Blessed

After a month and a half of being unemployed Joel started back to work again on Friday. I have to admit that I was getting a little worried towards the end there. Needless to say things were getting a little stressful around the house and it seemed like we were at each others throats more often. The great news is that he went back to work with a promotion. He is now a foreman on the Asplundh crew for tree work. YEAH!! We are so proud of him, he totally deserves this job. We are also so grateful for my grandparents and mom for all they did for us while he was unemployed. We don't know what we would have done with out them. We truly are blessed!

candy jars

For family home evening this past monday we made candy jars. Each person decorated their jar and filled it with their favorite candies. The catch is that if you are mean to anyone through out the day you have to give them a piece of your candy. If you are nice the whole day.. you get to pick a piece from your own jar. The kids loved this project. As always we concluded our FHE with a prayer.. this time given by Jordon and it went something like this.
" heavenly father thank you for this day, please help daddy find a job, please keep daddy safe, help me be nice and if I am not nice I have to give somebody candy. Help Brianna and Jereme not to be nice so they can give me candy, name of Jesus Christ amen"
How could we not laugh... kids are so honest in their thinking... you know secretly all of us are thinking the same thing.

Pay it Forward

Pay it FORWARD…How it works:
The FIRST THREE people to leave a comment on this post will receive at some point during this year a handmade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive will be a total surprise–to both of us! The CATCH is that YOU MUST PLAY TOO!
Before you leave your comment here, write a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (you can cut and paste these instructions). Then come back and let me know that you are going to play, and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift. It’s THAT easy! Remember, only the FIRST THREE comments will qualify. Good luck!

Jordon's favorite thing to do

I am doing the spotlights for primary in our ward. One of the questions is "favorite thing to do with your family." Jordon's response: "Hug! I really like to hug Jereme in the morning before school, I wish he would let me kiss him too. " Kids are so cute, I am so glad that they are so close... even though they can get out of control sometimes.

The Golden Corral

My grandparents took Joel and I out to the Golden Corral for Joel's birthday present today. Might I just say that they have the best coconut shrimp that I have ever had in my life. Joel had a bout 5 plates full of food... I only had 3! It was really great, and even though I hate being away from my kids it was nice to be out together. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa.

A mother knows

Natalie has been cranky again lately and the past two days has not been eating so well. I tried to push off the instinct that she might have another ear infection but I just couldn't. So, today I took her to the doctors. They spent nearly 15 mins removing a pea sized ear wax ball (yuck!!) from her ear that was green, oddly enough, so they could see behind it. Low and Behold there it was.. another red, bulging ear infection. My poor baby is back on medicine again. The doctors said since she has had 3 in a little over a month that if she keeps getting them we might have to put tubes in. I say what ever takes the pain away from her I am willing to do.

Birthdays Birthdays

On Friday it was my sister Ashley's Birthday. We went out dancing and had lots of fun. It had been a while since I had been out with the girls. We went with Kelsi, one of Ashley's friends. I do have to say... I am so glad I am married and don't have to search among the booty bumping boys to find a decent man. On Sunday we had the family party at Ashley and Cody's apartment. It was lots of fun, filled with Call of Duty 4, cake, the office, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn. Who wouldn't have had a good time?

The next day (yesterday) was Joel's birthday. I spent the morning making cheese cake upon his request. Just as it was finished (4 hours later) I took it out of the oven, only to have the bottom of the spring form pan push through the sides and cause nearly the entire cake to land on the oven door! Well guess what... we used a spatula to scoop it back in the pan, added a topping to the cheese cake and let it set. You couldn't even tell that half of the crust was now stirred in the middle of the cake. Ashley then came over and helped me stuff about 50 shells for the birthday dinner. All of us met over at my moms and celebrated with dinner and cheese cake. Now because we were at my moms house we had to find other ways to entertain ourselves because there are no video games. So for those of you who know these games we played the following:

1. Mafia (where you sit in a circle, there is one killer who winks at you and you have to guess who it is)

2. Mexican Horse race.... mom was Arted. hahaha

3. Vegetable master... thank you girls camp for teaching me that one

and finally

4. Heads up 7 up

It was lots of fun and as usual we all had a great time with the family. Happy Birthday Ashley and Joel.

sweetness

After a time out for squirting toothpaste all over the sink in the bathroom, Jordon and Brianna started playing together again. Jordon turned to Brianna and held a paper heart over his chest and then said.. "You make my heart super happy" I love it when they are so sweet to eachother!