Parenting Pyramid

I had to share an article that my friend, Marie, posted on her blog. (Just click the link below)

The Parenting Pyramid

This parenting article is from the Arbinger Institute about the foundation of effective parenting and how to use this pyramid to increase the effectiveness of our own parenting.

It's an easy read - about 7 1/2 pages - and worth every minute of your time!

I'm tempted to make more commentary on this article now, but it's so well written, that I don't any of my commentary to be a "spoiler:"  I hope you enjoy this as much as I did, and I'd love to "discuss" the article more fully through comments. What are YOUR THOUGHTS about this article?

She's Here!!!

We welcomed our sweet baby girl at 7:30 this morning!

Alicia Jane Wright

Alicia ~ meaning "Noble & kind; exalted"

Jane ~ meaning "God is Gracious"

She weighs 8 lbs. 15 oz. and is 21 inches long

She has lots of dark hair, and is just a sweetheart who looks like she came from our family mold! ;D

Everything with the c-section went well.

And I just wanted to share some pictures of the delivery and the baby.

We feel so blessed!

Scripture Study Guide: 1st Article of Faith

This week, our family finished reading the Book of Mormon for the second time. We've also read the Gospels in the New Testament, the Pearl of Great Price, and about 70% of the Doctrine and Covenants. When reading like this we always start at the beginning and stop for plenty of explanation and discussion, but we have NEVER attempted to study by topic with the family.  Matt and I have been discussing this for months as we neared the end of the Book of Mormon. We realized that we wanted to help our kids memorize the Articles of Faith and REALLY understand them.

Can I just say that studying by topic is a WHOLE different ballgame! Especially with young kids. I realized that they won't have the attention span to hunt down scriptures through the topical guide in the hopes that it MIGHT apply to what we're discussing, so I needed a good plan.

It took me two hours today to prepare this study guide for the 1st Article of Faith, and we'll begin our study when the kids return and I'm out of the hospital later this week. But I wanted to share what I put together...

Introduction to Studying the Articles of Faith

Have you ever wondered what you would say if someone asked you what you believed as a member of the Church? The scriptures tell us about the beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Articles of Faith are part of the scriptures. They are found in the Pearl of Great Price. Our prophets have told us how important it is that we read the scriptures and that we understand what they say.President Thomas S. Monson told a story about a man from the east who was traveling by bus to San Francisco. In Salt Lake City a Primary girl got on the bus and sat next to the man. As they started talking, he asked her if she was a Mormon. She answered yes. He asked her what Mormons believe. It was a big question for such a young girl. What would you have said? Imagine the look on the man’s face as she recited and explained the Articles of Faith. He couldn’t believe it!After she got off the bus, the man thought about her courage and knowledge. As soon as he arrived in San Francisco, he looked in the telephone directory for the Church’s phone number, then called the local mission president and asked questions about the Church. The mission president sent missionaries to see him, and later the man’s entire family was baptized—all because a Primary girl knew and understood the Articles of Faith and had the courage to share them. (See Ensign, April 1994, pages 67–68.)Where did the Articles of Faith come from? In March 1842 the Prophet Joseph Smith received a letter from Mr. Wentworth, a newspaper publisher in Chicago, Illinois, asking questions about the Church. As Joseph answered the letter, he was inspired to write thirteen statements that contain many of the beliefs of the Church. These statements became our Articles of Faith.Later, in 1880, members at the October general conference of the Church voted to accept the Articles of Faith as scripture.

Study Guide 1st Article of Faith

 1 We ^abelieve in ^bGod, the Eternal Father, and in His ^cSon, Jesus Christ, and in the ^dHoly Ghost.

1. Who is God the Eternal Father? 
1. Alma 30:44 
2. D&C 130:22
3. D&C 20:17-19 
4. We are His Children:  “God is not only our Ruler and Creator; He is also our Heavenly Father. All men and women are literally the sons and daughters of God. ‘Man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents, and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father, prior to coming upon this earth in a temporal (physical) body’” (Joseph F. Smith)
5. D&C 88:41-42 
6. Psalm 24:1 
7. Alma 7:20-22 
8. Alma 5:40 
9. Mormon 9:15-17 
10. Amos 3:7 
11. John 3:16 
12. Moses 1:39 
13. Mosiah 4:9-10

1. Who is Jesus Christ?
1. Joseph Smith-History 1:17 
2. John 14:6-9 
3. Acts 7:55-56 
4. Abraham 3:22-28 

1. Who is the Holy Ghost?
1. 1 John 5:7, D&C 20:28
2. D&C 130:22 
3. “Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are called the Godhead. They are unified in purpose. Each has an important assignment in the plan of salvation. Our Heavenly Father is our Father and ruler. Jesus Christ is our Savior. The Holy Ghost is the revealer and testifier of all truth. The Holy Ghost is our Heavenly Father’s messenger and is a special gift to us.” (Gospel Principles Manual)
4. “When a man has the manifestation from the Holy Ghost, it leaves an indelible impression on his soul, one that is not easily erased. It is Spirit speaking to spirit, and it comes with convincing force. A manifestation of an angel, or even of the Son of God himself, would impress the eye and mind, and eventually become dimmed, but the impressions of the Holy Ghost sink deeper into the soul and are more difficult to erase.” (Joseph Fielding Smith Jr.) 
5. 3 Nephi 28:11 
6. Romans 8:16-17 
7. Moroni 10:5 
8. John 14:26 
9. 2 Nephi 32:5 
10. D&C 8:2-3 
11. D&C 11:12-13

*The Plan is to give each child a copy of this study guide and practice reciting the Article of Faith and/or singing the Primary Song that goes with the article. Then we'll spend as much time needed each evening to look up scriptures and discuss them. (It could take a few nights or over a week to get through this list.) But the purpose of each child having their own copy is to eliminate the kids asking for the reference 10 times, but mostly so that after reading the scripture we'll take a minute to discuss what we learned from it, and have the kids write down what the scripture taught.  For instance, after John 3:16 they might write "God loves us very much." It will be their introduction to a scripture study journal.

I'm nervous, but hopeful about studying with the kids like this. I want to keep posting the study guides I create and the things that we'll learn about topical study with the kids. I hope we can make it a good experience for our family. : )

Chickens: All Grown Up!

The Hen Pen

The chickens have grown big, fluffy and spoiled! 

We had them running all over the yard at the old house, which was fine most of the time, but shortly before moving they started spending more time on the patio and leaving little "gifts." So, I told Matt that I'd like to create a large pen for them at the new house. I started looking at dog-run fencing to create a pen that would hold them well, but give them plenty of space to wander. We found a good fencing place, and Matt did a great job creating this pen on the side of the house.

I told the kids that they were welcome to go in the pen or let the chickens out any time they wanted to hold them or play with them. I just asked that they pen the hens up when they were done.  These spoiled hens had their own ideas! Their flight feathers had grown in, and they liked to fly over the chain fence and wander the back yard. Again, sprinkling "gifts" on the patio. The good news was that they were smart enough to always fly over the fencing in OUR yard, so we never had a hen try to leave us. I think that means their happy here. ;D

Huddled together after Matt & I clipped their wings.

However, something had to been done. I read up on wing clipping and found some good instructional videos and Matt and I took a few minutes today to clip their wings. I wanted to film Matt doing it, but it turned into a two-person job, with Matt holding the hen and me clipping the wings. Clipping was REALLY easy!  You only have to clip 8-10 long flight feathers on the front of each wing and their shorter feathers act as a perfect guide so that you don't cut to deeply. The hens aren't hurt a bit - it's like cutting hair or clipping nails. They were just feeling a little shy afterwards. 

They weren't shy for long...

Matt still has them eating out of the palm of his hand. ;D

We're enjoying the hens a lot. Matt starting calling Lauren the "Chicken Whisperer," because she's been working to train the hens to jump on her lap or sit. She's still working on it, but I had to laugh when she had a chicken sitting perfectly still next to her until she called, "Release!"

In July, we started getting our first eggs. The hens didn't start laying all at once, just one at a time over the course of the month. The black hens lay a brown egg, where the buff eggs are tan. I wouldn't describe the flavor as different, they're just a little more flavorful, and the cooked egg is a darker yellow. Our friend described them as "just farm fresh eggs!" The family is enjoying eating them, and the kids act like it's Easter every day as they head to the yard each morning on an egg hunt. Max especially LOVES it!

In the beginning the eggs were very small and sometimes the shell was too soft and would crack. This is a photo of three eggs we got in one day. You can see a big difference from the newest to the oldest layers.

This is a large grocery store egg vs. the eggs we got during the first fews weeks.

This is the comparison now. :D

We've been told that after the hens molt, their eggs will be even larger and better.

With the kids leaving the house early on Friday morning, no one checked for eggs until this afternoon, when Matt came in with ELEVEN eggs! This how many are in the fridge now. 

Matt said "We definitely need to eat eggs for breakfast tomorrow." 

Yum! ;D

Baby Name Game... Wanna Play?

Matt and I usually keep the baby name discussion on the down-low, but I'm breaking with tradition and discussing baby names openly because I've spent an obscene amount of time looking at them today.

I've created a couple of baby name polls, so check it out...


Which name best fits the sibling set?


Which name combination do you like best? 


*However, we reserve the right to break from this list entirely
and go with anything from the Ultra-popular Abigail to the Under-rated Zuniqua. ;D

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly of the Last 3 weeks

Not necessarily in that order ;D

The Bad & Ugly

The night of my last post, the swamp cooler at our new house died, but I didn't fully comprehend it until the next morning as the temperature kept rising. Can I just say that 8 months of pregnancy and a 92 degree house are NOT compatible! I contacted the owner of the house and he said, he could fix it around 6 pm. I decided it was a good day to run every errand we could think of, so we went birthday shopping for Max at Toys R Us, bought odds and ends at Ikea and Home Depot, and made a grocery run to Walmart. We arrived back at our new house at 5:45, just after the owner, Steve, had come with a new pump and float for the swamp cooler. 

What you need understand is that it was raining cats and dogs, and Steve was already on the roof when we came home. The boys had been pointing out every streak of lightning as we drove home, and I was convinced that Steve wouldn't and shouldn't try to fix the cooler until after the storm. But apparently we have one of the nicest landlords on the planet, and he wouldn't hear of postponing the repair any longer.

He needed me to turn off the cooler motor inside the house and the water hose to the cooler in the back yard. I told him, that I was seriously worried about him working on the roof in this weather, but he insisted.

The kids were unloading groceries and I ran around flipping switches and turning knobs, and the rain kept POURING down. As we were putting groceries in the fridge, there was a flash of lightning and one of the biggest booms of thunder that I've ever heard. They were simultaneous! 

I went running into the front yard yelling, "Steve! Steve!!! Steve, are you okay?" I couldn't see him - I was panicked. I thought he'd been struck by the lightning and fallen into the back yard, but he finally appeared by crawling out of the AC box.  He said he thought that he'd be fine because there were all of these tall pine trees around the house and then he went back to work. More crashes of lightning struck near the house... VERY near the house! Zach or Gabe would come running to me with a report on whether Steve was okay. The pump on the cooler was completely burned out and the unit was flooded. Steve replaced the pump and the float with much higher quality ones and finally climbed down from the roof SOAKING wet! He then proceeded to fix the sprinkler-head that wasn't working in the front yard. Wow - talk about going the extra mile - I don't even know what else to say.

After Steve left, the kids and I went to a party in our old neighborhood. It was heavenly. Great people... good conversation... air-conditioning... it was a fabulous evening. When the kids and I arrived home after the party, I realized that the City Utility Truck had come by... 

but they didn't bring the two recycling cans I requested last week... 

the took the only garbage can we had. 

Yep, I definitely needed to go back to the city office.

Now, going without garbage cans during any week is difficult, but in the middle of a move, it's down right ugly. I headed to the utility offices first thing on Tuesday morning and met my new BFF,  Lindsay. She got our utility mix up straightened out and even took the time to call the garbage delivery guy so we could get our garbage cans quickly instead of waiting the standard 3 to 5 business days. 

On Wednesday the AC broke down again! At 89 degrees, the kids & I then headed to the old house to do more cleaning inside, and weed the  window wells and pour gravel in them to keep the weeds out. Much to my surprise, my friend Heather saw my boys and offered to let them play at her house during the day. This turned out to be a huge help because my next surprise was a parade of contractors through the house and I ended up spending much of the afternoon talking remodeling with them.  The good news was that the garbage cans arrived that evening. Thank you, Lindsay!

By Thursday afternoon the house was in the 90's, and I headed back to our old house to finish the rest of the projects that I mentioned before and met another contractor. Matt arrived home from his latest trip and that evening, he and Steve climbed onto the roof where Matt took "Swamp Coolers 101" and came down with the cooler repaired and enough knowledge to manage any future problems. This time the new float had become stuck, but it was a simple fix and we haven't had any problems since.

By the following week, we received the estimate for the remodeling and it came in at a whopping 25% more than we originally thought. 25% is a LOT when we're talking thousands of dollars, but as Matt and I went over the list, there just wasn't anything we felt good about cutting, so we gave the "go ahead" to the general contractor and work began last week.

To be totally honest, I think the ugliest part of this week was me acting like fire-breathing-dragon-Mommy.  I was "losing it" with the kids much too often as they wouldn't stay on task or kept putting things in random or wrong places after I asked them to move something. I filled an empty garbage can with boxes of new lightbulbs and asked a child to take the can to the back of the van, but they'd dump them in the trash can outside and broke the lightbulbs. I kept asking kids to haul things to the shed or van and they'd dump them in the stairwell and disappear. I'm sighting only two of these incidents but they were EPIDEMIC! By the end of the week I was worn out, infuriated with my kids and even more so with myself.

The Good

Though the week I just described was extremely difficult, I'm happy to report that the last two weeks have been a huge improvement. We've finally reached a point where all the rooms in the house are unpacked and functioning beautifully, with the exception of Matt's office.  Our old TV broke shortly before we moved, and we threw it in the trash. We only had one TV so the kids have been without the Wii or Netflix for a month. To motivate their help in settling into our new home, we said we'd buy a new TV once the house was unpacked. Last week, we fulfilled the promise and bought a monster 55" LCD LED flatscreen - it's Matt's new baby and the kids think they've gone to heaven.

Matt had a beautiful built-in desk at our old home, but when we moved, we repurposed my old craft desk and a folding table to create on office for him. I have to laugh a little when I describe the problems with this arrangement - the laminate on the ancient desk is peeling and sticky to the touch, so on one surface it's pulling the hair on his arms and on the folding table, the arm hair is building up static and shocking him as he works. (hee-hee) I've hunted for a new desk system for him, and with his 'okay' I picked it up from IKEA this week. One of our weekend projects is to get the desk built and his office in order. :D

We celebrated Max's 6th Birthday with a family party to Seven Peaks and then lunch at our house. It was so nice to stop the endless unpacking and have some family fun.

Surprise!

Max with his new clothes, golf clubs,
and pokemon game and organizer.

The Poke-ball Cake

The Party

Matt's brother Joe & his beautiful wife Naomi had their third baby, Logan. He looks adorable and it makes me wish we lived closer to the cute nieces and nephews that are joining our family. In fact, I have two other sisters-in-law who are pregnant right now and we'll have a bumper crop of babies on Matt's side of the family this year.

My new nephew, Logan

We've enjoyed a visit from my sister and her family, who spent last weekend in town. We've attended church and neighborhood parties for the 24th of July, been invited to new friends homes for dinner or dessert, and realized that our new bishop was not exaggerating when he said that the there are NUMEROUS opportunities to meet people and make friends in this area - people have been GREAT!

We started our calling in the nursery and we're already enjoying the kids. One little girl named, Liberty is smitten with Matt. She talks to him about every little thing she's doing - so cute! And Lauren just returned this morning from her second round of girl's camp and she loved being able to go with the old ward and now the new.

The construction on the house is going beautifully. We've walked through the place a couple of times - right after the "demolition" and then a week later.  It's becoming the house I always wanted it to be and I found myself almost envying the next family who will live there until I thought about how well things are going in our new place. :D

The boys and I started taking a morning walk to their school each day. (YES!!! We are within walking distance to the school! It's glorious!) As the boys play on the playground, I walk the school track and then we head home. All told, I've been able to get in three miles a day - a very slow 3 miles and my waddling pace - but I'm feeling good and feeling better about life in general. My doctor has scheduled my c-section at the hospital on August 15th, so we'll be arriving for the delivery at 5 am.  The light at the end of this moving tunnel is shining brighter each day, and I'm reaching a point where my focus is moving from an overwhelming "to do" list to the arrival of a sweet new baby. The whole family is getting really excited and Jared keeps saying, "Is there a baby in your tummy? ... It's getting SOOOO BIG!" :D