A Case of Writer's Block

Lately I have felt like my posts are lacking.  I'm not sure what but something is missing.  I try to get in all the details but the passion I have for writing just isn't there.  Our family has been very busy lately, I'm not complaining, its a good busy.  But I do feel pulled in many different directions.  Last night after piano I just wanted to crawl into bed but couldn't quite justify it because it was only 6:00pm!  We had a simple supper and sat around reading or playing games.  Once Emry got home from Young Women's the fighting started...I so wasn't in the mood to deal with sibling rivalry so I sat there while it played out! Jared, in all his wisdom, got them playing a game of charades.  What a great idea.  It stopped the fighting and they even had fun together.  The sounds of laughter filled our home right up until it was time for bed!  I marvel at how easy it was to redirect their attention elsewhere.  Jared is such a wonderful father, he knows our kids inside and out, and when I think they are being whiney or fighting too much he asks them what's bugging them because there is always something underlying when kids act out!  See, such a good father...I wouldn't have even thought of that if it weren't for him!

Jared's 40th birthday is coming up...I can't believe he's going to be 40!!! Where does the time go?  There are days when I still feel like I'm 18, just moved out on my own and then I look around and see all that we have accomplished.  Three kids, a house we built ourselves, good jobs, cows, the list is quite literally endless!!  Jared and I are going away for his birthday, some much needed time to ourselves!  I'm so thankful we have such amazing family to help us out when we go away!  We know our kids are going to be well looked after!  We will breathe in the crisp cool mountain air and refresh ourselves for another week of running around!

Running around....I wrote earlier that I feel pulled in many different directions, we've really only just begun!  It does amaze me how our schedule is working out, we still have just enough time to sit down as a family for supper even though there are a million and one things going on.  I love seeing our kids enjoy school and their after school activities.  It makes me proud of them for finding balance in their lives.  I marvel at how well they have taken to school, how well they listen to their teachers and their behavior at school.  I am proud of our kids and I hope the know it too.  I know I am not doing all I need to do to teach them at home, but I hope what I am doing is enough for them to know they are loved and will always be safe.

I'm grateful for the ability I have to write, to read and to learn each day!  I'm thankful my parents were able to give me the opportunities I needed to develop these talent's.  And I'm thankful I am able to give our children the same opportunities.  I have been writing something I am thankful for each day this past year.  It has taken a lot of commitment and I know I have grown because of this experience.  Sometimes at the moment I am not able to see what I am grateful for but at the end of the day when I sit down and look back over my day I am able to see the blessings in my life.  And each day there are many, sometimes its hard to write just one thing I am grateful for.  Life is a blessing, being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a blessing.  I am so blessed to be married to a kind, loving and compassionate man, to have three beautiful, healthy children and to live in a country where freedom abounds.  In a world of chaos living where we live is truly a blessing, one I think about a great deal...WHY am I so lucky?

I want to say that life is a mystery, but it really isn't!! I know why I am here...to learn and grow in the gospel, to give service to those in need and to raise a family knowing the principals by which to live.  The only mystery is what am I going to do next? And how am I going to succeed?

I'm thankful for my blog, it is an outlet for me to let my creative juices flow.  A place where I can put down my thoughts without judgement. 

Busy Everyday

These past few weeks we have been busy with something everyday!!!  Being busy is good, it keeps us out of trouble, but it is also exhausting!!

Now that Calum is in Karate we have two kids going two different directions.  For so long it was only Emry's activities taking up our evenings!  Calum has Karate twice a week, Emry and Calum are both taking piano lessons, I have Yoga once a week and Emry has Young Women's once a week and Volleyball twice a week.  And once a month Calum has Activity Day's, oh!! He's also starting a club at school with The Amazing Race theme!!!!!!  We barely have time for supper before one is taking off somewhere!!  But I wouldn't trade it for anything, they love the extra curricular activities, and when they are happy I am happy!

Now we just need to find something for Armin to do to pull us in a whole new direction!!

Thanksgiving

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year!!!  Sunday after church we met at Myrna's with all the Puzey clan, as always the kids were loud but they love spending time with each other playing and chatting.  Us mom's all worked together in the kitchen preparing the meal, and boy was it ever yummy!  I had tried a new salad called Cranberry Fluff!!  It was actually really yummy.  It had chopped up fresh cranberries, cream cheese, whipping cream and mini marshmallows!!  A keeper for sure!

We stayed rather late and by the time the kids got to bed they fell asleep exhausted.  Well, all except Calum!  He started throwing up.  It was a bit of a long night but we made it through. 

The next day, Thanksgiving Day, we woke up to snow, and lots of it.  With the abundance of snow my mom decided to phone all her family and told them not to come for dinner.  Since Arren and I are close we still went over with our families, well minus Jared, Emry and Calum, Emry was coming down with what Calum had so it was best they not infect everyone!!  The meal at my mom's was just as yummy as the one at Myrna's, I was feeling much like a glutton.  My dad was even able to come and celebrate with us, as weird as it was to celebrate with both my mom and my dad together it was also lots of fun!  The kids built a snowman and attempted to toboggan but the snow was a little too sticky for that!  We laughed, visited and just had fun hanging out!

I truly am so thankful for so much, it would be impossible to name them all!  But more than anything I am so thankful for my family.  Jared is such a wonderful husband who does all he can to keep us safe and make us all feel equally loved.  I am thankful for my mom and my dad, my sisters and for Myrna and all my other in laws!  I feel happy and safe when I am with them.  Thanksgiving reminds me to take time and acknowledge all I am blessed with...I am healthy, happy, safe, free and surrounded by those I love, quite literally!!!  What more could I ask for?

Lethbridge Corn Maze

Last week I was able to go to the Lethbridge Corn Maze with Armin's Kindergarten Class.  It was a crisp cool fall day but the sun poked though by lunch and it was gorgeous!!  The kids had an absolute blast petting and feeding all the animals, going down the big slide and running through the mazes.

There are many mazes there, we chose to do two. First we did the kids maze and ended up coming out where we came in...oops. Oh well, we did it again and figured it out!  The other maze we did was the Trivia Maze, the questions were hard and we ended up trying all three paths because we just couldn't get the right answer!  The kids were starting to panic a little in this maze, and were losing interest quite quickly!  It was a little unnerving not knowing how to get out.

The kids were also able to go on a cow train.  Old metal barrels that had been painted like Holstein cows pulled by a kabota lawn mower!!  They had fun riding in circles all around the corn maze!

At the end of the day the kids picked out pumpkins and on our way home we went!  It was just what the kids needed, and the moms too!!  I love this little group of 5 Kindergarten kids, 4 boys and 1 feisty little girl who fits right in. 

Calum's Baptism

Calum was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday October 2, 2016!  He was beyond excited!!

 

 

He had met with the Bishop quite regularly leading up to his baptism day.  They became well acquainted and developed a close friendship!  I love our Bishop, he is so caring and compassionate to all members of his Ward.  He spoke such nice words about Calum on his special day.  He said he has a very kind heart and is a good example.  Myrna spoke about baptism and had Calum help her stick up examples of what he promises Heavenly Father now that he is baptized and what heavenly Father promises him in return.  Jason spoke about receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and what that means.  He had a suit of armour for Calum to wear and used the scripture from Ephesians 6 to describe what each piece of the amour meant.  Emry, Cora and Leah sang "I Love to See the Temple" and Ashton and Rachel each gave a prayer.  It was a beautiful service with the Spirit strongly present.  When the Bishop had Calum stand beside him and welcome him as the newest baptized member of the ward, Calum looked so proud. And when the Bishop told him to look at his parents who were proud of the decision he had made he got teary eyed!  Such a tender hearted boy!

I am so thankful for a husband who holds the Priesthood and could baptize our son, a truly special moment for them.  And the blessing Jared gave Calum after giving him the Gift of the Holy Ghost was one from a man full of much faith and love of the gospel.  I am also so thankful to be apart of such a wonderful family who loves Calum as much as I do.  And for my own family coming and supporting our special boy.  Even though they couldn't participate in any part of the program it was so nice to have them there to share this wonderful step in Calum's life.

After the baptism we all headed into the gym for some much needed dinner!! I had made pulled pork and Myrna made buns so we could have pulled pork sandwiches.  Emry helped me cut up veggies and arrange them like a rainbow on a platter to go along with the primary song "When I Am Baptized" and I made a yummy punch too!  It was a perfect easy meal to share with family and friends!