Thursday, October 29, 2009

Words of Wisdom

I wanted to share some words of wisdom I was recently given by my dear Aunt Linda. I have been working on my Young Women's Personal Progress to receive my medallion. ( I never got it as a teenager.) One of the goals said "Ask a mother that you admire what she thinks are important attributes for being a mother. I quickly thought of my Aunt Linda. She is an amazing mother and has raised 5 wonderful, talented, strong children. The last of her children just returned home from his mission. Aunt Linda is a seasoned mother, she really knows what she is talking about. She has always been so sweet and kind to my family and has really filled a void in my life since my mom passed away. I always enjoy talking with her and love to hear her opinions on life etc. So here is her thoughts on the important attributes for being a good mother. Enjoy.

Of course, my opinion might differ from the rest of the world, since I believe the gospel is at the heart of developing anything good.
1.LIVE THE GOSPEL First and foremost, try to live the gospel consistently and try to teach your children to do the same, preferably by example. That should include daily prayer and scripture study, FHE, church attendance, temple attendance, etc. As you do this, you will come to be aware of your own weaknesses...that leads to understanding both your own problems and the possibility that your children (and husband) have problems, too. That leads to compassion and understanding.

2. LOVE YOUR CHILDREN That's not really hard to do, but sometimes it is. When those "special" moments occur, don't kill your kids! Carefully pick and choose what you are willing to fall on your sword about--most things aren't really that serious. If you're keeping a gospel-centered home, you can address a lot of issues prior to them ever happening in your family during family scripture study or FHE. Take advantage of teaching moments to have a good talk with your kids, both individually and as a group. Be there! When your kids are performing, speaking, involved in sports, etc. Be there! Also, make sure you express love for and continually touch and hug your kids--I always tried to especially do this during church (put my arm around each one--rub their backs--etc.), so that they would relate going to church with a loving family and always have a warm feeling about it. Of course, (again, you already do this) HAVE FUN WITH THEM! Do cute service things together (doorbell ditch and leave treats, food, etc. for others)--they'll always remember.

3.LOVE THEIR DAD This one can be tough, sometimes. Dads don't get as much practice as mothers in dealing with children, so they can sometimes blow it. Teach by example. They can learn. Quietly take them aside when they blow it and gently explain how they might otherwise have handled the situation. Don't correct them in front of the kids unless it is devistatingly out of control (then in private, ask your husband what the HECK is going on!!!). Make sure they attend as many of the kids' functions with you as humanly possible. When the kids come to you complaining about Dad, gently explain to them that Dad is doing the best he can and that he loves them. Try not to take the kids' sides, but show understanding. Go to the temple with hubby frequently.

4.PUSH YOUR KIDS TO EXCELLENCE Yes...I said PUSH. Demand excellence from them by enthusiasm and by creating a family expectation for excellence. Encourage, encourage, encourage, praise, praise, praise. Help them to see what they can do and help them to do it (without taking over completely). Recognize the differences and unique abilities in each child and push for them to hit their best level of accomplishment. Celebrate achievement as a family. Make a big deal out of their grades and don't fail to explain how good grades ensure a good future.

5.FEEL GOOD ABOUT YOURSELF AND WHAT YOU ARE DOING OK--here's a tricky but important one. YOU have to acknowledge to yourself that you're doing a good job. Teach your kids to express gratitude to you (and their dad, but especially you!) for what you are doing so that you also receive positive feedback from them as they grow up. This pays off in a big way, since you will spend several years primarily with the kids and you may at times feel unappreciated--those kids will fill the need you have for acknowledgement if you've done a good job of teaching them gratitude. Look at your own accomplishments and acknowledge your development. Develop your own talents so that the kids see that you, too, are always pursuing something. Visualize yourself as a competent, compassionate and calm woman and mother. Practice seeing yourself reacting to situations in the way that you want to be able to handle them. Working it out in your head will translate into being able to do it in reality when the time comes.

Thanks Aunt Linda for your words of wisdom.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Jake's Soccer Game Highlights

Jake has been playing in the Stake Soccer League. He is pretty good if I do say so myself. Judge for yourself as you watch the video clip.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Jake's Birthday Party!

For Jake's birthday party he invited two of his friends to sleep over and then Matt took them to Logandale to go riding in the Rhino.
This is Jake and his 2 best buddies. They came over Friday night and ate pizza, a lot of pizza. Later they had rootbeer floats and homemade doughtnuts per Jake's request. They stayed in Jake's room most of the night hanging out and playing with the new toys the boys gave him for his birthday. It made for a quiet evening.
As I mentioned Jake wanted homemade doughnuts instead of cake. So I made them for him and then I had to figure out how to put 8 candles into a pile of doughnuts. Here is how it turned out.
I missed taking a picture when he blew out his candles so I ask Jake to recreate the moment for me. I think he made it quite believable. What do you think?
Saturday morning the boys were up by 6:45am. So we got up and made them breakfast, packed their lunch and snacks and got things packed up in the truck.
They actually saw a tortosie walking in the sand when they were out riding. The boys thought that was pretty cool. There was also a lot of rock throwing and rolling down sandy hills. You know the usual boy stuff.
This is the boys ready to get going standing in front of the Rhino.
They got home around 4pm. After dropping of his friends Jake and Matt quickly got cleaned up and headed out to buy Jake his new bike. He has been saving up for quite some time to pay for half of his bike. As soon as they got home he and Matt made a few adjustments to the bike and Jake rode it until alomost 9pm when we told him he had to come in the house.
Here he is with his new sweet ride.
I asked Jake "How was your birthday?" His response was "I loved it. It was awesome. It was the best birthday ever!"
I say "Mission accomplished".

Friday, October 16, 2009

Jake turns 8!!

For Jake's birthday this year I thought I would post some pictures of him in his younger years and some fun memories. (Again none before 2005 when our digital world began.)

This picture was taken at the L.A. Zoo. Jake is standing near the flamingos and judging by his facial expression he does not like the smell. We laugh about this picture all the time.

This is one of my favorites. He was so proud of himself learning to write his name and sound words out. It says "I LF U MOM" That means "I love you mom". In case you couldn't figure it out.
A handsome little man on Easter.


This picture is from his 4th birthday party. As you can see it is a Batman party. Jake wanted to send his Grandpa's invitations even though he knew they could not come. My dad lived in Utah 8 hours away and Matt's dad was in Iraq. My dad came anyway without telling us and surprised us. We answered the door and there stood my awesome dad dressed as Batman. The best part was when we asked Jake "Who is that?" (thinking he would say Grandpa) he said "It's Batman!!"

The next picture is of Jake riding his quad with all his riding gear. He loves to ride.
Random picture of his silliness.
Jake and I at his Kindergarten "Mother's Day Tea Party" He had to draw a picture of what I look like and fill out a form about my favorite things.
A picture of him at the beach one summer. He really liked going to the beach even though we didn't go very often.


This is Jake on his 7th birthday loving his new LEGOS. Notice the missing tooth.

My handsome son!!


It is truly hard to believe that Jake is 8 years old. It seems like just a short time ago he was colicky and not sleeping through the night. He has turned into a little man. He is so smart and really enjoys learning new things and hanging out with his dad. He is a good big brother to Brandon and more often than not he and Emma have a lot of fun together.

Lately he has been noticing other kids who need a friend and trying to make them feel special even if no one else does. I love watching him be mindful of others. Jake is always ready to give me a hug and loves to share his day at school with me. He is a great son and we are truly blessed to have him in our family. As we say in our house "Jake makes my heart happy."

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY JAKE!!!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

"Helping" Dad with the Rhino

Last night Matt was in the garage working on the Rhino to get it ready for Jake's birthday on Saturday. Matt is taking Jake and 2 of his friends to Logandale to go riding for the day. The kids wanted to all help. So Matt had them help change the tires.
The impact wrench Matt was using was too loud for Brandon so when he was "helping" he closed his eyes.
Emma using all her muscles to work the jack.
Taking the old tire off.Jake posing with the impact wrench. That is a pretty awesome tool for an almost 8 year old.Jake using the impact wrench all by himself.
I like watching Matt let the kids help him with projects like this. It reminds me of all the times when I was little and I got to help my dad. I have changed the oil in cars, changed spark plugs and changed brake pads to name a few. I hope the kids have fond memories of working along side their dad too.