Thoughts

A few weeks ago, I read my patriarchal blessing again.  I have been promised sons and daughters and it talks in depth about what Bryce and I need to do while I am carrying these children prior to their birth.  I have been constantly trying to think and ponder about what this means.  

This last week and a half, I have been reading a book called Facing the Giants.  It is about a football coach that has a losing record for the last 6 years and he is getting frustrated and tired.  One day, a man at his high school stops him in the halls and says, “I heard a story about two farmers who desperately needed rain. They both prayed for rain, but only one farmer went out and prepared his field to receive it. Which farmer do you think trusted God to send rain? The farmer who prepared for it. 

This story really impacted me.  I really would like to have another child in my home and in my family, but I have I prepared myself for it? As I have thought more about it, I have contemplated as to how to “prepare” myself….spiritually, physically, and mentally, and emotionally.  Physically, I have been trying to prepare my body to get pregnant for the past 18 months.  I have spent hours at the gym and have lost weight and tried to make better choices.

Mentally and emotionally I think I will be fine, though I find myself wondering about the demands of a new baby.  I also worry about bringing more children into this world that has become so wicked.  However, I know that the “choicest” spirits have been chosen for this time and I would like to help raise those special ones saved for the last days.

I think the spiritual preparedness is really crucial.  I keep thinking about how I can prepare myself spiritually to have another child come into our home.  I have tried to make my scripture study more meaningful.  I have asked Heavenly Father to give me inspiration and guidance as I read the words from prophets.  

I came across a scripture that I have heard and read many times, but it hit me differently this time. Doctrine and Covenants 109:8 “Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing, and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, and a house of God.” I felt like that is one area that I can be prepared in…making our home suitable to have another Child of God enter into it. 

Bryce and I have really made an effort this past year to hold FHE almost every Monday.  We have also tried to have family prayer and scripture reading each night before the kids go to bed.  We definitely have areas that could use some improvement, but we are doing better than we were a year ago and I feel like it makes a difference.  

As I went back to my patriarchal blessing today, I noticed that it talks about how I will receive insights so that I can prepare myself.  It also talks about how Bryce and I can work together to “prepare those things needful” for the coming of our children.  It also mentions that my preparation prior to their birth is imperative.  It has been really interesting to see how I have received knowledge and guidance these past couple of months. I am thankful that Heavenly Father is watchful of me and our family.

Easter

Like every year, Alpine had a fun little Easter lunch and scavenger hunt for the kids.  I always enjoy this because we really don't go to any other egg hunts and so its nice to have a small one.  The kids have a great time looking for eggs and Clayton loves eating all the candy afterwards.

 This year I tried to do some fun activities with the kids.  We dyed the eggs, decorated sugar cookies, and made pastel colored deviled eggs.

 On Easter morning, we hid the baskets out in the backyard and then watched as the kids ran around trying to find them. This year we kind of made the "search" a little more difficult. They actually had to walk all around the yard to find their baskets.  I hid Cooper's basket behind the Land Cruiser and I hid Clayton's basket on my four wheeler.

They were so excited when they found their baskets.  They compared each other items and realized they pretty much had identical things in their baskets. After they looked through their baskets, they sprayed silly string on each other in the yard.  After a yummy breakfast, we all got dressed in our Sunday best and headed off to church to celebrate the true meaning of Easter!

Clayton's Recent Activities

My computer had been down for the last four months, so I am trying to play catch up on all these posts.  Here is a compilation of some things that Clayton has been doing these past few months.

In March, he got to go to the Roy City Fire Dept with some of his small friends.  The firefighters came out and talked to the kids about safety.  They also let the little ones go inside the big fire engines and the ambulances.  They took the kids inside to show them the fire house.  Cooper had a great time.  He was a little shy at first, but he enjoyed his time.

In April, Uncle Tyler came to visit for a few hours.  We ended up meeting him down at City Creek Mall  for a few minutes.  Clayton enjoyed walking through the outside mall looking at the little creek.  He also had a fun time riding on all the escalators. They also have some really neat fountains at City Creek.  The boys enjoyed playing in the water.

In June, Bryce and I took Clayton on a four wheeler ride up near Mantua.  It was one of our first rides of the year.  It was windy and still a little chilly.  We stopped to eat lunch and the wind was blowing so hard.  We didn't make it all the way to Inspiration Point, but we still had a great time together.

 Clayton loves his daddy so much.  This is such a cute picture of Dad helping son water the dusty plants.  What a cute little bum! He is one of the lookouts that is so beautiful.  Clayton loves being Bryce's riding partner. A few times he would try to ride with me, but that only last for a second and he was back on Daddy' machine!

Cooper's Craziness

 Here are some quotes from Cooper:

*(Talking about Clayton) "Sometimes I don't know what he's saying, but I just go with it."
*(Talking to Jaxson) "Our bodies are temples and we shouldn't put tattoos on them, even if their pretend"
*One day we were sitting in Sam's Club having a slice of pizza.  We overheard these employees talking about how parents these days didn't know what they were doing with their kids.  I didn't realize that Cooper had heard this guy. He just looked up at me and said, "That guy over there doesn't know what he is talking about. I was raised well."

*One day Cooper got into the car after school. He told me that he had stopped by Mr. Proffer's (principal) office to talk to him.  I asked him why.  He told me that he got in trouble at school because he and a bunch of friends were playing chase.  Cooper told one of the boys on his team to get this other boy.  Well, he pinned this boy down and they both got sent to the principal's office. Mr. Proffer told Cooper that he couldn't play with Tayson anymore.  Cooper apologized to Tayson and then went to ask Mr. Proffer if he could play with him again.  I told Cooper that in all my elementary years, I had never gone to the principal's office and that he should try to not be sent there.

*I was down in Salt Lake one day when I received a phone call from Mr. Proffer telling me that Cooper had got into a pushing match with a girl in his class. She was trying to cut in line and so they started shoving each other.  Mr. Proffer talked to both of them and explained how it wasn't a smart thing to do.  Mr. Proffer said that Cooper was respectful and apologized.

*We were driving in the car one day and Cooper had been sick for a few days with a small fever.  He looked over and said, "Mom, I love you.  It's just because you help me with homework and when I am sick you take care of me.  You are always there for me."  I told him thank you and that it was nice of him to tell me that.  Then Clayton chimed in from the back, "Mom, I love to spank your bum!" I guess they both have their ways of expressing their love for me.

Clayton's Stories

 Clayton is at such a fun age right now.  He is three and half years old and so much fun.  He is so full of life and I enjoy spending my days with him and building that bond with him.

* Clayton loves to help me put the food away after dinner;

 *He loves to help me make cookies, pancakes, scoop watermelons, and make just about anything;
*Right now, Clayton's main job is put the utensils away; he gets his bench, stands on it and puts them away
*He still loves it when I rock him for a few minutes before he goes to bed each night; his favorite song right now is the "Three Bears"

*Some of Clayton's closest friends are Landon Gabrish, Jaxson Casebolt, Zane Allen, and Ember Lythgoe
*While we were gone one day, Jacqui overheard Clayton singing, "I can be your circus and do my work in the latter days"

 During the wet and cold Spring days, Cooper would love to help me shovel the driveway and sidewalks. It didn't matter how much it snowed, as soon as he saw it on the ground, it was time to head outside to clear the sidewalks.

A few weeks ago, there was a new advertisement from K-Mart about "shipping your pants." It was a really funny ad that talked about how you can now ship your items to your home.  Bryce came in to show it to me one morning.  We were kind of laughing and getting ready for church.  When we got home from church, Clayton walked up to Bryce and said, "Dad I forgot to tell my teacher something.  I forgot to tell that I shipped my pants".  Then he ran off.  We laughed so hard.  We didn't realize he had heard the ad earlier that day and was going to tell his teacher about it!

Cooper's Spring Break

Bryce was not able to take any time off for Spring Break and we didn't have lots of money to spend, so we stayed around here and had a blast just spending time together as a family.  First we went over to Power Line Park to play on the playground, eat lunch, and let the boys ride their bikes on the skate park.

Cooper and Clayton enjoyed playing in the sand and riding on the pretend dinosaurs.  The playground excitement wore off quickly when they saw the skate park and dirt bike course.  At first, Cooper was very hesitant to go on the little dirt hills.  In fact, he creeped over the smallest hill and almost tipped over.  As soon as he gained a little confidence, he couldn't be stopped and he went all over the course.  I was really proud of him.  It was fun to watch the excitement in his eyes as he went up and down the hills.

The boys also enjoyed going up and down the ramps.  They were a little steep, but as soon as they got the feel of things, they went up and down them.  They also had a fun time running up and down them and Clayton liked to slide down the ramps. Since we discovered this place, I am sure we will be back multiple times in the future!

We also went to the Clearfield Aquatics Center.  It was perfect because it ended up being a mother child swim day, so we had two hours of children 8 and under.  It wasn't loud or chaotic and there were not a lot of people there.  Cooper, of course, enjoyed swimming in the little whirlpool with his goggles.  Clayton enjoyed his little water slide over and over again.  It was fun to just sit and watch them play and enjoy the water.

 One of the days, we went to the Ogden Nature Center.  The weather was perfect for the nature center.  You do a lot of walking there and most everything is outdoors.  We started off by walking through the bird houses and the boys pointed out some of their favorites.

We also went by the bird cages where the boys got to see some Eagles and Hawks and other interesting birds.  They had a huge eagles nest laying on the ground and the boys climbed in to take a pictures.  They also wanted to climb some of the trees.  We walked out to some of the lookouts.

The trails were beautiful with the fallen leaves on the ground and the trails were enclosed by tree branches.  They boys raced up and down the trails.  They found walking sticks and little dens where we could get in and hide.

Cooper climbed down into a Bear den.  Clayton didn't want to get dirty so he passed on that idea.  The boys were able to look out the binoculars and see two or three deer in the distance.  They also enjoyed looking at a spider, a snake, and some other birds.  It was a really fun activity and it got us up and moving.  The cost is very cheap so it was a cost friendly activity for the family!

Concealed Weapons Permit

Bryce bought me a 9mm Taurus hand gun for my last birthday.  I was in Texas for my birthday and so he didn't give it to me until I got home from vacation.  I have been waiting to shoot the gun but the Impact Gun store has been slammed every weekend and it has just been too cold to shoot outside.

Well, Paul really wanted me to take the concealed weapons class with Steph, so he signed us up to go in March.  I ended up going with Jacqui, Steph, Jocie, and Kyle.  The class cost was $135 a person, which was pretty steep.  I enjoyed the class.  I learned that less than 50 kids get killed each year by accidental gun shootings.  I also learned that you can use your gun if you are under imminent and immediate danger.  I learned that you shoot to stop, not shoot to kill.  I learned that CWP holders can carry a loaded gun anywhere except churches, corrections facilities, federal buildings, and the airport.

The class ended up taking 4 hours.  Dex Taylor was our instructor.  He told a lot of interesting stories and he seems to be literally addicted to guns, but he knows a lot of information about gun safety.  Bryce and I went to the range to shoot my 9 and Paul's 22 when the class ended.  I didn't really enjoy shooting my gun because of the recoil.  It kind of stung my hands.  I did most of my shooting with Paul's handgun, which I quite enjoyed! Now, I cant' decide if I want to sell mine and get a 22 or just keep mine since it is a slim for concealed carrying. I will have to shoot it a few more times before I make my decision!