birthday and silk

Doodle enjoyed a very happy birthday.  We all enjoy Doodle's birthday.  It is always such great fun.  As she turns 5 we are looking forward learning to ride a bike.  She

 sees no reason to give up the tricycle, even with a new bike.  It is going to take some encouragement.  Our day started with her favorite cold cereal for breakfast.  Mr. O was hoping for the 4th of July Legend breakfast, oh well.

Hot dogs for lunch and chocolate cake with sprinkles evolves into a great bbq with family and friends. 

Birthday wishes on the phone are a great plus to the day

The boys helped me dye these playsilks.  They are a lot of phone.  I can't wait to see the different ways they will be used.

We had personal connections with Uncle Sam this year.  We enjoyed the egg toss, 3 leg race, running races, and other park fun.

Doodle at five loves to help in the kitchen. play with friends.  She is learning to clean her room herself and is very independent.  She is very good at drawing and likes learning to write letters and numbers.  She loves primary and is an amazing sister and aunt.

We used theses silks

And then dyed them fun colors with koolaid by following these instructions for dying play silks

Papa's Wife

Warm and delightful.  Old fashion words for a very sweet book.  I love feel good books.  This book speaks of love, faith, devotion, and trust.  Mama is strong but supportive.  Her faith carries her through everything.  She considers it an honor to be married to a minister.  She does her part well and honors his part too.  Everything doesn't always go her way but with her simple faith she trusts God and knows it will all work out.

Life was made up of joy and sorrow--balanced measures of each--so that you appreciated the joy more because of the dark hours. Like dark strands woven with the threads of gold in a fine tapestry, but to which, at the time of weaving, you were too close to understand its values.

Pageant 2011

This is what we do with June.  It is a beautiful month of yard work, planting a garden, cleaning and fixing up the house.  All these projects have to fit around pageant.  This year we were pioneers, stage crew, and in the Christ in American scene.  I didn't get pictures this year so I have those others have shared with me.  Nina was Mary and Tall One was the Angel Moroni both in Joseph's room and on the hill.  We loved the whole experience. . . again.

One night while we were cleaning up the kitchen and my girls were home, I stepped on an angry bee.  He got my second toe.  Wow, did that hurt.  I was not going to wander around the hillside so my amazing daughter who seems to be willing to do anything cheerfully offered to take her 6 week old baby with my little ones and do our part.  Of course, she and little T did great.  He has got to be the youngest participant this year.  To bad we had to sneak him on.

This year Doodle got to go up on Jesus knee when he called the little ones to come unto him.  With the need to spread out on the hill my children were often near the outskirts of the circle of children.  We didn't know until someone else told us that nightly Jesus was truly teaching the children.  Well the night she sat on his lap, she got to be taught by him.  It was a very great experience.  Those last few nights they tried to get closer but never could quite hear the messages the savior brought.  I can't tell you the joy that comes in those short moments as we depict the Savior's coming to the people on this continent.  The spirit is so strong and sweet and bears testimony to our hearts that this event really did happen and we get to taste a little of the joy that those people who were really there experienced.  I can't help but think with Doodle's experience that we truly don't always know what we are missing (being able to hear Jesus).  Then we are given a gift, a surprise that allows us to experience a little more of the Savior's love, and the seed is planted. We want to see it grow.  We work harder to feel it all again.  We remember it fondly and treasure those whisperings.  We realize that we don't always get to be the one in the spotlight, we have to take turns, but it is what we do with our experiences that matter.  We let that seed grow and lead us to more opportunities, more effort, work, and time spent to strengthen and bless our own testimony and that of others.

Thankful:

• Tall One's surgery went well.  Only one more
• rain yesterday, sun today
• Independence, freedom, and celebrating
• family barbeques
• tender mercies
• quiet teachings
• community involvement
• youth conference
• fresh garden lettuce
• our new car/project arrived

Free time

I love free time.  Some time ago we put away legos, lincoln logs, train sets, nerf guns, doll houses with furniture, and encouraged making your own play, spending time outdoors, being creative with your free time.  It has gone really well.  The kids are so much faster at tidying their room and spending time outside in any kind of weather.  They continue to enjoy the part of our yard that is filled with rocks, logs, weeds, dirt, and junk.  It is here that they feel free to organize this chaos into something they like and look what evolved.

 They use to just stand up logs and skip a roof. This year they discovered flat boards, hammer, nails, and a hand saw.  Ike dug holes for the posts and built this great 2 story play house/hut.

 Chillin' on the front porch

 do upstairs

and even brought in the mud fireplace from last years building.  I am thrilled with the things they are learning as they use real tools, experiment, and then enjoy their creations.

angel moments

1. Nina has come to stay with us for pageant. She is a talented, energetic, hard working young lady that is loving playing the part of Mary in our pageant.  Last night her family was able to come see her perform.  In the show Mary dies while crossing the plains.  Later when her husband, Robert is killed by an arrow, Mary comes to guide him to heaven.  It is a beautiful scene in which the two of them walk up the stairs and are greeted by others in white representing family, etc.  We were able to get hold of her parents in Louisiana and continue the tradition of having family there to greet Robert and Mary as they ascend to heaven.  It was an incredible, happy surprise for Nina to find her own parents there to greet her dressed in white.  I understand there were many tears of joy shared.
2. Once again the rain was quite steady yesterday but the performance was dry and just a little cool.
3.  Elder Ellis spoke to us.
4. Sunshine got a nap while waiting for our turn on stage.
5. Someone shared their blanket with us.
6.  Tall One returned home safe and just a bit shook up after having survived this:

 He over corrected, fish tailed, lost control and rolled the truck landing here.  He was not injured and had his bike in the back.  He rode it home to get help.  They are still working on getting it out of that ditch with a really big fork/lift/loader thingy.  Please don't tell Peter.  We will let Tall One do that.

So I am feeling incredibly grateful for angels watching over us as one way that the Lord desires to teach me, humble me, and strengthen me seems to be through having my children involved in accidents.  You could say that they are not careful but that is just not true.  You could say that Satan is trying to stop the work they are called to do, he will  not succeed.  You could say that God has promised he can make all things work for our good, that I believe.  The truck is totaled.  The challenges continue and through them the lessons, opportunities and blessings.  Through the little treasures and the celestial moments when those things of greatest importance are once again treasured I feel to thank my Heavenly Father for his love and watchful care.

"Always there are those angels who come and go all around us, seen and unseen, known and unknown, mortal and immortal."

Always there is one we can count on, one who loves us, one who sees us through.  I will continue to trust in Him, and thank him for angels.  Truly each day is a miracle and a gift.

 "And whoso ^areceiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go^bbefore your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my ^cSpirit shall be in your hearts, and mine ^dangels round about you, to bear you up."  Doctrine and Covenants 84:88 

little treasures

Pageant season began with our dress rehearsal last night performing for more than 2000 people.  It rained right before and a little bit during our outdoor performance.  There was wild lightning and thunder a couple of hours before.  We listened to a sweet message from Elder Richards and his wife while huddling under umbrellas for our opening devotional.  We performed on the hill without rain and we stayed warm.  It was a blessing.

Elder Richards and his wife talked about making this experience everything it can be.  Treasuring the moments with our families as we work to share the gospel message of the restoration of Christ's church.  Sister Richards said to record the sweet memories and experiences.  Elder Richards suggested studying the people we are portraying.  We have such an amazing pageant leadership who are always looking for ways to bring the spirit to each performance and performer.  We are given scriptures to read daily to go along with a theme.  This year it is obedience.  It is wonderful to have this reminder forefront in wanting to be more obedient.  Emily shared her recent experience as she serves the Lord full time in S. American:

Tuesday I had another awesome experience with prayer. We always pray before leaving the house as a companionship. Hna THorpe prayed, and asked that we would be able to find someone to serve. We left the house - on time (Important to be obedient if we want blessings) and were waiting for a bus. This lady walked by and we greeted her with a hardy buenas dìas! and then we saw she was carrying two super heavy grocery bags. We ran over and helped carry them to her house. She invited us in and we were able to teach her and get to know her, and I have high hopes that she`s going to progress.But it was amazing to see how fast Heavenly Father answers our prayers. We pray, we show our obedience, and Heavenly Father POURS out His blessings on us.

 I had been attending rehearsals rather grudgingly.  I kept going for my kids-to be an example but not enjoying it.  I realized my rotten attitude and sought to change it.  We tried to be on time, do our part well, and control my thoughts.  Little blessings were immediate.  I have felt the spirit, I have met really nice people and visited with friends, spent time with my kids, and enjoyed already some of the blessings of the work.  Today is is raining.  Not ideal weather but I feel strengthened in that I am ready to be there and do what is required regardless of the weather.  We have an important work to do.  We are part of a greater work-the work of teaching my children to serve, follow through, trust in God, and do hard things.  We might even be a help to others feeling the spirit witness truth and have our own testimonies nurtured.

We are all involved in pageant.  I am hoping to record some of the little treasures along the way.  This is only a short season and we will make the most of it.

home improvement

At least I think so.  I am enjoying fresh color and paint.  Now I really want new sofas.  It seems like one thing leads to another.  If anyone wants my sofas, they are available.

 We got rid of some useless trees.  They were a flowering pear but they grew very pillar like, provided little shade and blocked my view of the backyard and the children playing.  My boys loved chopping them down.

I thought I had better before pictures of the kitchen but you get a basic idea for the before:

and now the after with newly refinished floors, architectural interest and fresh colors.  I really like it.