A family picture...

Max took a picture of the fam on Sunday, and the kids had to have their 'silly picture."

Going Fishing...

Over the past year I have adopted a motto that I think the universe could/should practice a little more often: "IT ISN'T ABOUT ME." Meaning, when I'm too tired to go the park and it's 70 degrees out and the kids have been in the house all day and they've asked polietly 500 times- I say to myself, " Emily, this isn't about you being tired, besides, you're always exausted. This is about your kids wanting to go run outside, play on the swings and try despretely to cross the monkey bars by themselves. Another example: Me not wanting to make dinner. It isn't about me not being creative enough to whip something up or about the mess it will make or how long it will take- it's about feeding my family! it's about me signing up to be a Mother and doing what I'm supposed to do! I'm noticing that about 90% of the things I do in my life, are things that I have no desire to do, no ambition to complete or what I would likely be doing if I had free time. I mean, who really enjoys doing 5 loads of laundry a day? My point is sometimes we have to forget about ourselves and just do something for someone else because of the joy it will bring them. We are such selfish people and rarely put our needs last and other's first. So, remember, when those little hands are pulling on your shirt to go to the park and you are so tired you can't remember what day of the week it is, pack them up and go play. You'll always be tired. There will always be laundry to fold, but pretty soon those little hands won't be there tugging on your shirt to play- they will be gone, and you'll be standing on your sparkling clean floor wondering where the time went.

(This was written for me to re read a 1000 times a day...)

A day with the cousins...

Sunday after church, we drove up to Idaho City to celebrate 3 of the cousins birthday's! The kids had so much fun playing together outside in the creek behind their house. They were almost in tears as we had to make the long trip back home. Happy Birthday Andrew, Saeli & Caprial- we love you!

The dry-out is complete!

I was excited to hear last night that the dry out was complete, so we could get started on the kitchen. Our goal for today is to get the wall reinsulated and patched. Lowes, here we come...

119 canning jars today...

I am absoultly obsessed with yard sales. I count down the days each week until I can go again, and my kids are so used to being out the door by 8:00AM Friday & Saturday's that it's funny. Today was a good day for jars. I spent a little more than I like to, but the sweet little old lady had so many and I couldn't leave without buying them all ($ 2.00 a dozen. I like to get them for .10 each, but once in awhile you have to support the cause!) I bought 8 boxes/dozen from her and 23 from another lady for $ 2.00, so it was a good day. That gives me 149 bought this yard sale season so far. (Not to mention another 8 boxes out in the shed! Oh, how I love canning season!)

A happy girl...

Willow is an amazing baby, I really have no idea how Trav and I got so lucky with 4 incredible kids, but we did. Here she is trying out the swings for the first time.

A perfect day to go to the park...

The kids and I were out the door at 7:23 AM this morning to grab some FREE pop at Albertson's and hit some yard sales. They were such great troopers as I drove around for hours finding bargins, so we stopped at the park before heading home. The weather was beautiful and the kids had fun running around...

A picnic at the park...

The other night Trav made a bunch of peanut butter sandwiches and we were off to the park to have dinner. The kids had fun playing...

One day I will laugh...

I know the day will come when I look back at this unfortunate event and laugh like crazy, but until that moment arrives, I am not having fun. Although I love the smell of bleach, it doesn't mean I enjoy bleaching my tub every time I need to wash dishes. One day I will laugh...

Let it rain...

Last week when I was feeding Willow, I was standing in the kitchen with my bare feet. As I was standing in a place I had stood hundreds of times before, I thought, what is that? I ran my foot back and forth over the raised mound with this insain look on my face, asking myself, has it been here the whole time and I'm just now noticing it? No. I thought. I have washed this floor on my hands and knees for 2 1/2 years- I know every dent, cut and imperfection, this was definatly NOT there before. I went on feeding Willow and then onto my other 100 chores that comes with having 4 kids, until I noticed another mound in front of the dishwasher. I stopped and said, "what is going on? It can't be the dishwasher. It just can't. So the next night when Trav commented on the crazy floor, I said, " I know. I was going to tell you. I'm glad I'm not going crazy!" (because apart of me questioned my sanity, imagine that!)So, with a parent/teacher confrence meeting to be to in 20 minutes, Trav moved the dishwasher to discover what no home owner wants to find: water damage! So, to make a long story longer, I went into panic mode calling everyone and anyone who I thought could help us. I went out on the porch and almost started crying. I can't take anything else right now, I thought. After drowning in self pity for 3 minutes, I got up, dusted myself off and went back inside to be a Mom and wife. I told myself, Em, there are people dying. There are families waiting for military members to come home, there are missing children every where and familes losing their minds over it, there are people starving right here in the US and other countries, there are people without homes, food, clothing, cars, family, friends or help of any kind. There are Mother's losing babies, fathers losing jobs and a world that is falling apart- and you are really whining over a ruined kitchen? So with life in perspective, I cleaned up dinner, hand washed a billion dishes, put Pj's on kids, brushed teeth, said prayes and kissed my beautiful babies goodnight. As I got ready for the night, I just shook my head and thought, but I can't change what is happening around the world. I can't make it stop. I can't make it any better, and darn it, this isn't what I wanted. I just wanted everything to be ok and now it isn't. And now there is water everywhere, and who knows if there is mold. Are we safe? Will the kids be affected? How much will this cost? We don't have the money. Do I really have to hand wash all these dishes? And boil water to do it in? (Those poor, amazing pioneer women!) So the next day, my friend Lisa said, "Em, call your insurance company!" Which I did and then by Friday, things started to get rolling. Chris came out to look at the damage. Our adjuster came out yesterday and then the guys were here until 8:30 last night removing a part of the floor, cabinets & counter tops. We have a fan on it for 3-5 days and then we will go from there. It just boils down to being HUGE-LY inconvient. So, while people are dying around the world, I am complaining that they tore up our cute red cabnits that Trav and I worked SOOO hard on, I don't have running water, my cute floor is going away, there's a huge hole in my floor and wall, we don't have a dishwasher,I have to wash our dishes in the bath tub now, our kitchen contents are now covering my couch, and who knows how long this entire process will take! I'm just frustrated!!! (But yes, eventually we will get a new floor that isn't soaked in water, I'll hopefully get my black & white checkerd vinyl back, I'll get new cabinets and counter tops and life will be perfect again!) Thanks for letting me vent, I'm just struggling with everything out of order!!!!