Lake Catherine State Park

5 mile hike with the kids and a boat ride for Memorial Day

We took the kids out for a 5mile hike to enjoy the beautiful weather yesterday. We passed a waterfall, wild blueberries, a water snake, a green tree snake, 2 bridges one being a suspension bridge, a summit vista during which we saw 2 hawks circling BELOW us, a river and followed along the banks of a beautiful lake. The kids were troopers! Eli only complained once about being tired and after that not a single peep!

After we reached the summit and were wandering through some more open areas with wild grasses growing Eli said "hey, they need to mow this!". We explained this is how grass grows naturally and then Eli said "Oh, so they just can't get the lawn mower up the mountain?". Yeah, that too! I forget sometimes why it's important to get your kids outside, and not just in the backyard! I'm glad Arkansas has so many opportunities.




We rented a boat and cruised around the lake discovering fun little areas. We also went back to the waterfall we found when we were hiking and let the kids splash and play.





We had such a wonderful time. I'm so glad Fred was able to get off the trip he was suppose to be on and spend time with his family. It was priceless.

Talent Show

Amelia got up and said this today when she showed off her painting. "This is a self portrait. It's a painting of me! It is what you can see when you look at me. What you can not see is what is inside of me. These are some of the things that make me, ME! I love to play soccer....takes out a soccer ball. I love to paint...shows paint brushes. I love to read...book. I love to cook with my Mom in the kitchen....bowl and spoon. So, now you can see there is a lot more to you and me than just what we can see! YIPEE!"

The girl before her showed training her dog to be obedient as her talent. He wouldn't walk up on stage though! He had to be carried. Sooo! funny. I would have to be carried up on stage too! I'm so proud of Amelia! She wanted to show a painting and volunteered to be in the talent show all on her own. How brave! I know how hard it is to get up in front of a crowd and she did great!

"Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves." -James Barrie author of Peter Pan

I was thinking last night about leaving my mark on the world. How well have I done at the things I have set out to do and was it worth the doing? During this time and season in my life I find that most of my time is focused on raising my children and creating a nurturing environment. This is of course as it should be and I find fulfillment through them, their accomplishments and through all that I create. I read a talk by Pres. Uchtdorf this morning and it seems to have been written just for me so I had to share.

Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf said "The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before- colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter. The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create...you improve not only the world around you but also the world within."

I am trying to enrich my life with service as well. Last night I was thinking that my first great work is my family, my posterity. This is how I can improve the world around me. I hope my children will always remember the time at home as one of peace, love and happiness. I hope to prepare them to be amazing people who will accomplish whatever they put their minds to.

My second great work is service. I am trying to make sacrafice and service flow from me as an easy, natural reaction and extention of being a wife and mother.

However, how can I reach beyond the comfort of my home to help those around me? How do I include my children in this goal so they can learn these lessons as well? I know there is much service needed around me at my kids school, our neighborhood, my church, the community. How do we choose? I want to teach my children that "When we lift others, we rise a little higher ourselves. Pres. Spencer W. Kimball taught, "The more we serve our fellowmen in appropriate ways, the more substance there is to our souls."

I have thought about bringing the kids to a nursing home down the road from us so the we can nurture and form new relationships and of course so Abe can smile his heart melting smile! This is something we could do as a family and all participate in equally. Whatever we decide to do, I know that our lives will be enriched more than those we serve. It's so important for me to teach my children about serving and creating good and beauty in a world that is so often full of darkness and selfishness. I love being alive during this exciting time in history and being able to have such a remarkable influence for good on my family, my community and ultimately myself.

I think it's time to rethink the foodie kids....

Ok, so at dinner tonight Abe would not touch the fish, rice or broccoli! He actually spit out the green stuff whenever we tried to coax him! I've never had a child so hooked on berries! He has to have some fruit at every meal! His diet consists of raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, bananas, grapes, you get the picture! So while he was "communicating" that this is not the dinner he wanted, he kept looking at the butter on the table. Oh Yes! The child wanted to try it. I thought he'll take a bite and be disgusted and we'll move on but no, he LOVED it! ok, that one back fired! He kept fussing until I gave him another bite and then I had to hide it in the fridge so he'd stop "asking" for it. Dinner was another disappointment so I went seeking solitude in my garden. I could feel the cool wind as evening time approached and felt momentarily refreshed. I let Abe feel the grass between his toes and touch some of the hardier plants. While I was deadheading some marigolds and only a step away, Abe took two huge handfuls of dirt and started munching down on it! So the grilled fish, rice and broccoli were so disgusting he spit it out repulsed, but the dirt in the garden YUM! two thumbs up! Maybe I only have two foodie kids, the third would rather eat dirt than my cooking! At least he's getting some minerals in there somewhere!

raising my children to be foodies...

After reading Tom Colicchio's book "Think like a Chef" he says that real chefs think about what vegetables are in season and will plan a whole meal around an artichoke that is at it's peak. Well, I agree and have been trying to cook more seasonal... which always tastes better anyways. I asked the kids what they wanted for dinner Grilled Salmon or Spicy Thai Beef and rice. Both of them imediately asked what would the veggies be to accompany it! Surprised I told them and they decided to go for the salmon since it came with broccoli, a household favorite! Even though the farmer's market didn't have any veggies and broccoli isn't really in season right now. I still thought about how proud Tom would be and I felt a warming in my proud mom-heart too! They are going to be cute little monsters when they grow up!

Track and Field Day

Amelia's Class: Mrs. Wade, Jay, Isabelle, Carson, Amelia, Blane, Krista, Meagan etc.
Eli "Hanging Out" on the monkey bars...so proud of himself going over the top and down again. This used to be your Mom's favorite thing to play on during recess!
Amelia coming back from winning first place on her soccer kicks!
Amelia getting ready for her 50 yard dash. (she came in second place out of 4!)
Trying to keep cool ... and keeping Abe from eating too much grass! We made a fort/tent out of our blanket and took turns hiding under it to get out of the sun. The three curly heads under the blanket were cute. Amelia, Abe and I were close by too, to round it all out. Go NORTHSIDE panthers!

Our Nightly Rituals...

Nightly walks together after dinner to stretch our legs and have some fun with the family. Everybody needs outside time every day!

Eli and Amelia find an empty bird's nest in our front yard.
Great time to learn together too!

This is one version of our "Steakhouse dinner". We try to eat less meat because it is healthier for us and the planet. (Not to mention less expensive!) I've been appalled about where our food comes from and the ecological impact it has and the negative effects on our health. I loved a Ted Talk "Weekday Vegetarian" and have been trying to get our family closer to that goal (being vegetarian for 5 days of the week) for a while. I've started by reducing the amount of meat and adding more fish/egg meals when we do eat meat and doing lunch time as vegetarian. I'm not sure we will ever get there in this stage of our young family, but we'll see!

Mother's Day

"I looked on child rearing not only as a work of love and duty, but as a profession that was fully as interesting and challenging as any honorable profession in the world, and one that demanded the best I could bring it" -Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

This is the beautiful eggs benedict for dinner (not enough time before church) that Dad made for me!

Do what you can!

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
-Theodore Roosevelt

Life is always throwing us challenges. I love this quote because with life as it is in the military, we are always facing challenges to make the best of situations that are thrust upon us. There are so many things we don't have control over but what we do have control over is how we act.

We may not like a deployment or a new move or an assignment, but it's up to us to make the best of it. I have found that most of this is attitude. When I kneel in prayer I gain the strength and insights to make the best decisions for myself and my family and find the silver lining in my trials. I'm happy to have blessings given to me everyday to overcome the small and not so small trials of life.

I feel truly blessed to do what I can with what I have where I am!

Hiding Place

There is the cutest picture of Fred hiding underneath the kitchen sink. Well, here is Abe emptying out my cupboards. I guess it runs in the family! Ok, Amelia and Eli would also hide in the tiniest cupboard in Japan too. It was small in the front but then opened up to the side and back. They both fit in there together and I think we had one other small child in there at some point. It reminded me of "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe". Their own little magical place.

Amelia's Soccer Game

She's the cutest little soccer star ever! I get to sew these patches on every time she makes a goal, my fingers are starting to hurt! What a beautiful wonderful little girl I've been blessed with!

Storm Damage

Here are a few pictures of the storm damage. We continue to have floods that have closed down our major freeways and have made life more challenging!