The beauty of prayer....

Monday we had a family home evening lesson on saying personal prayers (I thought that this would help to encourage my rowdy kids to be a little more reverent and a little more spiritual). So, I printed out an little chart allowing them to "X" off each day this week if they said a personal prayer. Kadan (Mr competitive) was the first and after he disappeared for a few minutes up to him room he came downstairs beaming that he said a personal prayer. Then Kadan helped Bo say her prayers and Addy skipped to a private spot to say hers. Last was Hunter -- the contemplative one. After a little while he came to me and said,

"Mom, guess what. You can really feel the Holy Ghost when you say personal prayers. It makes you feel so good inside."

Our fisherman extraordinar...

is Mr. Kadan. He can even catch fish with his bare hands. Let me explain....

We live next to a lake that is covered in moss but that doesn't deter Kadan. A few days ago he begged me to take him fishing so after he spent an hour getting the poles ready I just could not say no. So, away we went. First to the private fishing hole across the street then to the public dock a 1/2 mile away. With each cast he caught something -- MOSS. He was devastated. He wanted to catch a fish so bad but since the moss is so thick, every cast brought with it loss bait and tons of green foliage. I finally gave up and started walking home with the kids in tow but undeterred snuck away for a minute. To my surprise, Kadan came running towards me soaking wet just a few moments later with a little catfish. With the hugest little boy buck teeth grin he exclaimed, "I told you I would get one. I just had to jump in and scoop one up in the stream."

Way to go KADAN!!!

She's a keeper...

The verdict is in... now that we have an electric fence to install and I have been smothered by puppy kisses, Sage is definitely a keeper.

Dog for sale...

If my kids let me sale her. Anyone want a completely gorgeous puppy that runs faster away from you when you call her name, chews up car seats and scrapbooks, jumps on you, poops everywhere, barks all day just for fun, scratches your car and yanks your arm off when you try to take her for a walk? Other than that, she is a real jewel!

You know -- sometimes having a puppy is not all that it is cracked up to be and today is just one of those days. I love her but sometimes she completely gets on my NERVES and since we are not allowed to have fences where we live, it makes for a fun battle of wills when she is in one of her moods.

Happy 4th of July...

just a few weeks late.

We had a wonderful 4th. Starting on the 3rd with the kids' 1st Rodeo (btw -- Kadan decided that bull riding just did NOT look very fun -- thank goodness for that). Then in the morning we went to the Show Low Parade and had the perfect location. We got tons of candy and soaked by the fire hoses -- just perfect for a warm summer day. After going to see Ice Age the meltdown we venture to the city fire works. Piled in the back of Ian's truck -- we had the most perfect view with an easy, no wait, way out of the parking lot.

Don't you just love the "oohs and ahhs" from your kids with each explosion of the fireworks? And "oh, that one is my favorite" or "whoa, that one was huge,"it's the finale"!!! I cannot count how many times I heard those phrases that night but I could hear them 1 million times more.

It was just a wonderful time.

Feeling a whole lotta love...

from my little ones today. I was up in my bedroom vegging for my b-day and decided to check on my girls who were playing outside. When I went outside, to my surprise, they had a line of their favorite toys placed at the end of our driveway and a car pulled over to look at the items. I then heard Addy say as another car drove by, "Toys for sale for my Mom's b-day."

They where having a garage sale so they could make enough money to take me to get a pedicure for my birthday. How cute is that? Just lovin' these little kids of mine.

Some reunion fun...

I mentioned in another entry what a wonderful time we had at the Jensen Family reunion. Now that I have downloaded the pictures, I can let you get a peak into all the fun that we had. I can honestly say that it was one of the best times of my life -- one of those moments that when you look back on it, you smile. As I post these pictures I want to go over some of the highlights:

• Hunter catching the first sand dollar -- we were all in awe. They are so cool.
• Playing soccer on the beach with Champion Uncle Dave and back-up Aunt Annie. Kadan kept trying to steal the ball (being the ultimate competitor) and unexpectantly got a cannonball to the chest.
• Hunter and Addy learning to fly a kite with Aunt Karen.
• The marvelous game of PIT where Jody finally one (after several years of losing streaks) and dove across the table to hit the bell.
• Chicken fights in the ocean.
• Old guys verses young guys in basketball with the Old guys being victorious
• Endless relaxing family time
• The Ridiculous sunburns of Jack, Miranda and Nick and rejoicing for the invention of sunshirts (and my kids wearing them) so that everyone else slept well at night.
• Uncle Jay (just after a total shoulder) and Cousin Darsha (making a 12 hour journey with 5 small children) definitely win the troopers of the reunion awards
• Awesome t-shirts designed by Dave that made us look so cool in the pictures
• The family tree presentation -- with all the memories, laughter and tears of over 4 generations -- I cannot wait to see the quilt!!!
• Beach time and more beach time.
• Chatting with Katie
• The "back-hair" story of Dad and Uncle Carl -- I laughed until I cried.
• The car rental experience -- one thing about Jensen's -- when they feel like their is injustice they band together then fight and fight until they are victorious.
• Singing (of course with perfect harmony -- Jensen's LOVE to sing) for Father's Day.

More to come...

My absolutely beautiful Nanny....

Now, I must be a little prejudice about her -- but my Nanny is the most BEAUTIFUL great-grandma in the whole world. She has more energy, more spunk, and more southern charm than any woman that I know. You just have to hear her talk in her sweet southern accent.

(btw -- I want to inherit this painting but I may have to arm wrestle my Aunt Bobby for it)

It was such a joy to spend time with her when we were in Columbia. She was so sweet to Hunter. She just sat there nodding and smiling, asking him tons of questions as he talked all about our Jensen reunion (and you know that when Hunter gets started -- he can talk for hours). She welcomed all his hugs and gave him tons of kisses. Now, this is the perfect type of Great-Grandma for Hunter. He just melted with her around. I love you Nanny -- thank you for these tender moments.

Isn't she the MOST beautiful BABY in the WHOLE world?

Ha, Ha, Ha!

Aren't these the worst? Addy used to make this face when she was sitting in the high chair. Tia and I would get such a kick out of it and would be laughing so hard that she would do it over and over and over again. Thank goodness this little silly face grew up to be this little silly face

Now, just one more just because I am going down memory lane today. This is a trip that we took to the White Mountains during medical school. Tia had a little bun in the oven (Jake). As the boys fished, Tia and I got lost for hours. It was such a blast!

This made me cry...

I hope that you enjoy it too.

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes