El dia de Valentin

Really our only Valentine tradition (but one we all really enjoy) is to have a special feast in the morning.  The kids love having everything all decorated, their dried bananas/strawberries in a special container and this year we formalized "love notes" (which we did for Christmas in my family but we decided to switch and do for Vday) which we all write for each other and bring to breakfast and hand out. Jimmy had offered to babysit for us the night before so we could go to the temple (saint of a guy) and so he joined us for breakfast.  We are all SOOOO glad he'll soon be an official part of our family when he and Liz get married beginning of May.  

Robbie had his first official "Valentine" and although both Ryan and I just feel like they are way too young for stuff like that, I thought what she wrote was actually pretty cool.

When they first get little barrettes and ponytails they just grow up so much. 

Valentines is on a Saturday this year and Robbie just happened to start baseball that day.  I went to his practice and enjoyed watching for a few hours.  We are SOOO excited that he got onto this team.  His coach Carlo was someone Ryan reached out to when he met him at Cafe Rio right after we moved to SLC.  6 months later they reconnected and Carlo asked Rob to try out for his team. He is an incredible coach and its a very competitive league and Robbie has already learned so much about throwing in 2 practices. 

St George and The Cedar City

It was a big weekend for the Harold and Sheri Haynies. The third of their three missionaries came home (Bryson) and they were all sealed to Sean and Christiana.  I wanted to remember a few things--being in the celestial room with a large complete family was a very unique experience and watching them all look at themselves in the mirror that continued on forever--not seeming to be able to stop staring and smiling at themselves was pretty cool.  It really cemented what we had just experienced and reminded me that the family unit it worth EVERY effort in our life. 

Also, there were extended family members that drove for 10-12 hours in one day (home and back) to be there for Bryson's homecoming talk.  There were 6-7 rows of family that attended.  It was such a testament of their family's ability to reach out, keep in touch and always make their family a priority.  It made me want to be better at it.  There can be so much extra joy in life. 

And I really, really enjoy the fullness of large families.  It is just so enjoyable. I love our family so much.

The current Harold Haynies minus grandkids

The last few weeks I have felt the Spirit telling me that we needed to really focus on the Proclamation to the World about the family for our FHE.  This week I sat down and started preparing a lesson and then read this quote:

“This generation will be called upon to defend the doctrine of the family as never before” -Julie Beck

It really struck me hard.  So, Ryan and I decided to dedicate the next 9 weeks of our family nights to study the Proclamation by paragraph.  

This week we started with paragraph 2 and we'll go back to one next week. 

Our discussion this week was so good.  Two things I liked that came up was that we should love our bodies because they were made purposefully and we look like we do because that is how Heavenly Father created us to look and be.   

And, we asked the kids what our home would be like if Ryan didn't exist and then if I didn't exist.  I though their answers were pretty insightful. 

Financial Lessons

2014 took its tole on us financially:  A new baby (Clara).  Moving across the country to take on a new (lateral) job.  Living out of our suitcases for six weeks.  Remodeling a home and the hundreds of little unexpected little expenses that come with it.  A new transmission in our minivan.  Paying the kids for their "no-candy" year.  You get the idea.  It got so bad that we were literally unsure how we would pay for groceries between the last few paychecks in late November and December.  We had accumulated a lot of debt from the home renovation and we were not sure how we were going to dig ourselves out of it.  We were under a lot of stress and had to awkwardly say "no" to several activities that others had invited us to participate in.

The main reason I share all of this is so that we (and our kids) remember this one lesson:  ALWAYS PAY YOUR TITHING!  Paying our tithing has always been something we just do out of habit w/out thinking much of it.  We heard a talk in sacrament meeting in November which reminded us that we had allowed the payment of our tithing to get behind and that we were not prioritizing our finances appropriately.   This time, however, we had gotten behind and it suddenly was going to require some real faith and sacrifice to catch up our tithing.  We paid it off as quickly as we could and, by late December, this is how things looked at our most desperate point:

We lived in stress for several weeks, barely scratching by to pay our bills and wondering how we were going to be able to pay off our debts that were coming due very soon.  I hadn't had much communication with my company about a bonus and, even after asking a few times, hadn't received much clarity on how things would play out.  Somewhat out of nowhere, I was notified that I was going to receive a bonus and it ended up being more than expected.  Amber then completed our taxes and discovered that we would be getting a much bigger return than expected.  Nearly overnight, we had the money we needed to pay off our debts and set aside some extra for the future.  I don't believe that the Lord intended for us to expect that it would always work like this:  "Paying Your Tithing = Excess Financial Reward".  However, I do believe that when we pay our tithing, the Lord will provide enough for us to take care of our needs.  Sometimes, I think he also recognizes when obeying the commandments requires extra faith and sacrifice and he then helps provide the miracle after we have exercised our faith.

Since this is technically my only journal and I want to "write" some things down so that I will be more committed--here it goes.

I was reading through a blog I came across a few years back called Hands Free Mama--which is basically a woman that journals her experience with letting a lot of things go in her life to focus on her family.  And though I think some of the things she says are kind of unrealistic (SOMEONE has to do the dishes at some point:) and cleaning and being organized are good things for our kids to do and learn as well--maybe just do it more WITH them instead of me alone), I think there is so much value for me.

Clara is almost ONE and I feel like it is going so fast I am not sitting and soaking it in enough. And Aubrie will be 12 in a year and a half and start all the YW/teenage years minutia that is so important but takes them away from home for most of the time.  etc. etc. etc.

So tonight I sat thinking of things I could do differently, right now, baby steps if you will to be "there" with our kids right now.  And I want to write it down to feel more committed.

a- not going to have my phone with me during the time that I nurse Clara--singing/telling her a story and looking into her beautiful blue eyes is just what I need.

b-Have "Talk Time" with each of the kids when they go to bed--each of them, every night.  Even if its a few minutes to catch up and just relax with them.

c- Do not take my phone to bed/brushing teeth with me.  I get so distracted reading things when I do and miss out on a lot of talking time with Ryan.

Those are small things, but I think it's a great start. And I am guessing that I will feel more focused and Ryan and the kids by doing it and feel less overwhelmed at the same time.  Sometimes I feel like I take in too much information because I read so much.

I haven't taken very many pictures at all lately, but here are a few.

Aubrie babysat for a bit for me and when I came home this is what they were doing. ADORABLE! 

Our bed buddies one morning

Friday Funday--we used our free passes at Trafalga

Robbie and Brady

I recently read my "Senior scrapbook" that gave me such a good feel of what my life was like back then, because there were so many "this is popular now, this is what we like to listen to/read, etc".

I thought it might be fun for us to remember some random things about our life 20 years down the road.

What we usually eat for breakfast: oatmeal, eggs or something that involves homemade buttermilk syrup and every once in awhile cold cereal (I'd rather them eat that for dinner when I don't feel like cooking).

What we have watched as a family for movie night in the last month: Cool Runnings, Maleficent, Home Alone

What we do on Saturdays in the last month:  Ryan and I usually usually get up and run, the kids watch cartoons and watch Clara.  We eat breakfast--late, fight the kids to read scriptures, do our Saturday--more involved--cleaning of each of their daily jobs and then something extra--garage, cars, etc. , go to Robbie's basketball games out in West Jordan (25 minutes away), play with friends/trampoline/Ryan and I do some other project in the afternoon  (yesterday we had a soccer game that only lasted 20 minutes because Aubrie and Hallie stomped into the house from getting hurt and wouldn't come back out., and then Ryan and I go on a date and have either Aubrie babysit after Clara is down or get one of the neighbor girls (Kristen Tang or Carina Durphee).

What books the kids are reading:
Aubrie--anything SciFi/Fantasy--she's been loving Brandon Mull lately as an author
Robbie--snowboarding and dirtbike magazines or Lego books. Sometimes he'll read one of the Illustrated Classics books we have the series of
Hallie--Junie B Jones or Magic Treehouse
Blake--He loves the "Gideon" series that are boardbooks as well as anything on our bookshelves (he is the only one that still gets read to everyday :)
Clara--we are just starting to read to her before her nap/bed

Our friend Eowyn came to visit the other day and gave the kids Twister and they'd never played and have been playing that whenever we are on dates with their babysitter

Blake calls me and others stupid and dumb and fat on a pretty regular basis and after trying pretty much everything else, we are just trying to "ignore" right now and try and remember that it is a phase.

The girls spend a lot of time still taking care of and playing with their guinea pigs Panda and Twix. Ive been super impressed with how well they've done.

The kids cannot walk by the piano without playing the same 4 songs--as loud as they can--and I try to tell myself in my mind "this is what you and Ryan want them to do" :)--its "Happy Go Lucky", "Happy from Despicable Me 2", "Carol of the Bells" and "Heart and Soul".

Gas is $1.70 here right now.  WOW.  I can't imagine how long that will stick but it cost me $25 to fill the van yesterday.  I'll take it.

Some favorite made up games of the kids right now: Hot lava (they can't touch the ground of the living room and involves lots of stools, pillows and jumping), hide and go seek, various version of tag, school and creating books and various forms of wrestling.  Sometimes Aubrie is involved and sometimes she is getting too big for these types of things :)

Aubrie and I just set up her first bank account.  Finally.

And Ryan and I really like watching Parenthood the TV series together--so sad that it is over now.