Slacking in my duties as a blogger!

Hey there,

I can see that I have neglected my duties as a blogger due to the unforseen pleasure of Facebook. I also have been busy with life-school, Robert and school, sports, and church callings. But I am happy to say right now that Robert is off for a week before heading back to school, kids are done with sports and also on spring break, and I will work on church stuff later today. To catch you all up with what's going on I better get started.

We changed our routine at school from school in the morning and YMCA in the afternoon, to YMCA in the Morning and school in the afternoon. That has been working out much better. Still some rough days but not nearly as long. Before January we could easily spend 10-14hours doing school work when it should only take about 4.5 hours. I was not taking time for me because we were doing school all the time. So in Jaurary I decided to do the YMCA in the morning and school from the afternoon to evening when we picked Robert up. This is working out so much better!!!

Robert had his 15 hr review for grad school. We were worried because he didn't have much time to prepare, but he Passed! So now we are looking at him walking in May and being finished by the end of August 2009!
Robert and I went to the Savannah College of Arts and Design Career Fair and he spoke with a few companies. One that seemed particularly interested in him was 1st Playable Productions in Troy, NY. We should be hearing back from them before the end of March. I don't know if anyone else does this but I have been online looking a houses and info about the towns in New York just in case he gets the job--and its fun to see all the snow in the pictures.

Spring is in the air here in Savannah, just this past week we were in the mid 80's, (crazy I know) I have garden fever and want to be planting and getting my hands in the dirt, but with not know what the rest of the year holds, I am resisting and not doing a garden this year. But I have been working on my food storage and so I am canning, drying, and putting up as much as I can (mostly meat right now) so if and when something happens with this unstable economy then I can be a bit more prepared. I am a big fan of Glenn Beck and so our family attended the We The People: We Surround Them party at B&D Burgers. It was packed, but the message was inspiring.

Well it will be just around the corner before I know it when we will have birthdays and our 10th anniversary and Robert's graduation. Looking forward to it all. We will keep you updated as things come along. As for things that have passed, you didn't miss much. We have had our heads to the grind stone and are looking forward to summer! We are working hard now so we can play hard later!

Happy New Year!

Now that we are a few weeks into the new year (its gone by so quickly already) I thought I would take this time to share a few things I am thankful for:

First and for most the gospel of Jesus Christ that has been restored through the prophet Joseph Smith Jr. and the knowledge of the plan of salvation and the gift of the atonement. Without it I would be a lost and miserable person.

I am thankful for my home and the blessing of warmth (mostly air conditioning in Savannah) and the roominess it gives my family so we can participate in homeschool without crowding each other. And to finally have enough room to have company over for some fun entertainment.

I am thankful for my health. I may not be the skinniest (nor the fattest) but I can still run and not be weary, walk and not faint, I can care for myself and my family.

I am thankful for my talents. I love to sing. If I could grow up and be anything I would want to be a performer. I would step out of my shell and sing on stage. But I chose a higher calling. I am more thankful to be a mother who can sing anytime and to anyone who will listen (usually outside the bathroom door as I sing in the shower).

I am thankful for the small stuff....toilet paper, hair gel, etc.

I am thankful for knowledge. Even though I am not in school, I continue to love learning.

I am thankful for my friends. They lift me up and brighten my day.

I am thankful for my family. I have a hard working husband who loves me and 4 great kids who know how to push my buttons, but also know how to melt my heart with their love.

I am thankful for the world and the beauty it brings to my eyes.

I am sure I could go on and on. I made a list a few years ago from a lesson in RS. I found it the other day and have pondered over what I was thankful for then. I look at my life now and there are a few changes, but mostly I see that there is more to be thankful for now than there was before.

So I challenge you to make a list of all the things you are thankful for and keep it. Read it when you are having a bad day. It will help you to cherish what is good in your life. It will help to push the troubles of today into the past and remember what really matters.

This year is going to be a challenging year for our family. Robert is almost done with school. Which means projects, finals, and more reviews. Then graduation, job hunting, hopefully a job, and then moving. I don't look at this time as dreadful, although I know these things will not be easy. But I do look at them as a time to grow and rely on the Lord for guidance. He hasn't let me down yet. He will be there for me now and always.


I know this to be true.

Brian Turns 4!

In my hustle and bustle to update my blog I failed to mention Brian's birthday. So here are just a few pictures to recap.

He got the Transformer Movie with mask. And a new transformer. He sang to himself for about a week,
"Happy burfday to me, happy burfday to me"

Just a joy to have in our family. He told Robert and I that there needs to
be more boys in the house.

I hope someday he is right.
I have all the "girly" hormones
that I can handle.

Little Time for anything else

Well hello all you long lost readers. It has been a while since I have written, because teaching two and caring/entertaining two, and having a husband at school all day (and sometimes all night can be quite a bit of a challenge, let alone keep up with my blog.

But just so you know we are still alive. Here is a little of what is going on.

Elaina turned two on October 23rd. It is amazing how time flies and for the fact that usually by this time I am pregnant with another one or have already had another baby. But not this time. We are trying to hold out till Robert finishes school. (Just in case anyone was wondering).

Anyway, Elaina was trilled to get her dress-up shoes, and purse, but not as thrilled as getting a new baby doll. She squealed like she had just won a beauty contest! It was so cute. What a joy to know that I shopped well to make her happy.

Back on October 24th Robert passed his Review.
That means he is officially in the Masters program
at Savannah College of Arts and Design (aka SCAD). This was quite a large task. He had previously failed two reviews which really destroyed his self esteem. But he is also really lucky because after taking all those classes he should be done in May '09 or Dec '09. There is light at the end of the tunnel!

The kids enjoyed Trunk or Treat at our old Georgetown ward. We got all dressed up. Katie and Samantha also attended a halloween party with a primary teacher. It was nice to see them have a good time. We also attended our halloween ward party where they had a carnival and we all enjoyed it. Needless to say with all the parties we did not go our for Halloween.

The kids and I went on a field trip to Poppell Farm
in Olum or Odum, GA (sorry I just can't remember
how it is spelled.) We took a little friend with us, Pheonix, who is also in the Georgia Virtual Academy. We had a great time feeding the goats and catfish, taking a ride on the cow train, and taking a hay ride to pick out our pumpkins. We also enjoyed the spider slide and jumping in the tweety cage. We even managed to have enough energy to go through the corn maze. It was so refreshing to be out in the country where the sun shines and there is no traffic. It almost makes me like living in Georgia.

We are looking forward to the Holidays where we
can give school a rest. But I am proud of all that
my girls have learned since we have started. We will be driving somewhere and they will look out their windows and tell me what kind of clouds are in the air. We had a thunderstorm yesterday and were able to look outside and count, after we saw lightning, and determine how far away the storm was. Katie is learning multiplication and division as well as cursive handwriting. Samantha is a good reader and doing well. Brian is showing much interest in learning and doing "school work" so I have things for him to do as well. Elaina likes to sit on my lap and color. I posted a picture of our leaf pile. We took a break from school and raked up the leaves and jumped in them! They had a good time.

Now my house is a different story. Since putting all my time
and focus on school and soccer/games, my house has seen
cleaner days. But I make sure that nothing is growing, or roaming the house ready to set up house, but I have had to learn where my priorities lie. I know that these days will soon be over and I will have a clean house again. But for now I am learning patience, learning to listen, and make memories with my children that will last forever. I just hope they are good memories.

What impresses me the most is that we are communicating better, we are more tolerant about the little things and we are a closer family.

Kids and Sports

Here are just a few pictures of Katie, Samantha, and Brian in soccer.

Leslie

Leslie's New look

Hey all,

I got my hair cut....finally. What do you think of it? Let me know.

Leslie

Sorry the pictures are kinda bad, but it has been rough lately.

Homeschooling Begins

For all of you curious at how we are doing with school, let me just tell you that we started out rough, (like anything new and challenging) but we are definitely progressing toward the more positive side of things.

Our first week was awful. 12-14 hour days trying and still not finishing the minimum. Neglecting little ones and frustrated with older ones.

But I tell you Tuesday things really turned around. But before I tell you, I just want you to know that I was crying all day Monday. I was at rock bottom. But, I remembered a story that I had heard on Sunday at church about a mother who had her family to care for plus an additional family to care for and she had to do everything, cleaning, laundry, meals, etc. (and to top it off she lived in the 1800's) Well, as the time progressed she became burdened with her trials and was very down. She went to pray and was visited by an angel who helped her. She did not know that it was an angel, but later found out that it was.

So I was reflecting upon this story so I decided to pray also. I asked Heavenly Father to help me to sustain me in my burdens so that they would become light, so that I may do all that was required of me. I opened my scriptures in the Book of Mormon and read D&C 121:7-10 which reads:

7. My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
8. And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.
9. Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.
10. Thou art not yet as Job; thy friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression, as thy did Job.

Then during our family scripture study I had Katie pick a story from the Friend magazine. She happened to choose a story about the prophet Joseph Smith and read how he is a true prophet of God in these latter days.

This again bore a second witness to me that God does live, He knows me personally. He sent his son here to the earth to establish his gospel and teach me what is true. I know that my prayers have been answered and that I can find those answers in the scriptures, through modern revelation, and through others, even virtual teachers.

On Monday in the early afternoon, the girls teacher called me to ask me some questions. As soon as she asked me how I was doing I began again to cry. I expressed to her my struggles and all the trouble I was having about juggling my schedule with my older kids with my younger kids. She listened to me cry and yell and really listened to me. She was an answer to my prayer, because I was able to get all that tension off my chest and she took no offense to it and was a stepping stone for me to leave all that behind and start again. She helped me change the girls schedules so that I don't have to do everything every single day. She bore my burdens and told me she would research what other moms are doing to balance school kids with non school kids. How awesome is that! A teacher who has time for me and my family.

Let me tell you this has made all the difference in the world. Yesterday, the girls had a dr. appt. so I printed out their worksheets and explained to the girls that we were taking our schooling with us. They were OK with that and so off we went. We finished at the dr.s and had one more appt to go to. Both ended taking up all of our morning. I dropped Robert off at school (where he stayed till 8am the next morning) and headed home to feed the kids. We spent another two hours-3 hours on homework and stopped at 4pm. We went to the YMCA and played. I walked for 1.5 hours and we came home and had dinner. Then took baths and went to bed. I even got to stay up and watch a movie, the one I wanted to watch! (I didn't go to bed till midnight) but that was beside the point I was not bound to my house, I was able to see the sun and daylight. I was able to enjoy me kids. I was free! This is what it is all about! Fitting school into my life--rather my life fitting into school.

I am a new person. I am elaited and ready to begin my quest....again. Renewed and afresh. All thanks be to Heavenly Father.

(By the way for any of you curious, I started school before the K-12 people gave me advice about the first 5 days....to start out slow one subject a day then add to that. I jumped in with both feet and sunk quickly....I won't be doing that again.)

Next week we get to tackle more juggling...three of the four are starting soccer, and the girls are starting girl scouts (maybe). Go Hagen's.

Many more changes...as usual

Hey,

We have been in a whirl wind trying to get this and that done. We worked many hours trying to get our house ready for the housing assistance inspection. So much so that I have missed Dr. Appt's. and mailing in important paperwork, etc. Anyway, I have been under a lot of stress lately and to top things off, the lady I babysit for bounced yet another check. So I have given her notice and told her that I will not be babysitting for her after August. (2weeks notice). One less thing on my overloaded plate. We are no longer in the Georgetown ward and so we had to say good bye to our wonderful calling as Nursery leaders. Tears come to my eyes as I think about not doing that anymore with those great kids. Robert and I really enjoyed it there. But as you may as well know that it is just yet another part of our life that has been uprooted. We have also begun homeschooling with the K12 program. Georgia has accepted it as an online public school called Georgia Virtual Academy. They just do their work at home.

This started on Monday and officially on Wednesday. They give us a few practice days. There have been some materials missing, which makes school go a little slower. But as soon as we get in our groove we should succeed just fine.

But until then my throat will remain sore from yelling and my head will hurt from my headaches. And my tears will keep flowing until we can complete school work in 4.5 hours rather than 14 hours.

But if you think this is a very depressing blog, so be it, but I have already learned that these things must happen in order for us to raise above and learn from our mistakes. I have already learned some valuable lessons:

"Gentle ways often prevail when rough ones fail"
"Unity is strength"

this next one came out of our August 2008 Ensign (church magazine) entitled Grasshoppers, Purple Bathtubs, and Other Surprises

By Wanda I. Allen

"I’ve learned some of life’s most valuable lessons from preschool children: to greet each day with enthusiasm and eagerness; to pursue adventure despite obstacles; to delight in new discoveries; to enjoy spontaneous fun; to regard the eating of toothpaste and the emptying of sand-filled shoes on the carpet as minor problems, not major catastrophes.

I had thought my college classes prepared me to control my environment so things would always go smoothly. But I’ve learned that when five children are hungry or tired or both, things don’t go smoothly. When I accept this as an inevitable—even adventurous—part of daily living, I can be more flexible and less demanding. When I can scoop my mud-covered two-year-old into my arms and deposit her into the bathtub for an unscheduled bath—and remain unruffled—I know I’m making progress."

Each day is a learning experience and it is up to me on how I react to it. As I began this blog entry I was down and depressed, overwhelmed with despair. But as I enter the words of the article above, I feel a glimmer of hope and desire to rise above this....and I know I will.

We have Moooooved!

Hey all,

Life has sure been crazy since our last post. We packed up the rest of our belongings and moved a couple miles down the road. It was bitter-sweet, but since the highway is coming and the car dealership behind us is buying out our neighborhood, I guess we had no choice. But we have worked many, many hours and our house is almost put back together. Here is a picture of our new house in case you were interested.

Talk to you later

Me

Trip to Missouri Part II

Friday, June 13th: When I woke up, I walked Tiki our dog and when I got back I saw my Mom. I apologized as soon as I saw her and everything is OK. Later that day we went to my sisters house again! She had made this massive pot of homemade chicken noodle soup. It was really good. We ate in shifts since there were so many children there. The kids played on the trampoline out back. I walked out there and saw Katie do a flip! It just about scared me to death. I didn't know she could do it. But I guess kids can do things that we adults can't do anymore.

Saturday, June 14th: The day of the Big Surprise 75th birthday party for my Grandma Peters. My mom and dad left early to help with setting up. Kim and her family and my family car-a-vaned to Dupo, Illinois. The party was to be at my Aunt Debbie's house. My grandma's and Aunt Debbie's yards are back to back. We were expecting a large crowd, so we thought we could park at my Grandmas so we could avoid the traffic. We thought that would be OK since Grandma would be out with my Great Aunt Bonnie. We pulled onto my grandmas street and there in the front yard was my grandma and great aunt Bonnie! Yikes.
Luckily we were able to drive right past them without them noticing it was us. Can you believe that! So we drove to the street parallel to grandmas and parked at Debbie's. I was surprised though, there were no cars. Then I found out that everyone parked their cars at a vacant building near by. We said our hellos and then it was time for the big moment. We all gathered in my Aunts Living room while grandma and Bonnie crossed the back yards. They came to the door and passed it. They were headed to the side door where all the food was. Yikes! But luckily my cousin, Anna, went out the door and asked, "Grandma what are you doing here, come in this door." She took the bait and we all yelled Surprise! And sang Happy Birthday. It truly was a surprise. Her kids had pulled it off Perfectly! She asked how they planned it with out her knowing. My Uncle Danny said, "what do you mean we planned it right in front of you!" Everyone had a good laugh at that. They had even gathered pictures and made a movie of her life. She thought they were taking pictures because she suspected that they thought she was going to die soon or something. She was just amazed at how many people were there and some of them she hadn't seen in years. I have to admit I hardly recognized my cousins all grown up with their girl/boy friends. All who came had a good time.

After we left we went home and finalized things for Katie's baptism. Things did not go as smoothly as we thought. We ended up making a trip to Walmart at 10:30pm to print out her bulletin and picture to display on the table but because I left the original CD with the signature giving permission to print it, I could print it out, but I could not buy it. Bummer! The bulletin was the wrong size. It was supposed to be a half sheet folded, but instead I made it wrong in InDesign as a full sheet of paper. So we headed home to print them off the computer. But we figured out how to resize them, but it through some of the pictures off center. Bummer.

Sunday, June 15th: Father's Day. I forgot my Dad's Father's Day gift at home. I forgot the Father's Day cards that I bought Robert from me and the Kids. Oops. Both were very understanding since there will be more Father's Day. So today the focus was Katie. You only get baptized once. This Sunday did not run as smoothly as last Sunday. Our systems converted over to Central Time.
On the way home from church I was hoping that the Kids would fall asleep. Nope. And it was about 30-45min drive! When we got home we had a quick lunch and packed Katie's bag of panty's, change of clothes, hair dryer, etc. We packed the kids back in the car and headed back to the church to set up everything. I put Katie's bags in the bathroom. Set up the display table, bulletins in place, etc. Everything was in place. I assigned my sister to be in charge of taking pictures with a list. She was busy with Katie and Robert. The meeting started in the Relief Society room and all went well....almost. Brian, who didn't get a nap, wanted Robert.
But Robert was busy. So he was in and out of the meeting way too many times! When it was time to take Katie to the baptismal font I was expecting to go to the gym, since that is where I thought it was. Instead it was on the other side of the building. So I watched her be baptized. I went into a different bathroom where Katie was and then headed to the other bathroom to get her bags. When I returned I realized there were no outlets in the new bathroom. OK. We went to the primary room. Katie took her wet clothes off and wrapped a towel around her. I went to get her change of clothes (panty's etc.) I could not find them! I left them at my mom's house. Yikes!
Luckily my sister-in-law, Tia's, sister, Julia, lived just a few blocks away and ran home to get Katie some under clothes. We dried her hair and got her all dressed up-- Just in time for our 25 min intermission video of Katie to end. What good timing. It was time for the cousins and siblings to sing "I am a child of God" to Katie. It went as well as could be expected for their first and last time though it. After Katie's baptism was over we gathered in the gym for family pictures. That was a little stressful. But maybe the pictures won't show it.

Back home at the cabin on the lake everyone relaxed and enjoyed themselves. I was a little disappointed because my brother Brian and his wife, Chelsea, took off and headed home to Rolla. So my brother Ben and Tia, his wife, and their kids, our family, Kim and her family, and my parents enjoyed ourselves. I guess I had imagined all my siblings over at the lake where we could talk and reminisce about the our childhood while our kids played and had a good time. And we could take pictures on the lake. But I didn't verbalize that so how could I expect them to read my mind.
Monday, June 16th: Happy 30th Birthday, Leslie! I had planned to spend the day with my family and my friend Heidi, but she is expecting and has difficult pregnancies and so she ended up in the hospital. We went up to Herculaneum to purchase our bike rack. We returned home and put it together and got the bikes out for the girls to surprise them. We had to buy training wheels for them so they could ride. That evening my mom made homemade ice cream and a cake. I opened my presents. It was a low key birthday for this old lady!


Tuesday, June 17th: I can't quite remember what happened this day. My guess was Laundry. That evening my mom and I sat down and watched Phantom of the Opera, the movie. It was really good!
Although, at about 9-9:30pm finally got a phone call from Monica's grandma and she gave me grief to have to drive 30mins to drop Monica off to me and a few other things. I finally told her if you don't want to bring her then you can find a way to get her back to Georgia. But I was not going to let her give me another excuse. I told her I would be at our meeting place from X time to X time.

Wednesday, June 18th: Packing day. We gathered all our stuff to pack the van back up to head home. Robert and I went up to visit Heidi to see how she was doing. We took her to lunch again at our meeting spot for Monica and then Heidi took us around the Old part of Herculaneum and showed us all the houses and streets that were bought out by Doe Run's lead factory. I couldn't believe how many houses were gone. We stopped off at a park to look at the flooded Muddy Mississippi. Got a few pictures and then took Heidi and her son home. It is never easy to say goodbye.

After we got home I went swimming with my sister and the kids. My mom made S'Mores for the kids, then they played in the sand box.

Thursday, June 19th. It was so hard to leave. I'm Missin' Missouri. It took us longer to get home. Everyone was a trooper.

Thanks for reading about our trip to Missouri.
Thank you to everyone who made it possible for Katie to have a memorable baptism. Thank you to all our friends and family for being there for us.

Trip to Missouri Part I

Well so much has happened in the last couple of weeks that the best way to put it into words is by typing it out. So here it goes (this could take a while).

June 6th, Saturday: Robert and I woke at 3:30am to pack a few more things and hit the road with the kids to Missouri. The car rolled out of the driveway just before 5:ooam. Less than an hour on the road Leslie hit a opossum. At about 6:30am Samantha said she had to go potty. I asked, "do you want me to pull over on the side of the road or do you want me to find a place to stop?" She wanted to find a place to stop. A few minutes later Brian said he had to go potty. I asked the same question. He wanted me to stop on the side of the road. So I did. Then Katie, Samantha, Monica (the girl I babysit-I'm taking her to her grandma's in St. Louis--more to come on that), Brian and all the girls said they had to go potty. OK I am fine with that. Samantha was the first to get out of the car. She had already had an accident in her seat. She squatted and went all over her already wet clothes, shoes, and socks. Lovely. No problem I am prepared for this, she changed while Brian went potty. Then Katie and Monica found a dry spot on the grass and took a turn. I could see the hesitancy on Monica's face (she's 8 yrs too) -- I could see her thinking--you want me to pull my pants down right here while cars are driving by and do what? Yes, Monica. On the road again. Two miles down the road and what would you know--there was a rest stop. Thank you very much. OK, the rest of the trip went very well we made it in 12 1/2 hours and we only had to turn the DVD player on the last hour. We unloaded the car and said our hello's. Grabbed a bite to eat and called it a night.

Sunday, June 7th: Sunday morning was a breeze for once. Our bodies were still on the eastern time zone and so we were ready a good hour and a half before it was time to leave. I wish every Sunday was like that. The kids were good at church and just with my "4 plus one" we doubled the size of the primary. There was no Nursery because no one in the ward has a baby old enough. Except my sister and her son will be 18 months in about 3-4 months. So Elaina stayed with me for Sunday school and Relief Society.
After church the kids changed their clothes and had a bite to eat and we had a little "Luau" birthday party for Savanah and Katie at the beach. The kids went swimming and we all enjoyed a little pineapple cherry up-side-down cake and melted ice cream. I forgot to put a swim diaper on Elaina and so she "blew-up" and waddled like a duck. She was quite proud of it.

Monday, June 9th: My brother Brian and his wife Chelsea made arrangements to spend the day with us since they will be moving to Oklahoma soon for Brian to pursue a law degree. So Chelsea rode up with me to drop Monica off at our designated meeting spot to see her Grandma. We made arrangements to meet with Monica's Grandma at Butler Hill Road. We were traveling from about 45 mins away plus Georgia and Grandma had about 30 mins to travel. Well Grandma through a fit and said it was too far for her to drive to meet us and she wasn't going to meet with us again until it was time for us to go home. Well I was shocked by this and couldn't believe my ears. Katie wanted so very much to have Monica at her baptism and now Grandma did not want to drive a short distance to make this possible, especially since we told her that we were going to be in St. Louis on Saturday, for my Grandmas surprise birthday party, and would be able to meet her closer to her house. More to come on that drama.

When Chelsea and I returned home Brian had made arrangements to hang out with one of his friends that he had not seen for a while. His friend, Chad, had set up a BBQ lunch get together so Brian and Chelsea went. I am glad they were able to see their friend (whose living in Arizona now).
Robert and I gathered the kids and we headed up to the town that I grew up in (Herculaneum) to check out the bike racks. (My mom got the girls bikes for their birthday's and she gave us two of theirs and so we needed a way to bring them back to Georgia). We chose the Yakima Double Down 5 bike carrier. But it was out of stock, so they ordered it for us. Later we found out that it was back ordered and would not be in till after we were to arrive home in Georgia. So we ordered the Double Down 4 Bike carrier. We stopped by my friend's, Heidi's house, but she was not home. So we took the kids to St. Francis State Park and let the kids play on the play ground.
When we were finished with that, then we went on a short walk down the trail. But before we did I told the kids not to touch anything green. Kind of silly, you say, since everything is green in the state parks, but if you only knew how terrible/horrific I get poison ivy. After the park, we headed home and hung out with Brian and Chelsea for a little bit longer then said our goodbyes till next week when they would be back for Grandma's Party.

Tuesday, June 10th: We made another effort to go see Heidi, and so we talked on the phone that morning. She had no idea that we were in town and so when we arrived on her doorstep she was quite surprised. We talked and visited with much enjoyment and then we took her and Sawyer, her son, out to lunch. We picked up food and headed to the Crystal City Park. I had not been there for many years. But the kids seemed to really enjoy it. Heidi, and I reminisced about growing up here and talked about all the new things in town, and how the "old" part of town was like a ghost town because of Doe Run Lead Company. The time went by way too quickly, and it was time to take her back to her house and it was time for us to head home. My sister, Kim, and her husband, Robert, wanted to have Family Home Evening at St.Francis State Park, so we agreed and picked-up some grill'n food and FHE treats and went to the park. The kids had a good time while Kim's Robert made a fire for us to BBQ. Soon Kim's Robert ran out of "dead" wood so he headed into the brush to get some. Out of instinct I yelled at him to get out of the woods. He was surprised by my reaction, until my sister explained to him how bad I get poison ivy. I apologized and he was OK with it now that he understood. We ran short on time for FHE and so we talked about our lesson while we ate our cookies.

Wednesday, June 11th: I spent a great deal of time working on Katie's bulletin for her baptism. I thought I had everything ready to go. Robert did some laundry and helped my Dad with the building project that was thought to have been done before we arrived. (It didn't get finished until after we left). So I don't remember much that happened on Wednesday.

Thursday, June 12th: We spent all day at my sister's house and let the kids play. Robert and Robert were able to hang out a bit and watch movies, kids, and talk some. Kim and I went through some baby clothes and then went to a garage sale where I bought her some cute baby girl clothes. (She is expecting a little girl in the fall.) Then we rode bikes around town, just the two of us, so she could pay a couple of bills. It was great I felt like a kid again. I hadn't been on a bike for a good ten years--not counting YMCA exercise bikes--and to not have my kids with me, but just my sister was wonderful!! I will always cherish that time with her. We hung out at Kim's till it was time to go to Heidi's baby shower. Kim and I drove to my parents house where I could change really quick and be out the door. The shower was in Festus at the St. Louis Bread Company (Panera Bread). It was good to see old friends and say hello. We gave Heidi some baby clothes that Kim was getting rid of (because Heidi said that her boy clothes were worn out from her boys) and Kim's clothes were practically brand new-mostly. When the party was over and I dropped Kim off at her house I gathered my little chicks and headed home to my parents house. My Mom was unhappy with me because this was her first day off and we had talked about her having the kids all day, but I blew it and forgot to call her. It took longer to go through the baby clothes at Kim's house and then we talked about Kim and Robert 's new house phone. They talked about calling Mom (I just assumed it was my Mom and thought that they got a hold of her). Well anyway. I blew it with my Mom and felt really bad about it. When we all got home I went up to the loft and went to bed. I felt like the biggest loser. If my mom was trying to make me feel guilty for dogging her well she did a good job.

Pictures of Katie's B-day

Katie had a great birthday day! We celebrated on Sunday since Saturday was a full fun-packed day! It is hard to believe she is 8 yrs already. She's a great kid, smart, helpful, and full of laughs. We are blessed to have her in our family! We love you Katie!

By the way I did manage to cake a purple marble cake for Katie. I went to the grocery store to find a big bottle of red and blue food coloring. Well they only sell big red, yellow and green. So I went to Michaels since they have a big cake decorating section. I saw lots of icing coloring, but no food coloring. So I asked someone about this and the lady said "I don't know...I don't cook." Thanks how helpful. So I went to Walmart. My sister had suggested it since they have a cake decorating section too. Well they had more icing coloring. So while there I called my mom and asked her if I could use icing coloring to dye this stinking yellow cake. "oh yeah I did it all the time when you were little, that is all I bought." she said. Oh. Well I guess I should have dug deep in my childhood memories and remembered that my mom kept icing coloring in the cubbard when she baked. I must have forgotten to remember such an important detail in my childhood. Anyway, I return back to the cake section at Walmart and they don't have purple...they're out. I remembered that they had a couple of purple colors at Michaels, but I was not willing to go back after being out and about for several hours with three kids. So for all of you who want to color a cake or any type of food you CAN use the icing coloring as food coloring. Who knew? Well I guess you can say I learned something knew, I remembered something old, and I had a happy girl on her birthday!

Katie's 8yrs old!

Katie gave me this yesterday and I thought it was great! Today she turned 8yrs old. It has been a very full day for her. She has a friend at school who's birthday was yesterday and Katie was invited to Chuck-e-cheese to play and eat. Then this evening we had a ward/ primary luau. It was fantastic! We will upload other pictures tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Katie we love you!

Momma and Daddy

(Click on the picture to see a larger view)

Happy 6th Birthday Samantha

Can you believe it! She is 6 years old.

Now I know what you are thinking...my goodness that is a bunch of icing on that cake. It didn't start out like that. And the cake was not supposed to be that huge. So let me explain. Samantha wanted a pink cake. No problem I can run down to the store and pick up some strawberry cake mix and make a cake. Well while I was there I bought the strawberry cake, but I also picked up a red velvet cake (because that is what I like). My intentions were to make a "pink" marble cake. So I made up the two batches separately and mixed the cake so it marbles and cooked it. Then I cooked the second cake and before I knew it I was making a double decker 9x13 pink marble strawberry and red velvet birthday cake! I put strawberry jam in the middle of it and covered it with cream cheese frosting. I bought special tips to decorate the cake, but when I was writing Happy Birthday Samantha on it the tip busted through the plastic bag when I was writing the B- for birthday. So now the cake says Happy Bd- SAM. I tried to make it as pretty as I could by adding globs of pink icing on the corners to make some resemblance of flowers and then placed these pretty princesses on the cake. Cinderella is "her" princess and so I placed her in front. Robert handed me these big fat candles (which I like) but we only had 5 of them and so the 6th on was a small one and of course that was front and center, but anyway. We started to sing happy birthday to her and I had the camera. We just replaced the batteries in the camera and just as she was blowing out the candles and I was trying to take a shot the camera turned off. So we relit the candles, sang Happy Birthday to her again and just as I was all ready and Samantha began to blow out the candles, the camera shut off again. So I said forget it and we cut the cake and served it. By the way...it was good. But we have tons left over!!! I threw it in the freezer to satisfy some cravings later on in the year. Because I have to make another one for Katie. Only, she wants a purple one. Anyone know how to make a purple cake and purple icing that has some flavor to it? Let me know, I only have 10 days.

Car accident, car rides, and cookies = 9 happy yrs!

It all started on December 1, 1998, when Leslie got a calling to be a Stake Missionary. She was getting ready to go to church to get a blessing. As she got in her car she thought to herself, "I want to sing some church songs to get in the right frame of mind for getting set apart." The car is started, seatbelt on, and on the road. 1. "I am a child of God, and he has sent me here has given me an earthly home, with parents kind and dear. Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way, teach me all that I must do to live with him some day"2. "I am a child of God..." crash! I hit the car in front of me and knock out my head lights. It was winter time in Idaho Falls, and the sun woke up late and went to bed early. I needed rides to work since I got off late. I passed papers around in Relief Society and then in Priesthood. After church I went into the Priesthood room and as I walked into the room I felt something very different. I walked up to the Elders Quorum President and asked for my paper. Two men were looking over it. One I knew, Darren Wright, and the other I didn't. He held out his hand to shake mine. "Hello, my name is Robert Hagen." I smiled and shook his hand introducing myself back...something again felt different. Darren was signing up to give me rides when he realized that his schedule would not work. So Robert spoke up and said, "I will do it. I am off the next two weeks and can give you a ride if you need it."
I thanked him for his kindness and headed home. I could not stop thinking about him. My paper still had some vacant spots on it. I had hoped to fill them up, but by Friday that week they still had not been filled, so I called Robert Hagen for a ride and he said he would be up in a little bit. He picked me up at work and I was starving so I asked him if he didn't mind if we got a bite to eat. So he took me to Pizza Hut and I let him order. He ordered pepperoni and olives (that was my favorite pizza too!) Then we sat down and Santa Clause came to our table wishing us a Merry Christmas. He asked if we were boyfriend/girlfriend we both blushed and said we were just friend, even though we barely knew each other! Robert could not eat, he just gazed at me. I tried to keep conversation and so I talked and talked and talked. Well that was our first date. After that I was still determined that I was headed home to Missouri to go on a mission, but that was not the Lord's plan. Once my car was "Severely Jimmy Rigged" Robert secretly would clean of the snow and ice off my windshield and windows so that I could make it to work on time. He bought me flowers and other things. I was still avoiding him, but then one day I looked at myself in the mirror and I said to myself, "Leslie, if you don't let anyone love you then you are not going to have anyone to love!" So immediately I went to my kitchen and I gathered some cookies I had just made and I walked over to his door and I wished him a Merry Christmas. We have been together everyday since then. Robert began taking the Missionary discussions with the Sister Missionaries because he had been to church for about 8 yrs, after he finished his discussions with the missionaries we started dating (end of January.) TEN days later we were engaged on Feb. 5th,1999. Three months later we were married in the Bountiful Temple in Bountiful, Utah. It's been a wonderful journey. Some good days, some uncertain days, but most of all days spent with the one I love. We have a plaque on our wall it says, It doesn't matter where you go in life... it's who you have beside you. I am glad to be walking side by side with you, honey!

He proposed...she said Yes! Feb. 5, 1999

Leslie forgot white shoes! May 5th, 1999

Robert and Leslie....very much in love...still!

Happy 9th Anniversary to Robert and Leslie! These past nine years have been full of joy, uncertainty, happiness, love, up's and down's, adventure, struggles, laughter, life, enjoyment and many miracles! I love you, honey! Here are some of the things we have done since we met:

*Moved 3 times
*Had 4 kids
*6+ years of College and still going!!!
*5 car accidents (and a few other dents) Only one was our fault (that is how we met-best car accident I've been in)
*6 cars
*pets (dog, cat, and used to have fish)
*started childcare business

Happy Birthday Robert!

Just wanted you to know that Robert had another birthday on April 30th. We thought you could celebrate with us. Shhh....he's 37 yrs.

Waiting at the Doctors office

Well Hello there,

My topic today is about waiting at the doctors office. There is always a wait. Some as little as 5 mins. Some 15 mins, or 30 mins. And maybe you have even had to wait one to two hours. But have you ever been at the doctors for 8.5 hours? Well Robert did today. I dropped him off at 8am. He got his paperwork completed at 11am. After 3:30 he was finally sent to another room besides the "waiting" room. By 5pm he was finally seen. But he needed to have a prescription filled. I arrived at 5:30pm to pick him up. 8.5 hours.

So remember when having to wait those short little minutes and you feel like the time is dragging by, be thankful that you haven't spent 8.5 hours there.

PS We still do not have the results of his tests. Those will be available in a few days.

Cheers.

Leslie and family

To Homeschool or not to Homeschool

I have been considering homeschooling, give me your feed back whether you vote or not on my poll. I truly would like to know what your opinion is.

I am considering these choices for curriculum:

Calvert (Like a private school)
Carl G. Maeser Academy (LDS curriculum)
Georgia Virtual Academy (like a public school at home)

Let's talk about it.

Leslie

Music

Hey just wanted to apologize for some of the songs on my blog. I did not realize that they had foul language in them. I have since removed them and replaced them with clean music. If you hear of any that I may have missed please shoot me a message and let me know.

Sorry.

Leslie

Happy Easter

Hey Happy Easter everyone!

We have had a sugary sweet day, how about you? We woke up this morning with the kids happy and eager for the day. We gave them gifts from Grandma and Aunt Tracy right away. They were happy to receive new Sunday dresses/suits, toys, and candy. I ironed their clothes so they could wear them today without looking like it came out of a box, and threw the kids in the bath tub. I trimmed the kids hair (except Elaina's) which I like so much more now that I trimmed it
(I wasn't real happy with their haircuts from the last time I cut it). After Robert and I got ourselves ready for church we grabbed our things and drove to church. I thought we were running late but actually arrived 5-10 mins before the meeting started. Yay for us. The chapel was full and the meeting superb. Special musical numbers and entertaining speakers made it particularly enjoyable. And our kids were actually behaving themselves so we could enjoy it. Nursery was the next meeting for Robert and I which was much more lively than we expected. We have been averaging 5-8 kids but today we had 11. I am not complaining at all but the activity in the small room felt like the 18-20 kids we had before the new year. (It may have been the 6 adults in the room that made it feel particularly small though). I was grateful for their help today.

After church was over we cleaned up and headed home. Three of our four kids were asleep and so Robert had a few minutes to finish our last minute 'work'. The kids stayed up till 9pm decorating hard boiled eggs last night so we hid those in the back yard and stuffed a few plastic ones too. After filling the baskets in the nick of time the kids woke up to dig into some more goodies.

I would call this a successful Easter, not because of the new clothes, or the candy, but because my children were able to tell me what the real meaning of Easter is--The resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I have so much gratitude and humility for his sacrifice for me. He has given me a gift that no other could give--to be resurrected like him someday.