Changes in the family room too

We painted our family room. The pictures don't do the color justice. It is kind of a light blue with a touch of gray and looks really nice with the creamy color of the shelves. The baseboard and trim around the windows and doors, as well as the ledge that runs along the wall under the windows will also be the creamy color. Right now Brian has all of the trim off so he can make it fit better and stuff. We also have rearranged a bit so there is less in this room. So it is mostly just the trim that needs to get done, but I love it more every day!

Bunk beds

So today was the long awaited day when we go the bunkbeds for the girls' room. They have been on teh floor for about a week, but didn't seem to mind. HEre are some pictures of the girls in their beds. We took the closet door off for obvious reasons. Jen stamped on an old white sheet, hemmed it and trimmed it with some leftover from Liz's old bedskirt (another piece of it is used as the window valence). It will be fun to get the rest of the room set over the next couple of days. We will use under the bed for some storage and have a few other ideas in mind. It is just fun.


Jen also used some pieces of the bedskirt that came with Nathan's bed set to cover a throw pillow for Michael (once again, some of it was used for a valence) and she used a pillow sham to cover a throw pillow for Nathan. The throw pillows matched the first couch we ever bought, but have become quite threadbare, so they were perfect for this project.The boys love their new pillows too, and they don't feel left out of the fun bedroom changes quite as much.

At the fire station

Sue emailed me with pictures they took while the kids were visiting. These are some of my favorites for a lot of reasons. First, the kids LOVED this day. Michael still talks about it as if it was yesterday and as if it was going to Disneyland. What a cool thing! Second, I love them because I get to see what a good time they had. The hardest part of having them gone was missing out on watching them have neat experiences. So I am glad Sue took pictures so that I can see what they did and how much they loved it. Needless to say, they will make it into my scrapbook shortly.

The highlight: Sitting in the fire engine. Look at the perma-grin on Michael's face. It doesn't get a whole lot better than that.

Nathan and Liz getting a view inside the ambulance.

Sue with the kids in front of a big fire engine. Cool!

I think this is cute. I know the fire fighters taught the kids about fire safety and stuff and I love how he squatted down to talk at their level.

Look what we got

The kids have been so into the piano ever since we were in Maine, and to tell you the truth, so has Jen. Piano looking with Mom didn't help. So we talked about this a lot and ended up getting this today.


After research on the internet and calling around to other places in town we realized the great deal that was offered to us where we got it and it was so easy. WE have heard great things about this piano, and it looks so nice. The kids helped us get it all put together and Brian and Jen have been playing with the music that is preset. There are some really fun classics on it. Liz and Nathan have already practiced their five finger exercises and we look forward to the theory books from Grandma. Even Michael found middle C today. Megan pressed some of the keys while singing "I am a child of God." It was pretty cute.

An interesting quotation

So my presidency and I have been preparing a training/social for all of our teachers and those who serve in Primary. I LOVE PRIMARY! And I have been really excited to have an evening where we can teach, but also show those who serve in Primary how much we appreciate their service, and how valued their service really is. Anyway, so in my perparation I came across a quotation from Elder M. Russell Ballard.

“Teachers need to make sure that they are not simply preparing to teach a lesson, but rather they are preparing to teach a child of God. Every lesson, every meeting, and every activity should be focused on bringing these little ones to Christ.”

Whether we are teachers, parents, aunts, uncles, or just friends I think that our interactions boil down to this: it is necessary to remember that those we interact with are children of our Heavenly Father just like us, and they have the potential (as we do) to become like him. I think if we remember this we will treat people differently.

I am certainly not perfect, but hope to keep this in mind in all that I do.



Last night during FHE all of the older kids helped answer a question. Then we moved on. MEgan raised her hand and insisted "I say something." We paused the lesson and asked her what she wanted to say. "I a child of God." Nothing is better than stuff like this.

My kids are home

The kids came home mid-morning on Friday. The house got very loud, very quickly, but it was so fun! Everyone was eager to tell me all about ALL of their adventures with Grandma Chantry, which included swimming every day, the park, the fire station, the dinosaur park and McDonalds. WOW! what fun. They also got to choose a prize out of the treasure box if they earned stickers by being good. (DId I mention how wonderful their Grandma is?) Everyone had a great time and after lunch the kids rested for a bit in front of a movie. Megan has been a little clingy the last couple of days, but it is so cute. She shook with excitement when she saw Brian pull in the garage Friday.

I had a great week watching movies, scrapbooking (I got so much done!) and cooking for people who didn't complain, but I am so glad to have my kids home. My purpose in each day is back now that they are here.

Oh what do you do when the kids are gone?

So we went up last weekend to spend the 4th with Brian's family. We had a lovely holiday and then Saturday went to a neat train place with Brian's parents. Then Brian and I stayed home and the kids stayed with Grandma and Grandpa. They will come home Friday, but we basically ahve a full week without them.

To be completely honest I was a bit nervous the first day or so, but when we talked to the kids (and Sue) Sunday and found out how good they are doing I felt a lot better. They have been swimming (at least once a day) in Grandma's pool. They went to the park, picked out a toy at the dollar store, helped clean up Grandma's house, wne to see the fire station and a fire engine, and tomorrow they are off to the dinosaur park with Grandma and Aunt Jenalee. Megan goes right to bed for naps and at night and the other kids are doing great.

Let me just say I have a wonderufl mother-in-law. She has planned activities for the kids and has charts to help them behave and help her with chores and things. Just her willingess to take on the four of them for a week is truly amazing!

So . . . What have I done? I have enjoyed a chance for my body to wake me up in the morning, not someone else's little body. I have enjoyed eating when I get hungry instead of feeding kids all day long (admit it moms, it feels that way soemtimes) and I have enjoyed a few days free from PBS kids (I love the shows, but I am sure they are all reruns). My friend has kept me stocked with wonderful movies (Emma (the masterpiece theatre version), Jane Eyre, and a couple of other new ones I have never seen. I have been scrapbooking like crazy hoping to finish all of htose vacation pics that I took in Maine, and I spent the day today at BYU. I took pictures and enjoyed time to read. I love that place and enjoyed walking around and seeing how things have changed since Brian graduate five years ago.

I miss my kids, but it has been a treat to hear about all they are doing and how well they are doing. Thanks again Sue!

More vacation pics - Range Pond

Here are a few more picture from our vacation to Maine. I took over nine hundred (and that was after duplicates had been deleted) so it is hard to narrow them down. These are from our morning at the beach. We had a fun time playing in the sand and water and kayaking. Each of the kids got to go out in the kayak with dad and everyone enjoyed it a great deal. Liz enjoyed building sand castles, Michael enjoyed digging a big hole, and nathan just liked being as far out in the water as we would let him go. The rule was that the water couldn't go any higher than his swimsuit, but then he would bend down and cover his shoulders. HE loved when he got to go out a little deeper wtih Uncle Rich. MEgan had a ball playing in everything and the buckets, shovels and diggers from Grandma were perfect.