COME LISTEN TO A PROPHETS VOICE

"And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple, that thereby they might remain in their tents and hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto them." Mosiah 2:6

General Conference brings tents to our home! Our children anticipate building the tent, eating on the carpet, and two days of pure joy of sitting under our table! This year our tent extended past those two days...somehow I couldn't bear to take it down while they were having so much fun! I think they slept in it for three nights until finally a sweet reminder, by my loving husband, was whispered in my ear about the nicety of eating on a dinner table. (I took it down the next day.)

LINDER FARMS HERE WE COME....

We had so much fun playing at Linder Farms this year! It's pumpkin patches, greasy doughnuts, and corn mazes that makes the cold weather bearable (I hate being cold)!!!

~Train/Cow Ride...Pulled by a Tractor (Jake's Favorite)~

~Amber Cruising the Slide~

~Even though Jakey is Smaller, He Always Ends Up on Top~

~FEEDING ANIMALS~

~CORN MAZE~

I AM SO BLESSED
I normally do not write random thoughts...I normally stick to writing about my family's many little adventures. Today; however, my thoughts keep coming back to me with a resounding, "I have been blessed", and I can't help but express my gratitude for all the world to see, and perhaps with this gratitude through my type...I will somehow express a small portion of my love. For my first time ever, I will write my thoughts, and hopefully reach the one man I hope to reach...I love you honey!
Part 1: Young women's project...I am on a mission!
Two weeks ago I started a project (inspired by my young women's manual) to express love to another person in my family. I chose--my husband as the prime target! I wrote washable crayon love letters on the shower walls, I made special meals, and I worked on saying "thank you" more often. Yet as the days past, I kept feeling like my husband was working on the same project, and he was doing a better job at it than me! He was even using my method of writing on the shower walls...(which I loved!)
Part 2: Our First Date
Last week my husband and I celebrated the 11Th anniversary of our first date. Eleven years ago we went to Big Judd's, and so every year since that date (that we have lived by a Big Judd's), we have celebrated by going to Big Judd's. Through the course of our meal (which we had to take to go), I playfully teased him that it had been eleven years since the last time he had surprised me. He teased me saying, "whoaaa...you will most definitely be eating those words very soon my dear...!"
One week later...I began eating my words...
My eternal companion and I were sitting at a drive-up window when he said, "sweetheart, would you mind looking at some a...food storage items in the glove box?"
To which I replied, "sure."
To my amazement, I sat staring at a plane itinerary to Paris, France (my dear friend, Jill Simmons had just moved to Paris, and I had teased my eternal companion on several occasions about going, but never had I ever imagined that that would ever come to pass...)
So many thoughts and emotions were going through my head as my sweetheart explained that everything was taken care of...he had cleared the trip with his boss, and he had the time off so that I could go gallivanting in Europe!
Part 3: I am so BLESSED!
So this brings me to my ultimate thought...I AM SO BLESSED! My heart is full. Not because I am going to Paris (don't get me wrong...that will be so fun). My heart is full, because I have someone in my life that teaches me so much about being Christ-like. He is always serving me and the kids. There are so many nights when he thinks I am sleeping, that he kisses me good-bye, and goes off to the kitchen to clear the dishes (while I selfishly enjoy the company of my couch)...simply because he knows that it is important to me. Without any asking on my part, he does all of the laundry...simply because he knows how much I hate laundry. Without any complaint, he does my every whim I send his way...pick up the kids here, help me with this, and oh by the way honey, do you think you could....? The list goes on and on, and I am so eternally grateful for this person I call my eternal companion. He is never thinking of himself. I really do not talk about him enough, or brag about him, because I don't want to brag. But today I want to brag! I want to proclaim how very blessed I am to have this sweet man in my life, and I want to feel good that I am bragging, and most of all I want the whole world to see that I am bragging just so he can truly see that I feel so incredibly blessed!
Ten years ago I sat on a lawn proclaiming to this man that I wanted to always be treated like a queen. Ten years ago this sweet man asked me to be his wife, and I agreed!!! Ten years ago I made the greatest decision of my life! I am so very blessed! I am blessed to have an amazing husband, and because of my decision ten years ago to become his wife, I am blessed to have three beautiful children whom I love and adore! I am blessed that this amazing husband honors his priesthood, adores his family, takes being a dad seriously, and puts Christ over all! I am so blessed to learn from his example!
I AM SO VERY BLESSED!
I LOVE YOU, BRYAN, WITH ALL MY HEART!! THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!

SWEET REWARDS
September 12, 2009
We have a reward system at our house, where our children earn "rocks" if I catch them being good (i.e. serving one another, doing chores without being asked...). The goal is to fill a jar with rocks. Once the jar is full, the children pick an outing for us to do as a family. In September, the kids chose to go to ROARING SPRINGS. We all had a fabulous time! I can't wait until our next outing...KEEP EARNING THOSE ROCKS!!!

~ Jake anticipating the splash~

~Amber loving the splash~

Jacob loved the mat slide! I can't imagine how big it must have looked to a two year old, so I was so surprised when he agreed to ride. He seemed a bit nervous the first time, but he never veered from his determination to ride. After the first time down, there was no hesitation in the least! We rode this ride over and over again for at least an hour! Good times!

More Slide ACTION...