Father's Day

Words cannot describe how amazing a father my husband is. He puts his all into our children and you can tell. I have amazing children because they have an amazing dad. I could not do this journey alone. I need his advice, counsel, and most especially his friendship. My kids need his attention, love, and teaching. John gives us all of that and more everyday of his life.

For Father's Day John

got a bolt 22 that he has wanted to teach the kids how to shoot. A couple of the older kids will go to the shooting range with John next Saturday.

And a very manly dinner of BBQ ribs, cheese-fries, and some steamed veggies thrown in to please the wife.

Two Angels

We had 2 Angels show up to help our family last week.

The Seen Angel 

On Monday, I had a person really give me a lot of grief about my choice to have a big family. I don't think I have taken so many insults in so few minutes since my freshmen year of high school.

Tuesday, I was feeling very emotional about it. But, I wanted my kids to be happy and did not want to just sit around all depressed, so I finally came good on my promise to take my kids to the new City Creek Mall. As we were about to leave, an older lady asked me if all of those kids were mine. I replied that they were. She told me to come over to her. She explained that she was from Puerto Rico and that many years ago two American Missionaries blessed their family with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She said that for the last twelve years she has been visiting Salt Lake City and every year she picks a family that she feels like emulates the gospel and gives them a gift. She said my children seemed so good and happy and just by being there we were doing a good job sharing the gospel. She then gave me $60. I cannot even say how much we needed that money. I didn't want to take it, but I knew this was a tender mercy of the Lord and that I needed to accept both the much needed complement and the much needed money from this good angel.

The Unseen Angel

 On Friday, I took all 8 of my children to Wal-mart to shop for Father's Day. They were not so good and happy this time around. As I was checking out, one of the kids pushed the cart away from me. Joseph and Joshua were both standing in the basket in the cart. Just as I was putting my wallet away, Joshua, who had been crying and fussing jumped out of the cart and landed on the cement floor of Wal-mart. We took him out. His mouth was bloody because he had bit his tongue, but I could not as yet find any bumps and bruises. We got in the car, and went to the next store keeping him awake. When we got out, I checked him all over everywhere again. His tongue was fine and still no bumps or bruises. We went into Costco, and to my surprise, he was happy to eat a variety of samples. I was still watching his eye dilation and waiting for him to vomit or even to just be really cranky-- but he wasn't. At the car, I checked his head and all of his body for bruises again. Again, no bruises. We went home and checked him some more. Joshua did not have a single bump or bruise anywhere on his body. He never showed any signs of concussion. All he had was a red spot on his tongue from where he bit it. We know an angel caught Joshua.

We are very grateful for those angels both seen and unseen.

A Fun Conversation

Since we weren't doing any media, we had more time to sit and chat. One funny conversation that I had with my 4 daughters during breakfast one morning went something like this:

Me: I bet Ruth's house will be much better decorated than mine, but she probably won't care about the deep cleaning as much.

Ruth: smiled and nodded in agreement.

Anya: I am never going to clean my house.

Me: Then you need to watch Hoarders to see what it looks like when someone never cleans.

Anya: I don't want to watch that.

Kate: My house is going to be cleaner but less organized than yours, Mom. I am just going to have all of the toys thrown in one box, so it is easy to clean up.

Me: You wouldn't like that because then all of the toys would be mixed together and you could never find what you wanted to play with.

Ruth: Mom is right.

Ruth: Yeah, Kate.

Kate: Well, my house would be cleaner because we could just throw everything together and it wouldn't take as long to pick up. That way I would have more time to clean other things.

Rachel: Well, my house is going to be decorated with balloons and birthday cake on the tables. And I am going to have a room with all Christmas trees, and closets full of neat costumes. And I will have candy out in bowls, and every room will be painted pink.

Kate: I am going to decorate my kids rooms. They will have neat beds and walls painted different colors.

Ruth: Every room in my house will be decorated nicely.

Rachel: continued on for about another half hour with Anya as a captive audience.

What We Did: One Week Media-Free

Made some fun new recipes.

Had a "who can draw the 'most realistic' dragon contest.

The little kids made their own picnic under the tramp.

Built with legos and played together.

Played a lot of board games.

Spent a lot of time coloring, drawing,and snacking.

Got along a lot better and became closer friends.

Curled hair and painted nails.

Dressed up.

Plus we played the piano, read a lot together, talked more, read more scriptures, almost finished memorizing the proclamation on the family, played outside a ton, got a lot of house projects done, kept up with the laundry, and spent a lot of time at the pool.

This has been so good for all of us. Our home has been calmer and nicer, and more peaceful.  We called a family counsel and we now have new rules for media.

First, we are going to go game,  tv, and social media free every other week. Second, on the media weeks, we will allow 2 hours a day of media total. Everyone will have to choose game time or tv time and get along with the limited resources. Third, I am only allowed 45 minutes a day to read political articles. Anything the kids want to read on the internet has to be pre-approved by a parent and can only last 45 minutes. Facebook will only be allowed 10 minutes a day, every other week.

One Week Unplugged

Tonight is the last night for the TV, wii, computer games, facebook, blogging, and anything media for one week. We have become sooooooooo addicted and especially me. Since I have been pregnant and tired, I just sit down to the computer and read political articles, blogs and Facebook seceral times a day. Because I am preganant, I let the kids watch TV and movies and play the wii and computer games way more than is healthy.

Recently when I say, "we are doing something else," we can hardly think of anything to do. So it is time to unplug. I would actually do this for two weeks to a month if I was not obligated to do some writing for United Families International. But with that obligation, I really need to spend about an hour day keeping up on political family issues. One week away won't hurt anything, and we NEED it.

It is time to unplug and find other things we like to do together.

To Do List

I feel like I have just barely been surviving this last little bit. I am so tired. My body does not do pregnancy as well as it once did. I used to be the fun mom taking my kids places all summer and reading to them and teaching them like crazy. This summer, I feel like if I get the chores done, a little bit of  reading  in,  meals made and maybe a swim in, I am doing awesome.

BUT... I have a few important things that I NEED to get taken care of above and beyond the ordinary, before the baby comes. I am writing my list here to both help me remember and hopefully to shame me into getting off my tired bottom and getting them done.

The List

1. Clean out my closet and get the bed set up for the baby.
2. Clean out both linen closets so that I can find the correct blankets and sheets.
3. Apply weed killer on lawn and flower beds at least a couple more times.
4. Get Ruth and Kate's room cleaned and organized.
5. Buy the stuff and hang another sturdy shelf into the laundry room.
6. Clean out both fridges, and clean underneath all the appliances. 
7. Reorganize the coat racks.
8. Buy and find a place for baby girl clothes.
9. Take the little kids to Lagoon as promised.
10. Get reservations made ASAP for a 3 to 4 day family camp trip.
11. Survive camping with the family less than one month before the baby is due because we need a cheap little family vacation.

So there it is, and the way I feel right now, it just seems so daunting. I love my kids and my big family. But I do look forward to the time when I know my family is complete and I will no longer have to be pregnant.

I hope to revisit this posts with a lot of things crossed off before August.

15 Years Ago Today

15 years ago today I rolled off the couch I was not exactly sleeping on and went to get ready for my wedding.

15 years ago today, I wished that I had someone to help me fix mt hair for my wedding.

15 years ago today, I drove with my parents from Provo, UT to Salt Lake City to be married in the Salt Lake City Temple.

15 years ago today I felt really really nervous walking into the temple.

15 years ago today, I was really glad to see John Robertson waiting for me in the temple. He looked as nervous as I felt.

15 years ago today, John and I walked together into our pre-wedding and temple recommend check interview.

15 years ago today I sat with John and a whole bunch of other couples to be married in a waiting room in the Salt Lake Temple. I felt like the luckiest girl there.

15 years ago today, My mother cried through the whole ceremony, and I paused before saying yes, making a few people nervous.

15 years ago today I was married and sealed for time and all eternity to my best friend and the best man I had ever met.

15 years ago today, I found true happiness.