Stake Conference Thoughts

I really liked Stake Conference with Kara. Maybe some of it had to do with the fact that I only had to get Hyrum and myself ready, not a whole family of 8.

Elder Ballard was one of the speakers and I did enjoy his comments on overcoming trials but I really liked Kara's Stake President's talk. He used a quote that I have in my quote book but hadn't read for a while. It is from President Benson: "When we put God first, all other things will either fall into place or drop out of our lives". I needed to be reminded of that. We are being tugged and pulled so many different directions - and so many good directions - that sometimes the best things are set aside.

Another point that I loved was when he used the scripture in 1 Kings 19:11-12. The point of the talk being that the Lord is not in the wind, earthquake or fire but in the still small voice. He then went on to talk about making sure we can hear the still small voice. He also mentioned attending the temple and quoted a wonderful quote by President Hinckley which had great promises in it. I wish I had the quote!

So, I am working harder at making sure that I have quiet time to hear the still small voice ("Be still, and know that I am God" comes to mind). "Making" quiet time may seem a little forced but I find that I do love being the first one up in the morning and I really do feel a connection with my Heavenly Father early in the mornings if I take the time to pause and recognize Him before heading into the mothering responsibilities of my day. I also would like to get to the temple again. I wait far to long in between and often find myself blaming that on LeRoy being too busy but I am capable of going myself. The last few times I have been there have been great experiences where I receive direct and immediate answers to the concerns in my life and I crave that experience again. Why am I so silly to put it off until I'm desperate for an answer or direction?

The Utah Trip

I've been waiting to post this because I wanted to get the other pictures from Mom and Kara first but I realize that I can post without a 'bazillion' pictures - as Erika would say.

The trip was fun. I wasn't needing to really run away from my kids, family, life or anything but I realize that having time to do what I would like without all the extra taking care of so many other responsibilities at the same time is nice once in a while. We ate a Zupa's (great salad and soup!!), visited, shopped, visited, ate at Sweet Tomatoes, visited with Autumn, watch a little of the Olympics, ate Rumbi salads, watched food network and ended on Sunday by going to Stake Conference with Kara.

Shopping was ok - I really don't like shopping to begin with. I did find a great skirt, some beautiful shoes and a couple of shirts. I really should have shopped for Hyrum but the boys ran out of shopping steam, though they did go for a good 5 hours, and then the mommies all realized we had run out of shopping steam as well.

Visiting with Autumn was so great. I miss her. That last time I saw her was when Landon was Hyrum's age and now Landon is running all over chasing the cat, chattering and being a typical 2 year old - though he seemed very obedient for a 2 year old.

Maybe the funnest part of the trip was seeing Max and Hyrum together. Even though they are only 3 days apart, they are so different in personality, even at only 5 months old. Hyrum is very laid back, doesn't move around much, grins but not freely, sleeps best in and enjoys his carseat and is total chub. Max is very laid back, constantly moving and observing, smiles and giggles at everything (so Adorable!), really doesn't like his carseat and is tall and slender. We weighed the boys and found that Max is 14 pounds and Hyrum 17 pounds and Max is taller. This picture doesn't really show the difference in size but the ones we took of them just in their diapers shows that they are build very different. Every once in a while Kara and I would notice similarities in their features but wonder if it is just baby similarities rather than really looking at all like they share family features. Either way they are both fabulous little boys and we adore them.

When I drove back home I realized that it was the first time since February that I had left for a 'me' trip. As I was coming into Rexburg, I realized that I didn't live in the blue house any more. It was such a strange thought to not go there. I don't miss the house but sometimes I miss the memories that were made there - does that make any sense? Our little family grew to a big one and did a lot of growing up there. However, pulling up into our new house was also familiar and I was amazed at how big and beautiful of a house I live in. I am so spoiled to have a husband who is supportive of my selfish trips away, kids who are great about keeping things clean while I'm gone and taking care of Nathan and I'm definetly spoiled to live in such a great home. My whole life is more than I ever imagined it would be!

Another School Year Begins

It used to be so easy to get them to smile for a first day of school picture! With all of them leaving at different times for 4 different schools, I'm just happy that they "humored" mom for this one.

2008
Levi - Jr., Erika - Freshman, Derek - 7th, Justin - 4th,
Nathan 2, Hyrum sleeping

I love seeing how they change from year to year.

2007

2006

2004

We didn't have a working camera in 2005

Learning from Wall*E

LeRoy took the kids to see Wall*E while I was in Utah. The kids are claiming that the movie is where Nathan learned to do this with a bra.

Erika was initially embarrased that her bright pink bra was confiscated by her 2 year old brother but then joined in the giggling, Derek and Justin were disgusted and yet laughed hysterically and I just watched for a moment not quite sure how to react. As you can see, rather than say anything I took a picture.

He passed!

I didn't doubt that he would pass but all the guys at work kept teasing him so much that he was worried. He did "excellent" on the driving test, according to the instructor. I think it has a little to do with being 16.5 instead of 14.5. Personally, I think 16 is a bit more mature in thinking, just a tiny bit :D - thus our decision to have him wait.

Heading off to work in his car . . all by himself.

I tease Levi about his "old junker car" but he adores it. I think he just likes that fact that he has a Thunderbird - regardless of what it looks like. I like it because a mechanic told us that whatever he would hit in an accident would be demolished and probably not even hurt him because it is built so tough (hopefully we never find out), and I like the fact that he isn't driving our expensive family vehicle around town without me. Having a 70's car on the insurance also saves us about $1000 a year when adding Levi to the insurance, although is still cost us about $1200 a year to add him.

When I got home from Utah I asked him how it felt to drive himself home in time for curfew. He just gave me a huge grin! Ah, the new found freedom of having a license!

A Week Gone Already!

It may seem that all I have done for the week is scrapbook but I did actually get a lot of To Do's off my list. This has been a crazy, productive, busy, hectic week but a good one. Now I am waiting for my clothes to finish drying so I can be all packed and ready to leave for Utah tomorrow.

This is some of what has been going on:

* All invoices are current, taxes paid, bills paid, office totally caught up! Yay!!

* Wednesday morning we left the house (all 7 of us!) by 8:30 and we spent 2 1/2 hours registering kids in 4 different schools. This took so long because we had to meet new teachers, find out where classrooms were, arrange lockers with friends, have pictures taken for activity cards and of course the schools all wanted $$. Nathan and Hyrum were so patient!

* Thursday morning (this morning) I left the house with Levi and Derek by 7:45 to get to an orthodontist appointment by 8:25 in Idaho Falls. Everyone was going to go again but Justin, Erika and Nathan slept in so they were left home which made the school shopping for Levi and Derek easier.

* Made it home from Idaho Falls in time to get some laundry done, tidy the house and make dinner for 3 extra people (2 teenagers and a guy from Iowa who is building the AutoZone that we are wiring).

* I tried a new recipe (broiled Tilapia) and it is soooo yummy! Thanks Sarah!

* Erika, Derek and Justin each earned $15 doing yard work at the Hibbard Elementary School.

* I finally took the time to get the tire fixed on the Yukon. We have been filling it about every other day but I decided I didn't want to go to Utah with it doing that . . and 20 minutes to myself was needed, even though it was in a greasey, smelley, testosterone shop.

One little ego-builder for me this week was when we were doing school registration for Levi and Erika at the High School (even though Erika will be attending the Jr. High she is considered a freshman so had to pay some fees at the HS). As we left the school Erika put her arm around me and said "you were the best looking mom in there". It made me feel good considering I do try to make it a point to actually do my hair and get out of my pajamas when I go to the schools knowing the kids will be with me and their friends will be there. I could care less what any of the people at the school thought but I want Levi and Erika to be ok with being seen with me. I guess it was ok considering Levi let me 'chill' with his buddies while we were waiting for ID cards and I even forged a parent signature for one of the boys. I know the mother well (went to school with her from K-7th grades), they live in Hibbard also and he was missing work to register.

Erika's ego was built a little (not that it needed it) because Levi's buddies thought she was hot and weren't afraid to say so. What ever happened to learning names first?

Levi had an emotional moment as we drove away from the school because he had found out that one of his friends (non-member, great kid, fun to have at the house) had been sent to live with his mom in another state because he had started smoking and doing drugs. So sad!

And for the not so good of the week:

* our computer ended up with a terrible virus and is a complete mess. Anyone heard of Antivirus XP 2008? Not good - huge mess! At least it was the 'kids' computer' and not the office computer.

* our debit and credit card numbers were 'compromised' so on Saturday we chose to close both of them, order new ones on Monday morning, and they are already here. Minor inconvenience but thankfully it didn't cost us anything.

* the weeds are taking over the 1/2 acre that didn't get sod. I can't believe how fast they have grown and spread!

Tomorrow morning Levi takes his driving and written tests to get his license. I'm thrilled that he will have it but not looking forward to the MAJOR increase in insurance. It is ridiculous.

Well, my clothes should be done. I'm going to bed, getting a great night sleep, starting the day at 6am and everything is going to go just as planned. . . I hope. How could this not be a great trip? I get a massage, time with Mom, time with Kara, a short visit with Autumn . . . a breather before the insane schedule of school starts all over again. I'm ready!

Scrap Happy!

Actually there are no scraps involved since it is all digital.

I'm not sure where the sudden urge to scrapbook came from but it sure has been productive. I've finished 19 pages since last Tuesday and I'm in such a zone that each page is only taking 10-15 minutes. Though I completely enjoyed it back then, it sure beats the "olden" days of dragging the tub of supplies out to sit in front of a movie and finish only 1-2 pages in 2 hours. It is also great to not deal with tons of printed photos. I scrapbook them and then delete them from Picasa because I have them all on cd's in a binder. That way I know that everything that shows up in Picasa needs to be scrapbooked. Wierd that I enjoy emptying these folders.

Here are the 2 I just finished. I've added the others to the web album and put them in order if you want to see.

This mood may have come on because my foot hurts so bad. It's very reminiscent of sitting at the computer to blog because my pregnant body was comfortable in this chair. Now it just keeps me off my foot. I probably should go get it x-rayed again and be put in the boot but the darn podiatrist charged me $415 for 45 minutes and 2 pictures (and it only went to the deductible) so I'm not going back there. Anyone have a boot I can borrow?

Who's Watching This Kid?

I thought it was a little too quiet!

Catching Up

Is it really Thursday already??

I've been doing a little catching up on scrapbook pages so Scrapbook Factory beat out Blogger this week. I really love scrapbooking digitally because I can sneak in a page here and there while still in the office (like I usually do with the blog) and I don't have the mess of all the papers, pictures, scissors, tape, etc. You can view some of my latest pages in my web album.

One blog that I did want to do was about LeRoy's surprise birthday party that we had on Monday. His birthday was actually on Sunday but it always seems to get lost in the Fullmer Family reunion which is always the 1st weekend in August - and with LeRoy's birthday being the 3rd. . . well, you get the picture.

The kids and I had a great time keeping the secret, Erika did an awesome job with the decorating and our little presentations were so fun. We basically just made dad the center of attention for FHE and he loved it. He had no clue that it was coming because he came home from work and dinner was on the table, so we ate. Then we started FHE upstairs and had the normal singing time, prayer and scripture thought. When I announced that the activity was downstairs he didn't think anything of it and happened to be the last one down the stairs so it all turned out perfect. He loved the cake (tower of Reeses) and cried over the card and the "41 Reeses Why We Love You" page that we did.

To see more pictures of his birthday, as well as the pages that I have put together during the last week . . . check out the photo web album here.

Family Reunion

On Saturday and Sunday we had the Fullmer Family Reunion in Menan. We were afraid that there weren't going to be very many people this year but it still was so big! I really enjoyed visiting with the relatives that I only see once a year. LeRoy took 8 of my Utah/Montana cousins to go bridge jumping while all of my kids swam and played on the paddle boat at Uncle Dean's lake. Then Saturday night we ended up with those 8 cousins out at our house playing games. It was so fun to have them visit. Sandra (my aunt) told me on Sunday that our house is on the planned list of activities for some of the cousins and it is the only way to get them to come.

LeRoy was the auctioneer for the auction again this year and I must say that he get's better every year, this being the 3rd year that he has done it.

Knowing that money is a little tight for us right now, I tried to make a few projects that could bring a little to the auction. That way people were spending $ buying my stuff but we didn't have to buy alot. I went through my craft closet and pulled out the old projects that I had ordered at Super Saturday's or Enrichments (I like to get extra's for some reason) and ended up with 4 projects. I quickly put them together Friday night and they turned out great. I only had to buy an easle to complete the 4 of them and they did bring in a bit for the Family Mission Fund.

The total that was paid for the projects was $190. The boards went for $35 and $40, the 6x6 tile was $40 and the 2x2 tile magnets they divided instead of selling as a set. I couldn't believe it when they went for $20 EACH. Holy cow, excellent profit considering they cost me somewhere between $.50 and $1 to make.

LeRoy also spent $135 for mom's afghan and a pecan pie. So much for not spending any at the auction but it all goes to a wonderful purpose. It only jumpstarts us helping Jared with his upcoming mission.