Family Movie Night!

We decided to take a week off on having a lesson and have a fun movie night for FHE. It was a lot of fun, the kids helped me make tickets and refreshments, we had a lot of fun. We watched "Nim's Island". It was a really cute show. My kids loved it because she had all these amazing pets. My boys would love a pet!

Brock has taken to bug collecting - so far this week we have found our first lady bug and preying mantis (I don't know if I spelled that right.)

Anyhow, it was a great night! (my baby looks so big in these pictures!)

Happy Birthday Poe!

My baby is 2! I cannot believe it. He is so amazing to me. He is smiling from the moment he wakes up. He calls from his crib, "Mom, I want out!" And the minute I put my head in the door he is grinning. He loves to give kisses and is usually very polite. He loves to talk to strangers, he says hello to everyone. Who wouldn't smile for this kid. He loves his big brothers and always wants to do everything that they do, but there are always those things that I really wish he would not pick up on - like hitting. He thinks it is a game, but if he thinks he has hurt you - he is instantly very sorry. He has such a sweet spirit. He loves to call me Misty and his dad is Rynan. At his little age of two he already says his ABC's and can count to 10. He picks up things very quickly, he has a super brain like his dad (hopefully he will have my love for school). We are so proud of our little Porter and are so grateful to have him in our family. Happy Birthday Porter!

We are going to wait and celebrate officially when we go to Grandma & Grandpa's this weekend, but me and the boys did decorate cupcakes and sang "Happy Birthday". It was a good day.

Happy Birthday to Cooper too - on the 30th!

Incomplete!

I am sitting here after another exhausting day of being a single parent. I have to say that I am a little proud of myself, I even made it to church with all three boys and didn't even cry once! (My boys take advantage when they know I can't catch them.) Jackson was the one I was worried about and he did so good. I have had my attention brought to the family proclamation several times in the last little while, so I have really started thinking about my role as mother and wife. With Ryan being gone a lot I have to say that I am a little more grouchy and impatient (with him and the kids). So I have really tried lately to take my role more seriously and really find joy in the now, to take the time to teach my kids and help their spirits grow. We were reading last night about Alma's analogy of faith being like a seed and Brock asked how he could plant his seed so he could have faith and I realized that I really need to try harder to bear testimony to my kids and share my faith with them to help them grow. I am so thankful for the gospel in my life and for my family. And I am so grateful to have a loving husband to share this journey with because even when he is not here, he is there to support me and listen to me go on, and on. He is so patient with me. I just want him to know how important he is to this family and we are not complete without him. We love you Dad and miss you tons!

Creating Memories!

I have been planning to go up and see my parents and get out of the heat all summer and it finally happened this last weekend. Ryan has been traveling a bunch for work, so he was not to thrilled to be in a car for 5 hours both ways, so he stayed home and my long lost buttsister (that is Ryan's name for Casey Ann) volunteered to come with me. So off we went, the two of us, with six kids packed in my van. Lets just say the drive up there was eventful. We were doing pretty good until we got to the canyon and I think Diesel got a little car sick and threw up. So we stopped at the bottom of the canyon to clean that up, then we got through Show Low and were on the home stretch, or so we thought. They were paving the road! So we had to wait for a while. After all that time in the car, we all wanted OUT! We stopped at Ramsey Park to let the kids play. All was well until Jackson comes running over saying he pooped his pants. "I'm sorry Mom, it was an accident!" he says. While I was trying to figure out what to do with him, he steps over to a tree and pulls his pants to his knees and goes pee. Don't you love boys! So by now there is poo everywhere, so it was a lot of fun to clean up. We finally made it to Nana's and Papa's, just in time to get some good grub. Papa even took the kids out spotlighting for elk.

Of course being at Nana's and Papa's, my kids were up at the crack of dawn (I'm not kidding). Nana eventually got up and made us all sourdough waffles with buttermilk syrup, to die for! Then Papa took all the older kids to get a load of wood, he was so brave. I don't know how much help they were, but they had a blast. They were driving us nuts in the house that afternoon so we sent them all outside on a scavenger hunt, it didn't last very long, but it was fun. We ended the day with a chicken fry at the church in Luna. My kids loved being able to run free. If only it didn't take so long to get there I would go more often. The ride home was about as much fun as the ride there, we had rain, lots of bathroom breaks and poor Diesel got sick again. Thank you Nana and Papa for everything, we had a blast and thank you to Casey Ann for coming along - love you girl! You are the best! It was exhausting, but I wouldn't trade those memories for anything. These are all the kinds of things I did as a kid that I want me kids to experience too. I do have to say also that I came home to a clean house (even bathrooms) and a happy husband. Thanks babe, I did miss you! (Bear with me, there are a lot of pictures, but I couldn't leave any of them out.)

Here are some pictures from the park.

Hauling wood with Papa!

Every single one of them crashed on the way home. I have no idea where Brock is in this picture.

Here are the kids on their scavenger hunt.

Brock was intent on finding something living - he really wants a pet!

Jackson thought he could spot a pet better from up here.

On the way home!

Doesn't this just say it all!

The Divine Institution of Marriage

This Sunday a member of our stake presidency came in to talk to us about Proposition 102 that will be on the ballot in November. He just asked that we make ourselves aware and do what we could to make others aware. He drew a lot of what he said from this article from the Newsroom on the church website called "The Divine Institution of Marriage". If you haven't already read it, it is a very good read. It is so important for us to be aware and to vote. There are so many ways that Satan is attacking the family and this is definitely one of them.

Reflections

It has been a while since my last post, it has been pretty crazy around here. My life has been in limbo and utter chaos for the last month. Some of you may know that we had applied for a job at the college in Thatcher and were really hoping that we would get it. That is really where we want to raise our family. I was called to interview and I don't think I have been that nervous for a very long time. We prayed and fasted about it a lot, but I never got a definite answer that this was what we were suppose to do. So we left it up to the Lord, if we were meant to go it would happen. So, we didn't get the job, and I am okay with it. We are here for a reason, I just need to find out what that reason is. All of this has been such a growing experience for me. I am so thankful for the trials that the Lord has given me to strengthen me. I know He is there for me no matter what it is that I am going through. We have really been struggling with what to do with Brock & school. He has really struggled since school started back. I think he and I both cried every day. After a lot of prayer and discussion we have decided to put him back in Kindergarten. I cannot believe the charge in him and his attitude. Before he would come home and say things like "I suck Mom" or "I'm stupid", it broke my heart. On Friday when I went to pick him up he was beaming and ran up to me and said, "Mom, I had the bestest day ever!" That was all I needed to hear, I know we are doing the right thing. I want him to have the confidence and knowledge he will need to succeed in life. I am so thankful for my kids and all that they teach me, I am so glad that they chose me! Jackson also started pre-school and is loving it! He has grown up so much in the last month, I am so proud of him. Porter is so smart too, he takes everything in. He repeats everything we say and he is so sweet. I am so thankful for my family. So those are my reflections on the last month of life in the Conrad house.

Furry Cheeks!

The other day I went outside to see what the boys were up to and found them "taking a bath" in the cooler. I ran to get my camera and when I got back I could tell that Brock was upset. The video is of Brock telling me why he is upset and also of Jack just being cute.

So we found a solution!