The Working Family

Gina & Tanya 2011 World Tour

2012-01-21T13:59:00.001-08:00

Here we are waiting in line to get into the convention room so see Gina and Tanya.

Laurie, Katelyn, Connie, and I are finally in the convention room. We saw this back drop and and couldn't resist another group shot.

I tried to take a self portrait but the flash was a little bright. This was taken in line again, waiting to take pictures with Gina and Tanya. This is what I look like after zumbaing for 2 hours straight.

This is a perfect way to end a perfect night. Gina is on my right and Tanya is on my left. These are the two main ladies that are in all the Zumba DVDs and games.

Another group picture. Gina, me, Connie, Katelyn, Tanya, and Laurie.

This was an awesome experience. I have been having a hard time sticking to my diet or a diet and keeping up with zumba. I use to zumba everyday and I would walk up to 3 miles a night. I was loosing weight and feeling good. Then I became to be lazy again. I went from doing zumba everyday and walking up to 3 miles a day to just doing zumba twice a week. I gain some weight back and feeling lazy.

I went to this event thinking that I wouldn't be able to zumba for two hours without passing out. I also thought I would feel out of place because I am not a skinny person. I also was thinking that it was going to be crowded. I guess you could saw I was thinking negatively about the whole thing. I that is what I do when I go out of my comfort zone.

Laurie, Katelyn, and Connie are awesome. I had so much fun. When we got to the convention center in downtown Phoenix, there was a huge line. Everyone in front of us and behind us were all smiling and dancing and talking to each. When I mean talking to each other there were people walking up and down the line talking to those in line. I was great. To be part of a bunch of happy, and nice men and women was inspiring. I took a moment to think, if everyone in the world were just as happy and not shy to talk to each other even if they were complete strangers, the world would be beautiful.

When we got into the room, it was huge. There was a big stage with speakers and tons of room to zumba. When Gina and Tanya came on stage it was awesome. just seeing them in person was awesome. I have been doing zumba in my home with them for the past year and to see them was also inspiring. Everyone was zumbaing and they weren't laugh at those that didn't do it right. We were like one huge family. There were men and women with different shapes and sizes. Some were great at shaking their hips and there were those that weren't as good but no one cared. It could be just that we were all dancing/exercises for two hours to notice. But I didn't feel out of place. Everyone just blended together.

Now the excitement was over whelmeming when we were in line to actually meet them. I was so tired and sort all over that I sat most of the time in line. Once again everyone was smiling and interacting with each other. It was a great feeling. When it was my turn, I was so star struck. I got a picture with them and they signed my shirt. When I said thank you they both looked right at me and said your welcome. I know this is cheesy but when they looked at me I felt special.

After this experience I think it has started a little something within me. I was at walmart today and I made it a point to smile at everyone. It made me feel good. I also want to keep up on my zumba. I need and want to start loosing weight again. I want to be able to by clothes that are not so expensive.

Wow, I didn't mean to make this a super long post. Sorry :( So I will close for now.

Elder Carlisle

2011-12-28T11:10:00.000-08:00

This handsome man is now in the MTC. He will be serving a mission for our church for two years. I am so proud of him. He is setting a great example for my little boys. Love you Brannick.

First Day of School

2011-08-10T12:44:00.000-07:00

Lealynn (14). She is a freshman at Mesa High. Go Jackrabbitts!!! She has a busy schedule at school. We are excited she gets to experience Seminary this year. Because Seminary takes away one credit from graduation she decided to attend "A" hour. "A" hour begins at 6:45am. Taking this class gives her enough credits to graduate. Not only is she a freshman, she transferred from her old charter school to the public high school. Her charter school was small and this high school is HUGE. This will also be the first time she is going to school with all her friends from our ward. That also makes it easy for her to get use to a new school.

Lady in Red

2011-08-09T12:36:00.000-07:00

Lea has been wanting RED hair. I mean RED hair. She also wanted it RED for her first day of HIGH SCHOOL. So this is the before picture. She bleached her hair. I was so sad.

This was during the coloring process.

This is the after picture. I like her hair RED. She loved it to. She is now ready for High School.

Back to School

2011-08-08T12:17:00.000-07:00

Elijah (3). He wanted to take a back to school picture like the rest of the kids. I love his back pack:)
Chayanne (11 almost 12). She is in the 8Th grade. They started block scheduling this year and she likes it. If your wondering what block scheduling is, it where you have 3 or 4 classes for 1hr and 40min (i think)a day. For example, a student has math Mondays, Wednesday, and Friday for an hour and 40 minutes. Then that same student has science, Tuesday, and Wednesday for the same length of time.

Nathaniel (7). He is in the 2ND grade. His teacher is Ms Mahar. She requested him last year. She is a great teacher. He gets to ride his scooter to school this year and is excited.

Isabella (6). She is in the 1st grade. Her teacher is Ms Atha. She was Nathaniel's teacher last year and she was really good. She was excited to see Ella in her class. Ella gets to ride her scooter to this year to and is also excited.

Elizabeth Taylor

2011-03-23T17:46:00.000-07:00

I am not a really big fan of Elizabeth Taylor. This is just for my record. She died today. I did think she was a very pretty lady. She made the perfume Emerald. When I smell that perfume it reminds of her. RIP Elizabeth Taylor

Golly

2011-03-04T15:10:00.001-08:00

Meet Golly. He/she is the SuperKids best friend. Golly loves to guard gas stations & loves to bark. Golly loves playing with Cass, Oswald, Alf, Lily, Hot Rod, Sal, Etta Betta, Tic Tac Toc & Fritz.

ZUMBA

2011-03-04T14:54:00.001-08:00

This is my new addiction. I bought the DVD's awhile back and I loved it. But I wasn't able to do more then 15 mins so I lost my motivation. Now that I am trying to lost weight I started up again. With me walking 11/2 miles every night, I am proud to say that I really truly LOVE ZUMBA!!! I would love to be a ZUMBA instructor someday.

This is me when I become an instructor. I love how well she is shaped and how define her abs are.

A Walk in the Park

2011-03-02T20:13:00.001-08:00

I live in the middle of the city. I live in the desert where it gets super hot. But when I take my nightly mile walk with my handsome husband, this is what I get to see every night. I think Arizona has some of the most beautiful sunsets. My walks in the park are both relaxing and beautiful. I thank Heavenly Father every night for the great sunsets I get to see every night with the man of my dreams.

Feeling Better Part 2

2011-02-19T12:23:00.000-08:00

My husband's blood sugar was in the 400's and he needed to make a big drastic change in his eating and exercise. We were both scared of him dieing. He has been walking for a month now 2 laps around the local park twice a day and walking around his work building at lunch. He has lost 21 pounds in one month. He changed from white to wheat bread and still only eating as little carbs as possible. He also cut our a lot of fats out of his diet. He started dragging me around to "keep" him company. I have been walking around the local park with Dan twice a day and I have lost 5 pounds in a week. I also started taking my thyroid meds everyday and I am back on my Richard Simmons Meal a Deal.
Now that I have changed my eating habits and exercising and taking my medicine everyday I feel WONDERFUL. I have regained my life back. I think more clearly now too! I couldn't remember what my kids had told me. I felt like they were playing tricks with me. I feel like I have an open mind.
I have started praying more and reading my scriptures and I am full of love, and true happiness.
Now that I am feeling better then I have been for awhile, you will see more of me on my blog. I want to recreate this blog but I don't quite now how yet. So please stay tune for the NEW AND IMPROVE JANA.

Feeling Better Part 1

2011-02-19T11:44:00.000-08:00

Okay... I know I have not updated my blog in FOREVER!!!. There is a reason why. The main reason is that nothing exciting is happening in my life right now. I know I have kids that are active in their school and in church and that alone can bring something exciting to a mothers life. Well not for me. Don't get me wrong, I have some of the best kids in the whole universe. They make me happy and they bring me joy.
I love learning all about Lea's life. I love that she is active in our Young Women program. I love just listening to her talk and laugh. I love to see her get excited about high school next year. I remember those feelings to.I also love to hear about the boys she likes or don't like.
I love that Chayanne shows me new dance moves she learned in dance class or just watching her perfect the dance moves by doing them over and over again. For instance the "freeze". I love that when I am felling sad she will make me smile.
I love that Nathaniel talks about going into the military to fight for my freedom because he loves me. This scares me and I sort of hope that 15 years from now when his is 21 that he would have changed his mind. But at the little age of 6 I just smile and say" Ok that would be wonderful." I also love hearing him read to me.
I love how Isabella is always dancing around me singing songs she hears off the radio. She also sings me primary songs while she dances. She is truly my princess. That is what she wants to be when she grows up. A princess with lots of babies. I also love that she is learning to read and hearing her sound out words is just pure joy.
I love it when Elijah will come to me and snuggle with me on the couch. I love that he likes to give me only fishy lips kisses. I love to feel his little muscles flex when he tries to hug me to death. I also love to watch him reach milestones that most 2 and 3 year olds do. For instance he can put his own socks and shoes on.
Just typing this brings both tears and happiness to my soul. So you may wonder what is going on with me. I will tell because I am excited for this break through of mine.
Last year ago I was diagnose with hypothyroidism. My thyroid doesn't produce enough hormones. I have to take Levothyroxine. I don't like taking any kinds of medicine long term because I am afraid of what it would do to my body. So I have been taking this medicine whenever I remembered. And if you know me, I don't remember to take any types of meds. Well because I haven't taken this medicine everyday I started to feel depressed, tired, unmotivated, and just yucky. I was not eating healthy and all I wanted to do was sleep. But because I have 4 kids and a husband I can't just sleep. I literally felt like I was going to die.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-12-08T11:52:00.001-08:00

Sisterly Love

2010-12-07T22:37:00.001-08:00

Lea and Chayanne are great sisters. Even though they may fight some of the time, you can tell they love each other. I can see as they are getting older how lucky they are to have each other. Dan and I were going through some old photos of them and boy have they grown. Even back then, they were found laughing and giggling with each other. I can't help but think that they were like that in heaven before joining our family. So I dedicate this blog to them, because I love them so much and I just love watching them grow up individually and together. Lea and Chay, you are the best 13 and 11 year old daughters anyone could ask for.

November milestones

2010-12-07T22:28:00.000-08:00

Elijah takes a shower only with his big brother.

Daddy using clean fishing line to pull out Ella's loose tooth.

Ella looses her first tooth.

Feed My Starving Children

2010-11-12T00:54:00.000-08:00

Last month Lea and I had an great opportunity to do a service project. We helped package a rice meal for starving children around the world. It was a great way to help those children who go to bed hungry. What was even amazing we were able to meet some of the players from the Phoenix Cardinals. Tim Hightower who is a running back for the Cardinals made this day the frist day to volunteer. I should mention that this is his first foundation to partner up with. Lea and I had a great time.

Agency & Accountabilty

2010-11-11T12:00:00.000-08:00

On Oct. 17, Lea gave a talk. She did an excellent job as always. I am very proud of her. Here is her talk:
Hello for those of you that don’t know me, I was asked to give a talk about Agency & Accountably. When I hear of Agency and Accountability I wondered why those two were always said together and I guess I didn’t really understand the meaning of it till now. They are said together because they kind of help each other be explained, now agency is the freedom or ability to choose right or wrong. Accountability is the consequences of your actions. In the New Era in May 1973, Thomas S. Monson wrote a talk in the three called the 3 r’s of agency. They are the RIGHT of choice, the RESPONSIBILITY of choice, and the RESULT of choice. That is kind of self-explanatory, You have the right to choose or your agency, the responsibility of choosing right , and the result is your consequences. In this passage he also says, We also have the responsibility to choose. We cannot be neutral. There is no middle ground. The Lord knows this; Lucifer knows this. There is a great contest being waged for the souls of men. On the one hand Lucifer has attractively painted his road signs. Have you seen them? They are bright and most enticing. They read like this: “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” “It’s the popular thing to do.” Another one may read: “Just this once won’t matter. “On the other hand the Lord has prepared his road signs for our guidance. They read: “As ye sow, so shall ye reap.” Which basically is saying “you get what you give” . Now you were sent on this earth to prove your love for god through choosing the right to get back to heaven with him, he wants to see us all back there. We weren’t sent to earth with no guidance, we have the scriptures, church, and the Holy Ghost. They are here for us to choose the right and to make good choice.. Agency is a wonderful thing it helps us prove our love for god. in the Strength of Youth pamphlet it say under Agency and accountability , wrong choices delay your progression and lead to heartache and misery , right choices lead to happiness and eternal life . In Doctrine and Covenants section 101 verse 78 it says “That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the Day of Judgment.” Although you are free to choose for yourself right or wrong, you are not able to choose the consequences for your actions. We are all lucky to have are Agency here on Earth, in Moses chapter 4 verse 3 it says “Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;” Satan wanted us to be sent here on this earth with no Agency not able to choose right from wrong, he wanted us to only have the choice of right . We also have to take the consequences of actions good or bad. Like it said in D&C 101:78 on the Day of Judgment were all accountable for are choices. But I know if we make good choices and follow the lord we will be with heavenly father again. I know this church is true. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Going Private

2010-11-02T08:16:00.001-07:00

I will be going private on the 5th of Nov. If you enjoy reading my blog, please email me your address at jcworking75@gmail.com... Thank you for reading my blog.

Purple

2010-10-20T12:19:00.000-07:00

The Gay and Lesbian community has dedicated the color purple on this day to stop the bullying in schools. Lea wore purple today. I asked her why she was wearing that color and she told me that it was to show her support in the efforts to stop bullying in school against gay students. I told her that being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we don't choose to live that type of life style. She had no idea. I then explained why and it made since to her. I also said that because others choose to be gay doesn't mean we shouldn't be their friends. Our Heavenly Father loves them just as much as he loves each one of use.
I am proud of Lea for showing support in a cause that is really important. No matter who is bullying who, it needs to stop. This is of the things I love about my Lea. She has a good head on her shoulders. She knows right from wrong, and she is a friend I would love to have because she supports them in anyway she can. Way to go Lea. Love ya lots.

Fall Break 2010

2010-10-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of fall break for my kids and their friends who attend the local school district. I decided that I wanted to invite my friends and their children over to make sugar cookies and frost them. It was a wonderful day. My friend Julie and her 3 kids, Kylee, Megan, and Tyler came over as well as my other friend Cami and her 4 kids, Dallin, Hannah, Sarah, and Addean. My sister-in-law also came over with her 2 kids, Alexa, and Zach. Also my niece Kiana came over. I had so much fun and the kids all did great. I am glad that all our kids are old enough to play nice, and follow directions. My kids all grew up with my friends kids and of coarse hangin with the cousin are always fun. I am looking forward to doing this again next year and for many years to come. Thank you all that came and had fun with me and my kids.

L: Lea, Kylee holding Addeon, Alexa. Sitting down: Dallin. Right: Hannah, Chayanne, and Kiana. This is the big kids table.

Left standing: Nathaniel and Zach. Right standing: Sarah, Ella, Elijah, and Tyler. Megan is behind Nathaniel. This is the little kids table

Yummy Cookies waiting to be frosted.

Elijah was eating the cookies after he cut them out. But we found some for him to frost. He was so excited to have all his friends, big and small over at his house. I think he frosted those cookies really well.

Some of the finished product. All the kids had their own plates to put their cookies on.

FHE

2010-10-11T20:00:00.000-07:00

Nathaniel & Ella showing off the flowers

Lea planting flowers

Chayanne planting flowers

Dan pulled out the dead bush so we can plant flowers

I am was getting fustrated with posting the pictures after writing my post. I kept cutting my pictures out. That is why they are first and out of order.

For Family Home Evening we planted flowers in the front of the house. I have never ever planted flowers in my entire life. When my husband and I were at Home Depot to pick out the flowers I felt so overwhelmed. I love to look at the flowers wherever I go, Home Depot, Wal Mart, Lowes, etc. but to pick them out was hard. I kept asking my husband if this color would match this color or should I just get the same flowers. Well this is what I picked out with the help of my wonderful husband. We had a blast planting. I t was great to get everyone (except Elijah because he fell asleep) involved. They look great and I love watering them every day.

Microburst 2010

2010-10-06T16:16:00.000-07:00

We had a few days of storms here in Mesa AZ... We had a micro burst that gave us hail and wind and rain. It was the most beautiful storm I have ever seen. I only say that because I have never really seen this type of storm. Sure I have seen hail storms and rain and wind, but this storm was different. The wind was blowing the rain sideways. Boy did the rain blow hard. I think the wind was blowing at the speed of 75 miles. Because of the wind, my dead evergreen lost most of its needles. It sure did make a mess of my back yard. The wind also broke the side of my gate. Also due to the wind all my pretty flowers were blown off of my oleanders that line the back of my yard.
It rained hard. After the rain my street was flooded to the sidewalk. It was great. My back yard was also flooded. It also hailed and some were the size of golf balls. When it was hailing, it was so loud on my roof I could hear a thing. Elijah was taking a nap and slept threw the whole storm.
This storm moved to the north where it was reported as tornadoes that touched down. I think they counted six tornadoes. Amazing weather for a place like Arizona where we usually don't see this type of weather.
Here are some pictures.

Sacrament Meeting

2010-03-08T12:14:00.000-08:00

I love to attend sacrament meeting especially when it is fast and testimony meeting. I love the warm feeling I get in my heart when I hear others bear their testimony. This week was real special for me because I was able to hear everyone who talked. This is the first Sunday in a very long time that I am able to do that. I sat with my family and the children were so well behaved. It was wonderful. Since we moved into this new ward, my children have been really good. I can't even believe it and I sit with them every week. I was thinking about how grateful I was to hear everyone bear their testimony even if I don't know them. I was thinking that my children are getting older and they can sit and be quite for most of sacrament meeting. I was also thinking that if I could feel the spirit so strongly, so can my children. that could of been why they were so well behaved.
This day in church was an answer to my prayers. We are still a little knew to this ward and it amazes me how every ward is different. I really loved my old ward. I had a great calling and great friends. I know it will take me a few months to get use to this ward and to make new friends.

Memories in the new house

2010-03-08T11:50:00.000-08:00

I finally took a picture of our new house. Even though we are just renting this house, we have started making memories here. Memories that will stay with our family forever. These memories are both spiritual and physical.

One of the memories is of Nathaniel. When we lived in the apartments he broke the training wheels off of Ella's bike. Dan took the training wheels off and told Nathaniel he would teach him to ride a bike. Learning to ride a bike in an apartment complex is quite dangerous especially when the tenants don't slow down even if there are kids playing.

If you know my Nathaniel, he is a little scared to try knew things. He is very careful so he doesn't get hurt. Nathaniel is scared of heights and fast things. He did not like to swing. He would scream bloody murder if you dared to push him just a hair. Yeah. Can you believe that!!! He is scared to go fast because he feels out of control. Anyways, Nathaniel taught himself how to ride a bike. We kind of showed him the basic and he would fall. He kept falling so he decided he didn't have to learn to ride a bike, after all he is a super hero who can fly.

A few days ago I looked out the window and saw him riding the bike. He keeps going faster and faster and he says he likes the wind in his hair. I am so proud of him for being brave enough to learn to ride his bike. I think now my super hero can finally hang up his cape and ride like the wind.

Familiar Smells

2010-03-01T16:15:00.000-08:00

Do you have a familiar smell that reminds you of something from your past? I sure do. A few weeks ago my dear husband was preparing for his business trip to New York. He bought some shoe polish. Yes shoe polish. When he opened it to polish his shoes, it brought me back to when I was a little girl and my dad was polishing his work boots. My dad was always some sort of policeman during my 21 yrs. When I graduated from high school, he was a deputy sheriff. He always polished his shoes. I think this was a monthly ritual. When my dad would polish his shoes, I would sit on the floor and watched him and he concentrated on polishing his shoes. I would look at how strong my dad's hands were. I would look at his handsome face and think that I would marry a man as handsome as he is. I loved the smell of the polish and I also loved the sound of the shoe brush brushing against his shoes. When my dad was done with his polishing, I was so excited to see his sparkly shoes. As far as I was concerned, my dad had the sparkliest boots in the county. When Dan, my husband, opened the shoe polish, I had no idea I had these memories. I love when I have memories flowing from my mind. Tell me of a familiar smell that brings a happy memory to your heart. Thanks for sharing.

Still Alive

2010-03-01T15:46:00.000-08:00

I am still alive. I have been either to busy to write or I have had nothing to write about. We had a nice Thanksgiving and Christmas. We went to our friends house for New Years. We also moved last month.
I will post pictures of our house later when I can find my camera. We moved the week before Valentines Day. We found a 4 bedroom house to rent right by our children's school. I found the house on Craig's list and I drove by it on accident. We love all the room we have in this house. We are slowing putting all the pictures up on the walls. We love the fact that our older girls can have friends over and we don't have to hear them giggling or screaming. They can also have more than two friends over each. We have a huge backyard. There is also poles for a volleyball net. I can pitcure v-ball games through out the summer. We can also have parties. We love to entertain and living in an apartment we were not able to do that. So we are excitied to host several summer parties at this house.
That is what we have been doing since my last post. I will try to post more.

A's

2009-11-18T09:51:00.000-08:00

Today, I found out that I got A's in both my classes. I think I only got a few A's in high school.

In my Skills For Learning in the Info Age, I had to write a Survival Guide for my final project. After I had all my notes done, that paper only took me a day to write. I enjoyed writing it too. Who would have known that I like to write papers, grammar free,and in APA format. I received an A on this paper.

In my Contemporary Business Communication class, I had to make a PowerPoint presentation. I have never done a presentation before so this was kind of new. Thank goodness Dan knows PowerPoint and Excell. He guided me through my presentation. I also received an A. This took me a week to come up with my slides. Then in one day, I wrote my script out and I corrected my grammar, spelling and font sizes. After it was completed, I was very proud of myself.

So, for getting A's in my first two classes, I am going to see Twilight and New Moon tonight. Lea, Chayanne, and I are going to stand in line until they let us in. Twilight will be starting at 9pm and at midnight, New Moon will start. I am soooo excited. It will be nice to hang with my girls to see two great movies. Whoo Hoo.

My girls are going to be tired Friday. They are still wanting to go to school after being up all night with me. I think we will be coming home around 3am unless we are stuck in traffic maybe 3:30. The girls catch the bus at 7am. I think they will want me to drive them to school. If I am awake :p My mom will be coming over to help Daniel with the kids. Dan asked my mom if she would spend the night and help. I am still trying to figure that one out. But in the mean time, my mom will be here. My younger kids are excited.

Tomorrow I will let you know my feelings on New Moon. Stay tune to find out if I am still team Edward or if I turned to the dark side, team Jacob.

Daniel

2009-10-12T16:08:00.000-07:00

I could not help myself, I had to post a picture of my wonderful, handsome husband.

Walking every morning

2009-10-12T15:59:00.000-07:00

Dan and I have been walking every morning around 5am until 6am. Dan has been doing this for about 3 or 4 weeks now and is loosing weight like crazy. He walks about a mile and a half. He will be going for 2 miles this week. He has also cut back on his diabetic meds and asthma meds. It is great to see him so dedicated to his health.

I have been walking for a week now. I walk a mile everyday. I feel so good afterwards and have more energy. I like that I don't have my kids around and I can have some alone time. I don't mind having Dan with me. We stay out of each others way.

We wake up one of the girls to come lay by Elijah in our bed. That will keep him asleep a little longer while I am gone.

Last week we came home and found Lea and Elijah holding each other fast asleep.

Papa's Visit

2009-10-12T15:47:00.001-07:00

My dad came to visit over General Conference. We love it when he comes to visit. We wish we lived closer to him. Someday.

I don't know why I didn't get a picture with the older girls. But than again, these are not the best pictures. I am sorry for that.

When I told my dad to look at me he looked down. In the middle picture, Nathaniel is holding up his Wolverine claws and Ella is just posing. In the last picture, Elijah was wearing my dad's boots. He would not leave them alone.

All my kids loved my dad's boots. They think he is a real cowboy for wearing them. When my dad wears his cowboy hat, my kids are asking him about cowboy things. It is so funny. One question they ask him is if he always wears his boots. I don't think my kids have seen him wear anything else but his cowboy boots.

Fall

2009-10-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

You know Fall is here when you can sleep with the air conditioner off and windows open. You know Fall is here when you can leave your air conditioner off until around noon. You know Fall is here when you drive the kids to school with all the windows open. You know Fall is here when you here little voices in the van (with all the windows down) saying,"I'm cold, roll the windows up. You know Fall is here when you wake up and go to bed with beautiful cool weather. I wish it would stay like this all year round. You know Fall is here when the air is nice and crisp in the morning.
YES!!! There is Fall in the city of Mesa. We may not have the beautiful fall leaves, but the nice cool breeze is such a welcome to all that live in this city. Remember it is usually around 110 degrees all summer long.

University of Phoenix ( really long post, sorry)

2009-09-20T02:04:00.000-07:00

I have decided to go back to school. I have been talking to Dan a lot lately about furthering my education. Next year Ella will be in kindergarten and I will have Elijah home. It has been so long since I have had only one child home with me all day. Dan said that he has a friend (Janice) that worked for the University of Phoenix. Janice used to work with Dan at the cardiovascular Dr's office.
Before I called Janice, I got on the website a few times and decided to put my info in and have someone call me. Well, as you all know, as soon as I pushed send my phone rang. I was so nervous when I was talking to some guy. When he called me, Elijah was screaming and Ella needed to get ready for school. I told the guy to call me back at 1pm when I got Elijah to sleep and Ella off to school. He never called me. Oh well, his lose.
Another day past and Dan asked me if I called Janice. He said that if I was serious about going back to school I better call. I called Janice that afternoon and she wasn't in. I was so relived.
You have to understand, I haven't been to school since 1994. I got my associates degree in applied science in Cosmetology. That was in 1994. I didn't want to be a hair dresser so I never got my license. Just talking about school was very uncomfortable for me. I have decided my life to my husband and 5 kids and I was okay with that. Until now.
I started thinking that in 5 years I will have all my kids in school and I will be left all alone trying to decided what I want to do. I was again getting scared because I will have no one to care for during the day.
With all that said, I got a phone call. My heart was beating so hard because I thought it might be Janice. I answered the phone and a very nice voice was on the other end of the phone. Janice talked to me like old friends. She was excited about me thinking about going back to school. We talked for awhile and than she said, "I am not an enrollment counselor, but I have a good friend Tanya who is and I will give you her number."
So Tanya called me right away. We talked about why I wanted to attend the UofP. Tanya also worked with Dan. That made a difference because I knew if Dan liked her so will I. I told Tanya that I wanted to go into Elementary Education. Tanya asked me why and I said that I have 5 kids and I feel comfortable around little kids. I know how to work with them. Tanya pointed out that I would be limiting myself to just education. I wasn't sure if I wanted that. So, we both decided that Human Resources would be more rewarding for me.
Tanya and I did my admission and loan all online. Yeap you heard me, ONLINE. When I got accepted and approved for my loan my heart stopped. I have not been accepted for anything in a LONG time. This was huge. I now had a commitment I had to make. No backing out. NONE!!!! It was now or never. I am happy to say I am ready NOW to focus on me (for a few hours a day) and it feels great.
I am proud to announce that I am going to get my associates degree in Human Resource Management. I am going to AXIA through UofP. AXIA is an online college. WooHoo!!! That is just what I wanted. The flexibility of attending my classes any time of the day.Tanya has helped me
all the way. Tanya has walked with me all the way and has helped me with my fear of school. She is a great admission counselor.
I have finished my first week of classes. I attend 2 classes every 9 weeks. It will take me 3 years to get my degree. I have really enjoyed this first week. I know that it will get better. I already learned a lot this first week. A little over whelming but I think I got the hang of it.
Tanya is still by my side and I am so grateful for that. Dan is also happy to see that I am furthering my education and it has but him to ease. My kids are awesome too. I think my 2 older kids are proud of me. I am one lucky wife, mother,daughter, daughter-in-law, and grand daughter because I have a huge support group. They all know I am doing this for ME!!! and also so my family.
Thank you Tanya for all your help and comfort. I will miss hearing from you every day. I know I will be okay. I look forward to getting my degree in 3 years and I owe some of that to you.
I thank my Father in heaven because he has giving me the courage to get out of my comfort zone. He also has blessed to already by opening my mind up to knew ideas that I have had while attending my first week of school. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
So now I will be sharing a little with you each week of what I am doing in my classes. I could also use your insight on the different topic I am learning.

Elijah's Party in the USA

2009-09-04T23:26:00.000-07:00

Mother Nature

2009-09-01T23:18:00.000-07:00

My visiting teacher came over this week. She always brings me something and my kids something. One visit she brought me vegtables from her garden and she brought some books for my kids so look at while we visit. So is such a sweet lady and I love her so much.

Well this week she brought me some more yummy veggies from her garden and she brought a birds nest that had dropped from the bish it was in by her house. Now this nest is so cool looking. It is very interesting to see what this mommy bird used to make this nest.The kids and I found an old sock and a shoe lace all wound up in this nest. And it had a small leaf on top to hide 3 little eggs. It is sad to say that I don't think the eggs made it.

Chayanne took the nest to school to show her class and it is still there.

13th Anniversary

2009-08-31T23:08:00.000-07:00

Today was our 13th wedding anniversary. We really don't do much. It just seems to be just another day. But this year I told Dan I wanted to do something. I didn't care but something. Dan came home early becasue he had a DR. appointment. On his way home he called my girls and talked with them. I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner when Dan came home with a dozen roses. I think this is the 3rd time in all of 13 years he has given me flowers. I am not much of a flower person so I didn't expect this. It was a great surprise. Dan had asked to girls to babysit while we went out to dinner. Another surprise. I didn't have to make dinner. I told the girls to just make Top Ramon or Mac and Cheese. Whe went to dinner at Chili's. After that we went to Famous Footwear and than to Walmart for grocery shopping. When we got home, the house was so clean, all the little kids were nice and calm and the kids made us a Banner that saud "HAPPY ANNIVERSAY MOM AND DAD,"and each of the kids signed their name. That was a great ending for a great Anniversary Dinner.Thanks Dan and Lea, Chay, Nano, Ella, & Elijah for a wonderful evening.

Dan's Surprise Party, Sort of...

2009-08-29T22:57:00.000-07:00

I didn't get any pictures and I feel so bad. I had my camera but I forgot pictures.This party was a spur of the moment thing. My nephew needed help with his car and asked my husband if he could help. So Dan had planned for all of us to go to my brother-in-laws house for dinner (fish tacos) and he would help Austen fix his car. So I called all of dan's bros and sis's that live here in Mesa and had a surprise party. Well, when we were leaving to go Dan asked me why I made a cake. DUH!!! I was so busy getting kids in the car and make sure I didn't spill the cake so I wasn't thinking and I said it was for him and Chayanne. I don't remember saying that but Lea and Dan both said I did. So he wasn't really that surprised. It was fun. Dan's sister Sariah and her son came over as well as Dan's parents and Dan's other brother David and his family. It was a nice evening of visiting. The kids were behaving really well.
Dan turned 35 on the 8th of Aug. He shares that birthday with his Aunt Susan who lives in Long Beach CA. We went and visited my Dad on that day. That is one of the things I love about Dan. He is always thinking of others even if it was his birthday. He is the greatest husband and I love him for who he is.
Happy Birthday sweetie.

Chayanne's Slumber Party

2009-08-28T23:49:00.000-07:00

Chayanne doesn't like birthday cakes so she and her friends made this brownie cake.It was so yummy.

Josie, she was the last to fall asleep.

Makena and Chayanne fell asleep during a movie.

Here is the birthday girl fast asleep.

Chayanne Danielle

2009-08-23T22:20:00.000-07:00

Chayanne turned 10 today. I can't believe it. It just seemed like yesterday I had her in the hospital in Phoenix. Wow double digits!! When she woke up this morning I asked her how she felt being 10. She just looked at me and said she didn't feel any different. Here are 10 things I love about her. There are more but I am only doing the amount they turned.

I love the way she comes and gives me a kiss after school and asks how my day has been.

I love the way she laughs.

I love the way she helps out with her younger brothers and sister.

I love how she draws and colors. Chayanne wants to be an artist.

I love how smart she is.

I love her sweet spirit

I love how one of her eyes is two colors. One side is hazel (her dad's eye color) and the other side is brown (my eye color)

I love to hear her sing.

I love her brownies

And I love how confident she is in her self. She doesn't seem to get nervous about things. She knows she tried to be the best she can in anything she does.

Chayanne your dad and I love you so much. You bring so much happiness to our family and I really appreciate that.

First Day of Preschool

2009-08-13T15:01:00.000-07:00

Ella, Preschool, Ms. Oliver

First Day of School

2009-08-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

Nathaniel, Kindergarten, Ms. Teater

Lealynn, 7th grade, lots of teachers

Chayanne, 5th grade, Ms. Driggers

Sunday Talks

2009-08-09T15:00:00.000-07:00

This Sunday both Lea and Chayanne had to give talks. Lea was asked by our bishop to talk about an experience she had at girls camp. This talk was to be given in SACRAMENT. She was so nervous. I asked her if I could post her talk on my blog but she said no. I think she did a very good job. i am so proud of her. I couldn't really help her prepare because I didn't go to girls camp. So that was frustrating for me. Later if she lets me, I will post it.
At the beginning of sacrament we told her she needed to sit up where the bishop and his counselors sat. She was trying to stall sitting up there until the bishop saw her. He got her to sit up there. Our bishop is great. He has a calming spirit about him and he seems to know how to handle anything.
Lea you did a fantastic job on your first talk. We love you so much girly.

Chayanne gave a talk in Primary. This is also Chayanne's first talk in our ward. She also did a great job. I asked Chayanne if I could post her talk and she said yes. So here is her talk:
I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou salt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven:and whatsoever thou salt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (Matthew 16:19)
This is a true story. There was an old woman and she dies at a very old age. One day her daughter and her granddaughter went to go visit gramma at the cemetery. The girl said,Mom, at the funeral auntie said that gramma's favorite song was Families can be Together Forever. But why did she pick a primary song? Her mom said that gramma should answer that question. On their way home they stopped at grammas. Her mom dug in the closet and pulled out some not books. She looked through then a while than she grabbed the right one. She gave it to the girl and said, "Read this".The next day the girl finished all her chores very fast and skipped cartoons so that she can have more time to read. Her mom asked her if she had got the answer at dinner. She told her mom that the song reminded gramma of the day her family got sealed. She asked her mom if she sand that song in primary when she was a kid. Her mom said the song wasn't even made when she was in Primary. She said, your gramma heard the primary sing in sacrament and thought Jesus was talking directly to her. She loved that song ever since that Sunday.
Chayanne than bore her testimony that she is glad her family was sealed in the temple so we can be Together Forever.
Chayanne you also did a fantastic job on your talk. We are so proud of you.

Slumber Party

2009-07-28T10:17:00.000-07:00

Morning after the party

Lealynn blowing out her candles

Dinner time. They made their own pizza.

Lealynn's Pineapple cake I made.

This was Lealynn's birthday party. She invited some friends and they stay up til 5am and we woke them up around 8ish. It went really well. All the other kids went to my mom for a sleep over. Well, all but one, Nathaniel. He was good and didn't bother the girls.

Monsoon 2009

2009-07-19T20:04:00.000-07:00

This is the first major mosoon storm we have had this year. In the picture is a big sand storm coming towards my apartment. Do you remember the scene in the Mummy where a face appears in the sand wall trying to eat the airplane Brandon Frazier was on. That is how the sand storms here in Mesa AZ look. I am not kidding you. I think it is so cool.

If I have my facts right there are only 2 places in the world with a sand storm like that. Here in AZ and in the Sahara Desert. Because of the intense heat we have. When the heat rises to cool off very quickly at night, it causes high pressure. The low pressure coming from the south, Mexico, it causes this type sand storm.

Lealynn Rayna

2009-07-15T00:24:00.000-07:00

Lea turned 12 on July 6. You do know what that means right! Young Women's & Girls Camp!!!! She is so excited. And she thinks its great she isn't in Elementary School. She will be in Junior High. I was 12 yrs old when I got to wear makeup so I went out and bought her a few. That is also exciting for her.My little girl is now a young lady. Here are 12 things I love about Lea.

1:I love that she quietly does service for others. She is kinda sneaky like that.

2:I love that she reads her scriptures every night to Nathaniel.

3:I love that she tries to be a good example to her younger brothers and sisters.

4:I love that she likes to watch chick flicks with me and eat popcorn with me.

5:I love the way she dances and makes up silly rap songs.

6:I love that she is very technology savvy.She can usually figure things out for me when it comes to cell phone and computers

6:I love that when she is happy, she glows like an angel.

7:I love that she had become a very beautiful daughter of god both inside and out.

8:I love that she is a good friend to all her friends at school.

9:I love that she looks good in short hair.

10:I love that she can now babysit while mom and dad go on dates or if mom just needs to get away for a bit.

11:I love that she very helpful.

12:I love that she is all mine. Our family is so blessed to have Lea in our family. She was able to attend the Mesa AZ Temple with both my husband and me so we can be sealed as a family. Lea started the way for her brothers and sisters to be sealed to us for eternity.Thank You Lea. I love you so much.

Nathaniel Darrell

2009-07-14T23:11:00.001-07:00

Nathaniel Darrell Working joined our family on July 7, 2004. We were so happy he joined our family. He is an awesome boy. When he was "little" his older sister loved to dress him up. For awhile I thought he was going to grow up thinking he is a girl. But he has proved me wrong. He is currently my secret agent spy boy. He is also a super hero. He loves to save the day and make sure mommy is safe. He is learning to be brave. Today he went to the Dentist and was a very good boy. He didn't cry and was so brave. He thought that the bright light above was going to tear his body apart but was glad he was still my big boy.

Since he turned 5 last week I want to tell 5 things I love about Nathaniel.

1: He tries to be the best boy every day. He also is a great "BIG" brother to Ella and Elijah. I can truly see in his eyes that he loves all his sisters and brother.Even when they make him angry, I can still see the love in his eyes.

2:I love that when he smiles, his eye close and he has that "David Archuletta" smile. His happiness just shows me what a great spirit he has.

3:I love that he can't wait till he is 12 so he can pass the sacrament. He thinks that having the Priesthood is way cool because its like having special powers.

4:I love that he owns all the spy gadgets that Walmart sells and he keeps them in his spy bag for emergencies.If I am in any trouble or danger, my secret spy will protect me and save the day.

5:I love that he still loves his mommy and his daddy. I will ask him when I get really old and can't walk very well, if he will still set on my lap. He smiles and says yes. Than I will ask him when he becomes a daddy and has a lot of kids if he will still sit on my lap. He smiles and says yes.Happy Birthday Nanno. I love you so much.

HAPPY BLOGOVERSARY !!!!!

2009-07-14T22:11:00.000-07:00

WOW!!!! I can't believe it. I have been a member of the Blogging world for 1 year. Another amazing thing is that I have had 2, 257 awesome people visit my blog. That is so GREAT!!!! I was going to post something on here later tonight because I have a few more items to blog about, but than I received my first comment today wishing me a HAPPY BLOGOVERSARY!!!! Thank you so much Teena in Toronto for that simple comment.
I am not sure what I am suppose to do for my Anniversary. I guess I have to give something away. So I am going to have a giveaway.I have a lucky number. Whoever leaves me a comment on this blog and is the number I pick, or closest to it, will win a SPA BASKET. I will give you until Friday the 17Th, to leave a comment.Oh yeah, the number is between 1 and 10.
Good Luck and may the best person win.

Johnny Lingo

2009-06-30T14:12:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, we went to a party at a friends house. The theme was Celebrating 40Th yrs of Johnny Lingo. It was like a luau. We had leis and we had Hawaiian hay stacks for dinner. All the was invited needed to bring a desert to share. I brought these yummy cupcakes.After dinner, we sat on the grass and watch the old version of Johnny Lingo on a white sheet. We had to pay attention because there was also a quiz afterwards. We had a lot of fun. I think my kids had fun too.
I have been a lot of cupcakes these past few months. I found that if you frost them with a big tip, it is much easier and faster.

The Crawley's

2009-06-30T13:48:00.000-07:00

My husband Dan was born in California. He spent about 12 years in a town named Potrero California. Potrero is just right by the Ticate Mexican border. While my husband was growing up there he had a best friend named William Crawley. William lived right by Dan house and they spend every minutes of the day with each other. One day William and Dan went on a go-cart ride. William was driving and of course Dan was the passenger. Who knows (but them) what all happened but Dan fell out of the go-cart. Dan broke his leg and was down for awhile. Nothing happened to William, but William being a good friend still visited my husband and they still did wacky things.Than my husband moved to Indiana. Dan said that was one of the sades times in his life, leaving his best friend.

They have kept in touch with each other over the years. In fact William came to our wedding 13 yrs ago. We have visited with him a few times since. William had a hard life after my husband left. His dad died about 4 yrs ago. William grew up living with just his dad. I am sure that alone was really hard.We had no idea and Dan was so sad he didn't let us know.

Well about 2 yrs ago, William changed his life and started going back to church. That is were he met his wife of 1 week.

William and Christine came to visit us the day after their wedding. We didn't make it to the wedding because we moved and they didn't have our new address and we think it go lost in the mail. Anyways, they were flying to Hawaii for their honeymoon. They said it was cheaper to fly from Phoenix than it was from LA. SO they decided to call us and we went out to dinner. It was lot of fun.

Christine is such a nice lady. She was amazed at all my kids. The funny thing about this whole marriage thing is that Dan and William teased the heck out of Christine when they were little. Well Dan says he never did but we know he probably did but not as much as William. But you know, when they would look at each other, with all that aside, they were truly in love with each other. It was great for my kids to see that, besides seeing that with their own parents.

We are so glad that Christine and William found each other. Congrats to the both of you.

New Church Calling

2009-06-30T12:33:00.000-07:00

I have a new calling. I am the new ward librarian. I have never had this calling. I really like it. I can't believe what the library has. Oh my gosh. It is kind of over whelming. I get to go to the church building on Wednesday and work in the library. I was told that the library hasn't been open on weds for awhile. I seem to be busy on that night. I find joy in organizing things, & helping people, especially preparing things that the teachers need for their lessons. I kind of also find this time on Weds to have time to myself. I get a break from home for a few hours and I come back home happy and full of the spirit. Who knew that you could feel the spirit in the library. I sure do.

Elijah's new trick

2009-06-30T12:23:00.000-07:00

Elijah is now 14 1/2 months. He has found out that he can climb. Here he is trying to climb on our entertainment center. We had bunk beds for the kids to sleep in. We had to take it down and make 2 beds because Elijah was climbing up the ladder. I swear since he has started walking, he now runs and now climbing. He is just a mess maker. He is so smart to. See in this picture he moved this skateboard to the TV by himself.

Isabella's 4th B-day Party

2009-06-30T12:07:00.001-07:00

Ella's birthday was on the 10Th of June. That was the day we went to the Mercury game. I usually make cupcakes on my kids birth day because it is usually during the week. We will put a candle in the cupcake and sing happy birthday. And than we open presents from parents, and the birthday kids siblings. Since Ella's favorite color is pink I made pink cupcakes. And since she wants a horse so bad, she got a horse on a broom stick and it is also pink.

When I bought the butterfly cake pan (i thought she liked butterflies)I was excited and i showed it to her. She looked at it a minute and than she told me is didn't want a butterfly cake, she wanted a moth cake. Yes a moth cake. she is so funny. She said she thought moth were really pretty too. So on the day of her party, I told her I was making a pink moth and she was okay with that. Now with the tattoos. My mother in law bought her some tattoos and she wanted to wear them all. So there you have my tattooed daughter.

Lea's dance preformance part 2

2009-06-30T11:44:00.000-07:00

After the group danced the people that work for the WNBA asked for 12 girls that wanted an autograph from the players. Lea and her friends got to go down to the side of the court while the Mercury's were warming up. After the warm up the players gave each girl a warm up ball with their signature on it. That was so cool. Lea was freaking out and almost fainted. She was so excited to have an official WNBA warm up ball. And of coarse I had to have a picture with Elijah. He was a great kid during the game. When anyone clapped, he clapped. It was a fun night. Our friend's the Bigelow's were watching Nathaniel and Ella for us while we wen to this game. Thank You Julie.

Lea's dance preformance

2009-06-30T11:08:00.000-07:00

We couldn't bring video cameras into the game. Dan used my camera's video setting to get this. Someone is suppose to sent the dance teacher a copy from the floor and he is going to send it to all the kids that danced. It was a great game. Our lady Mercury won the game against the NY Liberty.I was screaming my head off. Sorry!!!I was excited for Lea. I am also sorry for the blurriness, like I said, we used my camera.Oh I forgot to tell you that Lea is in the back and is dancing in the 2nd group.

Updates

2009-06-23T22:08:00.000-07:00

My daughter Lea told me that I had a boring blog. She had said that I have not posted any thing fun that we have done since the end of school. One reason why is because we haven't really done any thing that I thought was fun. We have been staying home vegging out.
We (Lea and I) made a list of some of the things that we have done that I didn't post. So we will be going back to the last day of school.
Last day of school was the 28Th of May. It was a half day so I spent the day in Chayanne's class. I got to bring the 3 little kids to school. They had a lot of fun at school. The last day of school in Chayanne's class was Cultural Day. All the kids had to bring a dish from another culture to share with the class. Of coarse we brought Fry Bread. There was a lot of yummy foods. It was fun to spend that time with Chayanne. Ms. Driggers is a great teacher. Chayanne will have her again next year.
I didn't spend time with Lea in her class because Lea didn't want me to. Come on did you want your parent in your class on the last day of school. I sure didn't, especially in my 6Th grade class. I think Lea has finally reached that point in her life that she is cooler than your parents. That is okay, i don't think I could handle being in a room full of 6Th graders for more than a few minutes.
That pretty much sums up the last day of school. I did forget to take pictures that day and compare them with the beginning of the school year. Oh well I will try and do better next school year.

What a week

2009-06-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

I am updating this blog as I am relaxing at the dinner table with my laptop in front of me. We had Ella's b-day party tonight and now all the guess are gone. I will post pic about her party tomorrow. The older girls are at their cousin's house. The b-day girl Ella is at my mom's house. Dan took Nathaniel to a movie and Elijah is asleep for the night. Ahhhhh!!!! I really need this break. Tomorrow we will only have 2 of our 5 kids with us at church. Say ahhhh again. Don't get me wrong, I love having my kids with me at church. We have all the whisper fighting (older girls) we have 2 kids with ants in their pants (2 younger) and we have one who likes to pester all the rest of the kids(oldest son). Ahhh none of that tomorrow.
Back to my original post. I had to make wooden plaques for homemaking. Lets just say I learned to cut vinyl with my Cricut in one day. Than had to show other ladies in my ward how to make this wall hanging. That was nerve wrecking. My hubby cut, routed, and painted in two days 11 plaques.Thank You Honey Bunny.I cut 10 feet of vinyl in one day.So when Thursday Enrichment came and gone I was some what relaxed.Friday I relaxed as much as one can with 5 kids. Than today, I made and decorated a butterfly cake and had the hole house clean by 4pm. Dan and Ella, and Chayanne went grocery shopping for me,Thank You guys. Nathaniel and Lea helped me clean the house and take care of Elijah. Thank You guys too.
Did I forget to mention I also signed up to feed the missionaries. Oops that is because I forgot until they call me at 9pm Friday night.So they came to eat at 5pm and they were on their way by 6pm when the party started.
Yes I also planned a birthday party for Ella who waited all week.It went well.Now that the party is done and all the kids are gone or asleep, I can put up my feet and say "What a week". The only sound in this apartment is a toy dump truck that sounds like a carosine (can't spell) lamp. Ahhhh

Isabella Marie

2009-06-10T11:06:00.000-07:00

Today is Ella's birthday. She is 4!!! She blesses our family with her sweet spirit. She loves to dance, dance,dance. You can always find her dancing and singing. She is so excited for preschool. Her seems to have found a new love for horses. So if you don't see her dancing, she is making horse sounds and galloping all over the place. Here are a few pictures of Ella as she has grown into a beautiful,and very energetic little girl.

Little Boys Room

2009-06-01T15:23:00.000-07:00

Lately when I am out running errands, Nathaniel needs to go to the bathroom. It never fails. I will have all the kids go potty before we leave and I still end up in the bathroom some where. Well, Nathaniel refuses to go in the girls bathroom because he is a boy. I tell him him I want him going with me so I can help him. Nope, that doesn't work. He reminds me he can go potty by himself and he remembers to wash his hands. So I let him go while I am taking the Ella potty. The whole time I am worried. Yea worried. But, he has been doing fine on his own.
He has to tell me all about the urinals every time. So wonderful to have a boy that id growing up.

Preschool Water Day

2009-05-26T20:37:00.001-07:00

On the 14Th Nathaniel's last day of preschool was water day. There were so many fun things things to do. Somethings were water balloons, water guns, trampoline with a sprinkler under it, and a cool wadding pool with a slide. but I think the most fun was the big parachute. Here are a few pictures. I didn't realize that I only had pictures of Nathaniel. Ella was all over the place playing and laughing, and Elijah was exploring mud. A friend of mine took picture of him playing in the mud. When she sends them to me, I will post them.

Naathaniel trying to smile.

Having fun with water guns.

Here is the parachute that the kids were hiding in.

The kids flying the parachute.

Elijah walking

2009-05-11T16:21:00.000-07:00

This is my latest little buddy walking. He is doing more walking than crawling. I am so proud of him.

I don't know if you can hear at the end. I was calling his name and he said lida.I swear he says his name. He also says, Ea for Lea, YahYah for Chaychay, Ellah for Ella, & nono for Nanno (our nickname for Nathaniel.

Elijah is 1 years old !!!

2009-04-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how much my little man has grown. I still can't believe he is also 1 years old. Boy, time sure flies. We were on our way up to Payson Utah on Friday the 17th. Since it was Elijah's birthday we stopped in Page at Walmart for a few things. Dan bought cupcakes and a candle so we can sing Happy Birthday. We stopped in Big Water (pass Lake Powell). We all sang Happy Birthday and took a few pics.

Although we were on a trip and we made a point to celebrate a family members birthday, my kids will always remember this. Here is a few pics of our little celebration.

Elijah on our trip. He was just a good boy the whole trip.

Dan and the birthday boy. I just love the back ground.

Dan, the kids, and the beauty of mother nature.

Elijah wanted to head dive in the cupcake but being on a trip we decided to use a cupcake model named Lea.

I wanted to post pics of Elijah's first year but all my loder pics are on the family computer. I am using a laptop and I haven't transfer my pics to a hard drive. When I do I will post more pics.

Layne Parsons

2009-04-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

Well another sad news. Layne was my mom's boyfriend for about 17+ years. He passed April 11. He will be also be missed by my family. The kids really enjoyed being with Layne. He was their gpa.

We had a memorial service for him up on a mountain. He loved the outdoors. It was nice and simple. His sister Tanya came from New Mexico. She looked so much like Layne.

Charles Grant Carlisle

2009-04-19T19:45:00.000-07:00

I stole this handsome picture of my grandpa from my cousin Ashley's blog. Sorry Ashley, I didn't have a picture of him. He passed away today. He was 86 yrs old. He will be missed. I was able to go up to Utah this weekend to visit with him in the hospital. I am so proud of him and I am honored to be part of his family. I will truly miss him but I know that I will see him again. I learned a lot about him while visiting him. He truly was a great man.

My Grandpa Carlisle

2009-04-14T09:47:00.000-07:00

I am kind of feeling a little sad this week. I think its because I had to deal with some tough issues that I wasn't prepared for. For one is that my Gpa is not doing really well health wise. he turned 86 on Easter Sunday. He has lived a full life filled with family, love and a lot of happiness. He has an infection that is making him worse. I really don't know how much we will be with us.
He has had a tough few years that I am so impressed that he is still with us.
My gpa lives in Payson Utah. He has always lived there, in the same house. Because I live in Arizona, I wasn't around him as much as all my other cousins. But he always made me feel just as loved. It was like miles didn't keep him from loving me any less. It just meant that our time together was special and remember able. I loved him telling me about the war and how he fell in love with my grandma.
I remember when my dad got remarried my older brother and I stayed with him and my gma. He had this scooter that we would ride. He let my brother go around the block because he was older. Me on the other hand had to drive it up and down the driveway. What fun huh!!! But I got smart and decided to ride around his house. He had told me "Sis, you better not do that to many times or you will hurt your grandma's grass." So of coarse I stop just long enough to go in the house for a breather and than back out I rode. I could see him on the back porch sitting there and watching me. He didn't say a word and just laughed with me.
He and my grandma came to my wedding. He than again said "Sis I love you and I am proud of you." I love the way he said "Sis". It was with a little whistle. He always wore this brown overall that I just loved. He smelt like cherries because he worked in the cherry orchard.
He loved my grandma so much. He helped her with dishes. He was very easy to please. He always made a great fire.
I know I will see my gpa again. I know he will be reunited with his parents and will be waiting for his eternal companion.
Gpa, I love you.

My Masana

2009-04-13T11:59:00.000-07:00

The day before Easter my mom and I went out for the last minute Easter shopping. We stopped at Denny's for breakfast and started talking about our Goodman Family Reunion that is coming up at the end of May. My mom asked me what are some of the memories I had of my Masana. I had to think hard. I was young the last time I saw her. I think I was 14. I don't remember a lot of my childhood so I had to think hard. Hear are some of the memories I had of my Masana.
I should let you know that Masana means Grandma in Navajo.Her name was Jane Goodman. My Masana lived in Monument Valley but passed away in Chinle Arizona 1993. Monument Valley is in Utah. Right by the Arizona/Utah border. She live in a round cement house with no rooms. She didn't have electricity or running water when I was little. She lived right next to a mesa. The mesa's name was Douglas Mesa. You know that famous Monument Valley picture that is everywhere from history books to magazines. She lived a ways away behind that actual rock.
Since she didn't have running water in her house, she would take a bath in a silver basin on one of the bottom level of the mesa right next to her water tank. I remember helping her wash her hair and how it felt like real coarse, almost like horse hair. She didn't have a lot because she was going bald so we had to be gentle and careful when we wash it. She would tell me stories while I helped her. She also had a chicken coupe that had chickens. I also think she had bunnies by them to.
I also remember she had a shade house ( i don't know how to spell it in Navajo)which was made out of tree branches and logs. She had beds in there for her and my cousin Selena to sleep in during the summer nights. I would lay next to her while she would sing Navajo lullaby's to me. She was always rubbing my legs down with Mentholatum telling me that this medicine would help my legs from hurting when I was growing. So the smell of Mentholatum reminds me of her hands.
She had a sheep corral and I would help her and my cousin heard the sheep back in the corral and she would always tell me to keep a close eye on the ram because I was to stay far away from him. I always listen but one day I cousin wasn't watching and it ram right into her breaking her collar bone.
She had a few cars next to a big tree in the front of her house. Those cars were full of junk but my cousins, brother, and I would move stuff around to pretend we were driving. I would think of where my Grandpa may be sitting or maybe just laying down it. He died when I was a baby. But that was the one place I would try to remember him.My masana would yell at us for playing in there because there might be snakes in them.
Oh she made the very best fry bread. I would watch her peel potatoes, fry them in her pan on the wood stove. Than she would make the fry bread. Now, because she loved me the most (what I thought then) she always made me a small fry bread at the end. Nobody was to touch it because it was for her Janalea. Instead of sitting around the table, she would put the pan and pile of fry bread on a blanket on the floor. We than would use our fry bread as utensils and "DIG" in. My masana was always playing cards. She taught me to play solitaire. She moved gracefully.I loved her so much.
Because she didn't have a lot of hair, when she brushed her hair gently, she would than gather up all the hair off the brush and stick it back in her bun with the rest of her hair, so her bun looked fuller. She also said that it was also to keep the bad spirits from grabbing her hair and putting a curse on her. She was very into the Navajo culture. She spoke English but so always spoke Navajo to us all.
These are just some of the memories I have of my masana.

New used laptop

2009-04-08T21:52:00.001-07:00

Dan didn't need his laptop anymore for work so he gave it to me. Yippy!!!! So now I can be watching my kids and blogging. Life is good.

Asthma and C-Sections

2009-04-07T16:05:00.000-07:00

I was just reading my Parent magazine for April and came across this little article. I thought I would just share it in case you don't get the magazine. It says babies who are born by cesarean are 80% more likely to develop asthma by age 8 than those born vaginally. It goes on to say that researchers believe that babies born vaginally are exposed to microorganisms in the birth canal that help prime the immune system. Who knew??
I have a child right now that has asthma and she was not born by cesarean.We can thank you father for that one.Its amazing what researchers find huh.

Baby Chicken

2009-04-04T22:33:00.000-07:00

Last week when I dropped Nathaniel off at preschool another boy brought a live baby chicken for show and tell.It was so cute and Nathaniel got to hold it. Here is a picture of him holding the chick. To me that chick was a reminder of how much I love Spring.

Homemade Easter Baskets

2009-04-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

This is what I have been doing for the past month and a half. I don't think it would have taken me this long to do these but because of all the sickness and surgery and other unmentionables, it has taken me a but longer. I still have one more basket to make. I am making another round basket that will also say Happy Easter. I know that is only 4 baskets and I have 5 kids but Elijah is only going to be almost one before Easter. I can still get away with not making him one this year. I will make him one later on so all the kids can have a matching one for next year.

My Cricut Machine

2009-04-03T10:04:00.001-07:00

My wonderful husband surprised with with the new Cricut Expression. He bought it off the Home Shopping Network and it was a little cheaper than the actual website, infomercial, or even Walmart. It came with 4 cartridges and a cutting mat,spatula, and 2 packs of ink cartridges. I am not really into scrap booking or any other creative hobbies. I mainly do my canvas projects that have a pattern. I also sew a little and I cross stitch.
When I saw this Cricut on the infomerical with Chayanne we both just fell in love with it. I kept telling Dan to watch the infomerical and we looked on the website. I told him for my birthday (not until May) I would like to have this. We have a few months to save (this was in March). Well he bought it for me early and I just love it. So now I am getting antsy about making cards, quilts, Vinyl letterings. You name it I want to learn to do it.
I have made a few cards but that is it. I get a little nervous. On the other hand, Lea and Chayanne just love it. They are always asking to use it. I am sure they will be teaching me soon. Its not hard to use its just have to be creative. And the 4 cartridges have, don't have what I want to do. I am happy to know that I can get more cartridges Walmart and now at Target.

No Meat Please

2009-04-02T10:17:00.000-07:00

I made meatloaf last night for dinner. Lea for some reason always refuses to eat any thing with hamburger meat. I don't know why, I really have to fight with her to eat it. The rule in our house is, you have to have to eat a little of everything on the table before you are done. And there is absolutely no snacking right after dinner. If you are still hungry you better get more of what is on the table. I am sure everyone has a similar rule at the dinner table. Well in order to get Lea to eat her meat loaf last night she wanted to put cheese on it to hide the taste. Well it looked gross but she ate it without a fit. here is a picture of her meatloaf before and after the cheese. I swear she is the most silliest kid in my family when is comes to any type of meat. She'll eat hamburger but it has to have cheese on it.

Spring Break

2009-03-16T11:52:00.000-07:00

This week is my girls Spring Break. We will be visiting the park a alot, the library, and maybe Peter Piper Pizza for their lunch special. I will be taking a lot of pictures this week to post. Stay tune.

LICE Invasion !!!!!!

2009-03-05T01:45:00.000-08:00

Yeap you read that right. We have some new annoying pets. Although these pets I am trying to get rid of. We have been battling this for 3 days now. The older girls are able to go back to school today. I am still cleaning like crazy to make sure these guys are dead and gone. I did my spring cleaning early this year and I will be doing it again for a few more days. Its kind of hard to tell where they came from. I think maybe school. Oh well what matters is that we get them the HECK out of our house.

New Ward

2009-03-02T04:00:00.000-08:00

We finally attended our new ward. As we found a parking space we noticed that there weren't very many parked cars. Everyone including Dan we doubting me when I told them our ward started at 11. We go and sit in the chapel and look around. There still weren't a lot of people and I thought they were all running late. When primary came around, our 4 kids made up the other half of primary. We have a lot of "more matured adults" than younger adults. It is a very nice ward. I think that it is great that my kids can see how different ward work. I think we were all expecting a big ward because we are in a city and we came from a big ward. Primary runs differently in this ward. There are no Jr and Sr primary.My older girls and 1 or 2 more kids make up Sr. primary. So there is primary for all the kids and than Sunday school. When we were leaving my husband said he had a chance to talk with our bishop. Bishop told Dan that the whole ward fast and prayed that they would expand their attendance in the ward. That same month, we moved in to our apartment, and another in-active family started coming back to church. So our ward were so grateful we moved in.
Being a small ward, I know that my family and I can bring more to this ward. I think I am going to really enjoy this ward.

2 things...

2009-03-02T03:55:00.001-08:00

1) I am thankful for a good nights sleep. With that I mean sleeping for than 5 hours. Elijah is still waking up in the middle of the night and I can't figure out why. We are moving him back in our room to see if he will sleep all night. We have always been in the same room since he was born. Hopefully that may help.
2)I am also thankful for hugs. Being sick and have sick kids there was a lot of hugging going on. Not that I only hug my kids when they are sick but for some reason there is just a little bit more going around.

Sick of being Sick

2009-03-02T03:45:00.000-08:00

It is so nice when you have a family of 7 most of those kids and they get sick. It seems to run a little bit longer and boy it is exhausting. Fist Elijah got sick. I thought it was allergies and teething. But than he ran a fever for a few days and than a cough and the runny nose. He hardly slept at all those few night. And than Isabella got the fever but it last a little longer. Than the cough and runny nose. When she is sick she sleeps. Than it was Nathaniel's turn. He likes to whine and is also in and out of sleep. Of course my older kids don't get it because they are in school. With kids coughing in my face, rubbing there nose all over me while I give them hug, sneaking a drink out of my cup, I got sick. This all happened in like a week and a half. So in the end 4 out of 7 people were sick. I so cleaned this house with Lysol, and any other disinfected so we can get this bug out of our house. I just hope it stays away for a bit.All that is left is that lingering cough.

2 things..

2009-02-20T14:31:00.000-08:00

1: I am thankful for my little teething buddy. Elijah is cutting his "I" teeth and is so miserable. I am thankful because I get to hold him and hold him. I know you think I am nuts. But sometimes I get busy in the day and don't hold him as much anymore. He is to busy crawling every where and playing. So I may be a tired mommy but hold him and cuddling him makes me happy. Last night we slept together and that was great too.
2: I am thankful for little voices at the dinner table. The other night I made burritos. Nathaniel, Isabella, and Elijah (who was eating a tortilla) started saying "Mmmmmm Mmmmmm. It made my giggle because it was nice to HEAR them enjoying their dinner.

2 Things..

2009-02-18T21:02:00.000-08:00

1: I am grateful for Mrs. Billings. She is Nathaniel's preschool teacher. She has been doing this for over 20 years. She taught Lea when Lea was little. Than we moved and Chayanne wasn't able to attend her class. She has been so patience with me with my health and transportation problems that kept me from taking Nathaniel to preschool. She never forgot Nathaniel and when we made it to preschool, she gave Nathaniel the biggest hug every. He was so excited and when we got to school he told her that Mommy has the van now and he will be coming to school all the time.
2: I am grateful for DVD players. Isabella took a nap today which is sort of bad and sort of good. When she takes a nap, no matter how early or how late, she is UP all night. If I only let her sleep for an hour, she is still up. So when this happens ( about once or twice a week) we put on a movie and she will watch it without getting into things. I can just sleep on the couch and when the movie is over I put on another or push repeat depending on the movie. She loves the movies from The Living Scriptures. She gets a little church lesson while me or Dan sleep on the couch.

Thankful For...

2009-02-17T23:00:00.000-08:00

1: I am thankful for my husbands job. He is an IT Managers for a cardiovascular Dr. This Dr has two offices that my husband has to maintain. My husband has helpers but he is still very busy. He just got done moving this Dr into a new office building. My husband did an awesome job with NO problems with the computers that this Dr. gave my husband all of last week off with pay to help me after my surgery. Isn't that awesome. My husband is so talented when it comes to computers. I know a lot of people are losing jobs right now because of this recession.Hang in there. Something will come around. I know its hard having to wait or go down in pay. But just remember, the Lord knows your troubles.He will help you. He will I know He will. I will keep you all in my prayers.

2: I am thankful for my brother Jesus Christ. I am so glad that he was brave and died for me and all of you. I am grateful he healed the sick and the afflicted. I am grateful he taught my ancestors (Laminites) about the gospel so that I could have the chance to be a member of this true church. I am also grateful he died and he was resurrected so I can also have that chance. I am also grateful for the examples he is so that I may someday be just like him.

2 Things...

2009-02-16T21:44:00.000-08:00

1: I am thankful for my Heavenly Father. He has helped me and my family out these past 5 months. It seems to be hard for me to just turn everything over to him. I stress and stress until I go CRAZY, and all I needed to do is pray and leave everything to Him. That is one of my goals and I know that I may struggle with that a lot in my life time. He is so patient with me.
2: I am thankful for Tax returns. We got out return last week and it happened to be just enough for Dan to go get himself a 2000 Silverado Truck. He found it on Greg's List. Dan knows a lot about vehicles so when he tested drove this truck he feel in love with it. He won't admit that, but I know. Now that he has a truck to drive to work, I also have my van back. FREEDOM!!!

I Am Thankful For ...

2009-02-15T08:56:00.000-08:00

1: Daniel Working: He is just a wonderful husband. He always knows how to cheer me up and what cheers me up.
2: My kids: Lea and Chayanne are great helpers when I need them to. They both have a kind and gentle spirit about them. They are two of the most beautiful Daughters of God and they try to be great role models for their younger siblings. Nathaniel, Isabella and Elijah are also great helpers. They play with each other and you can tell they also have the spirit of God in them.I can tell all my kids love each other and that is so awesome to see.

I could go on with my thankful things but i must quit now. Until tomorrow.

Feeling So Much Better

2009-02-15T08:42:00.000-08:00

I am feeling much better today so I am catching up on my blogging. I am feeling so much better that I was a week ago. I have a whole new look on life and I am going to be positive every day. To help me be positive I am going to write down 2 things that I am thankful for every day. I believe one way to heal from anything from surgery to anything personal, you have to be positive in your thinking. It was hard for me to be happy and positive when I was on medication right before my surgery. I was telling Dan last night on our little drive that I felt like I was falling and could never get a hold on life. I was so miserable always hurting and feeling BLAH!!!
I prayed really hard to make sure I was making the right decision on having this surgery. I really hate having to go threw any type of surgery. Who does!!! When all was done with the surgery my Dr said that every thing went well. My uterus was starting to attach itself to my stomach. And that everything was inverted. She sent that darn thing to get tested and I should know next week.
I am just a little sore but that is all. I have only been taking the pain med at night and staying on Ibuprofen all week. Today however I haven't taken anything.
My wonderful husband took the week off and really helped me. He is such a trooper when it comes to being mom and dad while I am resting. I know my kids will miss him tomorrow when he goes to work.I will miss him terribly when he goes to work.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-15T08:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day to all my family and friends in the blogging world. I know I am a day late. Yesterday was a very nice day. Because I had surgery Monday I am still taking it very easy. My husband took Lea, Nathaniel, and Isabella to our good friends Julie and Calvin house for a project that Dan was helping Calvin with. Chayanne stayed home with me and Elijah. She was a great help. I got to take several cat naps and enjoy watching movies with her. When Dan and the kids got home we went back to out friends house and had dinner. Yes I left my house. I needed to. I was getting a little cabin fever for being in my house ALL WEEK. Than we came home. Since Lea is tall enough to ride the go carts at Golfland, Dan took the older girls there to race and play a few video games. I had a quite evening watching The Incredible on the couch bundled up with the 3 little kids all around me. It was great. Than around 9:30 Dan and I went for a little drive and came home. I sure love my husband. Just the little things he does for me makes me so grateful to have him in my life for eternity.

Home Sweet Home

2009-02-11T14:28:00.001-08:00

I am now home and recouping. I came home last night around 4pm. I feel so much better its unbelievable. I will update in a few days since I need to be laying down. My great husband took the week off to help me. Thanks for all your prayers. See ya in a few days

Did You Know????

2009-02-05T20:43:00.000-08:00

Have you ever cut open a lime or any type of citrus to juice and nothing comes out or a little drop is all you get. Well I have a little trick I want to share with you. If you nuke that cut up citrus for about 20 sec or less in the microwave, it will get juicy. My personal chief and husband Dan learned that the microwave helps the citrus release some of it acidity to make more juice. He heard it from Food Network. I put that to the test. Dan made carne asadas for dinner tonight but our limes were not juicy at all. So we stuck some in the microwave and BAM we had juice. Here is another reason why MY Dan is MY Man.

TiVo

2009-02-04T10:23:00.000-08:00

When the TiVo first came out Dan was saying that was a good idea someone had though of. He has been wanting one so bad but BOY they were expensive back than. Well now you can get a similar one through a cable company like COX (they are one of the providers here in Mesa). I would say that TiVos are for lazy people who HAVE to watch a billion shows that happen to be on at the same time.They were also a bad bad addiction.So you as where I am going with this story. Well I caved in and we purchased a DVR (same as TiVo) a while back ago. I admit I was so addicted. I would record all my shows that I wanted to watch and let my kids rule to TV with their shows. I also used it for conference so I could go back and listen to certain talks.I really enjoyed our DVR because when I was up late or awake before anyone else I could watch my shows. Last night we as a family started watching American Idol.Than when the commericals were on we would than turn it to Biggest Loser. When the commericals were on than changed it back to American Idol.This can be very annoying I KNOW. And than a new series aired last night called Fringe. Oh my gosh. I think its going to be a good one too. Anyways back to my story.As we than tried to watch 3 shows at the same time, I realized that I MISS MY DVR!!!!!!!So I think I am going to have to break down and purchase basic cable with a DVR.

CARDINALS!!!!

2009-02-03T08:22:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to say that even though the Cardinals didn't win the Super Bowl, the are still a great team. Lea was so sad that we lost. Hey, at least we made it to the Super Bowl. The last few minutes of the game was so intense I was exhausted when the game was over. I remembered why I don't watch games on TV. But I think Lea and I will be following the Cards this coming season.

WE MOVED!!!

2009-02-03T08:13:00.000-08:00

Sorry its taken me awhile to update. I have had my good days and my bad days. well a lot of bad days. Those consist of just feeling crumby and not having any energy. I think a lot of this has to do with my medication that I am on. Anyways, we actually moved the weekend of the 24Th. So we had our one week anny. for moving into the apartment this past weekend. It is nice to have our own space. We do miss grandma and grandpa but we also are very happy. The older girls got to stay in the same school. They just get a ride to school with Dan and right now they ride to bus to their grandparents house and they get a ride home from there. Nathaniel,and Ella are making friends. We live right around the corner of a park and that is fun. We actually only walked over there once. We filed our taxes already and with the amount we are getting back will all towards another vehicle for Dan so I can have my van back.

Hopefully MOVING!!!!

2009-01-16T16:35:00.000-08:00

I think I may have found a place for us to live. I found a 3 bedroom 2 bath apartment for 799.00 a month. They are having a move in special of 399.00 on approved credit. We thought it may be wise to move into an apartment while Dan is attending Devry. I will miss living in a house. Plus we can't afford a house rental while Dan's paychecks are being garnished. BUT I will have my own place AGAIN!!!!We are going tomorrow to look at the place and hopefully start getting ready to move. It will be nice to be able to recover from surgery in my own place. I will let you know how it goes tomorrow.

Back 2 School

2009-01-16T16:30:00.000-08:00

Dan is going back to Devry. About 12 years ago he was attending Devry and had to quit when his dad fell out of a tree. Dan than started working for his dad in their Tree trimming business. Dan decided to go talk to them a few weeks ago. They were able to give his all of his 18 (think or 12) credit that he had already earned. He is getting his Bachelor Degree in IT Management. He tested out a few classes already. It is a 3 year degree and as smart as Dan is he may finish a little early. He is excited but also finding it a little exhausting working full time and going to school full time. Luckily he is only going to school Wednesdays and Thursdays. I am so proud of him.

Another Surgery

2009-01-16T16:13:00.000-08:00

Well it looks like I will once again go in for surgery. I have been having a real bad bleeding problem since Christmas. I have been in the ER a few times before and after Christmas. I was going threw a whole JUMBO pack of Over night pads every half hour and even the super duper tampons didn't help any. I finally saw a Dr the beginning of January. We found out my Thyroid is not producing enough hormones so I am now on medication for that. Also I have an enlarged uterus with a very very thick lining around it. I am not a candidate for the surgery where they burn the lining to stop the flow. The lining it to thick for that. Go figure huh. If I was a little skinny I would look like I was pregnant. So I am also taking Estrogen to keep me from bleeding to death. If I want to have a medication free life I need to have just my uterus out. If I keep the darn thing, I will have to go every 4 months to the GYNO to check for Fibroid Tumors. My surgery is for Feb 9Th. I will stay in the hospital over night and be in bed for the first week. After that I have to take it real easy for the next 3 weeks. I am hoping that since I am only 33 my recover will not be so bad.

New Times for our Ward

2009-01-10T17:54:00.000-08:00

As we all know that when the new year arrives we also attend church at a new time. As for us here in Mesa's 3 Fountain Ward we start as 9am. I really love this new time. You may wonder why since it is so early. I have a lot a lot of younger kids, Nathaniel 4, Isabella 3, and Elijah 9mo., and if I can get church out of the way first than I have the rest of the day to go crazy. Last year we attended church at 11:30. I always seemed to be a mess before we even got to church. He He !!!!
Now that it is a new time a lot of new things changed as far as classes go. Lea 11 and Chayanne 9 attend Valiant 10-12 Girls. Lea will be in Young Womens in 6 months and she is counted the days. Last week she even got invited to go to Girls Camp in June. She is way excited. I remember Girls Camp like it was yesterday.
Nathaniel is in CTR 5 and Isabella is a Sunbeam. It is exciting that I finally have no kids in Nursery, so now I don't feel bad when I see the teacher ready to pull their hairs out.
Dan and I still don't have any callings. Well I take that back, I am a visiting teacher, and Dan is a Home teacher.
So we went to church last week and believe it or not, all my kids were very well behaved. I was so shocked. Did I forget to mention that I love our new meeting time.
Happy New Years to you all. I wish you all the love and joy in this new year

Cheetah Girls !!!!

2009-01-05T03:33:00.000-08:00

My brother-in-law David and his wife Jennifer gave us tickets to see the Cheetah Girls One World Tour on Dec19.We were on the 9Th row on the side under the big movie screens.The Clique Girls were one of the opening acts.I don't remember the other girls band.We had 4 tickets and since there was only 3 of us we brought our friend's daughter Kylee.We had so much fun. My girls and I really needed a girls night out.I think this was also a great way to start off Christmas Vacation.

Cheetah girls

They were sitting in these chandeliers above the stage.

Here are the Clique Girls

The girls waiting for the show to begin.

Here were are happy to have made it to the concert.

Happy New Years

2009-01-05T02:07:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years to all of you. I hope your 2009 is better than 2008. For New Years we went over to our friends Calvin and Julie Bigelow. We always spend News Years with them, either at our house or theirs. All the kids get to stay up and ring in the New Year with us if they are awake. I think only 2 kids were asleep before midnight.
I was not feeling good (I'll explain in another blog) and was surprised that I even made it to midnight.We had a really nice time. We just watched some silly videos, eat, and talked. It was really nice.
Thanks again Calvin and Julie.

Snow Snow Snow

2008-12-15T14:18:00.000-08:00

We got to go play in the snow this weekend. We went to my dad's house for a quick visit and hit some snow coming home. We stopped to play by Blue Ridge Lodge on the Mogollon Rim.

This was the storm we were headed to going to Winslow. We did get a little blizzard but it was way dark to stop and play.

I think this is Ella's angel

This must be Chayanne's angel.

Dan and Nathaniel.Nathaniel was mad because he got cold and started running the opposite way of the van. Dan finally got him and we left.

Me and my girls with Nathaniel crying in the back.

I think the little kids got cold while in the snow!!! Oh well they forgot about the coldness and want to go back. I think I better buy some gloves.

Family Traditions

2008-12-15T13:43:00.000-08:00

I remember growing up, every Christmas eve my brother and I got to open one present. It had to always be the one from my Grandpa and Grandma Carlisle. Since they lived in Payson Utah it was always exciting to see their gifts all wrapped so nicely.We got such warm cozy pajamas. I think my grandma made them in the beginning. They were always so warm. There was although one year that we didn't get our warm pj's. I was eight years old. My grand parents bought me my first set of scriptures. They were brown and had my name on them. Not only did I get new scriptures my grandma made my a carrying case that matched. That also had my name on it. I am so grateful for my grandparents. My grandpa isn't like he use to be. Getting up there in age, but he will always be my best grandpa. Love ya Gramps.
Anyway, we have kind of started that with our family. My husbands family all get together on Christmas eve and exchanged gifts for all the nieces and nephews. And than we adults all get one gift from our Secret Santa that we picked on Thanksgiving night.That always seems a lot of fun. This year we are going to my dad's house in Winslow AZ and spend it with him. Hopefully my brother and his family make it up too.
What traditions do you have as a family? Please share. It great to see what others do to celebrate Christmas.

Breakfast with Santa

2008-12-10T15:50:00.000-08:00

I know these aren't the best pictures. I didn't realize the black and white setting was on.Oh well!!! We had fun. This was at a Primary Activity last Saturday. The kids ate breakfast and than Santa came. We made ornaments for the tree and enjoyed a few hours with friends.

Ella was first in line. I told her to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas. She looked at him and than told me that he didn't have any hair.

Nathaniel was shy at first. Than one of his Sunbeam friend went before him and he got the courage to go sit on Santa's lap

For some reason Lea needed her friends to pose with her. All she wanted was a candy cane.

Chayanne also needed a buddy to pose with.

Lea finally noticed that the setting was on black and white and changed it for me. What would I do without my savvy daughter.

Elijah's Hair Cut

2008-12-10T15:36:00.000-08:00

The only time his hair laid down was when it was wet.

Elijah after his hair cut

Big brother and Daddy also cut their hair

Isabella's Hip Hop Video

2008-12-09T22:07:00.000-08:00

Isabella has only seen this video a few times. I had told Dan that she dances really well to this video. I keep telling her to shake her booty and to shake her hand. I think we have ourselves a little dancer in the making.
PLAY VIDEO

Fustrated.

2008-12-05T08:10:00.000-08:00

I am getting so frustrated trying to change my background. Be patience with me. I will change it as soon as I can.

8 RandomsThings About Me.

2008-11-20T23:15:00.000-08:00

I was tagged from another blogger I follow. The tag says to post 8 Random Facts and/or Habits about myself and then choose 8 other people to tag.After you put this link on your site, go and tag 8 other bloggers and have them link back to you.There are benefits to this tagging game: You increase traffic to your site and meet new people.
1. I am such a book worm. I love to read. I like LDS romance books,& Lds Mysteries. I also like other non-lds books. I have tried to listen to book on Cd's but I find that really hard to do. I find my mind wondering and not paying attention. I do better if I am reading books with my eyes. When I am into a great book, I take it every where I go. I like to take my kids to the park and sit under a tree a read. I have always read book and I am thankful because my kids love books too. In fact Lealynn is in 6th grade and is reading at a 8th grade level. Chayanne is in 4th grade and reading at a 6th grade level. And my younger kids are always wanted someone to read to them. Books are great. So are my kids.
2. I am such a perfectionus and a clean freak. I always try and keep a spotless house because I always wonder if I will get a surprise visitor. It has happened before. It gets bad sometimes because I will clean clean clean until I am exhausted. I had to learn to hand chores off to my kids and just be happy I have help.
3. I was afraid of water. When I was about 5 years old I almost drowned in a hotel pool. All I remember is that I was showing off to my dad by letting go of the side and I lost me grip. And than this BIG hand that belonged to my heroic father saved me. I was left with the fear of water. I wouldn't even take a bath. I overcame it when I was baptized at 8 yrs old. I was crying the whole time saying "please don't drown me." Thinking back to the moment in time, I think if my dad baptized me I probably wouldn't have been so scared of the water.
4. I regret not seeing my Mosana (grandma in Navajo) before see dies. She was a neat grandma. I remember playing on "HER" mesa in Monument Valley. Back then, I climbed those rocks all day long. I also remember sleeping in her shade house at night. She made the best fry bread ever. Mosana I love you so much.
5. My favorite color is green. One reason why I love green is because it is the color of my birthstone Emerald. I don't remember when I decided to like Green
6. I like to go fishing. One year my dad and I entered a fishing derby contest in Joseph City. I think we were actually there just to fish and realized they were having a derby. I don't remember how old I was but we entered. It took a awhile (I would say all day, dad if you read this how long did it take us)but i was getting bored. I was whining to go home because we haven't caught anything. Well when i stopped whining we caught the biggest carp that whole day. I even got a fish trophy. I still have it. I wish I could take a picture and show you. We won first place. Now my kids and husband go fishing. I haven't gotten my license in awhile because I can't really enjoy fishing when I have babies and toddlers to run after.
7. I didn't get my drivers license until I was 18. It took me 3 tries to pass the written test for my permit. My step-mom tried to teach me but I think I scared her. My dad seemed to always be to busy to teach me. So when I moved out of the house and lived with my cousins I borrowed his truck and took the driving test and got my license.
8. I play the clarinet. Well I did in high school. I also played the alto clarinet, the saxophone, alto sax. I can't sing because I am tone def but I can play instruments. I would love to get back into playing the clarinet. I really enjoyed it. I love music. I like all types of music. I hope and pray my girls play some kind of instruments while in school.

Now I need to tag 8 other people. They are:

Amy
Julie B
Cami
Shaina
Mom
Bettsie (sayer family)
Momza
Trying to stay calm

951 Visitors

2008-11-20T19:40:00.000-08:00

I have had 951 visitors to my site. WOW!!!!! That excites me. I am so grateful my dear friend Amy got me doing this. I have gained a lot of friends.
So I was thinking that I need to celebrate when I get my 1,000th visit. Any ideas? Please give me ideas. I am still kind of new with all this blogging. WOOHHH 951 visits.