The Lamoreaux Family

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Three Years!!

Taycie Grace...how much we love you!

I hope she has that same reaction if a boy tries to kiss her on a date

First Christmas

Taycie, I love your big blue eyes, I love your sweet, spunky love of life. Your hugs and snuggles kept me going all through our tumultuous year last year. I have enjoyed every minute of your life.

You've been the baby of the family for longer than any other child in our family. And, in your own words, "I'm the baby. Everyone loves the baby."

Thanks for coming to our family 3 years ago. You are precious beyond words.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

The Month of May

Aliysa got her senior pictures taken...sniff, sniff.

Our children were in an adapted version of "Two Gentlemen of Verona". Jace was hilarious.

Don't you love Jace's tights?

Heather, Shelby and Carrie were the directors and taught our children's Shakespeare class. It is hard to describe the talent of these women. It is amazing to see the growth in their students from the beginning of the school year until they shine in their final performances. What a gift -to be able to bring out the very best in these young adults.

I had a wonderful Mother's day - this was my breakfast in bed - carrot juice, fruit salad, scrambled eggs and sweet potato hashbrowns sauteed in Coconut Oil. Then off to church, and then Bob and the children let me have the longest nap ever while they cleaned the house, made meals, and then showered me with presents, notes, treats, and flowers.

Aliysa had surgery to repair an umbilical hernia.

I got to wait in the waiting room and watch her updates on the screen. Sort of nerve racking. I can't imagine what it would be like if it would have been a serious surgery. At least two of the other groups of people in the waiting room were families of cancer patients. I just want to tell everyone I know about the things that I've learned about cancer healing, but I know very well what a private journey it is.

Here she is resting in the car on the way home from the hospital.

Courtney, Spencer, Mallory, Zach, & Andrew had their final ballet and ballroom dance recital, and they did a great job. I was very impressed. I don't have pictures of the other dances, because our camera was having battery problems. Argh.

The curtain call for all dancers

Allergy season hit for me, and I think Abby accurately captured how I felt in this picture she drew. I was completely non-functional. I had to take allergy medication and I was so discouraged. The allergy medicine I took made me gain 5 lbs in a week and made me so moody. And I was not happy because I felt like I shouldn't have allergies after detoxing for months. Luckily I have friends who research every natural healing technique in the world, and Melissa, Cami, and Kami did an "energy clearing" technique they'd learned recently in a class. I've been fine since then. Amazing.

Spencer won the headstand contest for the fourth? year in a row. He's kind of considered unbeatable, so his gymnastics teacher offered a $10 cash prize for anyone who could beat him. He won, and only had to stay up 15 min, 40 sec. this year. (30.5 minutes is his record - talk about a headache!)

Gymnastics classes finished for the year.

We went to Utah to help Bob's parents put a new roof on their home. The guys all worked together...

...and goofed off together while we worked in the house making decorations for Kirsi's wedding reception. It is always so fun to be together as a family.

What else happened in May? Piano, violin, & cello lessons, I attended a wonderful 3-day homeschool practicum about a new home school program that I am so excited about, the boys went to the father/son campout, Jace got a root canal, our family started taking German lessons from our friend Brother Breckenridge, I had another negative blood test (yeay!), we got a new (to us) car from my parents, and Jace started practices for a Continental Congress re-enactment he's going to be a part of.

Next post...swim camp!

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

March/April Happenings

A few of the things we've done recently:

We went to the BYU Spring Football Game. It was a long day of driving, but so nice to have a day to just talk & be together.

We met Nan and her kids and the stadium and enjoyed the game together

Then hung out with some pretty cool football players who were nice enough to take time to meet their fans.

Then we drove to Grandma and Grandpa Hahn's, had a picnic at a park with them, and played and slept for a while at their home. It is always so relaxing there.

Baths & Jammies

Goofiness

This month we said goodbye to 5 missionaries - Josh, HeatherJane, Dustin, Peyton, and Morgan. One Sunday we got to attend 3 sacrament meetings where three missionaries spoke. I felt so grateful that my children have such good friends who are good examples for them.

What else have we been up to? Well....sometimes Bob gets bored

I have no explanation for those pictures. But they make me laugh. Out loud. They capture perfectly how goofy Bob and our children get in the evenings.

Really, Bob's been so busy. He had knee surgery this last month, as well has going to the dermatologist to have several pre-cancerous spots frozen off his hands, arms and face.

He made a basketball backboard/hoop for Zach's birthday. Zach got to help him build and paint it, and Bob and the older boys worked together to mount it on our house.

Mallory and I had a "Glitter & Glamour" Mother Daughter party with her activity days group

iFamily ended and they had an end of the year showcase evening. My camera batteries wouldn't charge, so I have no pictures, but it was a neat evening with performances from the jumprope class, clogging class, choir, orchestra, acting, and others. There were art and math displays as well. I sat there and felt so grateful for the opportunities and friendships we've had as a part of iFamily. I'm especially grateful considering how hard this last year was for me. I was in survival mode, but thanks to many ambitious friends my children got to be involved in wonderful classes - art, economics, acting, jumprope, clogging, math, orchestra, ballet, ballroom, gymnastics...and more. Wow.

We got new baby chicks. They are almost halfway full grown now. I love these pictures to remind us of how cute the brand new little fuzzballs are when they first arrive.

Jace, Courtney, and Spencer are involved in a Shakespeare Play, Two Gentlemen of Verona

Tonight is opening night, and we're all so excited!

Bob's parents finished their mission in Mongolia, and they've been up to visit twice lately. It is so great to see them again, we sure missed them. We are grateful for their examples of service and hard work! They have amazing stories about Mongolia.

Aliysa got a job working at Journeys (a center for developmentally delayed children), and Jace got a job working at Broulim's grocery store. Both great jobs for each of them.

Aliysa is going in for surgery for an umbilical surgery this month. Then 6 weeks of not lifting anything heavier than 5 lbs. We're not sure how well that will work with her job - she often is lifting clients into wheelchairs, etc. We'll see.

What else? Bob bought me beautiful flowers this month (our camera was in Utah then). He is such an amazing husband, such a strength in my life - a rock that I can depend on emotionally and spiritually. Can't imagine life without him. I'm so grateful for a happy marriage with my best friend.

I'll try to stay updated more often. Weekly is my goal.

Fill the spiritual needs

“some parents become so expert at filling every physical desire for their children that they begin to suppose that all is well in this life and that their eternal stewardship is progressing right on schedule. … I believe that we must pause and take a careful inventory to determine how well our families are doing spiritually. We could ask how well are we feeding, nurturing, training, and exercising the spirits of our children; or how well have we taught, trained, loved, and inspired our children to build their spiritual muscles and strength? … Remember, eternity is now, not a vague, distant future. We prepare each day, right now, for eternal life. If we are not preparing for eternal life, we are preparing for something else, perhaps something far less.”

–M. Russell Ballard

Pray with your little ones

"Behold your little ones. Pray with them. Pray for them and bless them. The world into which they are moving is a complex and difficult world. They will run into heavy seas of adversity. They will need all the strength and all the faith you can give them while they are yet near you. And they also will need a greater strength which comes of a higher power. They must do more than go along with what they find.

They must lift the world, and the only levers they will have are the example of their own lives and the powers of persuasion that will come of their testimonies and their knowledge of the things of God. They will need the help of the Lord. While they are young, pray with them that they may come to know that source of strength which shall then always be available in every hour of need."

-Gordon B. Hinckley

Be Wise In Our Diet

“…let us consider our relationship with ourselves. We must each take proper care to see that the little things regarding our personal life are in order. We must learn to care for our health and our mental well-being. Do we maintain proper exercise to give us the energy and alertness of mind necessary to keep our spirit strong & our attitude positive? Are we wise in our diet? Do we avoid the unnourishing snack that might keep our stomach full but our health quite empty?

–Joseph B. Wirthlin, Finding Peace in Our Lives, p. 59

Turn it off, walk out...

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:

“Tragically, the same computer and Internet service that allows me to do my family history and prepare those names for temple work could, without filters and controls, allow my children or grandchildren access to a global cesspool of perceptions that could blast a crater in their brains forever. . .

“Along with filters on computers and a lock on affections, remember that the only real control in life is self-control. Exercise more control over even the marginal moments that confront you. If a TV show is indecent, turn it off. If a movie is crude, walk out. If an improper relationship is developing, sever it. Many of these influences, at least initially, may not technically be evil, but they can blunt our judgment, dull our spirituality, and lead to something that could be evil. An old proverb says that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, so watch your step.” (Place No More For the Enemy of My Soul, April 2010)

Only a teacher

"If any parent needs added inspiration to commence his God-given teaching task, let him remember that the most powerful combination of emotions in the world is not called out by any grand cosmic events nor found in novels or history books—but merely by a parent gazing down upon a sleeping child. That glorious biblical passage, 'created in the image of God,' will acquire new and vibrant meaning as a parent repeats this experience. Home will become a haven called heaven, and loving parents will teach their children 'to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord.' (D&C 68:28.)"
--Thomas S. Monson

Quote

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. …”
--C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Raise up patriots

The importance of teaching & training

"In 1904, President Joseph F. Smith said to parents: “Do not let your children out to specialists … , but teach them by your own precept and example, by your own fireside. Be a specialist yourself in the truth.

… Not one child in a hundred would go astray, if the home environment, example and training, were in harmony with the truth in the gospel of Christ, as revealed and taught to the Latter-day Saints.”

The ideal way to transform your home into a house of learning is to hold family home evening faithfully. The Church has reserved Monday evening for that purpose. In 1915, the First Presidency instructed local leaders and parents to inaugurate a home evening, a time when parents should teach their families the principles of the gospel.

The Presidency wrote: “If the Saints obey this counsel, we promise that great blessings will result. Love at home and obedience to parents will increase. Faith will be developed in the hearts of the youth of Israel, and they will gain power to combat the evil influence and temptations which beset them.”

President David O. McKay gave the same promise in 1965 and added that the youth will gain power “to choose righteousness and peace, and be assured an eternal place in the family circle of our Father.”

In 1976, the Presidency reaffirmed that “regular participation in family home evening will develop increased personal worth, family unity, love for our fellowmen, and trust in our Father in heaven.

Considering these glorious promises, we would expect every faithful member to be exceedingly diligent in following this prophetic counsel. But, of course, we are all human, and our best plans don’t always materialize. Why not? Let it not be for lack of commitment."

--Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, Spiritually Strong Homes and Families

Our Health Duty

“I am grateful to understand that my physical body is an eternal component of my eternal soul, and that I have a duty to honor and respect and care for it, and to refrain from knowingly imposing upon it any treatment or substances deleterious to it. While I could not choose nor govern the condition of the body into which I came, I have the responsibility to give it the best care I can, and if I do not I am acting in derogation of a great gift of God.”
--Marion D. Hanks, “For Man is Spirit”

Come to the Temple

"The season of the world before us will be like no other in the history of mankind. Just as this is the dispensation of the fullness of times, so it is also the dispensation of the fullness of evil. There is no safety in the world: wealth cannot provide it, enforcement agencies cannot assure it, membership in this church alone cannot bring it. We must come to the temple for light and safety. There are hosts of unseen sentinels watching over and guarding our temples. There will come a period of time when even the elect will lose hope if they do not come to the temples. They will long to bring their children here for safety's sake. The covenants and ordinances will fill us with faith as a living fire. In a day of desolating sickness, scorched earth, barren wastes, sickening plagues, disease, destruction, and death: we as a people will rest in the shade of trees, we will drink from the cooling fountain. We will abide in places of refuge from the storm, we will mount up as on eagle's wings."
--Vaughn J. Featherstone