THRIVE

I am now a consultant for Shelf Reliance. They sell the food storage shelving systems and now they sell the THRIVE brand food storage. I held a party two weeks ago at my house and did really well, so I decided to be a consultant. The food is really good and it stays good for 25 years. And, it beats the grains, powdered milk, flour, sugar, and beans "food storage."

If anyone is interested in hosting a party, please let me know. The benefits of hosting a party include 10% of sales in free food and depending on your sales, you qualify for 1/2 off food. I spent $150 on food and received $500 worth of food when I did my party, so it turned out great.

A Break Through...

A few days ago, we were downstairs putting a show on for Cooper. He decided he wanted to watch Mickey Mouse Club house. Clayton thought it was a pretty neat show as well. He kept watching it. Cooper came up to me and said, "mom, after I wash my hands, Clayton can sit by me and watch this show with me. I will watch him." It was so cute to watch them sit there and Clayton kept trying to grab Coopers hand.
I was just amazed that Cooper actually wanted to pay attention to his little brother! I always have to force him to say hi to Clayton, so it definately was a break through for us!

Tender Mercies

For the last few months, I have been wanting to write down how the Hand of the Lord has been involved in my life daily. I read an article the other day about gratitude and it reminded me again about all that I have in this life. The Lord blesses us with "tender mercies" many times a day and if we would take the time to think about it, we would realize how his Hand is such an intricate part of our lives.

The "tender mercy" that I am thankful for today is adoption. We have been so blessed to have our little angel, Cooper in our family. Our family would definately be missing something, if we didn't have this sweet little boy. I am so thankful that we have the wonderful blessing of adoption on this Earth and I am thankful for a Heavenly Father who inspired men and women to set up these adoption agencies, so that His plan would be fulfilled here on this Earth. My precious little Cooper said some of the most unforgettable things to me tonight about our family and about his adoption. He told me he was thankful his birth parents made the decision to place him with our family. It brought me to tears. I am so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father and I know that our family as well as our extended family has been blessed by this "tender mercy."

Ice Cream

Yesterday, Coopers preschool class went to Rob's Frosted Creamery for a field trip. The kids got to see how they made fresh ice cream and waffle cones everyday. They thought it was pretty neat to watch the mix and food coloring swirl round and round in the machine.

This year, Cooper has learned so much from his teacher, Mrs. Misty. I have been very pleased with the preschool. I think Misty is an awesome teacher and the kids love her. Cooper knows most of his ABC's now and loves to write them and sound them out. He also learns new songs every week and loves to share them with us.
The kids got to have a serving of Cotton Candy ice cream, with their choice of topping to be mixed in it. Cooper chose Bubble Gum and he loved his icecream. He also had a great time spending time with his friends. Clayton also loved the ice cream!

Some Thoughts

Last night, as Bryce and I were flipping through channels on the tv, we found out that the government had passed the new healthcare bill. Now, I honestly don't know alot about the bill. Bryce informs me of what is going on with government all the time, as he listens to talk radio all day long.

While the democrats are excited because this is "history in the making", its kind of scary for the rest of us. Supposedly, 75% of Americans did not want this bill to pass. Yet, the people that we have voted in to these offices, are not representing the people as they should be. That is their job. Many have gone behind closed doors and made ammendments to these bills, secretly, I might add, like the Gadianton Robbers of old. And it worries me, because it is exactly what Satan wants to see happen to us as a nation, as a free country, as a "God-fearing" people.

In the scriptures, it states over and over again, that as long as "we keep the commandments, we will prosper in the land", but "inasmuch as you don't keep the commandments, you will be cut off from His prescence." Now, if we will study the history of America and the Revolutionary War, we can't deny that our Heavenly Father had a hand in establishing this great country. And it has been a blessed and chosen land since the creation of the world. I have read lots of books on the revolutionary war and I am amazed and touched by the fact that Heavenly Father preserved this nation, and everything fell into place during that war. Even down to the little details, like the weather changing, so we could hide from the enemy or fog clearing up so we could see the enemy coming. The Hand of Providence was watching over our nation, and will continue to watch over us as long as we stay faithful and do those things that our pleasing unto the Lord.

I have been saddened by the fact that we, as a country, voted into office, a president that does not believe in God. Our founding fathers believed and trusted in God. They established and set up our constitution under the direction of God, and now we have a president that does not even believe in a Supreme Being...He believes in himself and wants to have all the power and that is why the government is slowly taking over all that we have. We may not notice it now, but the governments has us in a pot of warm water and they are slowly turning up the heat! We are in trouble as a nation.

Our new president has not been in office for very long, and look at all the changes that have occurred in that short time. We are in more debt as a nation, then we have ever been before. We have a president that is ok with abortions, even when the baby is fully functioning and everything is developed. I think Satan is pretty excited about our new president and alot of the advisors that he has working with him. If you have ever read the book series, "The Great and Terrible", it reminds me of what is happening in our nation right now. There are many evil acts going on behind the scenes...alot of secrets combinations, deceivings, lyings, murderings, and adultery, and the list goes on and on.

Eventually, we are going to have to stand up as citizens of the United States, and decide which side of the fence we want to be on. No sitting on the fence anymore. If it produces good, it comes from God. If it is not good, it comes from the devil. There is no in between.

Heavenly Father will not continue to bless and protect this nation, if we turn our backs on Him. But, that is exactly what our country is doing...taking his name out of the pledge of allegience, not allowing prayers in schools, and all sorts of other crap that the government is doing. I feel like we are in trouble and I know things will just get worse and worse, until our real president, our real leader, our real Master, our only Saviour, even Jesus Christ, will come back to this Earth to save His people, those that still believe in Him and have trusted in Him.

St. Patricks Day

We had a fun and exciting St. Patricks Day. The weather was actually warm enough for us to go outside and enjoy the sunshine. We woke up and put on our "greens". I tried to explain to Cooper that if he didn't wear green, people would pinch him. He kept asking, "Why?" We took a lunch and went to the park with Jacqui and her kids. The kids had a great time running around and expending their energy outdoors. It seemed like all the other mothers in the city had the same idea as us, because it was packed at the park!

After the park, we went back to Jacqui's house. She just put a sand box in her back yard and it is quite a hit with the kids. They have spent lots of time playing out in the sand and it is big enough that all four of them have room to play.
Later that evening, I watched the kids while Jacqui and Jared went to the temple. We had a "green" dinner, which was kind of fun. It's the first time I have ever done that. We had chicken fettuccine, green beans, salad, and green rice krispie treats. Landon did not want to touch the chicken because it was green, but after I made him try it, he scarfed down his whole bowl of food.

Brandon's Wedding

Last weekend we were able to attend the wedding of Brandon and Jill, my brother and sister in law. Everything turned out nice and they seemed really happy. It was fun to watch the kids file in the room dressed up so cute. While we were at the wedding, Carrie took some really neat pictures of our family. I really like this one, because Clayton is smiling at Cooper. Clayton adores Cooper and this totally captures his love and admiration for his older brother.

Play Date

The other night, I had to go get some groceries after dinner. Cooper asked me if he could stay home with Bryce. He told me that while I was gone they were going to have a play date and do whatever they wanted to do. He was so excited to spend time with his dad!

When I got home, they were sitting on the couch watching Wall-E (Coopers Favorite Movie right now) I brought them some chocolate covered doughnuts so they could have a dessert for their "play date."

Bryce took Cooper to his kindergarten check-up last week. Cooper had to get 4 shots in his legs, which he did not appreciate. Bryce said he sucked all the air out of the room. The doctor said that Cooper was doing well. They had him write his name and draw all the different shapes. The doctor said that Cooper needed to know his phone number and address before he goes to kindergarten. He also said that Cooper is in the 100% for his height. Imagine that. Both of our boys are tall! Afterwards, Bryce took Cooper to the store where he picked out 2 transformers. I am glad that Bryce took the time to go and be there with Cooper for that doctor appointment!

I love this picture of Clayton. His eyes just sparkle and he has the cutest little smile. In fact, that is how Cooper used to smile when he was a baby! Mouth wide-open!