BYU Women's Conference Gals

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to be a "Host" at the annual BYU Women's Conference. It was a great couple of days and I loved being able to work with many of the sisters from our ward. We had the best time! Many of the ladies are people that I had the opportunity to work with over the years in the Young Women program. It seems whenever we get together we always have such an uplifting, fun-filled time. And if you get the chance, you need to make sure you ask Teri Sue about the money she took with her ;)

Josh Finds His Groove

Today was the annual "Dance Festival" at Emma's school. Each class prepared a dance to perform for the parents at the end of the school year. This year I think one of the best dances was at the end when Josh got out there and put his groove on. You will have to watch this and see for yourself :)

Soccer Season

This past Saturday was Emma's last soccer game of the season. She absolutely loves the game and I have to say that she is pretty darn good! Last year they won every game, so the league bumped them up a notch to play against bigger, better and older girls. This year was not as successful as last, but they learned a lot and I am happy to report that their spirits were not broken. In one of the picture you can see the size difference of the girls they were playing against (Emma's team is in the maroon uniforms...NOT the red). I think they did really well considering their opponants. I kept forgetting to take picture all sesaon and finally on the last game I remembered to take my camera. However, I got so into the game that I forgot to take pictures until it was almost too late-oops! Oh well, I did get a few. I especially love the last picture I took of Emma crashing on the family room couch. She came home from her game and went downstairs to relax a bit. Next thing I knew she was snoozing! I love how she is totally out of it :) Don't they look so sweet when they sleep?

"A Bird Doesn't Sing Because It Has An Answer, It Sings Because It Has A Song" - Maya Angelou

Last night was Emma's school choir concert. She has been getting up early twice a week to attend the choir practices before school. They sang 9 songs and did a great job. They are not perfect, but who doesn't love hearing children sing?

While at the concert I was able to try out my new video recorder that I had won on the website, VanillaJoy.com. It is just a small little gadget, but it did a great job. I love how it is so small and can fit in my purse. It will be perfect to capture all those memories for future blogs!

Gone!!!

Can I just say that I am sick of kittens??? At first I thought it was great. Kind of reminded me of my days back on the old farm. Now I am just exhausted from trying to find good homes for these cute little felines. Yeah, they are adorable and they are fun to watch. But they grow up to be big kittens and eat lots of food. Maddie had these two about 7 weeks ago and I was fortunate today to have rid myself of them. I posted them on KSL.com and had phone calls within minutes. Once again Emma was in tears and I am just tired of this cycle.

A few months ago, we took Maddie in to have her fixed only to find out that she was too old. How can you be too old??? My first thought was "go ahead...if she dies on the table, so be it." Right after we were told that, she went into heat and poof!!! Instant kittens. We are finally realizing that we may just have to put her to sleep. We are slowly introducing this idea to Emma, rationalizing that Maddie is getting old and mean (which she actually is). I am very satisfied with my Mr. Scribbles (who happens to be fixed)...he is low key, funny and if you have read my previous posts, you know that he is kind of like the Albert Einstein of felines...or really crazy...not sure which...it is a fine line. So...enjoy this last posts on kittens. Because for now, they are OUTTA HERE!!!

All Together Again

This past Mother's Day was the first time in two years that all our children where together with us. We had a great day eating lots of food and visiting with family. Christopher even woke up early Sunday morning and cooked me some great whole grain waffles for breakfast (well...okay, he always is up early-5 am to be exact-but it was nice of him to think of me). It was a wonderful way to start my day. I am very thankful that I have such a great husband and amazing children. They have all truly blessed my life.

I love how my friend, Deanna, talks of Mother's Day. She calls it "Daughters of God" day. How true that is! I hope that everyone had a fantastic "Daughters of God Day"!

Happy Birthday Tara!

Today is Tara's birthday! Tara was definitely my best baby. She was so calm and docile. She hardly ever cried and was such a calming influence on the family. While I was pregnant with her I kept going into early labor. Ironically, she was born one week late. I should have known then that this little girl would be full of surprises.

Tara was our only child born outside of Utah. She was born in Atlanta, Georgia and Greg desperately wanted to give her a good southern name. His first choice was (and yes, it still makes me cringe to even type it) was "Bonnie Blue". Tara thanks me often that I held my ground and said "absolutely not!" I did, however, compromise with his second choice, Tara Leigh. She is named after the movie "Gone With The Wind"...you know, Vivian Leigh and the name of the plantation, Tara. I finally caved when I was in labor and saw that the nametag on the nurse helping me said "Tara". I decided it was a sign.

I love the picture above. It seems especially applicable now that she will be married in just a few short weeks. Tara will be a great wife and mother and I look forward to seeing her grow in this next stage of her life. We love you very much, Tara! Happy Birthday :D

Directive from Elder L Tom Perry From Women's Conference 2009

Last Thursday and Friday I had the opportunity to attend Women's Conference at BYU. Thursday I was able to go to classes and on Friday I volunteered as a Host. On Friday afternoon after all the classes had concluded, we were all able to go to the Marriott Center and listen to Elder L. Tom Perry. In his remarks he told us that most of the world does not understand our religion. He challenged us to use technology to spread the word and work of our church so that others could understand better who we are. He asked us to stand up for who we are and to be examples to those around us. Because of this, I have decided that I will periodically post a short video from Mormon Messages on my blog. If you have not seen these wonderful words of inspiration, please take a moment and indulge yourself. You will love them too!

Crazy Christopher

The other night Christopher was set up on a blind date by a former missionary companion. This companion came along also with a date. They had gone up the canyon for dinner and then came to our home to watch a movie. Greg and I went to bed (Sadly, we seem to be going to bed earlier and earlier as we age). After Christopher and his friends finished watching the movie, he had to drive to Provo to take all of them home.

Around midnight we get a phone call waking us from a dead sleep. Christopher was on the line asking for our insurance card information. We asked why in the world would you need that? He them proceeded to tell us that he got pulled over by a nice officer on I-15 and that he could not find the insurance card in the glove compartment. We then asked what he was pulled over for. He then told us that he was (and I quote) "going too slow". Okay...now how many 21 year old young men do you know who are pulled over by a policeman for the first time ever because THEY ARE GOING TOO SLOW ON THE FREEWAY??? Christopher told us that he had been distracted while talking to his date and did not notice how slow he was actually going. Greg and I got a great laugh out of that one. One side note...he did not get a ticket, just a warning :)