Happy Birthday Devan!

I'm a day late in doing this because I spent the day yesterday helping Devan celebrate!

Eleven years ago my life was permanently altered with the birth of our son, Devan. Being a wife and mother had been my life long dream. Our sweet boy had horrific colic for the first several months of his life. My dream quickly turned into a sleep deprived nightmare. Luckily that time passed quickly and he metamorphosed into one of the most loving kids that I have ever known. Being a mom is a tough job, but having a son like Devan makes it completely worth it!




Little known facts about Devan:

1. He loves Herbie! He has since he was 2 and could point at the slug bugs in Provo. He owns every Herbie movie ever released (new and old). He wants a love bug to drive when he gets his license. We've told him that they no longer are making the old ones, so he may have to settle for a used newer version.

2. He is a natural missionary. I don't think Jenn Mouso would remember this. Devan was 7 when we first moved to Marana. Alex Mouso must have been 8 or 9. The kids were playing on the playground. Alex told Devan how old he was and Devan commented how lucky he was that he was old enough to get baptized. Three years later we were able to see Alex and the rest of his family get baptized. Devan was so excited for his friends!

Devan was so excited to be baptized when he turned 8!

3. He is a natural engineer. He must get it from his dad. He loves to build things! Forget video games- He lives for Legos. Several of his teachers figured out quickly that the way to motivate him to get his work done quickly was lego time. The other day he was suggesting ways that we could put an elevator from the garage to his bedroom closet using pulley and rope system. :-)

4. He likes to ride his bike and swim. He's had so much fun this summer swimming in Debbie's pool especially when friends swim with us.

5. He has a strong sense of what is right and what is wrong. It has been a joy for us as his parents to see him trying to choose what is right.

I could go on and on with this list, but my time is short. We feel so blessed to have Devan as a member of our family! We love him so much!

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Devan:

Devan at 9 months!

Devan has always been a great big brother!

Devan Age 4

Devan, Big Brother Twice, at age 5

Turning 7 in Idaho!

Devan as Big Brother for the third time at the age of 8!

Fun Summer List Ideas

This week we had a fun enrichment meeting at church. One of the classes provided me a life line for this summer. It was on what to do with the kids over the summer. I admit I thought we'd get a list of cool places and activities to do with the kids, but what I got was much better than that. An important lesson on teaching my kids to work! Our kids are expected to help and do daily jobs already, but no where did I hadn't thought about putting it in list form until this class.

Julie Mills taught the class. Her mom was a school teacher, and they had 6 kids. For 2 weeks of the summer the kids got to do what they wanted, but the moment one of them uttered the words "I'm bored!", the lists would start. Julie said if they went pretty quickly they could get everything done in 5 hours, but most days it took them longer. I'm aiming at 3 hours. Her mom had them practice the violin and the piano an hour each! Devan should count his 30 minutes as a blessing! :-) We lowered it to 20 minutes because we were adding more for him to do and he was "dying"! Once he gets used to the list, I'll raise it back up again.

We have a Saturday job list that includes taking out the trash upstairs and downstairs, mopping, sweeping, cleaning mirrors, cleaning toilets, cleaning rest of bathroom, etc... We pull out the list each Saturday and divide the jobs per family member. We all divide and conquer.

Her mom gave each kid $ .40 for every day they got everything done. Our kids get so many cents per year of their age. Then I have a list of $1 jobs they can do for extra money. $1 for cleaning out the van. $1 for vacuuming out the van. $1 for vacuuming all the bedrooms (an hour job). I'm still working on that list. Devan has an expensive lego set that he really wants, and he needs more income to get it. His current allowance would take him @ 2 years to get it, so we're trying to help him out a little.

Here are items that Julie's mom had on the list:
Fold Laundry (I added wash to that. Devan (10) and Lizzie (8) have just recently become responsible for their own laundry.)
Clean Room
Empty Dishwasher
Sweep Floor/ Vacuum
Dust
Clean Bathrooms
Make Bed
Do a craft
Do flashcards
Article of Faith practice
Piano Practice
Violin Practice
Brush Teeth
Get Dressed
Bike 1 mile
100 trampoline jumps
Shoot 15 baskets
Read a chapter
Make a birthday card
Read Scriptures
Homework Sheet (Her mom was a teacher and had boxes of worksheets.)
Crochet/Quilt
Play a game
Write name 5 times
Jump rope for 10 minutes
Play catch with sibling
Pick 10 weeds
Paint a picture
Play computer games
Yard or Garden Work

I made the lists individualized per child and age.

Here is Spencer's (almost 6 years) List:
Make Bed
Get Dressed
Put dirty clothes in hamper
Breakfast/Wash Dish and put in dishwasher
Brush teeth Morning
Read 2 books with someone
Do 3 pages from Hooked on Phonics Workbook
Write name 5 times
Pick up 20 toys
30 minutes educational games on computer
Kid Writing (Draw and write story)
50 jumps on the trampoline
Family Scriptures

Elizabeth's (almost 9) List:
Note: She keeps adding things to do to the list. She's my overachiever! Bolded items are things she added herself!
Make bed/Dirty Clothes in Hamper
Set table/Breakfast/Wash dish and put in dishwasher
Brush teeth and Get dressed
20 minutes piano
Read a Chapter
Practice 1 article of faith
Pick 10 weeds
Put shoes away and clean room and closet
Play suduko or math game
Read a book to Emma
Play a game
Laundry (Saturday)
Family 5K (Monday)
Toilets (Monday)
Take out trash (Tuesday)
15 minutes educational games on computer
Clean playroom
Hola Hoop 5 minutes
50 jumps on trampoline
Family Scriptures

Devan's (almost 11) List:
Note: Devan is my minimalist perfectionist. He complained that he would never be able to get it all done. I figure once he gets this down, we'll slowly add more tasks. But this is where he is starting. He already thought I was the meanest mom before the list even started. :-) See the comedy post below!
Make Bed
Put Dirty Clothes in Hamper
Breakfast/Wash Dish and put in dishwasher
Brush teeth Morning and Get Dressed
Read a chapter
20 minutes piano
Practice 1 Article of faith
Pick 10 weeds
Clean Room (This takes hours!!)
Play Suduko or Timez Attack
Laundry (Friday)
Family 5 K (Monday)

To make it fair, I started a list for me as well of what I do in a day. My list is bigger than theirs, so if they complain I can point to the list and ask them if they'd like one of my jobs added to their list. :-)

Day 1 went amazingly well. I didn't have to harp. I'd just ask to see where they were on their list and would praise them for how much they had gotten done. There is no swimming, Boomerang or movies until the list is done.



Julie gave us each the above paper to track the lists. The jobs are listed in the left column with the days of the week on the top. You can click on the image and print it to fit the page. Only 52 days left of summer!

The Month of Mission Calls

Wow! This has been the month of missionaries returning and missionaries being called! We had 2 missionaries get home from our ward. Ryan Alexander, the bishop's son, served in Canada. Devin Wengert got home from Houston Texas. My nephew, Chase, gets home from his mission in Mexico in July.

Then, there are all the exciting calls to serve! Misty Madsen, one of my young women, from my time as YW president in Provo received her call to serve in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala! She'll be an amazing missionary!! Two young men from Marana got their calls as well. Jake Weiss and Zeb Rosemore will both be serving in Brazil! They will love it! It know my 2 brothers who served in Brazil loved their missions!

I will be eternally grateful for the opportunity that I had to serve a mission in Santiago Chile at the age of 21. My mission continues to bless my life still! I know that I would not be where I am today without the tremendous life lessons that I learned in the mission field! Someday I hope they call us on a mission again!

Who Need Comedy Central When You Are A Mother?

What a day! I have laughed several times today. First, I was trying to give the kids some incentive to clean up their rooms quickly. I told them as soon as they were done that we could go swimming. Devan was upset. He felt it was an impossible task!

So, he leaves me a well written note.

"I have the meanest family on Earth. Reason why. No vido (video) games. Piano 30 minutes. Chores in morning. Signed Devan"

Don't worry! I laughed. What kid likes to work? Sorry, Devan, it's a huge part of this life and if we don't teach you how to do it, we'll be doing you a huge disservice!

The comedy fest continued. Spencer comes to me announcing that He is going to run away. I would have wanted to run away from the messy room too! He proceeds to pack his backpack with his Hooked on Phonics workbooks and school supplies. Like that will save him in the Arizona desert! I asked him what he would do about dinner. He started thinking about it. I told him how sad it would be to not have him with us for the family 5K and the Popsicles that follow. I could see him thinking harder. Then, I reminded him how sad it would be not to have him with us for Family Home Evening and how he would miss the cinnamon sticks we were planning to have for our treat. He informed me that he would not be running away today.

My friend Catherine told me that they told their kids they could run away but they had to leave the way they came into the family, without clothes! No one took them up on it. Maybe I'll use that line next time.

So, then we head to the family 5K! Spencer informs me that he doesn't like it when I push them because I walk. They like to go with dad who runs. So, about a mile and 1/2 into the walk. Spencer yells,

"Run, mom! Running is exercise. Walking is rest-ercise!"

I about lost it laughing!

Who needs Comedy Central when you have 4 little kids to keep you in stitches?

Playing Catch Up- Remembering My Roots

Nothing makes me feel more blessed than seeing how the Lord has blessed me and always gotten me where he wanted me to be. On my trip back to Indiana, my dad and I drove out to see the house where I was raised in Indiana from the ages of 7-18. What a flood of memories!

My Indiana Home

My dad's uncle Gerald farmed the fields surrounding our home. I would have loved to see the fields full of corn ready to be harvested. As a child, I spent hours in the corn field. We built a fort on this corner every year with blankets. I spent hours in the field reading. My uncle would always call to warn us when he was getting ready to harvest, so we could remove our fort first.

I went back to Clinton Central Elementary and High School to see what few teachers remained there. I saw Mrs Wyrick (the nurse who retires next year), Linda Barnett, Connie Campbell, Melea Kercheval, JoAnne Spitznagle , Rene' Rogers, Aaron Charles (one of my brother Chad's friends who now teaches PE at CCHS), Mr. Hauenstein, Pat McQuinn, Mrs. Rule, Mr. Scofield, and Janet Thorley (who taught me how to cook in Jr High). I really wanted to see Andy Robertson, but he was out for the day.
The pool where I learned to swim.
How many kids are blessed enough to have a pool in their elementary school?

I love the hymn "Each Life That Touches Ours For Good."

Each life that touches ours for good
Reflects thine own great mercy, Lord;
Thou sendest blessings from above
Thru words and deeds of those who love.

What greater gift dost thou bestow,
What greater goodness can we know
Than Christlike friends, whose gentle ways
Strengthen our faith, enrich our days.

I believe that I am who I am today in great part to the wonderful people who have touched my life through the years. While I was in Indiana, my dad and I were able to visit both of our churches in Lebanon and Frankfort before my grandma's visitation that Sunday. To my left, Georgean Griffith taught me for 3 years in Seminary. What a difficult calling that must have been to teach a rowdy group of teenagers. In her class, I felt the Spirit and gained a love for the scriptures!

To my right, Lorrie Monn was my young women's president. She loved me no matter what and made me feel as if I could accomplish anything I wanted! I had never gotten straight A's. My first semester Lorrie encouraged me to put that as a short term goal for that semester. I worked my tail off and did it. Then, Lorrie taught me about long term goals. She said, " I bet if you could be valedictorian if you really wanted to." She encouraged me to set it as my goal. Two of her young women became valedictorians. Paula Brackett Taylor was one of them, and I was the other. Lorrie had gone to BYU and we loved hearing her fun stories. I think she was a large reason that both Paula and I went to BYU!

I can't say enough good about Patty Brackett. She was basically my 2nd mom. My senior year they changed Seminary from Home Study with a once a week class to early morning. Monday through Friday at an unmentionable early hour, we would go to her house in Frankfort to learn from the scriptures. Patty was a great teacher, and many times I felt the spirit testify that what we were learning was true. She made us breakfast every morning. She always went above and beyond whatever she was asked to do.

Aleeah Livengood has always been a tremendous example to me of doing hard things! She brought all of her boys to church pretty much every Sunday by herself before her incredible husband Mike joined the church! She is a true woman of faith. Once her boys got older, she worked hard to her bachelors then masters from Purdue.

I was able to see my favorite Home Ec teacher- Janet Thorley. I took a foods class from her and loved it! She got me so excited about cooking. I gave her a signed cookbook as a THANK You while I was there. I wish I could have seen Andy Robertson, my history coach. I was blessed with so many great teachers!

Playing Catch Up- Grandma Dircks' Funeral

I am so grateful for the opportunity that I had to return to Indiana
for my Grandma Dircks' funeral. It was a wonderful celebration
of the 87 years that she spent on earth. I'm grateful for the chance
I had to reconnect with all my relatives and to remember my roots.

Visiting My Great Grandparents' Grave in Frankfort, Indiana

My Cousin Gina is a pretty amazing lady! She was so gracious in hosting the dinner after the visitation on Sunday at her home in Kirklin. It was so great to catch up with her and the other family members.

My Grandma's 3 surviving children-
my dad (Steve), Sherry, and Chuck
Uncle Mike passed away when I was a teenager.

We were blessed to have another chance to reconnect with family at the luncheon before the funeral at a local church. This table held some of my dad's cousins and an aunt.
From left to right: Pat Sorling, Jeff Hardesty, Aunt Betty Dircks, Lynette Hardesty, and Rick Dircks. Dad and I stayed at Jeff and Lynette's beautiful home in Frankfort on Sunday night. They are the best, and I wish we lived a little closer!

My Amazing Aunt Sherry

Dad and I went to see the home and street where he grew up! We were pleased to see that Given Street in Frankfort is still a brick road!

Dad in front of the home where he was raised in Frankfort!

My cousin, Nita

Cousin, Brent McKinney, Brother Jeremy, and I

I was so excited to see my cousin Mike at the funeral! I hadn't seen him since we were teenagers. I wish his sister Kelly could have made it. Her husband was getting ready to have surgery and she couldn't get away. Uncle Jack Rader is my grandma's brother. He and my grandma were pretty inseparateable. They lived most of their lives within minutes of each other and even had cabins next to each other up at the lake. He loved her so much.

This is my grandma's sister Imogene! Isn't she the cutest little thing?

This is me and my cousin Merinda after saying goodbye to our grandma.

Playing Catch Up- Easter

Emma's 2nd Easter

Easter 2009Spencer and Devan had fun shrink wrapping
the plastic onto the Easter Eggs.

Lizzie admiring her creations!

We tried to get a good family picture.
Of the 15 taken, this one was the best!

The kids were quick to get ready for church
knowing their baskets could be found
after they were all ready!

Playing Dress Up In April

Our little Spencer is quite the character. I was down making dinner on evening when I hear a huge amount of laughter. I grabbed the camera and look what I found. 3 silly kiddos playing dress up! Some day this will make great black mail! :-)

Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to us today?

A year or so ago we were given a little plaque at a Relief Society Activity that reads, "Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to me today?" I have it hanging in my office to remind me of the talk given by Elder Eyring on remembering. Here is a brief clip from this amazing talk. I need to do better at searching out and recording these moments because I know God reaches out to me and my family often.

Happy Birthday, Ivan!

My great husband turned a whopping 35 today. For 2 months of every year, we get to be the same age. The other 10 months, he has to mind his elders! :-)

Here is my top 10 list of why my husband is so amazing:

1. He is a great father. Our kids are a top priority in his life, and he constantly worries about their spiritual well being.

2. He is a great spouse. He loves me and is constantly concerned with how I am doing in all the crucial areas of my life. Sometimes it drives me crazy, but I know he truly cares about me and wants me to be happy.

3. He is constantly serving others. Whether it be at home, helping with a move, or pitching in to clean up after an activity, Ivan is constantly looking for ways to lighten someone's load.

4. Ivan is so humble. He speaks to the Doctor or the Professor the same way he speaks to the Farmer or Normal Person. Many of the people that we know have no idea that he has a PhD and that's the way he likes it.

5. Ivan is one of the smartest men that I know. Most of his PhD was funded by the National Science Foundation Fellowship that he received while he was working on his bachelors. They had him skip the masters program and go straight into the PhD program. I tease that the smartest thing he has ever done was to marry me! :-)

6. He is a great provider. He worked so hard to get through his PhD with no student loans and 3 kids. He is one of the hardest workers that I have ever known.

7. Ivan loves to run. It's not uncommon for him to run 12 miles before the kids and I have even gotten up on a Saturday morning. He is currently training to run the St. George Marathon in October. I don't even like to drive 26.2 miles. I can't imagine running it!

8. Ivan is very selfless. Everyone else's needs come before his own. It's Ivan's Birthday today and yet he wants to spend it helping someone move into our neighborhood tonight. He loves helping others. It's his birthday, but look what he's letting me get:

A Food Rotation System!

9. Ivan loves the temple. He takes the covenants that he made there seriously and strives to live worthy to always be able to enter the Lord's house. We met in the temple when we were both volunteering as temple workers in the Provo temple after our missions. Whenever we go on vacation or on a trip, we find all the temples along the way. He takes us to temple open houses so that our children can experience the temple with us. We are heading to our 5th Temple Open House with our kids in July.

10. Ivan loves the Savior. He loves His gospel. He knows and loves the scriptures. He brings the scriptures alive for our kids during family scripture study. He taught Gospel Doctrine when we lived in Utah, and I loved participating in his wonderful lessons. The Holy Ghost was always present when he taught, and I learned so much from him as he taught from the scriptures that he loves so much.

Happy Birthday, Ivan!