Pay it Forward

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.

This offer does have restrictions and limitations:

I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!

What I create will be just for you.
It will be done this year. You may have to be patient.

You will have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry or maybe even some creation I haven't invented yet. I may draw or paint something.

I may bake you something and mail it to you. I may even sew something for you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!

I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who comment on your blog.

I am excited to create something just for you! Hurry quick...comment! Then go pay it forward.

Catching up

Lots going on around here. I have not been blogging or even looking at blogs all week. How can that be - I miss this. So catching up briefly -

Chloe is working and having fun her junior year. She says this is the last year to just be a kid and get not have to worry about being a "grown-up". She has great friends and they all seem to keep each other busy. School wise she is doing good. Her grades were good except how do you get a C in PE? Later she found out she had missed some classes because of dentist appointments and being ill and she says you have to run so many laps to do make up work. She thinks a C is just fine and running is not:) Everyone needs a sweet teenager like Chloe!

Chad is doing track and doing very well. He runs varsity 110 and 300 hurdles. He keeps improving his time and comes in second and third most races. He also runs a couple of relays sometimes and does well on those. He is going to run the half marathon I am doing with me and that will be fun. Also, got straight A's (including three A+'s).

Noah is playing baseball and loving it! He gets to play second or shortstop and his hitting is improving. He has walked a lot so that looks good on his stat sheet. His report card really was good considering he has some ground to make up from the progress report card. He has decided it much easier to get the work done before it is due than to have to make it all up in three days (all missing assignments I made him do and turn in even if he did not get credit for them) He has told me lesson learned and it won't happen again. We shall see.

Taylor is playing softball. Their games have not started yet but she is loving it. She was looked at by her coach during tryouts and he wanted David to coach with him so he could get her for sure on his team. David couldn't help but he managed to get her anyway. She did really good as always on her report card.

Hayden gets to play with Taylor on the same team and she has really improved over last year. When I made a comment to her she replied "It helps when you have a coach who teaches you instead of just thinking you already know what to do!" I guess she is right. She loves it and looks so cute being the smallest out there on the field. She did really good on her report card and took a very big spelling test and out of 100 words only missed 8!

Autumn is playing tee-ball this year and is so excited to finally be playing. She told me that she has waited her whole life to play softball! At first she kept telling her coaches that her dad was her coach and if they needed to know anything they could ask him. It was cute to watch as they kept moving her around to hit and she kept going back to where her dad had taught her stand. She thinks being pitcher is the best and thinks she is pretty good at it. You don't really pitch in tee-ball but if it makes her happy we won't tell her. School for her is just so fun. I love that I get to spend this time with her as we home-school. Next year will be an adjustment for her when she discovers the teacher has more than just her to pay attention to. Later I will post her first "book" she made.

The other kids are doing well working and going to school (Ashleigh has finals coming up). Chelsea is training for a marathon and so will run the half with me as well. Seth is working and just plain being an awesome son! Paige is looking for work and trying to figure school out. And of course, Toshia is busy being a great mom and finding joy in her journey. I love these kids and all they do - it is hard for me to believe sometimes that there are eleven of them - I just sit back and I am in awe of it all!

POOL PLAY

I have been TAGGED! This only my second tag and I am excited (obviously I don't have a life;)). Anyway, this is a picture from my 6th file and the 6th picture. This was taken in 2005. We were living at a rental house while we were building our new home. It must have been warm on this day for them to be playing in the pool in the shade. Autumn looks so young here. (As does Taylor) I do remember thinking as they were playing how wonderful it is to be young and just getting to play all the time. The older these younger girls get the more I bet they wish they could just play all the time now. With all the activities and things going on now a dip in the pool just for fun sounds pretty relaxing about now!

Now I tag 6 people: Rochelle, Aundrea, Lynn, Lorna, Tiffany E. , Tiffany C.

1. Go to the sixth file in your documents/my pictures.

2. Go to the sixth picture.

3. Blog about that picture.

4. Then tag 6 more people.

5. Name your picture.

Weekend update

Waking up Saturday morning I knew it was going to be a very busy day. I had lots planned and I could not stay in bed very long after I woke. So off on a five mile run I went to clear my head and get ready for a very special weekend. It proved to be special indeed!

For the first time we decided to venture the Easter egg hunt at the fair grounds. Toshia and the boys and David and I took the little kids. I was a little late because of a meeting I had so before I got there they got to pet animals and do lots of fun things. I was really impressed with how organized it was. There were lots and lots of kids and thousands of eggs to find. They had it broken down into age groups so it was really manageable. The kids had lots of fun and we decided this was much easier than trying to do our own like in the past. This will become a new Easter tradition for us! After that I took the girls shopping for their Easter shoes and then to a movie. The Hannah Montana movie had just opened and they really wanted to see it. It was very well done. I really liked it. Then we went grocery shopping. That in it self is a big thing for me to take kids with me buying groceries, but I have to say they were lots of help. And if that was not enough to fill our day when we got home we boiled our eggs and Adrian came over and we colored eggs.

Adrian had missed out on this the last time we did it at the beach. Luke was there but he was not. He really had a lot of fun with the girls and it was so much fun to have the kids be able to do a lot of this on their own and not have to worry about baby or toddlers. This is a first for me. Of course, next year Jonathan will be in the mix and he will undoubtedly make things very creative:) Speaking of which that little grandson of ours has really grown. I watched him yesterday and boy is he a talker! He really has discovered his voice and it is adorable.

Here he is with Chloe. What a cutie! I love my "grandma" time with him. He reminds me so much of Noah. Anyway, back to the weekend. Toshia had dinner for us on Easter and it was so wonderful to see and be with all the kids. She did a great job and I think it is so sweet to watch her as she comes into her own as a wife and mother. At church we had a wonderful program and I really felt the spirit of what the Easter holiday really is about. While all the eggs and candy and spring things are wonderful, the real reason for it all is that our Savior died and was resurrected. He atoned for us and gave us the gift to be able to return back to live with our Heavenly Father. As I learn to apply the atonement more in my life I am so thankful for this sacrifice he made. It is only through the atonement that we can really be whole! I am glad for the wonderful weekend of spending time with my family and to share in this celebration that is for all!

Sunshine and peace in the change of routine

This morning was a little different from my regular routine of things. If I was a coffee drinker I would now be sitting down with my hot cup of coffee. But I am not so I sit down to write to unwind. It is only 9:00 and so much has already been done. My regular walking partner could not walk this morning so I decided to go run at the gym at 5:00 this morning. What a difference it is to wake this tired allergy ridden body up to running than the quite stillness of the dark morning walks I take each day. My body was saying, "What are you doing! I am not ready for this, slow down!" Well, I did take it easy and did not run as fast and hard as usual but still kept running. Finally finishing the run I came home to waking children gathering for scripture reading. As tired eyes opened to the sounds of quiet voices reading verses out of Alma I felt a calm and peace as the words sank in my heart and mind. Not expecting the children to feel the same as me I did see smiles and peace in their faces. David read from his almanac for us and I did not realize that this day was the ending of the civil war so many years ago. It ended with the North serving those of the South as they were tired, hungry and really a defeated group of men. David made the comment that it was an interesting way for the war to end but necessary for the union to come together. Now it was time for everyone to get going and get ready for school and the day. As the older kids left for seminary and David left for work I spent about ten minutes holding and rocking my three little girls. As they were all cuddled up with me again peace filled me. A peace that I have been seeking for a few weeks. This time was just as needed for me as it was for them. As I got ready and showered and dressed and cleaned the bathroom, started the days laundry and made beds I noticed my allergies were not as bad this morning. How wonderful it was to breath deeply and not have a coughing fit or my eyes burn. Hoping this would last I came down to fix breakfast and finding Chloe smiling and singing a sweet tune my heart once again felt peace. We have had a little battle of words as of late and she left the sweetest note on my door last night apologizing - as only she can. Making a fruit smoothie (oj, bananas, strawberries and ice) I shared with those around me. Going to check my emails and listen to a pod cast I quietly drank my breakfast and again listened to the quiet voice of Autumn playing with her new Easter bunny from grandma and some of her bears. The thought came to me if I was a coffee drinker I would be sitting here relaxing now with a coffee and try to draw energy from that for the next part of my day. But I am not so I draw energy this morning from my early morning run, sweet morning family time, morning chores done, and the peace that has filled me all morning long! Even though the conflicts that wage around me are different from those fought for so long ago, I want to end them like they did by serving those around me and enjoying the small acts of service that are done each day. I am liking this changed up day and even though the rain is back; the dark clouds that have hung around me for the last couple of weeks have been lifted. There truly is sunshine in my soul today!

A sunshiny day

Today is it seems we are going to have our fourth beautiful day of sunshine. I have been looking forward to this spring and summer season. I have lots of plans and goals for gardening, canning, and creating. I have been busy making a few little crafty things for around the house and I am very pleased with how they have turned out. An Easter wreath for the front door - a couple of birthday presents for friends - some aprons for a friends granddaughters - and a quilt that I have wanted to start for a long time - and of course, my new hobby some beading - a new necklace and earrings and some bracelets. I have not really taken the time to write about all of this as I have been busy also with baseball, softball and track with the kids and my own exercise schedule and piano teaching. I need to take pictures of things and will soon post pictures of my creations but for today I am going to enjoy the beautiful sunshine and hope that my new allergy medicine really will work so I won't sneeze through the day! Happy sunshiny day to everyone!