Treasured

Gorgeous October day (the 29th) when we visited the Boise Idaho temple open house – the temple of my youth. 🙂  I remember saving pennies to help with the initial construction.  Now it’s all renovated and simply beautiful.  I’m so grateful we were able to take our family on the trek to see this wonder-filled building.

Thankful that we can be a forever family.

A little contemplative… Jacob said that he found the Angel Moroni on a gigantic pillar next to the temple quite interesting.  He also said the temple makes him feel happy and warm inside.

Joshua loved the big stained glass window of the Sacred Grove by the baptismal font.  He said with the sun shining through it looked very beautiful and made him feel peaceful.

Autumn loved the beauty of “the room where you be quiet” (celestial room).  She also loved the sealing room where you can see the mirrors “go back and forth, on & on”.  She has never seen mirrors placed like that before and loved it.

Andrew liked the baptism room too.  He said you “go into a big circle of water and underneath there are ox.  12 of them!” He said said he felt warm and happy – “just like Jacob”.

Miss Katey loved the Bride’s Room where the ladies get ready on their wedding day.  She also loved the crystal chandeliers.  While touring she said “it’s sparkling everyday.  Sparkles forever!”

Caleb loved the “baptism water with cows” (one way to describe it…).  He says the temple made him feel good. “Yeah – feel good.”

Meri – well, she loved all the lights inside the temple.  She also loved the big, beautiful windows and tried to reach every sparkly chandelier.

Jim Bob loved that they took an already beautiful temple and made it even more beautiful. “Perfection even. There is nothing lacking in construction or design.” He also loved the awe of our children – He said his very favorite part was watching their “big bug eyes and wide gaping mouths taking it all in and not believing the beauty of the temple.”

Me – The temple was absolutely gorgeous – dark wood and beauty all around. I also loved the beauty of the people there the day we toured the temple. Everyone was full of smiles and willing to help. From the men directing traffic to the people putting on protective footwear to the ladies passing out candies on temple napkins to the piano players in the adjacent church – everyone was so friendly and genuinely happy to be there. I especially enjoyed the faith building stories of our tour guides.

“The evening before the rededication (last night), President Monson told a group of 9,200 young people, gathered for the youth cultural celebration, that the temple “shines as a beacon of righteousness to all who will follow its light.”

“We treasure that light, and we thank our Heavenly Father for the blessings this temple and all temples bring into our lives,” he said.”

We rejoice in the blessings of the temple!

New and improved…

Katey’s latest picture:  Rainbow Bacon.

It “tastes like blueberry strawberry tangerine”.

Katey also said it is yummy with ice cream.

“You just put a scoop right on top!”  (Fun to watch her so animated about her drawing!)

That’s some mighty sophisticated bacon right there.

Caption this…

There are times I wish I knew what Meri would say if she could talk…

{July 2012}

What she might be thinking…

{May 2012}

I do know what I was saying in the last photo.  Yuck!  But that’s just one of the risks you take with photography:

Scary Paper

Meet Googley-Eye.

He’s a crocodile.  That equals scary.  Hence the scary face.

Googley-Eye has a huge jaw.

Closed:

Open:

With equally expressive eyebrows from Drewby.

Googley-Eye was created and named by Andrew.  He wishes we had a googley eye big enough to put right over that eye socket there.  He thinks that would be perfect.

I think Googley-Eye is pretty adorable scary as is.

Introducing: Toddler Recipes

This yummy recipe brought to you by our toddler Caleb.

{fancy recipe card made by Mekala – free download here}

Speaking of photos, Caleb was not sure in the beginning if he was in trouble.

By the end he knew it was all good:

 

Spotlight: Caleb

Josh:  I love that Caleb is sooo hyperactive and has such a giggly laugh.

Mommy:  Who’s next?

Caleb:  Meeee!  (slightly excited)

Jacob:  I love that Caleb is smart and imaginative.

Josh:  Yeah, he pretends his bed is a banana tree.

Andrew:  I like Caleb because he plays with me a lot.

Katey:  I love Caleb because he loves me and he hugs me.

Caleb:  I love Katey hugs me real tight!  Hey – what’s that? (checking out the Children’s Encyclopedia)

Daddy:  A Viking boat.

Caleb:  Can the people all fit?

Autumn:  I love Caleb because he loves to read books and sometimes he even makes up the words in his book.  He likes motorcycles and said he’s going to ride a green one with Dad someday.

Caleb:  No!!  It was a blue one.  We’re going to ride a blue one.

Katey:  Or a scootcher.  (complete with peddling actions)

Daddy:  I love Mister Caleb because he lets me listen to his prayers at night when I tuck him in.  He also loves to read my motorcycle book in bed and dream about riding bikes.

Caleb:  The blue one!

Daddy:  Yep – he loves that chopper.

Caleb:  Mommy reads books in bed!  A big chunk of one.  With a light on.  Hahhaaaahahaha.

Mommy:  I adore Caleb’s vocabulary.  He can explain so much of what he’s thinking.  It cracks me up.  Today he was carrying something to the table and he just talked to himself about everything he was doing and thinking along the way.  So silly and cute.

Caleb is a sweetheart in preschool too and wants to do everything his big sister is doing.  He sings, says prayers, does the Pledge of Allegiance like a pro (well, almost), has the 2nd Article of Faith memorized (because he is 2! – and reminds us all the time), knows his colors, adores Signing Time, and sits through long stories.  Today he pretended to be a horse for hours.  He neighed all over the house and licked Katey’s dress.  She didn’t like that part – but that’s what horses do.  Caleb is amazing, and silly and can’t wait to ride a motorcycle (steel horse according to Daddy).  Obviously.

Everyday #2371

This is Drewby’s latest drawing.  I love the Christmas scene – tree in the window, snowflakes falling, festive red roof.  The worm in the hole on the left makes me giggle.  (We think it’s all about perspective – showing the cutaway underground.)  What makes me really smile is the snowball storage in the basement.  Complete with two fans to keep those snowballs cool.  Brilliant.

p.s. While talking with Andrew the next morning he informed me that the worm is getting ready to hibernate.  🙂

Flecks of Gold

{credits}

This here reminder is printed on Red River’s River Linen paper (one of my favs) and displayed on our piano.  It coordinates with my treasure theme for the year.  I absolutely love this quote from Elder M. Russell Ballard:

“Great things are wrought through simple and small things. Like the small flecks of gold that accumulate over time into a large treasure, our small and simple acts of kindness and service will accumulate into a life filled with love for Heavenly Father, devotion to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and a sense of peace and joy each time we reach out to one another.”

I love that the little things I do each day – for my family and others are like flecks of gold.  It’s nice to imagine all that treasure building up, fleck by fleck.

The beginning story part of Elder Ballard’s talk was made into a Mormon Message:

His whole talk from General Conference can be found here.

Elder Ballard’s beautifully worded sermon is a treasure.

A fun little side note.  The gold flecks on my poster?

Those are cupcake sprinkles – sweet, no? 😉

Drewby Love Stories

{credits}

Sugar lips and fingers at 2 years old were common. Andrew was into everything.  Sticky sweetness all wrapped up and topped with a grin. At 6 years old he is even sweeter – but it’s his personality that is now the {icing on the cake}.

As direct proof – here’s one more Drewby love story:

{credits}

Drewby asked to help make sandwiches for lunch. His first time and he did great – with a little help from his younger siblings. Come to find out – they were J & J sandwiches. Apricot and strawberry jam – tasty!

Challenging? Indeed.

You may know that our family LOVES Usborne books.  You may know that I sell them – in order to get more educational and entertaining books for our family and to share them with others. (Did I mention we love these books?)

Do you know that I have accepted a challenge to book 24 Usborne book shows in 24 hours?  Eek! 🙂

For booking your show with me in this 24 hours you’ll be entered to win a $100 shopping spree with Usborne. We have a new catalog for you and your friends to shop from and our host bonuses in the next months are wonderful!  Please comment or send me an email (becky @ usborne.us) to be one of these preferred hosts.

I’m booking dates between now and Thanksgiving – the Fall and Holiday shopping season. 🙂  For my out-of-town family and friends – e-shows also count! I can set up a specific website for you to have open for 1-2 weeks. You can share the link with family and friends and based on sales you earn free and discounted books. 🙂

Feel free to browse around my website to see all the wonder-filled books that Usborne has – for all the children in your life.  And for children of ALL ages.  ;):  http://usborne.us/

My challenge ends tomorrow at noon.

Thanks for your help everyone!

{Katey and Caleb are lovin’ on the Wipe Clean books in the photo.  Some of our new favorite books!  Sturdy and Reusable – 2 of my favorite words.  😉  They have the Ready for Writing and Mazes ones out in the photo.  There are also ones for First Letters, Numbers, and Alphabet.}

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...