The Need for Speed

Our neighbor, Dallon Haueter, came over yesterday and played with Hoss in the backyard.  I could hear really loud laughter and squeals so I looked out the kitchen window to check on them.  I saw Hoss packing the sled up the slide.  I figured I better watch to see what was going on.

 Then I see them both pile on the sled,

and slide down together, high pitched squeals the whole way down.

So then I wanted to get a closer look.  I got Duke and we headed outside.

Hoss says it makes them go down "10 times faster!"   Now he wants to turn the hose on and see if the water would make him go even faster!

June Date Night

Since I gave Sexy Farmer a year's worth of pre-paid dates for Father's Day, that meant that we FINALLY got to have a night out.

For our June date, we were going to Boise, so Sexy Farmer's parent's said they would take Hoss and let him spend the night.  Well, this is HUGE for Hoss since he absolutely adores Blue Papa.

He waited, and waited, and waited. 

After they left I waited for the Sexy Farmer.  And waited, and waited, and waited.  He was suppose to be home at 10am, but finally rolled in the drive-way around 1:30pm.  So that kind of ruined what we did have planned.  I had a gift certificate for Quiznos and figured we could have a picnic at the park we were going to, but Sexy Farmer said he coudln't wait any longer to eat because he was STARVING, so we picked up lunch in Ontario and ate on the way.  Oh well, I can't have everything planned out, right?

After a few stops along the way, we finally made it to Julia Davis Park in Boise to ride the Paddleboats.

Duke LOVED it.  Yes, he got to come along on this date.  He's just not quite old enough yet to be away from me and his food supply for extended periods of time. 

He really enjoyed driving the boat and watching all the ducks and geese.

It was amazing how fast an hour went.

After the paddleboats, we drove to the Mall and picked up my early birthday present, and then ate at Olive Garden.  It was so nice to have a date with Sexy Farmer.  It has been forever since we have done anything together like this.  I am definitely looking forward to all of these dates, especially once Duke gets weaned a little more.

PPW - Virtue #4, Integrity #2

The past couple lessons that I have taught have been on Repentance and Forgiveness.  The lesson manual suggested three different value experiences.  I have already done one of them so I decided to check off the other two.

Virtue #4
Because the Savior loves us and has given His life for us, we can repent.  I can remember being younger and thinking, "oh, I'll get to it later" when it came to repentance.  Or, saying that I've changed but not really going through the proper step to make the change.  What I mean is, how many times do we keep repeating the same mistakes over and over without learning from them?  Obviously it's not TRUE repentance if we don't STOP what we are doing wrong and fix it.  We can't change only on the outside.

Alma 60:23

"Do ye suppose that God will look upon you as guiltless while ye sit still and behold these things? Behold I say unto you, Nay. Now I would that ye should remember that God has said that the inward vessel shall be cleansed first, and then shall the outer vessel be cleansed also."

So it's telling me that I have to change on the inside before my outside will change?  YES!  True repentance starts inside ourselves, a burning desire.

Lets think about the steps of repentance.  First we have to recognize that we did something wrong, then we have to promise never to do it again, and recommit to living better.  Then we have, what can sometimes be the hardest, make restitution.  In other words, pray, confess, and apologize to those we have wronged.  I have a personal story that goes along with this, and since I use this as my journal, I'm going to write it down.

A few years ago Brandon and I attended the Temple with some friends.  As we were talking during dinner we were getting to know them more and they started telling us about how they got married.  The woman mentioned that her parents were not happy with the wedding because it wasn't in the Temple.  Me, not even thinking that there could be a wrong reason, asked "Well how come you didn't get married in the Temple?"

The woman immediatly said, "That's none of your business!"  It took me a second to figure out what just happened.  I, 100% honestly, didn't even think that it could have been because they weren't worthy or couldn't go inside.  I thought it had something to do with him being a convert, just recently baptized into the church, and that he wanted his family to be there, or something along those lines.  Anyway, my statement ruined the entire evening.  As we drove back to Vale I tried to make small talk but she would only give one word answers or would just stare out the window and not look at me.

The next day, I knew I had to apologize.  I drove to the local flower shop, got a bouquet, and headed to her house.  She answered her door, didn't invite me in or anything, and I apologized.  She just brushed me off, but to this day, I know that she hasn't forgiven me.  I struggle with this a lot because Brandon and her husband were pretty good friends.  However, Brandon has reminded me over and over again that all I can do is my part, the rest is up to her.  I can't make anyone forgive me, but I have taken the steps to make it right on my end.

Satan wants us to feel horrible and never move on from these experiences.  He wants us to live in regret and pain, but the Lord has taught us that if we "come unto him"  he will lighten our burdens and lead us back to the peace and joy we feel after repentance.  We don't want to wait to repent, if we do we could miss out on opportunities we would have otherwise been able to enjoy.

We are lucky to be able to participate in the Sacrament every Sunday.  To renew our baptismal covenants each week, and remember the sacrifice that was made for us so that we are able to repent and become clean again.  I've determined that I need to be a better example to those around me, especially those girls I teach every Sunday.  When the Bishop extended this calling to me, he specifically said that I was chosen because of my example.  That the girls in this Ward need someone like me in their lives, a good example.  I need to make sure I am that person.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Integrity #2
This experience required me to conduct a self-assessment of my personal integrity, and to ask myself the following questions.

"Do I avoid gossip, inappropriate jokes, swearing and profanity, and being light-minded about sacred subjects? Am I completely truthful, morally clean, honest, dependable, and trustworthy in my schoolwork and other activities?"

Then, chose one new habit that I want to develop.  I'll be honest, I'm not so good at some of these questions.  I do avoid telling inappropriate jokes, but not so good at telling people to "knock-it-off" when they are telling them to me.    I've also struggled with being dependable lately.  For some reason I have fallen into the mindset that I think my needs are more important than others, and I've let that carry over into my church calling.  I need to regroup myself.  I can do hard things!  So, that is the habit I'm going to develop, being dependable.  This means that I will go to mutual every Wednesday.  I can do it!

Duke - 8 Months

Weight -17.11 lbs

Duke is getting so big!  Not in weight, he only has gained a few ounces this past month, but in his actions.  He is much more comfortable with his movements.  After months of not wanting anything to do with a binkie, out of the blue he has decided that he has to have one and can't live without it.  We have noticed that he doesn't laugh or cry.  When he's happy he pants like a dog and squeals, then when he's unhappy he yells or grunts.  This video shows his happiness perfectly.

He LOVES to wrestle with Hoss

And fills his britches like this

Everyone says he looks just like his older brother, but I don't see it at all.

 He inhales food, it seems we can't shovel the spoon in his mouth fast enough.  He still really enjoys mommy time, which I love too, and his hair is beginning to thicken up.  We had to rotate his clothes again.  He's so tall that we needed to get out the 12 months clothes for the length.

What have I been doing?

 Cheese was on sale for $2.40 for a 2 lb brick.  I had to get some.  Or a lot.  I ended up purchasing 30 blocks.

 So I put my handy dandy Bosch to work.

 And now my freezer is full of ready-to-use grated cheese.

My AWESOME neighbor (I really need to write an entire post just about her) came over and showed me how to curl my hair.  I know, I'm 31 and have NO CLUE how to do these things! Hoss said I looked "weird", and insisted on taking a picture of me so I could see how crazy I looked.

 My sister-in-law asked for my help with some embroidery.  I jumped at the chance!

She brought over her machine and we hammered out some blankets for Girls Camp.  I love the font she chose.

When she told me we would be embroidering 30 blankets, I figured it was for her Stake.  But no, the 30 was just for her Ward!  That is a huge number compared to the 8 girls in my Ward.  Which by the way, 3 of those girls will be moving by the end of the summer!  So sad.

And we finally finished setting up our new-to-us swing set.  We started by trying to make the ground more level.  

Since we got the dirt from the place we are building the sandbox, it was full of tree roots.  So the kids got to pick them all out.

 

 Hoss loved driving over the dirt with the barbie car to "smooth" it out for us.

 We got a bunch of fake grass stuff with the swing set, so we laid it all down.

 And then enlisted the help of our great neighbors (Brandon's Home Teaching partner and my Visiting Teaching partner's hubby) to come help us assemble it all together.  We try not to notice that the tarp is pretty hashed.  It amazes me what people let their kids do to their property.

So now, Hoss has been out there everyday.  Swinging, climbing on the rock wall, going down the slides, and just breaking it in.

 Duke likes it too.  But the more I deal with Craigslist, the scarier it becomes.

YW Manual 1 Lesson 24: Prayer & Meditation

For lesson 24 I thought and thought about what to make.  I have to have food with my lessons, I don't know why, but that's my style I guess.  I remembered hearing a story forever ago about pretzels being originated by prayer.  So, I googled it.  I ran across this premade handout on Hotcakes.  So, I won't take credit for making this one, since I found it myself.

Hotcakes

She has the file you can download onto address labels.  I didn't have address labels on hand, but I did have sticker paper.  So, I printed mine and cut them out with decorative scissors and slapped them onto ziploc sandwich bags.  I then got the big "Olde Tyme" Snyder's Pretzels and dipped them in chocolate. 

 After I had made them I found out I would be teaching the Mia Maids and Beehives too, so I had to melt another batch of chocolate.  This time, after I dipped them in the chocolate, I poured some sprinkles on them while they were still wet.  So the girls got two of each, with and without sprinkles in their bag.  They loved them, and so did the Bishop.

Sage Farms Picnic

Sexy Farmer had his work picnic today.  I love his company parties, I really, really do!  They are so awesome to get together and just have fun.

Hoss played some volleyball with the big kids.  Then when it came time to eat, he wrestled with the ball for a bit.

I think it got the best of him.

Duke loves being outside so he had a great time too.

The food was YUMMY, the conversation great, the weather perfect, and company splendid. Sexy Farmer is truly blessed to work for such a great company!

YW Manual 1 Lesson 23: Forgiveness

The Young Women lesson Sunday was on Forgiveness.  I couldn't decide between two different topics for my handout, but when I saw this on Sugardoodle, I knew I found my winner.

Sugardoodle

But it's not my style and I had a different scripture in mind.  Then, I remembered seeing this on Pinterest forever ago.

Crystal & Co.

 So I thought to myself, I can make my own by combining the two!

 

 The Scripture I wanted to reference was in Matthew.

Matthew 18:21-22

"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?  Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." 

I loved this lesson.   It's always easy for us to think of other people who need to forgive, but what about us?  Who are we holding grudges against?  Who can we forgive?

This was the other quote I really liked, it's by Elder Richard G. Scott from his message in the Nov. 2002 Ensign titled "To Be Free of Heavy Burdens".

"Don’t carry the burden of offense any longer. Genuinely ask forgiveness of one that has offended you, even when you consider you have done no wrong. That effort will assuredly bring you peace and will likely begin the healing of serious misunderstandings."

Sometimes it seems that people don't like us and we don't even know why.   I wrote about this once before in my "building a testimony" post.  I can honestly think of a few people that I need to ask for their forgiveness, when I honestly don't know what I did.  I think my pride is holding me back, well that and I'm worried (or scared) of their reaction.  Either way, I need to move past the fear (or pride) and just do it.  And I, myself, need to Forgive and then Forgive S'more other people and their trespasses against me.

 

You can download it here.
It fits perfectly on top of sandwich size ziploc bags.
Leave me a comment and tell me if you used it!

PPW - Divine Nature Project

Divine Nature Project

Look at this............

I got the quilt top done!  After getting so extremely mad at the quilt, I had to put it in "time out" for awhile.  I finally decided yesterday to get it finished and out of my house.  Well, the fabric I purchased for the back isn't big enough, so now I either need to figure out a different plan with the fabric I do have on hand, or go and buy more.  Then, it is off to Nyssa to my favorite quilt lady to be machine quilted.  It will be nice to get this marked off, I let it drag out for way too long.

Father's Day

Today is Father's Day.  Sexy Farmer is sleeping so I figured I would come jot down some thoughts on the two Father's that I will honor today, Sexy Farmer and my Dad.

This is my Dad.  This picture totally fits him to a T.  Even though he is at a wedding he still has a little bit of "him" in his dress.  Notice his tie - it's runners.  My dad has coached track and cross country for as long as I can remember.  He lives it, and breathes it, everyday.  He just retired from being Head High School Cross Country Coach this year, but is still the Head High School Track Coach.

 We are meeting him for lunch this afternoon with my sister, DJ, and her family.  He likes Mexican food, Days of our Lives, 4-wheeling, popcorn (with cheese), and BYU Football.  He's extremely hard to shop for because he already has everything he wants.  But, when all else fails, I'll buy him a big box of Whoppers.  But secretly he hates them, he won't say so, 'cause he's just that awesome!

Then we have this guy.  Always the center of attention.

 He's the guy who didn't have to be an immediate dad by marrying me, but chose to anyway.  I really admire him for that. It was the first question I asked him when he proposed to me, "Are you 100% sure you are ready to be a dad?"  He didn't hesitate at all when he answered, "Yes".  It hasn't always been easy for him, but he has never once complained. He's a keeper!

Just like for Mother's Day, the Primary leaders at church asked the kids questions about their dads.  First we have Lilli's answers.  I laugh because I would have to agree with her when she says the craziest thing she has seen him do is "the laundry".  Sexy Farmer has been banned from the laundry after he turned one of my white shirts pink.  I secretly think he did it on purpose, just so he would never have to wash a load of laundry ever again.

 

 Then we have Hoss' answers.  I would also have to agree with Hoss on the question, "What does your Dad do to relax?"  His answer?  "He does not ever rest".  HA!  Very True!

The kids gave him a Kindle Fire, and I gave him 12 Months of PRE-PAID dates.

Yes, that's right, PRE-PAID.  This way he can NEVER back out on me, or else he is throwing our money away!  We hardly ever go on dates, so this way he has to make the time.  I'm not letting him know what the dates are, he will find out when he opens the envelope on the specific month.  I saw the idea on Pinterest from this website.  LOVE it!

Kid's Pictures

I love the surprise I get every time I upload the pictures from the camera to the computer.  It's fun to see what the kids take pictures of.  It also appears that Hoss is the photographer.

I'm not sure what they were doing here, but it really kind of scares me.

Shower Time

Skyler had her bridal shower on May 19th.   DJ and I planned the games and her Aunt Krystal was in charge of the prizes and food, which was so yummy!

She got away with some really great gifts.  She looked so happy, too.

Later that night, her Aunt Krystal hosted a Bachelorette Party at the Melting Pot in Boise.  Everyone was suppose to bring her a pair of panties. 

I wasn't able to go since we were suppose to attend a Wedding Reception for Brandon's cousin, but things kinda fell apart once I got back home and we didn't make it to that either.  Hoss and I both sent her a pair though, here's why Hoss gave her a gift too.

Since I don't wear these types of underwear, I had no clue what I was looking for in a gift.  I had both boys with me, and we were going down the isles of underwear.  All the sudden Hoss was gone.  I turned around and he was STARING up at a display of underwear.  Totally, 100%, focused on what he was looking at.

I walked over to him and said, "Hoss, what are you doing?"
He says, with a total mesmerized stare, "Those are underwear."

I figured, well, I guess he likes that pair so we'll buy them.  The next morning we were eating breakfast and I was telling Brandon about our shopping trip.  Hoss pipes up and tells Brandon his version of the story, still with a total mesmerized gaze across his face and in his tone.

Then he says, "I wanna see the tag again."

Brandon and I both look at each other like, OHHHH NO!

So Brandon asks, "What was on the tag?"
He replies, "I girl with no clothes on, only her underwear."

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!  This is NOT funny!