WET!

Wow! I can't believe how much rain we have been getting lately!  Right now as I look out the window, it just looks like a sheet of water falling from the sky!  It sure is keeping everything pretty and green, but I am ready for some warm weather!  Hard to believe it is almost June and it is only about 60 degrees outside.  CRAZY!  It even snowed a little bit just about a week ago.  But, I will be thankful for the rain and cool weather now because I will really be missing it when it is 100 degrees outside later this summer.  I am also thankful for our somewhat mild weather here in Idaho, as many states in the country have been enduring tornados.  Just this week, on Sunday, there was a tornado in Joplin, Missouri, that killed at least 125 people, and hundreds more are missing.  Since then, just about every day this week, there have been deadly tornadoes in other states as well.  It just makes me realize how close the second coming really is!

A New Look and an Update!

It was definitely time to update the blog, so I also decided to give it a whole new look!

Porter graduated from 5th grade at Endeavor Elementary on May 24th, 2011. His teacher, Sonia Galaviz, put together a graduation ceremony for the entire 5th grade, which was a lot of fun. The students even got a "diploma" with the picture, taken in a cap and gown. It is hard to believe he will be in middle school next year!

Mandi is just about done with 7th grade at Pathways Middle School in Meridian. She has had a good year and has done very well but, because of outrageous gas prices (almost $4 per gallon), we are going to send her back to East Valley next year. Driving back and forth to Meridian twice a day 5 days a week is really taking a toll on our pocketbook! I think she has gained some valuable study skills, though, and she is very excited to return to her old school!

Aubrie is just finishing up finals for 10th grade and is excited to be done with school for the year. She has also done very well academically in all of her classes, including Seminary. It is fun to help her pass off her Scripture Mastery scriptures, and I am so happy that she is gaining a testimony of the gospel.

Nick finished up his first year at CWI. He will be 19 in August and hopefully will be turning in his mission papers soon. I know it is a big decision for him, but I also know the most important thing he can do with his life right now is to serve a mission for Heavenly Father and share the gospel wherever he may be called.

Krystal just finished up her second year at CWI. She has not yet decided on a major but is thinking about Business Management, as she and I will be starting a boutique soon (if we could only think of a name for it!)

Happy Mother's Day!

I had a wonderful Mother's Day today.  Porter gave me the cutest card he made at school...

Nick made belgian waffles for breakfast, and the kids all made dinner for me.  I got to spend the day just relaxing after church, and it was WONDERFUL!  I am so thankful to be a mother to 5 beautiful children.  Thank you for making my day so special!

Soccer Season...Yay for #23!!!

Porter and Mandi both played Nampa Kids Soccer this year. They were both #23 on their teams.  Porter's team was the Red Devils.  Porter absolutely loves soccer and is quite an incredible player! His coach nicknamed him the "Sleeping Giant" because he always surprised the other players. He is smaller than most of the other players but can sure keep the ball away from them! He constantly tells us that he is going to grow up and play professional soccer, and at the rate he is going it wouldn't surprise me.

Mandi doesn't have the love for soccer that Porter does, but she had fun and is really good too. Her team was the Pink Pumas.  She played goalie most of the season and can kick the soccer ball more than halfway down the field with those powerful legs of hers!

Is that Barry Gibb?

Greg has always really liked Barry Gibb and, last fall, he decided to grow out his hair (much to my dismay!) and see if he could make himself look like Barry Gibb.  We took these pictures of him, and his friend, Bill Holstein, worked a little photoshop magic to make the background look like the one in the real Barry's picture...

A lady at church, Susan Davis, told Mandi to tell Greg to stop looking so good with the long hair and black leather jacket, but as soon as the pictures were done, I sat him down and cut that hair OFF!!  (quite the pile of hair!) Sis. Davis was a little disappointed when she found out I cut it, but she said he still looked cute.

He made a pretty good Barry Gibb look-alike, but I sure hope he doesn't ever feel the need to that again!  (I really like his short hair and clean-shaven face!)

Cruise to the Bahamas!!

We took our family on a wonderful cruise to the Bahamas from September 30th until October 7th. We flew to Orlando and went to Disney World for a day (amazingly the kids got BORED there!) and then we took a 5-day cruise to the Bahamas, stopping in Freeport, Grand Bahamas, and Nassau. Our favorite place was Nassau, and we had fun shopping the straw market. The only regret we have is not spending more time playing in the ocean (I guess we will just have to go on another cruise!)

                Our ship was the Carnival Sensation 

This man stopped us on the street in Nassau and wanted us to dance with him.  (I just hope that hat he put on Greg's head was clean!)  When he finished his song, he asked us for a tip.  We felt bad, but we really didn't want to spend our money on that since we had just gotten to the island.

 This mural was on the side of a building in downtown Nassau.

 We took these pictures on our way back to the ship after spending the day shopping in Nassau.  Our favorite place was the Straw Market.  We got there just as most of the vendors were closing, but several women kept their booths open just for us, and when we got done shopping at their booth, they would take us to another booth.  Everyone was so friendly, and we got some great deals, too!  We bought Coach bags and Juicy purses for way cheap...(okay, so they were fake, but they are still really nice!)  Greg found a fake Rolex too.

                                 Senor Frogs!

 Really old tree...they actually paint the bottom of the trunks white so drunk drivers don't hit them at night!

            Junkanoo costume in Nassau Welcome Center

Our "Baby Girl" is Graduating!

Less than a week until Krystal's graduation from Columbia High School. She graduated from Seminary last Sunday. I am so proud of her for doing well in school and making good choices for her life. It is hard to see her grow up and let her go, but this is all part of Heavenly Father's plan for our family, and I know she will do well. I know I will shed many tears this week as I think about the changes about to occur in our family, but I am also very excited.

I had the chance to teach Aubrie's Sunday School class today. I didn't take the time to prepare the lesson, but I prayed to have the spirit with me to help me teach. The lesson was about tithing, something very dear to my heart that I have a very strong testimony of, and the class went great. I had a bag of candy that I shared with all the kids that brought their scriptures and/or participated in the lesson in some way, and they all listened and participated. It was actually a wonderful experience! I am gratefull for the opportunity I had to teach and strengthen my testimony, and I know that the spirit touched each of those kids today as well.

I have been doing tons of coupon shopping at Albertsons...they have had double coupons the past couple of weeks. Most of the things I have purchased have been FREE...all I had to pay was sales tax. Couponing has been a HUGE blessing for our family, and I know it is because we pay a full tithe that I have been blessed to learn how to use coupons and, in so doing, build up our food storage for our family. We are now working on putting 72-hour kits together, and most of the items we are using have been free. Coupon shopping is very fun and addicting!!!

AWESOME COUPON SAVINGS!!

I just went shopping at Albertsons, and all the groceries I got added up to $124.19, but I only paid $23.04...That's a savings of $101.15, or a whopping 82%! I found a wonderful blog at http://idahopress.com/blogs/Live_On_Coupons/
She outlines all the great deals in the Albertsons ads each week and also adds links for additional manufacturer coupons. I am going to her coupon class on April 14th at 7 PM in Caldwell. If you are interested, the info is on her blog...

My Testimony

I was sick again today and did not go to church, so I decided to share my testimony here...

I know that my Heavenly Father lives and loves me. Jesus Christ is my my Savior and atoned for me. They have provided a way for us to live with them again, and that is by living the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and restored the gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet of God and receives revelation for us today. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. It is another testament of Jesus Christ and testifies that he visited his people in the Americas.

I am so thankful for the blessings the gospel has brought into my life, blessings of the Priesthood, temple blessings that make it possible for families to be together forever, blessings of health from living the Word of Wisdom, blessings of righteous children that make good choices in their lives, and the list goes on...

So Blessed!

This has been a long week! It is spring break, and I should be enjoying it with the kids, but I have been really sick. I have this cough that won't go away and have just felt like doing nothing at all. Unfortunately, though, I still have to work.

I am so blessed to have a husband who holds and honors the Priesthood, and he gave me a blessing last night. I am feeling a little better today, and I also found some ideas to help me get over the bronchitis quicker...500 mg of vitamin C three times a day and fish oil capsules three times a day as well. It seems to be doing the trick.

My husband is such a sweetheart! I was dreading coming into my office to start typing this morning, but when I sat down there was a surprise on my desk...Greg had brought me a donut in a paper bag and wrote this poem on the bag...

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
This donut is sweet,
And so are you!

What a great way to start the day! I thought it was so sweet that I even took a picture of it.

Thank you so much, Greg! I love you too!!!

One more before I go to bed...

I took Jessica Sprague's Photoshop Friday challenge to make a 4-square layout. It was fun (and simple!) Check it out here... http://spraguelab.squarespace.com/imported-archives/2006/7/7/photoshop-friday-issue-9.html

always sisters, always friends

All of my sisters were together to celebrate Mom's birthday on February 25, 2009. We had a "sisters photoshoot" and had a wonderful time together! The pictures turned out beautifully...just wish we would have taken some including Mom too!

you are ready.

I borrowed this letter from Brittany's blog and adapted it for my daughter, Krystal. Thanks for sharing it with me Brittany!

Thanks for sharing this with me, Brittany!

I found this quote on Brittany's blog today and I fell in love with it. "As a stay-at-home mom, I often do the same things over and over: I empty the dishwasher. I sort the laundry. I cook the mac n cheese. Everyday. And in all of those moments that seem so mundane, I have lots and lots of Moments of Meaning. Often with my kids or my husband, or a friend. That's what makes me not just an ordinary mom, but an everyday MOM (Moments of Meaning) mom. I add a little of my job skills to my life as a mom by trying to create order in our often chaotic lives. I know that my work DOES matter because I'm doing the job God gave me to do."
Sometimes we all need that little reminder of why we mothers do what we do. Thanks everyday mom!

Getting back to Scrapbooking...

Since I have been sick, there is a lot of time to learn new scrapbooking skills and put them to work...I recently found a great magazine, Computer Tricks for Scrapbooking 3, which contains tons of great ideas for digital scrapbooking in an easy-to-learn format. I can't wait to incorporate some of these into future layouts! Here are some pages I have done recently...

Time Flies!

It has been way too long since I posted to my blog. Some big events are beginning to happen...Krystal turned 18 on Friday! She will be graduating from high school on May 29th. I can't believe how fast the years have gone. It seems like just the other day we were bringing her home from the hospital as a newborn. To all of you young mothers...cherish everyday with your children...they are gone way too fast!!!





I have started working on some digital scrapbooking again. I will post a few of my latest layouts on my other blog...Dazzling Digital Scrapbooks. http://dazzlingdigitalscrapbooks.com Check them out and let me know what you think! (here is a sneak peak...)




My mom had her birthday a couple weeks ago, and it was so much fun to have all my sisters together again to celebrate. We had a "sisters photoshoot" and took some pictures for mom and had a great time together in the process. We also drove Mom to Gooding, Idaho, where she grew up. We had lunch, and she showed us the house her mom built by herself when they were young. We had a wonderful time!