Will You Be My Valentine?

We decided to STAY IN this year, so the kids and I made a special dinner for daddy!  Olivia dessed up (already in her ballet clothes) and Brady as a French waiter!!  The kids got to use the nice plates and glass cups too, we had candlight and nice music in the background.

Daddy snuck in while we were gone during the day and left this beautiful bouquet of roses and some hearts he'd cut out!!!

The kids woke up to being "heart-attacked" this year!  We didn't get any candy, and no one said anything about it!  Although, Brady did get quite a bit of candy from Valentine's at school.

I heart attacked Brady's bedroom floor and the stairs for him so it would be the first thing he saw when he woke up!  On a few of the hearts I wrote out little gifts they could each get, such as:  A new toy at the dollarstore, pick out a new book, a night out at their favorite restaurant and request their favorite dinner.  They can cash these in over the course of the next month.  We usually go out a couple of times a month, so I figured we'd let the kids pick and the books we'll probably pick out at D.I....so a creative, fun way to give them gifts, allow them to make their own choices and avoid candy and expensive presents!  We might make this a tradition!!!

Brady and Liv also helped me cut out a ton of hearts to heart attack our bedroom for Daddy!!!  I asked Brady to spread them over the bed and he asked:

Brady:  "Why would I spread them all over the bed?"

Mommy:  "Because it is romantic?  Do you know what that means???"  

Brady: "Oh, yeah, like to make your bed all nice and stuff before you go to bed!!!"

Mommy: "Exactly!!!"

I thought that was a cute little exchange with such sweet innocence! 

Calling all Super Heros....

I've set the bar (a little too) high for birthday parties around our house!  BUT, we've had some pretty spectacular parties, if I do say so myself!  This year we did a Super Hero party theme, focusing on Batman, Superman, Captain America and Spider Man.  I was glad I ended up having an extra week to work on the party  because our entire living room got redecorated, I made some pretty awesome costumes and was able to get everything done like  had imagined it in my head!

I got the idea for the birthday banner above on Pinterest and made it by hand out of paper and ribbon I already had. Then I wrapped all of the picture frames in the room with craft paper or wrapping paper that I bought.  I got the idea for the circle garlands from my friend, Charlotte's nursery she just recently finished for her new baby.

The Decorations:

I wrapped books, frames and recycled boxes in paper and either drew or cut out windows in black paper.

Gotham City:

I already had the masks so those were easy props and I made the "medals."

The Costumes:

Olivia wanted a "Princess Super Hero" cape...this is what I came up with!  I thought it turned out pretty cute too!  I used some fabrics I already had- leftover pink from a project and the shiny gold was from a remnant I'd bought at D.I. for $1.00!!! a few years ago!

Grandpa LOVED Zach's costume- and Zach didn't seem to mind wearing it at all!!!

 My three guys!!! 

Our SUPER Family!!!!

The Games:

For Batman we played "Beat the Batcave"- I hid bat necklaces all over Olivia's room and then closed the blinds and curtains to make it dark in there.  The kids had to go in one by one and find one of the necklaces, a.k.a. training medals.

For Spiderman we played "Web the Enemy" outside.  I split the kids up into Villains and Webslingers and we played a game of tag.  The villains held laminated pictures of villains in Spiderman, such as The Sandman, Dr. Octo, Venom, Rhino, and The Green Goblin. The Webslingers had cans of silly string and they chased after the villains, trying to sling their "web" and get the villain.  Once the villain was caught they were webbed and had to freeze.  Then we switched roles and played some more.  To take up more time and get more wiggles out we also ran some silly races. Thank goodness for warm weather in February!

One of Brady's best friends, Aiden who got webbed as Rhino!!!

Dr. Octo, a.k.a. Lily

For Superman we raced "Faster than a Speeding Bullet" and "Able to Leap Tall Building in a Single Bound" and used some of the building decorations as props for the kids to jump over.  We also made Kryptonite GOO from borax, water, glue and green food coloring.  It was pretty slimy so we added more glue, which then made it too firm.  The kids thought it was a pretty cool experiement though!

For Captain America we played "Shield Slinger" and knocked over cans (recycled formula cans!) featuring the villain Red Skull.  We used Brady's shield and slung them at the cans.  Everyone had three turns to knock the cans over.

After each activity they earned their training medals that I made out of craft paper and yarn I already had in my craft stash.

I bought a Super Hero coloring book for and colored the pages and laminated them for the Super Hero stations.

The Food and Treats:

Thank goodness for my friend, Jandy who came over LATE the night before and helped my make these Super Hero cake pops!!!  Theydidn't come out quite as I had imagined, but still cute nonetheless.  Jandy was a lifesaver!  I would have given up and trashed the whole thing!  We made the masks and capes out of fruit roll-ups. I'm thinking next year I may just give in to buying cupcakes at Sam's Club, save myself some time, energy and worry!

I made food for each of the Super Heros as well....

The crowd enjoying their lunch!

The Gifts:

Batman LEGO set from Aiden and Ninjago LEGO set from Gabe.

*Not able to come to the party was his friend, Daeson, who gave him a ninja and horse set

Star Wars LEGO set from Lily

PaperJamz from Cameron and a Robot from Logan

Hot Wheels set from Tara and a CARS LEGO set from Rachel

After gifts we played Super Hero Powers Cherades and then we had our Birthday song and the cake pops!

Chris arrived home right after all of the kiddos left (he had to work), but we opened gifts from our family and Grammie and Grandpa together.

Some awesome Star Wars LEGO pens from Grammie and Grandpa Graf.

Chris and I got Brady this LEGO set, a Star Wars LEGO travel case, a Super Hero shirt and a Harry Potter LEGO PS3 game.  Are you seeing a pattern here???  YES, our boy loves Star Wars, LEGOS, Super Heroes and Harry Potter!!! Oh, and video games!!!

We were going to get him a bike but he is inbetween sizes right now so we'll see how much he grows by this summer and take it from there!  Grammie and Grandpa Graf also gave him some money to buy a baseball mitt for t-ball this year and a church movie about Abinidi, which we love because we try not to watch TV or other movies on Sundays.

Grammie and Grandpa Morgan sent Brady a subscription for Ranger Rick magazine, which he be getting in the mail, he got re-usable Star Wars color pages from Auntie Nickie, Uncle Nick and cousins, Lexi and Chloe and some b-day money from GG and Papa Morgan.

It was a great birthday...and now I'm going to take a rest from crafting for quite some time!!!

Brady's 7th Birthday

Our little boy is 7, can you believe that?!  It seems like we just barely brought him home and embarked on the new journey of parenthood!  Brady has been a blessing in our lives.  He is a very smart, special boy who always has questions, can debate you nearly to the death and who loves to play!  I can't wait to see what this next year will bring in his growth as a person as he develops and continues to learn!

For Brady's birthday this year we went out to the Pizza Pie Cafe, his favorite restuarant.  I was sick with the flu AGAIN this year so luckily I was better once the weekend hit, but we rescheduled his party for the following week.

I wanted to make a special breakfast for the birthday boy, but since it was fast Sunday I didn't want to make a large breakfast.  I've also been trying to make healtheir choices with our food so I thought I'd make the kids up a fruit and yogurt breakfast.

I spelled out the number "7" for Brady's and did a smiley face for Olivia's so she could feel special too.

Later that afternoon we went to our cousins, Ben and Rachel's for the Super Bowl.  Zach and Chris were decked out to support the Patriots (but we won't talk about how that ended...)

3 months.

This post is WAY behind. In fact. Zach is almost 4 months now.

Most of the time he can be seen gnawing on his fingers or fist.  Occassionally he'll chew on a stuffed animal or his blanket.  It's pretty cute and it keeps him happy!  He is not a big binkie baby.  He'll take it when he's really tired and needs a little nudge to fall asleep.  This was how Brady was.  At four months Brady gave up his binkie- so we'll see how things go with Zach.

He has gotten SO big!!  He looks way older to me than three months in this picture below!  He is wearing almost all 6 month old clothes too!  He's not chubby, just big!  He weighed 15.4 lbs. at 3 months!!!

He still likes his swing and hangs out in there for a couple of hours in the afternoon for his long nap and usually for a bit just before going to bed at night.  We love this boy!!!

All or Nothing.

So, I am a pretty lucky girl.  I have some truly great friends.  Really, I don't think that I could ask for better.  One of these friends, Rachel and I were talking last week about life changes and goals I've been working on.  I expressed to her how challenging it is to make some of these changes and she reminded me that it doesn't have to be "ALL or NOTHING!"  I am a bit of a perfectionist (no secret for those of you who know me well!!!)  So often times I do take on the attitude of all or nothing.  This was such a good reminder to me that as long as I'm doing my best and making an effort, that is sufficient.  I don't have to be perfect, and just because I'm not, doesn't mean I have to call it quits and just do nothing! 

One of my feelings of frustration is that I never have the time to accomplish everything I want to. 

Today in my reading I in "Daughters in My Kingdom," I was reminded about the most important things to accomplish...an excerpt from Eliza R. Snow:

"God bless you my sisters, and encourage you, that you may be filled with light...Let your first business be to perform your duties at home.  But, inasmuch as you are wise stewards, you will find time for social duties, because these are incumbent upon us as duaghters and mothers in Zion.  By seeking to perform every duty you will find that your capacity will increase, and you will be astonished at what you can accomplish."

I have found this to be true!  If I focus on my family and our home first then all other things fall into place, especially if I am constant in reading my scriptures and praying to the Father for his guidance and assistance!

Sometimes I get down that I am not able to make all of the things I want to (craftiness is an outlet/hobby).  I was reading my friend Katies' blog the other day and she was expressing this same feeling.  She then turned it around by proclaiming that she realizes that her home around her hasn't changed much during the past several months from projects she's been doing to beautify, BUT she has another project that has occupied her time and has made more of a difference in their home than any decorating or organizing she could have done!  You see, she had a sweet little baby girl several months ago!  This really changed my perspective.  No matter what I am able or not able to accomplish from my list of To Do's I have three constant reminders of what really matters.  My true accomplishments are my dear children who I have MADE with my husband and my Father in Heaven!

So here are my TRUE ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

Patterns for Prayer and Forgiveness:

1 Nephi 7: 17-18  Nephi is in the wilderness with his brothers and Ishmaels' family.  His brothers and several of Ishmaels' children turn against Nephi and bind him, seeking to leave him in the wilderness to be devoured by wild beasts:

But it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord, "according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound."  And it came to pass that when I had said these words, behold, the bands were loosened from off my hands and feet, and I stood before my brethren..."

It struck me as I read this how plainly and faithfully Nephi prayed to God.  He was direct and told the Lord exactly what he needed of him.  God did not answer Nephi in the same manner as Nephi had requested (give me strength that I might break these bands) but yet, he answered his prayer by loosening the bands that they fell off! We do not always get an answer exactly as we have asked for it, but we must look to see how God has answered our prayers in HIS WAY and in HIS TIME.

vs: 21:  And it came to pass that I did frankly forgive them all that they had done, and I did exhort them that they would pray unto the Lord their God for forgiveness...

How quick are we to forgive?  What are we forgiving others for?  Nephi forgave his brothers right away for trying to take away his life!  We have NO EXCUSE not to forgive others, and to do so before the feelings of hurt fester within us to the point that we are not able to forgive.  Once we forgive someone of a tresspass that they have done against us, it is just as important to leave it there and not bring it back up to use against the person.  It is crucial to develop a healthy relationship to move forward and not linger on the hurt.  True forgiveness doesn't forget (we are human), but it allows oneself to move onward.

Remember, the Lord forgives us of ALL our sins when we ask for his mercy.  It is our responsibility to afford others the same grace.  If we do not then we are not worthy to ask Christ to absolve us of our wrong-doing. 

Seek to improve your relationships.  I know I have relationships that I need to mend and strive harder in.  No feud is important enough for the loss of love, especially involving families who are sealed for time AND eternity IF we live up to our covenants.

Self-reliance.

I am really, really loving this book, "Daughters in My Kingdom!"  It is so much more than what I thought it would be and what i'm really so coincides with my current goals and aspirations!  One thing I've been working on (and more realistically, thinking about) for a long time is self-reliance and preparedness.  I tend to get a little overwhelmed when taking on a big project like establishing a one-year food supply and want to do it all in one fell swoop.  It is very hard for me to take something on little by little.  Perhaps that is why weight-loss has been such a difficult journey in my life.  I just want to see the results I envision immediately =)

This past year I have been working much harder on establishing our storage and have made some "dents."  I have established small goals each month for specific items to store.  This summer we got our water storage (although I do intend on getting another 55 gallon water barrel).  We have also gotten our stores of:  honey, 1/2 the wheat, peaches, pears, green beans, corn, applesauce, tomato soup, pastas, jellys and jams, plums, apricots, salsa, relish, ketchup, paper towels, spices, powdered milk, chicken boullion.

I'll describe in more detail my food storage plan.  I am still trying to work out a few of the details and figure out how best to continue this pursuit.  I believe strongly that you should only store what you will use and use what you store so I am also trying to decide the best way for me to keep track of what we need to buy to constantly keep our storage rotated and stocked.

Anyhow, I kind of got off track.  What I really want to write down were my thoughts from this mornings' study.  What first spoke to me was the truthfullness of this quote by President Joseph Smith:

"Search the scriptures- search revelations which we publish, and ask your Heavenly Father, in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, to manifest the truth unto you, and if you do it with an eye single to His glory, nothing doubting, He will answer you by the power of His Holy Spirit.  You will then know for yourselves and not for another.  You will then NOT be dependent on man for the knowledge of God."

This is such a powerful truth of the gospel!  This same principle can be applied in our daily lives for important decisions we make about principles the gospel is founded on such as the Word of Wisdom and self-reliance.

No man can make a decision for another and force their hand, we each need to find the truth for ourselves and what fits us in our lives the best.  I am so grateful for the knowledge that I can pray and find answers for myself.  I need not rely on the wisdom {or ways} of others, but can gain that wisdom for myself!!!

I have felt strongly the importance of becomming as self-reliant as possible.  This chapter goes into detail about the women in the church when the Salt Lake Valley was being established.  They were asked to grow/find, harvest and store grain, as well as raising their own silk worms to spin silk!!! These were actual callings given to the women  that they faithfully carried out.  The wheat, in particular, served them well during times of great need and they were also able to help others around the world with this wheat when natural disasters occurred.  The point is, as we've been told, time and time again, we can not know what is in our future, nor the future of the world around us.  We must be prepared and then we shall not fear!!!

I loved how simply the principle of self-reliance was broken down for us on pg. 51:

Becoming Self-Reliant:

• Learn to love work and to avoid idleness
• Acquire a spirit of self-sacrifice
• Accept personal responsibility for health, education, employment, finances, food, and other self-sustaining necessities
• Pray for faith and courage to meet challenges that come
• Strengthen others who need assistance

I know that we can follow the admonition of the prophets.  I wish more people felt so strongly the urgency to store up, share with others, work hard, teach and look forward with faith!  So many are paralyzed by fear of the future and the unknown that they do nothing at all.  Don't be fearful but take courage!  Join me in taking small steps toward big goals and please share any ideas you have of organizing a system for gathering and storing your supply!

Some thoughts.

THE FOOD YOU EAT CAN EITHER BE THE  
           
    SAFEST          

&

MOST POWERFUL FORM OF MEDICINE

OR

THE SLOWEST FORM OF POISON

~ann wigmore (source: Pinterest)

I want to share a few thoughts from my study in "Daughters in My Kingdom."  On page 45 it reads:

"President Brigham Young taught his daughters to 'retrench in everything that is bad and worthless, and improve in everything that is good and beautiful.'  To retrench is to remove something...when President Young counseled his daughters to rentrench, he meant for them to turn from worldy, frivolous, and immodest behavior and clothing....he counseled the Saints to forsake the ways of the world...and gave practical counsel that related to matters of daily living.  He encouraged frugality and hard work.  For example, he counseled the sisters in Relief Society to reform their eating and housekeeping patterns.  Retrenchment meant more than adopting a simpler lifestyle; it meant a change of heart."

This quote from a prophet of over 100 years ago reconfirmed to me that truth does not change.  The world may change around us but God's expectations for his daughters stays the same (as is does for all his children of course).  I feel the great desire to turn from things that have no worth in my life and focus on what does have worth and will have lasting value in heaven.  I want to give my family good health as God intended with the use of the beautiful, whole foods he provided us with.  I want to nourish them with love and spiritual feeding and to be an example of service and love for others.

Yesterday we had our Visiting Teaching Conference during Relief Society and I came away with the great desire to truly administer to those who I have been given stewardship over as a visiting teacher, and also to others that I see in need.  My family has been given so much.  When I take a step back from all of my "wants" I realize how little we truly want for.  I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ that teaches me to think of others.  It teaches me to act upon my intuituion and to stay near to the Spirit so that he can guide me to those in need.

Also in "Daughters in My Kingdom"  the words from Lucy Meserve Smith:

"What comes next for willing hands to do?" (pg.37)

I pray that I can be an instrument for good in God's hands.  That I can stand as a witness and example of the charity of Christ.  I will make it a goal to be on watch for the needs of others and to lift another's burden.  I know from past experience that it is through serving others and forgetting myself that I find true happiness.  This includes serving my children and husband as I keep my eyes open to the simple joys within our home:  snuggling a sweet baby at 2:00 a.m., kissing a boo-boo, singing bed time songs, laughter, tender embraces, butterfly kisses and so on...  Each day there is joy to be found if I simply look around.