Keeping up on my Goals!

Adin and Mitchell visit with Santa at the Mall.  Adin was  a bit too shy to get much closer than this:)

This is probably the most difficult time of year to keep any goals at all.  Thankfully, most of my goals fit in with the season.  I've been reading my scriptures nearly every day.  I'm already in the middle of 2 Nephi.  This has really helped me stayed spiritually at peace during what is pretty much a stressful time for me.  I have been using my new Droid phone to read the scriptures and track my progress.  It's a great little tool. I am also using it to read a book on Kindle.  I'm reading the classic fairy tales which are fun to read and easy to fit in here and there.  On my bedside table I have A Patriot's History of the United States.  It's amazing, unfortunately it's also very long and will be due back at the library next week.  I'm going to have to give in and buy this one, but it's worthy of my bookshelf.

 

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Me and Elijah on the Roller Coaster at Amazing Jake's!

Stuart and I were able to attend the temple in Mesa last week.  We brought all the kids up with us and they stayed at their Aunt Laurie's house.  We did sealings in the temple, bringing some of my ancestors together forever through the wonderful priesthood power.  What a wonderful feeling that was.  After our temple visit, we took the kids to a fun place called Amazing Jake's.  It is an indoor wonderland. It has lazer tag, rock wall climbing, mini golf, bumper cars, a mini coaster and lots of video games and other stuff.  It also has an all you can eat buffet.  I think that counts as  one of the "local attractions", even though it is in Gilbert.

Chad and Greg's team

Elijah and his teammates with Flat Stanley-who visited for a few weeks.

Flag Football for the boys is going to be over today!  They have their tournament games and then we get to rest until next year.  They have all done well and had fun playing.  On Wednesday they had night games.  Chad and Greg had 2 games to play, but I only let them play 1/2 of the second game as it was bedtime for Elijah.

Mitchell in front of our tree.

Almond Butter Bars, Yummy.

Last night we attended a live children's Nativity that a local family puts on each year in front of their barn, complete with a donkey, alpaca (for the camel) and sheep.  It was beautiful.  I love Christmas time. We also did our first baking yesterday. The famous (or infamous if you are a waistline) Almond butter bars!  We are taking them to a cookie party tonight with Stuart's work associates.  Sunday is Stuart's 41st birthday and his sister is coming with her family to help us celebrate. We are then keeping their 4 kids with us for a few days.  It's going to be a fun week!  I can't wait until Christmas.

Another Busy Week

My days are so busy lately.  Yes, it's December and there's lots to do to prepare for Christmas, but also our home business has been taking up a lot of my time.  I'm still working on my goals though!  I've been using my birthday gift (a Droid cell phone) to read the Book of Mormon each day and I use the Kindle application to read books.  My 1st book for the 39 is "Fairy Tales everyone should read".  I'm also reading "The Patriot's American History", but it is a huge book and will take me a while to read.  I signed up for a free on-line course through BYU's distance learning program.  It's called The American's guide to government.  I've completed the 1st lesson.  I've been really good about reading every day to Adin and sometimes Eli before bed.  I also stayed within my grocery budget last week.  Stuart and I went out to dinner on Friday night with some friends, so that counts for my goal to go on a date with him 2x/month.  I'm working real hard, though not perfectly, at keeping my voice down even when I'm upset.  This is probably my most difficult goal as it requires a change of my character, a change from the way I was raised, a change from how my family has become accustomed to me, but a change that is essential to my happiness and to the improvement of my family.
We set up and decorated our Christmas tree tonight.  It's a wonderful holiday with so many traditions that bind our family, even if it is a bit stressful at times. May it be a blessed holiday for all of us.

Making Memories while Making Thanksgiving Dinner

This year is the first year in a long time that our family has stayed home for Thanksgiving.  Since we didn't have any guests, we waited until Thanksgiving day to prepare all the food.  We had the traditional dishes: Turkey with gravy and stuffing, potato casserole, green bean casserole, homemade rolls with cranberry sauce, corn (that we brought with us from Idaho 2 years ago), and of course, PIE!  The best part of Thanksgiving this year was cooking it together. Everyone got in on the action and helped make a wonderful meal and even better memories.  I am so grateful for my family.

This is what 39 looks like!

Happy Birthday to me!

Today is the first day of my last year being 30-something.  I plan to make it a great year.  I have set 39 goals for myself, most of them very measurable.  Some are easier for me than others, but all of them will help me be the person I want to be.  Today, I am going to get my hair cut, so I have 3 months until I have to do that one again!  I might even get my nails manicured- this one is a hard one for me- to spend money "pampering" myself.  It will be a fun year, and I hope you all enjoy reading along as I reach my goals.

Coming Soon! 39 goals for my 39th year

It's been so long since I have posted. Since my last post, our son, Mitchell Wayne, was born on May 27, 2010, weighing in at 8 lbs 9 oz, he was our 3rd biggest baby. He is now almost 6 months old! He rolls over, smiles and laughs. He is the friendliest baby ever. We got that new van (in October last year) and the new house (in January of this year) and are enjoying life with our wonderful kids and being busy with school, sports, work etc.

Next week, I will celebrate my 39th birthday. My last year of being "thirty something". So, I thought I would celebrate by making 39 goals. This way I can track the good I'm doing in the world and see my self improve and be ready for the next decade! So watch for those goals, coming at you next Wednesday!

Peaches in Quarts and a Bun in the Oven

On Thursday, I got a good deal for peaches at the grocery store (.50/lb) and bought 25 lbs. That night, Stuart and I taught the kids how to can them. It was a lot of fun and we canned 16 quarts. I'd like to get more, but that sale is over. I'll be looking for deals on apples and pears next.
On Friday, we took the boys on a field trip to the Air and Space Musuem. There are more than 300 aircraft there. The most impressive in my mind was the Air Force 2, otherwise known as Freedom 1 because it brought home the hostages from Iran in 1980. I remember seeing it land on the news back then, so it was cool to see it in person. Stu and the boys were fascinated by all the planes and missiles etc. I enjoyed watching their reactions.
On Saturday, we relaxed. I have a sore throat and so does Diane, along with a slight fever and runny nose. Stuart did take some of the boys to play paintball in the morning. In the afternoon, I took enough tylenol to feel well enough to run errands. I then went to the Dollar store and bought 7 pregnancy tests.
This morning, while the family was still asleep, I took those tests and sure enough, they were all postive. I wrote a note to Stuart, quoting Psalms 127:3-5 and showed him the tests when he woke up. He was as happy as I am. We are so thrilled and feel so blessed by the Lord to send us another one of his choice spirits to love and care for on this earth. We pray for his guidance in raising our children and providing for them. We definitely need a new van now and probably a new house too.
~Heidi

1st month of Homeschool complete

Well, I can hardly believe that we have completed our first month of homeschool. My biggest problem is there just isn't enough time in the day to do everything I want with them. Once we finish our PE in the morning and get dressed, it is 9am before we start our scripture study, then finally we get to our academics at 9:30 or so. We usually work hard till noon, then slow down until it is time to pick up Elijah from kindergarten at 1:45pm. We have learned a lot though. I like the constant review of the basics in math and grammar.
Diane got her driver's permit last week and so I let her drive around as much as possible. She also got a small part in her school production of Romeo and Juliet. Between that, piano lessons and practice and homework, she is pretty busy.
Greg and Eli started Karate lessons 2x a week. Chad is taking gymnastics lessons too. We have decided to have Chad take an on-line science class through the district. Greg is going to go to the elementary school 1x a week for an after-school science program there. He also is taking piano lessons once a week. Jake hasn't found the right extra-curricular activity yet, but we'll keep looking around. He does keep busy with Boy Scouts.
Today we celebrated Greg's 9th birthday. His aunt and cousins came down from Gilbert to eat dinner and cake with us. We decorated the cake with a paintball gun and target. Tomorrow the older kids are going to play paintball early in the morning with Stuart. They really love this new hobby of theirs! Meanwhile, it's all I can do to keep the house clean!

Day Away experiment

Well, today was my first day away from home while the older 2 boys home schooled themselves. I think they did pretty good. Diane had her bi-monthly infusion up in Mesa, so I left with her, Greg and Adin at 6am, dropped off the Greg and Adin with my sister in law, with a card of activities for Greg to complete, and went to the hospital for 3 hours. I left assignment sheets for Jake and Chad as well as instructions for getting Eli to kindergarten and back. When I returned home at 3:30pm, the house was a bit untidy, but Eli was home and had had a good day at school. The boys had completed most of their school work and were watching TV. So, it didn't go too badly. Stuart took everyone out to get milk tonight because we are out and I think because he thought I could use 20 minutes all by myself. He is such a great husband. Yesterday, Chad tried out a gymnastics class and really loved it. Greg is doing well in piano and is trying out a Karate class on Thursday. We haven't found any extra-curricular stuff for Jake yet, but he is keeping pretty busy with Scouting.

The newest additions to our family, Sparky (grey) and Scout (cream). Our family pyramid.

Elijah's 1st day of Kindergarten, 1st day of homeschool for Jake, Chad and Greg, and Diane's last day of Summer Vacation!

1st Week Down!

Well, my 1st week of homeschooling is finished. It went pretty well considering the obstacles we faced. We had to wait until Thursday before most of the curriculum arrived, so I had to come up with my own math and grammar activities for a few days. We are still waiting for Chad's math books to arrive, so I'm still fishing for work for him to do. I might have him practice measurement tomorrow while baking some cookies! Our thermal pollution science experiment did not go as well as expected, I guess our goldfish are used to warm water here in Arizona because the heat didn't seem to phase them. We did kill of 6 though when Greg put to many water conditioner drops in the tank. We rescued 4 of them, which I have named "Faith", "Hope", "Charity" and "Jaws". The other big challenge for me is helping Greg to stay focused. It takes him an hour to complete 15 minutes worth of work. He gets distracted by EVERYTHING. I don't know how the public school teachers handled this with him. They all said he completed his work, so they were not worried. Maybe their work was too easy, or they just didn't have high expectations, I don't know, I just know that I have to sit right beside him the entire time or he is gone- both mentally and physically!
I am really loving our "PE" class. We run every morning for 10 minutes. I go really slow to encourage Greg, for him this is a real challenge. I'm also trying to get Jake to run the whole time because he would rather walk then sprint, walk then sprint etc. Yesterday, Stuart and I found a used jogging stroller for $70, so next week, when Diane is gone to seminary, I can bring Adin along for our run. I'm really going to miss having Diane home in the mornings. Her school doesn't start until 8:30 am, so she has been helping me with Adin and Elijah while I jog with the boys. Next week will start a new routine of driving to seminary, then getting Eli ready before we can run. Maybe we will do the sit-ups and push-ups first though, so I can shower as soon as I get back. (It is usually 90 degrees by 8am here and I'm told that will last through September) So, I have to say that I enjoy home schooling so far. I do worry that we might not cover everything I have planned, but I hope I turn out to be a good teacher and can get the boys thinking and writing and learning.