An FHE to remember!!

Every now and then, you have an experience that you know will stick with you forever. I knew that moving here would provide use with new and.......different......opportunities, but let me tell you, I didn't think I'd EVER be doing this! First a little info. Our mama goats had their cute little goatlets (kids) a week ago. Who knew that any goat could ever be cute?! There are 2 males & 2 females. Well, here's something I learned. Male goats must be castrated (yes, CASTRATED!) in order to have tender meat, be calm, less stinky, many benefits, apparently. We also have chickens running around our yard. I don't mind this, as they are great bug eaters. Except for the roosters, who think that 3:00am is the time to wake everyone up. SO annoying! With this info as a little prep, let me explain our memorable evening last night. I have to say, I have an amazing husband. The way he went about this all was so good for the kids, and we all learned some things. First, we cut the poor little male goats. Our knife wasn't quite sharp enough, but Tom got the job done. Jackson helped Tom hold the first goat, and didn't really like hearing the little guy scream so loud it hurt all our ears. (I think it was harder for him than he would admit.) The girls sat back and tried SO HARD not to cry too hard. Their lips were tight, and faces red, as tears streamed down their faces. Here's one mistake we made. They already named the little babies. The first one cut was "Jimmy". It was hard for them to see little Jimmy scream. After the first was done, Jack had had enough, so I took his place for the second baby - "George". I don't know how Tom has the guts to do it, but he does!

After our lesson on "Goat Castration", it was onto "Rooster Butchering". This one wasn't nearly as bad. YEA!!! You've heard the saying, "running around like a chicken with it's head cut off". That really has some meaning to me now! It really didn't run too much, but the kids actually got a kick out of watching a headless chicken run around. Especially Lincoln. Then Tom showed us how to skin, and cut it all up. By the time he was done, it looked just like the chicken you buy in the store! Go figure! I was so glad we started with the goats, because the rooster made no noise, not too much blood, and didn't even have a name. :D

Look at the looks on the kids faces as Tom shows them the insides! Bleh!

Nice boots Linc!

Afterwards, we went in and talked about "life", and why we are doing these things. What a blessing it is to be able to have these animals for food storage if needed. We even talked about how the baby goats got in the mama goat tummy. OH MY! During FHE, my kids (the ones who didn't yet know) learned about where babies come from!!! Like I said, a very MEMORABLE night! We all were sitting around the kitchen table and at the start of our conversation, once Keslee realized where our conversation was going, she said, "Can we please not talk about this at the kitchen table?" Her stomach was still turning just a bit! We got some pretty cute/funny/awkward questions, but by the end of the night, it really turned out to be a good experience for everyone. Even Keslee!

We really are seeing sooooo many blessings of being able to move here. It hasn't been easy, but we really feel like Heavenly Father just keeps pouring more and more out to us. One amazing blessing that we have received is that Tom's company will be doing the surveying & engineering on the new temple here. What an incredible honor this is for them! We (I) definitely miss the conveniences from the big city, but I can see now the even bigger blessings that have come to us having moved here. He really does watch out for us. It reminds me of the scripture 3 Nephi 14:11: "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" I know He wants to bless us, and He has. More than we know.

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Why I chose to be a mom

For all the mom's out there...do you ever wonder why you chose to be a mom? Does it sometimes involve more work, stress, anger, frustration, and sense of failure, than you think it should? It's 10:00 pm and the kids are downstairs screaming. I just cleaned the bathroom floor for the second time today because it was flooded with water. I was talking on the phone with my sister in the room right next to the bathroom. Lincoln was playing in the bathtub, and I could hear him laughing and pouring water out of a cup into, what I assumed, was the bathtub. When I went into check on him, I was sorely disappointed. The FLOOR, not the bathtub, was flooded with the water. And the water was leaking out onto the wood floor. He was laughing, and thought he had just done the funniest thing. I quickly got off the phone, and started cleaning up the mess. As you can imagine, I am not happy at this point, especially since Lincoln has also developed a bad habit of flushing the toilet over and over and over again, making sure that it is full of toilet paper. Guess what happens when you do that. Back to my story. Next, I hear the girls screaming as if the world is coming to an end. Problem: The basement bathroom ceiling is leaking. It took me a minute to figure out that because the upstairs bathroom is directly above the basement bathroom, the water leaked down to the basement. Not sure if there will be any permanent damage. Also, the upstairs bathroom bathtub just had heavy dose of Lysol spray as Lincoln thought it would be too much effort to actually make it to the potty. (this is in addition to pouring the water out onto the floor.) Next on the agenda, Kemilee starts saying, "OOOOOOO! There's poop on my pillow!" Luckily (for lack of a better word), it only turned out to be bird poop this time, but poop, nonetheless. And here I am typing this, not wanting to clean the kitchen. I don't want to change the laundry that has all the towels in my house because I had to use them to mop up the water upstairs & down. I don't want to get up from my chair and fight with the kids about why they can't watch a movie tonight even though they have no school tomorrow, and it's now 10:30 pm. I cringe at the thought of wondering if somewhere between the upstairs & the basement there could be potential mold. I am wondering why I didn't stand in line for 3 hours, fighting off customers at the day after Thanksgiving sale to get one of those wet vacuums for $40. I could really use one at this point in my life.

I am up and down as I type this. It is now 10:45 pm, and the kids are all in bed (except Keslee, as she is always the last one done in the bathroom). Actually, Kemilee just came upstairs to complain about Keslee, so I guess I was wrong on all the kids being in bed.

After Linc was dressed from his eventful bath tonight, I tried to sit down and talk to him about why he flooded the floor again. I said, "Linc, do you think it makes mom happy when you pour water on the floor?" He said, "No. And Heavenly Father and Jesus still love me!" It was kind of a light bulb moment for me. Even when we do things that we know are wrong, and we know there will be consequences, He still loves us. Even though my kids (my 3 year old in particular) really test me sometimes, I will always love them.

Even though things aren't always "peaches and cream" around here, (it's usually more like "poop, mud and toilet water") I love, love, LOVE being at this time in my life. It's now just after 11:00 pm and all the kids are asleep, and now they look sweeter than ever. Yes, even Lincoln. I think Heavenly Father gives us these moments for a very important reason. And now, I remember why I chose to be a mom.

Levi's call

Tom's brother, Levi, got his mission call to Melburne, Australia! We're so excited for him! Can't believe he's already old enough!

On my way to the temple...

This was a little scary! I was on my way to Mesa late one night, when I came around a corner and almost ran into this! Yeow! I had to get some pics. I ended up waiting for 2 hours for the fire crews to get everything cleared out for traffic to continue. I think I had a guardian angel or 2 watching out for me that night!

Mexico pics...keep scrolling!

Looking at the house we stayed in from the ocean.

A view from the back porch at low-tide.

Linc loves his daddy, and visa-versa! (On a boat ride in Rocky Point)

Just had to post this one! Sweet Merrill always has a cute pose when she see's the camera!

Lincoln & "baby" Reed became good friends.

Jack soaking up the rays by the ocean.

A view from the back porch at high-tide.

MEXICO!!

Alright, here we go! I think I have been putting off updating my blog because I have SOOO many pictures and I hate not being able to post them ALL! I have a hard time choosing the "best" ones. We have had some adventures this month (yes, it's been a MONTH since my last post!) First, and FUNNEST, our family went to Rocky Point, Mexico at the begninning of May. Oh my fabulous family vacation! We rented a house right on the beach in Playa Encanto with Tom's business partner & family. They were so good to put up with us, and Jack & Lincoln even came home with a few girlfriends! Lincoln is going through withdrawls without his new friends. It was so much fun, and we hope to be able to go again soon!




Keslee & Jackson


Kemilee, Erin & Lincoln

Cute Kes

Jacie & Camilla giving Jackson a little extra lovin'! (Don't get the wrong idea Reed & Maryann...we MADE them do it! :-) )

Lincoln & Suzanna at sunset on the beach (low-tide)

"My" Temple

Many of you, by now have heard that there are two new temples being built in Arizona. One in the Gilbert area, and we are SOOOOO excited that one of them happens to be in the Gila Valley! I guess I kind of always knew that there would be a temple here someday, I just never dreamed it would be this soon. This will be an amazingly HUGE blessing to so many people. As I type this, I am just overwhelmed at the millions of people this will benefit. Not only here in the Gila Valley, but obviously on the other side. People in this valley have been praying for many years for a temple to be built here. Our last 2 Stake Conferences have been amazing, and we have been counseled very strongly, to increase our temple attendance. Elder Costa, from the seventy, even came and gave us the challenge to attend once a week. I know some people here that have taken on that challenge. That's 2 1/2 - 3 hours of driving each way. I have felt more anxious than ever to attend more often. But, of course, I start thinking, how in the world am I going to afford to Mesa all the time with gas being so expensive? And then I come up with all the other excuses that seem to go with attending the temple. I know that the excuses won't go away once the temple is built here, but I certainly won't have as many! I came across this fabulous quote from Elder Packer yesterday, he said, "It is evident that the work relating to temples bothers the adversary the most. It is this work that causes all the bells of hell to ring.” I can't help but think that we are going to make Satan VERY mad here in the Gila Valley!

Now here's the part that my husband will never understand about me. I tend to get attached to different "things". When we have sold different family cars or homes, or have had a dog that I actually hated, die, I don't like the separation from those things. I get comfortable, (again, even if I hated that dog!) and don't like the change. I still madly miss our Mesa home, and have great memories of my all time favorite Isuzu Rodeo that we use to have. And I think that's actually it. It's the memories. Dumb to some, but that's just me. Anyway, as excited as I am to have a new temple here, I can't help but already "miss" the Mesa Temple. For me, that is MY temple. It's been my temple for the last 12 years of my life. I can't imagine calling another temple "mine". I received my own endowments there, and married my best friend there. I have had some incredible experiences there that I will never forget. I know, to a lot of people reading this, it sounds rediculous, but I just wanted to throw that out there. Change is good, but not always easy. I am so thankful for the gospel and the opportunity I have to even go to the temple. I know this will bless the lives of millions, and I can't wait for that!

Great advice

Not all to often do I have great advice, but today, I DO! Check out Rob Brinton's free art giveaway!

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Mama goats

I have had many requests for people to see our goats, and why not? You'd think we had a petting zoo by these pictures. Pretty soon our 2 prego's will have little goatlets (actually they're "kids", but "goatlets" sounds better) running around. Cuz, we need more goats. You can never have enough, you know. I'm afraid this is only the beginning....

Our house/yard - in part

This is a front view of our front yard, no landscaping yet! We're so use to having an HOA. Since we don't here, we haven't been in a huge hurry. I know it'll come in time. We have planted some, just no grass yet. We always seem to lack the whole time/money thing. Sound familiar? Anyway, we have more important things to do, like tend to our goats. :-)


This is a view from the back porch. Again, no landscape yet, but it's in the works. We've (Tom) planted a few trees, and the more irrigation we get, the more grass.

Tom's Saturday...

This weekend, Tom replaced our neighbors swamp cooler. He had to build a new stand, and figure out how to get a new one back up on the side of their house. If you ever have a difficult project, and don't know where to start, let me tell ya, Tom is the guy to ask. He is a genious! It turned out to be an all day project, and he still needs a few parts to get it finished. We had some friends from our old ward in Mesa help a bit in the morning, (WE LOVE YOU PATTERSON WARD!!) and then Tom's brothers & brother-in-law came over to actually get the unit up. We are so grateful for those who helped!! This house is one that we actually purchased with our land. There is a cute old couple living in their now, but the house is legally ours. We're so lucky to have good neighbors!

"More Moments" by Lincoln...

For those of you who were fortunate enough to watch General Conference last Sunday, you'll remember President Monson's talk about his wife writing their children a note advising them to not let their dad (Pres. Monson) use the microwave, among other appliances. It was a pretty funny story. Well, Lincoln actually heard that part, and in his prayers that night he said, "...and please bless President Monson that he won't use the microwave...". It was one of those times that as a parent, I was trying so hard not to snicker in the middle of his prayer, because he was so sincere! You add his little lisp and cute voice, and that's Linc for ya!

Down by the river!

Friday night we went down to the river on quads & golf carts (!) and had a little "camp out", without actually camping. Jack & Tom did some fishing, we did the camp fire thing, and everyone was PLENTY dirty! It was so fun!

Yes, it's a REAL owl!

Tom was driving home late one night

from Mesa when an owl hit his windsheild.
So, he brought it home. I mean, who wouldn't? It was blind in at least one eye, probably had brain damage, and was very calm. You should have seen the claws on that thing! It was a wonderful addition to our family until we decided it was time to let the poor thing go. I'm not sure it survived, but it gave us a fun memory.

Alright, so it's a little hard to make out what's going on here. So read this before you watch. This is a dark, shaky video of Jackson getting to High Five the starting line up on the Suns. Jack is on the right side, short kid, purple hat. I know. It doesn't mean as much to anyone else as much as it did us, but it was a fun experience anyway!

And their off! What a sweet Grandma!

Grandma Palmer (a.k.a. Tom's mom) challenged all the grankids to a race once she had recovered from knee surgery. Kemilee is recovering from foot surgery, so the two were a good match. Kemilee pulled through and won (I'm sure Grandma didn't want to break Kem's little heart!), so now Grandma is going to treat Kemliee to ice cream!