Beautiful Poem

This is a poem I ran across regarding our Heavenly Fathers understanding regarding our personal trials.
So beautiful!
Ann


With every tear that falls, there is a lost heart that calls.
it calls to say I'm here, don't dispair, I will come to you
when the time is right, when you least expect me and through
the quiet night open your heart to me, accept me, I will be there
in the end.
Your wait may be long, you may get frustrated by the whole
ordeal. In the end I will be real. While others around you are
succeeding your heart goes on bleeding.
I would thank you for being patient, I would thank you for
being the kind of person who shows persistance. If it were not
for this, I may never get the chance to have an existence.
In the chaos of your day, the calm of your night, let your heart
soar and take flight.
For so many tears, for so many years. You have been trying,
thinking of giving up but never doing it. In the end you just keep
on going in the hopes that I will come to you, the one who deserves
me, the one who can love me as no other can. You will be that
mother that you always wanted to be. Just you keep waiting for me.

Its sooo cold!

Hey Family!

 

We received about 5" of snow on Thursday and then it was extremely cold (-2) last night, so for the past few days we really haven't ventured anywhere. Jeff and the kids did build a LG snowman and covered a box to make an igloo, but they were working as fast as they could to return to the warm house. We've probably gone through almost a whole container of Hot Chocolate too!

 

The adjustment to being a full time mom is slowly coming, I've learned that acquiring patience is twice as hard as loosing it. (at least!) I hate to share this story, seeing that I don't want to reinforce Ehre's behavior, but its kind of funny. Its amazing how much influence a sister can have over a little sibling. Ehre's learned that once we've put the kids in bed, she can quietly whisper "Ben, come up on my bed" or "Ben turn on the light", and after he hears these whispers, he will perform the suggested action. Then as soon as he is on her bed or the light is on, this is what we hear. " MOOOOOOOM, Ben's on my Bed!" or "DAAAADDDY Ben turned on the light, and now I can't sleep!" Lately she's been very observant that we don't go to bed when they do, and she asks,

 

Ehre:"Mom, are you going to bed right now?"

Mom: "Nope, mom and dad are having their time together now"

Ehre: "But I want time with you two, tooo!"

Mom: "Sorry."

 

or

 

Ehre: How come you get to watch a movie tonight and we have to go to bed?

Mom: Because its not our bed time.

Ehre: When I'm 10 I'm going to stay up with you guys too!

 

With these bedtime conversations, she keeps us laughing!

 

This week school starts at Purdue again, so Jeff is getting ready for his class. This is his last class that he needs to graduate, after this semester all he needs to worry about his his research for his preliminary defense and then in a year and 1/2 his actual defense! So guess what hopefully by 2012 we'll be out of here!  Hopefully by the time Jeremiah is returning to the states we'll have an idea of when Jeff will be graduating and where we will be going.

 

Major accomplishment of this week, I think Ben for the most part is potty trained! Oh, it will be so nice to not buy diapers anymore. :)  He's doing a great job with independently managing this (which is sooo nice).  Ehre has memorized the first Article of Faith and today we'll work on #2, we've set a goal for her to learn all the songs this year, and she is on the right track! Other than that we did have a co-ed Volleyball night, and it was a lot of fun to finally play volleyball with Jeff. We've never played before so it was a lot of fun to show him how hard I can serve a ball....right at him!

 

Sorry this is a short email, I am writing as we are all preparing for church in 2 hours.

Lots of love!

Ann & the family!

Graduation Photos

Here are a few favorites from my friend Kim. She really did a great job!

My wonderful kids...

A friend in her New Year Resolutions, made the goal to be "a teacher not a babysitter" with her kids. I took her goal and added it to my own New Year Resolutions. This phrase has been on my mind a lot since then. Motherhood, has its rewards and they are different from the rewards I recieved when working.  When I worked in the hospitals I constantly received thank yous, and had wonderful co workers that always recognized positively our efforts. As a mom, for a long time I felt like motherhood was under appreciated. And then I realized that my kids do thank me in so many different ways, and I love it.

 

Tonight Ehre said, "Mom makes the most wonderfulest meals!", and when Ben asked me to lay down with him for his nap, he told me thank you. So then I started rethinking my previous views. Motherhood isn't under appreciated, we as moms are appreciated and loved, but we have to be willing to accept the rewards and appreciation in the small and simple forms.  Motherhood really is the best job, and its the most rewarding when done right.

 

Working in the hospital wasn't easy, and it sure wasn't always pleasant, but I didn't complain. Motherhood for me should come with the same effort and lack of complaining. Sure there are the not so fun days, but there are also the days  like today that make me feel so special and wonderful as a mom. So I guess I owe my kids a great big hug and kiss in the morning, I really do love these two, and if they can just be patient with me I promise I'll keep on trying to be a better mom.

 

Fire Trucks at 11 pm

We practiced our fire safety last nigh, at 11pm. Jeff and I were laying in bed reading when our Carbon monoxide detector went off...what a surprise! We went downstairs and reset it, and then it went off again, so we called the fire department.

They kindly asked us to wake up the children and open up windows and stay where there was fresh air. Kids didn't really want to wake up, or sit in on the steps next to the cold front door, but all in all did really well.

The firetruck came, with lights flashing, and three men checked out our house. In the end, well it was a faulty detector. They aren't sure why it went off but sometimes they do, so we'll need to replace it.

When they left I felt a little better but not enough to let the kids sleep in the other room, so we had them sleep on our floor and we kept the window slightly open so that there was a "fresh and freezing cold breeze" coming into the room. :)

So to all our neighbors that were disturbed by the flashing lights, sorry! The best part of this whole experience was that we had a chance to run through our emergency drills with the kids, and we passed 100%.

2010 New YEar Resolutions

HOME
1. Well balanced meals
2. Help Kids join in on family chores.
3. Organize my home

FAMILY
1. Teach kids the 12 article of Faith songs
2. Stick to a family budget
3. More quality family time (see things to do)

SPIRITUAL
1. Daily Family Scripture Study
2. Weekly Family Home Evening
3. (Ann) No talking before Sacrament meeting to friends, focus on contributing to a quiet sacrament meeting room.
4. 1st Saturday Temple Trips
5. Magnify our church callings.

PERSONAL (ANN)
1. Focus specific time each day on each child.
2. Daily personal scripture study/Journal writing
3. Patience, figure out a way to better express myself to my children.
4. “Be a teacher, not a babysitter”
5. Work out 6/7 days a week
6. Focus on the positive.

THINGS TO DO
1. Nauvoo trip
2. Camping at Mammoth Caves
3. 1 camping trip/month in the summer
4. Kirtland trip

Ehre's Birthday!

Ehre had a wonderful play date with her friends for her birthday. She loved having them all over for pink princess cupcakes. I enjoyed the challenge of trying to decorate them cute, and I don't they turned out all that bad. :)

I can't believe she is 5! Honestly it seems not that long ago that we were pregnant with her. She is a joy to have in our family (even if she did get into my black paint last night and paint the wall and desk...) She is so creative and very smart. She loves to read and she loves to dance.

She also is musical, she remembers things quickly if there is a tune to go with it. She has memorized the first 2 Articles of Faith, and is almost finished with the 3rd, and its only January!

Happy Birthday Ehre!

Potty Training & Life.

Christmas this year was wonderful, I'll get around to posting photos later. :) It was wonderful to have my parents in town for graduation, and great to see Spencer before he heads of on a mission (this was the last time we'll see him for 2+ years)
:( He will be a great missionary and we are excited for him.

We received so many thoughtful gifts and treats, and are so grateful for the thoughts and good wishes that came with them. I'm no Scrooge but it felt good to put away all the Christmas decorations and start focusing on Ehres' birthday this week.

After Ben's stinky diaper this morning, I decided that I'd have to start the potty training anyways so I should just start now. I'm proud to report that Ben has done an amazing job! No accidents and he even survived a trip to WalMart! I hope that by the end of the week he has the hang of this new routine.

Ehre is being a supportive sister, she reminds him often, which is very helpful. We are still working on getting them to play nicely. At daycare they have always been separate. We were hoping the arguments they were having over the last year in the evenings were just because they were tired....after today I sadly report that no its not because they are tired. They need to learn how to play together again...and I need to find where ever I stashed my patience. :)

So we all survived the day, which is a good thing. :)
Lots of Love!

Graduation December 20, 2009

I did it, and it was because I had such a wonderful family supporting me the whole way! My parents flew in for the ceremony, and it was nice to have them with Jeff in the audience. Funny though, they were rushing us so fast they saw my name on the screen but didn't see me walk. That's OK, I have two photos! I'll get more in a week or so from my friend!

Ward Christmas Party 2009

The kids loved seeing Santa!

Gift Idea... ha ha ha !

( Note: I did not make these but I got a good laugh!!!)

Christmas is tight this year.....

My dear friends and family,

Somewhat embarrassing to admit but Christmas will be tight this year. I will be making bedroom slippers for you all as gifts. Please let me know your sizes. You'll most likely agree that it's a splendid idea, and should you wish to do the same, I've included the instructions below.

How to make bedroom slippers out of maxi pads:

You need four maxi pads to make a pair.
Two of them get laid out flat, for the foot part.
The other two wrap around the toe area to form the top.
Tape or glue each side of the top pieces to the bottom of the foot part.

Decorate the tops with whatever you desire, silk flowers (this is most
aesthetically appealing), etc.

These slippers are:
* Soft and Hygienic
* Non-slip grip strips on the soles
* Built in deodorant feature keeps feet smelling fresh
* No more bending over to mop up spills
* Disposable and biodegradable
* Environmentally safe
* Three convenient sizes: (1.) Regular, (2.) Light and (3.) Get out the Sand Bags.

I've attached a photo of the first pair made so that you can see the
nifty slippers for yourself....


Awaiting your response . It's crucial that I get the right size for each
one of you.

Weightloss Blog

FYI I've decided to start up my weightloss blog again. Now that I'm graduating I need to focus on this again :) It is a private blog, so for any of my readers if you would like to join please email me your address and I'll add you. My goal is to report my workouts for each day, and feel the responsibility of letting you know that I am doing it!

I'd love to have you join me!
Ann

Christmas Stocking Stuffer...shhhhhhhh!

Don't tell my kids, but these will be at the bottom of the stockings this year! I think with all supplies they only cost $$1.50 and thats with the crayons!

Kids Room...

Can you believe that these art projects were only collected since the week before Thanksgiving?! Usually we throw them away but my kids wanted to put them up to show my parents when the come for Christmas. ;) So now their room is an art gallery, and I can't wait to clean it up...there is just tooo much art for that tiny room. Ehre especially loves to creat works of art at school, she has a tallent and its cute to see all that she creates! (Ps. I only posted a few pics!)

Christmas

Here is our tree, and my Primary gift from last year! We love Christmas, it feels so magical. The kids love the lights and music, and we love it too!