My friend in need

My heart is breaking for my dear friend Lana who has just learned that her 8 year old daughter has leukemia. Emma is such an amazing girl. She loves life. She always has a huge smile and many stories to tell me. She is always writing or drawing something, and she always has some sort of little treasure or two or three with her. I love this little girl. I love her mama. I wish I could take the hurt away. I wish I could take the pain away. I can't stand to see these people who I love so very much suffer. If anyone out there is reading this, will you please include them in your prayers.

How grateful I am for a loving Heavenly Father who knows and loves us. He knows the Gibbons family and he will not leave them alone in this their hour of need.

If I can't find a reindeer, I'll make one instead

When the leaves began to change colors and fall from the trees, my children began dreaming of jumping into piles of leaves. Sadly, our home is not the greatest place for such recreation. Our trees are still young and therefore do not have many leaves to shed. But the longing for piles of leaves did not subside.

Thus plan B was put into action.

As I pulled into our driveway after church, I saw Syd, Maddy, and Luke each carrying large garbage bags full of who knows what. I questioned, and they excitedly told me they were leaves. As they were walking home from church they decided to "borrow" the leaves that our neighbors had so kindly raked up and put into bags....just for us, apparently! The leaves were transported to our back yard, a huge pile was created, and the fun began.










And now we get to rake leaves. All for the sake of a few hours of fun. Was it worth it?! Definitely.

To be like a little child

Yesterday I enjoyed some sweet moments among the craziness. During church I was able to go into primary and watch my kids as they practiced for the Primary Program. The program is next Sunday and I will be gone (this is killing me!), so the primary leaders kindly offered to let me be an audience yesterday.

Sydney and Maddy played their violins, Josh sang a solo part, and they all said their parts. Maddy made me smile when she stood to give her part. She was so proud to have her part memorized and said it with a smile! The girls played very well on their violins, and Josh sang beautifully. I didn't know he could sing like that. It was so sweet.

My heart was touched as I watched Josh put his arm around Maddy when she finished saying her part to tell her good job. I saw similar displays of kindness among other children. Older brothers proud of little sisters, quietly complimenting them.

My heart was touched as I heard the children sing. The sound of children singing primary songs is one of my favorite sounds. Their goodness shone through. Their simple, yet strong testimonies were evident. The Savior loved the little children. He counseled us to become as a little child. They are so full of goodness, always quick to forgive or show love to another.

(Maybe I should print this out and stick it in my car, on my bathroom mirror, on my refrigerator, etc. Because there are definitely times when I "forget" that they are full of goodness!)

But truly they are. Their behavior is far from perfect, but their hearts are so good.

A hard day of play makes Luke a tired boy

Brek wants to know what is up with me and taking pictures of our kids when they're sleeping. But, when Luke fell asleep up to the dinner table, I just couldn't help myself. He is darling, wouldn't you agree?!

Laundry Issues

THIS is why my boys do their own laundry.


What is that lying on my laundry room floor? Oh, you know...just a swim suit! Yes, it is November. And yes, we have not been swimming since school started.

Do you see where I'm going with this? Where did the swim suit come from? I have no idea. But I am pretty sure that it is already clean. Clean clothes thrown in with the dirty clothes does not make mom so happy. Thus, my boys do their own laundry. If they feel compelled to rewash their clean clothes, then so be it!

When we're helping, we're happy

What did we do for an activity after Family Home Evening this week?

Well....Brek was complaining of a back that was in much need of a good hard massage, so the kids decided to help him out!




Wasn't that nice of them?!

Soooo Sleepy

My little Ben has had a hard time with the time change. Well...now that I think about it, the time change may have nothing to do with it. Luke may be the source of the problem. Luke, who wakes up at the crack of dawn, flips the light on in their bedroom, waking Ben from his deep slumber.

What's the problem? Well, the poor little guy can't seem to make it through the morning without falling asleep somewhere! I will suddenly notice a drop in the noise level, then go in search of Ben. I will usually find him on the floor, out cold.

He will crawl around until he finds a blanket lying on the floor. If he can't find that, he will settle for a shirt or some other soft article of clothing lying on the floor. And on the rare occasion that there is actually nothing lying on the floor, he does not give up, but will search a bit harder.

This is how I found Ben a few days ago.

I found him lying on the floor, half inside his closet. He had found blankets on a shelf in the closet, pulled one out, and fell fast asleep.

I'll say this much about my younger kids. They certainly learn how to fend for themselves. When busy mom isn't around, they just make do on their own!

Nature's Beauties

We enjoyed a beautiful sunrise a few days ago. It filled the entire sky. Gorgeous!!

To Bose or not to Bose

Like his dad, Ben loves music. His dad has shared music with him from the time he was a tiny baby. Ben loves it when his dad sings to him. He has always loved it. Have you ever heard the phrase 'Music tames the savage beast'? Well, often times that is a reality in my home.

When Brek is in charge of keeping Ben out of trouble, out comes the guitar. When Ben cries because it is time to go to bed, out comes the guitar. Brek is teaching Ben at an early age that Bose headphones are the only way to go. Much better quality of sound.

A couple of nights ago, I put Luke and Ben to bed. While I was still in the room, tidying a few things up, Brek walked in with his guitar. He sat down and began playing. Simon and Garfunkel resonated throughout the room. Ben squealed with glee, jumped up, and began dancing and singing along. A picture just doesn't do justice. The girls gathered around and we all laughed and danced with Ben.

Families are great, you know. In them are found many small moments of delight. How lucky I am!

Trick-or-Treat!

Halloween has come and gone once again. The weather was very cooperative, and the kids had a great time trick-or-treating. I'm pretty sure some of my kids made the neighborhood loop more than once. I went trick-or-treating with Maddy and Luke while Brek manned the candy post. He sat on the front step, handing out candy to the many, MANY trick-or-treaters that hit our neighborhood.

Trick-or-treating with Luke is quite the experience. There is no need for speed in that kid. He slowly plodded along, checking out his pumpkin and all the goods inside. Occasionally he would feel the need for a little sugar-boost and reach in for a treat. He completely ignored my complaints about his lack of speed, and continued on in his own little world.

That is, until the rain hit. At that point in time, I quit urging him to move quicker. He no longer had a choice in the matter. I took his hand and we ran for cover. Luckily the rain didn't last long.

The kids all looked cute in their costumes....especially little Ben. He was one cute little monster. And as long as he had a sucker, he was happy as can be. I'm pretty sure my kids went without dinner and just loaded up on candy. I suppose I won't be winning any mother of the year awards. Oh well. A girl can only do so much, you know!

It would appear the color of the day was blue. Go Cougs!

Scott and Josh (and Josh's buddy Davis) decided to be BYU fans. Lack of dinner can be traced back to my involvement in painting shirts, spray-painting hair and bodies, painting faces, etc. Those boys were quite needy!





At last, the photo shoot is over, and we are off. Let the good times roll!