A great, Spirit filled night to remember!

Last night was the Adult session of Stake Conference, which I must admit that I have never gone to before. Yesterday was Abi's birthday and I was totally not planning on going. I admit that even forgot about the meeting. About 6 p.m. I came and checked my facebook account and saw a status update from a friend about being a speaker at the meeting and so on. This reminded me and I began to think, maybe I should go and see what is said. I was wishy-washy for a bit and by 6:45 I decided I should go and threw on a skirt and shirt, and put my hair in a pony. I still even had a Tinker Bell tattoo on my face from Abi's birthday festivities that day. I just felt I needed to be there. Boy am I glad that I decided to go. It is probably the most spiritual meeting I have been to in a very long time.

The theme for the meeting was "one by one." The meeting started off with a member of the stake presidency talking about a recent talk by Elder Eyring that spoke how he wrote down instances where he felt the hand of the Lord in his life. These are mostly small moments we dont even realize when they happen. The meeting went on to talk about how the hand of the Lord has been present in our lives in an individual way?

The meeting then turned to 4 members of the stake who have struggled in some way with some major trials. One was a recent convert who talked about decisions that he has made in his life and he can break them down into his pre-Christ decisions and post-Christ decisions. He talked about his early 20s when he did not "have the influence of Christ" in his life and he made his decisions on his own, for his own good, and to make him happy. He made some pretty rough decisions and actually had a major gambling addiction that was hard to overcome. After he came to know and understand Christ better, his decisions began to change. he started to seek guidance with the Lord rather than make these decisions on his own. he became happier, made better decisions, and was able to change his life.

The next speaker was a young mother whose husband is currently deployed in Afghanistan. She talked about the "tender mercies" she has seen. One story was when her children were all sick with fevers and she could not for the life of her find a thermometer. She was overwhelmed with the sickness of 3 kids, alone, missing her companion. She said a quick prayer and asked Heavenly Father for help. Her neighbor called later that afternoon to ask if she could borrow an ingredient to a recipe. She said yes and the neighbor came over to find her bedraggled, tired, and overwhelmed. The neighbor asked if she was okay and she said yes, but the kids were all sick and she was just so frustrated because she could not find a thermometer. The neighbor reached into her coat pocket and withdrew a thermometer and stated "that is so funny. On my way over I put my coat on and reached into my pocket and found this. I dont know how it got there and I was going to put it away when I got home, but here you take it!" How amazing. She spoke on many other "tender mercies" that she has had and continues to have of people hepping and taking care of her while she is working through her trial.

the next speaker spoke on loosing a few people close to him. One a very close friend at work who ended up taking his own life and the confusion that caused. Being so close to someone during the day at work, but not really knowing him. Another loved on he lost was his sister who was a music/band teacher. She died as the bus her group was on lost control and went off the road. She was in the front and tried to step in to correct the bus back on the road, but was unable to and was thrown from the bus. She was much loved by her "family" of students. He talked about the struggle of working through these tragedies and how Christ was by his side to love and support him the whole way.

The last speaker was a young woman who spoke about her few years spent in prison after she caused a fatal car accident. This was an amazing talk on the strength a person can have with Christ by her side. I was so impressed by her attitude towards life and her "never give up" spirit. Many things she said brought me to tears, but I will always remember a scripture she quoted. At one point after the accident she recalls being mad at the Lord for "doing this to her." "Why did you let this happen?" I remember her saying she kept asking God. "I am a good person, why is this happening to me?"

It is so amazing how the Lord works. I do not know why I suddenly decided to go to that meeting, but I am so glad I did. Why? because these are the same questions I have been asking myself lately. "Why are these things happening to me? I am a good person. My family is a good family! My husband and I are so done with these struggles, why cant you just let us get the blessings we want?" These are all questions that have been going through my mind so often over the last few weeks. This last speaker quoted D&C 122:7 "if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son (or daughter), that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be fore thy good." that scripture along with her story and some other things she said really hit home with me.

All of these people spoke of the way the Lord carried them and taught them and helped them or is helping them through these trials. All of these stories helped me to understand where I am in my life and the things I need to do to get out of this "funk" that I am in. I need to look for the tender mercies, open my eyes to the instances when the Lord is present in my life in an individual way. I want to understand more how the Lord has manifested himself to me as an individual. These are the things I need to focus on. So here are just a few that I can think of right now.

Life has been a struggle for us as of late, that is no surprise, but through all the "bad" there has also been good. Our van broke down a few months back. This leaves us with just one car to get us to and from everything, but this car does not fit the whole family. thankfully, my parents have stepped in and they are letting us use their extra car. This car also does not fit the whole family, but between the two cars, we can all get somewhere if need be. For the most part, we only ever have to go in halfsies, except for church and then we take two cars. It is a pain, but it is what it is and for now it is working. Plus, this is such a wonderful blessing for my parents to be able to help us in this way. Without their extra car, we would not be able to make it through this trial at all.

Another "tender mercy" that I know is our neighbor Mary. With 6 kids, you can imagine that we go through milk like there is no tomorrow. Probably 1 gallon or more per day. Mary works for her church collecting donations from local stores for the church's food bank. Well, they always have a bit extra, so for the last month our fridge has never been empty of milk and usually over flowing with 4 or 5 gallons. It comes at a time when we had run out of WIC coupons for the month and other ways to get any milk in our fridge. This is a small thing, but definitely a very BIG thing for our family.

The biggest way I think the Lord has shown me lately that he loves me is through my wondeful husband, James. The previous blog post talks about that in more detail, but to re-iterate, his strength and love through all of this is an awesome example to me. I am continually amazed at his good spirit and attititude towards life. I love his dearly and thank the Lord for making me get up that day 15 years ago and getting my picture taken (when I really did not want to, but felt that I just needed to go). I know why I needed to go know and I am thankful for the Lord in my life and his nudges for me to keep doing the right thing.

there have been so many other little moments that it is hard to name them all. Times when I felt alone and I got a phone call from a friend, or when I had a miscarriage and was having hard time dealing with those emotions, etc. All of these times are experiences that I am grateful for. They have taught me to be stronger, to be closer to others, to be friendlier, or whatever. I am truly grateful for the Hand of the Lord in my life!

Our Photo Daddy

To say that the last few years have been rough would be an understatement. We have struggled a lot financially, emotionally, and spiritually. Times have definitely been trying. But through all those trying times, James has been so strong and courageous. I am continually amazed at how these "little" things just dont get him down, or at least he doesnt show it too much. When we were nearing the end of schooling and thinking things were soon going to get better, James started turning in applications for a "permanent" job in photojournalism. 2 years later, he is till looking to find that dream job. FOr now though, he is happy hanging out and taking pictures whenever he gets the chance and he never complains about having to take some pretty crappy jobs to get by.

A few weeks ago we had yet another heartbreaking let down in the job category and I must say that I was crushed. Not for myself or for the lack of money, but I just felt like we had "put our time in" and deserved a break. He deserves a lot more than what he is getting right now and I just thought that maybe our time was up and the blessings should just start pouring in any moment now. I totally believe in enduring to the end and keep on moving and all that, but seriously can we find the end any time soon. That is just what I was feeling. doors kept slamming in our faces, opportunities just kept slipping through our grasps and for what, so we could remain poor and unable to support ourselves, blah, blah, blah. I guess I just had a mental breakdown of sorts and still am fighting my way out of it. but through it all, James has remained happy and strong. He did have some sadness at the lost opportunity of yet another job, but he has not crashed like I have. he even had to give a talk on the importance of prayer the Sunday after hearing he did not get the job and I must say that I dont think I could have done it. I was seriously doubting prayer at that point. I mean we prayed night and day, fasted, attended the temple, all of those things you are supposed to do and still did nto get the job. What more could we do? I would have found it very difficult to get up in front of the church and profess my testimony on prayer because at the moment, my testimony was lacking ALOT!

Anyway, things are looking up. He has struggled to find the job that fits just right and has yet to find it except for the Baseball photography, which is only during the summer. Through it all though, we have been blessed in so many other little ways and i need to remember those little things more often.

This past week he landed a job. Is it his "dream job"? No. But he is still very happy about it. it is an opportunity to be doing something he loves to do, shooting photographs! What can be better. It is also a job that he can "grow" with where moving up is an option. I am continually amazed at his wonderful attitude and his "just ducky" attitude. That is his favorite saying because he says he tries to look at stuff like a duck would and just let the "water run off his back." he doesnt let these things get him down. he just picks himself back up and tries again. I am proud of you hunny. Good luck with the new job and I pray that I may some day have a good attitude about life like you do. I have a lot to learn from you. thanks for putting up with my doldroms lately. LOVE YA!

FHE for Dummies

My friend posted this to her blog, so I thought I would pass the information along as well. I am all for the simplest way to get things done. This is a lesson manual for FHE for 1 full year. I full year people!!!! Can you believe that. the lessons are already done for you and ready to go. Just add your prayers, treats, and plug in your activity and you are ready to go! Sweet! Simple is the best way to go. Enjoy.

click here for the download

Good luck to all on their FHE Challenges. I know we have a hard time keeping on task every Monday night. You know with 6 kids and all. Sometimes I feel as we are praying, doing FHE, or reading our scriptures that I am screaming more than I am reading. Might take a bit away from the spirit as my voice keeps getting louder and louder to surpass their building noise, but oh well, it gets done and they are obviously learning something, so we will stick with it. LOL. For now, it is nice to think that I dont have to "plan" to much for the next year. Yippee!!!!

Better School Pictures

With a built in photographer in our family, we have chosen to not pay for anymore unsuccessful "school" pictures for the kids. Instead, James and I take the kids to the park on a sunny fall afternoon and get new pictures of each one. Here are this years pictures.

Jameson is just growing so fast and getting so big. I cannot believe that he is 20 months, almost 21 months old now. It sure does go fast. He is into EVERYTHING! Climbing all over the place and generally getting himself into all kinds of trouble. Good thing he is so darn cute! LOL. We love his bubbly personality. He has shown his love for music and anytime he hears music from a comercial, the radio, or even his sister singing he will stop what he is doing and do a little baby dancing jig for us. He is a little ham and is always strutting his stuff. If it is not music he is enjoying, it is Elmo! The kid is an Elmo addict! He has few words that he can say, the typical Mama, Dada, Ty-Ty, and of course Elmo. Elmo and music though are nothing compared to his big bro Ty-Ty. Those two are best buds and Ty-Ty is such a wonderful help with his lil brother. Jameson is very fond of Tyler and I think Tyler is pretty darn attached to Jameson.

Jameson at 18 months old

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Daniel is 3-1/2 now and is growing fast as well. He has mastered potty-training (yay) and is showing the usual 3 year old interest in Buzz Lightyear and Woody. Daniel is a goofy little guy who is always making us laugh. He is always coming up with funny little things to entertain everyone. His future career may indeed be the stand up comedian!

Daniel at 3-1/2

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Abi has proven to be a little Princess Diva as we like to call her. She definitely rules the roost most of the time. James is very thankful to only have one melodramatic daughter on his hands. LOL. She can be very dramatic when she doesnt get what she wants, but boy is it fun to have a "shopping buddy!" I look forward to the days when we can go to lunch and get our nails done and do a bit of shopping together. Just her and I chillin as girls whilst the boys are out playing with mud and junk. Those will be fun times. I cannot believe that she is almost 5 and ready to start Kindergarten next year. She is looking forward to being in the same school as her brothers.

Abigail at 4-1/2

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Noah is doing wonderfully! He is learning to read and getting better at writing every day. For Christmas he got a Tag reader and he enjoys using that to build his reading skills. It is so fun to see him do things on his own. He is still very shy and worried about a lot of things, but I see progress every day. He loves being in 1st grade and cant wait to be able to read like the big boys so he can read things like Harry Potter and Fablehaven. He is happy with Geronimo Stilton being read to him for now and working out words with his Tag reading system. It is great to see him learning and growing each and every day.

Noah 7

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Jacob is a big 3rd grader now. He is an amazing reader and is on the 4th Harry Potter book and 3rd Fablehaven and somewhere around the 2nd Percy Jackson. He is very much enjoying reading the same books that Tyler has been reading for the past few years and being able to talk to him about the storyline and so on. It is fun to see this kind of interaction between these two boys. Usually Jacob is in the midst of reading 4 books at one time because as he says "he might get bored with one for a while so he has a back up, or 2, or 3..." LOL. He is a great kid. He is still a challenge at times with his ADHD stuff, but we have learned how to work through things a bit better and as long as he is making such good progress with school, I cannot complain at all. His teacher is amazed at all the ideas he has floating in that head of his and loves to read his daily writting, because he always has such great things to say. Along with reading, he has taken well to math and science and just generally enjoys school alot. I am grateful for this in my children. They have all loved school so much.

Jacob 9

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Tyler is in the 6th grade. Again, I cannot believe how time has gone by so fast. He is just a wonderful child. Always willing to help with the little brothers and sister, eager to play with them, and ready to help us with anything we need. I cannot live my life without Tyler there assisting me in my daily routine. He is truly a blessing to this family. Him and Jameson have developed a special bond and they very much enjoy playing with each other. Anytime we need Jameson out of the room (like when we are doing dishes and he is pulling all the dirty dishes out of the dishwasher faster than we can put them in) Tyler is ready to take him away and keep him occupied. Tyler too is doing wonderfully in school. He has taken a few tests at school and has scored "off the charts" according to his teacher. This year he has a great teacher who encourages these kids at such a critical juncture in their lives. He is trying to prepare them for the crazy world of middle school and I am impressed by his dedication and love for his kids. Tyler is blessed to have a great teacher like him. Tyler enjoys reading, math, science, and sports. He will be starting basketball soon for the school and is very excited about this.

Tyler 11

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This is a picture we tried to get off all of them crossing the bridge together. It is okay, but did not work exactly how I was picturing it. It was very hard to get Jameson to cooperate. It did turn out good though. I like how most all attention is focused on Jameson in the middle.

This is the one that we used for our Christmas Card this year. We tried to get everyone, including Jameson, to hold hands while walking towards the pond. Alas, Jameson proved uncooperative again in regards to holding hands with these guys. They kept pulling him over and such. We decided to let Jameson hang back and see what happened. We sent the big kids off walking towards the pond while holding hands and Jameson turned to look at us (probably checking to see if we were coming, LOL). This is the shot we got and I loved it!

Anyway, those are our school pictures this year. A friend photographer calls them "better school pictures" and takes them every year for her kids and some clients. Jim is interested in starting to do more of this kind of thing as well. We will see how that all pans out. It seems to be a pretty good business, once you get the client base going an so on.