The Perfect Evening

This afternoon/evening has been practically perfect in every way! :) I am one very blessed woman. First, though, a couple pictures from earlier this week. If I don't post them now, I never will.

First, this week we had three days of TAKS testing at our house. For the last few years (ever since the first TAKS test was taken in our family), we have a tradition of going to Sonic after every test. This week, we got to go three times.
Also, this week, C and I finished his Space Derby and he got to race it on Wednesday at Pack Meeting. It was fun. :)

Now for this perfect afternoon/evening: First, I actually have my kids on a Friday night and I LOVE it. I love being laid back with them and just enjoying being together. At this very moment we are outside. It is dark and cool and we will probably all have a few mosquito bites, but we are together. I even have my laptop outside...oh, the blessings of technology!

Right after school, I took the kids to the museum. C loves to build things and concentrates very hard:

LD loved these rotating sand tables. He said that he was going to stay there all day and he practically did!

K and S love the creative crafty area and were there enjoying the relative peace of the museum this afternoon.

As a surprise for K, her best friend (that lives in another city) and her family met us at the museum. I tried to capture the moment that K and E first saw each other, but I missed it. K's face is still elated in this picture, though:

Here they are again. Truly best friends!

C's finished building. He was very careful to make a stage that a wheelchair could go on and included many ramps. He will be an ADA developer when he grows up!

Tonight, we were all out enjoying the perfect weather when K looked up and saw the sun with perfect rays in the afternoon sky. It was gorgeous! :)

We ordered pizza and had it delivered (never happens at our house). It was a very fun moment. Then, we grabbed a blanket and had an impromptu picnic outside in the front yard.

It was so yummy! It was a perfect night. Now, the boys are riding scooters and playing in the front yard, while I have my laptop out front so I can be close to them. It is perfect. Next up: games with K and Jazz game! Go, Jazz!!!!

Week in Review

Oh my! I really want to post more frequently. Where does the time go? Here are some events from last week.
Wednesday, I was working on my arbor and I turn around to see this: YIKES! That looks dangerous! And here is the arbor with just the grapevines over the top. I still need to design and build the back of the arbor so that the vines can grow up it easier. Some were just so long that I could already put them up to the top! :)

Then, Friday was the Fun Run (almost a mile of running) at the school. LD and I got to go three times. It was really fun and the perfect weather. :)

Here is C: ready to go!

C got 5th place in the boys and 6th overall! I was so proud of him! He was disappointed, though, as he really wanted to place (1st-3rd).

Next was K's run. I can't believe she is a 5th grader and this is the last one she will do in Elementary school. Here she is smiling and running:

K and S: almost sisters!

K and two of her friends: K, S, and D.

LD and our neighbor, I. They are so cute together. :)

Finally, Saturday found me in my favorite place:

I should've taken a picture from the other side. It was so cloudy and wet, but just as we drove around, the sun came out, bathing the top of the temple. It was gorgeous and more than a little symbolic to me. :)

This week promises to also be crazy, but not quite so much (fingers crossed on that one!). :) How I love my life! I am one of the lucky ones.

My Arbor

I have been working on building myself an arbor for my grapevine. Some wonderful friends came and helped me get it up today. There was no way I could lift it alone!

First: I made a ton of jelly and it was also bread day. Part way through the day, I walked into the kitchen and saw this picture. I loved the way it was absolutely unintentionally arranged, including the bread's reflection in the mixing bowl.

And, would it be my post without a picture of my favorite place? I have started taking one from my car every week when I drive in. It is amazing to see how much the trees change from one week to the next. I am so blessed to have a temple only about an hour away! :) Now, here is the reason for my project (besides I love building and I love projects):

The poor grapevine used to do just fine on our fence. It now is too big and starting to pull at the fence. This picture was last week and it is even more full of leaves and little baby grapes since then. It needed a new home. So, I decided to build.

The wood was too long to even fit in my van. But I did it with twine closing the door and a cute little red flag tacked into the end of the wood!

Ready to begin:

Frame ready: The top done (I had fun with the nail gun!):

Tonight with friends helping with getting the posts in and the arbor up.

It is in! :)

I still have to finish deciding how to do the back and then get the grapevine over. The pictures aren't at the best angle. I don't know if you can see just how darn cool this thing is! I love it! :)

New Calling

Today I was sustained and set apart in a brand new calling: 1 st Counselor in the Primary Presidency. It has been 8 years since I have done anything in Primary and 9 since I have been in the Presidency. I am really starting fresh...knowing nothing about what I am doing!

It is time, though. It feels right. I am simultaneously overwhelmed and excited. I am grateful for the extra time to spend with my kids. It will be many hours, but I think I am at a point where I can put in those hours. I feel humbled that Heavenly Father is entrusting me with His little ones. I am excited to work with the other presidency members, whom I admire so much. It is with more than a little sadness that I leave the Relief Society secretary position, however. I love the sisters. I have now spent years in one capacity or another worried, praying, and loving the sisters with all my heart. While I will always love them, there is a difference. I won't be around as much. Neither am I any longer set apart to watchcare over them. I will also miss my dear sisters that I have worked with in the Relief Society Presidency. Change always brings growth , though, and I know I will be stretched a lot in this new calling.

Now, I have started a roaring fire in the fireplace and we are preparing to do our second week of "Popcorn Prophets." How blessed I am. :)

Another LD-ism

LD just cracks me up sometimes. Here is the latest.

Pretend my last name is Jones (it is not). In our church, out of respect, we call each other Sister Brown, Brother Smith, etc, using "Brother" or "Sister" in front of our last names. This morning, we were talking about another Sister in our ward. I asked LD, "So, you like Sister S, right?" LD said "yes." Then I asked him about myself, "And what about Sister Jones?" He said, "You are not Sister Jones, you are Mommy Jones!" I told him that I was Mami, but also Sister Jones. He said, "No, K is SISTER Jones, you are Mommy Jones!" It was so funny. In his mind, K is his sister and her last names is Jones = K is "Sister Jones." No amount of discussion dissuades him from this thought! :)

"Popcorn Prophets"

The kids and I have re-watched sessions of conference many times. This conference, we talked about how we needed to re-watch the talks throughout the six months between Conferences. We are going to every Sunday and do it together with a big bowl of popcorn. I named it "Popcorn Prophets" and I hope the tradition sticks.Tonight, we watched a talk by President Uchtdorf that he actually gave to the Young Women. I had heard that this talk was amazing and I had actually watched it earlier alone before my kids got home. It WAS amazing so we watched it together again. His message was so true and so powerful to old and young, female and male, member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or member of another faith. The Spirit was strong, the message true, and the week started out right! :)

"Mocos"

I still have a lot of pictures and many events to post about....dang it! I am about two weeks behind now!



But....I had to document this about LD:

Earlier this week, I cut LD's hair. In order to distract him a little so that he would sort of stay still, I started asking him about his senses. Here is our conversation:

Me: "What do your ears do?"
LD: "Hearing."
Me: "What do your eyes do?"
LD: " You see with them."
Me: "What does your mouth do?"
LD: "Talk" (A side note...if you know LD at all, this is ALL he does)
Me: "Anything else?"
LD: "Eat"
(now here comes the funny one...)
Me: "What does your nose do?"
LD: "It is for mocos (Spanish for boogers or snot)."
Me: "What else do you use your nose for?
LD: "It is just for mocos."

Gotta love the mind of a three-year-old! (He did eventually admit you can smell with your nose too.)

Oh...and the next day, we were discussing this at the dinner table and K asks LD (We didn't get to 'feel'-I was laughing too hard about the mocos the night before) what hands are for. He replies very matter-of-factly, "To pick up your toys with!"

Haircut

I have a million, no, perhaps a zillion, things to post about. My life has been so full. But, I did want to post this haircut picture. It just doesn't even do the style justice. I LOVE it. It is perfect for the coming-oh-so-fast summer. I just had to share since I am so excited about it!

12.5 Hours

In only just over 12 hours, I will have my children gathered around me, the notebooks ready, and our hearts and ears tuned in to listening to the apostles and prophets speak. I literally can't wait! I have always loved conference and now seeing my children's love for it, it makes my heart about want to burst. We are so dang lucky! We have the opportunity to have the words of the prophets come straight into our living room! :)

Precept upon Precept

I just have to say "How great the goodness of my God!" Little by little and piece by piece, the Lord is revealing to me why things had to happen with M the way they did. I am so grateful that the Lord knows me so well. I am so grateful that He has led and guided us into this situation. I am so grateful that M listened and obeyed. Why did I doubt the Lord or M? Both know me and what is best for me. I am so blessed. Line upon line I am learning the Lord's will for me.