Too busy to get close to Christ...day 6

Wow! I had a seriously packed day to day.

I feel guilt over it all the time. Being so busy. Packing my life so full that I have no time for solitude and for time to mediate. (Which is really really really difficult for me to do anyway) But I just worry that someday I will be accountable for being so busy and not having time for the important things. The REALLY important things.

How do you raise six kids and give them each a chance to do one activity, hold a church calling, get asked to speak on Sunday, make two home made Christmas presents, volunteer at school, visit teach, keep house, make meals, which are all important things...without making your self too busy.

I don't know. I am doing the best I can. I hope it is enough.

Closer to Christ Day 5

Alrighty then.

That was completely one hundred percent unsuccessful.

Tonight I followed this idea. It was a great idea. But sometimes the people in my family are stinkerish. And I don't think we can do this with the two littlest kids. They just wont shush up and I can't ever talk without completely having to stop every. two. seconds. to correct them.

Ugh, Ugh and Ugh.

So we tried to discuss how I had a secret person and I wanted them to guess who it was. He could see if we are naughty or nice, he gives us very special gits, he dresses in red or white...etc... Just some really interesting things that make you instantly think of Santa.

But the secret person was Jesus.

I thought it was very interesting....It was a good idea. I don't know. I guess you win some and lose some. I just want the Spirit here so much but it is hard because kids are kids....and they fight. And they get up a million times when you are talking. And you are yelling at them. That sort of takes away from the goodness of the lesson.

ANYHOO!!!! SUPER HUGE THANK YOU to the secret Santa who left goodies on our porch. We feel the love!!!!! Honest, thanks!

Closer to Christ Day 4

Today I taught the kids about when Christ was crucified and died. If you read it in the Bible and really think about it and picture how Jesus was with his friends and just really put yourself into the whole story, it is astounding. Sometimes it is easy to just think of it as something that happened without really, really thinking of it as something that really happened. And the interesting details before the Crucifixion.

Once I saw a one man show by Bruce Newbold on the last day of Christ. It was super interesting.



In our church Hymn book there is a song entitled "There is a Green Hill Far Away". I wanted to find it sung on You Tube to share with the kids as music and bring the Spirit to things so very much.



I must be living in a cave. I had no idea this song was sung outside of our religion and I had no idea it has so many different tunes then the one I am use to hearing. Tunes that are familiar to me from something a but I can't figure out what.

Here is one version I just really liked....


http://youtu.be/3mUrbhy3YPg


Here is the way it is sung in our church....



http://youtu.be/poWFdcUTOe0



and here was the version I shared with the kids....



http://youtu.be/JYEiS18MH8A

It was good. Then we colored a picture that showed a little road and path the the Garden of Gethsemane.

I hope you all don't get sick of reading what we did. I just have people ask me sometimes.

Won't somebody please "follow" me....I get tired of being stuck at 39 every. day. Just someone please make it an even 40. It bugs me.

Closer to Christ Day 2 and Day 3

Holy Schmoly! Did we have a project on our hands! I mean how hard is it to cut out some sheep and lions, color glitter and glue! If it was just the big kids I was working with, no sweat, but add in the little two lovelies and we had a major event going on at the kitchen table.

Kate and Bo LOVE projects of course. They had a blast. The big kids enjoyed it and actually learned something I hope.

We discussed the things that we believe would happen when Christ comes to the earth again. (Do other religions believe the same things in this regard as to the LDS religion? I don't know. Please share if want! The following is what we, as an LDS family, believe about the coming of Christ.)

1,000 YEARS of peace (Wahoo!!!) which will include...

The lion and the lamb will be able to lie down together!

and...

Rhett told me he was excited for Christ to come now! Success!

Nathan wondered if we weren't going to eat animals anymore what would happen to the beef jerky in our fridge.

Kassidy was disappointed that we wouldn't be able to watch anything less than wholesome on TV anymore. (If we can watch TV.) Oh....I hope so. The Middle is just too dang funny!

A few things I forgot to mention on previous posts....

Turns out...Policeman have lots of writing to do. REPORTS people! For every ticket or encounter with a law breaker! That must be why I have been let go free, without getting tickets for my lead foot, 4 times!!!! I have reformed lately though. I guess Rhett will have to stay in school.

My dad told me that he thinks what Bo did with the Nativity was the smartest thing he has EVER seen done with a Nativity. And that is coming from my dad who is a non certified certified genius! Way to go Bo!

Remember when I said my dad was very handy... but I also said he thinks I am a pain? Well, here is why... I stepped on Kate's doll house table and broke a leg off. It is a very important table because it is the ONLY table that the babies booster seats can slide into. And of course it is only sold with the doll house.

I tried to glue the leg back on with gorilla glue (my dad's arch enemy) but it didn't work. I chucked the broken leg.

Then I decided my dad could fix it. He grumbled at me and chastized me for throwing away the leg and then grumbled some more. And pretended he wasn't going to fix it. But I saw it. Oh yes I did! Sitting there on his work bench. Awaiting a fixing.

And later, this masterpeice!

He told me he was going to carve it so it would match the other leg but then his senses took over. Lol.

It's perfect. And Kate was so happy. "Now I can play with my doll house!" Yeah. Because that one little broken table was stopping you from playing with the whole doll house. Funny girl.

Today when Nathan was passing the sacrament it was very quiet. Nathan just so happened to be passing to us. Kate said...."Hi Nathan. Nathan's a good kid. He's our kid." She is so funny.

Today I decided I would have personal interviews with the kids. I decided to just ask them each a few questions about life and how they were doing and if they were praying and reading their scriptures.

And I gave them some warnings about safe usage of the Internet and YouTube and asked about how they thought I was doing as a mom. It was such a sweet little moment with each of them. We started with a prayer and it was so nice. They, of course, having never done this before, were totally embarrassed and thought it was completely WEIRD! But it was sweet. I am going to do it one time a month. I remember as a kid my dad doing this with us. I remember sitting on my parents bed for my interview. Love it.

Also here is a picture of Bo's beautiful collage. Remember I said he had so much fun with it?

Good, huh?!

And just so you know life is real here (I'm big on showing that) here is what sassy teenager did during our Closer to Christ activity.)

Dear Santa, I am ready for my new tools......

Today, I don't know what got into me but I decided to clean the atrocious garage. The mess is mainly my fault but I blame it on Corey for not giving me enough room to be organized.

I don't know why we do it, but Corey and I fight over the garage. It is silly and stupid but we fight over whose junk might be edging over to the wrong side of the shelf. We fight about how much junk the other person has. We fight about why I have the least amount of space. Because I DO and he KNOWS it's true. (You know it's true, Corey)

The majority of his crap is camping and the majority of my crap is family oriented. Holiday decorations, memorabilia, hand me downs to grow into .

With no room for a storage room inside our home, and with a large family, our garage has never stood a chance of seeing a car inside of it. When I need to get a tub out for something, I have to move a bunch of other tubs, and then when I have to put stuff away I can't get back to that tub. So I just toss it on my pile of junk that is always growing there because.....I don't have as much space as Corey.... He knows its true. (You know it's true)

It has been a chronic problem. I clean it several times a year. For some reason this time I think I solved the mess problem. I built a wall of tubs. I can get to them all without having to rearrange a million of them and it also is serving to give me a little...

wait for it...

WORK ROOM!!!!!

Or I should say work section! I have my OWN work table now. (This is my side of the shelves and sort of my side of the garage. (Corey built shelving that could survive a tornado.)

I have huge dreams of being able to build wood things and now I have room to maybe finish that oven for Kate that I started a year ago. (or was it more?)

Also....I have hinted at it before but who can guess what this old crib is going to be????? If you can't guess you'll just have to wait.

And see this little gem I found at the thrift store? It is part of the project. And it isn't going to be Christmassy.

Because I have had no space, I have several projects living at my dads this past month. I am making some elaborate Christmas projects. I REALLY love to do work with my dad. He is brilliant in so many ways including building stuff. He thinks I am a pain because he has to help me but I love to be with him. It is also nice because he can't stop himself from working on the projects while I am gone. So each time I go back over he has done more.

Please enjoy this picture of me stablalizing him while he climbs on a ladder propped against the wall to look for some wood. He told me to push on him to keep him from falling my way. We are kinda lazy that way. You know, unfolding the ladder is a lot of trouble.

My dad has every saved piece of wood or bolt or hinge you could ever need and I will be able to make my elaborate projects for virtually free. Thanks to a SECOND free crib I received. What is it with cribs!

You will have to wait for pictures of these projects lest little people see their present.

I have actually been quite disappointed however, at my wood working ability. I have great desire and thought I could just whip this Christmas project out. Not happening. My dad is having to babysit me through the whole thing!

Sometimes he will give ma a pity hole to drill but other than that, I am in over my head. Hurts myself esteem. I thought I would be good! He keeps saying..."How did you think you were supposed to learn all this stuff, never doing it before?" Basically trying to let me know that it was okay to not know it and that I was being taught.

Anyways, Now I have my work space and I need some tools! Of my own! I have a thing about that. I appreciate Corey sharing with me all this time, but I really want my OWN. And trust me!!!! Corey wants me to have my own also. As we often fight about me not putting his tools away.

Also I used his tool box as a table and I sawed on it. And I sawed about two inches into his plastic tool box. Shhhh! He hasn't noticed yet and this post was way to wordy for him to get through. So don't tell!

Bad boys Bad boys whatcha going to do whatcha going to do when they come for you! (theme song from Cops)

It was an exciting day for us a few months ago! In trying to help Rhett get his "Bear" for cub scouts we were able to go have a tour of the police station.

AND WE GOT TO SIT IN A REAL LIFE HOLDING CELL!!!!!!!!

From a girl who loves the show "Cops", it was a thrill!

See the chain? Where one would be handcuffed and everything? The boys were pretending to be handcuffed, too bad the two of them couldn't get their acts together to look good in the same picture! :)

I was totally grossed out at all the germs that just might be in there from the criminals but that didn't stop me from getting a picture of my boy posing in the room. Will you all pray with me that that will be his only time there!

Also, the boys got to sit in the interrogation room. I commented how I maybe wouldn't want to sit that close to the interrogatee. There are top secret camera everywhere and the boys got to check all those out as well.
They were in a bit of heaven.

SO the cop that gave us a tour seriously had a New York accent. It was the perfect atmosphere. He gave a most thorough tour also. It was great.

He taught the boys how to grip their hands so they can't get away...

He let us check out all the details of his cop car...

and he showed us the awesome .....I want to call it the criminology room....room where they have all the finger prints in the world (ya think?) and then they showed us on the computer a finger print that they had found on a burglary and they found it matched a finger print in the computer which led them to the name of the criminal! AMAZINGLY cool! I could have a job like that!

So there was one really sad part of the tour. I know the police officer was just trying to help encourage the boys about how important education was but it was a pretty painful moment.

You see, for years and years Rhett has wanted to be a snow plow driver or a police man. (Bo wants to be an ice cream truck driver! Ha ha)

I think a police man is a noble profession and although I would be a worried mother I would also be proud. Also, I assume since policemen are out saving the world they are not spending a lot of time reading and that might be a good fit for my boy.

So this sweet "old timer" police man says to Rhett and his friend....

"If you want to be a policeman you have to learn to read and write".... *crickets*

"Really, reading and writing is a must. You have to stay in school and learn to read and write!" *chirp chirp*

"Reading and writing is very important if you want to be a police man." *chirp*

"Reading...." AAHHHAAAAAHHH! Enough already!!!!! You are destroying the dreams of my little boy with every "read and write" you say!!!!!

So later Rhett and I discussed it. And I explained the situation to him. Yes. A policeman need to read and write but what that policeman was really saying was to stay in school and learn.

Rhett admitted that when he said that it hurt and discouraged him a little. That was one of the first times he has expressed a little sadness about his dyslexia.

I assured him that he will for sure be able to read and write enough to be a police man and he needn't worry about it anymore.

Then I out him in a choke hold so he could practice being a police man caught by a bad guy. Boo. That didn't really happen. But it should have. That would have been right up Rhett's alley. He is a VERY physical boy!

I love him. He's a darlin'. I hope he behaves as a teen. It is just so scary that my heart has to walk around attached to them and being subject to pain with their EVERY decision!

Bo has the right idea!

I admit I was a little annoyed when I had just set up the Nativities and I see Bo rearranging them. Normally, I have more patience but so much of my work gets undone every two seconds and sometimes it is frustrating. But then when I stopped to think about it I realized that really all Nativities should be set up just like Bo set up this one. Every piece circled around the Savior. He, at the center, just like He should be in our lives.

Today was Day 1 of our learning about Jesus. Any long time followers of my blog will probably remember the year I made it a goal to focus and teach the kids of Christ everyday. That is what we are going to do again. I blog it, not to be annoying, but just because it is my blog and I can if I want to. Ha ha. No, I blog it so I can remember it happened. I blog most everything for me, so I can remember it.

Justine chose the name of our theme this year. "Closer to Christ". How wonderful is that?

We spent a bit making collages on two pieces of card stock to fit in the front and back of binders. The pictures were all of Christ. I didn't take a picture but I am telling you...Bo's collage was AWESOME! I'll post it tomorrow. He is the collage king. He worked on it for over an hour. He really enjoyed it.

Also...my kids really need to get out more. They went nuts over double stick tape! They never knew it existed before.

I'll tell you more later about what we are going to put in the binders...

Night!

P.S. I bought an electric blanket. Can we say H.E.A.V.E.N? Yeah. Who knew? Our room is always freezing. But now I am so warm and toasty. You should go buy one.