Deacon, the bicyclist...

This is Deacon when he and his mom get to our house after their bike ride. He loves his bike ride! When they first started riding, he would laugh uncontrollably. It seemed like he was the one doing all the work. He needed a snack when he got to Grandma's. He asked for one of his favorites, an orange.

Anson, what a great speaker...

Anson gave a talk today in Sacrament. His talk was on Gratitude.

This is a copy of his talk.

GRATITUDE

President Thomas S. Monson said, “A grateful heart … comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives. My brothers and sisters, do we remember to give thanks for the blessings we receive? Sincerely giving thanks, not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God’s love.” (END OF QUOTE)

How can we cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude? President Joseph F. Smith, sixth President of the Church, provided an answer. He said, “The grateful man sees so much in the world to be thankful for, and with him the good outweighs the evil. Love overpowers jealousy, and light drives darkness out of his life.” He continued, “Pride destroys our gratitude and sets up selfishness in its place. How much happier we are in the presence of a grateful and loving soul, and how careful we should be to cultivate, through the medium of a prayerful life, a thankful attitude toward God and man!”

I am so grateful for my family, my good friends, the gospel, and for my health. I am thankful for this country that I live in. I am thankful for my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ.

I know that by following the Lord’s example and obeying His word we give to Him, the gift of gratitude.

There has been so many times when those around us have served our family, and my heart is full of gratitude. I am so grateful for our home teachers and the love and concern they show for us.

I am sorry if I have ever taken my family for granted. I want them to know how much I love and appreciate them. I am thankful for my dad for always showing me how to be a hard worker, and for all that he does for me and my family. I am thankful for all that he does for his students, and the love that he shows for them. I’m thankful for my mom, for always telling me how much she loves me. (He also mentioned that he was grateful for me keeping a clean house.) I love my little sister for the good example that she is to me.

I want to end my talk by sharing this…

An Attitude of Gratitude

"This is a wonderful time to be living here on earth. Our opportunities are limitless. While there are some things wrong in the world today, there are many things right, such as teachers who teach, ministers who minister, marriages that make it, parents who sacrifice, and friends who help.

We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues."      -Thomas S. Monson
He especially shared with us his tears, which showed the most gratitude of all.

Today was also the first time that Anson blessed the Sacrament.
Anson is a young man now, not my little boy. 

To the movies with Deacon

Aubrey, Anson, Dad, and I decided to go to the movie theater today. I totally forgot I was going to babysit for Brianna and Travis. The kids and Dad were so excited about the movie, that I decided to take Mr. Deacon with us instead of canceling our plans. Deacon was so cute at the movies. He sat on my lap while Dad was holding the popcorn. He was very good and really enjoyed eating popcorn just like his grandpa. When he would see some kissing taking place, he would look back at me and say, in a very embarrassed voice, "Ama." Also, when he was worried about a part in the movie he would look back, and very concerned look at me right into my eyes, and say "Ama" almost like saying... make it stop. He calls me Ama, which is a Spanish way of saying mother. Except for the last 20 minutes of the movie, he was awesome.
We love him so much. 
I really think that Anson and Aubrey see him like their little brother.
  
These pictures aren't very clear because they were taken with my cell phone. I had to take a picture of the king eating popcorn and licorice though.

After the movies I thought he would be sleepy since it was after his bedtime. Instead, he insisted that Grandpa read him a book. He loves for Grandpa to read him stories. The other day, as soon as he came in the family room, he grabbed a book and took it to Dick. Travis held his hand and said, "Come here Deacon, I'll read it for you." Deacon quickly pulled his hand away, and said, "No! Da!" He calls his grandpa Da. 

Spring Break and Vegas

We started our Spring break vacation with THE most wonderful moon. The night before we left, the moon was the biggest it's been in a long time, and the brightest too. It was the super “perigee moon”- the biggest in almost 20 years. The moon won’t come this close again until November 14, 2016. When I went to bed, I opened my blinds, and enjoyed the moon beaming all night. It was so bright and so beautiful, that I couldn't fall asleep.

We set the alarm for 5, and left at 6 am. Dad drove for 6 hours straight.

Anson took over so that Dad could rest a little, and drove us into Las Vegas.

In fact, he drove us right to our wonderful hotel. (Caesars Palace) My nephew, Paul, got us two free nights at Caesars.

The last time that we took our children to Vegas, Anson was 5 years old, and Aubrey was a little over a year.

At the Excalibur, the kids went on a 3D ride. They loved it!

The pools at Caesars are amazing!

We love the M&M store. Aubrey had to go there twice. I bought some cute, little t-shirts for all of the grandchildren.

The kids were always walking in front of us, where we could watch them closely. Anson was always holding Aubrey's hand. I love knowing that he feels the need to protect his little sister.

Dick took the kids to the wax museum. They thought that was pretty awesome.

I love to see all the palm trees in Vegas. They are one of my favorite trees. I grew up in Texas, in The Rio Grande Valley, where there were tons of palm trees. I think that when people think of the state of Texas, they don't imagine palm trees, but my home town had plenty. Another name for my hometown was "City of Palms."

After Caesars Palace, we stayed at the Imperial Palace, which was right across the street. We got a good deal for $35.00/night. It wasn't as fancy as Caesars Palace, but we basically needed the room just for sleeping, plus the price was excellent! It also had a balcony, and I could see Dad and the kids from the room when they were in the pool.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Today I baked some more green cupcakes to deliver to friends.
We also gave some to our home teachers when they came to visit. We have the best home teachers in the world!
They are awesome!

Dick, Giselle, and Anson had a tennis match in Pocatello, and they didn't get home until 9:15 pm.

Earlier today the cutest, little leprechaun came to see me.

He looked so cute!

Deacon had his first fall on our stairs today. He keeps wanting to come down the stairs standing up, and facing forward. I guess he sees us doing it that way, and doesn't realize that he is still too little, and unstable to walk down the stairs. His little forehead hit the tiled floor pretty hard. He had a huge goose egg. Head injuries scare me to death. I am so glad his mother is so calm when he has little accidents, because she calms me down.

Gathering around the dinner table

This morning, Brianna came in a panic, so worried about Deacon. She told me that she couldn't call me, because she had lost her phone, so she put Deacon in the car and headed to our house. She was worried that Deacon had suddenly developed a rash underneath his eyes. The right eye was even puffy. She was also worried that he had explosive diarrhea. I checked Deacon, and he didn't have a rash anywhere else. He was acting normal, and happy as usual. I assumed he got exposed to something and was having a little reaction. I told her we'd keep an eye on the rash. As far as the diarrhea, we could start him on rice water, and put him on a bland diet. His rash got better in just a matter of minutes. We went to Walmart and while we were there the rash underneath his eyes got really red again, and his right eye got puffy again. She called his doctor, and he was able to see him right away. He told her that it looked like he was having an allergic reaction to something. He put him on some Zyrtec, and told her to keep an eye on it, and that if it got worse to call him back. After just one cup of rice water, the diarrhea was gone. I have so much faith in rice water. My parents used it on us, and I used it on my children. It works better than any medicine in the world!

Here is Deacon having some dry toast feeling as happy as can be. His right eye still looks a little puffy, and some of the rash is still there.

This is my idea of a little bit of heaven here on earth.

Gathering around the dinner table as a family. To see my family, sitting around the table for dinner,

talking about their day means everything in the world to me.

I think that in heaven, we will do this for all three meals. 

Except all of our loved ones that have passed on will be there too.

Green cupcakes for dessert anyone???

Brianna got a new haircut. I think she looks so beautiful. I really like her new look.

Giselle gave a little lesson for Family Home Evening today. She shared a scripture with us from Matthew 6:19-21.

The scripture teaches that we must guard our hearts and watch over them so that our heart follows after the things of God and is not distracted by the things of this world. “Where is our treasure?” 

In asking this, we answer the question “Where is our heart?” because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 What an awesome thing to know that our inheritance is waiting for us. Those who strive to store up treasures here on earth will be disappointed because those treasures will only pass away.

“It is the love of money and the love of those things
which money can buy which destroys us.
We all need money to supply our needs.
But it is the love of it which hurts us,
which warps our values,
which leads us away from spiritual things
and fosters selfishness and greed." 
Gordon B. Hinckley

I baked some green cupcakes today. For our Family Home Evening activity everyone frosted and decorated a couple of them. These are the ones that I frosted. 

These shamrock leaves that I used on the cupcakes are from my plant. Mine is a start of Mom Call's shamrock. The original came from Denmark. It belonged to one of her grandmothers many, many, many years ago.
Aubrey and I went to deliver some cupcakes to some friends after we decorated them. 

Tennis season begins

Dick and Anson had rehearsal for Bus Stop at 7 am today.

They also had a tennis match against Rigby at 11, and a tennis match against Madison at 2 pm. Giselle is the assistant coach for the team.

The Rigby coach is Dick's ex student, Quinn Robins.

Mike Ramsey was there too. He lives in Burley with his wife and children. Giselle, Mike and Quinn took drama and speech from Dick all through high school. They were involved in a lot of plays. They also were involved in tons of speech and drama competitions. Mike and Giselle even competed at a National speech competition.

Deacon came to watch the tennis match, but fell asleep on the way. Notice his tie... Brianna said that he won't leave the house without it. Before this, it was his winter hat.

Brandon and Anson

Brandon and Anson have been friends since the 3rd grade.

After Deacon woke up from his little nap, he was their biggest fan.

Giselle had all these healthy snacks for the tennis players. (Oranges, granola, Gatorade, etc.) BUT, in between games Brianna, Deacon, and I went on a burger run. Brianna bought burgers for the family, and for some of Anson's friends. Deacon ate his on the way to the tennis courts.

This was my favorite picture!

The weather was wonderful today!

It was about 45 degrees and sunny.

Delicious!!!

03/05/11 and 03/06/11... A visit with Richie and his family

Richie was here this weekend. He got here on Saturday and left Sunday, after dinner. On Saturday, we went to Twin Falls, and had dinner at Five Guys.

Wow, I look really short when I'm standing by my children. My baby girl is now taller than I am.

After Five Guys, we went to Shoshone Falls. The falls are starting to get pretty full. I can't wait to see them in May or June. They get huge!

Sunday, was Anson's special day. He was ordained a Priest.
In our church, a worthy young boy may be ordained a Deacon
when he turns 12, and a Teacher
when he is 14. A boy must be at least 16 years old
before he can be ordained a priest.
Dick ordained him.
Richie II, Travis, and Bishop Garn stood in the circle.
Congratulations Anson!
I hope you can always be a good example for those around you.

We took a family picture after church. Richie and Sophia made faces in every single picture.

"Just Dance 2" 
The kids were being so cute. They are great dancers!

It was great to have ALL of my children home.

I love them all so much.