SITTING AT THE FEET OF AN APOSTLE...

We had an unique opportunity to sit at the feet of an Apostle of the Lord last night. Elder David A. Bednar has been touring around Australia for the past 10 days and last night they had a fireside. The very unique thing was that they broadcast it all across Australia live, and it originated from our Stake Center. Because they were broadcasting it live they said we could bring kids but if we were in the chapel you could not leave to go to the bathroom or anything and you had to be reverent. They even made those sitting in the Chapel sign a release form so that their images could be used. It was truly a big deal around here. We decided to get a babysitter and enjoy the evening without them. We were glad that we went it alone. The doors opened an hour and a half before the fireside was the start, at 5:30, and we were there close to opening time. We still were in the gym. I overheard one girl in the bathroom telling a friend that she had gotten there at 4:30.

The very unique thing was that Elder Bednar opened up the evening to questions. Sounds crazy right? A live broadcast and he is allowing people to just get up and ask questions. Another cool thing was the the questions came from all over Australia. They would hand him slips of paper as he was talking with more questions on them. It was such a great experience to hear his answers.

I was not brave enough to go up to the microphone and ask an Apostle a question - but Kev was. He was going to ask him how to get the Elder's fired up to do their home teaching. He also wanted to hear his answer to a question that he gave as an example - what could he share from his experience of seeing a new prophet called. He went around to the Chapel and they had him sit on a pew in the back. He didn't get a chance to ask though - too bad. About 10 minutes before the fireside was the end someone came up to the four people who were waiting to ask questions and said, "You were supposed to raise your hand in between questions so he could call on you!" That would have been helpful information about an hour before.

The fireside was great. He gave some great advice. Here is some of what I learned.
1~ My favorite answer that he gave was to this questions, "What advice would you give to those who are less active?" He said simply, "come back!"
2~ He also talked about how if you are committed to the gospel 100% and it is part of who you are completely missionary work will not be scary. You will just do it.
3~ Also someone asked how can the Lord love me for who I am and yet want me to change? What a great question. I have wondered this at times in my life as well. He simply said because God sees who we can become.
4~ A almost 12-year-old boy in our stake got up and asked how he could prepare to receive the Priesthood and what he should do to become like Elder Bednar one day. It was really cute! Elder Bednar, who has a great sense of humor I learned last night, told this young man that he didn't want to be just like him and then proceeded to tell him how to honor the priesthood. He mentioned that people wonder how we can give such a responsibility to young boys and his response was because someday they are going to be Men of God. I also liked when he said that when you bless or pass the sacrament it isn't about you. The young men should do nothing that will distract those partaking of this sacred ordinance. They should dress appropriately and they should be very reverent. He said the priesthood is not done for selfish reasons it is for others.

There was so much more in this two hour conversation with an Apostle - but those are the things that really struck me.

BOYS AND KISSING?!

I seriously just had the funniest conversation with my six year old. I have to document this moment. As we were getting her clothes out before bed she was having a hard time deciding. Normally this isn't a big deal because she wears a uniform, but tomorrow is a mufti day. What is mufti you might ask - I didn't know the first time I heard it either - it is "normal" clothes. Every once in a while they get to donate a gold coin (this is either a $1 or a $2 coin) and wear mufti. So then we actually have to make a decision about what to wear to school. So anyway, we were choosing clothes. I gave her a few choices of shorts or a skirt to wear first and finally that decision was made. They we had to find a shirt to go with them. What an ordeal. Finally she said, "But, mom, Liam won't think I look cute in that one." What?! "Which Liam?" was my first question - there are three in her class. Luckily for me I have been going to school on Thursday morning to do home readers - the kids read books to me - so I at least know who he is. The next question I had, "Why do you care what Liam thinks?" "Because he likes me mom," she says with the cutest look on her face. "How do you know he likes you?" "Well, he cuddles with me and talks to me all of the time and kisses me!"

WHAT? HE KISSES YOU?

Cuddling, not as big of a deal - that is just a hug here. This is what is going on in my head. "Well, just on the cheek - well I really kissed him on the cheek mom, and only today." A little background: when we lived in West Jordan and she was in kindergarten there she liked a few of the boys and they would kiss on the lips sometimes, so Kev had her pinky promise that she would only kiss Cooper and him and no other boys until she was 25.

Finally deciding on an outfit for tomorrow, Madi chose a t-shirt that says "Science Rocks" (a hand me down from Kayla - thanks!). This was chosen because Liam likes outer space, and it has a picture of an atom ring on it so it looks like outer space. Good reasoning right?

I just had to tell Kev who was doing the dishes. She came out while I was telling him and said, "Dad, it isn't what you think!" Kev reminded her of his pinky promise last year and she said that she was still doing the pinky promise because it was for kissing on the lips, and she only kissed him on the cheek. We told her that no kissing was the best thing. Who's child is this?

I think we might be in trouble with this one!

KIDS - gotta love 'em!

Last night dinner was an eventful one. Cooper is such a chatterbox - he never seems to stop talking. They say that girls talk more than boys - they haven't met Cooper in his home environment. Finally I asked him if he could be quiet for just a few minutes - the rest of us had a few things we wanted to talk about. He couldn't even do that. I told him about a game we used to play when I was a kid called the "quiet game". We said "1,2,3...carrot" and then who ever talks first is out. He was okay to play the game until he lost within one minute. Then he looked at Kev and said, "Dad, we are not supposed to play games at the table remember. I don't want to play anymore." We had to laugh at that. We do spend an awful lot of time telling the kids to stop goofing off and just eat their dinner.

We had corn on the cob for dinner last night and I thought maybe Rylee would like to gnaw on one. She loved it and couldn't get enough. Pretty soon I looked over and she had two cobs to chew on. Apparently her dad had given her another one.

Madi loves to help me take the clothes down off of the line. Usually, when I go out to get the clothes she is following closely behind. She pulls up a chair and moves it around as she needs to. Last night I asked her if she would go and start taking down the clothes while I finished up something and got FHE ready. She told me not to worry about coming out and that she would do it all by herself. She is such a big girl and a great helper. It was nice because she had been getting into trouble all afternoon and had many things taken away as punishment.

While Madi was out taking down the laundry Cooper went out to play with his tennis racket (a council clean-up find!). I went to check on the kids and this is what I saw at the back door. She just loves to be outside with her brother and sister.

Our baby is growing up!

Rylee is now nine months old. I can hardly believe how time is flying by. She has gotten so big and learned so much. I am always amazed at how much babies learn in that first year of life. She now has two teeth in the bottom of her mouth and loves to use them to bite things. She puts everything in her mouth - toys, books, food, any little thing left on the ground, she even bites furniture. She stands up all of the time now and even walks down the couch holding on. In the past week she has begun to let go and stand up on her own - much to her amazement and happiness. It only lasts a few seconds, but she gets so excited. Rylee loves music. She dances all of the time. As soon as she hears the music her little body moves to the beat. It is so cute to see - I hope that her love for music lasts forever. She has also noticed the birds outside. She will stop and listen whenever one sings its song - which happens so much here in Australia because there are so many birds around. I love it! You can just see the little wheels running inside her little brain. She is such a joy to our family. We love her so much!

BUSH WALK....

We have a bush area by our house. We walk through part of it to get to the park. The bush is like the forest back home. Except they have bush areas in neighborhoods and it is like a little bit of nature in the hustle and bustle of the city. I have always loved the mountains. The peacefulness that is there and the feeling of God's hand all around you. So I also enjoy walking through the bush here, and I love that it is so close to home. Yesterday afternoon the kids were a bit antsy, so while Rylee was sleeping we left Kev at home and I took the other two on a walk. We went to the two parks that are located in the bush and walked around enjoying nature - and avoiding spider webs and big spiders. I kept telling Madi not to worry so much about the spiders that they won't hurt you and they are the "good" spiders who just catch mossies and flies. However, inside I was having a hard time with the spider factor as well. They are so prevelant here and big. So here are some pictures from our bush walk and play at the park yesterday afternoon.

I also saw the first signs of fall, yellow leaves! Not many of the trees around here loose their leaves, but there are a few.

Confessions of a stay-at-home mom....

So I have a few confessions to make. Things are not always very organized and clean around my house - I know some of you may not believe me on this one. I have realized since having kids that I can't keep up with everything. My house can't be spotless and sometimes the to-do list doesn't get done. The more kids I have the more things get pushed back to another day. So yesterday I went around the house to capture my moments of weakness:

Rylee spends an awful lot of time in a diaper with just a shirt, or even no clothes, on. I never did this with the other two. They were always dressed and a bow was always in Madi's hair. I think I can contribute this to my dislike for doing laundry here. If she has an accident, or spits up really bad, and her clothes get dirty I just take them off and don't replace them - especially if we have no where to go.

Yesterday, like most days if I were to be honest, my bed never got made. I still don't make my bed much. Never liked to do it as a kid either. I have tried to make this a New Years Resolution many times, but it hasn't resolved yet. If I were to be honest, my bed only gets made maybe two or three days a week. I know - slacker!!By dinner time the dishes were still in the sink. I know that I can contribute this to no dish washer.

Cooper's room is often a disaster area. He is always making a club house or something and no matter how often I sit down with him and clean everything it looks like a tornado hit it hours later. I have a hard time when it comes to my children's spaces. I know that it is their space and they need to have a place to "express" themselves. However, I hate clutter and their idea of a "treasure" is different from mine. This is where I have had to bend and change my opinion about cleanliness.

Cooper may not be clean, but Madi I have trained well. Her room is always picked up and everything has a place.

The laundry never ends. It takes me twice as long to get the laundry done here. The dryer is not as efficient so almost everything gets hung out on the line. I actually dread laundry and it seems to need to be done almost every day. The toys don't always get put away either. I can remember when Madi was little I was going around after her picking things up all of the time. I learned quickly that a few toys around isn't a big deal. We just try and clean up every night before the kids go to bed. Last but not least. We don't always eat a home cooked meal. Shocker!! I hate to cook and some nights I have a hard time motivating myself to make something. Last night was one of those nights. Although, there isn't as much variety or choice in take away food close to our home. Plus, everything is closed by 6pm, so you have to be prepared in your dinner choices.So there you go, a few confessions. However, with all my short comings as a stay-at-home mom, I will have to say that my kids seem to be well adjusted and they seem to be happy. Isn't that all that really matters in the long run? They even get to have sleep overs in Madi's room on a Friday night! Which was a good thing since there was a spectacular lightening storm last night and Madi wouldn't have gone to sleep without someone in the room with her.

Just some pictures....

...life has been pretty boring around here - so I don't have much to say, but I do have some fun pictures. Enjoy!

Cooper loves this game - Blokus - we play it a lot. Sometimes he just likes to make "castles" (as he calls them) and put all the pieces on the board. I love this game as well. It teaches the kids to think things through and helps build brain power!

More container fun - it never gets old!

On Friday night a friend of mine asked me to watch her kids so she could go to the temple. We had loads of fun. The best was pulling them all down the hallway on a blanket. I loved it when they decided to try and pull Kev. Such fun!

Snap... Crakle...Pop... *KABOOM*

Stace told me that I should write about my recent experience on the blog, just in case anyone else might be interested.

Well, it had been a dark raining night and I had to get up early the next day to go to work. I woke up about 5:45 and got ready to go to work. Madi had been our room twice that night and so I really didn't get a lot of sleep. The reason I tell you this is that Madz was on our floor when I got up and got ready for work and so she ended up on my side of the bed when I left.

When I left for work the roads were dry and the rain had stopped but the clouds were coming, so I knew that it would be raining soon.

After about five minutes into my ride I was riding my bike down the road and out of the top side of my perferoial vision I saw a lightening bolt come out of the sky and it looked like it was heading right at me! So much so that I flinched and turned so I didn't actually see what it hit. However, before it hit the (I think) telephone pole that was right next to me I felt the static electricity in the air. I felt like I had been running around the house on the carpet rubbig my socks as I moved and I was about ready to stick my finger by an outlet. Then I heard the loudest boom I have ever heard. I almost jumped off my bike!

Needless to say, my heart was beating very fast for the next 10 minutes but it finally calmed down. And it happened so fast that it almost seems like dream now, but I can honestly say that this was the closest I have ever come to being hit by lightening! I can't say that I would wish it on anyone.

When I got home Stace said, "This morning when you were going to work did you hear that loud boom of thunder?" It was so close and so loud that Madz jumped out of bed while she was lieing next to me! When I told her about my experience she said that she actually worried a little about me having been hit! Good to know someone cares about me!!! Ha ha!