A new View

I got to go to the Gila Valley Temple Friday. Amazing. Mary, Jeremy, and I all did initiatory work. The temple workers were so wonderful. I felt so strongly the powers of Heaven at work. Needless to say by the time we were through I was bawling. Such powerful blessings are bestowed upon us within these sacred walls. Every time I go to the temple I feel a renewed sense of my purpose here on earth. I want to be better. I want to refocus my life. I feel so loved. How grateful I am to be sealed to my family FOREVER!

Old Maid

So... I played Old Maid this weekend. I think it was my first time. Winslow and Jacob had gone to NM for Saturday. So it was just me, the girls, and David. It was sooo quiet! I got so much done. Washed EVERYONE's Bedding, switched out mattresses on the kids' beds, mopped floors, did a gazillion loads of laundry. Learned how to make my own games from cool new clipart. (see older posts). And played games with the girls. We had fun playing old maid. Especially after I realized there were more directions on the back of the card. Ha ha ha! It was funny to watch the kids worry about if they were going to be the last one left with the old maid. We played it again on Sunday. Jacob loved it. It's such an easy game to play.
I kind of feel like an old maid. David has energy for days and I have been so tired lately. ( Probably because i stay up so late Crocheting!)
We've also added a new addition to our house. "His name is TOBY." David named him and has refused to entertain any other ideas. So, Toby it is! He's a fun cat and the kids really love him. Winslow (not the cat lover in our family) constantly finds the cat on his lap or under his feet, vying for his attention. The cat loves him. HA!
I am so excited to finally have an ORANGE cat. I love orange cats.

It's Spring Break and we are surviving WIND! Holy wind batman! We might blow away. No JOKE! So we played games inside and did some tidying of the house and tried to call Grandma for her birthday. Tomorrow's low is supposed to be 19! Yikes, a little too chilly for me. We are excited to spend time with the Saline's and visit the Temple. And I get my piano tuned this week. YEAH!

Getting Ready for Etsy

okay so i have been trying to set up Shop. If any of you have done this before please feel free to leave helpful comments and tips! I found Photoshop Online today. SOO helpful, so I tried my hand at some easy photo editing. WAY better than getting lost in my editing program. (I spent an hour trying it that way first!) Here are some photos I worked with. Obviously the last two needed a different background. We'll do that next.
Mindy that's your diaper cover directly below.

The Miracle

I'm so happy to share with you our happy happy news!!!! Some of you may have noticed the HOPING TO ADOPT link on my side bar. Winslow's brother and his wife have been wanting to adopt for some time. Their story is amazing. Their first precious angel only spent a few brief moments here with us on earth. I still recall with tears that day in the hospital holding his tiny, tiny body. His mother sacrificed so much for this little one to gain a body. Doctors told them they should end the pregnancy as it posed a great risk to Audrey's health. With much prayer and fasting, they knew this little baby needed only to come to earth to gain his body and then to leave this mortal life. Audrey's life was in terrible danger and finally it was time for him to be delivered. It was a precious and amazing experience. I am grateful I got to be there to share. Because of complications of their first pregnancy, every pregnancy after that was precarious and often life threatening. 3 more wonderful children entered into their family, but not without some very scary times. We almost lost Audrey multiple times.Although Audrey and Bryant knew that it was not safe for Audrey to continue to carry a baby, they felt so strongly that their family wasn't finished. They have been on the waiting list for over 4 years. They have "matched" a couple of times but things haven't worked out. Just a few months ago they matched again. And once again there was heartache, decisions were changed. And then a miracle took place. Thru the adoption that fell thru a new opportunity arose that otherwise would not have been there. And 2 weeks ago Audrey and Bryant drove hundreds of miles to welcome their new baby into their family!
Adoption is a huge part of my family. I am so grateful for this miracle in the lives of those I love! I am so happy for Audrey and Bryant and for their new sweet baby.
CONGRATULATIONS GUYS WE LOVE YOU!!!!!

Farmer Sequence Game

Okay so I made this game today. I'm trying to get ready for next fall with Home Schooling and Teaching Preschool etc. I decided that for Preschool I want to send home a file folder game every month.This was my first try. I learned a lot. I also learned that I may have to save my pesos and get Adobe. I have a free program called Gimp and it worked fine...but it doesn't save in PDF so in order to upload it to SCRIBD to save it, I had to make it into a Word Doc. Then I learned I should have made it 1 Word doc and not 4. Sorry. Well, I hope you enjoy it. I am sure excited to use it. Sequence is Rachel's favorite game. My brother Mike and his wife Kara have Sequence States and Capitols. AWESOME!!! What a great learning tool!

Farmer Sequence Game

Farmer Playing Cards 1

Farmer Playing Cards 2

Farmer Sequence Game Instructions

Rachel's new hat

Rachel loves to be my hat model. I've been trying out a new pattern with a brim. I use all my odds and ends to do my trail ones. Rachel LOVED this one so she is excited to get to keep it! what a fun girl!

Hurdles

Welp!
I really really want to go hike the grand canyon again and do the 17 miler. But I am sooo not in shape. Winslow refuses to kill me by taking me not in shape (cause he just hiked it in shape and was sore for almost a week!) So I made the jump and started getting up at 5am to work out.
The biggest hurdle is the headaches. I can't seem to shake them right now. I'm fine in the morning but by mid day my head is going crazy. I'm hoping this will pass soon. I'm sore and enjoying it. Now if only I could entice someone to teach a Zumba class here!
The thing I am most pumped about is that I have not woken up to an alarm!
Our stake has really pushed being COMMITTED to making our homes a Heaven on Earth. Not just wanting to, not just putting forth a little effort or giving a big push and then falling off the bandwagon.
President Goodman spoke to us about really having a CHANGE OF HEART. I guess I never really applied this principle to its fullest extent before.
But late last year when I committed myself to family scripture reading nightly NO EXCEPTIONS I just decided we were doing it. We were going to make it happen no matter the obstacle. And we did it. I'm happy to say we're going on 3 months without missing a night! Now we've moved on to morning prayers. Something I've struggled with since having kids and losing sleep : ). I realized that I just needed to decide it was happening. That I was worth it. That my family's eternal happiness meant enough to push everything aside and make it happen. And we have. So of course then I start realizing that everything else in my life that I should or should not be doing is the same thing.
There were a few little things in my life that I wanted to change, had tried, but hadn't really made the commitment. Well, Now I am. and it truly is a Change of Heart. My family deserves the best of me.I can be so much better than I know. My Heavenly Father has a greater plan for me than I have been achieving.  I feel more focused. Better prepared for the craziness ahead. (and boy do I feel like there is craziness in the world around us.)
Now don't get me wrong. My children are still bickering, I still feel cramped in my house, I have a long way to go. But I feel calmer, more patient, and better able to deal with the chaos of life! well most of the time : ).

Anyone know how to make blogger stop turning my photos! They were fine and then blogger turns them when i try to upload!
Mary, these are  the newest additions to my stash!