brotherly love....?

this is jensen and burton and yes, they are holding hands. but, before you get the wrong idea, maybe i should tell you that..............

they were in trouble.

we were hiking up by fairmont and i was tired of them being snarky and impatient with one another. after jensen pushed burton and burton shoved him back, i made them hold hands for part of the walk. then i made them look at each other, say "i love you," and hug.

funny how making them love each other was a punishment:)

ponderings

one of my closest friends was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. she will be 31 next month. i admire her strength, her beauty, and her courage in the face of this scary diagnosis. although her prognosis is good, she has a difficult path ahead of her. and i know her faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ, will carry her through this trial in her life. i am grateful for her example of faith in the atonement of our Savior. it has led me to reflect on my own faith and testimony. i have always enjoyed general conference. and i especially enjoyed conference just a few weeks ago. i found the talks very inspiring and listening to the speakers made my own testimony burn within me. and i was very thankful for the powerful assurance i received that i do know that Jesus is the Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. in sharing my thoughts, i would quote the words of one of my favorite talks from this month's general conference. it is a talk given by elder kent f. richards. he said... "i have pondered about the purpose of pain. none of us is immune from experiencing pain. i have seen people cope with it very differently. some turn away from God in anger, and others allow their suffering to bring them closer to God...elder orson f. whitney wrote, 'no pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. it ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude, and humility...it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire.'" elder richards also said... "opposition is part of Heavenly Father's plan of happiness. we all encounter enough to bring us to an awareness of our Father's love and of our need for the Savior's help. the Savior is not a silent observer. He Himself knows personally and infinitely the pain we face...president henry b. eyring taught, 'it will comfort us when we must wait in distress for the Savior's promised relief that He knows, from experience, how to heal and help us...and faith in that power will give us patience to pray and work and wait for help. He could have known how to succor us simply by revelation, but He chose to learn by His own personal experience.'...as elder dallin h. oaks taught, 'healing blessings come in many ways, each suited to our individual needs, as known to Him who loves us best. sometimes a "healing" cures our illness or lifts our burden. but sometimes we are "healed" by being given strength or understanding or patience to bear the burdens placed upon us.' all that will come may be 'clasped in the arms of Jesus.' all souls can be healed by His power. all pain can be soothed. in Him we can find 'rest unto our souls.' our mortal circumstances may not immediately change but our pain, worry, suffering, and fear can be swallowed up in His healing balm." this talk by elder richards really struck home with me. i struggle. i worry. i fear. and although these things have not always been taken from me through faith and prayer, i have always, always been given the strength and peace to work through them and learn and grow from them. i have never been left without the comfort of our Savior - comfort that will come to all who call on His name. with easter weekend coming soon, i also wanted to share the poem that president monson shared in his closing remarks of this april's conference. it is a poem written by emily harris: the linen which once held Him is empty. it lies there, fresh and white and clean. the door stands open. the stone is rolled away, and i can almost hear the angels, singing His praises. linen cannot hold Him. stone cannot hold Him. the words echo through the empty limestone chamber, "He is not here." the linen which once held Him is now empty. it lies there, fresh and white and clean and oh, hallelujah, it is empty. just thought i would share.

murmuring

that's what i have been doing a lot of lately - complaining, griping, and murmuring. as i was sitting here, reading other people's blogs, i started feeling ashamed and embarrassed for my lack of gratitude and thanks for the plethora of things that make my life wonderful. i thought it would be beneficial for me to take a few minutes and think about things in a different light.

i am grateful for an untidy house because it means i have kids to clean up after.

i am grateful for dishes that never seem to get done because it means we have food to eat.

i am grateful for laundry that doesn't get folded or put away because it means we have clothes to wear.

i am grateful for a husband who helps and serves others because it reminds me of our Savior.

i am grateful for giggles and hugs and kisses.

i am grateful for i love you's and thank you's.

i am grateful for unconditional love and the promise of forever.

i am grateful for good friends even when i am not one.

i am grateful for the beauty that surrounds me.

i am grateful for my mom.

i am grateful for my dad.

i am grateful for good books that give me a break for a bit.

i am grateful for my sewing machine.

i am grateful for my camera to capture all those moments in time.

i am grateful for a husband who lifts me up and makes me stronger than i am on my own.

i am grateful for a husband who loves me for who i am (and in spite of it!)

i am grateful for this

and this

and this

and this.

i am grateful for tender mercies.

i am grateful that i can try again.

and i am most grateful for this

good for a laugh

so, i found this little tid bit online the other day - i think it was on a friend of a friend's blog - and had to share. i must admit that my mothering life is not quite this hectic (yet!!!)...but pretty close! i often say that if our husbands only knew........

THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES: 6 married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 2 kids each for 6 weeks. each kid will play 2 sports and take either music or dance classes. there is no fast food. each man must take care of his 2 kids, keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, complete school projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list of "pretend" bills. in addition, each man will have to budget enough groceries for each week and purchase said groceries - looking for deals, sales, and coupons in an effort to be as thrifty as possible. each man must remember the birthdays of all friends and relatives and send cards out or make a phone call on time - no emailing! each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment and a hair cut appointment. he must make 1 unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the emergency room. he must also make cookies or cupcakes for a school function.
each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside, and keeping it presentable at all times.
the men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all the chores are done.
the men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, adorn themselves with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep fingernails polished and eyebrows groomed during 1 of the 6 weeks.
the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, backaches, headaches, have extreme, unexplained mood swings, but never once complain or slow down from other duties.
they must attend weekly school meetings, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.
they will need to read a book to the kids each night and in the morning feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair by 8:30.
a test will be given at the end of the 6 weeks. each father will be required to know each child's:
birthday,
height and weight,
shoe size and clothing size,
doctor's name,
child's weight and length at birth,
time of birth and length of labor,
favorite color,
middle name,
favorite snack,
favorite song,
favorite drink,
favorite toy,
biggest fear,
and what they want to be when they grow up.
the kids vote the men off the island based on performance.
the last man wins ONLY IF....
he still has enough energy to be intimate with his wife at a moment's notice.
if the man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18 to 25 years, eventually earning the right to be called "mom."

now that i am done laughing, i must say that i wouldn't trade being a mom for anything in the world. and my wonderful husband really does do a good job of sharing the load that is our's, as parents. but still, if he only knew......

my not so baby girl

dear paige,

how do words express the amount of joy that you bring to my life? your big smile, with your crooked, thumb sucking teeth, the way you look at me when you say "mama," your hugs and kisses, your beautiful hair, the way you run, your zest for life and love for your family, your laughs and giggles, dancing with you, playing with you, snuggling with you, and loving you fill my heart with such gratitude that Heavenly Father sent you to be my little girl.

i hope that as you grow, you will always know just how very much i love you. and how i treasure you, my one and only daughter.

love,

your mama.

from the mouth of babes

tonight for fhe, jensen was teaching us a short lesson on the first vision. after he was finished, i asked the boys to think about how they know that joseph smith really saw Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. i asked them to really think about it and give me an answer. burton said he knew it really heppened because he has felt the holy ghost when he has been taught about the first vision. jensen said that Heavenly Father has answered his prayers so he must have answered joseph smith's prayer as well. and then evan piped in with his answer. this is what he said, pretty much word for word:

"remember in that movie where the guy hadded enough faif to see the Lord's finger? then joseph smith hadded enough faif to see Heavenly Father and Jesus."

how humble my kids make me feel! truly i have so much to learn from my kids. their simple and sweet testimonies of the gospel bring such joy and peace to my heart. they remind me that the gospel - and living the gospel - really is simple. i am grateful for such wonderful children who are gaining their own testimonies bit by bit.

i sure love them and love being their mom!

2011 baby

wow! another year come and gone - how cliche, i know. but really, has it already been 11 years since the whol Y2K deal?? am i really getting that much older!!?? (don't answer that - it was a rhetorical question) the last 6 months have been go, go, go!! and as my lack of blogging shows, it has been busy! so, what has made it so busy, you ask? here, in random order, are the busy but FUN moments of 2010:

-swimming lessons and soccer! with 3 boys all in swimming and soccer, we had lessons 4 days a week and soccer 4 nights a week. with brent coaching both jensen and burton's teams (yep, they were on separate teams) and evan having his own soccer night at a different location, we lived, ate, and breathed soccer this spring. as fun as it was, we were relieved to get a break during summer vacation....only to start it all again in the fall!

-my younger sister, jess, went to the temple for her first time in june. what a special opportunity it was to travel to the edmonton temple to experience that with my family.

-my brother robert was also ordained as an elder that same weekend and brent and i were happy to be in red deer to witness and participate in his ordination.

-brent and i celebrated our 10th anniversary (what!!!???)

-camping with friends in july was fun, even though the weather was LOUSY!! needless to say, i am so happy we purchased a tent trailer this fall so that when the rain pours, we won't be sleeping in our leaky tent anymore.

-staying in a lake house for a week with my family at hayden lake (idaho) was SO MUCH FUN that we have already booked another trip for next summer. evan is already asking when we will be going to the lake house:)

-we adopted an additional family member for the summer and early fall. it seems my brother rob was out to visit us in cranbrook almost every weekend during the summer. i even took to calling it "the summer of rob." we had rob boating with us, camping with us, hanging in cranbrook with us, cliff jumping and hiking with us....i would like to think he was here so much because he loves me, his big sister, so much but i'm pretty sure it had more to do with my kids than anything. he sure loves them!

-boating, boating, and more boating...any time, any where, as much as we could! WE LOVE BOATING. jensen, burton, and evan all learned how to knee board and wake surf (with help), and jensen and burton discovered a new love for water skiing. i think we spent 2 weekends of the entire summer at home!

-young women's camp...my first one as a leader. LOVED IT!!! i love our girls here in cranbrook. what wonderful young women they are. they have truly inspired me to become a better "older" woman:)

-planning and organizing my mom's 50th birthday in september. how fun it was to have her whole family there! i love the coopers!!!! and my mom, a whole lot.

-then it was time for my other brother, andrew, to get ordained as an elder. as brent was already going to edmonton for an orthodontics course, the kids and i tagged along and had him drop us off in red deer for the weekend so we could support andrew and let him know how much we love and appreciate him.

-thanksgiving in red deer came next. always fun to go home for thanksgiving and spend time with the fam. we were also able to go to the temple with rob for his first time - again, a truly marvelous experience!

-followed a few short weeks later by meeting in calgary to send robert off to the preston, england mtc to get ready for his mission in the scotland/ireland mission. tears were shed by all, still are sometimes by me!! but happy tears - we all love him so very much! he is doing awesome and it was so great to be able to talk to him on Christmas day. we love getting emails and letters from him and to hear about his experiences teaching the gospel. what an example he is setting for my kids...and for me too! and to think we will have to do it all again for andy soon....emotionally draining sums it up pretty good:) but i wouldn't want my brothers to be doing anything else with their lives at this time. their missionary service and experiences will be invaluable to them and to those they serve.

-then...change!! being called as the new primary president in our ward threw me for a loop and it took a bit for me to get my feet back under me. but things are going well and i am really enjoying my new calling. it keeps me busy! i am grateful for the opportunity to serve the Lord.

-and then the hustle and bustle of Christmas. we actually stayed home for Christmas this year - we didn't travel to spokane until the afternoon of Christmas day. it was really very nice to wake up in our own home on Christmas morning. i sense a new tradition in the making:) it was fun to spend a few days in spokane with brent's family as we have not seen them too much in the last 6 months...what with all the major happenings in my family!

-and then back home for a few relaxing and LAZY days over the new year's weekend. my mom and sister, jess, came to spend new year's with us and it was so fun to just do nothing with them. just to have them around to talk to, play games with, watch movies with, and just hang out. i love my family.

phew....reading all that made me tired again. really we did have a fabulous and fun 2010. as busy as it was, i wouldn't change any part of it. i love making memories with my kids and spending time with our extended families. that is what growing up is all about. it is fun to see our kids learning and growing - trying new things as they are getting older. it is rewarding as a parent to start teaching my kids things that i learned and loved as a kid, and seeing them start to enjoy these new things. i only wish that they wouldn't grow quite so fast....it makes me realize just how much more i need to take a step back, focus on the most important things, and treasure every moment i have with my boys and paige. they are so precious and i love them so much.

so, with that being said, here's to 2011! may it be as fun and exciting as the last 10 years!