They Say It's Your Birthday.....

As much as I don't like to admit it... they say it's my Birthday! This year wasn't too hard for me to swallow but next year will be a different story!! I had always dreamed of what life would be like when I was the big three zero. I guess that I have one more year to make a lot of dreams come true. Somethings are just not going to happen. Funny thing is that when I had set all of these stipulations on what life was going to like when I turned 30, I thought 30 was so, so, so old. Thank heavens I don't feel that old. Today turned out quite nice. Some of my friends & I gathered for lunch with most of our children. (15 in all- and that didn't include the ones that were at school) It was delish! I was able rid myself of 4- 25# boxes of tomatoes - I had already preserved 4 boxes myself which was not fun with a screaming baby -the other four were divide between friends kind enough to relieve me of my blessing/burden. A few friends called to wish me a happy day- thanks Shauna & Sandi. My Mother, Brother, & Father also called all at separate times which I really appreciated. Shauna gave me the cutest signs to hang on the wall. I now own some words- Faith, Hope, & Love. They are perfect, I'll take a picture of them when I get them up. I also received some good mail from my friend Anna - thank you for the birthday card & from my family. I always love it when a check comes unexpectedly. Thank you! Thank you! Mom & Dad. Sandi watched ALL of the kids while Scott & I went to dinner at our local Mexican food restaurant which believe it or not is quite good (Sorry Ethan , I couldn't resist the salsa) and when we returned home the kids sang me their rendition of Happy Birthday To You before having ice cream and going to bed. Somewhere in all of that Scott told me that he'd build me a house! We'll see if he keeps his word. All in all it was a great day!

Great Days of the Past:
My birth- Maybe not such a great day for my mother, she was in labor for 20+ hours without an epidural!
My Third B-day- My mom made the cutest paper mache pinatas for everyone that came to my party at Grandma T's house. (that's where we were living at the time) A ceramic girl sitting next to the number three topped my cake. I still have it.
My Sixth B-day- I received my first dozen red roses. They were sent to me at school. I remember that my kindergarten teacher said that she had never gotten roses that were that pretty before.
My Eight B-day- I was baptised a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I huge deal to me. It was a special day, my Dad baptized me, my Aunt Morgan sang, and we ate Hawaiian Haystacks at the park afterwards.
My Tenth B-day- I invited a few friends over for a sleep over. We had an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins and Pizza for dinner. I remember that one of the girls got sick in the middle of the night and threw up all over the bath room. I didn't want to wake my Mom, so I cleaned it up myself!
My Twelfth B-day- I don't recall what happened on my actual birthday, but the first Sunday following it I was welcomed into Young Women's. They gave me a book mark with the YW Theme on it and asked me to read it for Opening Exercises. I was scared to death. Not a great way to initiate a Beehive!
My Fourteenth B-day- My friends threw me a surprise Birthday party. My first Coed B-day party. They kidnapped me and took me to the park were everyone was waiting. Everyone, except my parents who were at a different park cooking hamburgers!! As we loaded everything up a to take it to the park that my parent's were at the boy (Darnell was his name) carrying my cake dropped it! It splattered all over the ground. Oh well- at that point in my life I was weight conscious and probably wouldn't have eaten it anyway! After dinner & fun we went to the Church to play basketball. My team one after I made a shot over James Davis's head! It was great. When I returned home the first of many gifts left by my secret admirer was waiting for me. (Turned out that the kid who had ruthlessly shot me in the face with a be be gun a few years earlier had a crush on me. His name was Lance.)
My Fifteenth B-day- I laid out on the trampoline with baby oil all over my body! Basically I fried myself. Darrell Johnson (not a relative) brought me some cookie dough. The card with it read, "Thought you could use a little extra dough on your birthday." Cute huh!
My Sixteenth B-day- I sprained my ankle really bad at gymnastics. I couldn't even walk nor could I drive!! When I got home Darrell had dropped a teddy bear by which helped a little. I did not get a car on my birthday either- I was consigned to the family van, well at least until the Hoopdee mobile arrived. To this day I can't tell you what was worse- The crashed mini van (right before my birthday someone stole and crashed our family van, my parents bought it back from the insurance company and my Dad fixed the engine- He did NOT fix the body damage) or the tricked out 1980 Buick regal with a boomin stereo and fancy tires & rims (A brother from the hood had to have been the previous owner) oh and it had no A/C which is a major problem when you live in Arizona and were a girl who had to have her hair and make up just so. Anyway, it was a great learning experience. Thanks Mom & Dad for giving me the opportunity to be so well rounded.
My Eighteenth B-Day- I went out to dinner to the Olive Garden with my boyfriend, Tyler Swapp, and his family. Shelly, his sister had gotten me some silk pajamas and my favorite pear lotion from Victoria Secret.
My Twentieth B-Day- I was in Oregon with my Biological Father, Glen Jessie, he told me that I had a 1/2 sister that was born November 4, 1981. He also gave me my Grandma Jessie's diamond earring's which I will cherish forever.
My Twenty First B-day- Scott & I were in Rocky Point on our first family vacation after our marriage. Mom Skousen surprised me with a pineapple cake and home made ice cream.
My Twenty Fifth B-day- We threw a moving away party for our good friends and neighbors, the Greer's.
My Twenty Eighth B-day- We went to dinner with Brad & Shauna Jarvis & Craig & Jana Bloomfield.

An Unusual Breakfast for a Special Day

When the kids got up this morning there was major concern about finding clothing that had green on it. No one wanted to get pinched. Since today is St. Patrick's Day I thought that I'd do something fun for the kids. After we got through our clothing issues , I made Green Eggs & Ham for breakfast. The kids loved it! They even went and got the book out and asked me to read it while they ate. I didn't have any complaints, in fact they, "would eat them here or there, they would eat them anywhere!"
Not only is it St. Patrick's Day but today Ethan is 3 months old!! I can't believe it. Were does the time go? I think that I am going to spend the rest of my life saying that. My baby is getting so big. He is laughing and talking (baby language of course) and is as cute as a button when someone is holding him or paying attention to him. The rest of the time he is either asleep or crying :( This little angel demands attention and certainly will let you know when he feels neglected. Ethan would have made an excellent 1st baby but with a family of five small kids, I just can't sit and hold him all of the time. Conner is a big help though. After he gets home from school he usually sits and talks to or plays with Ethan for awhile. I am very grateful for the much needed break even if it is only for a few minutes. I snapped these pictures a few days ago while Conner was entertaining Ethan. Conner a great big brother to Ethan and a great help to me. Aren't they cute. Conner loves to mention that Ethan looks just like him. He is always saying in a very proud & matter of fact tone, "I am his big brother and he looks just like I did when I was a baby."

Westin's Baptism

We were grateful to have been able to attend Westin Lyle Skousen's baptism on March 10th in Chino Valley, Arizona. I even had the privilege of giving the talk on baptism. Trent & Paige taught us about the Holy Ghost and Jeannine & Paige sang. Paige Skousen's first "Production" was a big hit. (She made a video of Westin's life from birth until age eight) All and all everything went well. The kids especially enjoyed being together. Westin & Conner are not only cousins, they are great friends. They have grown up together and they enjoy the same kinds of things. Westin always reaches milestones before Conner does because he is 11 months older. We are grateful for the wonderful example he sets for Conner and for his willingness to get baptized. Congratulations, Westin, you are the newest member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in our family. We can't wait to share Conner's special day with you next year.

Good Friends, Good Times, & HOMEMADE ICE CREAM

I am supposed to be mopping my floor right now. As you can tell I'm not exactly looking forward to the job but it is already ten o'clock so I'd better make this quick or I really will be up all night. We had a great weekend. Friday morning we drove to Cottonwood, Arizona to visit some very good friends of ours, the Merwins. The kids had a blast and so did Scott & I. We haven' t lived by them in for over 5 1/2 years but we still keep in touch. We call Ed & Jeralyn our life long friends. We probably will never live close to each other again :( but when we get together you would never know it. Conversation always comes easy and my kids are always saying, "Mom, can we go play at YOUR friends house?!" We had a blast and are thankful for the warm hospitality shown in our behalf. Scott sends another very special thank you for the AWESOME homemade ice cream. Can you picture it: A beautiful spring evening spent in the company of great individuals, a light breeze blowing in through the open windows, the kids playing happily in the toy room, pleasant conversation, and HOMEMADE ICE CREAM! What could possibly be better. (Don't ask Ed, he might say that nothing is better than a soda run! Ha!) Well Merwin's, like Scott & I have said before, "There is a great piece of property right next to ours here in Saint Johns with your name on it." Maybe if we ask enough times you might consider it!!

The Secret

Sunday, Scott & I were given a copy of the DVD The Secret. It basically suggests that anything you wish for can be yours through the Law of Attraction. I don't agree with everything that the show talks about but I think that when the principles are combined with the Gospel there are many thing that can be learned. I especially liked what it taught about gratitude and positive thinking. So with that said, here are some positive affirmations I plan to work on:
1. I am a good Wife & Mother
2. My house is a clean safe haven from the world
3. I am Healthy & Happy
I could list many more thing that I would like to improve upon, but I thought I'd better start out easy. These three things alone are quite overwhelming to me when I think about everything that they encompass. I would become a pretty awesome person if I was blessed with all of the attributes and characteristics needed to live up to my vision of what these three simple phrases mean. So, positive thinking here I come. I'm grateful for the reassurance that we find in the scriptures. Mosiah 9:21 says, "Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted unto him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth." I am also grateful for President Hinckley's ability to encourage me with out making me feel bad. He said, "I feel to invite women everywhere to rise to the great potential within you. I do not ask that you reach beyond your capacity. I hope that you will not nag yourselves with thoughts of failure. I hope you will simply do what you can do in the best way you know. If you do so, you will witness miracles come to pass." (Thanks Mom) So here I go...I'm ready to embark on a mission of personal refinement and in the process I hope to bless not only my life, but the lives of those around me. If you had one thing that you could achieve with help from our Heavenly Father and positive thinking what would it be?

Callings

Last night the entire Bishopric came to visit Scott & I. It really was unnerving to see all of them sitting on the couch waiting to issue us our new callings. Before there arrival, I asked Scott what he thought he was in for. His reply, "I'll accept anything but Gospel Doctrine Teacher." Guess what he was called to, you got it Gospel Doctrine Teacher. Poor man. Our ward is full of Scriptorians. We have several old Bishops and Stake Presidents in our midst. I know that Scott will do great though. He really is an excellent teacher. Isn't it funny how the Lord works. Whatever we don't want to do is usually what He requires of us. I guess that is all part of the plan...to go through challenges that stretch us and make us grow. I got off the hook big time. They called me to be the Webelos Leader. It's been a long time since my official calling was outside of a Presidency whether it be YW, Primary, or RS. I think that I'll really enjoy working with the boys. It is almost time for me to start gearing up for Cub Scouts anyway. Conner will be there before I know it.