Watch your Words

The kids had fun dressing up in our costumes and even put on a show for us.

Do you recognize Noah in here with the long blonde hair?

No, not Emilee to the left, but Noah on the back right.

 

We had our Family Home Evening lesson.

The kids actually enjoyed it.

I gave them each a tube of toothpaste and told them to draw a picture with it and use all the toothpaste.

They were creative with it and had lots of fun. 

Even Daddy joined in on the fun. 

After their pictures were done, I told them to put all the toothpaste back in the tube.

That got messy and gooey.

It was rather difficult to get any toothpaste back in. 

I related this to our words we speak.

Just like the toothpaste is hard to put back in the tube once it's out, so is it hard to take back the words we say.

I read some quotes from Jeffrey Holland's 2007 Conference talk: "The Tongue of Angels".

 

Thanks Tina for the great idea.

Funeral for Dawn

Today we celebrated the life of someone very special.

Dawn!

Dawn had a giving heart.

She loved children and animals.

She was diagnosed with Down Syndrome at age 3 and the doctors only expected her to live until age 21.

She lived until she was 51.

 

My brother met Dawn and they became fast friends.

They helped each other through their disabilities.

The doctor believed Dawn died of heart failure. 

Dawn loved my brother and they have been married now 7 months.

She has an infectious smile and a gentle spirit that was always willing to give to all.

She will live on in Spirit and be remembered.

 

Our family was all places today.

My mom, sister, and I sang "I Need Thee Every Hour" for the funeral.

 

Joyanne participated in a parade with her cousin in Pleasant View.

 

Daddy had a yard sale and sold a lot of our stuff.

Then he took the kids swimming and to KFC.

 

What a treat!

48 Years

Happy 48th Anniversary to my parents.

48 years is a long time to be married and to stay married.

I'm glad my parents have stayed together through the thick and the thin.

My parents are great examples of commitment and love.

 

We celebrated Alyssa's birthday.

She and her family are friends of ours.

The kids liked playing at the park with her, eating pizza and cupcakes, and watching her open her presents.

 

We spent a lot of yesterday and today preparing for tomorrow's yard sale.

I wish I could be there to help, but Daddy is running the Yard Sale by himself with help from the kids, while I attend my sister-in-law's funeral.

I hope we get a good turnout.

We have some pretty good stuff!

Scout Hike and Pack Meeting

I took the Bear and Wolf cubscouts up to McKonkie's Ranch.

We hiked up and looked at the Petroglyphs.

Daddy-O was quite the trooper to come along.

After working until 1am this morning, then getting called out again at 2am and not getting to bed until 5:30a.m., he was such a great help to come along.

 

The boys had fun.

 

Tonight we had our Pack Meeting and it was great to be all together once again.

 

Scouting is awesome!

I love how it teaches boys good characteristics like honesty, courage, and respect.

There are fun activities that help the boys learn and improve their skills.

Grateful

I have so much to be grateful for.

I'm grateful for the hot, sticky, kinda day where your clothes cling to you and you feel like you could shower every 5 minutes.

I loved seeing my little boys playing in our little pool and running through the sprinklers on this hot day.

 

I'm thankful that Grandpa Bills is improving.

Grandma said: "Grandpa had his first experience "receiving blood" today. It went well; his wound site looks good; still quite swollen and they took the IV out so that should help. His spirits have lifted and your prayers are beginning to have an effect on elimination. He got real food for dinner...."

 

I'm so happy, after many months of waiting, that our transfer did come through and that in less than 2 months we get to move closer to both sets of family.

 

I'm thankful that even though Noah was sick yesterday with fevering and a sore throat with yucky white spots on his inflamed tonsils, that some home remedies DO work.

He has been gargling salt water 4 times daily, having "Throat Coat" herbal tea, and drinking lots of water.

Today the tonsils weren't as swollen and the white spots have disappeared. Yay!!!

 

I'm grateful it was my Mom and oldest brother's birthday today and that I was able to call and talk with my mom.

 

I am very sad at the passing of my sister-in-law, Dawn.

I wish I could've gotten to know her better.

She has been married to my brother for 7 months.

I am thankful for the time I did get to talk with her.

I'm happy she is free of her Down Syndrome and in a happier place.

I'm grateful for how death often draws family closer together and helps us appreciate each other more.

I'm grateful for faith, hope, peace and the Plan of Salvation.

 

And, last, but not least, I'm grateful I was able to exercise my right to vote today. ;)

 

HAPPY DAYS!!!


Update on Grandpa

Grandpa Bills is in the hospital pale, tired and a little swollen.

It has been a tiring day for both he and Grandma.

We hope they get some decent sleep tonight.

We are hoping everything inside and outside Grandpa will continue to recover.

He's not out of the woods yet, but with blessings and prayer, we hope he will get to come home soon.

We love you Grandpa and Grandma!

Mourning

In Matthew 5:4 it reads "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted."

I need some comfort.

While at the movie "Maleficent" with my 4 oldest kids, my Dad texted me that Paul, my brother's wife, passed away yesterday at midday.

The police came, investigated, and finding no evidence to the contrary, they declared she died of natural causes.

I was not close to Dawn, but I did get to talk with her a little at Ann's funeral.

She will be missed!

 

We went to the Dinosaur Museum for our last time.

Our State Parks Pass expires at the end of this month, so we had one last visit as a family.

 

Grant sure loves his light saber and walked around wacking everyone this afternoon.

 

We just received a phone call saying, Grandpa Bills, was back in surgery because he is hemorrhaging.

Early today they were saying they might actually get to go home tomorrow.

I guess it's not to be.

 

Praying, praying, and ever praying!

I know the Lord is in all of this and ever mindful of what is going on.

Through all the hard times, we can turn to the Savior and know that HE knows all, and we can look forward to the HAPPY DAYS to come.

Red Fleet Paddle Fest

We had a blast at the Red Fleet Paddle Fest.

We were able to paddle board, canoe, kayak and raft for free.

It was a great family day for all of us.

 

 



Silly, Fun Day

This is what happens when I ask Joyanne to do her brothers hair.

 

At the library summer activity the kids had fun using their imagination and building with Legos.

At the park, Grant climbed us the chains and said, "Take my picture!"

Hiram posed nicely too.

 

We are enjoying our summer visiting the library and playing at the park.

I even was able to sort through some clothes and get more ready for our yard sale coming up next weekend.

 

Sorting in Progress

Daddy and I sorted through our entire shed and got lots of stuff ready for a yard sale for next Saturday.

It's nice to be getting rid of so much stuff.

 

The kids begged us to go on a date.

We went and played pool, with Daddy scoring well, of course.

Then the kids begged us home.

We haven't been on a date in a long time.

The kids had a hard time and started fighting.

Luckily we set everything straight when we got home.

 

Now I'm ready for another day of sorting, cleaning, and organizing for our great move in August.

Praying for Grandpa

We enjoyed our vacation, but it was nice to be in our own home as well.

I'm worried for Grandpa who's had some complications.

Grandma explained it best:

"Grandpa has had a couple difficult days filling up with lots of air in the abdomen. He started vomiting after a tiny lunch and tummy tight as a drum. No output except vomit. Dr ordered another cat scan. It showed he has an illeus which means part of his bowel has stopped working at all. To expel some of the air they ran an NG tube down his nose to stomach. He has released copious amounts of air and now the stomach is emptying all it's contents. Lots of stuff. His tummy is way down on left side but more swollen on the right. Amazing the difference when air is out. He's now watching a show and visiting with Joey. He is off all things by mouth. Waiting to see how things go."

We are fervently praying for his recovery.

 

Daddy went out and bought "The Lego Movie".

The kids enjoyed it.

Joyanne brought donuts from Young Women's for the family.

Boy, oh, boy did those kids get rowdy after.

They were wilding dancing about to the end credits of the movie. :)



Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Fathers Day to a one-of-a-kind Dad!

He is the man of my dreams and the best dad for our kids.

Daddy had fun cooking US breakfast this morning.

Pancakes, bacon and eggs were the breakfast delight.

When I offered to cook, he said he wanted to.

We loved visiting our ward in Grant, Idaho.

If you want to experience a piece of heaven on earth, that is the place to live and go to church.

It is such a great community and we REALLY miss the great people who live there. 

With Grandpa in the hospital still, we had a barbecue at the neighboring park next to the hospital.

I don't like my kids playing at the park on Sunday, but they weren't too rowdy and remembered it was the Sabbath day.

They mostly played on the swings and LOVED having their Uncle Joey push them so high on the swings. 

When Uncle Joey would walk away from the swings, the kids would chant "Joey, Joey, Joey!!!"

Fathers Day was special this year as we were able to celebrate with Daddy's family and go see Grandpa recovering so well in the hospital. 

 

Fathers have a wonderful influence on their kids and this dad tops them all.

I truly love this man of mine and feel sooooooo blessed to be his eternal companion. 

 

My own dad has given me wonderful advice that has helped me in life.

I never realized how much I am like him.

I love my dad and so appreciate his support for me and my family.

 

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!

to all the dad's out there, including our Father in Heaven. :)

Cute Girls and Home to Sell

Aunt Jamie was patient and nice to braid Joyanne and her cousin, Marissa's hair.

They looked so beautiful all day. 

They have had fun playing, acting and pretending together. 

 

We have loved visiting with friends from our old neighborhood.

 

We walked through our old home with renters who live there.

It's hard to see someone else living in the home we built and lived in for 6 years.

We have decided with the raise in taxes on our home, to sell it.

We hope it will sell this summer.

Work, Splash Fun, Recovery

Daddy helped his brother build some steps for Grandpa's renters.

These 2 boys do good, hard work.

I'm so grateful they can help out where needed.

We loved going to the Rexburg Splash Park.

It's nice to get wet on a warm day.

Jaden dried off nicely after getting soaked.

Aunt Jeni enjoys getting right in there with the kids and chasing them around. 

James got cold in the breeze, but he still had fun! 

Noah was everywhere, enjoying everything. 

Sweet Joyanne even soaked herself and remembered fun times here from years passed. 

Hiram saunters along, soaking in every moment. ;) 

Cousin Jason, on the right, coasted down the slide time after time. 

 

An outing a day, is my philosophy for my kids.

We have had a fun time with great activities to remind us of how much fun Idaho is, and how much we miss it.

 

We visited with cherished neighbors and friends we used to live by.

 

The best news of the day was to see how well Grandpa was doing today.

Daddy was able to spend the morning at the hospital visiting Grandpa.

He could get up and walk and has little pain.

We hope his recovery continues well.