Out of the mouths of babes

Sundays are my very favorite days. By the time they roll around, I am in great need of the spiritual uplifting that I get from attending church meetings, listening to talks, magnifying my calling, etc. However, my oldest son thinks church, especially Primary, is boring so I try to prep him before hand so that Sunday mornings will be pleasant and calm instead of threats, crying, and time-outs. Saturday night, we were gathered around Gabe and Zech's beds for family and personal prayers. Prayer is very important to me and I try to teach the boys to think about what they are saying and to not repeat themselves but to "talk" to God. "He misses you, and wants you to talk to him." So, my family prayer that night was a little longer than usual as I was trying to spiritually prepare for my little ones for Sunday as well as teach the correct order and style of prayer. Here's the conversation that followed my prayer:

Zechariah: That was a loooooong prayer.

Me: Well, Heavenly Father likes it when we spend time to speak to him.

Zechariah: OK, its my turn. watch this: mine's going to be longer!

Me: OK!

And then, he proceeds to pray and I almost busted up laughing when he said:

Zechariah: "Please bless our home and our family, and keep us safe from robbers, and bad guys, and meteorites, and lava, and rain, and thunderstorms, and fire, and flames, and anything that would burn us or hurt us or torture us...."

Meterorites???? Lava??? Where does he get this stuff? He went on and on for a good 5 minutes!

It was sooo funny! I just had to smile, and I could just feel God smiling too. He loves his children. Especially the little ones. They are so innocent and sweet!

Oh, I hope I can be a good enough Mommy to these little angels.

Enjoy these pics of the kids sporting their Sunday best. Oh! They are so handsome!

Rockin' Rebekah

OK, so my dear friend, Denae Syphus, loves to make up songs and is great on the guitar. She's a HUGE Beatles fan and you can check her out singing "Mother Nature's Son" on her blog. (See my list) Anyways, she must like me or something cause she made up a song just for me! I was so pleased and honored, I asked her to tape it so I could post it on my blog. She's an awesome person; always doing things for other people and never thinking of herself. When I grow up, I want to be just like her. She's leaving for UT tomorrow 'cause her mother is very sick and possibly will not be in this world for very much longer. Yet, today she was off doing visiting teaching and recording this for me. I told you she was amazing! Please pray for her and her family.

Musings of my mind

So usually I am a post what's happening picture, video, etc kind of girl but I have had a lot of thoughts running through my head lately and since I hate to write in my journal, I figured here is a good place to get it all out. Where to begin? I have been thinking lately about life, happiness, faith, and trials. Is life supposed to be "hard"? A "struggle"? What makes life hard? I usually think it is our own choices that lead us to happiness or 'struggles'. If we are truly living the gospel of Jesus Christ, life will not be 'hard' will it? Well, my dad seemed to think otherwise and told me I was a very judgemental person. Am I? So what if I am? Aren't we supposed to judge? (righteously, I know) I mean, I am a happy person. Sure, I get frustrated at times when I've said no to an extra snack and the culprit continues to persist thinking they can break Mom. My resolve has been firm though and I do not give in and then a lesson ensues about obedience and being like Nephi, etc. Of course I am tired! I have 3 little boys and pregnant with another! But is that their fault? Is it an excuse to be a whole list of unpleasant adjectives? No! So, I still say happiness is a choice! And I felt validated this weekend at General Conference. We were told to laugh instead of get angry. We were told of the happiness that comes through living the gospel of Christ. We were told of the great miracles that faith and works can bring to pass. Am I saying that our lives will be spared from any and every challenge if we are obedient and live the gosepl of Jesus Chirst? No, I am saying we will have so much strength to overcome it that it will not be "hard". Life is NOT "hard". It is not supposed to be! Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us and want us to be happy! We make it hard, our faithlessness, our distrust, our pride, our weakness makes life hard. It doesn't have to be. Jesus payed that price. All we have to do is ask him and he helps us. What a wonderful plan! What a wonderful life!!!

I am so happy! Life is good!

OK, I think that's all for now. This has kinda turned into a testimony. But you know what? I am who am I because of my testimony. I am still trying. I am not perfect. But, I am going to try each and everyday to do the things to bring about happiness and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Zech's UFC Debut!

Zech has been attending a Mixed Martial Arts class at the Fighters Forge in CC, TX. He is really enjoying it. Coach Pat is an excellent teacher and handles the kids very well. They practice Jui-Jitsu on Mondays, American Boxing on Wednesdays, and Thai Kickboxing on Fridays. The video is of a sparring session between Zech (age 5) and classmate (age 7). Zech is very aggressive in the beginning and shows very good form while on the ground. Zech did an excellent job passing the guard of the other boy, and then finishes strong when the other boy ran away.

Day at the zoo

train ride...it was loud!
what a beautiful butterfly
So cute

Monday Sept 22nd, we took Dad back to the airport in San Antonio and took the kids to the zoo. We had so much!

Marshmellow guns

So, my Dad came to see me last Friday. Surprise! I hadn't seen him since January so it was nice to see him. Anyways, he, Gary, Zech, and Gabriel took a trip to the hardware store for some PVC pipe. After Ammon's party, we assembled our guns and fun ensued! We played outside for a while and then went to attack the Syphus's! It was so much fun!

Ammon's 1st birthday! finally