Children's Museum

Thursday I got to go with Olivia and her class to the Children's Museum in Brookings. 

She was so excited to go and I was so glad that I got to go along with her.  We had 5 kindergartners in our group and about 4 hours to explore.  We climbed clouds...

 

Went grocery shopping...

 

 

Played in the water...

 

 

and the sand...

 

We played in trees...

 

played house...

 

 

and danced with hoops...

 

 

We also cooked in a cafe, gave the weather report on TV, worked in the post office, fixed cars, and built with giant blocks...

 





 

 

We saw a huge dinosaur mama and her baby, painted on the wall, read stories, played with a giant Lite Brite set and played instruments.  We sat in a teepee and built a house and took a ride on a conveyor belt.  We also planted flours and carrots, gathered eggs from the chicken coupe and so much more.  It was such a fun day!  I am so thankful again, that I get to have these moments with my kids!



And The Winner Is....

Tonight we had our own little wrestling pit going on in the living room.  It was Michael against Maddi, Dillon, Zane and Zeke.  It started off like this...

Then we had a little back and forth like this...

 

Then one last failed attempt from the kids...

 

And it ended like this...

 

And the winner is... Daddy!  As usual!

 

And Olivia slept through it all like this...







Pipestone

Wednesday I got to go with the 5th and 6th graders on their field trip to the Pipestone National Monument.  The 5th and 6th graders split up when we got there.  I was with the 6th graders so I have no pictures of Makenna yet.  We spent the morning at the museum.  The kids enjoyed the school room the most I think (other than the gift shop :) ).  Here is Maddi in the school room at one of the old desks.

 

After the museum we ate lunch at a picnic shelter (it rained most of the day) and then headed to the Monument where we could go hiking on some trails.  That was really fun.  We got to go over bridges and by a waterfall and by the quarry sites.

 

 

This was the group I was with :)  After we left the Monument we stopped at Dairy Queen and got some ice cream before heading home.  I love to be able to go on these trips with the kids and spend time with them.  I also enjoy getting to know the other kids at school.  They are such a fun group of kids!



Wax Museum

Earlier this week the 4th graders created a wax museum.  Each student picked a famous person from South Dakota and researched them. They created a poster board that looked like an information board that maybe you would see in a museum.  Then they dressed up to look like their person.  When you would come to their display you would have to "push" a button and they would stand up and recite their speech telling you all about who they were.  Then they would sit back down and wait for the next person to push the button.  It was really fun to see them.  They all did such a good job.

Zane had Wild Bill Hickok.

Since Wild Bill was in love with Calamity Jane they had their displays up next to each other.  Here are the two of them together.

 

Don't they look thrilled to be having their picture taken together?!  

The Windows Were Opened

In the early morning hours I received a phone call.  This phone call was an answer to my cries of yesterday morning.  On my way to town yesterday (I blogged about my day yesterday) I cried and poured out my heart to my Heavenly Father.  The immediate answer was peace. I made it through the day despite a crazy day of subbing (one child had to be driven off in an ambulance after jumping off a fence and cutting her arm open - I was on recess duty at the time) and more financial frustrations.  We were all together at the end of the day.  We had been able to enjoy the beautiful weather and we were all healthy and happy.

Early this morning, Heavenly Father continued His answer by a phone call from a member of our church who was stopping by with some things he felt prompted to bring.  Now this person lives in Marshall so he was not just driving through the neighborhood and decided to stop by.  He was at home sleeping and woke with a feeling to contact us.  I was a little caught off guard and very overwhelmed.  Truly, as it says in Malachi, the windows of heaven were opened and there were blessings given so that there was not enough room to receive them.

I must testify that I know God lives.  He loves each and every one of us - even those who don't love Him.  He knows each and every one of us.  He is our Father and we are His children.  He is aware of our needs.  He hears our cries.  He answers our prayers.  He will not forsake us.  He may not take away our pains and struggles, but He will give us the strength to go through them. 

All of our problems are not solved.  There will still be struggling and hard times.  But I know that I will not be facing them alone.  I know that all I have to do is call to my Heavenly Father and He will answer my prayers.  Maybe not in ways that I want or expect, but He will answer with what I need. This morning's answer let me know that we are doing the right thing.  That being here was the right move and that in the end everything will be all right.

Hope On. Journey On.

In our church twice a year we have what is called a General Conference.  This is a world-wide broadcasted meeting in which the leaders of our church speak to us on various spiritual topics.  We are taught about the scriptures, how to be better Christians, chastity, charity, having faith, being prepared, being obedient, following the Savior, etc.  I love listening and learning during these times.

The other night for our family home evening, we were listening to one of the speakers from the most recent General Conference.  It was Jeffrey R. Holland.  He was talking about believing and having faith.  You can read it here: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/lord-i-believe?lang=eng

There were two short sentences that he said that really touched me.  He said, "Hope on. Journey on."  These four words really came into play today.  I will tell you why. 

I know I have mentioned in previous blogs about the struggles we had in coming here and after we were here.  We had people who treated us rudely and unfairly.  I felt like I had lost family relationships and friendships that could never be replaced.  My parents were extremely upset, especially my mom and I felt like I had lost one of my very best friends.  Things are better now, but I still have a hard time opening up about my life to her because of the reaction and conversations that took place earlier.  There are days that I cry because I wish she were there to talk to but I still feel a gap when it comes to certain areas of my life.  I know she loves me and wants the best for me.  I know she would do anything for me, but my guard is still up about certain things.  So instead, I talk to my Heavenly Father.  Hoping for peace and comfort from Him.

As mentioned before, we took a huge pay cut when we moved here.  To be honest, it has been really hard making ends meet.  I have tried, but some months it just doesn't happen.  I feel my place is at home so I can take care of the children when they are still young.  I substitute at the school to earn a little extra money.  That gives me the opportunity to help out but still be there for my children when they need it.  Today I felt like everything came crashing down.

I woke up to find that our overdraft protection in our bank account had kicked in but that we were still in the negative.  We had a lot of extra expenses these last few weeks and everything kind of came out of our account at once.  We have another account but it takes a few days for things to transfer.  So I raided my kids piggy banks and headed to town to try to fix things before there was any damage.  All the way to town I cried like a baby.  The words of my parents' disapproval were ringing through  my head.  Doubt began to creep in and a feeling of total failure swept over me.  Had we really done the right thing?  Was being together as a family really more important than money?  Was moving to a place where we had to drive an hour to church, 20 minutes to school and 30 minutes to groceries what we should have done?  I knew we had prayed.  I knew we had both felt right about our decision to move and come here.  I knew we all wanted to be together every night instead of having Michael gone.  But why was it so hard?  We pay our tithing.  In Malachi we are promised that if we pay our tithing the windows of heaven will be opened and blessings will be poured out and there will not be enough room to receive them.  We go to church.  We read our scriptures.  We pray.  We teach our children.

Amidst all of this running through my mind, the words of Jeffrey R. Holland came into my mind.  "Hope on. Journey on."  Then the words from Mark chapter 9 came, "Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief."  This life is a journey filled with ups and downs.  There are times when so many things seem to be coming at us and we feel like we are sinking.  This morning was one of those mornings for me.  Yet, the Lord is watching over us.  He is there to reach out and bring us up.  Sometimes we have to be tested to show our faith in Him.  Our trials can make us stronger.  Even when we feel our strength is waining if we will just call out, "Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief" He will be there to strengthen and comfort us.  This morning in my tearful journey to town I felt that peace and comfort.  I felt that knowledge that He is there.  My mind was able to clear, my heart was able to be at peace and I knew that all would be ok.  We will struggle. I'm sure I will have more tearful moments in my journey.  I may have to raid  my kids piggy banks again. But all will be ok.  The important things in life will be taken care of.  He will not forsake us if we but put our trust in Him.

Hope on. Journey on. 

Have I Done Any Good?

In church we sing a hymn called "Have I Done Any Good In The World Today."  The words go like this:

Have I done any good in the world today?
Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed indeed.
Has anyone’s burden been lighter today
Because I was willing to share?
Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?
When they needed my help was I there?

Then wake up and do something more
Than dream of your mansion above.
Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure,
A blessing of duty and love.

 There are chances for work all around just now,
Opportunities right in our way.
Do not let them pass by, saying, “Sometime I’ll try,”
But go and do something today.
’Tis noble of man to work and to give;
Love’s labor has merit alone.
Only he who does something helps others to live.
To God each good work will be known.
Then wake up and do something moreThan dream of your mansion above.
Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure,
A blessing of duty and love.

One of the best ways to develop love for someone is to serve them (in my opinion).  I think when we serve our hearts open up and we are more aware of those around us. I think the joy and happiness that comes from serving increases our ability to love. 

Lately we have noticed that our children are not getting along the best :)  There is a lot of fighting and arguing.  They get so wrapped up in themselves and what they are doing that they forget to think about each other.  I must say I am guilty of it too.  It's easy to do.  Add the crazy weather and super long winter to it and it becomes really hard to think of anything let alone doing something nice for someone!  I know kids are kids and we all have our days but lately it has been worse than the usual squabbles.

So, last week we decided to do our Random Acts of Kindness again.  This time though, we were going to focus on each other.  Our family is our most important thing in the entire world.  We need to treat each other with love and respect so that our family can last through the storms that life throws at us.  We thought that learning to serve each other would help not only the long term relationships but the current attitude in the home.  Each day we (Michael and I included)  have to find some one in the immediate family to serve.  Each day it has to be some one different and something different.  It can be as simple as writing them a note or as big as doing their daily chore. It isn't anonymous.  Each night after we read scriptures we go around the room and say one thing that we did to serve some one that day.  We don't do it so we can brag.  We do that so that everyone knows that we are all in it together and also so that they can see that each one of them is loved and is being served.  Some nights they have to think really hard and some nights they realize that they have gone all day and done nothing for others.  Usually when that happens that person is the first one the next night to share their service.  Each morning before we all go our separate ways we say a family prayer.  I have noticed that the kids have begun to pray for Heavenly Father to help them find ways to help each other and to help us all be nice to each other. 

Thomas S. Monson, the leader of our church, once said, "Kneel down to pray. Step up to serve. Reach out to rescue. Each is a vital page of God's blueprint to make a house a home and a home a heaven."  It truly does make a difference.  When we are looking for ways to help each other, our house does become a home and our home becomes a heaven on earth.  When we start the day off and pray for ways to serve and end the day with prayer and talking about how we served, our minds and hearts are turned to others.  We still fight and argue.  I'm sure we always will.  But it's so nice to see that at different times through out the day, we all stopped, even if just for a moment, and thought about others and how we can help them.  At then end of each day when we ask ourselves, "Have I done any good?", we can say yes and embrace the joy that comes from it.

Lake Front Property

When we bought this little house on the east edge of town last summer we didn't realize what a deal we were getting!  We have a really big yard and it connects to a big grassy field.  The field is big enough to have a football field and a soccer field on it.  On the other side of the field is a grove of trees.  The kids love having all this space to play in.  We are also the only house on a dead end street so the kids play in the street too with no worries of traffic coming by.  Hendricks also has a beautiful lake on the west side of town.  Beautiful houses line the lake and they all get a beautiful view of the lake and access to it.  Of course, it costs to live there.  I would personally want more house and yard and less lake if I were spending that kind of money.  That's just my personal opinion though because of the size of my family and the need for outside room that my children have.  Anyways, we found this nice little house with a great big yard and got a really good deal on it.  The price was right, the location was right and so here we are.  What we didn't know though was that this too, was a lake front property!  This spring (if you can call it that) as the snow began to melt (only three days ago) we discovered that our yard borders a lake. The kids spend all their free time playing in the lake, splashing, running, wading and they get it pretty much all to themselves!  It doesn't get any better than that does it?  Here are a few pictures of the kids in the "lake."  And, in case you were wondering, yes the lake still had ice and snow and slush in it.  It didn't deter them though, in fact it lured them closer and made them stay and play even longer :)

 

The snow has melted now and the lake has grown even bigger.  The kids leave for school in the morning and can't wait to get back home to go play in it.  Their fear is that it will be all dried up before they get home :)  Our garage and front steps are lined with drying socks, shoes and mud boots and our laundry is filled with wet clothes from their adventures in the lake.  Each night they have to cover their legs in lotion because they are chapped from playing in the icy water.  But each day they go back wanting more.  Eventually it will dry up and then we will have the biggest mud pit around! The kids, unfortunately, will like that even more!  I guess (if you look at it through the kids' eyes) there was some good that came out of all the snow we had late in the season this year (besides the obvious moisture for the farmers)!

 



13 Years

The last 13 years have been filled with ups and downs, moving, jobs and all sorts of craziness.  I must say though, as I look back, each had it's purpose and everything ended up bringing us closer together.  I'll give you a little background...

I met Michael for the first time (officially) in November of 1999.  When we started working at the same place.  At the beginning of January 2000 we went on our first date.  From that night on we spent every day together.  We both knew that we wanted to be together. We started talking about marriage after the first week of being together and by the end of the month we had bought an engagement ring.  Towards the end of February he gave me that ring and we were officially engaged.  We had a  lot of opposition for the next few months because the situation was not "ideal" in their eyes.  People questioned and warned us about a huge mistake that we were making.  Through it all we hung on to each other and listened to the counsel from church leaders and did our best to follow it.  April 28, 2000 we were married in Acequia, Idaho at the church that Michael went to all his life.

For the first few months we lived in a little trailer that he had been renting.  Then we moved to a little house out of town.  I call it the brown house.  It was white on the oustide but the inside was all brown, brown walls, brown carpet, brown cupboards.  We lived there for almost a year.  Maddi was born in November of 2000. Times were tough then.  Michael's job was more of a seasonal job and it had slowed way down as the days got colder.  In February of 2001 he was finally able to find a different job that allowed us to earn more money and make ends meet. He did a lot of night shifts for a while and I hated that but was thankful for the job.  A few months after Maddi was born I learned I was pregnant with Makenna! Wow!

In May of 2001 Michael and I went to the Boise Temple and we were sealed together for time and all eternity.  I can't describe the peace that brought to us and our marriage.  To know that what we had would be forever and not just until death was overwhelming.  It brought  a new dimension to our marriage and brought us even closer together. 

During the summer of 2001 we moved to a beautiful brick home.  It was north out of town.  It put him much closer to work and I had a beautiful place to spend the day with Maddi and soon to be Makenna.  It had a huge yard and all the walls inside were white :)  I loved it.  To this day it is still my favorite place.  November of 2001 we welcomed Makenna into the world.  Nothing much changed over the next little while.  In August of 2002 I got pregnant with number 3.  We started looking for a little bit bigger house to be in with our growing family and ended up finding one just a few miles from where we were.  We moved there and in April of 2003 we brought Zane home from the hospital.

We had a lot of blessings through out this time but we also had a lot of struggles.  We were looking for something that we couldn't find where we were living.  We needed space to grow and become our own family.  We were surrounded by wonderful family and friends.  We lived in the area where Michael grew up and we felt part of that big church family.  However, we needed space and time to become our own family.  We found a job that led us to South Dakota so in September of 2003 we headed out.

Michael managed a race horse farm.  We lived out in the country in an old, charming farm house. We loved the area and the people.  The kids loved being on the farm.  In September of 2004 we welcomed Dillon to our family.  It was a good time for all of us.  We had grown so close as a family and had finally had the opportunity to become our own family.  As much as we loved it there, things weren't as promised and we did get quite homesick for Idaho.  So in April of 2005, after a year and a half we headed back to Idaho.  He had been offered a job at his previous work place and we moved back.  At first we lived on the ranch (it was a ranch for at risk youth) but eventually ended up moving into a big beautiful home further north.  We moved in January 2006, the day after Zeke was born.  It was a crazy time but it was a happy time.

In September of 2006 the owner of the horse farm contacted Michael and begged him to come back. We really missed South Dakota and the friends we had there.  After much debate, comversation, and prayer we decided to head back there. We got there in October of 2006.  In May of 2007 Olivia was born.  Our family was finally complete. 

We stayed at the horse farm for over 2 years.  Then things took a turn financially and we had to find something else.  We ended up in Sioux Falls, SD  at the end of December 2008.  We stayed there for another 2 years until once again, the financial end of things had to change. 

Right after Christmas in 2010 we loaded up and headed to Wyoming,  Michael took a job in the natural gas and oil fields.  It was a hard time.  Eventually he ended up being shipped out for two weeks at a time.  Then he would get a week off and head out again.  The kids missed him so much.  I missed him so much and he missed out on so much.  Makenna was in a play at the high school - he missed it. Olivia learned to ride a bike - he missed it.  Zeke lost his first tooth - he missed it.  Maddi played on the All Star team for baseball - he missed most of it.  I had to take Zeke to the emergency room - he had to head to work.  The little kids would go to bed at night crying because they missed him.  The older kids would break down when he would leave.  Nothing money could buy could take their pain away.  He missed their birthdays and ballgames, their concerts, everything.  It was the best we had ever been financially but the worst we had ever been as a family.

We knew that money was not worth the sacrifice of the family.  We once again began looking for something that would allow us to be together again as a family.  People told us we were crazy.  We went through a lot of oppostition again, but we knew what was best for our family and we did it.  In June of 2012 we loaded up and moved to Minnesota.  It was just a few miles from where we had lived in South Dakota.  We were back in an area that we loved with people that we loved.  Most importantly though, we were back together as a family.  Michael was home every night.  He was home most every weekend.  He got to go to the ballgames and celebrate birthdays.  He has been to all their concerts and got to see Olivia with her first missing tooth.  We took a huge pay cut and now we struggle with finances again but we are happy and we are together. 

What has the last 13 years with Michael taught me?  It has taught me that no matter what, I would rather be with him than anyone else, that he  being present in the home is much better than just having money, that I can always trust him and know that he will always be there for me, that through the ups and downs, the good and the bad, he will never leave me.  We have proved those wrong who in the beginning said we were making a huge mistake.  13 years, six kids and lots of moves later, we are still together and going strong.  The trials, the moves, the new experiences - they have brought us closer together, strengthened our bonds.  The countless family prayers, family scripture study, family home evenings, and Sundays spent at church have also strengthened us.  Through all of this we know that what we have is forever and that makes me happy :)

Dear Tooth Fairy

The Tooth Fairy has been a regular visitor at our house during the last week.  Last Sunday Olivia lost her first tooth.

Then a day or two later she lost another tooth! She waited to pull it at school so she could get a tooth certificate from her teacher.

Makenna lost two teeth as well.  Zeke almost had one out on Thursday but just couldn't get the last root out.  Friday night we went to eat at Dickey's and while eating he announced that he lost a tooth!  It wasn't the one that was really loose though so he has another one coming soon.  We put his tooth in a napkin to save it but ended up throwing it away accidentally.  When we got home he wrote a note to the Tooth Fairy explaining everything and was excited to find his quarter from her the next morning.

 

Dear tooth fairy, I lost a tooth at Dickey's. I put it in a napkin but Mommy acedentley thuw it away. from Zeke

Oops!  Thank goodness the tooth fairy made it all better :)