Homework and Knock-knock jokes

This morning Alex told me a knock-knock joke he had heard from one of the kid’s books that had a punchline involving “poop”.  I chuckled, but when he started creating more “poop” jokes I had to explain they weren’t very nice.  I encouraged him to think of nice jokes.  He looked around the room and then said, “Knock-knock”. “Who’s there?” I replied.  “A picture of your family.”  “A picture of your family who?” “Jason...and David...and Keith...and Rebecca...”. The “punchline” continued on and on and I started to wonder if I should have just let the poop joke slide.😉

Lucy brought this assignment home yesterday.  I got quite a kick out of it!  Especially her answer to number 3.

Faith and the Creation

I have been coming to a deeper realization of the importance of understanding the Creation.  Even those of us who have faith in a higher power struggle at times to submit our will to God and to seek His will in our lives.  Yesterday, I had this thought.  If we believe that God created this world, wouldn’t He be the first one we would look to for how to successfully navigate life here.  AND.  If we believe He is also the Creator of all mankind, wouldn’t  we look to Him first to learn how best to deal with the people and relationships in our lives?  

Before I shared this thought with my kids, I asked them this question.  “Who would be the best person to ask for help if you wanted to know how to beat a difficult video game?”  They all said, “Jesus.”  Haha!  I told them he probably knew about video games, but probably doesn’t care too much for them and might not be the best one to ask for help.  I rephrased...who would be the best person on earth to ask for help?  One of them said, “The person who created it.”  Yes!  If we want anything, the person who created it is the the best person to look to for help.  They understand the patterns, guidelines, tricks, and rules for success...BECAUSE THEY CREATED THEM!  I am SO grateful to know that God created this earth, knows the secrets for success, and is very, very excited to share them with us!  All we have to do is ask.  He is the one who gave us the invitation.  “Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.”

North Carolina

Last week my Mom and I enjoyed taking a trip together to North Carolina.  It was so wonderful to have the time with her!  We took one of our dogs to her new home in North Carolina, visited with the Barry’s, and stopped by the Smoky Mountains. I don’t think I have ever seen a more beautiful, magical place!  The leaves were brimming with splendid colors!  It was amazing!  It topped off the incredible gift of having a trip to enjoy several days of uninterrupted time with my mom!  She is an amazing person and the time with her was even more magical than the beautiful views we enjoyed.

Mom was gifted this gourd by a kind country man near the Smokies who insisted we would be safer to hike at the community college than in the woods.

SO BREATHTAKING!  It made me want to take up painting!

We ate lunch with Addie at Jason’s Deli.  It was delightful to have the time with her and her family!  She is growing into an accomplished and confident young woman!

Morning Scriptures

This morning I was reading to the kids from Mosiah about how Jesus is the life and the light of the world.  It led to a conversation about resurrection and how we will all get our bodies back after we die because of Jesus.  Lucy was listening intently and asking questions.  At one point, she got really quiet and stared for a bit.  Then she announced, “My mind told me ‘Yes’.” I said, “Lucy!  That is the Holy Ghost!”  She smiled and said, “Yes!”  Then Henry got all excited and nodding said, “Yes.  Yes.”  And then something about Jesus that I couldn’t understand.

Jacob’s school

LaMonte-“Jacob, how is school going?”

Jacob-“Great!”

LaMonte-“How are you doing with reading?”

Jacob-after contemplating “It’s developing”

Conference Weekend

This weekend we were able to watch General Conference together as a family.  It was amazing!  Many of the talks dealt directly with some of the challenges I have been facing.  David had an experience where he started dozing off in one of the talks.  He felt like he was running and fell.  He woke up with a start.  Just then the speaker said something that answered the question he had been thinking of.  I felt a strong sense of the power of Christ available to help.  And that even in doing our best and with His help there will still be times of pain, sorrow, and failure.  

Mission Call for Keith

Tonight Keith opened his mission call.  For the next two years he will be serving in Mongolia!  We were all pretty shocked!  I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I didn’t even know where Mongolia is.  We had lots of friends come to be with us when he opened it.  Everyone put their guess on a notebook and Risk game.

We also had family participating through FaceTime and a Google Hangout.

He faked us all out when he started reading it.. making it sound as though he had received his first two batches of names for indexing.  Hahaha!


I am really proud of Keith for the work and dedication he has put into getting prepared for his mission.  I am grateful for him and excited that he will have this opportunity!  I am especially thankful for the Lord.  He has such an amazing plan for His children!  What a blessing it is to get to be a part of His work!  I really do love my Heavenly Father and Savior!  I also really love my Keith...my future Mongolian missionary!

Planning

With our new property comes MANY opportunities!  I find my head constantly spinning and planning with ideas for our home and land.  It is both exciting and exhausting!  I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who brought us to this beautiful place.  I am so anxious to serve Him.  Here are the current plans and ideas I am mulling around:

-Getting our dogs better established/possibly switching breeds

-Walking trail

-Landscaping

-Playground equipment

-basketball court

-volleyball court

-indoor painting 

-garage conversion to playroom

Happy Birthday LaMonte!

We had another busy, wonderful weekend!  Yesterday we celebrated LaMonte’s birthday.  We are so blessed to have him in our family!  He is so good to me!  He is a great father and provider!  I love and appreciate him more than I can say!

The Langford family came over to celebrate with us.  They gave us a bunch of Diamond spirit wear.  We really enjoy their family!

On Friday, the Levitt family came for dinner and a visit. They are expecting their 10th baby!  President Levitt is our Stake President. We had fun playing games together and getting to know each other. We have been SO blessed in our new home and Stake!

I got to have time with Sarah and Jacob on Friday as well.  They both had doctor appointments.  Afterwards we stopped at Sam’s for groceries and a snack. I really enjoy the time with these little ones!

Cross Country

Yesterday, I was able to go and watch David run in Cross Country.  This is his first year running.  He is loving it!  It sure brought back a lot of memories watching him out there.

Looking good!



After the race, ALL of my little kids decided they really needed the bathrooms.  We probably monopolized the 2 porta potties for 15 minutes. In this picture, we are all waiting impatiently while Jacob is taking his time inside and singing loudly... “Meet me in St. Louie”

Back to School

This year everyone decided to give public school a try. What a different experience!  We only moved 25 minutes away, but we are in a new Stake and an entirely different school experience.  So far, they all seem happy with school!

Birthdays

August 9 was a fun day for everyone as we celebrated Kevin’s 6th birthday.  We had a party at King Jack park in Webb City.  His biggest request was a candy maker.  He got a chocolate pen...and a bunch of other fun gifts!

Kevin is a delight to our whole family!  We love him!







On August 22 we got to celebrate again for Sam’s 7th birthday.  He is really growing up and maturing!  He is already taller than Jacob!

Sam was most excited about getting a new bike for his birthday.  He taught himself how to ride it!



We had a bonfire for Rebecca’s “Sweet 16”.  There were 30 or more youth there from 3 different stakes.  It was a really good feeling to have all of the youth at or home!  We set up white lights under our big tree which created a really fun atmosphere.  We are SO blessed to have our Rebecca!

Welcome Home!!!

I have been feeling both the drive and the desire to establish our family in a permanent location for quite some time.  We have felt a strong desire to know where God would have us to be.  The desire to know and follow His will for our family both now and in the future has been my greatest objective.  At times, it seemed we would face a dead end or insurmountable problem.  In fact, as we fixed up the home we were living in we fell in love with it even more!  However, LaMonte and I seemed to consistently receive the same guidance and impressions as we prayed.  We both felt the guidance of the spirit throughout the process of our search until we finally found the property we now call home!

It is perfect!  It is a large home with a full finished basement set on 13 Acres with a beautiful pond.

It feels like this spot was prepared just for our family!  It has a perfect balance of beauty, safety, fun, and proximity to everything we need.

Most of all...it is SO peaceful here!  I am so very grateful for the love and guidance of my Eternal Father who brought us to this beautiful place!

Happy Birthday Sarah

It is so hard to believe our sweet Sarah is 10!  She is such a delight in our family!  How I love this precious girl!  We enjoyed a fun day going shoe shopping, making pudding pops and cake, getting ice cream at Braums, picking out a new bike, and of course celebrating together that night!  Many thanks to Keith for helping Sarah light her candles!

Baptism and Blessing

Yesterday was Jacob’s eighth birthday.  In the morning, LaMonte left at 4am to pick up David and Rebecca from EFY in Independence.  He called me at 5 because he had a flat tire.  I went to get him but the kids ended up getting a ride home from a family that lives close to the home we will be buying.  We came home and made a cake for Jacob.  Then we went to a Pioneer Day activity with the new Stake we will be in. It was amazing!  We sat in the very front to listen to the Hughes brothers perform.

Their concert was incredible!  They performed many of the songs they sing in Branson!  It felt like such a miracle to give this opportunity to my kids—especially on Jacob’s birthday!!!  After the concert they had face painting and games for the kids.

That evening we went to the church for Jacob’s baptism!  He was so excited...and prepared.  He was really excited about his new scriptures.  





We were blessed to have lots of family attend his baptism!  What a special birthday!  



Jacob wanted a peach cake for his birthday...so it would be part healthy.

Grandma and Grandpa Yorke gave him a beautiful picture of the Savior.

They had gifts for everyone else as well!!!








After church today, LaMonte’s Dad gave David his Patriarchal blessing.  What an incredible experience that was!  It was like a small window that opened to give you a glimpse of who your child really is.  I felt humbled and grateful to be his mother!  What a full and wonderful weekend!