All About Me

So, the Sunshine girls are having a challenge, and want to get to know us all a bit better. The rules were, create a page about yourself, with 14 different facts, post it in a gallery, then give them the link and your email address. I get a free kit for it! So, here's my page about me :)

Some Easter Pictures

Yes, there's more Easter pictures, but they're still on my camera. What with my WordArt going to the store and all, I've been a little preoccupied this weekend :) But, I do have more pictures coming eventually.

By the time Jacob woke up and found his basket, the camera card was full. It's his fault, really, since the day before he decided to take movies of silly random things :) hehehe. Poor Jacob. I got some pics of him at the Egg hung, thankfully :)

Ha! Beat That :)

79 words

Speedtest

Science Day at OSU

And no, that's not Oregon State University in Corvallis, it's Ohio State University, at the campus in Piketon. Just a bit different :) The last Wednesday of each month (well, it got a bit off because of all the snow), the Ohio Virtual Academy and OSU put on a Science day of the homeschool kids. It was a blast. They played all sorts of games about animals (the theme for the month), got to see hermit crabs, and fish, and this bearded dragon, made their own worm farm, and learned a lot about animals. Really, it was quite fun. My kids had a blast!

Happy Bunny Day!

I've decided that the Saturday before is Bunny Day. Our Easter bunny comes on Saturday morning, to preserve the integrity of the Easter holiday (hehehe), and my sanity on Sunday morning.

So, we got to go to an Egg Hunt at a friends house. It was a lot of fun. They had TONS of filled plastic eggs, with candy and dollars and prize tickets. It was so awesome. But, with all the rain as of late, my suburban (1990) got stuck in the neighbors muddy grassy yard. I was just trying not to park in the road, but I guess I got over a little too far, and slid a tad. Yeah, that was real embarrassing. The neighbor down the street had a tow package and a HUGE chain, which they attached to the undercarriage of my truck, and pulled it out.

OK, so don't tell Captain America that I'm telling you all this story. He doesn't read my blog, so he won't know I'm telling stories about him :)

Later that day, we went to Boy Scout camp to get the rest of our stuff from their storage shed. See, when we first moved to Ohio, we stayed at camp for 2 months, thinking our house would sell. Well, the house didn't sell, and we decided to get a rental. ANYWAY, it was quite muddy out there too, and I told Captain America that we should park on the gravel part, and not try and take the truck and trailer up by the cabin.

But, did he listen? Nope. He drove straight up by the cabin, and got us stuck in the mud. Guess what? No men with trucks and tow cables to get us out this time! So, we had to take the trailer off the truck, and push it down the slight hill (very muddy) without letting it get away and roll WAY down the hill. We managed, but my poor white jacket didn't. Note to self: don't wear white to Boy Scout camp.

Eventually, we did get the truck un-stuck. Then, it was off to to the storage garage. Some very nice friends here in Ohio have a piece of propery out in the country with a nice 2 car garage on it, that they've let us keep our stuff in. And guess what. The ground looked a little wet. Captain America sent me out to look and see if it was muddy. Yes, I tell him. It looks muddy. So, he decideds to try it anyway. And guess what? We get stuck again! More unhooking of the trailer, and more trying to put rocks, or sticks, or stuff under the wheels as leverage, and we're unstuck again.

Goodness, what a day. It was crazy, but we did have a lot of fun.

Happy Bunny Day to all!!!

My Talk in Church on Easter Sunday

OK, I know that you are all SOOOO disappointed that you won't get to hear me talk at church this Sunday, and that you're so sorry that you can't come and sit with my kids while I talk (yeah, that should be fun), so I decided that, being the nice and kind person that I am, that I would post my talk on the internet so that you wouldn't miss out! It's taken from the most recent Ensign (the one all about Christ) from the talk of Jeffrey R Holland. Enjoy!!!

Elder Jeffrey R Holland, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said:

“The Atonement of the Only Begotten Son of God is the crucial foundation upon which all Christian doctrine rests and the greatest expression of divine love this world has ever been given.”

The Bishopric has asked me to talk about the Jeffrey R Holland’s Ensign article about the Atonement of Jesus Christ today. He starts by telling of an experience from Elder Orson F Whitney, who later went on to become a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. When Elder Whitney was a young missionary, he had a dream.

In it, he dreamt that he was in the Garden of Gethsemane. He witnessed the Saviors agony and his interactions with Peter, James, and John. He explained how Jesus left Peter, James, and John, and went a little ways off to pray.

He says, “As He prayed, the tears streamed down His face, which was turned toward me. I was so moved at the sight that I wept also, out of pure sympathy with His great sorrow. My whole heart went out to Him. I loved Him with all my soul and longed to be with Him as I longed for nothing else.”

He goes on to explain that after Jesus was done praying, He arose and went to see his Apostles, who were sleeping. He awoke them, tenderly reproached them, and asked them again to watch and wait for him. He again went and prayed, and again came back to find them asleep. This happened three times.

Next, he says, the scene changed, and he saw the Savior and those same 3 apostles after the Crucifixion, as they were about to ascend into heaven. He described wanting to go with the Savior into heaven, and running to him, catching him in an embrace. The Savior told him that he could not go with him, because Elder Whitney still had work to do.

Elder Whitney said “Well, promise me that I will come to You at the last.” The Lord smiled and said “That will depend entirely upon yourself.” He awoke after that.

What a great dream that must have been to have, to see the Savior, to experience being in his presence. And also, how sad it must have been for Elder Whitney to see the Savior in so much pain and agony. I know, from being a mother, that it’s extremely hard to watch my children when they are hurting. I always want to take away the hurt, and make them feel better. I can’t even begin to comprehend what Elder Whitney must have experienced.

The Atonement is so very important. Elder Holland’s says “Every other principle, commandment, and virtue of the restored gospel draws its significance form this pivotal event”. How true that it! Without the Atonement, nothing else could work.

The literal meaning of the word Atonement is – at-one-ment, or bringing together the things which have been separated or estranged.

When Adam transgressed the law, two kinds of death were in effect. First, physical death, when the body is separated from the spirit at death. Second, spiritual death, when the spirit is separated from the presence of our Heavenly Father.

In the Council in Heaven, we knew that this would be the case, and we knew that something would have to be done to overcome it, or bring those things which were separated back together – the Atonement. Christ volunteered to be our Savior, and help us all come back to our Father in Heaven.

Elder Holland explains the following about the gifts of Christ Atonement :

“Some gifts coming from the Atonement are universal, infinite, and unconditional. These include His ransom for Adam’s original transgression so that no member of the human family is held responsible for that sin. Another universal gift is the Resurrection from the dead of every man, woman, and child who lives, has ever lived, or will ever live on earth.”

These are the “free”, on our part at least, gifts from the Savior. There is nothing that we need to do in order to enjoy them.

While we are given exclusion from Adams original sin, we are not “let off the hook” for our own sins. The effect of Christ’s Atonement cannot help us unless we repent, follow him, and pledge our lives to him.

Doctrine & Covenants 19:16-17 says : “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I.”

What a great gifts the Savior has given to us. We now have a way to return to live with out Father in Heaven. But, we must do our part. We must repent when we make mistakes, and try our best to follow him.

Christ suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane for us, and he was the Only one who could do it. Christ suffered the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam. He experienced “temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great was his anguish.

Christ suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane for all of us. For each of us. Each individual, and all of their pain. All of their hurt. All of our sufferings. He experienced it all. He knows what we feel like when we are hurting. He has already paid for all of that pain.

Elder Holland concludes the article by once more quoting from Elder Whitney, then adding his owns thoughts :

I was so moved at the gift that I wept…out of pure sympathy. My whole ehart went out to Him. I loved Him with all my soul and longed to be with Him as I longed for nothing else”. Having already offered the Atonement in our behalf, Christ has done His part to make that longing a reality. The rest will depend entirely upon ourselves.

I really enjoyed this article from the Ensign, and am glad that the Bishopric assigned me to talk about it. I know that sometimes I forget about all that the Savior went through for me. How he suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, how terrible that must have been. It makes me want to be better, and to try each day to do the things that are right. I hope that each one of us can try harder each day to take advantage of the Atonement, and of all that our Savior has done for us.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

RS B-Day Party

Here's a few pics from the RS B-day party a week ago Wednesday. I haven't downloaded any pics recently, and have been a bad blogger on this blog. Now, my other blog is updated daily, but sometimes this one falls between the cracks of everything else :)

The New First Presidency Picture

Maylee's Birthday Party

What a clever idea! It was a slumber party, but the kids went home at the end. They came in their jammies, and brought their favorite stuffed animal. So cute. They made these sleeping masks when they first arrived, then played some fun games. Here they are listening to Maylee's favorite story on tape, and eating popcorn.

They had corn dogs and fruit with dip, and veggies with dip, and brownines and ice cream. Yummy! They opened presents, had an egg hunt, and the older brothers and I even got to play bowling (on the Wii). All in all, it was a great time!

Maylee is the little girl in the pink princess jammies.

Cub Scout Blue and Gold, Take 3

So here it is, we finally got to go to the Blue and Gold! It was moved because of the school's Parent Teacher Conference, then postponed because of the flooding, but we finally had it last Tuesday! It really was a lot of fun.

Hey, I don't look so fat in this picture! Maybe I should wear this shirt more often. hehehe

Lori promised the cub scouts that the kid who sold the most popcorn could throw a pie in her face. Hehehe, how funny :)

Joe and Eme, waiting for the FOOD!!!

Jacob and Thomas earned the beltloops for Chess and Marbles. Way to go, boys!

More Pics

Both of these pics are from past civil war reenactments. I'm trying to get all geared up for another season. But, since I've gained so much weight, my dresses don't fit. I need to lose a few lbs before my corset will tie around me. fun times :)

Kit by Mixed Nuts (Kay Miller and Mary Fran) - Happily Ever After

WordArt by ME!

Kit by Scrap Sylvie - Blue Tanger 2
WordArt by ME!

Fun Pictures

Blogger was being screwy tonight. The good news is, you can see the pictures. The bad news is, if you click on the pictures, you can't see them larger, it just wants you to download them. So, if you don't want to download them, don't click on them :)

Kit by Shabby Princess - Festival
WordArt by ME!

Kit by Raspberry Roads Design - Easy Rider
WordArt by ME!

Kit by MGL - Somewhere Else
WordArt by ME!

My Cute Kids!

Aren't these cute?! I just loved them :) The second and third layout uses elements from Scrap Shana, who so graciously let me have a kit from her store as a thank you for the WordArt. It just made my day. Thanks so much, Shana!

Kit by MGL Scraps
WordArt by ME!

Kit by Scrap Shana
WordArt by ME!

Kit by Scrap Shana
WordArt by ME!

Jaba The Hut!

Snowman? Nah, not for us! Let's make Jaba the Hut. Can you believe that the little man across the street didn't know Star Wars? Who doesn't know about Star Wars? Weird :)

Random Pictures from March

Has there really one been 7 days in March? Really? It seems like a lot longer than that. Crazy! Time sure does fly!
Wow, you can see the kids uvula!

This is called being resourceful! They were playing Marco Polo, and used Jimmy's jeans for a bandana. Nice :)

Here they are on voting day. Yes, I took all the kids to vote. They thought it was a lot of fun, but were a wee disappointed in mom for not voting for Ron Paul for dad. Sorry dad. Poor little Jimmy had just woken up, and was in no mood for picture time.

Yeah, not quite sure why he wanted a goofy picture of himself, but goofy it sure is!

Captain America broght the kids all back an Arizona souviner. It's a scorpion as a paper weight. The boys think they're the coolest thing ever (Tom uses his as a good luck charm for school...whatever), but Emeline wasn't quite sure. I agree with Eme. Kinda nasty. The pink glitter helped a bit :)

Ella is ADORABLE!

Button by Ellie Lash - Love Actually
Flower by Free Digital Scrapbooking - Girly Girl
Papers and Ribbon my ME!
WordArt by ME!


Kit by Rosemade Designs
WordArt by ME!

Joe and the Car

Tonight when we went to Wal-mart to pick up the first of many of Emeline's antibiotics, Joe and I were trying to cross the parking lot without getting ran over.

Joe, watch out, those cars will run you over, I said

No mom, I'll just jump over them.

But they are big, Joe.

Mom, I don't have getting run over skills. Just running over cars skill. I'll just jump on it and run over it.

Emeline Update

OK, so here's the deal with Eme. Remember how her hands (knuckle joints) were swelling a few weeks ago, right after having strep. Well, she had what's called Post Strep Reactive Arthritis. After doing blood work and a urinalisis, the determined that there were still Strep "footprints" in her system. The best bet to beat this thing is to be Strep free for 1 year. So, she's on daily antibiotics (twice) for 1 year. That should be fun. But, I must say, it's better than the alternative, which is getting rheumatic fever, which we really don't want.

She's gonna go back to Childrens' hospital in Columbus for an echiocardiogram (like an ultrasound of your heart), to make sure the Strep still in her system hasn't hurt her heart. She seems healthy and normal to me, so I'm sure her heart will be just fine.

So, that's her update. She's feeling fine and healthy and doing great in school, just can't get sick for a while. So, while the rest of us are fighting off the bacteria (or catching them), she'll be fit as a fiddle, and germ free, for 1 year!

Lydia is Moving to.......

Detroit! Can you believe it? It's only 5 hours from my house. I'm so excited to have "family" close. Who would have thought, my friend who lived the farthest from me, would move the closest! I'm so totally stoked!

Grandparent

So last week, Emeline was learning about her family, and we were talking about grandparent. I asked her what a grandarent was, and she thought about it for quite a while. She said "Grandparents are very old people that died.......no, they're just old. " So funny Eme! Thanks.

Harty Family and Hay Rides

Just two more layouts to show you all. Aren't Jacob and Thomas so cute! This was taken in 06, and they're so little! They're such young men now!

Kit by Scrapbook Sylvie - Boreal
WordArt by ME!

Kit by Shabby Princess - Kristy

WordArt by ME!

For the Bishops Quilt

Is this what you had in mind? I like the plain text wrapped around. The fancy one is a bit distracting, don't you think?