Another funny FHE

We had a commitment on the traditional Monday night family home evening. So we took a trip to the Oakland Temple Visitor Center to view a sculpture exhibit of The Healing Power of Jesus Christ. These sculptures are done by a lady named Angela Johnson. She tried to make a career out of Opera singing but wasn't successful so she went to a craft store got some clay and 1 tool and made her first sculpture of a little girl. She knew it was her calling. The sculptures were fun to look at and for the kids to see a 3-D image of stories of Christ healing. Hannah like the sculpture It is I Be, Not Afraid, Miranda liked Come unto me, it was a life size sculpture of Jesus, Logan liked a sculpture that I couldn't find on her website but it was a narrow pathway. In the middle it turned going up from the middle it had people making good choices such as studying the scriptures, serving, teaching, helping. The Savior was at the top. from the middle going down it had people who were ashamed, struggling and ended with pride at the bottom. Although I would like to think Logan like it for the message I think he really liked it because he could walk under it like a bridge. It was a neat way for the kiddos to experience his ministry.

As with every trip we decided to walk around on the Temple terrace where Jeremy proposed. I have decided that when I talk to the kids there are certain things that are not an option like getting married in the temple, it is just where they will get married. So I phrased my question carefully as we were walking away from the temple. I said "When you get married in the temple, which temple do you want to get married in?" Miranda quickly said the Oakland Temple. Logan was also quick to respond. His temple of choice is the Logan temple in Logan Utah, which happens to be where his great grandparents got married. Haylie not missing a beat says "I want to get married in the Haylie temple." No one had the heart to tell her that there is no such thing. It was hilarious. I love the way their minds work.

Daddy is so proud!

Logan drew this picture today. It represents the family's love for Star Wars!

My girls

One of the songs sung by Cherie Call was called Beautiful. As she sang this song it reminded me of my girls. I want more than anything for people to see them as beautiful. Not in the sense of worldly beauty but in that the light of Christ shines through them. I loved this song and how it says "It's what you give that makes you beautiful. It's how you live that makes your dreams come true. Keep your faith in this world. And let the light of the Lord shine through, that's what makes you beautiful." That sums up my hopes for these girls.

I think that the pressure of beauty is more of a female issue. That is why I did this for my girls. Logan is an amazing kid while I hope he will also act in a way that will let the Lord's light shine through, it won't be beautiful it will make him so very attractive, handsome and responsible! Oh what a dream. The thing I like the best is that it is so very attainable. Our Heavenly Father loves these children and my job is to make sure they know it. So Logan, I love you too. I am lucky to have been blessed to be the mother to all of you!

You'll never guess!

One of the reason's I was afraid to go away is that I would miss Lauren taking her first step's. I have felt it was coming. Today I was in the room with her and Jeremy and i were able to witness it together. That was pretty cool. Jeremy may be being nice by not telling me she took her first steps while I was gone but he probably would have called me in his excitement. Of course I went and got the camera and caught a few steps on video. Remember she is extremely new at this and it is only about 2-3 steps per clip!

Time-Out Mom!

Well it was more s self requested Time-Out. I realize I just got back from BYU Education Week which I was away from my family for 8 days. BUT...every once in a while Time-Out for Women comes to Sacramento. So my friend Teri and I went together and met some more friends there. It wasn't too far but with gas rices we decided to stay the night. So I left yesterday afternoon and got back today. It was another fabulous time. The theme was Joyful Life: defined as great delight or happiness caused by a life that is exceptionally good or satisfying.

I came home early due to guilt of being away for two weekends and pretty much having every weekend packed with activities and then Jeremy gone for an overnight business trip. (I realize I am home to spend time with the family and am on the computer, but in my defense they are watching a movie and I am in the same room as them!)

So last night Jim Ferrel spoke. He spoke on the Down is up and up is down principle in the scriptures as long as down is before the Lord. Meaning down is humility and up is pride. How Satan tells you you need to feel up. It was a good talk, he said quite a few things that I needed to be aware of. Kenneth Cope was the host for the event. I didn't know how well known he was. He sings one of my favorite songs although I never heard him sing it. You can find the lyrics here. It is called His Hands. Another musical guest was Cherie Call. She is another LDS musician. My friend Hayley and I took a picture with her showing off our bellies. Turns out she is expecting her baby the same month as me.

I enjoyed listening to her share what inspired her songs.

Today I got to hear from Mary Ellen Edmunds. She is HIL-Air-IOUS. I dis get to hear most of the stuff while I was at Education Week, but it was still a good repeat. It was about contention being from the devil. She would share several scenarios that would pretty much get you frustrated and want to loose your cool. For example going to a hotel room where the kids in the room before you are "training for the Olympics" and the parents turn the T.V. up so they can hear them selves think. She asks "What would you do?" she would them mumble a reply like send up the SWAT team or blow the room up etc. then she would say with a smile "not today, today you are a peacemaker! So you walk to the front desk and leave a note wishing the family good luck in their Olympic trials!" She is very sarcastic but her point is that we can choose to respond with contention or try to find a way to make it into something positive, to be a peacemaker.

The next person that spoke was Camille Fronk Olson. She was also very good. She had lots of interesting insight about Hannah. While I was sort of familiar with her part in the scriptures, I had no idea how much of a faithful woman she was. It made me proud to know that one of our daughters share her name.

It is always a fun event and I try to go when I can, but this time was a little too close to Education Week so I will remember that it is one or the other for me!

Labor Day photos

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Thank You!

I have the best husband in the world. I lost my sweet tooth for abut the first 4.5 months of pregnancy. It is coming back just not like it was, salt and potatoes are still number one cravers for me! Lately though these are what I crave:

The picture does not do the size of my craving justice. My point in thanks goes to my awesome husband who is not feeling well, you know the ever lingering cold stuff, went to the store to get me some. Ahhh the joys of pregnancy, I will miss them...well maybe not. Plus he is a good hubby and would still make trips with out me pouting and rubbing my tummy and expressing my cravings!

THANK YOU, Jer-Bear!

A Logan Funny

Logan kept singing "Poor Poor Roddey, flushed down the potty". We try to discourage "potty" words so I was a little annoyed at the quote from Flushed Away. More annoyed by it being repeated over and over and over and over...than the actual saying.

I finally told Logan that if he said it one more time, after repeatedly asking him to stop I would put soap in his mouth to clean it up. A couple minutes later Logan came out after spending some time in the bathroom. I asked him what he was doing and he told me he was washing his mouth out with soap. I asked if he said the saying one more time and he confirmed. I love it when I don't have to be consistent with the punishment. He took care of it all by himself. Although now I have to inform him soap is NOT a food source!

Labor Day Tag...sort-of

We all love to share our war stories of Labor...and delivery. I found this post on a friend's blog and thought I would do the same.

How Long were your labors?
#1-5 hours
#2-3 hours
#3-good question? 6 hours? I am not sure. Pushing totaled 15 minutes for both babies...they were five minutes apart.
#5-4 hours?

With the last one I am not sure the time frame you can do the math click here for the story. I think they count labor as beginning when you are dilated to a four?! Or active labor begins.

Where and how did you deliver?
#1-I was induced 10 days past my due date at Walnut Creek Kaiser. No Epidural/stitches/tearing. Yes to pitocin.
#2-I was 6 days late and went in for a Non-Stress-Test. She stripped my membranes (OUCH!!!!) then sent me to L&D sure enough I was in labor and had no idea. No Epidural Yes to Pitocin, 1 stitch. Walnut Creek Kaiser
#3/4-I was induced at 37 weeks 6 days. Pretty boring they made me get an epidural and that is why I can't tell you how long my labor was. They wouldn't break my water since the OR wasn't available for delivery. So it was a labor of convenience. I did deliver with two hours of my water breaking. Oh and I walked in to the hospital dilated to a 4 and not in labor, my body is a little broken that way! In summary Pitocin, Yes, Epidural: weird but yes, stitches:no, they practically fell out they were so small!
#5 -I could say ditto to #1 I delivered at Walnut Creek Kaiser (like all my babies) I was induced I think 8 days late. Pitocin: yes, Epidural: No, Stitches: No!

Birth Stats:
#1 8lbs 5oz (they said she would be about 7-7.5 pounds, don't believe them they lie!...well sometimes!) 20"
#2 8 lbs 14oz 20"
#3 6lbs 12oz #4 6lbs 1oz (yes almost 13 pounds of baby..which led to...my fifth baby) both were 19"
#5 10lbs 5 oz 22" long. She was what I referred to as out "Tank" I feared she would get the nickname "Big Bertha" (no offense to any Berthas out there) She has turned into quite the little petite girl.

I re-read my post about Lauren's birth and I was quoted as:

"I don't want to do this again, I know you think it is because I am in pain but I am serious!" ~ April

I guess you do say things in when you are labor that you can't be held accountable for at a later date. As I am doing this again and I am already fearing the Labor and Delivery even though my track record would lead me to believe it will be an experience some will be jealous of.

Labor Day

We had a fun day yesterday. We went to our Ward's Annual Labor Day Picnic. Unfortunately we didn't bring our camera so I will await photos from the family photographer.

I got to help with the primary games, which could have been more exciting if we had lots of kids. Our first game was eating donuts off a string game. I bought plenty of donuts...only in the process of getting to the park I ruined more than half. They got smooshed so it was more like donut quarters instead of circles. We got 12 kids to play. Then got the Bishop to challenge another man in the ward to a donut on the string. The were pretty impressive.

Then the kids started loosing interest. We got 6 to continue to play a cotton ball relay game. They had to put Vaseline on their nose and run to the other side and get on all fours and pick up a cotton ball using only their Vaselined nose, then run back. Once their whole team had white cotton balls on their nose that team one. The kids are pretty good sports.

Then we were down to 4 and did a four way tug of war. I am sure most of you are thinking two ropes tied together n the middle and pulling in 4 different directions. This one is done in a circle with four people in the middle all facing outwards. We put suckers in the ground and they had to pull to get their sucker first. It was fun two watch.

After lunch we had the quickest water balloon fight ever. It last 0:00:04.23. Just kidding but I guarantee it was less than 5 minutes that included the walk to clear the premises from innocent bystanders.

We came home and had a relaxing afternoon of watching a movie and eating popcorn, which surprisingly Jeremy even ate and I actually watched most of the movie with them. What a treat for the kids. Then dinner and Family Home Evening, which I linked to Jeremy's story earlier. Just a little addition I thought I would add a link to Gordon B. Hinckley's 6 Be's. We also talked about Jesus Be-attitudes. It is a fun reminder of how we need to behave and act/think towards others. Especially as Logan and Miranda get to start a new school year and meet lots of new people.

Another link

Jeremy is an excellent story teller so instead of retelling a story that he has already written I will post a link.

Haylie and Bobba Fett

Care about Education?

I am not a very political person and don't often get involved. I have heard a lot about teachers and the dilemma they have been forced into. I love our neighborhood and I feel very lucky that our kids are able to attend an excellent school. It was said at Back to School Night that we need to write the district and tell them to pay our teacher's a more competitive salary with a reasonable benefits package. This parent also pointed out that he himself was a teacher that worked in our district and moved to a neighboring district where the pay and benefits were better. I know that there may be some that can afford to teach in our district because they love it here, they love to teach, and their expenses can allow that sacrifice of "more money". I fear most need to be a little more selective since they are the sole support or bring in the mojority of income for their families. It is sad that it sounds like it is all about money but it is a big part. I also know that extremely qualified and excellent teachers will look over our district for reasons other than money. Anyways this post is longer than I intended. There is a man Mr. Writer who keeps up to date on district news. We have an election coming up so he created a blog for the candidates that will be running for the two open board positions. It is an unbiased setting where all four candidates can be heard, unedited. Of course the two that he is supporting (although not mentioned on this site) have accepted the offer. The other two have been sent invitations to be involved, it is still new so they will hopefully join soon. I thought this was a good way to be informed who to vote for, Mr. Writer said all anwers should be written so all can understand unlike some of the formal statements we get to read in voter packets. So check out this blog and ask a question. These are the people who can help create a better district for our children.

Today's fun

I love taking pictures of Haylie and Hannah together. It is not too often we get a picture where they look so identical, but I think I may have got one today. There still are differences but, what do you think?

Lauren was so cute swinging her little legs "reading" the DVD cover like a book.

Lastly while I was away Haylie started doing a Star Wars Dance. The kids watched one movie a day so they were able to watch all six movies. I guess the theme song went to Haylie's head. Usually it is more like clog dancing with Haylie's feet but you can never understand the tune she is saying. Here the feet aren't as active but you can distinctly here the "dun-dun-dun-dun-da-dun" Darth Vadar's Theme.

It snowed...

in August...inside Jeremy's office...

OK it didn't really snow. They had a bridal shower for a co-worker at his work last night and Jeremy had to be elsewhere. So the two in charge got visited by 3 little helpers who "lightly dusted" their office with "snow" or as the rest of the world calls it Toilet Paper! I am sure this may actually be in reference to a few bathroom clean-ups that Jeremy has had in the past...good stories, but are so much better when he tells it. OK I may be reading into the toilet paper thing too much, it was probably an answer to "How do we entertain 3 youngin's with no toys on the premises?"

It made for a good laugh and I am sure Jeremy had it cleaned up in a matter of minutes, then put every picture, paperclip and pencil right back EXACTLY where they were when he left the night before!

Share the wealth

Having a blog is fun, even if no one reads it I feel better about putting exciting information out there. It is so helpful when I stumble across info on other people's blogs too. I was thinking of trying a fun, not organized, sort of pre-school and I came across this website http://www.preschoolexpress.com/. It has lots of really simple activities for the kids. I think it may be more fun for Haylie and Hannah to have the competition factor since they will be working together. Anyways, if this is something you are interested I hope it helps give you some good ideas.

Health Report

Monday was a little crazy! It was Jeremy's first day back after a great vacation. Lauren and I had doctor appointments about 20 minutes apart in two different locations. Jeremy and I divided and conquered. Since I was the only one who could go to MY appt. I took Logan and Miranda. We got to hear the heartbeat of little Jackson. Miranda helped by holding the controller part and got to push it off and on when the doctor told her to, she loved it. Logan thought it was pretty cool and the heartbeat sounded like "wow, wow, wow..." pretty close, but it is definitely WOW! Everything is going well I am right on track for measurements at a little over 21 weeks. I shared my concern about a large baby and he said we will keep an eye on how the baby is growing starting around 34 weeks and see if we can stir things up if necessary. I was on cloud nine especially after the last doctor appointment.

Then Jeremy took Lauren to her doctor appointment with Haylie and Hannah. Lauren has gained about two pounds in the last 4 weeks, weighing in at 20 lbs! She has moved up from the 3rd percentile to the 11th. She is a little above the 50th percentile in height and 60th for her head size. She is growing well and our doctor was pleased with her growth. She was supposed to get her shots but Jeremy waited for about 15 minutes with others and no one was called in so I get to go back and live the terror. About her walking, Lauren cruises all over the place and is walking with us holding her hands and with her little push toy. The doctor watched her cruise and said her legs are looking strong. So we feel she will be walking in the next month or so. If she is not walking by 18 months we will look into physical therapy. I am not worried though, she is doing well.

I do have to say that with all things you have to find what works best for you. I am so happy with these two doctors. Neither give me more than I need but they hear my concerns and make note. They even give possible future decisions. It was a great medical day in the Jacobs home!

Logan sense

So I did the good mom thing and grilled Logan about his first day of school, I can't remember all the questions but the answers were pretty similar to Miranda's answers on her first day of school. Yes, Yes, Yes.... He did let me know he met three new friends...what were their names I asked "I don't renember" good friends eh? He then informed me that they played a game in a circle except it was really a triangle. Lastly as we were crossing the street to go home he said with a little tinge of disappointment and frustration "Ms. Z didn't teach me how to read today" I guess we have made reading seem like an easy process that happens over night. I am glad though that he is excited to learn more new things and be like his big sister.

Education Week

In Jeremy's family Education Week is a tradition. It is a 4-5 day spiritually uplifting experience. There are 55 minute classes all day long on various topics ranging from habits to history to encouragement, cooking, music...there are over 1,000 classes offered. Every year Jeremy and I trade off one stays home with the kids (only 14 and older can attend) and the other gets to go. This year was my turn. I was introduced to some new yet fabulous speakers. People, their testimonies, knowledge and experience amaze me. I know I am not to compare since I have my own gifts and strengths but how they inspire me to want to do better!

We drive up on Saturday before it begins. It is a long drive but the company makes a difference. And I can honestly say Nevada is not that bad. Sunday we visit Jeremy's Grandma Jacobs. She is an amazing example of living life to the fullest. It was an enjoyable visit. We were also surprised when LuJean came in, she lives in Idaho and sometimes we get lucky enough to get a time when both trips align.

A funny experience that day...we went and attended a random ward, they are everywhere in Utah so it is not hard to find the best time and location. For part of the Sacrament program a group of 4 boys sang a beautiful song. Their voices where fabulous, I could have listened to them all day. I was so impressed that these young boys sounded like men when they sang. As they were done I watched them sit down...NEXT TO THEIR WIVES! I realized how old I am getting.

On Monday we go to Salt Lake City and visit Temple Square. We got to see the movie Joseph Smith: the Prophet of the Restoration. It is such a fabulous movie that will make you cry. One thing that stuck out to me is an often repeated phrase. "Whom the Lord calls, he qualifies." I have heard it a lot but at times, which is natural, it is easy to think I am not good enough at this, for this, etc. In this film the quote was a little more specific "The Lord calls us in our weakness THEN qualifies us." Oh how much better it is to think of it that way. We are most teachable when we are humble! We can serve him better when we turn to Him for strength, encouragement and guidance.

We always get to play a couple games of May I? (although our rules are a little different)

Although you can hold two more cards Mom J. has a LOT of cards in her hand! Then starting on Tuesday we get to attend classes. I love every morning walking to my first class and seeing this:

I am sure it has a name but it is a little canyon in the Wasatch mountains that are pretty much the eastern Border of BYU campus. The sun peaks through and you can see the rays starting to shine through the mountains.

Tuesday I got to see Pride and Prejudice the Musical. I have been spoiled in the past to see a few Broadway quality plays. This was more community theater but it was still very neat. I enjoyed the voices of Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley.

I learned so much this week and was so lucky to get to go. Jeremy stayed home with the kids. He had a blast and got lots accomplished. When I came home there was a cake on the table with flowers and a card, along with pictures that the 4 oldest had drawn along with what they like best to do with me. Much to my surprise, Jeremy took the kids to get pictures taken. They turned out so adorable. We should have them up on the Internet soon. I also got a coupon book from Jeremy with various dates and more girl time. I am truly lucky and spoiled.

First Day of School

Logan's first day of school. Logan was very excited to find out he has the same teacher as Miranda had for her first year of school.
Miranda was very excited when she received a call from her second grade teacher last week. Miranda was also excited, her teacher has the best heater and the best air conditioning. She also said "my teacher sounds like she has a lot of fun stuff planned. It is going to be a fun year." I love that she loves school.
It was not as sad to leave Logan at school as I thought it would be. It all happens so fast that I forget to revel in the moment. You could tell he is extremely curious and unsure, but he is very confident and independent. He walked right into his classroom, put his book away and was sitting in his desk ready to learn.
While is wasn't sad to leave him, it is kind of lonely without him. Haylie and Hannah both asked when we get to get Logan. They miss their big brother. I am so proud of both my kids, they are pretty easy going and excited for school, I look forward to another exhausting year of getting to know more students that will surround my kids and help shape them. I have already been asked to be a co-room mom with another mom from Miranda's kindergarten class. So who knows what I will get to do with the kindergarten class. Here's to happy thoughts and lots of fabulous experiences for the oldest kiddos!

Checking out the Room

Logan got to meet his teacher and visit his classroom. For some reason I didn't get a picture of him and his teacher either day. In my defense I didn't get a picture of Miranda and her teacher on the first day either... well except Miranda was in the front of the line. Here are a couple of pictures.

Logan found his name on the door along with his good friend Caden. We used to think that it would be a bad thing for the boys to be in the same class, just because how boys are not that these are bad boys. They actually do very well together. They have the same teacher and are both "early friends."

Mr. & Mrs. Klekar

That is right Klekar is my maiden name! pronounced kle (short e) car. My dad married his perfect bride last week. It was a perfect wedding it fit my dad's personality, informal and fun. Of their nine grandkids, 7 were there. My niece was here visiting her dad so I was able to take her to the wedding. The people who don't know me that well thought I had six kids. They were right just one is still in utero. I put together a little clip of photos, their vows and lots of dancing. Logan was a dancing fool and boy does he have moves! I couldn't remember the song that they danced to so it is a silent video montage except for the background music of the kids dancing. To Dad and Janet Congratulations!

Updating

We took some pictures of the girls and I have uploaded them from the camera. Here are a couple recent pictures of my stellar young ladies!

This one is not too recent but I had to have my little man be represented. Everysunday he would dress in his Sunday clothes, and put on his missionary name badge. Oh, if I could bottle up those feelings just incase he needs reminding later on!

I was going to try and find a good picture of Lauren but then I thought Lauren gets lots of pictures so she can just deal...besides would she even understant the unfair representation anyways?!

A day on the boat

We went with some friends on their boat on July 5th. We don't do it as often as we are invited, but boy did we have a good time. Logan collected shells all day and insists next time we bring bigger bags and bring two! Lauren as always just went with the flow. Miranda and Logan both loved the "Banana Split" It was a very fun day, and was a great way to end an exhausting weekend...good thing we had Sunday to re-coup...Jeremy needed it. On our way out we had an incident, Jeremy tells all about it here. That part was not fun but then we went to dinner and continued to laugh and joke about the good things! Thank you Rossi's for including us!

Fourth of July

I got some cute pictures from the fourth but haven't taken the time to post them. It was a crazy day. We came home from a fun sleepover, then family came to visit, then we went to a friends house for a barbeque and swim. All of our kids, including Jeremy got in the pool. We laughed alot and enjoyed the company. Then we went to Concord High School to watch fireworks.

While waiting Jeremy and Miranda raced.

At the very end you can see Logan stop Miranda, Logan got knocked over. If only I paid better attention to the camera it would have been even more funny!

All the kids loved the fireworks. We then loaded Haylie, Hannah, and Lauren back in the wagon. Before we were of the field we had three sleeping beauties!

Logan and Grandma June

Jeremy's Grandma was over for dinner last Sunday. Her and Logan were talking and Logan asks "Grandma, how old are you?"I thought it was kind of a funny question but the conversation that followed cracked me-up.

Grandma June "How old is old?"

Logan "Ummm??? I don't know maybe 105?"

Grandma June "Oh, that's good! I'm not old then! I'm only 91."

Although this picture wasn't taken during this conversation, I think it is cool. Grandma just finished her 6th round of chemo (3, then surgery, then three more) she is doing pretty well although she has some troublesome aches and pains. It is good to see her out and about.

Quote

I read this book of quotes a while back and as I was reading I thought "a lot of my friends need to be reminded of this" as encouragement not as criticism of course. The book is One Bright and Shining Hope Messages for Women from Gordon B. Hinckley. I thought since I have a blog and most of my good friends read maybe it will remind them how special they are to Heavenly Father. Sometimes life seems overwhelming and we, as women, feel like we are sinking in stead of swimming merrily along. Here is the opening quote on page 1:

It is so tremendously important that the women of the Church stand strong and immovable for that which is correct and proper under the plan of the Lord. They must begin in their homes. They can teach it in their classes. They can voice it in their communities. They must be the teachers and guardians of their daughters. When you save a girl, you save generations. I see this as the one bright and shining hope in a world that is marching toward moral self-destruction.

Although this is geared towards mothers, I know a few remarkable and outstanding women who work with the youth in our church. They are amazing and you can tell how much they care for these girls and want them to gain a strong and immovable testimony of the gospel. So I think this applies to all women. Even women of sons. As women we get to wear different hats. Some get to be full time mothers, others need to work outside the home, we all get to be teachers whether it is at home, church or as a career. What opportunities we have to teach by example! I know that I have a small group of friends who I talk to regularly and we get to inspire each other. I don't know that I spend too much time talking and inspiring those outside my comfortable little circle. Another thing to add to my ever growing list of things to do...consistently.

Back to the point, I am so lucky to be blessed with 4 wonderful daughters. The part that touched me the most in this quote was the end when he says "When you save a girl, you save generations." Wow is that pressure. I know at times being "just" a stay-at-home mom it is difficult to feel that you are doing your part. According to President Hinckley our part is to nurture and raise our children, in this particular quote our daughters. Someday it will be their job to "save" ot teach the next generation. They will be the teachers in their homes while, hopefully, their husbands work and support their family. Will I have done a good enough job? Will I have been strong enough and immovable that my daughters will be the same way?

As women we are so important in Heavenly Father's plan, we can't belittle our divine destiny just because we are women. Jane Clayson Johnson has a book that is called "I AM a Mother!" It is a statement not a description. This woman gave up a successful career because she was strong and immovable and knew what she needed to do. The world called her crazy, but she did it. She has no regrets. What a wonderful role model.

So I am off to save generations by being "one bright and shining hope" one daughter at a time...

Book Review

Hopefully I will be evasive enough that I won't ruin anything about this book. Yes I am talking Breaking Dawn. Here's my breakdown of the first three:

Twilight...loved it couldn't put it down. Some may say they fell in love too quickly but sometimes it happens that fast. they were made for eachother and I fell for it hook, line and sinker!

New Moon...The meaning of the title was on www.stepheniemeyer.com. It made me appreciate the story more. It is my least favorite, the first time was hard to get through but the second and third time it was a lot better and I could understand it better.

Eclipse...again the title is so perfect and it explains it in the book. This was my favorite! I couldn't get enough of Edward and Bella's love story, at the end I couldn't help but want more!

And the grande finalle:
Breaking Dawn...before I read this I knew what I wanted to happen, I just couldn't figure out how it was possible. Stephenie Meyer did everything I wanted and more. She got it all done! As I was reading it I felt disturbed by the plot, it went in such a weird direction. The love was still there but it was miserable! The end ties it up really nice. I am glad I read it a second time though I got to pay better attention to the "banter" between characters. At the end of the story it was finished, as with all good stories you would like to read more and it would be possible. All problems were addressed and solved, more or less. By the end the love and passion was back. Although it isn't my favorite of the series it is still really good.

Things I love:

• Jacob and Edwards relationship. They crack me up! Pay attention!
• Hopefully this isn't too much but the book is broken into three parts, the first told by Bella, the Second by Jacob and the third by Bella again, the story is continuous just different point of view. That is just info but if you read the titles to the Jacob chapters they crack me up.
• I love that I can hear their voices in my head, how they would actually say things to each other
• The pride Edward has when he looks at Bella, She feels he can see her the way she has seen him all along. Bella finally feels equal or "good enough" for him!
• The relationships~all of them

What I didn't like:

• The misery, it does help the story come together but it is still hard when you can't see the happy passion you are used to.

So in a nutshell I did love this book too!

I have a secret!!!!!

Well it really isn't a secret anymore! Today we had a lovely viewing of our precious little tyke. We didn't have to wait long until the technician told us it is indeed a baby BOY!!!!! We are so thrilled. Not to say we wouldn't be as happy if it were a girl as we know they are lots of fun, but we knew our family needed one more boy.

When we came home we told Jeremy's mom that we couldn't see so we would have to go back. She is so trusting of her son to believe just about anything he says. So the kids were waiting to hear the news, we told them we didn't know. Then we showed them this ultra sound picture:

And informed them it was indeed a boy and we can continue calling my tummy "Baby Jackson." I don't think Logan has ever got that excited before even with Santa! He ran over to Jeremy (I know I am chop liver when it comes to gender determination, but how does a 5-year old know that!) and squeezed his leg with a big hug. I think he was not only celebrating having a brother but also so ecstatic that there would be three males in the house to balance out the hormones of 5 women. He is a very intuitive young man. So there you have it news you can use...or not.

Forwarded email

Jeremy forwarded me this video:

This guy is hilarious. You can go to his website where he has several little clips. My favorties were Cletus take the Reel to the tune of Jesus take the wheel and the one on products...oh and the parenting one was funny too. He promotes himself as a clean comic. Everything we saw contained no bad language or anything that make you wish it wasn't in there

Midnight Extravaganza!

We have been trying to think of things that the kids can get one on one time with Jeremy and I. I cam across a Midnight release of the Clone Wars action figures. Although Jeremy is not into collecting these figures, I knew Logan would love it so Jeremy took Logan. He said it was worse than the day after Thanksgiving. There was lots of puching and shoving. Jeremy said he was stretching to grab a figure and was just inches away and someone took it! It is a good thing Jeremy is so tall he was able to stretch while Logan held onto his shorts. Jeremy worked so hard to look at couple figures he ended up getting them just as a reward for the hard work.

Just so you son't think we are bad parents we put Logan to bed at his normal time and then Jeremy woke him up at 11:30pm and took him so he didn't miss out on too much sleep. He loves his figures.

Here are a couple pictures from this random adventure: Note the empty display!

The Bad:

The Good:

Embarrassingly obsessed

Ask Jeremy he will confirm that I am a little well a lot obsessed with Twilight. It is awesome. I know it isn't for everyone and if you don't care for it that is OK too I can still like you and respect your opinion. Today a spoiler was revealed. It was just what I wanted to know but I am absolutely positive it will not ruin the book as it happens very early on she states. If you are interested click here. Again WARNING it does give away a little of the book! Or you can wait the four days until you can read it yourself.

I do love this story and I love the way she explains the love of Edward and Bella. She does it in what I would think of as a respectful way not lustful or dirty. I know lots of people think "Wow, if I could just find my Edward" well I am lucky enough to have married mine. Like Edward he probably pursued me against his better judgement but he would never regret it even on the hormonal pregnancy days, which has been most of our marriage!

So just so Jer doesn't get a complex I will state why my hubby is as good as Edward if not better!

• The obvious, Jeremy warms me up , he is never cold, or at least I have never witnessed it!
• We get to be together forever no blood/biting involved and we both get to keep our souls! (Remember Edward is a vampire!)
• Jeremy loves to make homemade gifts and they are perfect for me.
• He is always there to protect me
• He spoils me
• He loves me
• His world revolves around me and the kids too
• We can have kids
• He sleeps...rather well I might add.
• Sometimes he responds to my tears the same was as Edward does to Bella "Are you crying?"
• I love the sound of his laughter
• His voice puts me to sleep
• He is WAY strong

Alright, I guess that is enough mushy for now but I wanted to let everyone know I would never want Edward when I could have Jeremy. Is is way better, plus if Edward really looks like the Edward in the movie...ICK! Not beautiful in my opinion! ha-ha!

Child Labor

A couple weeks ago we were driving home and we saw a lemonade stand. We took advantage of it. It was fun to pay the quarter and drink some lemonade. We even got to choose between pink and regular, fancy I know. From that moment on all Miranda wanted to do was have a bake stand. She decided lemonade had been done and she had experience in 1st grade doing a bake sale with her class. We decided to do it while family was in town. We planned extra well and of course not intenionally, we not only had family over but some good friends visited us from Utah. They generously bought some of our goodies. Miranda made $10.00 and didn't even have to go outside yet.

This is our cute neighbor. Her husband asked about advertising. I told him this was the initial investment once we gain some capital we are going to get us a sign spinner!

Haylie and Hannah loved putting the money in the box.

One thing we decided was that she had to give a reason for why she was trying to earn the money. We think spending money and knowing it is going towards a good cause is good. The girls we bought from said "I don't know" So we talked with Miranda and she kept saying "I want to buy Daddy dinner for our date night at the A's game ($1 tickets and $1 hot dogs)" I thought it was cute that she thought of him and I felt it was worthy enough for me to donate the time to bake the treats too. Of course when she was asked the day we opened for business she told our friends "I want to buy clothes!" not that this is a bad thing, in fact it is very responsible of her it just took me by surprise that she changed her mind.

Another funny thing was that Miranda was saying she was hungry or thirsty. She said she didn't want to go back outside it was too hot. She had been out there for about 3 minutes...maybe! I told her working is not always fun but if you want to earn money you need to just do it.

A few special thanks to the Jacobs, Murphys, Romers (both families), and our neighbors. Even to Aunt Tamra who stopped by in her patrol car. We sold a batch worth of brownies and Rice Krispie treats. Because of the heat they were served warm. Fancy that. It was a success, I am thinking of giving up my day job! Well maybe not my job pays well and the benefits are out of this world!

Midnight Madness

We have hopefully started a tradition. Since half the family is not available when the other half is we like to take the rare opportunity when we can get together and have a sleep over. The kids get to stay up late and watch movies and the adults get to stay up later and play games uninterrupted by the 8 pairs of young feet. So we took the journey out to Aunt Tamra and Uncle James awesome abode. They seriously have the coolest backyard. The kids got to play on their play structure and more fun was the slide!


I know it isn't easy giving up free time (plus both had to work the night shift the following night) but they were awesome hosts and fed us well. We even got blueberry waffles the next morning. It was lots of fun to laugh and hang out. We did come to the realization that Logan will never get tired of video games. The nice thing is that he really only needs to be able to watch them being played...for hours. So sharing is not that big of an issue for him. It is funny Ethan and Caleb, their twin boys, each have a friend, Ethan and Miranda play well and Logan and Caleb play well, Haylie and Hannah each have each other and Hunter taught Lauren how to use Legos as drums. By the next morning he did a great job of playing with the bubbles with Haylie and Hannah. I wish I had a picture of that!


Thanks for having us over we had a great time!

Finally her check-up

We scheduled Lauren's 1-year appointment for July at 13 months. We were concerned that she wasn't eating well and getting too skinny. Who would of thought our big baby at birth would be so tiny...weight wise. The appointment got cancelled, which turns out to be a good thing. It got rescheduled for about 3 weeks later. A little frustrating at the time, but she started eating a lot better and bulking up, in a petite way of course. So I went in pretty confident that my only concern was that she wasn't cruising or walking or really had no desire to walk. They weighed her at 13.5 months the scale was teetering between 17.15 and 18 pounds. Turns out she is in the 2.87% for her weight and completely off the charts for her length-for-weight. Her height had usually been up to the 75+% and is now around the 55% Her head though is staying on the larger end! She is eating really well so I am hoping she will catch up soon. The doctor agreed that she is eating well and eating high calorie foods and is glad she didn't see her a month ago because she would have been extremely concerned and was glad to know that it was something that she just went through. Although she recommended the butter and oil addition for her food to chunk her up. While still too early to be concerned with her not walking she wanted to see us again at 15 months (August) to see Lauren's progress. If she is still not walking she will look into physical therapy. In the mean time she gets lots of floor time and a line of goldfish crackers along the couch to encourage cruising. The funny thing was that before yesterday she was starting to pull herself up but she would not lift a foot to move in either direction. Yesterday at the doctor's office I put her feet down and what did she do? She started lifting one foot at a time. Then we got home and she was at the coffee table and she turned around to the couch. Who knows having all these kids running around her must be so entertaining and crawling is quite efficient she feels she doesn't have the time to learn to walk and keep her balance. On a side note the doctor did say she is not locking her knees when she stands which is a good thing, if she did that would mean low tone and physical therapy for sure.

She is still not saying words but is mimicking some sounds. So that is another thing we will work on. This morning I was saying "Mooooooo" so she put her lips together and said "Mmmmuuu". Needless to say the doctor held off on the MMR shot to see if things catch up next month. We will see. As always Lauren is a pretty fantabulous kiddo. Her smile is contagious and as always been my medicine when feeling in a rut. She loves to play peek-a-boo and clap her hands. She especially loves following her big brother and sisters around. At her tender age it is so funny to see how cool she thinks she is because she hangs with the big kids. Logan loves to run from her and Lauren will follow and "scream" and giggle while speed crawling after him.