52 Weeks of blessings - week 26-- Church Magazines

The Church Magazines

Foto Story Friday- 4-- tractor rescue

OK so look close, see that dirty brown Suburban? {my camera at the time was not very good, they've come a LONG way in 7 years!} This Foto-Friday is about how that 4x4 met a snow drift! Now like many I was under the impression that a four-wheel drive vehicle could go anywhere and do anything......

These two pictures are of the snow drift. When we moved to the farm, it was February in Montana... that means snow. This road was a bit shorter to reach the main farm, but it drifts over and it becomes hard-packed and the locals {all 10 of them!} just drive right across it. So I had been driving over it and all was well, but this particular day it had gotten warm enough to start the bank a melting. I tell you I did my very best to get us out of that on my own and I succeeded in digging 4 good sized holes - one under each tire. I gave in and as you can see, the tire tracks are pretty big and the bank looks as if it has been cut away.
Troy came down from the farm with this tractor {the one with the scoop up in the air} and dug us out! He was not well pleased but it is a pretty funny memory for the kids and I. The day we were rescued with the tractor!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

52 Weeks of Blessings- week 25--Priesthood Power

The power of the Priesthood! What a blessing it is to have the priesthood in our home. To have a husband who is worthy to hold and administer its power. To have access to the comfort and blessings that the Lord shares with his children is a great blessing! Yesterday Troy's Grandma had a diabetic sugar drop that put her out for a few. It was in the middle of Gospel doctrine class {the Sunday school class for adults in our church}. One of the ladies {Sister} went to locate Troy and I as he was busy with something and I was teaching in Primary {Sunday school for the 3-11 yr olds}. Another Sister went to find a quick sugar, she found some honey and gave her a couple tablespoons. A third Sister ran down to the nursery and got a juice and crackers. She didn't know who Troy or I were. She was calling Troy his Grandpa and she thought I was his sister. The bishop and another Brother gave her a blessing and the change was almost instant. The bishop again asked her if she knew who he was and she responded with, "Yes, you're the bishop and you're David." She was taken to the hospital and released later on Sunday. She tends to not take care of what and how she eats even though she has had diabetes for many years. It was a bit scary but the comfort and blessings of the Lord through His priesthood were there.
I'm so thankful for my husband and that we have this power in our home. I'm thankful for his faithfulness, for his testimony, for his strength. This week we've been married for 15 years ... on the 25th to be exact. I'm thankful "for all the things we've never done".

All the Things We've Never Done
(Craig Bickhardt/Jeff Pennig)
preformed by Martina McBride

They drank their anniversary glass
A silent moment passed
Then they kissed
She knows there's something on his mind
He'll tell her in due time
What it is

He says "I've never built
Your mansion on a hill
Or warmed you in the Spanish sun
I simply blink my eye
And think as years fly by
Of all the things we've never done"

She smiles and takes his hand in hers
And says "It just occurred
To me now
The thought that brings you such regret
What hasn't happened yet
It makes me proud..."

"You never walked away
When I needed you to stay
Or made me feel I'm not the one
There've been no broken vows
And the reason we're here now
Is all the things we've never done"

"We've never grown apart
You never broke my heart
With secrets that you've kept me from
We've never been untrue
And I'm still here with you
Through all the things we've never done"

Foto-story Friday #3--potty kids

For this weeks Photostory, I chose this telling snapshot of Savanna at about 3 years old. Savanna potty trained fairly easily, she never had an accident once she decided that she was a big girl and for this I was very grateful. She did however, not really know that she needed the potty and would wake up screaming! On this particular afternoon, she had been napping when I heard the tell-tale scream. I rushed in to get her to the potty and she fought me the whole way! Finally, I succeeded in getting her on the potty. I left her to have her privacy. She was yelling and giving me the "what-for" then the noise stopped, so I went to see if she was finished. What I found was a sleeping naked Savanna. She spent the yelling session removing all of her clothing! I couldn't resist the photo {but saved her dignity by tossing her blanket on first}.
Since I'm sharing a potty sleeping stories, I might as well share this one too! I ran to the store for a few needed items for dinner and well, I thought I had left the kids in capable hands....after all their dad was there! Scott took himself to the potty. He still needs a little help wiping and calls for assistance when he's finished. The problem is, that he nearly always whispers that he is finished. This is not easily heard if one is sitting downstairs in the front room with the TV on some Cop show. So poor Scotty was all done and quietly calling for his dad, who didn't even know for sure he was in the bathroom! When I returned, I noticed he was nowhere to be found and asked after his whereabouts. The ever observant dad responded with, "Well, I thought he went to the bathroom, but that was a long time ago." He heads up to the potty and that picture is what he found! He crept downstairs and grabbed the camera to document our other potty sleeper!


Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Birthday Calendar

Check out this birthday calendar

28 June 1974

Your date of conception was on or about 5 October 1973 which was a Friday.

You were born on a Friday
under the astrological sign Cancer.
Your Life path number is 1.
Your fortune cookie reads:
You have a deep appreciation of the arts and music.

Life Path Compatibility:
You are most compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 1, 5 & 7.
You should get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 3 & 9.
You may or may not get along well with those with the Life Path number 8.
You are least compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 2, 4, 6, 11 & 22.
The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2442226.5.
The golden number for 1974 is 18.
The epact number for 1974 is 6.
The year 1974 was not a leap year.
Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 1/23/1974 and ending 2/10/1975.
You were born in the Chinese year of the Tiger.
Your Native American Zodiac sign is Woodpecker; your plant is Wild Rose.
You were born in the Egyptian month of Paopy, the second month of the season of Poret (Emergence - Fertile soil).
Your date of birth on the Hebrew calendar is 8 Tammuz 5734.
Or if you were born after sundown then the date is 9 Tammuz 5734.
The Mayan Calendar long count date of your birthday is 12.18.0.17.2 which is
12 baktun 18 katun 0 tun 17 uinal 2 kin
The Hijra (Islamic Calendar) date of your birth is Friday, 7 Jumadiyu'th-Thani 1394 (1394-6-7).
The date of Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 14 April 1974.
The date of Orthodox Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 14 April 1974.
The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) on your birth year was Wednesday 27 February 1974.
The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 2 June 1974.
The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 9 June 1974.
The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Tuesday, 17 September 1974.
The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Sunday, 7 April 1974.
The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 26 February 1974.
As of 6/19/2008 1:17:56 AM EDT
You are 33 years old.
You are 408 months old.
You are 1,773 weeks old.
You are 12,410 days old.
You are 297,841 hours old.
You are 17,870,477 minutes old.
You are 1,072,228,676 seconds old.
Celebrities who share your birthday:

Steve Burton (1970)	John Cusack (1966)	John Elway (1960)
Kathy Bates (1948)	Gilda Radner (1946)	Pat Morita (1933)
Mel Brooks (1926)	Richard Rodgers (1902)	Henry VIII, King of England (1491)

Top songs of 1974

The Way We Were by Barbra Streisand	Seasons In the Sun by Terry Jacks
The Streak by Ray Stevens	Having My Baby by Paul Anka
Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas	Billy, Don't Be a Hero by Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods
Annie's Song by John Denver	The Loco-Motion by Grand Funk
TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) by MFSB with the Three Degrees	I Can Help by Billy Swan

Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 4.85714285714286 years old. (You're still chasing cats!)
Your lucky day is Monday.
Your lucky number is 2 & 7.
Your ruling planet(s) is Moon.
Your lucky dates are 1st, 10th, 19th, 28th.
Your opposition sign is Capricorn.
Your opposition number(s) is 8.
Today is not one of your lucky days!
There are 9 days till your next birthday
on which your cake will have 34 candles.
Those 34 candles produce 34 BTUs,
or 8,568 calories of heat (that's only 8.5680 food Calories!) .
You can boil 3.89 US ounces of water with that many candles.
In 1974 there were approximately 3.7 million births in the US.
In 1974 the US population was approximately 203,302,031 people, 57.4 persons per square mile.
In 1974 in the US there were approximately 2,158,802 marriages (10.6%) and 708,000 divorces (3.5%)
In 1974 in the US there were approximately 1,921,000 deaths (9.5 per 1000)
In the US a new person is born approximately every 8 seconds.
In the US one person dies approximately every 12 seconds.
In 1974 the population of Australia was approximately 13,831,978.
In 1974 there were approximately 245,177 births in Australia.
In 1974 in Australia there were approximately 110,673 marriages and 17,688 divorces.
In 1974 in Australia there were approximately 115,833 deaths.
Your birthstone is Alexandrite
The Mystical properties of Alexandrite

Alexandrite can assist one in centering the self, reinforcing self-esteem, and augmenting ones ability to experience joy.

Some lists consider these stones to be your birthstone. (Birthstone lists come from Jewelers, Tibet, Ayurvedic Indian medicine, and other sources)

Pearl, Moonstone, Opal

Your birth tree is

Apple Tree, the Love

Of slight build, lots of charm, appeal and attraction, pleasant aura, flirtatious, adventurous, sensitive, always in love, wants to love and be loved, faithful and tender partner, very generous, scientific talents, lives for today, a carefree philosopher with imagination.

There are 189 days till Christmas 2008!
There are 202 days till Orthodox Christmas!
The moon's phase on the day you were
born was waxing gibbous.

52 Weeks of Blessings-- week 24--Fathers

This weeks blessing is: Fathers.
First and foremost, I'm thankful for my Heavenly Father. For without a loving Heavenly Father, we wouldn't be here! I'm so thankful for for His Son and the Plan that gives meaning to this life.
My fatherI'm thankful for the example he is to me and my family. I'm thankful that he honors the priesthood. My dad was a long haul trucker and so the Children's Primary song, Daddy's Homecoming has always been one of my favorites because we were always happy to see him when he came home.

Daddy's Homecoming
I'm so glad when daddy comes home,
Glad as I can be;
Clap my hands and shout for joy,
Then climb upon his knee,
Put my arms around his neck,
Hug him tight like this,
Pat his cheeks, then give him what?
A great big kiss.

When this song is sung on Father's day I invariably think of when I was young and we would sing this when our dad came home from a long haul.
My father-in-law {who is not cool with his picture being on line}. He too honors the priesthood. He is always there when we need something.
The father of my children.

{who hates his picture taken period.} He a good guy, honors the priesthood, works hard to provide for his family loves me and our kids.

Foto-story Friday #2--deconstruction/reconstruction

When we first moved back to Montana, we lived out on a farm and Troy worked for the farmers as a farmhand/mechanic all around go-to guy. They provided us with a single-wide trailer with a good-sized yard. It was a different kind of life style, which I can now say that I'm thankful for the experience. But at the time it was very hard. Having come from my new beautiful home in Vegas to a single-wide older trailer home.It was, to say the least, a bit depressing. As you can tell from the picture, we moved there in winter. By summer, things were getting better. I'd taken the kids on 2 road trips to visit with cousins and we'd gotten a puppy. One day I walked into our bedroom and my foot sunk into the floor. After mentioning this to the farmer's wife, she sent her handyman son out to check into the problem. We heard that he, at first, told his parents that our pup had wet on the floor causing it....but after further inspection:
A cracked pipe had totally ruined the floor and walls of the whole back end of the trailer. Now this was a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house for 6 people! So what do you do with ALL the stuff from half the house? Answer:
Are ya seeing anywhere for the people to sleep? Yeah, me either! Plus the water was turned off for so many days, I've lost track now! The bishop at the time offered us some rooms at his house and so we camped out there at night and had to come back out for the kids to attend school. Ya see, the deconstruction:reconstruction: took a LONG time and school had started! I was less than happy! Finally Their son go the walls up and the house mostly put back together. When we left the farm in mid November, there was still no carpet in the hall and it was not completed.
*The photo that inspired this story is the filled front-room, but since I felt it really required more photos to properly tell the story, this is what you get!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Wordless Wedesday-caged!

*disclaimer: I don't make it a practice to cage my kids..... they were playing with the puppy and it was too good to pass up!

52 Weeks of Blessings -- Week 23-- Big Kids

Big Kids
When they are little like this:You never think they will ever get to this:
But then, before you realize it, they are big and responsible and you can leave them in charge of these:and this:
This one is in between, not quite old enough to sit on her own but almost too old to be sat, so she is the helper sitter! It is nice to not have to find a sitter, my Big Kids are a blessing!

Are you a batman villian?

Which Batman Villain Are You?

Created by BuddyTV

Ryanne had this test, so I gave it a shot.

Which Batman Villain Are You?

Created by BuddyTV

This is who Cody got.

A contest

Anne just let me know about a contest she's having for a YA book. Since we are always on the look-out for a good book, I had to go check out the contest. Drop by her blog and check it out! It just happens that fantasy/sci-fi is the genre that we love in this house. I read all the Harry Potter and Narnia books out loud to my kids and they all enjoyed that. It would fun to have another great series to share with them. Thanks again for letting me know about this contest, Anne.

Photostory Friday #1-- Scotty the camera ham

OK here's my first Foto-story Friday:

We were at the 4th and 5th grade field day on May 21st. Here are a series of Scott shots.... He is my little poser. He spent the day saying: "Take my picture, take my picture." He'd just strike a pose and holler for me to aim the lens in his direction. Of course, in this digital age of instant gratification, he then had to run and see just HOW the pictures turned out. He's a funny kid.

Come join the fun.....
Rules:

1. Post a photo (recent or not) that YOU took and
simply tell us the story behind it. It could be the
reason you took it, a story it reminds you of, or just
why you love it (or why you don't). Any subject.
Humor, optional. The shot doesn't have to be
creatively or technically perfect. Because life isn't.

2.On Thursday night Cecily and MamaGeek will both post a Mr. Linky and
some code so you can link to your direct post.

3. Keep it clean or get deleted. Have fun!
Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Sweet revenge!

And we get them back......

52 Weeks of Blessings -- week 22, internet jacked

This weeks blessing is: a job! I'm SO thankful that my husband has a job. He has always had at least one job, sometimes two. He's very hard working and I consider that a great blessing! I'm also thankful for my sitting job.

Internet-jacked?! Well, my friend is here for about a month. She is doing her rotations for becoming a PA. Since I still live in the dark ages -- ya know no wireless net round here -- I've given up my cable cord to her so she can get her work done. I'll try and wrestle it away from her once in a while and post a note or two.... maybe catch up on all ya's lives......

And lastly please go say hi to my baby sister who just joined the blogworld!