A letter to Ben

I'm a little overwhelmed when I realize how quickly you will be a grown man. I feel like since you turned 12 life have double timed and you change faster than I can keep up.
I want you to know, when I look at you I see a son of God who is a rock solid enough for many to lean on. Remember the other day when I was so embarrassed and devastated over forgetting to pick up Sarah and her friends from school. I'd had a long week already and that was just another glaring imperfection for me to see about myself. Not even organized enough to remember to pick up my own 5 year old from school. You reminded me of you Dad in your caring but logical response to me. I wish I could remember it word for word. ;) I just know you assured me that is was not really that big of a deal and that I didn't need to beat myself up. Your caring and cool headed way of approaching struggles will be such a blessing to you and others. Your wise perspective of knowing the bad is short lived will carry your own family through many trials. 

I love you Ben. I love to laugh with you and hang out with you. In a house so full of women, thank goodness we have you. Keep on moving forward with faith. I know Heavenly Father knows you and is proud of your efforts.

Happy Valentines Day!
Love , Mom

Best Valentine

A letter to David.

To My Big Boy and My Favorite Little Valentine,
It's a common occurrence for you to just hug me and say " I love you. " no prompting necessary. Of all the kids..you definitely love me the most. You come and ask me to snuggle with you in the morning..and sometimes at nap time. ;) You always want to go with me. One important outing is helping me take the kids to school in the morning. You get yourself up just to make sure that I don't leave without you. Always..you want to be wrapped up tight in a blanket and carried out to the car where you sit quietly through the whole ride. Just content to be with me.

Do I sometimes feel overwhelmed by your love...a little. You hate me to leave you.  But, that is a small sacrifice for the blessing it is to be loved so much. When you prayed the other night for Heavenly Father to bless mommy to be safe I was taken back by the knowledge that Heavenly Father was listening and would watch over me in answer to you sweet sincere prayer.

Dave, you are kind and gentle. Your heart is full of the love and you let it shine. And..you are rough and tumble. Climbing, running, and loving to be a comedian. Lately you respond in gibberish just because it's funny. You are competitive..and that's hard when your sister is 2 years older than you..which also means she is bigger and faster. She does let you win on some occasions but it's a little rare. I comfort you when you lose. :)

Happy Valentines Day to a boy full of so much love it couldn't possibly be contained in that little body...it just has to be shared. I love you David.

Love , mom

Pepperoni for Everyone

Sarah has just informed me that we need to buy many bags of pepperoni because for her birthday she will be handing out bags of pepperoni to all her friends. Hmmmm.

Easter Morning

I have given a lot of thought this week to the power that comes into my life because of faith in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and a firm belief in a Heavenly Father who loves each one of us beyond our capacity to understand.  I learned of several difficult trials that have come to people around our neighborhood and area and I have pondered how the power of peace can come to those who it seems have every right to despair. 

I know, no matter the trial, Our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ are completely aware of all that is happening.  The timing and duration of any trial is an unknown.   No matter those things we are sustained through trials and our fears are quieted through the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  Having experienced all the pain and suffering the world would know, he has the power to calm our hearts and whisper peace and comfort to our souls through the Holy Ghost. 

I have experienced it.  Moments when I feel like my heart is failing...I am breaking...I am afraid...I pray.  My thoughts are quieted and replaced with feeling of power.  Power that only comes because I know Heavenly Father is watching.  My Savior Jesus Christ is walking with me.  There is no reason to be afraid because I trust that whatever is happening...it is being allowed because I will come out the other side closer to them.  Better, more compassionate, loving, full of power in the atonement of Jesus Christ.  Confident. Trusting.

I know my Savior lives.  I love him.  I love my Heavenly Father. I can't speak of one without the other because I feel they are one in purpose and love for me.  Some people are of the opinion that to rely on a "God" is weakness.  The only thing I have ever gained from it is power...power over sin...power over pain...power over disappointment...anger...fear...frustration.  My faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father has saved me. 

Dave's Birthday 2 years old

Our cuti pie David turned two this weekend.   He is all boy and loves being wild, trains, cars, and planes...and then he loves the My Little Ponies Movie "Rainbow Rocks".  Not sure how that one got in there.  For his second birthday he finally got brave enough to climb out of his crib...and now I have lost that control.  Each little step takes me to one more thing I don't get to control...the crib it just number. one.  HAHA.

We had a very quiet and easy birthday for Dave.  A couple of presents, some cupcakes and ice cream and a quick trip to the Curiousity Museum.  :)  It was the Perfect amount of work for mom and Dave had a good time.  Let's face it...at two...they really don't care as long as they get to run around free and stick their hands in frosting and make a good mess.

Really, Dave is just a joy in our home.  He keeps us all busy and keeps us all positive with his contagious smile.  So glad he is ours. :)

Time with My Man!

 It's been a while...too long...since Nate and I took an entire 24 hours away from our kids.  I was so very happy to spend a day in SLC with him.  We got a little room at Anniversary Inn.  The only down side was that it was in the basement.  I will watch that next time.  We ignored that though and still had so much fun. 

 Many years ago Nate took me to the ROOF at the top of the Joseph Smith building for prom.  We thought it was about time to go back.  And can I just say, it was so nice.  We had a perfect seat and got there just in time to watch the sun set and see the beautiful lights of the temple come on.  The food was good...but the atmosphere was really wonderful. 

There are many things I am grateful for in this life...but the greatest blessing I recieved here is my husband.  He is truly my soul mate.  I couldn't make it a day without him.

A Day at the Beach...ummm...well, close enough

You know how sometimes you just got to have some fun.  As spring set in we decided we needed on of those fun days.  So, we planned a day trip and made the most of it.

 Since you can't stay too close to home on a fun day, we readied our picnic and headed to liberty park.  Spring weather..check...it was perfect.  The kids played on the playground, fed ducks and we took a nice stroll...not to mention eating a fun lunch.  It was such a relief after winter. I am always grateful when the sun returns and I can tolerate the weather again.

 These girls are just too cute.  A moment frozen in time.  Can't believe we are going to add another one.  HAHAH

 The fun day continues at fashion place mall where amazing lego creations were on display.  I do believe this was the highlight of the day for the kids.  It was pretty dang cool. 

You know what really made this day great.  The kids got a long.  Fighting was at it's very minimum...which is a blessing if you live within the walls of our home.  HAHA.  I am so thankful for times that we are reminded how much we enjoy being together.  So grateful for our  big family. 

February Highlights

 Just horsin' around.  Some day Nate is going to suffer serious injury. 

 Ben's Valentines Day box.  He wanted a shark so we all combined efforts for this finished project.  It turned out pretty well but he didn't win the prize. ;(

 Sarah loves lip gloss, lip stick and makeup.  While we have been buying her lip gloss she still uses marker for lipstick.  Yikes!

 

What can I say.  Aren't these boys so cute.  Dave loves learning how to play ball. 

And the vacuum.  It's become a problem.  Dave insists on doing the vacuuming by himself. That means 1 inch of square space gets vacuumed.  HAHAHa

Ice Skating...Boy, that's a lot of work!

 We have to make it ice skating at least once a year.  This year we tried out the Olympic Oval.  It was super fun. 

 Thank goodness for the walkers.  They are so helpful and make the chore of going around the oval with a kiddo mildly less back breaking.  :)

Dave was a little young for ice skating so he and I just wandered.  Maybe not as fun...and he really wanted to go skating but he'll just have to wait.  Maybe next time.

Staying Home Sick

Emily stayed home sick today.  I don't know about other moms...but for me...a lot of times, the kids are sick until about 10am.  Then suddenly, they are ready to play.  :)  Well, I can't say I complained too much when Emily stayed home.  She kept Sarah happily entertained making a nice comfy bed right on the kitchen table.  Comfortable?  Probably not.  Happy.  Absolutely. 

Lego Mania

Legos have become very popular at our house and the girls are great as using them as another creative outlet.  This is a house they built recently including all sorts of rooms and specially designed furniture.  They really do amaze me. 

A new closet organizer for me. :)

Nathan is very multi talented.  So, when I decided the week before Christmas all I wanted was a nice closet organizing system, he took it to heart.  He built me this awesome center piece with shelves and drawers.  It works like a dream.  So glad this hot handy man is mine.  :)

Sledding

 Good Times can always be had when we hit the hills for sledding.  For some reason I wasn't very big on pics this day...but we did have fun.  The babies got cold...it was a bit windy, so we spent some time watching movies in the van.  But, the strong stayed strong. 

Ben did venture off a more dangerous spot.  Nate said that in his mind he knew it was trouble before Ben even went off toward the jump.  Ben did get a minor injury but he survived.  We were still glad we went. 

Christmas Day

 Christmas Day!  Well, what can be said.  We had a good time.  The kids all got some nice presents.  Emily - a bike, Rachel - a skateboard, Ben - Ski and Golf fun.  Sarah - ummm...she got a bunch of less expensive stuff.  Dave - a big car ramp and a scooter.  One of the super fun things about this year was that my mom and dad have been staying in their motor home in our drive way.  :)  So, they came in and enjoyed Christmas morning with us.  I haven't had a Christmas morning with my parents for a long time.  It was great.

 The kids were very good at helping Dave open his presents.  LOL.

 We got these kid kayaks.  We can't wait to use them in the spring...but for now they sit in our garage waiting for their day to come.  :)  Dave and Sarah enjoyed pretending.  Dave was a bit dangerous with the paddles though. 

 Grandpa is one of Dave's new best friends.  He took to shaking Grandpa's hand while they were here and learned how to say Grandpa...which made my Dad very happy. :)

 After staying in our jammies all day we decided it was time for some outdoor fun.  O.K. Ben decided it was time...he wanted to try out some of his new ski clothes  So, the Baxter family snowball fight began.  They had some good fun out there beating each other down.  I hid...ummm...I mean, I protected Dave. :) And took some pics. 

 Dad and Emily made a pretty good team.  Rachel and Ben teamed up...and Sarah floated back and forth. 

 It was a great day.  I am always glad for the memories.  Having a family is pure joy sometimes.  I am very humbled and grateful to have the privelage of raising these kids.  :)   Merry Christmas to all.  :) 

Christmas Eve with the Stalker Family

I love the laid back attitude of my family.  We shared Christmas Eve with fun at the bowling ally, dinner and gifts.  It was perfect and low stress.  I love how each of the families I have contribute a different thing to my life that makes me happy.  Thanks to the wonderful Stalker/Snowden clan for making my Christmas Eve just right.

Festival of Trees 2014

The tradition of Festival of Trees continues for our families.  Thankfully, my wonderful sister, Sandi, got me hooked on this.  It's a fun excuse to get the kids out of school for the day and just have a good time.  This year was even funner.   Emily's 2nd grade made a tree for the festival...which turned out adorable and sold for over $1,000 at auction.  Go 2nd grade.  

We also had the chance to watch Ben and Rachel perform with the school choir again.  Then, of course, the kids went to the craft area and made fun ornaments and little things while the big girls walked around and saw the trees. 

Can't wait for next year.  :)

Giggling and Joyful Children = Trouble

Hmmm.  Dave and Sarah were just giggling like crazy.  Having a wonderful time.  I was sitting innocently in some other part of the house...just thinking about how fun it is when they play.  Then I wanted to see them in action.  So, I rounded the corner just in time to seeing them throwing clean laundry down the stairs and laughing as they went. 

Sigh...But, I know one day I will laugh about it so I snapped a picture to remind me.  :)

Temple Square 2014

 It's rare that we don't make the effort to get to Temple Square for Christmas.  This year was the best though.  We went early because the kids sang with the Eaglecrest School Choir at the Joseph Smith building.  The concert ended around 4:30 and we headed over to Temple Square just in time to see the lights go on.  Unlike the last several years when it has been pretty busy...the square was nearly empty.  It was so awesome.  We wandered around slowly and just really enjoyed our time there.  Grandma and Grandpa Stalker were with us. 

 We had such a fun time all around.  Rachel and Ben did a great job with the choir.  It was quite the time commitment.  They practiced after school once a week for an hour and a half, starting in September. 

 It was a good experience for them and us.  I watched them perform several times through December and loved it every time.

 Lots of pics have to be taken at temple square.  Ben gets an A++++ for the perfect photo bomb in this one.  HAHA.  Nate and I just wanted a nice little pic of the two of us.  Sheesh.  LOL.

I loved this picture of the girls...Sarah gazing up at Jesus is just a perfect reminder of the awe I feel for my Savior and all he has done and does for us.  Fun times at Temple Square.  So thankful for these memories. 

Christmas Choir and Temple Square

This year Rachel and Ben participated in the Eaglecrest school choir.  Starting in September they stayed after school every Wednesday to practice for an hour and a half.  The culmination was 4 performances at the beginning of December.  This was so fun. 

The first performance was at the Joseph Smith building.  Nate was able to get out of work a bit early and meet us there.  The Stalker Grandparents happened to be in SLC that day as well, hanging out with Lance and Melissa.  So, all of them showed up too.  It was really fun to watch the kids perform. 

Afterwards, we took advantage of being on Temple Square and went ahead and enjoyed the lights with Grandma and Grandpa.  This was awesome.  Usually we have been there when it is very busy.  Maybe because it was early in December and early in the afternoon...it was still a little light when we started...we had the whole place practically to ourselves.  We enjoyed wandering around temple square in the unseasonably warm weather and no crowds.  LOVED it.  I am planning to go for the same scenario next year. :)

Ben managed this photo bomb at the perfect moment.  Nate and I never get a moments peace...even for a picture.  LOL.

I love how Sarah is gazing up at Jesus in this photo op...and then Dave is screaming his little heart out in the next.  HAHA.  Overall, it was such a great night and a perfect start to our Holiday Season.  :)