Ahhh, Sunday!

We share a long middle row at church. We just don't fit so well on the side where we would prefer to be. Yesterday Joseph was sitting in the very middle and when the sacrament was being passed, he was not paying attention and our row neighbor Pam was holding the tray and no one was taking it from her. I leaned over to get Joseph's attention and tell him to stop playing until after the sacrament. Do you know what my sweet little five year old was doing? He had his scriptures open and was studying them closely. Well, he can't read, but still you don't want to discourage that kind of thing!! Later he was flipping through the pages looking for this week's sight words from school. He flipped to Alma and told Richard that this part was about Alma the Younger. No doubt he learned that from big sister Annalina. Wow, that really makes a mom proud! We really wanted to get Annalina scriptures for her 8th Birthday, but money was too tight with the move last year. We were thrilled to get her her very own full set this year. She took the Book of Mormon she had been using and gave it to Joseph so he could have something to take to primary. He absolutely LOVES his scriptures!! I have started reading with the little kids each day. Sometimes other family members join in, sometimes not, but that is ok. I decided if I wait for the whole family to be together for scripture study, it just won't happy. It is especially fun when little a&j remind me its time to read. I adore my kids!!

After Jacob blessed the bread, Annalina had a dreamy look on her face. I was thinking maybe a boy smiled at her or something so I asked her what was up. She said that it makes her feel so happy to hear Jacob bless the sacrament. I think often of the different experiences my kids have because of their age spread. The little ones have great examples to look up to in big A&J.

Sunday night we read some scriptures and then Richard and I and the little kids played a fun game of Scrabble! We haven't done that in ages! It was very fun!

Dining out with the family!!!

Last night we went out to Olive Garden for dinner. We took all the kids which is something we rarely get to do due to the expense of dining out with 6! For my Birthday last year Richard's parents sent me a gift card, and for Richard's Birthday they sent him one as well. We decided to take everyone out since we all got great grades last term! Boy was I glad we had gift cards, Olive Garden has gotten far more expensive then I remember! The kids all did so well and enjoyed all you can eat bread sticks and salad while we waited for our main meals to come. Even with a 45 minute wait for a table, the little kids were wonderful. Our family has changed since the last time we went out together, when Joseph was at the age where we had to be sure to get in and out fast and bring along things to keep him busy. It is nice to go out without a diaper bag!! Sometimes I am so sad at how quickly my little family is growing up, but I am really enjoying this new stage of life in our family! (while I write this, little a&j are playing checkers together, it is too cute!)

All About Adrienne

Adrienne is my oldest and she never ceases to amaze me. She is a wonderful daughter, very helpful around the house, she is a great big sister, she works hard at her job and she is going to school full time and then some! I am so proud of her! I love having her in our home. We are very blessed that she is living with us while attending her first couple years of college.

In December Richard and I had the opportunity to get away for three nights to the beach. Little a & j were still in school so Adrienne volunteered to play mommy while we were gone. She got them up and out the door to school. She made lunches, fed them dinner and even took them out for ice cream. For Christmas she made Richard and I a very special gift. She had a photo shoot with her siblings while we were gone and had a beautiful collage made featuring each of my sweet kiddos! Not only is she willing and happy to help with the little kids, they absolutely adore her! I don't know what will happen when she decides to venture out in the world on her own, but hopefully we still have some time with her here at home.

Adrienne and I are both going to school full time this year, but while I am taking the bare minimum three classes, Adrienne is taking four and last term, with 15 credits, she got straight A's! Anyway, we filled out our FAFSA's and I was certain we would both qualify for financial aid grants. Well, it did not work out that way and because she did not want to start out her adult life in debt, Adrienne turned down all loan offers for the year. Luckily she worked lots and lots of hours over the summer and last term to save up money. She has paid her own way and has enough saved away to get her through this term. I have felt very bad that we are not in a better position to help her out with her expenses, but we are giving her a place to live and food to eat and by taking a couple classes together we share on the book expenses. Her internship at Intel ends in a couple of weeks and jobs are hard to come by. She is hopeful that she can find some sort of part time work and continue to save away for next year. By the way, if any of you reading this need to get away from your kids for a weekend, give Adrienne a call! She is great with kids and could use the funds for her education!

As I mentioned, Adrienne is working at Intel for two more weeks, and has been there for a year now. It has not always been the easiest work and she has come home frustrated on many occasions. But she has stuck with it, working long hours. I am so proud of her! As my first child, it has been my pleasure to watch her grow and learn and develop into such a strong, independent woman. I have every confidence that Adrienne can and will succeed at everything she sets her mind to! I love my daughter and feel so inspired by her!

Technologically Challenged

I am having issues when it comes to technology! My laptop has been taken apart by my dear husband in an effort to get the battery to charge again. Some flaws in design have made it necessary to plug it in when I want to use it, and its a laptop, so that is no fun! Also, the power cord connections inside are loose and loses power easily which is not good for the hard drive. The computer I am using now is the family computer and it is running Linux with Ubuntu, so it is not possible for me to access my camera storage card, so my posts for a while will be pretty BORING!! No photos! I will try to post on fun events like Christmas and Annalina's birthday and will add photos when I can!

Banana Milkshake...YUMMY!

2 Ripe Bananas

2 Scoops Vanilla Ice Cream or Frozen Yogurt

1/4 Tsp Vanilla

1 Handfull of Ice Cubes

1 Cup Milk

3 Tsp Sugar(I might leave this out, but my bananas were not very ripe so I added it for sweetness)

Drop Handful of Ice Cubes into Blender. Drop 2 Scoops of Ice Cream into Blender. Pour 3 Tsp Sugar into Blender. Peel 2 Ripe Bananas. Cut them into smaller pieces and drop them into Blender. Pour 1/4 Tsp Vanilla into Blender. Pour 1 Cup Whole Milk into Blender. Blend until all lumps are gone.