Jared's back

Jared sprained his back last week and I don't think he's completely 'back' as my title reads. Here's a little timeline for your entertainment (and, mostly for mine because it's been a tough week!):
02/18 Jared folds treadmill to load in his van and twists funny
02/19 Jared can't move! Kelly has to dress him (after she dresses the baby of course). Jared heads to chiro in Draper; goes to Lorna's house to relax after chiro; freaks out Lorna's family to the point that they call Kelly to come pick up her man and get him home; neighbors come and give Jared a blessing

02/20 Jared is so proud he dressed himself minus his socks; carpools to work at 9:30; boss call's 'Jared's wife' at 10:30 - Jared is lying on the floor of his cubicle about to pass out from pain; overexcited boss calls EMT's who show up with an ambulance and a firetruck! Jared yells,"I'm not on fire!"; Jared is sooooo embarrassed (that's why I included the pic)Kelly explains to EMTs we don't want to ride in their fancy truck and we have no money for said ride; EMTs load Jared in our car; Jared lays on couch rest of day

02/21 Jared wakes up in the early morning and tries to get out of bed; almost passes out in the darkness of the bathroom, but 'he didn't want to wake me'; we go for another trip to the chiro; Jared lets me run errands while he sits in the car with the kids (like he could move anyway!); my sisters show up and take the kids for Happy Meals; neighbors come over with a massage table and voodoo oils and work Jared over(pic of neighbors to the left); Craig and neighbor give Jared a blessing; Jared feels good enough to cheer on the Jazz; my sisters take me to Cafe Rio to pick up a Happy Meal to go

02/22 Jared skips out of early meetings at church but wants to be there to conduct Sacrament Meeting ( like we're gonna wheel you to the pulpit like they do Elder Wirthlin?); Neighbors come over and do some more voodoo; we all skip church and sleep instead; Jared says everything tastes so good when he's on medicine - I think he just wanted me to continue feeding him through the hole in the massage table; Jared gets blessing from our home teacher

02/23 Jared says Mardi Gras party for this evening must go on; Jared goes to dr and gets muscle relaxers; treats me to Cafe Rio for take-out lunch (do you think I eat when I'm stressed?); Jared supervises child labor clean-up prgram until he falls asleep on couch; Jared scoots around party in computer chair looking like he's drugged up

02/24 Jared goes back to work; stops at chiro on the way home; still hobbling

02/25 Jared goes to work; hobbles around Pack Meeting until someone tells me to take him home

02/26 Jared does a load of dishes! Hallelujah! Kelly rejoices in the slightest bit of normalcy! Lays on LoveSac after dishes to recuperate

February photos

Here's a few photos for February. Sorry we got behind!

You know you're getting too much Nickolodeon when it showa up for dinner! We had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and the boys had to make it into spaghetti tacos like on "iCarly".

Sam knew I was taking pics of his brothers so he put on a grin, too.

Cam and his valentine box we made. He decorated an old formula can to look like a pirate hat to collect his valentines.

Kaelen and Jake used the rockets that I made for the book fair to collect their valentines. They're getting to a hard age where they still want to participate in this stuff, but it needs to be cool, not cute!

February photos

Here's a few photos for February. Sorry we got behind!

Sam wedged between the wall and the couch eating someone's Cheetoes. Oops, were those yours?

Josh & Grace in their Mardi Gras floats, Jake and Maddi in theirMardi Gras costumes

Sam has always loved the vacuum, but it's a totally new adventure when you add the attachments!

Sam went Super! It was funny to watch him go in circles chasing the cape; kinda like watching a puppy chase it's tail!

Why?

Most of you know I love "Friends". And, I love Jennifer Aniston's character, Racheal.
But, I want to know why this is soooo desirable? Why do so many people idolize this woman? I'm sure she's happy with her life (or I would hope she's trying to be), but what makes Hollywood think they've got it so much better than, say, a stay at home mom?

All their millions of dollars could never buy the little boy that's snuggling me while I type this one-handedly.
All of their popularity could never beat the feeling you get when a mouthy nine year old thanks his Heavenly Father for giving him good parents.
And, their spotless, maid-cleaned homes could never house the incredible imaginations and relationships of little boys that are dressed up as dragons and warriors laughing as they chase each other around with light sabres.

I love my life just how it is!

Notes from Elder Ballard

We were privileged to have Elder Ballard come to our Stake Conference this weekend. He spoke to us as couples last night and with our families today. I tried to stress to my boys that this doesn't happen very often - we were in the presence of a servant of the Lord, a prophet. I can't explain the feeling that filled the Stake Center as Elder Ballard enter the Chapel. Everyone rose and the room went silent - even this morning with all the children, it was silent.



Here's a few notes I jotted down during the meetings:

• Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10). Find time every day to stop and find a quiet place to stay in touch with Heavenly Father. By finding that quiet time, we will have more opportunities to receive revelation. By receiving that revelation we will come to better know our God.
• Never lose Couple Prayer. Bonding occurs when Heavenly Father is invited constantly into our marriage. "Keep and honor that relationship and it will bless your home".
• Listen and Follow the promptings of our Heavenly Father. Elder Ballard told two stories, one in which he followed promptings and one in which he didn't. He warned us not to "put off Heavenly Father ".
• He shared an unpublished testimony of President Hinckley from 1997 in which the prophet said he was worried about the people that were learning, but not experiencing. We need to have a conviction in our hearts, not just in our minds. As parents, we have the opportunity to take the Gospel and make it real for our children. We must take time to maximize teaching opportunities. He warned us not to be so busy that we miss the Magic Moments.
• He read this poem

"A mighty wind blew night and day.
It stole the oak tree's leaves away
then snapped it boughs
and pulled its bark
until the oak was tired and stark.
But still the oak tree held its ground
while other trees
fell all around.

The weary wind gave up and spoke,
"how can you still be standing, Oak?"

The oak tree said,
"I know that you
can break each branch of mine in two,
carry every leaf away.
Shake my limbs, and make me sway.
But I have roots
stretched in the earth.
Growing stronger since my birth.
You'll never touch them,
for you see,
they're the deepest part of me.
Until today I wasn't sure
of just how much I could endure.
But now I've found
with thanks to you
I'm stronger than I ever knew."

~ anonymous

and told us to be sure the roots of our testimonies reach from our minds to our hearts so that when the winds blow and the branches break, they'll never touch the most important part which is our knowledge of Jesus Christ our Savior.

I am so grateful we were able to hear from a prophet of the Lord. I know the Lord lives and loves me. I know our Savior Jesus Christ lives. I know marriage and the family is ordained of God. I know the Gospel is true. I know.

my wonderful friend Juli, posted this on her blog the other day and I decided to participate -- (and yes I did copy her word for word (even this part, I just changed the name and relation), so if that is any indication of my extreme level of laziness, you won't be getting this homemade gift within the next fortnight)
The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations: 1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! 2. What I create will be just for you. 3. It'll be done this year. 4. You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a song. It may be a self portrait or maybe even some creation I haven't yet dreamed up. I may draw. I may bake you something and mail it to you. It may not be big or impressive. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure! But lets be honest here. This is me and I will likely do something amazing. =) So come on, sign up! 5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.
The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!

A Quick Joke

Cam: Josh, say 'spoon' five times real fast
Josh : spoon spoon spoon spoon spoon
Cam: Josh, what do you eat your spaghetti with?
Josh : noodles!

Is history repeating itself ?

Go back a few years:
I was in second grade. I got headaches on an almost daily basis. My teacher sent me to see the nurse on an almost daily basis. I'm sure they all thought I was full of bologna. But, my mom and dad took me to a few doctors to figure things out. I had 120 pricks with an allergists needle. No allergies. I had a CAT scan at the neurologist. No CATs or whatever they were looking for. I went to an optometrist. Eyes were fine. Finally, one doctor told us the headaches were related to stress and perfectionism (you'd never know I had that problem now!) and the only thing to do was treat them. After all, my dad has the same headaches as does his mom.

Come back to the present:
Cam has called me twice this year (that I can remember) when I have gone and checked him out for stomach aches. Once we're home, he seems to be OK. Last week at the Book Fair, he spent an hour on the couch in the library with me and a stomach ache before deciding to go back to his class. Today, he called with a stomach ache and head ache that settled in right before math time. I bribed him with a trip to the gas station if he would stay the last hour of school and he agreed.

But, I wonder, if I passed something down to him? I think Cam is most like me and has more physical traits from my side of the family, but did I give him this wonderful gift, too? Or, he just a second grade boy and I'm a sucker mom? My plan for now is to talk to the teacher and have her let me know if these aches start at the same time or during the same subject each time. I'm wondering if there's some school subject that triggers anxiety for him. And, as for now, I guess I owe him a trip to the gas station.


P.S. Mom, what else did the dr's say when I went through this? Am I forgetting any key mental problems I might have?

P.S. The cat came back. I was so excited I forgot to post it.

So what do YOU do?

I've been thinking about this a lot, but this morning sealed the deal.
Here's this morning's story. My son, we'll call him boy to save him public humiliation, wakes up and begins bawling when his dad reminds him he needs to get to the Primary Party by 9:30 to help. Helping will pass off a goal in his Faith in God book. Boy doesn't want to go because he's already passed this one off. I remind him that we a re here to help others, that's what the gospel is all about. Boy says he doesn't like to help others. I remind him of how much time his leaders have put into this party and he should go to show them respect. Boy still isn't seeing it my way. I finally told boy to get his tush in the shower, he's going and he's helping. It's what we do.
Boy's brother comes home from a sleepover in the meantime. I found boy's bro on the computer and reminded him to pick up his sleepover stuff on his way upstairs to get ready for the Primary Party. Boy's bro falls apart because he hasn't been able to play computer since he left last night. I tell boy's bro to get his tush upstairs and ready!
Back to Boy. He's showered and downstairs watching his favorite cartoon. I remind him he needs to pick a favorite book to take to the Party to donate. He can't find one and it's time to go. I realize 10 minutes later that he's still watching his cartoon because Dad isn't ready to take him yet. In my mind, these are ten minutes that could've been used to find a book instead of cartoonage.

SO, here's my question to you : What have you tried/done to help kids learn
to serve, think of others, realize how blessed they are, and realize
the great need that is out there?

We donate toys to DI, do Secret Santas, talk about where our Fast Offering goes, etc, but I think we need some more hands-on things that they are really a part of. The words that come to mind are : I want it to pinch a little. With the above things, they don't realize any sacrifice due to Fast Offering, they donate toys to DI that they were done with anyways, and Secret Santa is just picking out toys but Mom and Dad pay for them. I've come up with things like hygiene kits we can put together, I can teach them to crochet leper bandages, and I'm going to check into age minimums at the food shelter.
What else have you done that's really made an impact on your young kids? Give me some ideas in the comments!