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.

A Love for Reading

Grace absolutely loves to read. She hardly plays with toys, but you will always see her carrying a book around. She will sit and look at books all day. This little independent miss likes to read her way though. She has to hold the book, turn the pages, and comment on everything she sees. She doesn't appreciate it when anyone, especially her older brothers try to help her. I love that she is so interested in books. Today I caught her reading in a laundry basket. Too Cute!!! By the time I came back with the camera she had moved to the couch. I hope that this habit is one that Grace continues to nourish throughout her lifetime.

Fun Stuff

Thought I'd post some fun stuff that I recently completed. The card and the layout were both made for a crap (that's what I call scrapbook crop nights, for some reason I always blend the scrap & the crop. Crap is the result!) night that I was helping with. Unfortunately Scott was out of town for the monthly event and since my kids were sick I decided not to get a babysitter so I was unable to attend. A good friend of mine was able to teach the kits for me though. I really enjoyed putting these together. I'm grateful for these kind of deadlines. They give me an excuse to work on something I really want to do but don't usually get to. Just a side note- I can't believe how fast my baby girl has grown. She'll be two in June. Where does the time go!

We Made It!!

I just wanted all of you to know, in case you're wondering, we made it through Sacrament meeting on Sunday. It really was a miracle to me. I can't even begin to explain how afraid I was to take all of my little ones to church by myself on Sunday. It's hard when Scott & I both go together. I talked to my kids all morning about the importance of being reverent. I told them that Heavenly Father was watching so we needed to be extra good. Okay so I bribed a little too and offered them a chance at chocolate chip cookies if they were good. We even asked for extra help from Heavenly Father in our morning prayers. It really paid off. Conner and Tate were perfect!! I couldn't have asked them to be better. Jacob did extremely well and would have made it all the way through Sacrament had I not had to take Grace out. Gracie did excellent for a 20 month old. She almost made it to the end. I had to take her out towards the end of the last speaker. And Ethan, what can I say, he slept through the whole thing. I'm grateful that prayers are answered, I know mine were. Can you just imagine what could have happened!!!! I feel extremely sorry for those who face church alone regularly for what ever reason. I know it's hard but I also know that it's worth it. So we deal. We deal with what we are given and pray for the strength to cope. I'm grateful for my older boys who are good examples to their younger siblings. They sat quietly all by themselves after I took the others out. Conner even cleaned up our bench and packed the church bag before going to class. Great job boys, Momma's proud & so is Heavenly Father. You certainly earned those chocolate chip cookies. Enjoy! (I'm so glad I get my husband back for next week!!!)

Traditions - No. 1

I thought that I would periodically share some of our Skousen Family traditions. Tradition number 1 is pizza night. Every Friday night is pizza night at our house. The kids look forward to it with much anticipation. They all LOVE pizza. Having pizza on Fridays didn't used to be so complicated when we lived in the Valley, we would just order in or throw a frozen pizza in the oven. Here in St. Johns it isn't quite that simple. For starters, there really is not anywhere to order from. We have one little American food restaurant that serves pizza but it doesn't deliver and it isn't open on a regular basis. Small town business owners tend to operate when it's convenient for them, not everyone else. I guess that you can order pizza from FINA (the local gas station) if you call what they sell pizza. They don't deliver either. The third option is buying a frozen pizza at Wilbur's our supermarket. Did I say SUPERmarket. Sorry, I just meant market. If you plan on doing that be prepared to spend a ridiculous amount of money for it unless it's on sale. In that case don't plan on purchasing one because there won't be any left on the shelf. In lieu of all of the obstacles we face living in Saint Johns we or rather I have decided that instead of ridding our family of this fine tradition, I would start making pizza myself. (A scary proposition when you have a husband that is a die hard Barro's fan!!) After many attempts(some successful & some not so successful) Scott has rated my pizza making skills at better than Peter Piper Pizza but not as good as Barro's. He says that the secret is in the sauce. My kids on the other hand are so grateful to be back in St. Johns because they love my homemade pizza. I think that they like it better for several reasons. 1. They get to help make it. 2. We always make at least two pizzas which guarantees that at least one will be their favorite - PEPPERONI! 3. Doesn't your food always taste better when everyone touches it and breathes on it and sneezes on it... sorry, I guess I'm getting a bit carried away. Anyway, here are a few shots of Pizza night last Friday. (Someday I'll get the round pizza thing down) Remember, if you ever visit on a Friday night you know what is on the menu.

Hello Again

If anyone is wondering, YES we are still alive! Life has been nothing short of exciting for several weeks now. I've tried to find a moment to blog but have been unsuccessful. Here is an overview of what has transpired in the Skousen Household in the last three weeks.

I officially retired from AZ Firebird Contractors, Inc. on Thursday, February 1st!! I really can't express how I feel. I have mixed emotions. I am very relieved to be able to focus on my number one priority, my own family, but also feel sad to not be apart of the family business anymore. I already miss everything terribly -working with my family, taking care of the accounts, and the feeling of accomplishment that comes after completing beautiful work and making all the deadlines. It's hard for me to think that I'll never have a desk in the brand new office building that we just finished. Most of all though, I'll miss my Dad. Even though most of our talk while working was business every once in a while we'd have a nice discussion about something else. I really enjoyed those chats. I think that is what I'll miss the most, the one on one time I spent with my Dad during the last 10 years.

Conner turned 7 on Friday, February 2nd! I just can't believe how big he is getting. Not only was it his birthday but it was his last day of school at Franklin Arts Academy. Mrs. Natalia Paguia (his teacher) sent him home with all sorts of good things. She was a fabulous teacher, I just can't say enough about her. Conner learned so, so, so much in her class. I'm grateful for the time that he got to spend with her at Franklin. We had celebrated Conner's birthday at Peter Piper Pizza. Since his cousins, Trent & Paige were having birthdays later in the month we decided to throw one big PARTY!! Conner came home with some great things. (thank you everyone) He especially loves his new camouflage watch. (He is really into Army right now) Conner said that the highlight of the day was decorating his birthday cake with his Grandma Johnson. They made a fabulous camouflaged army cake complete with tanks, jeeps, and soldiers. All in all it was a very enjoyable evening in the midst of a very crazy couple of days.

On Saturday, February 3rd we packed the house, loaded it all, and then cleaned (even the carpets) like fools. Quite the task with five kids trying to be very helpful even though we didn't have that much stuff. We ended up finishing to late to drive home that evening because we were afraid that the roads would be bad and we were absolutely exhausted. We stayed with my parents that evening and headed home the next morning.

We pulled into Saint Johns at about 2 pm. When we pulled up into the driveway we noticed a big WELCOME HOME sign hanging on the house. To our surprise when we walked in the house the fire was going, there were balloons and a sign wishing Conner a Happy Birthday, a candle burning, and dinner in the refrigerator complete with homemade bread and chocolate chip cookies for dessert, and breakfast muffins, milk, and bananas for the next morning. We hadn't had but five minutes to look around when 3 of our friends & their families had come over to help unload. No wonder why we missed this place. We really were shocked by the out pouring of kindness shown to our family. Thank you to all of you that made us feel welcomed back into the community. It's good to be home! Even Rio & Remmington (our dogs) were excited to be home.

The next day I ran around getting the kids enrolled in school, going to the grocery store, and verifying our mail situation. Then I came home to start in on the mess and a mess it was. No one could find what they needed so they had begun to dump out boxes in their search for things. AHHHHH! I really, really don' t so well with unorganized chaos. It makes me soooooo crazy! It took me a little over a week to clear through all of the boxes and boy am I glad to be done reorganizing everything.

I had barely finished unpacking when Conner came down sick with respiratory garbage. It had officially cycled though our whole family (including Ethan, which was very scary for me. I hate it when infants get sick!!) when Tate started throwing up! Ugh! I really started to wonder if we were ever going to be well again. It seems like we are on the upside now, thank heavens. Scott left last Wednesday for meetings in the Valley and a quick trip to Arkansas. He will return next Wednesday. If I make it through sacrament meeting with all of my little ones tomorrow I will be able to make it until Wednesday. I'm really scared though. I've even thought about using the sick thing as an excuse. We are all still coughing you know! I'm I awful or what.

Well that pretty much sums up the last couple of weeks. Hopefully now that life is getting a little bit more normal I can get back to blogging.