A Lasting Legacy

“I know as surely as anything in this world that someday I shall die as to the life of this world. But I have an absolute certainty in my heart that I shall go on living and doing good and having the association of my beloved companion and my children” ( President Gordon B Hinkley,meeting,Guayaquil, Ecuador, 31 July 1999).

Our church has suffered a great loss in the death of our beloved prophet, Gordon B. Hinkley. He has been and amazing instrument in the hand of the Lord to move His work forward at an astounding pace. He will be greatly missed. We look forward to the sustaining of our new prophet with a renewed sense of faith and dedication.

Organized Chaos

My cousin Emily posted about organizing, she asked us to post our best ideas. Therefore, I will post a few of the things that make my life easier.

Cubbies at the back door- This is where the kids literally drop their backpacks, jackets etc. It is also where I put anything of theirs that I find in the house throughout the day. They have to empty their cubby once a day. Obviously they have not been emptied today.

Shoe basket- by the back door. This is where all shoes go when the kids come inside. Then as we leave anywhere there is a pair of shoes to put on. I have them put all but one pair away once a week.

Wrapping Station- I am always putting together gifts, this little station Carter built me around Christmas time has been a lifesaver. I spray painted a rain gutter to hold the ribbon rolls, and the wrapping paper is stored on curtain rods. This ideas was from my friend Cathie.

Job boards- These save my life everyday.

Craft cupboard- I have done this for a long time. I put all crayons, markers, paints, stickers, stamps, pens and pencils, glue and craft stuff in their own Rubbermaid's, all our craft and art things are kept together here.

Baby toy basket- When I have a baby I keep a basket of toys in a cupboard in my family room, now that I don't have babies I still use it when we have little ones over.

Command Center Binder- I learned this from my Aunt Rosemary- This is a binder with dividers that read: Emergency numbers(poison control,doctors, neighbors etc), phone lists, school (class info, PTA info, lunch calenders), church(VT lists, home teaching lists, scout info, YW info), extracurricular(city team info, piano, book club), menus (menus for the week, menu ideas, shopping lists).

Game closet- Every game in our house is here. Rubbermaid's for card games, and electronic games. No games are allowed in anyone's closets or rooms.

Toy Organizer- I found this idea in Pottery Barn Kids, but who the heck can afford their stuff? Carter made this for me (I know I am lucky).The bottom has 3 large cubbies, a huge one in the middle for a TV (notice our huge TV) and video games,two small ones on each sides of the TV one, two more small ones on the top. I found the baskets on clearance at Shop Ko for next to nothing.

Book Shelves with window seat. Pretty self explanatory

Here is a quick tip from my friend Amber. 10 minute tidy. Before my kids go to bed they have to pick up the entire house for 10 minutes. I set the timer and you would not believe how quick the house gets clean. I love waking up to a straightened house.

I also have each of my kids wipe down a bathroom every day with Clorox wipes, that way the bathrooms never get disgusting and they are much easier to clean.
There are lots of other things I do, and I know that you all probably do all of these things already.

I try to run an efficient household, but after baby four came along I learned that in order to be sane and happy I had to let go of some of my obsessive compulsive tendencies, and I found that a lot of things just really do not matter. I am in the business of raising kids and I intend to enjoy the short moment I have with them, and not miss it because all of the laundry had to be done.
I would love to hear from you what you do to make your house more organized and run more efficiently.

Itching To Tell

Believe it or not Jackson has the chicken pox! Yes he has been vaccinated and yes he still got a pretty good case of the pox. Poor guy says he's itching TO DEATH! He even has a spot on his lip and one on his eyelid. Fun. He feels pretty good, not much of a fever or anything else. So he is playing the Wii and reading a lot. Bad thing about the chicken pox is that you are contagious until the very last spot is scabbed over. About seven days! Long days ahead. What did the sick chicken have? THE PEOPLE POX! Ha.

Family Pictures

We finally did it! We got my whole family together in one place for a family picture. The last time we tackled this major undertaking was when Courtney was 1! It was high time. It was a beautiful fall day, and most of you will recognze the beautiful scenery from my parents back yard (on my list of most beautiful places). Of course Nate, being the family comedian, came dressed completly, head to toe in white. My mom bit her tounge, but you should have seen her face. Nate was waiting for her response. She just quietly whispered to the photographer to put him in the back. I made some comment about an angel and we all burst into laughter. Count on Nate. It was actually pretty low key, and maybe even a little fun. The pictures turned out great. Another thing to cross of the To Do list.

The Holiday Run Down

It as been a while since a good post. We had a wonderful Christmas season. As I posted earlier I was somewhat apprehensive about spending Christmas Eve and Christmas here in St. George. My fears were unfounded. We had so much fun together. We made gingerbread houses with some friends. We went to movies, for drives to see the lights, to the Dicken's Festival, school Christmas programs, chorus concerts and a piano recital to top it all off. I did and insane amount of candy making and Christmas baking. We read Christmas stories every night, watched a lot of Family Channel Christmas movies, and checked the mail constantly for cards and packages. One of the highlights was Grandma and Grandpa Bowen's 12 days of Christmas packages. The kid's could not wait each day to see what grandma and grandpa had sent.
On Christmas eve we ate soups and homemade bread sticks, decorated cookies for Santa, acted out the Nativity, and read a new Christmas book called "The Last Straw." The kids went to bed at a decent hour and we started our wrapping. It was calm, relaxed, intimate and fun! I loved it.
Christmas day we woke up early and opened gifts and spent all day long in our pajamas playing games and putting together toys. We were invited to Christmas dinner by some neighbors. It was a great time.
The next day we drove up north to be with family. Of course I wanted to see our families during the holidays. We stayed with Carter's family. I love it there. His mom and dad are a blast to be with. We stayed up late catching up, eating,playing the Wii and playing cards. The Cluff's are wonderful hosts. I always feel so at home there. They are great in laws!
With my family we went to the annual Bowen Family Christmas party, shopping, out to eat, to visit Grandma Richards, to church,we went to Aunt Rosemary's and ate a delicious dinner with all the Lind cousins, I just love them, they are like brothers and sisters to us, and the Bowen's had a really fun New Year's Eve party. The longer I stay around my family, the more I miss them.
We stayed up north through the new year and then came home to our busy lives. We had such a wonderful time. I am so grateful for our wonderful families. I know how rare it is to have two sets of wonderful parents and grandparents, and so I feel blessed.
We hope your new year is full of wonderful new experiences!

My Dilema

So here is the reason I have not posted for a while, maybe you can help me out. Lately I have heard a lot of stories (from very reliable sources) about people stealing identities from blogs, taking heads off pictures in blogs and using them on pornography sites, and sexual predators coming after children they see on blogs. I love having an open blog because I have met new friends and rediscovered old ones. I love to surf through blogland too! I like posting about my family and I love to post pictures of them. I would never forgive myself if I ever brought harm to any of them, it is just not worth it. I know I can lock my blog, but could someone stil get into it if they really wanted to? I am not sure I have much to say if I don't blog about my family and home life. I am tempted to stop blogging and take my blog off the Internet. I LOVE blogging. It has been my scrapbook, my journal, my connection to family and friends and a really fun new hobby. What do you all think? I would love your opinions. Especially people who know about Internet security. What is a girl to do?