Backyard Campfires

Matt and I were going through an old filing cabinet before we moved and realized that we needed to destroy a huge box of old bills, taxes and other sensitive documents. Matt said that we'd burn out the motor on the paper shredder if we tried to destroy them in there. I think it was just the little pyromaniac inside him that was crying, "Let's BURN them! Ooohaaaaahahahahah!!!"

Low and behold after we moved, we discovered that the previous occupants of our house had created a fire pit from bricks and stones in an area of the yard that isn't landscaped. As the weather turned a little chilly, we began having backyard campfires. The kids were thrilled. They beg for "Campfire Nights."
We've held family home evening lessons, sat and talked, read scriptures, read an adventure novel together (Return to Exhile,) and of course, made smores galore.
Destroying sensitive documents was never so much fun!  

Jared is especially hilarious. He insists on throwing papers (and rocks and sticks and leaves) onto the fire. Most of the kids have become skilled marshmallow roasters, but Jared has his own ideas...
He thinks the first person to burn the marshmallow to crisp and make it fall off the roasting stick wins.
As the poor, black glob of goo plummets into the flames, Jared JUMPS in the air and yells, "HOOOOOORAY!!! I did it!"

Alicia's Baby Blessing

Sunday, October 16th, 2011

Scheduling Alicia's Blessing was VERY difficult. We were working around 3 primary programs and people traveling from California, Idaho and the north and south ends of Utah. We finally had to pick a day and time and just run with it, because there was NO WAY to accommodate everyone's schedule.

Having said that, it turned out to be an absolutely GORGEOUS afternoon, and we are so thankful for all those who helped us prepare food, setup, drove / flew at length, and made it an absolutely wonderful day.

The blessing given to Alicia was beautiful and sweet, and she was quiet throughout.

Here is our little Angel...

                   

Matt's stepmom: Grandma W.

My Parents: Papa & Grandma Hunny

Matt's Mom: Grandma Barbara

Scouting Awards

October 27th, 2011

Gabe became a cub scout in May, but of course, that's when all chaos broke loose for our family as we scrambled to find a new home, move, remodel the old house, rent it out, have a baby, and on and on…

Well, the poor guy has been waiting so patiently for me to help him finish his bobcat,
and Matt and I have both gotten multiple 'lectures' from his new wolf leaders.
(They seem convinced we're totally incompetent, never mind the fact that Gabe has an older brother who's earned everything successfully, or that I've been a Wolf, Bear and Webelos Den leader before. Sigh.)
So, I finally made time to finish up the last requirement, called the den leaders to tell them a week before the pack meeting and then the Cub Master forgot to buy a WHOLE bunch of awards - including Gabe's. We're hoping this means Matt will be in town for the next pack meeting and can see him receive it.
So, this is Gabe getting his soccer belt loop. Way to go, buddy - you're a trooper!

In addition to helping Gabe, we also helped Zach finish up his Webelos Badge requirements. Being the HAM that he is, Zach marched to front of the pack meeting and dropped to one knee as though he was being knighted. What a nut! Now on to the Arrow of Light...

Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen

Jared has decided that he's old enough to use the microwave, but the last time I checked he's still TWO!!!
He figures he's a got a stool, a long enough reach and the food of champions... corn dogs.
What more does a little guy need?
Certainly Not Mom!

BUSTED!!!

 

This has become a daily battle!
Jared thinks...
Mom's Nursing Alicia?
Well, then I'll make myself a snack too.
The box to the left contained 36 corn dogs
and he's BURNED (literally) through them in a week!
Aargh!

My prayer...
Please give me the patience to redirect this child's attention,
Feet fast enough to reach the microwave quickly,
and may he never throw a fork in there. PLEASE.
sigh.

Halloween 2011

The Fabulous Five on Halloween...

Lauren: Our Zombie Girl

Zach: Luigi... again.

Max: Ninja

Gabe: Pikachu

Jared: Super WHY!!!! He's our Guy!

Alicia: The yummiest little TREAT on the block!

Matt: Nazgul from Lord of the Rings

On the trail...

Carving pumpkins with this many kids is challenging to say the least. I usually have a supply of carving tools that the kids can use themselves with supervision, but NO ONE is content to carve a simple jack-o-lantern. Oftentimes,  we end up carving complex pumpkin designs late into the night on the Family Home Evening before Halloween. My sister, Kelli, mentioned the she just has her son paint the pumpkin. BRILLIANT! It would be easier and we could do it earlier in October because the pumpkin wouldn't be rotting on the porch for weeks.

I found some washable paints that I thought were good. I covered the picnic table in the backyard with plastic, set paints and brushes out, and the whole process was done in 15 minutes! We left the pumpkins outside to dry overnight. I loved it!!! However, the paint went on a little too thin for the kids taste, and then it rained...

OOPS!!! Note to self: Buy good craft paint for pumpkins next year ;D

Happy Thanksgiving

I do love the Christmas season; and I even like to hear the Christmas music already in the stores 

and on the radio. However, I still think we should give another wonderful holiday it's due. So...

Happy Thanksgiving! 

I don't do a lot to decorate my house for the each holiday, but I like to do two things:
1) Hang something festive on the front door
and
2) Create a holiday display on our small side table in the dining room. It's about 1'x3'.

The Thanksgiving display is one of my favorites, so I thought I'd share.
2 twig garlands of fall colored berries
1 spool of leaf print ribbon
1 bag of small faux gourds & acorns (about 8)
3 colorful faux maize cobs
1 bag of fabric fall leaves
1 pumpkin topiary
"Give Thanks" tile and stand
"Give Thanks" turkey and harvest letters
2 maple-leaf candlestick holders & Maize candles
I actually have a cornucopia shaped basket as well, but it's in storage,
so the display has more of a scattered look this year. It's fun to change the arrangement each year too. Every few years, I'll pull out an item that looks worn and add something new.
I've tried using real gourds, acorns and leaves, and they're fun as well.
I love fall colors - they're so warm. It's a great contrast to the cold air outside,
and it makes me thankful for warm food, a warm home,
and the warm little lambs' that I get to snuggle up with.

Jared & Alicia's Portraits - August 23, 2011

The older kids would soon be having their school pictures taken,
so I arranged for a photo session for Jared & Alicia.
Ali was just 8 days old and slept through most of it, but Jared was posing like a pro.
He was cheerful and smiling & SO cooperative - I was amazed!
In fact, he didn't really want to leave the spotlight when it was Alicia's turn
to be photographed, but he did it anyway.
Grandma W was in town helping me during my recovery, and with her help,
we seemed to breeze through both the portrait session AND the recovery.
The hardest part about this was narrowing down 50 cute pictures to just five.

And here they are...

This one is so precious. It was one of the last photo's taken. Alicia looks so beautiful,
and Jared is leaning down to give his "sweet baby girl" a kiss.

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