~FHE~

We had a great Family Home Evening tonight.  Ward and Jolene were in charge of it and did a really great job.  It was great because with each part of the lesson the girls had lots of questions and comments.  It is always exciting to see them grasp the gospel teachings.  I hope they always thirst after these teachings from the scriptures. I hope by all these lessons when the girls have problems they will know how to search the scriptures and rely on their testimonies of these things to help them through.  They ended up teaching us, they know so much!  I am so thankful for all the teachers who have taught our girls.

Before we started FHE Raychel wanted to make cupcakes so we could decorate them.  We made lots of little mini cupcakes and  few normal size ones.  We had so much fun frosting the cupcakes and decorating them with yummy toppings!!  I love this time as a family!  We were all decorating, tasting, talking and of course laughing!!!  What a great night!!

~Sunday Photo~

I don't know about your family but our family comes home from church hungry starving!! Today after church we were all craving Ritz crackers!  Crazy I know.  Then someone added cream cheese to the mix and then came out all they yummy jellies.  White grape from our wonderful neighbor, spicy cherry from Ward's sister, Lara, and then the red hot pepper jelly!!  It was the best combination ever!!!  The girls sat at the counter while Ward and I stood and we had a great little visit about our lessons, the weather, school, dinner that was in the crock pot, and more on the lessons we were able to be part of.  

Sunday School was great actually it was wonderful and not only because my wonderful husband taught the lesson!  It wasn't so much the lesson itself,  but the question he asked at the end for us to think about during the week.

How does my faith affect others?

My thoughts went to our girls.  How does my faith affect them?  How will my testimony affect them?  Then I got to thinking about my own parents and how their faith affected me growing up? It has definitely something for me to journal about.

~Sunday Photo~

We have ended another week. It has been a long week with Raychel being sick. She has been out of school from Friday to Friday. I took her to the doctors and she was diagnosed with Influenza. She was so sick for most of the week. She started getting some personality back Thursday night.
Raychel picked up her flute today for the first time since she had been sick. It sounded to nice, it was nice to see her feeling better and starting to do what she loves. Jolene said she was going to go find Ella and was gone for a while. When I went to go find her, she was curled up on the spare bed with Ella. They looked so cute. I guess since Ella doesn't usually sleep next to Jolene, Jolene thought she would sleep next to Ella.

~Home Animal Hospital~

We have had Max in our family for at least 4 years. He has gone on vacation with Jolene, he has hidden in the backpack through preschool to first grade for Jolene. He has gone to the stores with Jolene, he has been a comfort many nights and has snuggled through many movies with Jolene. Over the years of being loved Max has lost his fluffiness and needed some attention. Jolene came to me one day and said max needs something to help him hold his head up. She holds him around the neck which has pushed his stuffing into other places. He has been there for Jolene and now he needed us. We bought some allergenic stuffing and went to work. It was a bigger deal then I thought. I know Jolene loves Max, but when I made the first cut to remove his old stuffing she got a little teary. I promised her he would be alright, that this would make him all better that it wouldn't take long and then she could have him back. She sat next to me the whole time watching and asking lots of questions about the process. Once she saw it was going to be alright she wanted to help. I let her do the re stuffing so she could make him just the way she wanted him to feel.

I learned something new about love today, I learned something new about Jolene today as well. I have a very loving, caring, compassionate, little girl. When she loves she loves deeply, whether it is a person or a Max.

~Friday Night~

There is one thing our family REALLY loves and that is Friday Night Pizza Movie night!! This is a tradition we started several years ago and I don't see it changing anytime soon. We may change it up some when the weather is nice but is still our night. Usually about Wednesday the girls start asking what movie are we going to watch, if we don't have a movie what game are we going to play or Wii game. It is a great night that we all enjoy. Whether it is just the 4 of us or a few extras with the girls friends. Either way it is one of my favorite traditions!! Tonight the girls wanted to make our own pizzas which is always fun. We usually have lots of leftovers for Saturday and lunch on Sunday after church, but its fun making our own. We also made cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Raychel had a hard time falling asleep so when I went to bed I couldn't help getting a picture of Jolene sleeping. She looks so peaceful and of course there is Max. I love how he is there with her every night under her arm keeping her safe.

Home sick

"We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decided what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are."
~Marjorie Pay Hinckley


I got nothing done this week that I wanted to do, yet it was really a wonderful week. Let me explain. Last Friday, 14th, Raychel got up and said she wasn't feeling well. All I needed to do was look in her eyes and I could tell she was getting sick. While I was taking Jolene to school Raychel was climbing back into bed. I thought to myself well, it's a 3 day weekend this will give her 4 days to get better. Saturday she woke up with a cough and by the evening she sounded horrible and looked so worn out. Saturday night she spiked a fever 102.7, she took more medicine and off to bed for the night. Sunday she woke up and we fought the fever all day. I was beginning to think 4 days wouldn't be long enough for her to start getting better. Monday there was no school, which was perfect. I love having my girls home. We had planned on spending the day out of town finding Jolene the perfect shoes to go with her baptism dress, lunch out and maybe ice skating with friends. Well, we stayed in. We watched movies, cleaned the germs away, did laundry, watched more movies and read books. As I said my prayers that night I had a feeling to get Raychel to the doctor in the morning. So Tuesday morning I called the doctors office, when they asked what her symptoms were they got her in within a couple of hours. They checked her oxygen levels and said they looked pretty good considering how hard she was coughing and her congestion. When the doctor came in she examined Raychel and reported she has Influenza. She said she would need to be watched, keep her hydrated, lots of rest and if she has any change for the worse to get her back in or take her to the hospital. The doctor asked if we had gotten the flu shots. I was happy to say YES!!! She said, "Wow, as bad as she is with the flu shot can you imagine how bad she could have been?" I am so glad I got all three of us girls the flu shot. I have never had the girls get them before this year. Here we are a week later, yes it is now Friday the 21st and Raychel is still home. The house is a mess, the laundry hasn't been done, haven't touched the vacuum, no dusting got done, but we have had lots of snuggle time, I have read to her, we have watched every movie she wanted, and she has slept. I have the best husband and little girl who have helped when they could, they have been patient with lack of order and a clean house and they still love me! As I have sat and done nothing along the lines of my mommy chores I have thought about Sister Marjorie Pay Hinckley and a few of her great quotes. I think the Lord helped me remember them because I was beginning to feel bad for my lack of normalcy. Being home with Raychel even with her sick has been rewarding. We have spent lots of time together talking, laughing, sharing and just sitting together. I can never get this time back, I want to enjoy every moment I can with her, even when she is sick. She has thanked me many times for not working, for being here with her, for holding her, giving her medicine, taking her to the doctor, and even for simply asking how she feels. She is so sweet and so grateful. I love her.

~Full Moon~

When I got up this morning it was so bright outside due to the full moon. It was beautiful reflecting off the snow. It is so amazing how much extra light the moon can put out when there is snow on the ground. I couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of it all. I love my camera, but sometimes I wish I had an even better camera that could really zoom in and show the detail even I could see.

Jolene woke up and together we stood there watching out the window until the moon was completely gone and the sun was starting to show its self. It's an amazing world we live in, created by a loving Heavenly Father for us to enjoy. I felt very grateful for the beauty I was able to witness this morning.

~Pin Tail Duck~

I kind of have to laugh when people ask me,

"How can you LET him go hunting?"

First thing is I don't let him do anything. How could I not want him to go hunting and do something he enjoys so much? He works VERY hard to provide for our family. He works hard so I can stay home with our two girls. He deserves to go hunting or golfing or what every it is he enjoys doing. When he returns he is relaxed, happy and renewed for what lies ahead for him. It gives him a new since of life. His job is high stress, he needs to be able to unwind and relax. Not only does he benefit from his hunt but so do we!!! He leaves in at 5:30 am and gets back about noon. It's perfect, it give the girls a chance to sleep and get some chores done, in gives me time to exercise, read, work in the garden, plant flowers, or anything else I want to do while he is gone. Then we are ready to play. It's our perfect Saturdays. This particular Saturday he got his first Pin Tail Duck. It is beautiful.

~Positive Referral~

While I was dropping Jolene off at school I got a call on my cell phone that was from the Middle School. The first thing I thought was, "what did she forget?" When I said, "Hello?" There was a man's voice on the other end. It threw me off. It ended up being the Principal at Raychel's school. He said he had Raychel in his office because she had received a positive referral from on of her teachers. I was so proud!! He asked if I had time for him to read it to me. Of course I did!! He said the referral came from Mr. Novosad, he had marked:
Excellent class participation, Exhibits kind behavior, outstanding effort, Constantly reliable, and Helpful to peers.
Mr. Novosad went on to write:
Raychel is such a kind soul. Her kindness rubes off on so many students. She has seemed to really come out of her shell, and is a very positive leader in the classroom. She always has a kind word or smile for anyone that needs it in class. I really believe Raychel needs to be recognized for her tremendous efforts in class!

~Sunday Photo~

A great Sunday.

After being spiritually feed at church we come home to be physically feed and then enjoy the rest of the day together. Raychel is really into her book and desperately trying to finish it to see how it ends. If is were me I would already have read the last chapter!!! Have I said how much I love my lapto?!?!. It is nice to be able to work on the computer and still be with the family. Today Jolene has been enjoying playing games and practicing her typing skills she has been learning from her school computer class. It really was a great Sunday!!

~Staight A's~

She did it again!!

She is on roll, a principals honor roll that is!!

Raychel has really done well in middle school. She has things figured out and has really come into her own. She works really hard in school and her grades show it! She loves her teachers, and her classes, and she has several great friends in most of her classes which always makes going better. It was nice to be in attendance again at the end of this quarter to see her receive her certificate of honor for making straight A's!!!

~Reading~

Jolene has developed a great love for reading. Her and Raychel both can usually be found with a book in hand and lost within the pages.  When I saw Jolene like this it made me laugh!!  She is so funny.   She was sitting on this ball reading and bouncing then she took this pose on to read.  It sure didn't look comfortable to me butshe thought otherwise.

~Girl Party~

We had a house full of girls today.  It was fun watching them all interact.  We had Sierra over for the day while her mom had shoulder surgery, Jodi had to work so we had her two girls and then of course Sara, the little girl who I watch weekly. The older girls wanted to mother Sara, but she wanted nothing to do with them.  She was my little shadow for the morning. Jolene and Sara helped me take down the Christmas tree and decorations while the others watched a movie downstairs by the fire.  It was fun having the two girls helping me.  Sara was so proud of herself when she would put the ornaments in the box. I loved having Jolene helping me.  She is so fun.  She asks some of the best questions.  She has so much going on inside her little mind.  After answering all her deep throughout questions I am tired!  I love her ability to love life.  After lunch when Sara left the other girls started to play the Wii.  They had so much fun.  The Manera girls ran over to their home to get extra controls so 4 out of the 5 could play at a time.  They played some dance game that had them laughing so hard.  It was fun to see them all enjoying their last days of Christmas vacation.