Yet another Halloween

Who ever came up with this holiday anyway? It's origin dates back to the 1500's. This is not my favorite but the kids seem to love dressing up, pretending they are someone else, knocking on doors in the dark begging for treats, then coming home and consuming all of them, waking up with a hangover and complaining of a massive headache. Sound fun to me aye? I'm one of these mom's who lets my kids eat till their hearts content if they promise not to bother me if they get sick. I would rather get it over with then drag the sugar on for days. I find it doesn't take long for them to get sick of it all. Aren't they cute though?

Jacob switched mid-week to being a King where he was honored and hailed than to being a savage and hunted.

Benson's jack-o-lantern

Joshua, Jacob's and mine. I did the easy way out. I plugged mine in.

The sorting process. Joshua got all of Jacob's chocolate.

The next day hangover. We all enjoyed some rays of sunshine on the trampoline

That was the best part.

Giggles & Goggles

Tonight I took Benson up to Salt Lake for a Savior of the World practice. Stan decided to be a fun dad as he is so often and take the boys swimming. They both took swimming lessons this past summer and got pretty good. They are both jumping off the diving board and swimming in the deep end. You know how your eyes get after going under water a million times- red, itchy and burning from all the chlorine. So Stan decided to made two little boys very happy and buy them some goggles at the Rec Center. Jacob wouldn't take his off (even if the protective sticker was still on). He thought he was pretty cool. When they came home this is what we found. We were cracking up laughing when we saw Jacob. Fast asleep from all that swimming. Does that look comfortable? I bet they both sleep well tonight.

Isn't life about balance? I had a delightful conversation with a friend today about balance. It all started when I was listening to a talk tape about alkalinity and acidity in our bodies. The perfect balance 7.36. One being total acid and 14 being total alkaline. Life really is a balancing act. Not being to obsessive about your personal interests like: exercising for hours on end and neglecting your children, taking a personal hobby to an extreme where that's all you do and you don't do anything else, eating fanatically where you push people away. There are many others like:

• Clean House=Nagging Mom vs. Messy House=Chaos
• To schedule oriented vs. Not getting anything done
• Productivity vs. Sleep
• To much studying vs. Applying what you've studied
• Exploring self interest vs. Serving others
• Doing so much for others vs. Forgetting to sharpen your own saw
• Being self-righteous vs. To complacent about spiritual things

This list could go on and on. Life really is a balancing act. I 'm just glad that we have the Holy Ghost to help guide us through this process of good, better, best. I don't think you could error spending too much quality time with your kids and husband. I don't think most of us have this problem. I'm glad Stan took the time out of his busy life to make some little boys happy. Go give your sweetheart and children a big hug & a kiss and tell them how much you appreciate & love them.

Swine Flu Vaccine

This is my baby sister. I love her dearly. I have always looked up to her in so many ways. I used to feel like she was the golden child in our family. You know the kind, she could do know wrong, did everything right. I have since matured and gotten wiser about all the petty stuff that gets in the way of a relationship. She is a remarkable woman, so close to the Spirit in all that she does. Stan and I set her husband John and her up while they were both going to MBA school (Stan & John). They were in the same study group. They are a perfect match for each other. They are the parents of 11 children. When she does anything, she goes all out. Her energy is endless.

She called me tonight and we had such a great conversation (120 minutes). With her it is never a dull moment. You know the saying "Great people talk about ideas, average people talk about things, and small people talk about other people". She is truly a GREAT PERSON. She has done a lot of research and has figured out how to create her own website. It is incredible. This is a person who hardly even knew how to send an e-mail. She has taken all the years of research she has done, practical help to others and knowledge and put it in this website.

http://www.provident-living-today.com/

I was feeling very uneasy about this whole swine flu vaccine. She has a section on her website about this if anyone is interested in learning more. Click on Swine Flu, then the third section on "Should my family be vaccinated against the swine flu?" Watch the video clips. Very interesting. She has lots of other very practical and helpful information in helping us all live providently and being prepared. She definitely practices what she preaches. I love her and appreciate all she does to keep us all informed.

The Restoration & A Memo Pad

Tonight was one of those typical nights when Family Home Evening was happening whether we were prepared or not. I knew Stan had been studying "Preach My Gospel" and wanted to start teaching our boys the lessons it contained. After an ordinary day of simply feeling joy despite anything spectacular happening, I turned to Stan at dinner and asked if he would give the lesson. We started in the usual way; Jacob conducting, song, prayer,article of faith. Stan didn't have any fancy visual aids, object lessons or pictures to teach his lesson (I always warn him against this when it comes to young children). At the last minute he grabbed a yellow memo pad. He told the boys the lesson wouldn't be long but that they needed to listen and not ask any questions until he was done. I have never seen the boys listen so intently to a family home evening lesson. Stan began to sketch out the Plan of Salvation and the Restoration. He explained it in such a beautiful way (not necessarily because of his art work). The boys stood up and circled around him. Immediately the Spirit was in that room. It taught me a great lesson about effective teaching. It is not about the visual aids, or how long you have prepared. When you teach gospel truths with the Spirit and bear testimony of it, the Holy Ghost cannot be restrained from being there. Stan could have been Luke Skywalker teaching them of the force and they wouldn't have listened any better. It was so cool to see. Way to go honey bunny. All of our lessons for awhile will come from that manuel.

We of course topped it off with a rip roaring game of duck duck goose and donuts for our treat. Second lesson: Have family home evening even if your not as prepared as you would like, teach the gospel truth and it will be a great success.

A General Conference Tradition

One of my favorite weekends as come and gone. As long as I can remember General Conference weekend has always been special in our family. My parents have passed it down to me and I hope we have to our children. We make the food we eat traditional. A nice breakfast (waffles with strawberries & whipped cream on Saturday, cinnamon nut muffins, bacon and hashbrowns on Sunday). The last several years we have done Baked Southwest Sandwiches for dinner or lunch.

This is a wonderful time for our family to be together when we feel the Spirit in great abundance. We have a chance to listen to the voice of the Lord through his living prophets. Our children love getting out all their puzzles, crayons, paper & toys and doodle while they listen in their own way. We usually always have some sort of game we play in conjunction with the speakers. Some years it's conference bingo, matching the faces on t.v. with the faces in a book. This year we did a special family home evening the Monday before where we played a game where we placed the 12 apostles and the First Presidency in order of their call ( I got 8x10 pictures at the distribution center). Stan down to Jacob enjoyed being timed as they saw who could do it the fastest.

I took notes as things impressed me. I loved:

1) Richard G. Scott's talk on being led by the Spirit. Stan & I went to the temple the night before and had the same impression. We felt that when the Spirit speaks to us and gives us personal revelation that we need to write it down and act on it.

2)David Bednar's plea for us to be more diligent in our homes to express love & show it, bear testimony & live it, and be consistent ( an area which I have much room for improvement)

3)President Uchtdorf's admonition to walk the talk, " what we love determines what we seek. What we seek determines what we think & do. What we think & do determines who we are and who we will become". Love it , love it, love it. How do you spend your time?

4) President Monson's question"What have you done for someone today?" "Man's greatest happiness comes from losing himself for the good of others". He says sometimes we get caught up in the thick of thin things. We are starting a warm fuzzy jar that we will add to each day as we serve others.

5) And last but not least Elder Holland's stirring testimony of the Book of Mormon. "No wicked man could write such a book as this and no good man would write it unless it was true and he were commanded of God to do so". "Whosoever shall treasureth up my words, shall not be deceived" (Joseph Smith-Matthew 1:37) How strong of a testimony do we have of that great book. Do we read from it's pages each and every day. I know I will be more diligent at it.

All of the talks were magnificent. These are only a few of my favorites. The message I got from it all was to love more and listen to and be guided by the Spirit in my life.

Truly a Spiritual Feast. Now we just need to go and do.

As each speaker would speak Jacob or Joshua would find them in our prophets book or conference issue.

Leah our Kitty enjoyed bitting on Benson's feet during the sessions.

I don't know how this tradition started but it has been around for along time. Stan "fights" with the kids (wrestles). I thought it was because we had a houseful of boys but I remember Brittney & Angela doing it. The only problem is that Stan isn't as young as he use to be. He got hurt this time with this mob of warriors on him. He limbed with a pulled groin muscle for days afterward.

I'm Back

Were you tired of reading the Quasimodo post? I know some of you gave up on me and thought I would never blog again. To be quite honest with you I almost forgot how. I had an great summer with lots of exciting events. I guess I was so busy I didn't take the time to document it. I hope to get caught up so I can send away for that book because many of you know I'm not much of a scrap booker.

This picture belongs on our Fairview 4-wheeling excursion. We were invaded by a herd of sheep on the road. It was interesting watching the sheep dogs and how they watched over their flock.

Hotel Park City:

Stan and I went on an executive get away with his work this last weekend. We stayed in the nicest place up in Park City. Everything about it was perfect. The beautiful fall colors up against the mountains, the service, the food, the room, the company. I realized about my self that I am a nature girl. I would much rather be at the ocean, up in the mountains, or out in the country than in the city any day. Their is something very therapeutic about it.

4-wheeling in Fairview Canyon:

Tuesday we decided to take the kids out of school to enjoy one last day of fall before it snowed in the mountains. The colors we're exquisite. I'm glad we did because today we all woke up to wind, cold and snow in the mountains. Jacob and Joshua drove practically the whole way. Stan and I didn't even have our hands on the handle bars most of the time.



We went to this beautiful place called Potter's Pond. A whole bunch of little islands surrounded by ponds. We got off the 4-wheelers and explored a little. So much fun and relaxing.
Jacob's new friend:

Our little animal lover finally talked his dad (who is a sucker for things like this) into getting him a new little kitty ( our cat of 15 years ran away to die a couple of months ago). A lady I visit teach cat had kittens. They were finally old enough to leave their mother. This is the one Jacob picked out. Can you see the utter joy and amazement in Jacob's face.

We have yet to decide on this little ones name. Jacob will get to decide. These are the names he has come up with ( with Joshua & Stan's help) so far: Ashley Man, Fluffy, Tuffy and many more random sounds that he comes up with that he thinks sound like names. Jacob's little kitty is 7 weeks old. What have we got ourselves into? Like we're not busy enough. What animal lover parents wouldn't do for their children.

Quasimodo

Do you recognize some similiarities in these next several pictures?

Jacob is very allergic to things that bite him.  One morning he woke up with a swollen forehead with a little bite mark in two places.  as the day progressed it got worse and next day was worse than the first.  His eye was swelled shut.  I took him to the doctor but they didn't really do anything besides tell me to give him benadryl.  That night he busted open his head while playing on a neighbors brick fence.  He really looked like a sight.  A week late he got bit again and the same thing happened (swollen head and eye swelled shut the next day).  I am going to really have to be careful with him this summer when we go camping.  I guess some people really  have a reaction with things like that. 

26.2

The 26.2 miles was a victory run for this remarkable woman.  Shawna is one of my dearest friend whom I love & respect.  She decided just a month ago that she wanted to run in the LA Marathon.  Her cousin Ryan invited her to run with him.  She has ran 2 other marathons which normally take 6 months to train for.  Since she has been running for years she decided to jump right in.  It was such an empowering experience for her.  I have never in my life met someone with such determination, perserverance, diligence and the spirit of hard work.  In everything that she does in life she puts her whole heart and soul into it.  She is rock solid in the gospel always wanting to rely on the guidance of he Spirit in her life.  She is both beautiful inside and out.  She has gone through so much but continues to press forward with a steadfast faith in Christ.

This was taken just after she crossed the finish line.  There was a sea of people running their own personal victory.  One man was blind, another without legs (spring prosethics), one woman was 86 years old starting running at age 71, one man ran without shoes.  It was the most emotional experience watching all of these people do something so hard and accomplish what they set out to do. 

Ryan's beautiful family

We stayed at Shawna's cousins house.  They are remarkable people and made me feel like family.

SHE DID IT!

Craft Mission Blog

Hey all!

This is actually Angela. My mom is having fun in California with her friend, Shawna, who is going to run a marathon on Monday!
Well I have given the blog a face-lift with some of the new family pictures that we had another local photographer take (yes, I was the one to pick them since I'm the one who's too picky ;)

And also today I have had fun making a Craft mission blog for Spencer. All of you who know him or would like to read some of the letters or emails he sends, I thought you might like to know. The blog is: craftmissionaries.blogspot.com

There is a link to that blog on the side. Also you can subscribe to his blog and receive emails when that blog is updated. The letters he sends us may be edited to include only the things we think Spencer would be ok to be viewed publically on a blog.

We hope you enjoy that blog too! Here's a picture taken of all of those able to go take Spencer to the MTC (more of these pictures on the mission blog).

Have a great Memorial weekend!

Emotions

Emotions was the best title I could come up with.  I never thought emotions would flow so freely over practically nothing.  My baby boy is going to serve the Lord for 2 whole years.  We truly are giving the Lord one of our finest.  It all started in church yesterday when I realized that was the last time for 2 years that I would sit next to him in Sacrament meeting.  Several people  in church talked to me about Spencer and I couldn't contain my emotions.  He wrote me a very beautiful Mother's Day card that made me cry accompanied by a very thoughtful gift.  Stan said our couple prayer that night and mentioned Spencer and I cried.  I'm crying now just writing this.  I was folding his garments today and cried on them so I had to dry them again.  I love my boy and am very excited for him to have this opportunity.  I called the mission home today to ask some questions about what would be best in regards to a bike for Spencer.  They acted like they already knew Spencer and were excited to see him on June 1st.  That made me feel a lot better.

Tonight we had our last Family Home Evening with Spencer.  We had Grandma & Grandpa Wilding, Grandma Craft, Brittney & Randy, John & Angela over for dinner and FHE.

Belinda Grace will change the most while Spencer is away.  

Stan bought this huge map of the world and is going to hang it up downstairs and put tacks where everyone went on their mission.

He also bought flags representing where each person has been:  

Grandpa Wilding - South Africa

Grandpa & Grandma Wilding -  California & New Zealand

Grandma Craft- California

John Liddle - Venezuela

Randy Henderson - Venezuela

Stan Craft - Canada

Spencer Craft - Colorado

We then talked about Ammon who was a great missionary in the Book of Mormon.  We all went around and gave some missionary advice for Spencer on how to be a great missionary.  We had everyone that had gone on a mission share an experience they had on their mission.  We sang "Called to Serve, Press Forward Saints , God Be With You & of course Do as I'm Doing" .  It was a nice evening that we enjoyed together.  Spencer then promised the little boys that he would sleep out on the trampoline with them.  What an awesome brother.

We started measuring feet and heights to see the changes in 2 years.  This is Benson & Spencer's feet.  They are about the same size.

We have been trying to cram in a bunch of stuff before he leaves.  The next several posts will highlight a few.  We will miss you Bud.