Our Forever Family

Right now my dad is in AFRICA on a safari trip!! This was his Christmas present he gave to himself 6 months ago. He really talked it up and wouldn't tell anyone what his present was. So you can imagine all of the wild guessing. He did hint that this was something he's wanted since he was 12 years old. Our guesses ranged from a new boat to snowmobiles and all sorts of things that WE thought we would get to enjoy also. Nope, all for him and I'm glad that he decided to go. He will LOVE it and have so much fun with lots of stories to tell when he gets home. He went with his really good friend, Lynn Eppich and I'm sure they are livin' it up. Here are just a few of the animals they will be hunting. There are quite a few animals on the list and I hope they get a chance to shoot at them all. I can't wait to see real pictures of them and the animals they got. That will be lots of cargo!! So cool!! black wildebeest hartabeest warthog

So Melanie has quite a few friends on our street her age that don't go to our church. Either they are another religion or inactive in our church. She has brought up several times while we are gathered for family scripture reading that her friends don't read the scriptures. I know that they do discuss a little about church because I have heard Melanie talking to twin neighbor girls about Jesus and Heavenly Father in our house before. I have suggested to Melanie that she can tell them about Jesus. Well the other day she brings down 2 pass along cards of Jesus and lets me know that when she tells her friends about Jesus, she will show them these cards because they have a picture on it. Today, a neighbor boy was sitting on our couch and Melanie just starts asking her questions. I really had to giggle inside, it was so cute! Melanie: "Do you know Jesus? I do. Do you know what he looks like? Here, I have a picture of him (while running for the pass along cards) with the...

The dentist. Something to anticipate, dread and rejoice(?) about! The good news : Jason, Melanie and Cameron went to the dentist today and they ALL loved it and had such a good experience. They got their teeth x-rayed, cleaned and poked and prodded at. I think the 2 month build up of this trip helped Melanie because she was REALLY scared when I first mentioned it. So we worked up to it by talking about it A LOT and waiting for a good coupon in the mail to come. I think I must have worried about it also because after the appointment was made, I dreamed that Melanie had cavities in all her teeth and they were going to take them all out and replace them with gold ones. Glad that was just a dream. But I was so nervous walking in today! Why is all the weight on a mother's shoulder and the guilt!!? The bad news : We did walk out with cavities. Jason has 4 in his back molars, top and bottom and Cameron has them in 4 of his bottom molars. And the ugly : Melanie has 8 in her molars, flossin...

Melanie did the sweetest thing for me today. I was laying on the couch, sick and it was lunch time. I asked Melanie if she would like to make lunch for me. She asked me what I wanted as I was running through my brain what a 5 year old could make her mom. I said how about a ham sandwich with lettuce. She was very excited to do it and while I laid on the couch, Melanie went into the kitchen, got everything out and brought me a ham and lettuce sandwich, grapes and a glass of water. AND she made both Alyssa and Jason a sandwich also. She was so excited to give it to me and I was SO proud of HER! Way to go Melanie!! She is so thoughtful and just blows me away some times of her kindness. She is definitely a compassionate individual and I love that in her. A great quality that I wish I had more of! She will make a wonderful mother someday...at least 15 years!

I remember when I was little of going to the Pasco swimming pool for a day, usually it was a Saturday. I also remember hearing the music coming from the ice cream truck up the road and stopping right next to the park. Of course all of the kids came running up to it, waving their money and walking away with a big grin on their faces and the ice cream of their choice in hand. I too got excited about this and always wanted to buy the "special" ice cream that only came from that truck! Well, the fond memories of that have turned into dread when I hear the ice cream man's song-It's a small world after all! Yes, it is a small world when the ice cream man comes up our road almost everyday in the summer. It is particularly annoying when I have just laid down for a nap, with the kids all quiet and I hear the dreaded music starting up our street. The kids run out with the coins they have so carefully collected from their piggy banks to spend it on ice cream that will be ...

Cameron was so excited today because it was picnic with the mom's at school day. The other kids were way excited also because who doesn't love a picnic? So I packed 5 lunches with the usual home made sack lunch food: sandwich, chips, grapes, oreos and juice, grabbed our blankets and headed over to the school. We met Cameron outside of his classroom and then walked out on to the lawn. After getting situated and all the kids happy with the many baggies and drinks to open, I smell lots of good food! I thought wow, someone brought some hot food. I looked around me and EVERYONE that didn't get the school sack lunch food, brought fast food!! I couldn't believe it. I told the lady next to me her KFC chicken smelled really good compared to my non-smelling sandwich. She said by the 4th kid you just go through the drive thru, much easier. I did enjoy my light lunch and the kids didn't seem to mind, or even notice we didn't get a happy meal. Cameron did point o...

PROS- 1. I don't have to hand water our lawn after we had the grass fertilized since the sprinkler system isn't turned on yet. Greener Grass!! 2. David is at work getting a project done (hopefully) that was due at Granite Mill by this weekend. 3. The inside of my house is almost clean and laundry done! CONS- 1. My flower beds are not cleaned out and flowers put in!! 2. My garden is not rotatilled and planted. 3. David is working at work and not with me in the yard, BOOO!!! 4. I get to go grocery shopping with ALL the kids, Yippee?!?! I had high hopes of this weekend. Lots of yard work that I can't do by myself since I need a rotatiller rented at Home Depot and the sprinklers started. I hope next weekend is nice. This is what I asked David to give me for mother's day. Flowers in my flower beds!!