Feeling The Spirit...

I want to share a "proud parent" moment that Jens and I experienced in fast and testimony meeting this morning. I was sitting next to Briggs, holding sleeping Will, and listening to all the wonderful testimonies when, out of the corner of my eye, I see Briggs get a thoughtful look on his face. He then, sat up straight, set his scriptures down on the chair beside him and stood up. He stood there for one brief second and then a look of determination set in. He started off down the aisle putting his hands in his pockets, walking very reverently up to the podium.

..... Now, have all parents experienced this, or is it just me, when you kids start walking up to bear their testimonies and you're thinking to yourself...okay...oh no....what are you going to say??? and you're really, really nervous .......

Well, what came out of Briggs's mouth shocked us all... I mean the whole ward. People came up to us all morning, commenting that as soon as he started speaking the congregation WOKE UP!
He said (as well as I can remember),
"People think that when you come up here you have to have a special experience to share or all the right words to say, but I've been thinking and have noticed that you just need to speak from your heart. As long as it is from your heart it's good. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet. "
I believe he said more, but I was crying by this point and it's hard to remember. I was so overwhelmed by the Spirit and as I'm typing this I'm trying to think of the last time I have felt it so strongly.

The things that spoke to me and touched my heart about his testimony were...
First, just being able to see Briggs sitting next to me and to watch him feeling and hearing the Spirit speak to him, watching him recognize it and react on it... determined to obey the prompting.
Second, his speaking skills. He relayed to me afterwards that his heart was pounding, but you wouldn't even know it. He got up there and spoke clearly and strongly and I wondered and hoped that I was witnessing him practice being a faithful missionary and disciple of Christ.
Third, the message his testimony relayed to me. Being someone who has a very hard time with words...with getting across all that I want to say. If you know me best, you know it takes me and hour to tell a 5 minute story... and that stops me a lot of times from sharing my true feelings and testimony...because I'm embarrassed that I'm not so eloquent. I felt like his message was for me.
Fourth, his example to me! I was able to muster up the strength and obey the Spirit's prompting to me to bear my testimony. It is a simple testimony and one that I hope I can continue to grow and strengthen. It was strengthened today by my son being and example to me. When I got back to my seat he said, "I'm never an example to you!" I told him, "you just were!"
The Spirit does teach, and all those times when we've had Family Home Evening and read scriptures and I've thought that he wasn't listening, all those hours laying awake in my bed scared for him and hoping and praying that he makes good choices and listens to the Spirit. I know Heavenly Father hears my prayers and that he is hoping just as I am, if not more for His children to choose the right and come home.

Now, I know that this doesn't mean he'll never yell at his sisters again, or that I will never get a note sent to me from his teacher, or that he'll never sass me again, or that...or that....or that.... But, my faith and my testimony have been strengthened this morning from feeling the Spirit and I wanted to share that with you.
I know my Savior lives. I know the Gospel is true. I know the Book of Mormon is true and that when you read it to your children the Spirit will enter there and teach them that it is true. How grateful I am for the temple and that Jens and I could be sealed there and our children to us. I love my family so very much. And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Celebrating...

Today we celebrated Eryn's 5th Birthday. Jens and I took the kids to see Madagascar 2 (pretty funny!) then went to coldstone where Eryn got to pick out her very own birthday ice cream cake.... to Jens's dismay and my pleasure, she chose the triple chocolate....ALL CHOCOLATE! Yummy! Then we picked up some pizza from Barro's. Oma & Paul, Dena & their kids came by and celebrated with us having dinner and cake. They also brought Eryn presents. She was so excited she was jumping all around... much to our embarrassment she ended up grabbing and shaking my belly and kicking Jens in the "hmm-hmm". She just couldn't contain herself.
Finally, she gets to blow out her "5" candle...

Will, Davin & Dominic...

waiting for cake...

Sweet Jaida Rose..

Will & Davin, best friends in the making...

Will partied just a little too hard...

Eryn Jane Turns "5"

Happy Birthday Baby Girl....

Is this the same girl ? Jens and I can't believe it! We just want to say how proud we are of this "not so little anymore" darling, how much we love her and how thankful we are to have her in our family! How lucky are we to be able to live with that beautiful smile...

a day at a play...

Today Oma took the girls, my mom and me to the Hale Theatre showing Cinderella. We've never been before and we loved it. We'll definitely have to go again. The actors did a great job and Eryn loved meeting them after the show and getting their autographs. She kept asking me after when we were going again and what plays they'd be doing...Beauty and the Beast is next year and A Christmas Carol after Thanksgiving..."Mom, maybe they'll do Barbie, The Diamond Castle!?" Well, we shall see!

A BIG Thanks to Jens for giving up a riding day and for taking such good care of my boys so I could have some special time with my girls!!!

a day at a play...

All Hallows Eve...

So many Halloween Posts...I know....but I just wanted to thank all our friends and family for hanging out with us on Halloween. We had a great time. We ate the traditional chili and cornbread with sugar cookies and lots of candy. The kids ate about two bites of their dinner before they ran out the door to go trick or treating. One of the most exciting parts of the evening was when the Chandler Fire Dept. fire truck drove through out neighborhood handing out candy and hats to the kids. It was cool! At first, we thought it might be Jens's brother Jason, but he works for Gilbert. We also taught Gary, Kaci & Danielle how to play Schnoutz betting our candy!

All Hallows Eve...

The Cowardly Lion...

Rocker Gary

Trunk-Or-Treat Fun...

Another "I DID IT!"...

Although this accomplishment is more mental/creative/crafty than physical, I'm still quite proud of myself. Eryn Jane wanted to
be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and I dared to sew her a dress.


I was nervous but, I FINISHED and ON TIME! She was able to wear it to our ward's Trunk-or-Treat party tonight. It was fun too! Of course, I did have to stay up until about two in the morning last night, but who hasn't done that for their kids before....right. Especially when they end up looking as cute as this little girl does...

FHE Pumpkin Carving

My Little Gangsta...

A cute onsie that his Aunt Kaci bought for him FINALLY fits...so cute!

I was able to capture Will's " turtle-face " When he makes this face we call him Turtle

He Sleeps...

This boy FINALLY fell asleep on his own.. with out being rocked, bounced, swung, etc....

Eryn's a cute little helper

I DID IT!!!

The Chandler Challenge...

I ran my first 10K! It was AWESOME!!! I can see myself getting addicted! Of course, it wouldn't have been so great if my lovely sister, Danielle, hadn't done it with me. She was awesome! It was a lot of fun spending time with her and having her there to push me along! Thanks Dan, I love ya!

Dani & I running in. We were almost the last ones, but we didn't care. I was just thrilled to finish! Lovely picture, I know!

Jens was a great support as well! He came, with all 4 kids in tow, to see us off and watch us come in. He was there to cheer us on and congratulate us. It felt good to know that he was proud of me and it was great to hear my kids say that they were proud of me as well. I think their favorite part was all the oranges, apples & bananas. (I've NEVER seen my kids eat so much fruit before!) My mom was there also with Ryann & Max. Thanks Jens, kids & Mom for being there!

It's been a great day! Very empowering....Dani and I are looking for the next 10K, then, maybe I'll be ready for the half marathon in February with Kaci & Dani? (Are you with us, Christine?)

Dear Friends...

We were so lucky to have Tanya & Hannah come and visit us. We only had them for one night, but we had so much fun with them here. We just hung out and talked, then we headed to the ribbon store and out to eat with just the girls. We had some delicious salads at Chili's, but when it was time to go we couldn't start the car....my battery had died. Luckily, Jens came to our rescue. Then we watched the Thursday shows and went to bed. The next morning we talked over breakfast, did some Yoga, and then crafted. We worked on hairbows for Hannah Banana. They turned out so cute and it was a lot of fun crafting with Tanya, as always. We took a break and took Eryn to school and picked up some sandwiches at Subway. The cutest part was that Hannah wanted a drink really badly, but had to wait til we got home to open her chocolate milk. She was very upset so we gave her a drink of Jens's lemonade..after one sip she kept asking for "Memonade" It was too cute! I also love how she says "yes" to everything..instead of yeah! Adorable!
We had such a good time with you both here. Hannah has gotten so big and it was so much fun to see her cute personality and beautiful smile and hilariously contagious laugh. She just brightens up our house and we wish you all lived closer so that you could frequent our home more often!!! Tanya, thanks for listening to me babble. I love that I can totally be myself with you and how silly we can get! It's too much fun having you around...I miss it! We love you! Thanks for visiting!

I Like Random Things That Make No Sense...

They make me laugh...

Happy Birthday Oma & Danielle...

Jens's mom, Barbara, and my sister, Danielle, have the same birthday. October 13th! I just want to wish them both a wonderful day and tell them that we love them so much!



We had a birthday dinner for Oma at our house this evening with Jens's family. Melanie made Gulasch & Melissa brought Marie Calendar Pies. It was very delicious! We had a great time!
Oma with all of her grandchildren...


Also, our niece, Natalee, was blessed this morning. Dan gave her a beautiful blessing and we were so glad we could be there for it! All these special times we don't have to miss out on now that we're back home by our family.
Melissa, Heidi, Dan & Natalee Marina (she was just a little sad here)...

Whats Up?

This is Reagan and William..

Reagan is such a good Big Sister and such a big help to me sometimes! She loves to hold her baby brother and it saves me when she does. Here she is after Activity Days. I've been called as the 8 yr old Activity Days Leader and I love it. So much fun! This last week we made Scripture Jars...an activity I got from Sugar Doodle! The girls had a great time....so did I. It gives Reagan and I an excuse to be crafty and make a big mess! It's fun to share the time with her!
Jens had the day off on Friday and took the kids to the AZ State Fair. We were all supposed to go together, but William was sick, so I ended up staying home with him. He is still not feeling well so, I have spent the last two days holding him, rocking with him, cuddling with him. His little voice is soo horse and he kind of whines instead of cries....it's sooo sad! Jens calls him the "Hairless Wookie!" My poor little man.
The kids have been with Oma today and are spending the night with her. They were so excited. I'll have them post on their blogs about their time with Oma and I'll have Jens post about the State Fair. Will and I don't know too much......we've been stuck at home.

canning,canning & more canning...

Oh, and making jam!
I've been busy this week! Peaches and pears and raspberries all came in at the same time. So, my nights have been occupied and I've had trouble finding the time to update our blog. Can you imagine that? Craziness! But, it's my first time canning fruit and I do enjoy it! The best feeling is when you're all done and you're pantry is stocked full!
My kids have been off of school for the past week and 1/2. They go back next Wednesday. I think that we are all ready! We're going kinda crazy! We haven't really been able to go anywhere or do anything special because we're saving up our $ for Germany next summer. We start planning with Jens's family this Sunday! We're very excited!
Will is eating cereal now! Such a big boy! By his facial expressions it doesn't seem like he likes it very much, but he still eats it. I think it's helping him keep from spitting up, so that is a very good thing!


To those who live here in the Valley, I'm sure you're feeling weird about seeing all the Halloween decor around when it still feels like summer! If you're not maybe I'm the only one. But I gave in and let my kids decorate and pick out their costumes. Briggs is going to be the same ol' Scary Skeleton with black hooded cape and bloody sword guy! (I tried to deter him, yet again! Didn't work!) But, my girls have decided to be Dorothy and the Wicked Witch and we got Will a lion costume (since he likes to make growling noises!) They'll be so cute! I'll post pics as soon as I get them.
That's it for now! Nothing really major to report! Although, I would like to pass along that my friend Laurie & I have started sewing cute burp cloths for baby gifts. We've created a blog to kind of show them off.....a little business on the side. Ya know, something that started as..." Oh, we could make this... "
So, check it out and if you need baby gifts you know where to look! It's called krissi lu's under WHAT A SITE...
our cute smiling boy!

On Saturday the kids were helping us wash our cars. Will was sitting in his Bumbo (loves it!) and watching Briggs playing with his remote control Hummer! He loved it! He couldn't keep his eyes off of it! The funny part was when Briggs kept driving it in a circle around Will's chair! I actually thought his head was going to start spinning!