coloring "leaf rubbings",

and doing science experiments.

Our kids have also been doing lots of writing assignments, reading amazing books, learning about music from all parts of the world, studying US geography, dancing, speaking Spanish, studying world religions and ideologies in depth, and so much more!  It has been a fabulous semester.

Julie B. Beck

I love this talk by Julie B. Beck.  I think it is a "must-read" for every woman:
2010 Woman's Conference Talk

Mongolia in Winter

Bob's parents arrived safely in outer Mongolia - just in time for winter.  Here is their blog post - I love the huge coats!
http://bobandpeggy.blogspot.com
Brrrr! 

A Good Reminder

I just read this post on Melissa's blog about "process vs. product".  She talked about how important it is to remember that when we are teaching our children, it isn't just about the finished product.  I need to remember this more often!

We Believe In Children

This article gave me a lot to think about, and helped remind me of what a blessing it is to be a mother:

lds.org: We Believe in Children

I especially love this quote:  “As we look into the eyes of a child, we see a fellow son or daughter of God who stood with us in the premortal life"  

Remembering this on a consistent basis has always been difficult for me.  If I'm in a hurry, or feeling frazzled or irritated, it is so easy to forget to speak kindly.  

Lately I am being blessed to be able to treat my children they way they should be treated, no matter what.  I've prayed for years to become a patient mother, and the other day while I was running on my treadmill, I suddenly was able to see everything in a different perspective.  I was thinking about how busy our life is with all the classes, and other commitments that our children are involved in.  Then my thinking shifted, and I thought about when my children grow up and are parents.  

I just knew that if I could give any advice to them, it would be that nothing is more important than speaking kindly to their children.  All of the busyness of life kind of faded away, and I felt  committed to never letting anything be more important than the people I love the most.  Not having a clean house, or getting somewhere on time, or any of the other things that I am tempted to place such importance on.  

Since then, each day I've been reminded in some way to keep this commitment.  I haven't been perfect, but I have changed.  

On Saturday, I taught a class at "Make it for Maggie", a fundraising day.  I also attended several wonderful classes that helped me focus on my commitment.  One was a class about chores, where the teacher talked about the importance of remembering that we do chores and housework because of love.  Another was a class entitled "Reading, Writing, or Relationships, Why Education Starts with the Heart"  

It is actually a free downloadable class, and I'd recommend it to everyone:
http://ldsholisticliving.com/store/free-download-palmer-jodie-reading-writing-orrelationships-why-education-starts-heart

In this class, the teacher spoke about focusing on our personal way of being, our deepest feelings towards others.  This is how we see, treat, & feel about others.  We can see others as individuals, or objects.  She talked about the fact that, a lot of the time, we look at our children as obstacles.  Obstacles to our goals, or our schedule, etc.  This usually happens when the pressures of life build up.  However, when our heart is pure, and we are committed to helping our children to trust us, and feel loved by us, then our parenting and teaching will be so much more effective.  

I hope I can always remember that my children are on loan to me from Heavenly Father, and that I should treat them according to their divine potential to become like him.