In Loving Memory of Richard Lloyd

My cousin in law has been fighting cancer for the past year. He was able to return to our Father in Heaven today. He has been an example of strength and faith in our Savior during his battle. He wrote almost everyday updating everyone on his condition. He was always positive in all he faced. He has strengthened me by watching him. I have been able to handle my trials due in part to his example. Thank you Rich for letting us all be a part of your life. We will miss you.



Here is what his family wrote on his blog. "We just wanted to let you all know of Rich’s passing today. He passed away very peacefully just before 5 o’clock this afternoon, surrounded by his family. An incredible sense of peace has been ever-present. We couldn’t be more proud of Rich. It’s been a privilege and blessing to witness his great strength and faith. We love all of you and look forward to celebrating and honoring his amazing life in the days to come."

Karma happens!

I hate to say I told you so, but JJ got his this week. I said "what comes around goes around" in my post Double Whammy. Poor JJ learned that this week when he went flying over his handle bars on his bike. He barley missed the family jewels. I tried to make this picture non pornographic. Poor kid, it looks really painful.

tHe ruLes wE cHooSe to bReak!

I have to start this by telling what happened last Friday. Emma and JJ left for school at 8:35am giving them plenty of time to make it by 8:50am when the bell rings. Around 9:20am, I start to get in the shower when I hear voices in my house. Ellie and Elsie were both with me so I was a bit concerned. After being freaked out for 1/2 a second I realized it was kid voices. I thought one of my girlfriends had stopped by, so I waited for a second to hear better and then realized it was MY children. I grabbed my towel and opened the door to the bathroom, and there are JJ and Emma standing in front of me, both crying. I ask what was wrong and they told me that when they got to the cross walk, the crossing guard had left so they couldn't cross the street to go to school.

I am wondering why in the world it took so long to get to school when they left in plenty of time. JJ had decided that they should go through the field by our house. This is a BIG .. HUGE no no at our house. When JJ walks with Emma they are to stick to the sidewalk. Also, when it has just rained, the field is muddy. They are not suppose to play in the mud before they go to school. Well, JJ thought that the short cut was the way to go so he told Emma she had to too. (I going to have to talk to her about peer pressure.) There is a stream in this field that has to be crossed in order to get to school. The water level is up because of spring run off. They get to the bridge and Emma is to scared to cross. JJ threatens her with her life if she doesn't cross. "Moms going to kill us" kind of stuff, so Emma is terrified to say the least. She takes off running home and JJ is trying his best to restrain her because he knows if she steps foot in the house he will be in big trouble. They decide to go around the pond. This made it so they were late getting to the cross walk. My kids then decided the best thing to do would be to come home.

This all took them 45 minutes to do. Needless to say they both stayed home from school that day because it was short day and after I had yelled at them it was to late to take them. Did I say yell? I meant "explained" things to them ;). JJ became Cinderella and had to do everything his evil step mother expected "all day long". To top it off he was grounded for life. Emma just had to play with Ellie all day.

I often wonder why some rules are okay to break while others must be obeyed. Going through the field was okay in JJ's mind, but crossing the cross walk without the Crossing Guard was not okay. What blows my mind about that is when JJ walks to church and has to cross that same street without a crossing guard. Go figure.

Today while I was getting Emma's hair ready for school she was chatting with me like she always does. Out of the blue she must have had a flashback of last Friday when she said "Mom I decided that the field should be called the long cut." I got a good chuckle out of that. Wisdom of a six year old.

JJ will be happy to know that he is officially not grounded when he gets home from school today. I will be happy that I am no longer the warden. I just hope that he has learned his lesson.

a dOuBle whAmMy

Just a FYI there is a lot of blood so if you get sick don't scroll down past Bed pictures.
I should start this story by letting you all know that Elsie got pulled off of our high bed today by her sweet sister Ellie. I had left the room for only a second to get a phone when I hear Elsie scream. So I run in on Ellie picking her up off of the floor. (upside down by her legs)
This Picture is only a reenactment

After about an hour of scared parents watching our infant we decided that she was okay. The kids went out to play while Jeron and I calmed our nerves down. This is when I hear a cry from the back yard where my kids are playing. I looked out the window and see JJ carrying a crying Ellie. She had her hand over her mouth but I could tell she was crying. I watched for a second and then she moved her hand from her mouth and I see blood everywhere. For those of you who don't know my house, I don't have stairs off of my deck. I had to run to the front door and around to my back yard to save my baby. Blood was gushing out of her mouth when I got to her. JJ was covered and so was Ellie. What happened was JJ was carrying her and he fell. This is the result of what happened. Poor thing. I hate when she falls. She has wicked sharp teeth and they always get her good.


I think that the lessoned learned from this are:
1. ALWAYS listen to the still small voice telling you to move the baby.
2. Never trust a 3yr old with DS to leave her sister alone.
3. When you try to calm down make sure you get ready for what is about to come
4. When blood is gushing out of the mouth it doesn't always mean internal bleeding.
5. Last but not least What comes around goes around. (Elsie fell because of Ellie, Ellie then got dropped on her head by JJ.) I guess JJ better watch out.

Tag your it. There is two!

I haven't been tagged for so long that when I saw that I was I had to scan the list of bloggers to make sure she meant me. I love these things. Thanks Mindy for tagging me.
Rules
A. Post the Rules
B. Answer all the questions about yourself
C. After you are done posting, tag 5 people.

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was going to school at SLCC, working for my Dad in Kaysville, and dating Jeron hoping he would pop the question soon
2. 5 things on your To Do list today
A. Clean Bathroom (JJ is doing right now because he got in trouble)
B. Organize Elsie's bedroom.
C. Watch a movie with Jeron. House arrest date night.
D. Check Jeron's English class homework
E. Play with each child individually.
3. Snacks I enjoy
Root beer floats, rice crispy treats, apples, grapes, cookies, chips, brownies (I don't know why I am putting on the weight)
4. What would I do if I were suddenly a billionaire?
I like what Mindy put first and it is the same for me. pay tithing, pay off my house, both sets of parents bills, set up trust funds for every relative I have, by a new house what am I saying pay of my house. I would buy a lot of land and have all of my family live by me and have our own little compound. Then I would start taking poor family's and help them establish a good life. Not just give them money but a better way to live. Skills stuff like that. TRAVEL
5. 3 bad habits
Yelling, I watch way to much TV, and procrastination
6. 5 places I've lived
Las Vegas Nevada, Burley Idaho, Sandy Utah, Sugarhouse SLC Utah, Fruit Heights Utah
7. 5 Jobs I've had
Video Express, Victoria's Secret, clothing store forgot the name, Meads Physical Therapy, and U of U Pediatrics.
8. 5 things people don't know about me
I would drive topless (with bra on) to see what reaction I would get, I have a birthmark on my ankle, I don't have the hots for Ashton anymore, I love "7's" as I call them (7,14,21,28) on the calendar, and last but not least I would love to chase Tornado's or be in the CIA
I Tag Jana, Hailey, Maren,Chelsea, Shannon,and who ever else wants to do it.


I GOT TAGGED AGAIN HOLY COW IT IS MEGAN TAG DAY. LOVE IT! Thanks Erin

Book Tag
Here are the rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book (at least 123 pages).
2. Turn to page 123.
3. Find the 5th sentence
4. Post the 5th sentence on your blog
5. Tag 5 people

My nearest book is lame!
The Call To Write, By John Trimbur
"I was Thrilled to be able to build my own shoes and my personal ID was offered as a small token of appreciation for the sweatshop workers poised to help me realize my vision."
I tag Laura, Emily, Abi, Calee,and Mindy

eLlie lOvEs hEr bRoWnIes

Ellie and I made brownies today. Every time I would put the brownies in the oven she would start to cry. She obviously loves the mix. Like mother like daughter.

Who Me, couldn't be then who. Ellie stole the brownies from the brownie bowl.

Fun times with my girl.

I just loved that Elder M. Russell Ballard wrote his talk for me!

Okay...as most of you know I had a "I'm a crappy Mom day" last week. It always seems that when General Conference comes around I am in need of a major tune up. It was nice to sit and listen to the talks and feel like maybe I could take on the world again. By Saturday night the mood in our home seemed to be lighter. Sunday sessions of conference were all very nice...

...but when Elder Ballard spoke it took me back. Again I had one of those moments that I knew he wrote his talk for me. (My other moment was the day after Ellie was born President Foust spoke on raising a child with special needs.)It was so nice to hear an apostle of the Lord tell me that I am good enough. There was the part that he spoke to the husbands and my sweet husband turned to me and said "Over the past six weeks of having you on bed rest and in the hospital I learned how hard it is to be a Mom...You are amazing." Then Elder Ballard spoke to the children. I started to cry. He was so loving teaching them that they needed to help out and obey. My kids all intently listened. I think each of them took it in. Emma helped out the rest of the evening and JJ was sweet to his sisters. Watching my kids sit with their head turned to listen to an Apostle was a sweet moment. Then seeing that they actually listened was amazing. I love conference. I am ready now to work hard and "Try a little harder to be a little better."

For those of you who are wondering what is General Conference? This is a world wide meeting that takes place twice a year. The leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints give talks and words of encouragement. They guide us in the principles of the gospel. For me it is always a pick me up.

I hope all of you Mothers heard that talk. If you missed it you need to read it. It really was wonderful. He wanted us to know that we are special and loved. Isn't that all any of us wants to know.

Wow, this Mom thing is hard with four!

So this Mom of four is throwing me for a loop. I have always wanted six kids and now I am wondering if I am even cut out for four.I know that I will figure it out here hopefully sooner then later.
Yesterday morning I was extremely tired. We woke up late and Ellie was in a mood. After Ellie and I cried all morning we finally got the kids off to school. I came home and fell apart. I hate it when my kids have a bad morning because then I worry that they will have a bad day.
When we got home from taking them to school I laid on the couch with the baby and cried to Heavenly Father about how I can be a better Mom. I laid there holding my sweet Elsie when I realized that I needed to relax. Why in the world do I stress out so much about being on time to school, eating breakfast, keeping my house clean. I realized that i need to smile more, play more, and relax a lot more.
It has been so long since we just got the play dough out and messed around. I forgot about my floors, bathroom, beds and just did play dough with Ellie when she got home from school. (All the other stuff didn't get done because I was to busy crying when she was at school.)It was so nice to just play with her. We both needed that. I tried to relax more with my other kids also. The house just seemed to be calmer. I needed this.
I have my days when I am surprised that I still have any hair on my head. This Mom thing is not as easy as some may think. I love my kids but there are days when I could sell them to the lowest bidder. Those days I find are usually more because of myself and less because of them. Each new kid has presented me with a different challenge. I realize when I relax my attitude that usually the mean, crazy things that they do don't get to me as much. I think it is hard to think of your child as not perfect but once you can do that it helps. They are going to act out. This is normal. We as parents need to find the best solution to deal with that child. All four of my children have there own unique personalities. I have to figure out ways to be the best Mom I can be to that child.
I love being a Mom. There is nothing more challenging and nothing more rewarding then this great work that we are doing. I am so grateful that when I lay on my couch and cry that Heavenly Father hears me and helps me. I love my kids so very much and want to be the best Mom for them. Wish me luck.
To my friends who have more kids then me you amaze me. I watch you with you families and you make it look so easy. I actually have a lot of women around me that more or less kids then me amaze me. I have surrounded myself around women that are amazing Mothers. Thank you all for the things that you teach me. I need all of your help. You all have things that are unique to you that have influenced the Mother that I am.