Baptism--a big day for Mr J

Turning 8 is a big deal, especially in our Church.  When you turn 8 you get to be baptized into Christ's church and become an official member.  

Well, our Mr J turned 8 last week and had his baptism.  His awesome Dad was able to baptize him.  So cool!  Love this picture by Christ being baptized by John the Baptist.  Baptism is a big step to show that we want to follow Christ and be like him.

Before he was baptized they have a little program--people talk--his Nana talked about being clean and repenting, and she had Mr J help her with this awesome experiment that shows when we sin we become dirty, but then repentance can make us clean again.  Mr J said, "That was so cool!"

Then his 3 beautiful older sisters sang "I am a Child of God" as part of the program.

And then his Grandpa talked about the Holy Ghost and gave him a compass and compared the Holy Ghost to the compass and how it will always guide him and direct him in the right way.

It was a truly wonderful day with lots of family there and friends to support Mr J in his big day.  What a wonderful boy he is and what a blessing to have in our family!  We love you Mr J!  We are proud of your decision and know you will do great things!!

Daily December 20--north pole news

Breaking news from the North Pole from reporter Mr J. . .

I was at the schools helping this week, and Mr J's class was making a North Pole Newspaper.  This is the article he wrote :)  Love it!

2012 Blue Jeans Week 34

We made it through the first full week of school.  We had some changes on the home front with church callings.  Ben was called as early morning seminary teacher.  So he teaches high school kids (4 kids total including our Miss A) from our church from the New Testament every morning from 6:10 a.m. to 7 a.m.  He teaches in our basement.  I was released from the Relief Society (women's organization) presidency and put in the Young Women's presidency so I get to be with my two oldest girls.  I meant to get a picture of Ben teaching in the morning this week, but honestly I don't get up that early.  Maybe next week :)

 

Sunday:  Mr J and Miss E wanted to make cookies today.  They wanted the peanut butter ones with the Hershey's kisses in the middle--yum!   I was happy to oblige.  They are one of our family's favorite cookies.

 

Monday:  For our family night treat Miss E was in charge, and she made ice cream cookie sandwiches-yum!  Our family really likes cookies, and ice cream makes them even better!

 

 Tuesday:  Today after school it was windy out, and Miss E decided it would be fun to 'fly' on the trampoline.  She had the best time as the wind whipped her blanket as she jumped.  The trampoline is one of our family's favorite things.

 

Wednesday:  Mr J had a rough night last night.  He is starting to develop bad allergies, so he was up for several hours during the night because he couldn't breathe through his nose, and then he had some nightmares.  After being up from 3 a.m. to 6:30 a.m.  I was not waking him up for school at 7, so I let him sleep.  He slept until 10 a.m, and then he woke up, walked down the stairs and said to me in a very groggy, sleeply voice, "Mom, you forgot to take me to school!"  :)  so we quickly got him ready and to school by 10:30. 

 

 Thursday:  Sonic happy hour is another favorite thing of our family's.  It is very convienent that Sonic is right on the way home after picking up the kids from school.  Vanilla limeades are my kids' favorites, and I love a lemonberry fruit slush.

 

 Friday:  Sometimes I substitute in the kids' elementary school.  Today I was working in their library, and Mr J's class came in.  So I snapped a picture of him reading at his library table, atleast he was supposed to be reading, but then he saw his mother taking a picture of him, and he stuck a book over his face because he was embarrased.  Yes, I am that kind of mom :)

 

Saturday:  Our girls had a church basketball tournament up in the city today.  They played really well and got 3rd place, but it was a very long day.  We left at 7 a.m. and didn't get home until 5 p.m., and after 6 basketball games we were very tired!

 

Thanks for visiting.  I posted the directions for the bleached shirts on the post before this if you didn't get to see them.  Have a great week! 

2012 Blue Jeans Week 15

Have you ever had one of those week where you feel like you are drowning because you are insanely busy?  Well, this week was like that.  Don't want to bore you with details, but sufficeth to say, I think April's activities and business might put me over the edge :)  And to top it off, my kids will be out of school for the summer in one month!  One month!  Ahh!  But I can't think about that too much, I am just trying to survive these next two weeks of piano and choral competitions, soccer games, track meets, and dance rehearsals.  If I can make it to May 8th with my sanity still intact, I will consider myself very lucky and blessed.  Anyone else in the same boat?  Are April and May activities drowning you?  And then there is yard work, gardening, mowing, cooking, cleaning, school projects, spelling lists. . . and the list goes on, but despite all this I am very blessed.  I don't have to do it alone.  I have a very supportive husband, and I have soccer games and track meets to go to because I am blessed with kids.  I have piano recitals and choral performances to go to because I am blessed with wonderful kids.  My family is a blessing, and I am grateful for that, and someday I am going to be really bored sitting at home with nothing to do--just wondering when that will be ??? :)  So here are our pictures from this week, and thankfully they don't show me running around pulling my hair out.

Sunday:  Easter--everyone in their new stuff all ready for church.  Mr J picked his tie out himself, and when did my 2nd daughter get as tall as my oldest?  Crazy!

Monday:  Mr J and his awesome pajama ensemble--man that kid has style :)

Tuesday:  Miss E lost a tooth at school today

Wednesday:  My volunteer day at school.  I snapped a few pictures of Mr J's class--the classic, "pick me" with his hand raised.  Love it!

Thursday:  I was at the school today for something--seems I am always there for something or another, and I peeked into the gym where Miss E class was doing archery.  How cool is that? 

Friday:  My iris are already out and blooming this year--a month early!  These purple ones smell divine, I wish you could do a scratch and sniff on a blog--you would love it!

Saturday:  Our church has temples where special worship services and marriages are performed.  I was married in the Salt Lake City, Utah temple.  Where we live our closest one has been about 5 hours away, but they recently built one just 2 hours from us, and we are so excited!  We drove up there today to go through the open house, and it is so beautiful!  The kids were very impressed.

Thanks for visiting, and hope your week is going well, and that if it is crazy, that you survive!  :)  Hang in there, I am with ya!

2012 Blue Jeans Week 12

What a week, what a week!  I thought I was going to have lots of down time with 3 of my 4 kids gone most of the week, but that was not the case.  I drove over 1000 miles last week, and all of it in the rain.  We had spring break last week, and it rained.  every.  single.  day.  Needless to say, we were all happy to see the sun, and I was happy to leave my car in the garage for a few days and send the kids back to school.  Sadly this week started out on a sour note.  Mr J woke up with pink-eye Monday morning--went to the Dr., got the drops, then this morning when I thought I could send him to school, it is in the other eye.  Life is never dull :)  We are just grateful for the sunshine!!

Sunday:  Took my camera around my yard to get some photos of spring.  This is one of our red bud trees starting to bud. 

Monday:  Mr J is my youngest and only boy, and his room is the cleanest out of the 4 kids.  He is so good to remember to make his bed each morning.  He makes it very nicely and arranges all his animals and pillows on it by himself each day.  I think it is too cute, and I wish his older sisters would take a lesson from him :)

Tuesday:  These shoes have been required all week with our rain each day.  Mr J loves his rain boots.

Wednesday:  My youngest sister invited my kids to come stay spring break with her.  She lives about 5 hours away, thus the long driving I did taking them there and back (in the rain).  But they had a blast with her and her husband.  My sister took some pictures for me of their activities.  This was a playground by my sister's house that they played at each day.

Thursday:  Miss A was not able to go to my sister's because of some commitments she had at home.  Instead today we went to the city (more driving in the rain) and went to the art museum.  Monet's Waterlilies takes my breath away every time I see it.  Once I was able to see all 3 together.  That was amazing.  A rainy day spent in a art museum is always a good day :) or any day spent in an art museum is a good day I think.

Friday:  Happy Birthday to me!  Ben made me a lemon cheesecake (from scratch, not a mix) with a strawberry sauce he put on top.  It was divine. 

Saturday:  I went to a matinee of The Hunger Games with some friends today.  It was very good.  The book was better (isn't it always?), but I thought they did a good job with the movie.  Miss A went to the midnight showing on Thursday.  Fun stuff!  After I saw this picture I had to laugh with the fire around my head.   My friend said, "you're the girl on fire." 

Hope you all had a good week!  Thanks for stopping by!

2012 Blue Jeans Week 10

Welcome to Blue Jeans Momma.  I am so happy you came to visit.  I am doing my 4th year of a picture-a-day Project Life to document the life of my family of 6.  I try to blog on
Mondays--my week in pictures
Wednesday--mouth-watering Wednesdays where I share a recipe--a simple, easy, yummy recipe
Fridays--Fabulous Fridays where I share random things I love

Can you believe we are 10 weeks into this year?  They say times flies, but as I grow older it seems to fly faster, and I am not appreciating the spring forward time change.  To me that just seems to put things on 'fast forward.'  I think we should all adopt Arizona's policy and not have the time changes.  It would make my house happier.  It was not a happy morning getting everyone up today.  Hope it went better at yours :)  Here is what we have been up to this week. . .

Sunday:  Sunday evening desserts are a very treasured tradition at our house.  Usually we eat them while playing a game at the kitchen table.  Tonight we had key lime tarts and played Yahtzee. 

Monday:  Monday nights are family night at our house.  We have a religious lesson, sing songs, plan the week, play games, and have treats.  We rotate who is in charge of each activity.  Tonight Ben was in charge of activities, and he set up a Nerf gun shooting range in the family room with blocks to hit.  You got so many points for hitting certain blocks.  I think my score was 3, and Mr J smoked us all with his sharp shooting ability and won.  Miss A is taking her turn shooting while everyone watches.

Tuesday:  My family has varied musical tastes, but lately the one album we all love is Adele 21.  It is constantly blaring in the van while I am driving (thus this picture) and is on everyone's favorite play lists.  Even Mr J can sing you all the words to all the songs.  "Rumor has it" is his favorite :)

Wednesday:  In case you didn't know, we live in a small town.  My parents also live in this small town.  It is the small town I was blessed to grow up in.  My mom is the librarian at my kids' elementary school.  How awesome is that to be able to go to the library at school and check out a book and to get a hug from your Nana while doing it?  That has been a blessing in my kids' lives.  Today I worked at my mom's library as her para.  It was fun to check in and out books to all the kids--including my own, and spend the day helping my mom.  This is me and my amazing mom in her library at school.

Thursday:  In the evenings before bed Ben likes to read aloud to the kids.  He usually reads to them in our bedroom.  He is currently reading The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsail.  While he reads Mr J likes to bring in his train pieces and make train tracks.  He has always been a huge Thomas the Train lover and lover of trains in general.  I love this.  After 3 girls it is fun to have lots of trains in the house.  Sometimes it can be rather annoying to step on train tracks in the middle of the night, but I keep reminding myself, "You are going to miss this one day," and I know I will, and I also know that day will come much quicker than I want it to.

Friday:  It was a beautiful day after school today.  To enjoy it Mr J and Miss E went out on the trampoline to read and enjoy the sunshine.  They came prepared with blankets, water bottles, and snacks.

Saturday:  Today was our state's Republican caucus.  I am very proud to be an American, and I take my right to vote very seriously.  When we found out a few months ago that our caucus was an hour away (one way) there was no doubt in my mind we would go.  Voting is very important to me, and I honestly don't think I have missed voting at a local, state, or national election since I turned 18 and was able to vote.  We live in a country where we are blessed to have freedom and a choice, and we need to vote and exercise that freedom and choice.  So, Friday Ben and I drove two hours round trip with my parents to vote at our caucus, and even though who I voted for didn't win our state, I still voted, and it was worth it. 

Hope you all have a good week and that everyone adjusts quickly to the time change--that is what I am wishing for here!  Soccer and track start this week--let spring begin!

 

2012 Blue Jeans Week 7

It has been a pretty good week--lots of love, got a little bit spoiled, (which everyone should every now and then) and we enjoyed some fun family time.  Hope you all had a good week.

Sunday:  Valentine's Dinner is a very special tradition in my family.  It started with my great-grandma.  She was the mother of 5 girls (one of them being my grandma) and for Valentine's Day dinner she would decorate the dining room very fancy, finest china, and then no one was allowed into the room or to see it until dinner.  Everyone had to dress up for dinner.  In the middle of the table was a fancy box with small wrapped gifts.  Each gift had a string attached to it that went out to each place at the table.  When my grandma and her sisters were done eating dinner they were allowed to pull their string and get their small Valentine's present.  My grandma did this for my mom and her siblings when they were growing up.  My mom continued the tradition with me and my siblings.  Now the tradition continues with my kids--4th generation.  We are lucky enough to live by Nana and Grandpa, so I don't have to do the fancy dinner, we just go over to my mom's house :)  Lucky us!  So above is a picture from our Valentine's dinner at my mom's.  We were done eating, so Mr J and Miss E started to pull their strings.  So fun!

Monday:  Can you believe this is our very first snow of the whole winter???  It wasn't much of a snowstorm, and it lasted only one day.  The next day was sunny and 50, and it was all gone, so Mr J, Miss A, and Miss O tried to enjoy the one day of snow they had.

Tuesday:  Valentine's Day.  Tuesdays are usually crazy piano lesson nights, but because of Valentine's we had nothing tonight, so we had a special dinner at home--heart shaped meatloaf and potatoes with heart jello, decorated heart sugar cookies, opened our family Valentine's box, and enjoyed the evening.  Our kids got these cute balloon cars from their Grandpa for Valentine's day, and they had lots of fun racing them.  Thank you Grandpa T!

Wednesday:  Mr J practising his piano.  He takes it very seriously and works very hard at it.  Love my boy!

Thursday:  O happy day!  I got my birthday present today, even though my birthday is not for a month and a half :)  I have wanted a Blendtec blender forever, but they are pretty pricey, and I could never really justify it, but we were up in the city today at Costco.  They had them on sale, plus we had a nice Costco rebate and I begged and pleaded with Ben and told him it would be my early birthday present and maybe Mother's Day too, (but not Christmas :)  if he let me get it.  He is so nice, and said yes.  Boy, does he love me ;)  I am very lucky.  Anyway, we are in smoothie heaven here!  Yeah!  Happy Birthday to me! (a little early)  If you have some favorite recipes, please share!

Friday:  Are you ever too old for a tea party?  Or kool-aid party?   Not at our house.

Saturday:  Snapshot of our lives--cleaning the house day.  Next to our weekly dishes job chart, this is the next most important piece of paper in our house.  We clean the house every Saturday morning, and everyone helps.  The kids rotate jobs.  Having a chart you can easily rotate makes a big difference.  This is just printed off and put in a page protector so we can write and erase it with dry erase markers.

Thanks for visiting!  Come back soon and have a great week!