HEAVENLY FATHER KNOWS ME
I had to take Sadie into the mother’s lounge today and while I was in there I had a little chat with Heavenly Father. More like me crying and begging Him to tell me what to do. Wishing I could be a good mom. Wishing I could be a better teacher, wishing I had some more control over my home and my family and a few minutes later, Kara Larsen got up and bore her testimony and in her testimony she said, “Heavenly Father knows you” and I just burst into tears. It felt so good to think about that. Kind of exactly what I needed to hear. Then the awesomest think happened and Brad got up and bore his testimony talking about something that happened the other day. He was looking for his basketball shoes, and I’d asked him to put something away for me, and he had almost put that off and not listened, but instead chose to do it and it just so happened that his shoes were right where whatever it was I asked him to do, was! Pretty cool. So he bore his testimony of obeying parents. Every parent’s dream!! I loved it! Brought me to tears also. My life is good. Everything is going to be okay. 2-2-20
THE WALK OF SHAME
I left my coat on the floor under the pew in front of us in sacrament meeting when I left to the mothers lounge, nobody grabbed it after sacrament meeting, so when we were headed out to the car at the end of church and I was reaching for my keys in the bag, I remembered that I’d left them in my coat pocket!!! Ugh I was so dreading this!! I was totally going to go out to the car (after checking to make sure it wasn’t hanging up in the hallway or lost and found or something) and make one of my kids do it 😬. But something inside me convinced me that I should do it myself. So I did. It was super embarrassing, but I walked up the aisle and bent down, grabbed it, turned and went out the door!! Super crazy!! Fast and testimony meeting and everything!! 2-2-20
REGIONAL YOUTH DANCE REPRESENTATIVE
Brad just got his first stake calling! He’s going to be our stake’s boy representative!! I’m super excited for him and he’ll be so good at that! Can’t wait to see what he does! 2-2-20
LUKE IS 14!!!
Luke had a great day!! Favorite breakfast, crepes! Kelly made his sign! I took him pizza for lunch even though the annoying kids were going to ask for some. Then we all went Axe throwing for his party that night! That was a lot of fun! I was so glad we did it! Even Jack and Molly had a blast! Throwing the little suction cup ones of course. Grandpa Hatch, Dawn, Steve, Grandma and Simon were all there. Good stuff! I made him a stump cake that was going to have an axe in it but I completely ran out of time. I hope he knows I love him and am so grateful for what he does in our family. He is a great kid. Great friend. Good sense of humor! I just love the little guy! 2-3-20
PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES
This was another great conference session this year! Our kids are awesome! Unfortunately they didn't have the book fair so we had to get Frosty's instead :). Good job kids!! You're so amazing! 2-5-20
PTC DINNERS
I got the teachers Chick-fil-a recommended by the PTA and they loved it! Who woulda thought! Busy night, but I had Nate's help and it went really well! So glad. 2-6-20
SWEETHEARTS DANCE
I was so happy to hear that the girls' dance went well! Better than the last one for Kelly, and Charity took Carter so... well, you know :). She had a blast! I was bummed i didn't get to take pictures! But it was fun to hear about it all. 2-8-20
FAMILY MEETING
Nate took work off and came to the family meeting with us! It was so great! I love it when he can come! 2-9-20
STEVE'S BIRTHDAY
I made Steve a stump cake and everyone cake over here to celebrate him! It was a lot of fun. I enjoy spoiling Steve. I just wish I did it more often. 2-10-20
HOUSE OF ORDER
A couple weeks ago I was asked to speak on organizing and cooking and what works in my home. It kind of took over my thoughts for those two weeks. I ended up making a few changes to how I run things as well as realizing that I do have some good things that I do around here to keep things in order. I sometimes don't give myself enough credit. I was happy to do it, but not happy at the same time. Simply because I know there are way more organized people out there and it felt like I was an imposter. 2-11-20
VALENTINES DAY
This Valentines felt a little different than previous years. We went to the school for Jack’s star student thing, but no parties which is totally new for us. Nate got me roses which is not really new but I sure love it! We had a few errands to run, got the chocolates and caramel apples for the kids and then in true last minute Christa form, we ran to Joann to get some fabric so that I could make pillow cases for everyone ツ. So I spent most of the day making those. That was actually a lot of fun until my mom came and asked me if I wanted her size 3 X dress again. I already felt fat. Now I feel like I look 3X. Kind of a bummer. Nate and I went out and had a great night. I'm so lucky to have Nate for my Valentine! 2-14-20
JACK STAR STUDENT
We got to go watch Jack present his cute little Star Student packer and show and tell to his class on Friday. He did so good! Nate and I couldn’t get over how perfectly he’d drawn the family. He drew stick people but their heights were shockingly accurate! It was first noticeable when you could see that Noah was just a hair shorter than Erika. Oh and he drew them going youngest to oldest. Starting with his “baby sister Sadie”. Which also surprised me a little ツ. But of course Brad was taller than everyone except Nate. It was super cool! I am going to have to take a picture of it. He’s very detail oriented on the things that matter to him. When he got to school he’d gone up to Mrs. Lindsey and told her he’d forgotten his show and tell and when she asked if he wanted to call his mom to bring them he said, “nah”. Hahahaha!! Crazy kid. But we noticed he didn’t take his stuff and brought some of the stuffed animals he had planned on ツ. One point for us! I loved watching him answer the questions and being all cool. He’s such a good kid. 2-14-20
KELLY’S TALK
Kelly worked so hard on her talk! Put so much thought and effort into it! It totally paid off too! She did such a good job!! She talked about Christ’s power to love- especially showing kindness when provoked. She had some great examples from her life and a lot of great examples from the Savior’s life. She just did a really good job! Made her mama proud! 2-16-20
PRESIDENTS DAY
We needed an outing and I wanted it to be free, so we went to theClark Planetarium! Luke brought Jaxx along and Charity had to work, but we all went together which was a lot of fun. I put Sadie in the little papoose and she was AMAZING the entire time! Only fussed for a second, put Molly to shame. Molly was a pill. She had a little fun with Kelly and Brad in the beginning, but the rest of the time she whined at me. Not my favorite. I don’t think my buddy Jack loved it too much either. I was glad everyone else was off having fun though. Noah and Erika had buddies up- they seemed like they had fun. Luke and his friend made their way around as well, slightly turned off by the crowd. It was a little busy. But we had fun. When we got home we all veged. Some kids played with friends. It was a nice end to the day off. 2-17-20
CHEERING ME UP
It was a pretty long night last night, with Sadie needing me about every hour. I hadn’t wanted to disturb Nate as he had plans to take the kids to the temple at 4:00 😳. So it was all on me and was pretty draining. Around about 5:00 I was rocking Sadie, had just fed her and she was asleep, just not letting me lay her down. I was saying a prayer almost out loud but pretty quiet and it turned into crying. I had my eyes closed with my head tipped back. Suddenly Sadie jerked pretty wildly so I looked down at her and much to my surprise she had THE BIGGEST smile on her face and was kind of staring me down with it as she launched into her head nodding thing ツ. It was so cute I had to smile. Then it occurred to me that this sweet little 7 month old had just cheered me up! She brought a really tender peace to my heart!! So cool!! I hope I never forget that sweet look on her face! She totally made my day! 2-18-20
BRAD WRESTLING MATCH 2
Brad did so good today at his match!! Didn’t take him long and he totally pinned the guy!! 2-18-20
NOAH 7TH GRADE ORIENTATION
Fifth time's the charm! HA! Just kidding! This was a lot of fun to attend with Noah. He seems pretty anxious for Jr. High. He fought with Jacob the entire time about sitting by each other- they are both so stubborn, they didn't, and we got to watch Brad and his A Cappella choir sing, "I Want it That Way" from the Backstreet Boys. It was fun! They did great! It was interesting to look at things through Noah's eyes this time and wonder what he thought of it all. He loved seeing his orchestra teacher and got excited about that. He had wanted to wander the halls a little and ask some questions, but there weren't any to ask. I'm sure we'll think of some as time goes on. Getting excited for Jr. High though! Should be fun. 2-19-20
BRAD WRESTLING @CENTERVILLE
We all piled into the van after we got Brad's text saying he was in five people. It's been fun to have some of the kids there this year to help cheer him on and see how fun it is. He did really good at this match, but Centerville has really involved coaches and they kinda handed our bums to us at this match, so not many of his team won. Kind of a bummer. But as we were leaving Jack goes, "I want to wrestle! Not Brad, but somebody else!" I told him he could this summer if he wants!! So that will be cool if he actually does it! 2-20-20
KJH AND DAVIS MADRIGALS TOGETHER
I got to go watch Brad and Charity perform in their concert together! This was a cool experience! Erika and Sadie were with me and we loved the concert! Some of the songs were so pretty! I loved finding out how to pronounce the Si Si De Moja song :). Such a great night! They did awesome! 2-20-20
BRAD AND KELLY REC CENTER EMPLOYEES
I don't think I've mentioned that Brad and Kelly are working for the rec center on Saturdays. They run the score table or ref the Jr. Jazz basketball games! It's been fun to hear about. They've made some good money too! Good stuff. 2-22-20
FACE TO FACE WITH THE OAKSES
This was a really great face to face- answered a lot of my questions and gave me more motivation to keep on with the goal setting and making it a bigger deal. I only wish they'd told us it was on TV at home! They made it sound like we had to come to the church for it and that it was just for the over 12 crowd. So I made this big deal out of it, got my mom to watch Erika and Jack and Molly, drove them ALL THE WAY DOWN THERE and back and wrestled Sadie through the whole thing, all because I thought we had to. If only we could have watched it at home!! Oh well. Good stuff. Noah did need to bring his cookies. Cooper had dropped the ball and forgotten to get the refreshments in time, so he asked everyone to bring something. Noah stepped up and made cookies all by himself! Cool kid! He really is a good go to guy. Helps out whenever it's needed in his quorum. 2-23-20
UNCLE DREWS LAST GAME
This game was annoying. Nate and I had shown up late after talking with the Stake President and when we got there, the whole crowd was ticked off about a discrepancy in the points. The refs were horrible, the kids at the table stunk, and the other team was playing dirty! Brad did a great job and as always basically carried the team, but it was painful to watch. Kind of a bummer to end the season on. 2-25-20
MEET WITH THE STAKE PRESIDENT
This didn't seem like it was going to be a big deal calling for some reason. I was totally calm going into it, picturing sports or something for either of us (since we'd been complaining about sports for a while). Maybe like trek ma and pa or something... we just didn't feel too worried, which is weird. So we got to the church, shook hands with Pres. Taylor and Pres. Muelstein and sat and talked for a minute. Then President Taylor came out and took Nate back with him. This is when I started to wonder what it was going to be. They LOVED having him in Young Mens, so I was hoping it wasn't that. He loved it too. But my mind was wandering. We had joked about Bishop, but we all knew that Bishop Larson has at least another year. So that was tricky. I had fun talking to Pres. Facer and Pres. Muelstein. Found out that Pres. Muelstein served his mission in Germany and Pres. Facer in the New England states! Mine and Nate's dad's missions!!! What are the odds? So bizarre! So that was cool. Then it was time! Pres. Taylor invited me back to his office with Nate. I tried to get it out of Nate what he'd been called to, but he didn't know! He had just been chatting all that time. So then President Taylor offered him a calling as 2nd counselor in the Bishopric! Told him that Bishop Larson had wanted him to be his 2nd counselor since Bro. Thaxton was being released and put in as Elder's quorum. We had NEVER imagined this one! Nate was quick to accept and they asked me if I would sustain and support him and I said, absolutely. I really feel like Nate is perfect for this calling. The only hard part is going back to Deacons when he just moved up to Teachers. He loves both, he was just getting settled in. It was pretty crazy, and they kept telling me they were sorry to do that to me, but it was a calling from the Lord. I am glad that the Lord didn't let them let me hold him back. He is perfect for the job. I can't wait to see what he does in this position and the blessings that I am sure will flow. 2-25-20
BRAD WRESTLING @ MILCREEK
Brad had told us he was near the end, so we were waiting for an update 20 or so minutes before he was up, but it turned out they bumped him up! We got a last minute, I'm up next text from him and he was 15 minutes away! I couldn't help it, I had to jump in the car and just see if I could make it there. I got down to Milcreek in record time, luckily I didn't drive to Mueller Park like I'd been thinking in my head- good ol' gps. I parked really fast, ran in and scrambled to find the gym which was on the opposite end of the school, and right as I walked in I looked over and sure enough, Brad was wrestling! I was so happy I was going to get to watch him. I whipped out my phone and caught just 17 seconds before he pinned the guy :). Kinda funny, but also cool. I only wish I'd been able to see the whole thing. All I remember was him saying to a friend, "Did you see his face? He was turning purple!" Crazy stuff. He's getting really good! 2-27-20
