Happy 5th Birthday Jacob!

Happy Birthday to my sweet Jacob! I cannot believe my baby is 5. I had mixed emotions last night as I contemplated my little guy turning 5 and heading to Kindergarten next year. I'm not ready for this! Where did the time go?

Jacob had a wonderful day celebrating with family and friends. Sweet Darci took him out to his birthday lunch at McDonald's. Then we had Cafe Rio for dinner and cousins and grandparents over for cake and ice cream. Last Saturday we had a birthday party for him at the karate studio and he even had the chance to cut his cake with a real Samurai sword. He was so excited.

We are so blessed to have this sweet boy in our family. He can be a handful, but he has a smile that lights up a room. His laugh comes all the way from his toes and it is contagious. He is almost always happy. He is tender and loving and is so good at school. He is a real treasure to our family. Happy Birthday sweet Jacob!

Cutting the cake with a sword

Rescue City Center. Police and fire trucks. What more could a boy want?!

Remote controlled Jeep

He has been driving all day!

Love that smile!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you all! We love you and are so glad you have come into our lives and touched us for the better. Be safe and healthy and may we always remember the greatest gift of this season!

Something that rarely happens in St. George....

And it happened twice in the same week!!!!!! I had the chance to teach the kids how to build a snowman and snow fort. So much fun!!!

This past month

It's been a month since I have written. How is life so much more busier now that Marshall isn't bishop? actually, I know why. It's because we no longer have all those blessings sustaining us and allowing us to do all that we needed to do when he was bishop. I don't miss him being bishop, but I do miss those blessings!

It has been an adventure of a month. It seemed that this month we were given health issues for our trials. My dad had surgery on his bladder and was found to have the most aggressive form of bladder cancer. Thankfully, the doctor was able to get all of the tumor out and bladder cancer tends to stay in the bladder. He goes into surgery on December 13th for a check-up to see if the cancer has come back. It is a painful surgery to recover from. It has been very sobering having him go through this. He's not allowed to do this! He is doing well and feeling great so hopefully this next surgery will find all well with him.

My sister was hospitalized for a few days from having her intestines back-up and overflow back into her system. It seems she will have to have surgery sometime soon to take care of the bad parts of her intestines. It's not any fun and we worry about her, but also hope this scare will encourage to take better care of herself.

And I had the experience of having an ovarian cyst that was 6 cm big. I had this horrid pelvic pain that would come and go and really put a damper on my active lifestyle. I was put on birth control pills (which I cannot take because they make me looney and feel like crud) for a few weeks until I had to stop because I was feeling so badly. Marshall somehow had the ability to do most of the cooking and let me rest as much as possible. The cyst thankfully popped, which was also painful, and I am pretty much back to normal.

Despite all these adventures, I was reminded that the Lord really is in charge and He knows what He is doing. Through our experiences we learn to put our trust in Him and move forward. He can help us find the strength, energy, and faith to continue on and hope for better days ahead. I could not do it without Him!

Halloween 2013

We had an AWESOME Halloween and hope you did too! Since I love Halloween so much I decided to dress up as one of my favorite heroes. I even wore my costume to work at the school. The kids loved it. I had quite a few little girls tell me how "beautiful" I was. Maybe I should wear a long black wig and red lipstick more?

Super heroes!!!! Don't mess with this family. We have Superman, Wonder Woman, 

                 Captain America, and Robin.

Venus McFlytrap from Monster High and Marshall at Disneyland

(We'll cut him a break since he came last minute from teaching at the college)

New Experience

I've never had a tire blow out before. Um, thank goodness because in all the movies it causes some serious wreckage! But this past week I had the opportunity to experience that first hand. Although it was frustrating to have to spend money on two new tires (the other one was worn as well on the sides) and an alignment, I could have fared much worse from the incident. Heavenly Father was looking out for this little lady.

Amazingly, I had been on the freeway previously that morning to run errands. I was on my way from home to pick up Jacob and his friend from preschool, which would have involved the freeway, when the tire blew. I had just been stopped at a stop light and so was just accelerating and not going very fast. I hear the noise and felt the van shift and immediately thought the tire blew. I pulled over to the side of the road and sure enough, I had a blown tire. I had a sweet sister from our ward stop to try and help me blow it back up with an air pump in the hopes that we could at least get it back to my house. No go.

She left and I waited for Marshall (who was on break) to arrive and help me change the tire. While I waited, I had a very kind gentleman, who had the same model of van as myself, stop and offer help. He knew exactly how to get the spare tire out, which was good since I had no idea. Soon another stopped and together they had the old tire off and spare just about on when Marshall arrived. Seeing Marshall and his friend who came to help in their white shirts, these kind men offered to finish the job to avoid Marshall and friend getting dirty. They changed the tire and were on their way.

I am so grateful for their kindness and calmness. I am so grateful that my tire blew while I was kid-free and not on the freeway. I am so grateful no damage was done to the van and that we could have a new tire on by the end of the day. Sometimes lame things happen in life, but we can always find some positive no matter how much chaos goes on around us. I am so grateful to the Lord for helping me keep calm and enabling me to see the blessings in what could have been a very stressful situation.

The real reason behind victory

I am busy reading the "war chapters" in Alma in my scripture study. I love how one can draw so many parallels from that section of the Book of Mormon to real life. It never ceases to amaze me how each time I read the BOM, I learn lots of new things.

As I read about Captain Moroni and how he had prepared his people for battle, I was struck with a new thought. I always find the part amusing where the Lamanites try to mimic Moroni's army with similar battle dress, thinking it will make them just as successful and powerful as the Nephites. They believe all it takes is the right equipment to win.  Right...

Of course, the Lamanites do not prevail, which amazes them. D'uh. It takes a little bit more than armor to win. Maybe having the Lord on your side and fighting for a good cause has something to do with winning, but what do I know?!

Besides amusing me, I realized while reading this account how much the Lamanites are like the world in this situation. They believe they can "have it all" just based on appearances. If they dress for battle like the army of Cpt. Moroni, then they will succeed and come out victor. The world tells us that we can have everything we want and be happy. We can feed our natural wants and desires and still come out satisfied with life. We can dress immodestly and still feel self worth. We can have sex before marriage and still develop into a functioning emotionally stable adult who then leads a successful marriage. We don't have to save our money, but rather spend it on everything we want now and still be financially okay. After all, we deserve what we want right now! We can expose ourselves to any kind of music, movies, drugs, alcohol, and activities and still be happy and unscathed. We can! Right? We can have it all!

However, it is amazing to see how many people are unhappy despite this attitude. Marriages broken, children neglected, addictions formed, bankruptcy declared, and misery unleashed. Why isn't this idea of having it all not working? How can we possibly be unhappy if we have everything?

Just like the Lamanites in their armor, the world is missing one key element, the substance behind the armor. The Lamanites failed because, although they put on shields and breastplates, they didn't prepare spiritually. They didn't have the Lord on their side and they weren't fighting for a righteous cause. The world wants to feed us on appearance. Satan would have us gratify our every desire, all the while telling us it will make us happy, but fails to feed our souls. While the pleasure of gratifying our needs can come close to happiness, it is fleeting and never satisfying. We are always left wanting more and searching for something new to fulfill our desires. We are never happy because our souls are not given the nourishment they need to truly find joy. The world cannot give us "everything", only God can. It's sad to see so many wander in misery, trying to mimic the true happiness living the Gospel can bring, but always falling short.

While I amused by the account of the clueless Lamanites in Alma, I am saddened by the misery of those around us in the world. What a blessing it is to have the Gospel in our lives. What a great responsibility we have as parents to teach our children that true happiness can only be found in living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Nothing can ever compare to it. What a great privilege we have to share that wonderful message with those around us to help them truly succeed in this life.

October Already?!

This Sunday we had our Primary Program. The kids did a great job singing along. I need to remember to bring tissues to Primary Programs because I always get so choked up watching the children bear testimony of the Gospel through song and talks. You can feel their spirit and belief. Watching Anna on the stand reminded me that she really is going to be a Young Woman this next birthday. Eeeek! Rachel is at the age where she will let me do her hair, which is a huge accomplishment. Jimmy wanted to make sure his eyes were open for his picture and I think he succeeded. And Jacob insisted on having "spiky hair" and then spent most of the program playing with his "hard hair". They are so adorable and bring me so much joy.

And a little drama at times too. Since I last wrote Rachel fractured her foot and Jimmy had a trip to the ER. Both are fine now, thank goodness. Rachel hurt a growth plate on her foot by jumping off the stairs at her cousin's house. She had to wear a special shoe on her foot for a few weeks and got out of PE during that time. She is now healed and fracture free.

Jimmy made a trip to the Emergency Room this past Thursday after waking up with severe stomach and back pain and a fever. Once I saw Tylenol wasn't helping and he was miserable, I took him to InstaCare. After examining him there, the doctor decided to send him to the ER for fear the boy had appendicitis. He was in so much pain and curled up in a ball from his fever, freezing, but hot to the touch. We spent six hours in the ER getting blood work, x-rays, and a urine test. Poor Jimmy hated having an IV in his arm and I hated watching him suffer. Not to mention his being hungry, but not being able to feed him in case of surgery. Marshall and our bishop, who works at the hospital, came to give Jimmy a blessing. Surprisingly enough, the pain subsided and the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with Jimmy. All the tests came back normal. Jimmy told me it was because of the blessing because "Heavenly Father is better than any medicine". I love the faith of children.

 Marshall did have an autistic Seminary student bring a snake to class. It was just a little snake he had found on his way to class, but, if you know Marshall, you know he is not a fan of snakes. Poor "Indiana Jones" finally convinced the student to take the snake out before class. Never dull for him!

It has been an adventure since I last wrote, but we are happy. Let's hope the next month involves less doctor visits and snakes and a little bit more blogging!

School

The first day of school has come and gone. I would have posted pictures the day of, but somehow with three out of the four kids in school, my life is super busy. It may  have something to do with life just being more crazy as the kids have gotten older. Trips to the orthodontist, doctor, etc. for various children. It may be having to drive lunch to Marshall a few times since school started since he keeps forgetting to take it. It may be having Jimmy coming home early from school twice now because his tummy feels funky (anxiety?). It may be the little man who is now all alone with me and wants to play with me all the time. It may be working my little job at the school every day again. Who knows?! But it is busy.

Despite Jimmy's stomach churning oddities, the kids have enjoyed school without any big problems. Anna loves intermediate school. She was sold on it when she discovered that pizza was a daily option for lunch. I don't think she will ever pack lunch again! She loves switching in between classes, but is not a big fan of the whole having-to-change-in-the-locker-room-for-PE phase. Ah, puberty, everyone's bodies seem to be mutating and doing odd things at different times and emotions run high. You could not pay me enough to go through that phase of life again.

Rachel is enjoying 4th grade. She has told me school is boring, but that is nothing new for her. Hopefully once the gifted programs start up she will be less bored. She did injure her foot a month ago and is wearing a bandage to school every day, which is obnoxious, but gets her out of PE and that makes her happy. PE is boring, you know. It is safe to say that unless it involves Legos or cats, it will be deemed boring.

Jimmy is in his second year of the dual-immersion program and is enjoying 2nd grade. Mrs. Goodman's class store program actually has motivated him to read (cue clouds parting, sun rays shining down from heaven, and heavenly choirs.) It is truly a miracle. He WANTS to read. This requires sitting still. Those two things combined are amazing.

Jacob was like some evil little demon, dancing around the house a few days before school started and expressing his excitement over the fate of his siblings. He now has me all to himself. Bwhahahaha! His master plan has worked! Sadly, Mom still does boring things like chores and reading and what not. Jacob has become very helpful with feeding the cats, doing dishes, and spraying laundry. Preschool starts in two weeks and I am taking the time to enjoy the last year I have with him at home.

Marshall is having fun in Seminary. He teaches six classes total, over two days. He has awesome classes for the most part, but two in which the kids are either too cool to comment or just don't care. Ah, teenagers. Our future. Pretty scary sometimes when you see what kids are out there. But for the most part they are decent. He is enjoying firing them up about the Gospel and kicking their rears into gear.

Me? Well, I am loving being back at my job and seeing the cute kids at school. I am a hero to many and not powerful enough for some. I had one child show me that his sandwich had gotten smashed in his lunch and he wanted me to fix it somehow. Sorry, but I am not that powerful. I am also busy working on getting certified to become a Notary Public. Paperwork and fees galore, but it will be worth it to be able to notarize the wills and such Marshall still does on the side. I still walk 5 miles a day with Darci. Yes, my walking partner is over 70 and I pray that when I am that age I can be so active and speedy. And I have fun being Cub Master. Day camp is coming up soon! I feel so awesome that my calling has "master" in the title. I need a wand or crown or cloak or something to go with my uniform. Preferably a magic wand to either whack boys with or cast spells on them when they are turkeys.

Here are the first day pictures....

13 Years?!

I actually looked up the weather for August 4, 2000 and it was 105 degrees. I was wearing a long sleeved wedding dress, one that I had borrowed from my sister and one that was totally not my style or dream dress in the slightest.  But ask me if I cared. I had only one member from my family able and willing to come to my wedding. But ask me if that ruined my day. I was too excited to get married in the St. George Temple to the most amazing and adorable man ever for time and all eternity. Did I care about it being hot or worry about my family liking him, no! I was on cloud nine and happy as can be. I knew I would be blessed beyond understanding for marrying in the Lord's house to one very valiant and righteous priesthood holder. That was all that mattered to me that day. That is what I had worked and sacrificed so hard to achieve.

My mom took us all to see "Despicable Me 2" the other day. When Gru falls in love and is in "happy la la land" in the movie, my mom turned to me and whispered, "Do you remember feeling like that?" I immediately responded, "I still do when I allow myself to think about it." When I take a quiet moment to reflect on who I married, which I often do because I am constantly amazed by this man, I still am in shock over how I found him and married him. Really? He's mine? I must have done something really good in the first estate to be blessed with such a great husband. It's been thirteen years and yet it feels like it was just yesterday all the while it seems like he has always been in my life. How did I live without him? I love Marshall dearly and am awed, humbled, and inspired his goodness. Happy Anniversary to my wonderful man who makes me feel like the richest of queens.

Coming to an end

Only two and a half weeks left until school starts up again. Not that anyone is counting. Right.... I love my kiddos and it has been a fun lazy summer, but I think they all need to get their rears back to school as the fighting has increased and the boredom grown. I know it is hard living somewhere so hot that we are stuck inside most days unless we are doing something involving swimming. Seriously, it is this time of year I wonder why we live here, pay homage to the pioneers, bless whoever invented air conditioning, and curse cockroaches. Perhaps moving somewhere cooler wouldn't have been so bad after all. Ha ha ha!

I am nervous for school to start since Anna will be in 6th grade. What a wonderfully odd time of life where everyone's bodies change at different rates and everything is embarrassing. Plus now she has a retainer and pierced ears. She seems so old to me and, yet, she is still my baby. Marshall is excited for school to start. He has had enough of summer prep and reading and meetings for 8 hours a day. He still loves his job, but he is ready to teach!!!! And I am having fun decorating his room for the year. Bwhahahahaha!

And here are some more random summer pictures of our adventures.

Rachel teaching cousin Matthew how to properly attach a light saber to his pants. Jedi training!

Lots of sleepovers and partying with cousins! These one live in California.

A beach trip to Santa Monica while visiting some Cali cousins. Such a blast! Bad thing was Marshall's hat came off and he got serious sunburn on his head. Ouch!

Lego Super Hero Camp for Jimmy and Rachel for two days, all day. They had a BLAST!!!!!!

Cub Scouts Bike Rodeo for the Primary. Yeah, I rock. Actually, the St. George City Police rock because they did a fabulous job!

Torturing patient pets by dressing them up. Poor Riley!

Swim lessons. I love how Jacob jumps. So stiff!

Blisters

I have been taking a break from running due to a muscle injury. Pretty lame, I know. Tell my body, please! But it looks like things are improving and I should be able to start running soon. There is something magical (or cursed, depending on how you look at it) when it comes to hitting the 5 mile mark. After a month of running it, my body starts to have issues. Last time it was a stress fracture. This time it was some muscle thing in my calf that I have no idea how to pronounce. Marshall says this is just another testament that running is in fact evil. Evil beyond evil. He can attest to this as he has finally let me buy him a decent pair of running shoes and has started to run with his friend. (Yes, he conceded to going to the Running Store with me and getting fitted. It was a miracle. He still hates running, but at least he has a friend to suffer with, right? This is no way something I forced him to do. He decided to get more active and has been losing weight. Go Marshall!)

Anyhow, since I can't run, I have been walking with dear sweet 70+ year-old Darci. She is one tough lady. She walks 5 miles every day, 7 days a week. And she used to be a runner. She keeps me going and I love it, minus the blisters that seem to constantly form on the back of my heels. But it has been so much fun walking with her and learning about her life. This is why I love history people. All the stories about people, places, and things. Stories of how people were shaped into who they are, facts of eras far gone, and a life that is so foreign to us. I love it! It has been great to walk with Darci and learn more about her. She is a dear friend.

As for Marshall, he is enjoying his new job. He goes to work every day and get paid to study the scriptures and be in meetings where they talk about the scriptures and doctrine. Unfair, right?! He is so happy and doesn't miss being a prosecutor at all. Gee, shocker! I love seeing him happy and earlier in the day. He leaves for work earlier in the morning, but gets home every day by 4. Um, this is odd, but nice. The first day he came home early I was worried something was wrong. He assured me that nothing was wrong, just that he was the last one in the building so he decided that it was okay to go home at 4. Who knows how it will be when the school year hits, but I am loving it now! Life has gotten much more simpler with the new job and lack of being bishop.

And now for a random picture.

The kids wanted to camp out tonight in our new tent. (Yes, we've been married almost 13 years and finally bought a tent. Amazing!) The girls were excited to put it to use after the boys had it at Father's and Sons. Forget the fact that it is still 90 degrees out at 8:30 at night. They want to sleep outside. It should be interesting tonight! But I remember being a kid and comfort and rationale meant little when it came to coolness and excitement.

And that is your random installment for now!

Happenings

Beware, you never know who will be spying on you.

Bella reminding us that it pays to be a cat.

Jacob and Perry eating breakfast together. Notice Perry's bowl of toast and water.

Cutie Marshall on Father's Day sporting his new Mickey Mouse tie.

Jacob and Rachel with their "Agent P" dolls. We even made hats for the Perrys to be true agents.

Riley showing that he is completely relaxed. He sticks out his tongue every time he gets love. Heaven!

End of Year Programs!!!

Jimmy and his friend Spencer after their Chinese program. This year Jimmy had two end of school programs. One in English with all of 1st grade and then one in Mandarin with the kids who did the program this year. It was awesome to see! They sang, danced, and interacted with their sweet teacher, Mrs. Chen, all in Chinese. They have learned so much this year. I am so proud of Jimmy!!

 Anna and her 5th grade diploma. She is off to intermediate school next year and I am sure I am going to have a heart attack! The 5th grade did an awesome patriotic program about the Constitution and U.S. Government. They have learned so much and I am proud of Anna.

 Jacob at his preschool program. He has loved Mrs. Morris and can't wait to go back again next year. He was so excited that Mom, Dad, Grandma AND Granddad came that he smiled the whole time. What a little ham!

Rachel as a red ant with her beloved Mrs. Hatch. Next year she is in 4th grade! They put on a play for the end of the year and it was adorable. Sweet shy Rachel was one of the leads and did a fabulous job. Go Rach!

Happy Birthday Marshall!

You are adorable with your boyish charm and witty humor. You make me laugh. You make me smile. You bring me great comfort and joy. Home doesn't feel complete until you arrive from work. Having your presence in the house makes a huge difference. I cherish your singing drifting through our home as you sing the days away. It lets me know you are happy and content. You are a dedicated, loving father and husband. You are humble and faithful. You served so diligently as a bishop. You were a wonderful and good lawyer. There is a reason why many are sad to see you leave the profession. And you are an incredible teacher. Those Seminary kids are so blessed to have you to teach them the doctrine and open up the scriptures to them in new and profound ways.  you succeed at whatever you put your mind to. I love you and consider it an honor and privilege to go through this journey of life by your side. Happy Birthday!

For Sue

As those of you who have read Sue's blog and followed our crazy adventure, Sue has talked a lot about the things that I have done.  The bishop stuff, the college, the student teaching, the prosecuting, and everything else.  What she hasn't talked about is that she was involved every step of the way.

Seminaries and Institutes say that they don't hire individuals, they hire couples.  Sue went to the classes with me.  She had to be interviewed by representatives from the head office.  She had to be interviewed by a General Authority.  She was part of the process from the beginning.  So on top of all the extra works he had to do at home to compensate for my busier schedule, she had to subject herself to outside scrutiny.

I was never worried about that aspect of the hiring process because, well, Sue is wonderful.  She accomplishes anything that she puts her mind to.  She is the most kind, thoughtful person I know.  In fact, she is the reason people love us here in St. George.  Her thoughtfulness, cards, gifts, and treats are always going around the ward.

She is beautiful, inside and out.

She is a wonderful mother.  Our children love her with all their hearts.  Sometimes they love her a little too much, and they should really just come sit with me, but it is a tribute to the type of mother she is.

She uses her talent to create a home of beauty and rest for her family.  Our house is always taken care of, and she has used her artistic talent to enhance our living experience.

She never misses a day helping our family maintain its spiritual grounding.  She never forgets scriptures, prayers, family home evening, or temple attendance.  She seeks out her ancestors and she looks for ways to teach her own family.

I love Sue, she is a mother who I am proud to honor this day.

Happy Mother's Day.

Life change

This past year has been one that has taken a great deal of faith. Last summer certain circumstances made us consider a career change for Marshall. He entered the Church Education System pre-service program in August and took the semester long class. He ended it with two weeks of student teaching and then made it through the first round of cuts. He has then spent this past semester student teaching early morning seminary at two local high schools, all while being bishop, working full-time as a prosecutor, and teaching a night class at the local college. It all began with inspiration and hope, but as we went through the process it was confirmed to us over and over again that this was something we HAD to do. We could not deny that confirmation. This is what the Lord wanted and we had to do it.

We found out at the end of April that Marshall made the cut and was hired full-time by CES to be a Seminary teacher. We were so excited! However, there wasn't an opening here in St. George and we were told we would have to move. We were so sad to leave behind our family, friends, and life we had made here, not to mention the whole mess of packing and selling our house. We were told we would get our assignment in a few weeks of where we were going. We decided to sit tight and not act until we knew for sure what we were doing. I packed four boxes and that was all I could handle before getting too sad. Marshall was released as bishop, something that has been in the works since January, as he hit his five year mark. It was a bitter-sweet day to think we would be leaving our ward that has become our family. But we knew we had to put our lives in the Lord's hands, that this is something we had to do. I had told the Lord during this year long process all the reasons why we should stay here, but I also knew He would take care of us wherever we went.

This past week we found out that we will be staying in St. George after all! Miracle of miracles, a seminary principle from one of the local high schools put in for a transfer to Colorado. This opened up a promotion to one of the seminary teachers here to that position and left a teaching spot open for Marshall. No having to move, no having to leave our family, friends, and schools. We feel so blessed.

We are so excited for this new chapter in our lives. Marshall will keep his law license and continue to do prosecution work for two small cities that have begged him to keep working for them. But that will only be twice a month. For most of his time, Marshall will be doing what he loves, teaching the Gospel to the youth! Hallelujah! It was a crazy year, but worth it. We've made it!

Better than any gift bought at a store

My adorable children decided to throw me a birthday party last night. They banished me to my room for 30 minutes (Marshall was off teaching at the college) and got to work. Little did they know sending me to my room was a treat in itself. This is what they came up with:

 The note on Rachel's bedroom door, indicating a party going on

 The kids dressed up in their Sunday best

 Popcorn for a treat. They even put down a newspaper so as to avoid making a big mess. Such a little detail that melted my heart. They know me so well!

 Jimmy's card

 Rachel's card, plus $1. Wow!

 Anna's card

 Tasty Kakes wrapped in newspaper

 Jacob's card. See me on the left?

The banner they made.

I was so touched by their sweetness. It was a gift better than anything bought at a store and something I will cherish forever! To top it off, Marshall got up at 4:30, before leaving for Seminary, to write me sweet notes and sprinkle them all along the stairs. I am a very blessed woman indeed!