STAKE CONFERENCE
I loved Stake Conference today! It was a great meeting and one that I feel has given me a lot of motivation. Just like the meeting last night, I feel like so many things were said to me and so many things I heard in my heart and not with my ears. I needed the focus on forgiveness. I think there are too many things that I've held on to. I need to let them go through forgiveness and move on. I think this will help with the heavy load I have been feeling lately. It was cool when Pres. Taylor mentioned forgiving historic Church leaders. They were not perfect. Kind of a cool way to look at it. I liked the reminder to do the things I am prompted to do. I liked the focus on peace. I feel like I am obstructing my own peace with negative or less than uplifting thoughts. I need to remember that through the gift of the Holy Ghost which I have, I can feel peace ANYTIME. I was reminded of my experience with looking for sponsors for the T-shirts last year and how after I had prayed about it all, I was able to rely on my faith and my Heavenly Father and KNOW that he was going to come through for me. And all along, I knew that that answer may not come when I think it should or the way I was expecting, but I DID KNOW that it was going to happen and he would some how bale me out if I wasn't able to get all the money I needed. And sure enough, Mercedes Benz called as an answer to that prayer even months before. So that was cool. I need to keep up that same kind of faith through my trials and weaknesses now. There are a few things I am waiting on. A few things I am looking for guidance from Heavenly Father on, and don't feel I have received it yet, but with the reminder of this experience, I feel confident that Heavenly Father will eventually help me and give me the guidance I need. I just need to be patient and I need to have and show my faith. I really loved all the confidence and love Elder Pace showed us. He has an interesting way of speaking. Feels almost like he didn't prepare a talk, so he's winging it, but the Spirit was so strong! And the things he was saying were so meaningful. It was really neat. Poor Molly didn't have it in her to stay in the meeting the ENTIRE time. She and I went out and found the nursery room with the toys for the last 20 minutes or so. Not bad for a two year old really. A nice lady sitting behind us in the meeting stopped me afterwards to first ask if "all those eight kids" are mine and then told me that she had been watching them the whole time and couldn't believe, actually she used the word "Amazed" and "amazing" about five or six times, how good they were! How reverent and well-behaved! Made me happy. I love that people will do that. I don't feel like it's anything I've done, so I try to give all the credit to my kids, but it sure means a lot to hear it. Especially because I had been worried about how noisy Molly was being through most of it. Goes to show you that people aren't as judgey as we think sometimes. Nice day. 5-6-18
PREPARING FOR SPIRITUAL WAR
Today while I was reading through 3 Nephi (like Pres. Facer suggested yesterday at the Adult session- to look for references to ministering and "one by one") I found the coolest scripture. It is in chapter 3 when Lachoneus has received Gadianhi's epistle and has realized that they are soon going to be under attack since they are not going to fold and join the Gadianton robbers. So he starts fortifying the city and making all physical preparations for war and preparing his people. Then he says to them, "...except ye repent of all your iniquities, and cry unto the Lord, ye will in nowise be delivered out of the hands of those Gadianton robbers." Like, it doesn't matter how strong our army is, if we are not spiritually prepared as well, we will fall into their hands and the Lord will not protect us. This was SO COOL! And stood out to me as being very similar to what Pres. Nelson just said to us in conference. He was talking about how times are getting bad enough and WILL get bad enough that if we do not become more Spiritually self-reliant, we will not survive. We need to be ready for the fiery darts of the adversary. The whirlwinds too. Spiritually. I loved it! Made me want to really reach out to Heavenly Father for help and guidance on how best to do this. I have got to work on so many things! I need to get focused! But pretty cool huh! 5-6-18
CLEANING DAY
I did so good today! Got so much cleaning done! I'm posting about it because NOBODY said a word about how awesome the house looks. So I'll have to look back and give myself praise about it later. I felt really good about it. 5-7-18
WHOLE 30, KINDA
So I'm starting a new challenge. This one is mostly going to help curb my crazy cravings, I'm hoping. And hopefully there's an added bonus of coming over my plateau. But I'll settle with cleaner insides and less of a sugar addiction if that's all I get from it. I read a little about the Whole30 challenge and it seemed like something I could do. The challenge is a little more strict than I can be, but I am cutting out grains, dairy, sugar (except fruit), beans/legumes, and anything processed or with additives. Sounds like a lot when I put it that way, but so far (I'm on day two as I'm writing this, HAHA!) I am doing pretty good! It's actually a little weird that I'm not struggling more. I am loving that I don't have to keep track of everything I eat. Plus, I do feel more energy. Not sure why because the low-carb diet alone has felt a little lacking in energy. But anyway. We'll see how I do. 5-7-18
THE THREE MUSKETEERS
Jack, Liam and Will were found clear over on Park Lane yesterday, headed to a housefire on a neighboring street (they weren't even on the right street, sillies) to put out a fire, using a sippy cup full of water. These have got to be the most creative five year old boys I've ever witnessed. So, when Jack came home (mind you I know nothing about the incident), he asks if he can go play at Liam's house instead of Will's. I had thought he was playing with Liam so I asked him when he stopped. He told me that Will got in trouble and Liam went home. Then he tells me that Will had wanted to "put up a fire on a house" and that he and Liam didn't want to, but they couldn't stop Will. Kinda funny really, but that was because I had no idea what he was talking about. So I made sure to tell him that fire is never a toy and never okay to play with and he already knew that of course, and then I sent him on his way over to Liam's to play. Well, right then I got the text from Emily telling all the details and what had happened. Luckily Liam had been grounded, so Jack was right back here and we were able to talk about it all. I don't think Jack really knew that it was bad to leave our street. We've talked a lot about boundaries in the creek and he follows those rules pretty religiously, so this surprised me, but I kind of don't think he really knew that was wrong. Maybe. But either way, we had a long talk about staying on our street and telling parents when friends have crazy ideas. It was interesting. Those three know how to get into trouble that's for sure. Glad they're okay and that we were able to talk about some of those safety precautions. Stinkers. 5-7-18
STITCHES OUT
I took Noah to get his stitches out Monday. We pulled up to the Urgent Care and the doctor we'd had and his assistant were both leaving. (Strange since we got there at 4:00 and that is when he told us to come) So I courageously asked, "Ya leaving?" and he said, "Yeah." To that I said, "Bummer!" and acted like we were getting back in the car, to which he replied, "It's okay, there's still lots of people in there." I guess he didn't know who we were at that time and had no idea why we were there, so I added, "Well, we were just going to have you take his stitches out." Then it hit him and he was all apologetic, then turned down his assistant on whatever it was they were going to go do, and explained that he likes to take out his own stitches on faces, so he walked us right in, and to the back. He isn't the most professional doctor, but this was impressive. He worked on Noah pretty quickly and had us out of there in no time. Noah seemed to be okay with the stitch removal process, so that was good. Didn't shed a tear. Except maybe in mourning for the attention he will no longer be receiving for stitches :). Just kidding. The steri-strips will open a whole new world ;). Glad to have that taken care of- hopefully things heal up nicely and there's not too much of a scar. 5-7-18
PTA BOARD LUNCHEON- FREEDOM!
We did it!! Jami and I completed our last (kinda) big thing as Presidents!! It's been such a nice day thinking about how we don't have to do this stuff anymore!! Our luncheon went really well despite Plates and Palates not selling crackers with their Artichoke dip. Jami did most of it, all the ordering and hosting. I just delivered all the food. But I think it was a success! I feel so much relief! There's a teensy tiny bit of "did we do okay?" type of worry in my head, but for the most part I know we did fine. We didn't go over the top which I am sure Amy Norton will next year, but that doesn't mean we didn't do okay. Plus. I have to keep reminding myself. This is PTA!! Not a big enough deal to fret over. So bring on the hobbies! I think I'm getting my life back! 5-8-18
BABY BIRDIES
We noticed birds coming and going a lot from our roof, just over Noah's and Jack's bedroom. And eventually noticed the sounds of baby birds as well. Turns out there is a nest in the eaves just above our bedroom. They access it through the eaves by the little boys' room. Pretty fun to hear their cute little sounds all the time. Molly and I like to sit on the front steps and listen to them quietly. So sweet :). The sounds of spring. Not sure what we'll do with the whole nest situation, but for now- we like it :). 5-9-18
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO GRANDPA HATCH
Steve invited us all to Robintinos for my Dad's birthday and asked me to bring a cake. I was so excited when it hit me that this was my chance to make the Geode cake! I've really been wanting to try this one. And my dad actually really loves geodes. We made some changes to my plans, at the store, when we realized hard candy chopped up would work just as well as homemade rock candy. I wimped out and bought a cake. It took me a good three hours with making the marble fondant (Which I absolutely loved how that turned out) and placing the candy shards in the crack ONE AT A TIME!! Talk about time consuming. I was pretty proud of the cake for the most part. Minus the bulging and that I didn't have enough candy to make a bigger crack. But I don't love the pictures. They don't really do it justice in my opinion. So that was a bummer, but anyway. I think he liked it. We met up with him and Steve at Robintinos. We had to drive separately because Erika was still at activity days when it came time to leave. Everyone but Kelly was there for dinner though. It ended up being a lot of fun and we had a good time. Still can't believe Steve snaked the bill right out from under us! Gotta be more careful next time. But super nice of him to cover it. Luke and Noah got to try Sasparilla for the first time. I got a salad and only squoze lime on it for dressing. Pretty remarkable. I think my dad was happy he had people to celebrate with :). Even ate some of my sugary cake. Nate and the older ones had to leave for mutual a little early, but the rest of us went up to Grandpa's to hang out for a while. That was fun too. I only wish the little ones knew him better and felt more comfortable with him. We'll have to see what we can do about that. 5-9-18
MOTHER'S DAY LUNCH
We (Nate, Molly, Jack, Steve and I) took my mom to lunch on Thursday. This was our Mother's Day celebration with her. We went to Costa Vida in The Square. It was a lot of fun. I loved talking with everyone and especially our Millennial conversation. Made me think. I had a salad with just lettuce, chicken (they do something really delicious to their chicken- I hope it's not sugar), and mango salsa. It was SO DELICIOUS! I really loved it actually. Oh, and cilantro- gotta have the cilantro. So anyway- good stuff. We went over to her house after and chatted for a bit then test drove Simon's electric bike. Lots of fun. 5-10-18
VARSITY
Kelly got asked to play up for the Varsity team's tournament! Pretty cool stuff! She was very excited and we are all so proud of her. Unfortunately, the games are falling at the same time that she has theater rehearsals and performances. So she really won't get to play with them much. She's enjoying practicing with them and feels pretty awesome just being chosen :). She did get to be at their game Wednesday. They didn't play her unfortunately, but they did win. Kelly was able to miss part of her rehearsal for it. 5-10-16
SOFTBALL AND BASEBALL
We had the pleasure of Grandpa Hatch's and Steve's company at both of our games tonight! What a fun surprise! It's always fun to have extra eyes and cheers watching you and cheering you on. I think that made Erika and Noah happy. 5-10-16
MOTHER'S DAY LUNCH TAKE TWO
We took Nate's mom out to lunch on Friday. We went to Chili's- her choice, but probably because she knows how much I love Chili's. She remembered my love for Southwestern Eggrolls. How cute is that! Unfortunately, they are not really Whole30 compatible. So I cheated in order to keep my mother-in-law happy :). She had gone out of her way to pick a place I like- I wasn't about to not eat the thing she REMEMBERED me liking! I couldn't. And the piece I had was AMAZING! I have not lost my love for those. Luckily. But I did have to keep it to just one. Cheating doesn't taste as good as not. It was fun to talk. She was telling us all about her neighbor who does meals as a home business. I like her business model- I'd love to copy it with Smoked. We'll see. It's cool that she's interested in what he is doing and wanted to hear about it. We had to kind of hurry out of there and get her home quickly, to pick up the Junior High kids. I always forget about early out for them. But we made it. 5-11-18
D.A.R.E. BOONDOCKS DAY FOR LUKE
Clint called as we were driving home from Ruth's and insisted that Luke go with him to Boondocks. Luckily Luke and I had talked enough about it in the morning that Clint surprising him with a ride (before we could even talk about it any more) and taking him there without a goodbye from me wasn't too weird. They had so much fun! I was so glad! They had funny stories and really made the most of their three hour passes that actually lasted longer. They had planned on coming home at 7:00, but called to see if they could stay til 8:15 :). I was really just happy that Luke was enjoying himself away from home. And I'm so glad he has Clint for a friend. They are such good boys. Doing big sixth grade things is actually a lot of fun :). 5-11-18
MOVIE NIGHT
After Erika's game we came home, had dinner (the kids got Little Caesar's, Nate made me a STEAK!), then Nate and I put the kids to work on team clean up and went (Charity called it a mini date) to All A Dollar to pick up some treats for a movie night. Our Friday evenings are pretty much the only time we can all relax, so that we did. We found Old Yeller on Amazon and watched that for our Movie Night. I remember that show really well, but I also remember falling asleep during that show really well. I never really got to see much of the end and usually only woke up for the loud parts, when the cow is sick, the wolf is fighting Old Yeller, and when Travis has to shoot the dog. So it was interesting to watch the whole thing and even more interesting that my kids stayed awake through the whole thing! Old movies are not as entertaining and action packed as movies are now, so it always kinds of surprises me how into those they can get. Fun for me. 5-11-18
SATURDAY IS A SPECIAL DAY
This Saturday ended up being a pretty lazy one :). Which was pretty nice, if I do say so myself. We did almost nothing for the first part of the day. Well, I did :). Nate took the kids shopping. I was able to get my workout in and about two hours of laundry, so not completely unproductive, but other than that... Nate and Bradley went fishing. Jack, Brad, Kelly and I played some games- that was a lot of fun! I was trying to sneak in some fun with mom time since I never get enough of it on Mother's Day. We went and saw A Wrinkle In Time at the Kaysville Theater after dinner. That movie was pretty cool. Kind of missing pieces which I'm sure the book fills in, but it was pretty entertaining. Even Molly sat through the whole thing. After filling up on popcorn, lemonade, skittles and getting her foot stuck in the chair, she sat on my lap and almost fell asleep. The movie was too exciting though, she didn't. But it's been nice the last couple movies to not have her all over the place and needing to leave the theater crying. I could get used to that. 5-12-18
