15 Years Has Gone by So Quickly

As a child, years took an eternity to pass by.  I remember birthdays and Christmas took forever to come.  As an adult, the years go by so quickly, almost too quickly.  So fast, in fact, that they blur as I look back (part of that may be the fact that I was exhausted all the time too, haha.)  But, as I think about all that has happened since Bo and I were married, I almost can't believe it all.  Like all couples, we've been through a great deal together.  The Lord has blessed us more than we deserve.  We've had many great times and times where we've had to learn through struggles.  Each of these times has strengthened us and our relationship.  I'm not totally to the point where I can say I'm thankful for all of it, I can say I'm grateful for this life of ours and what life has made us.

I'm so grateful to have gone through it all with this guy by my side.  He's still my best friend, and I still love spending time with him.  He's fearless and goes for the things he wants.  He doesn't give up when things get hard.  I've learned many things from him, and he has so many qualities that I wish I had.  He's so patient with me and keeps me sane. :)  He stretches me to do things out of my comfort zone.  We balance each other out.  The older we get, the more I see it.  I'm grateful to call him mine.

Speaking of stretching me to do things, our Anniversary celebration was totally out of my comfort zone.  I've never driven a snowmobile except for a few minute ride a couple of weeks before this trip.  But, Bo really wanted us to get away and have a fun time together.

I was nervous all week knowing that we'd be riding on snowmobiles, and I had to drive my own!  But, when we got up there and rode around, I realized that snow machining was fun and didn't have to be scary or cold.  The weather was amazing!  I actually got hot at one point.  We had a great day together, and I was in awe of the beauty of the winter scenery we were able to see.  We live in such a beautiful place.  I LOVE that we have seasons that change.  I think I love the look of nature blanketed in the snow more than any other scenery.

 We had dinner in Idaho Falls at Krung Thep Thai.  This is our favorite place to eat.

I love this phase of life.  The thirties are great!  I wonder what life will be like 15 years from now.  Things will look much different, I'm sure of that.  Our youngest will be 20 and our oldest 28.  I don't want to think about how old we'll be. ;)  My hopes are that we'll be a close family that loves the Lord and that we'll all be better people than we are today seeking to serve Him the best we understand how.

A Day at the Museum

I took the kiddos to the Museum of Idaho on President's Day.  The Exhibit was Dinosaurs in Motion.  There were many different dinosaurs made by a man (I should have taken note of his name) who molded scrap metal together.  It wasn't my favorite exhibit, but the kids loved it.  This man was genuinely talented.  The T-Rex was very tall. 

Here are some pics from it.

One Year Older and Wiser Too...Happy Birthday, to You!

Caleb is Five!  It's hard to believe our youngest is five.  When I compare Hailey's first five years to Caleb's, it feels like it took forever for her to get there, but Caleb's first five years have gone too quickly.  I love the ages and stages of our kids right now, but as I've been warned so many times, time really does move too quickly.

Caleb is such a blessing and has all of the kids (actually parents too) wrapped around his fingers.  He just has to smile, and he gets what he wants from any of his siblings.  Jack and he have a close bond, and Jackson has been carrying him around piggyback style quite a bit as they play lately.  It's fun to see.

For Caleb's birthday, we went over to the warehouse and let him and a couple of friends play.  They disappeared for quite a while, ate cupcakes, and opened a couple of presents.

Brooklyn, Caleb, and Jacob

Then in the evening, we had Chicken Rolls for dinner, went back over to the warehouse, and partied again.  This time with Grandma and Grandpa, who also brought Great Grandma Christensen, who is staying with them right now.  He got all three Despicable Me's from Grandpa Porter, and they watched the second one.

He said it was the best birthday ever so and I was relieved because he's been talking about his birthday for months and I didn't want him to be disappointed.

The cake was red with a little pink when I bought it.  The red faded and got more pink.  Oh well, Caleb didn't seem to mind.  :)

At 5 Caleb Love: 

Light Sabers

Inspector Gadget

His Family

His best friend, Jacob

Legos

Hot Wheels

Nani

Staying up past his bedtime

We love:

His sweet nature

His sweet smile

He wit

His love for learning

His hugs and kisses

The way he loves his family

New Years Eve 2017

On Saturday night coming home from Declo we realized we hadn't planned a whole lot for food for New Years Eve, so we stopped at a Maverick at about 10:30 and let everyone pick out a snack and drink.  They had a blast making their choices.  

We spent the evening at home watching Harry Potter 1 and 2.  We may have failed keeping the Sabbath day Holy that day but we had a great day together and we did make it to church. :)

New Year's Day at our house was a rest day and was pretty uneventful.  But, it was just what we needed.  My parents came over for a bit and later, we made some goal journals for FHE. 

Last summer I read a conference talk by Elder Ballard called Return and Receive.  I am good at setting goals but not as good at keeping them.  But, while I studied this talk I got an idea to start a goal and gratitude journal for myself in order to keep my mind on some personal goals.  It has really helped me think daily about what I'm working on and keep me focused on my end goal.  It only takes a few minutes to fill out and as I look back I can see gradual changes in my life. 

Most of the kids are excited to try them.  They each picked a spiritual, mind, and body goal and everyday they can put a sticker on each goal they have worked on.  I hope they learn something from it even if it isn't something they take to heart this time around.

Magical Moments of Christmas 2017

Christmas Morning: So Magical!!!

At our house we get up look in stockings, make and eat chocolate stuffed crepes and watch a video about the Savior.  The kids then run downstairs to see the gifts and what Santa has left!

I love this pic.  You can  almost feel the excitement!

Jack with his favorite, Cheez-its

That smile!

Just waking up

Crepes!

And the moment they've all been waiting for!!!

This year was kind of fun because Hailey can Conrad (on their own) got each other and they both decided to make their gifts for each other.  They were so excited to give each other their gifts and it was really fun to watch them open them.

Hailey just learned how to sew a week before she made this and pretty much did the entire thing herself.

Bo and Conrad worked really hard and for about 10 hours on this bookshelf refurbished from bowling alley wood.

The day after Christmas my family came to spend a few days.  We had a fun time chatting and eating lots of great food. The kids played in the snow as Grandpa and some of the Uncles pulled them on sleds.  There were many crashes and lots of laughs.  It was definitely a great time and we loved seeing everyone. 

We also drove to Declo the Friday after and spent some time with Bo's family.  We had a great dinner, played lots of games of lightning, and had a white elephant gift exchange.  It was fun to see everyone and celebrate. Sadly, I didn't take any pics.

It's sad to say good-bye to the Christmas season.  I wish we could keep this special feeling all year round.  I just love it.  I'm so thankful for a Savior to celebrate and all of those who selflessly obeyed and did their part.