Some pictures

Here are a few pics of my flowers before they were done for the season! The others are of the kids in Sacramento near the State Capitol, Fisherman's Wharf, and in the basement of our new shop! That apple tree now has a bunch of leaves and apple blossoms!

Crazy woman

A couple days a month I am a crazy woman. I struggle with myself not to say all the mean and hurtful things that cross my mind. I think that's what it means to put aside the natural man . It is so hard when at the time it would feel so good to lash out. My children have no idea how I'm feeling most of the time, but sometimes the natural woman comes out. Usually I'm a calm, patient, charitable peacemaker, but one or two days out of the month I think that everyone hates me and is out to get me and it's quite horrible. I know when it's happening, so I talk myself out of being mean, most of the time.
I'm glad that this time it was mostly over before Mother's Day. My kids are beautiful, wonderful children. They amaze me all the time. They are not perfect because no one is, but they are perfect for me. My husband works too much, but if he didn't we wouldn't have a home, food or books to read and learn from. Life is so weird! I guess if I was always calm and peaceful I wouldn't be able to work on those very important attributes. I know that that mean person is not my true self. Having those feelings helps me work on those other good attributes of patience and charity when it's so hard to. Last night Harold said he was so sad that Mother's day was almost over. He said it was such a good day. We had great food made by the men and lots of fun hanging out at the new shop helping daddy by putting things away and playing in the basement. That's who I am and that's who my children are. That other crazy woman is just a reminder of who not to become.

I want to be like Abish

I never finished writing about my experience at the meeting I went to last week. Sister Beck's main points that she made were that just like the Lamanite Mothers of the strippling warriors, we are also mothers who know. The Latina woman may be humble but by small and humble means are great things brought to pass. She spoke about Abish - the Lamanite Queen's servant who went and gathered the town's people together in preparation for them to hear the gospel. She was a mere servant but because of her actions the people in that land were able to hear the miraculous things that had transpired in King Lamoni's court by the king himself and as many as were there and heard his words were converted to the gospel. I'll bet that she never thought that she could ever have such an impact on so many people. I want to live my life in such a way that when the opportunity presents itself I can also be the humble servant who brings many to the Lord. I think I'm already doing it by preparing my children to serve faithful missions when they are older. They are so special and I know because of their gentle nature and humility they will be able to preach the gospel with power and authority. This was her point. We as mothers can do so much to not only prepare missionaries but also to live our lives as examples of the true believers. she said that we should not be afraid to open our mouth to friends and neighbors. If we store the gospel in our hearts we will be ready to proclaim it when the opportunity arises. Boy, I miss being a full time missionary. It was so hard because of insomnia and the heat and humidity, but it was so worth it. Well, this is enough for now.

Sister Beck

I just had a wonderful spirirtual experience. On Sunday Night I went with a couple of my friends to a special meeting held for all the Spanish speaking sisters in our area. Sister Allred the first counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency and Sister Beck the President of the relief Society General Presidency spoke to us. Sister Allred's talk was good and very well prepared, but when Sister Beck stood up to speak I felt an instant connection with her. I didn't know that her Father was a mission president in Sao Paolo Brazil while she was a young girl. She spoke Spanish with a Brazilian accent and for some words she used the Portuguese word. I took notes on both their talks. You really can't put it into words the spirit that was there.

The meeting was at the UVU institute building and the counted 1450 women present. we were near the back and it was really neat to look over the audience and see a sea of dark hair and hear the buzz of excitement in spanish.

Friday Morning

It's Friday so that means science, cooking lessons, and art. The kids slept in and woke up looking for those pumpkin muffins made from Trader Joe's mix. They discovered that there was only 1 left because Daddy really liked them last night. So, the girls and I decided to make some more this time from scratch. It's fun to bake and cook with the kids. They love to mix and stir and create. We made applesauce spice muffins and they are very good and pretty healthy. We did save 2 big ones for Daddy. Harold got up just in time to make scrambled eggs. He whipped the eggs, seasoned and cooked them. They were so good and moist. I taught him a couple tricks so his eggs would turn out moist and retain their bright yellow color. Hannah and Haley made juice and set the table. It was more like brunch by the time we were done. What a wonderful way to spend the morning!
My house is back to being messy. I left it looking pretty good. The floors were clear of toys and the laundry was put away or taken with us. Oh well. We're glad to be home and to be able to do our own things in the space we have. We have a ton of dandelions in the yard. I'm going to have to go out and spread weed and feed. It's such a drag that ugly things also grow.

California

We're back from California! We had a great time. My Mom had her 76th birthday on Easter Sunday. We went to Monterey and got to go to the aquarium. They are focused on Sea Horses right now, so we got to learn a lot about sea horses. We also got to go go on a tour at the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield and on a tour of the State Capitol Building. We went to the Fisherman's Wharf and saw the Sea Lions and ate fresh sour dough bread. The best part was picking up Ashley at the airport. I misssd him so much. We didn't see each other for 4 full days but it seemed like an eternity. He was lonely without us. He said the house seemed so empty without us. My daffodils have bloomed and my tulips have started to bloom as well. It is so warm out today. It's just a beaurtiful day to live in Benjamin.
Today is Tuesday now and we jumped back into school. It went well. Hannah has e new math book and calendar. She filled in the counting strips and got acquainted with her new calendar. Henry got a new book and worked on the letter Q today. He has a cool letter book that I made for him. Harold went to piano class. It's nice to get back to the daily life. The kids and I love the structure.
Well, I've gotta go take care of stuff now.

Going to California

We are getting ready for our trip to California. We are excited to see the cousins there and to celebrate my mom's birthday with her. We just had Henry's birthday party and he is so excited to be turning 6 tomorrow. Our bags are mostly packed and the kids are so anxious to get to California. It's gonna be rainy on the way there, but it should clear up by Saturday. Ashley won't be gone very long , but we'll stay for over a week. He'll be busy with work and we'll get a much needed break from cold Utah weather. We actually had a great day yesterday, we even had dinner al fresco. I'm so glad that Henry and I took the time to walk around the property looking for bird nests yesterday afternoon. It was fun. He rode his bike without training wheels for a few seconds and we were very proud of him.
When we get back we will probably get started on a garden area for this year. It'll be fun. I'll miss Chip a lot while we're gone. She barks a lot at strangers, but she loves us unconditionally. You can learn a lot about devotion from a dog.
Well I'm gonna go now. Harold has to get ready for scouts. It's so windy, but they'll still have fun.