Ten Years

Last month, Todd and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary! Even though it is a terrible cliche, "Time flies when you're having fun!" And wow... we have a had a lot of fun. In true blogging style, I thought I would make a list to describe the last ten years. So here are some of the things that the last ten years have brought us...
4 INCREDIBLE kids (and one on the way)
8 addresses
3 trucks
2 SUVs
1 red convertible
3 pizza restaurants
2 college degrees
217 college credits (and many more to come :)
10 ER visits
30+ trips to Mexico
8 visits to other US states
4 trips to Disneyland
The list could go on and on...
But the bottom line is, this has been the best 10 years of my life! Even through the trying times, the blessings and happiness have never stopped. And through it all, we have gained a deeper love for each other and for our Savior. We know all good things that have and will come are through him.
One other side note... Todd and I never went on a honeymoon. The truth is, he was sick the day we got married and neither of us felt great for the next few days. So our honeymoon plans were delayed. For the last several months we thought we would be able to go on a really cool 10 year anniversary vacation and make it the honeymoon that we have always dreamed of. But, once again, those plans were thwarted by my being in the early (yucky!) stages pregnancy. So, maybe one day we'll go on that trip that we have been hoping for... Or maybe we'll have to wait until our 50th wedding anniversary and by then our kids can surprise us with one!! (Love you mom and dad :) We'll keep you posted!! ;)

Shameless Plug

It's official... I am an institute teacher at Mesa Community College! ~For those who may not know, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has Institutes of Religion at most colleges throughout the United States. It is a place where young single adults can register for classes at no charge to learn more about the doctrine of the church.~ Anyway, I am excited to be given the opportunity to be a teacher at the school where I attended college! I love to teach and even more, I love to learn the doctrine! I am teaching the second part of the New Testament, after Christ's ministry on the Earth. My first class was last night and it was awesome. These young people are so amazing, they know a lot more than I knew when I was their age.
So, here's the shameless plug part... If you have any friends or relatives that are between the ages of 18 and 30, tell them to come to my class! It really is a lot of fun and we learn a lot! Even if they don't take my class, tell them to take any class... all of the teachers are just awesome! I wish I would've taken more institute classes when I was younger. It really is a special opportunity that we have as members of the church. It is a great refuge from the troubles of the world available to all young people. Spread the word!!

Brothers don't shake hands... Brothers gotta hug!!

The other day at church, something really cute happened...

Since we have entered the "no-sitting-still" stage of toddler-hood, I was out in the hall with Spencer during Relief Society. He was crawling around on the floor with another little boy who is the same age. They were laughing and playing around, but never wandered more than a few

feet from me and the other mom. Until... Eathan walked by. He was headed to the bathroom

down the hall and didn't see us at first. But Spencer saw him and immediately crawled as fast as he could in his direction. Well, it wasn't very many seconds before Eathan dissapeared into the bathroom. Spencer stopped dead in his tracks and starting whining/crying. I headed over to comfort him, but he didn't want me. In just a minute or two Eathan exited the bathroom and again came into Spencer's view. This time, Eathan saw him and headed our way. Spencer again crawled as fast as he could to Eathan until they met. Eathan picked him up and hugged him and Spencer laid on his shoulder for a few seconds (he is very cuddly). He laughed and was so excited to see his big bro. I had to break the news to Eathan gently that he couldn't take Spencer to class with him so he put him down and I distracted Spencer so Eathan could return to class. Several times over the next 20 minutes, Spencer crawled all the way down the hall trying to find Eathan. It was so hilarious!! He LOVES his big brother!!

A BIG change!!

It has been a while and I have been wanting to post some more updates about our holiday season this year, but I haven't gotten to it yet. So, this afternoon, I sat down at the computer, but decided to read some of my friends blogs first. As I was 'blog surfing' , Chansey came over and started looking at the computer with me. (She really likes seeing some of her friends and their families on the computer) As I continued she watched and then asked me a funny question. She said "Mom, what is our website's name?" I told her "the amazing six". She then proceeded to say "Pretty soon we are going to have to change it to the amazing SEVEN!" This comment prompted me to spread the news. And yes... you heard right... I am expecting!! In or around August we will welcome a new baby (the 7th member of our family). Are you shocked? Yea, tell me about it!! :)

We are really excited and overwhelmed all at the same time. We know Heavenly Father has a plan for our family and we are anxious to do our best as we follow his plan. With this technically being my 6th pregnancy, my body has been put through the ringer and I hope to get through this one with less drama than the others. (cross your fingers ;)

Needless to say, though, I haven't been blogging much because just getting through life's normal duties has been a challenge for the last few weeks. I am trying to be strong and keep up, but I will be glad when I am big and fat and farther along. Then I will feel better. :)

BTW- If you know anyone who needs advice on how to get through severe cases of morning sickness/hyperemesis... send them my way.

Savory Houses?!

Last night Todd and I went to a Christmas Party at the home of some good friends of ours. The treats were yummy and the company was good. But I had a nagging question on my mind until we were well into the party. When we were invited, we were asked to bring a treat and a can of Easy Cheese. (Squeezable, sticky cheese in a can used as a condiment on snacks) So, the nagging question was... What in the world are we going to use the Easy Cheese for?! Well, the answer finally came... the processed cheese in a can was going to be used for a contest. A contest of unusual likeness... We were making 'savory houses'! Instead of gingerbread houses with candy and royal icing, we made 'savory houses' with saltine crackers and other salty treats such as goldfish crackers, cheeze-its, and pretzels. The Easy Cheese was, of course, the substitute for icing and held our creations together. I really wish I had my camera to take pictures of some of the structures that were made. The best ones were a manger scene and a Cape Cod bungalow.
This is a really fun idea for someone who wants a new, fun activity that doesn't involve sweets. And, it's not really too Christmas-esque so it can be done anytime of the year. Try it with your family and see what you come up with!!

" ... Seek ye out of the best books..."

The older I get, the more I realize that I still have a lot to learn. I often find myself relating well to a quote that my sister used to have on her wall. It goes something like this... "If I was sent to the earth to accomplish a certain number of things, at the rate I am going I will never die!" I constantly feel like there is more to do and more to learn and I wonder when I will find the time to get it all done.
One of the things I wish I had more time to do is study the scriptures. Besides the fact that reading in general is not a hobby of mine, I often let other tasks get in the way of the time I could be spending reading the scriptures. I often feel regretful about this and for that reason, I have never been one to read popular books for enjoyment. If I do find spare time, and feel like reading something, I choose the Ensign or the scriptures or maybe even the occasional self-help, educational book. A few of my favorites are "Seven Habits for Highly Effective People", "The Five Love Languages", and "Standing for Something". But, just recently I read a book that I would like to place at the top of my list of favorites. It is called "The Peacegiver". I was so deeply enlightened and touched by this book that I can't easily put it into words. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we believe that our salvation comes only through true repentance... made possible by Christ and the Atonement that he made for us so that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father. This book explains these core beliefs of ours in such profound detail, that I couldn't help but want to be a better person after reading it. If we could all follow the counsel in this book, we would find a depth of happiness that we have never known before.
With all of the demands that life brings us on a daily basis, it is so easy to become overwhelmed and feel inadequate. But I believe the counsel that the Lord gave Joseph Smith in The Doctrine & Covenants can be a big help to us if we follow it "...seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom, seek learning even by study and also by faith." Inspired books of scripture, words from our church leaders, and other books that testify of Christ and his teachings are really tools that we have been given to make it through the difficulties that we face. "The Peacegiver" is no exception to this rule. For anyone who loves to "escape" into a book, I highly recommend this one! I hope you love it as much as I did.

Christmas with Grandma Day

My mom (AKA Grandma Mac) started a new tradition a few years ago. Every year, on a Saturday in December, she invites all of her grandkids over… that’s right, all 32 of them… and they spend time with just her. They always do a couple of Christmas crafts, decorate Christmas cookies, and then eat lunch. This year, once again, they all had a ton of fun! They made snowmen out of fun foam and made Christmas bracelets and bookmarks. Some of the older kids also helped Grandma set up her Christmas tree this year! That was an especially wonderful project!! We are so thankful to have such wonderful grandparents for our children. They love spending time over there and playing with all of their cousins… especially on “Christmas with Grandma Day”!!

Decorating the tree (and observing for some :)

Fun foam snowman

We love our cousins!!!