It's Great to be Eight!

It's official! Kyler F. Stevens is the newest member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Saints! On February 5th, Kyler was baptized and confirmed with the Holy Ghost.

As a mother, I am beginning to recognize that nothing makes a parent happier than seeing their children make righteous choices that you know will bring them peace and joy throughout their life. As Kyler was confirmed, my heart was so full--knowing that he was receiving the greatest of all gifts.

I am so proud of Kyler's choice to be baptized, but also for the choices he makes each and every day. From the time he was a baby, I knew that Kyler had a uniquely kind, sensitive, and obedient Spirit. Kyler doesn't draw a lot of attention to himself, but those who know him well understand that he simply radiates "goodness". My neighbor told me that when she sends her own son off to school, she says, "Remember to be like Kyler." Kyler's Kindergarten teacher described him as a "quiet leader"--one that leads by example.

Friends and family gathered together to celebrate Kyler! We felt very blessed with all of their love and support.

An eighth birthday wouldn't be complete without a birthday bash! We had a sports themed party with 14 boys!! (That right, I said 14!!) I can accurately describe the 90 minute party in one word: LOUD! I tried my best to wear out this gang of boys with relay races, but I think the only worn out and horse-voiced person was me. Yes, you can mail me my Mother of the Year award any time...
I am happy to report that the only damage that the house sustained was one torn off door knob.

And so it begins... along with the eighth birthday comes... this!

Yes, the whole Scouting thing terrifies me, but it's hard to not catch the Scouting fever with such an excited little boy! At Kyler's first Scout meeting, he received his Bobcat patch!! He (okay we) also made this awesome cake for the Wild West themed Blue and Gold Banquet.
"On my honor, I will do my best to be a good Scouting Mom. To do my duty to sew on patches, and learn all sorts of things that scare the daylights out of me--like camping, and all other dirt-related activities."

Happy Birthday Kyler!

Angry Birds

A Mom's Lament

This is not a cute little update full of pictures. Sorry. It's just my thoughts. Just a warning in case you want to stop reading now. (I hate forcing my thoughts and emails on people... which is actually ironic as this post is about self consciousness.)

I feel a little pang in my heart every time I drop my kids off at school. I can literally see them morph the second they leave the car and set foot on the school ground pavement. It usually happens sometime between second and third grade. Your carefree child who can make friends with anyone and has enough confidence to conquer anything... just changes. Every aspect of their life is suddenly overshadowed by the need to be accepted. The need for their peer's approval. The need to be "cool."

It happens to all of us, but it's a sad day nonetheless. I remember not wanting to wear a coat during the winter--because I felt "un-cool" in it. I remember pretending to find things funny in Junior High which were not. I remember trying to not act "too smart" in certain classes. I remember it all so clearly--which makes me want to save my kids from this curse even more! Some days, I want to grab my kids by the collar and shout:

"Why do you smile differently at school?"

"Why do you hesitate to blow a kiss back to me as you leave the car?"

"Why do you pretend to not be excited when you score a point?"

"Why are you pretending to be someone else?"

Why am I asking "Why?" I remember. I know why. It just still hurts to watch.

The funny thing about all of this is that there are a few people out there who truly don't care what others think of them. (Not many. Really, just a few!) Do you remember that person from high school? You know... the person who wasn't afraid to make a fool of themselves in a pep assembly. The person who could wear anything and get away with it because they didn't care.

They. Were. So. Cool.

How do we show our children this? How do we save them from the agony of caring so deeply about things that will never really matter?

December Rewind

December is here and gone! Playing, performing, working, hurrying, eating... we did it all! For me, it always goes too fast. With all of the hustle and bustle, I never feel like I have enough time to truly "soak in" the magic of December like I did as a kid... but with that said... we did accomplish loads of Christmas fun!! Here are just a few snipets of the "Most Wonderful Time of the Year" for the Stevens family!

Ash's first venture in the snow. It lasted as long as it took to take this picture!

We had some huge snow storms! This particular blizzard left a 5 foot drift in our backyard.

Ky's snow coffin.

Kenna and Ky ditched Dad for the day at Targhee to ski on their own! Yessss! Skiing success!

Our annual Gingerbread House party with the Ferney family!

Carson! I saw that! Pass it over. I want some!

The Angry Bird Gingerbread House by Tyson and Justin. They were so proud of themselves. They took about 50 pictures of their work!

Our delicious masterpieces.

Our subdivision does the funniest tradition. This Santa travels from home to home during December. You get to have him for one night before leaving him at someone else's door. We didn't get him last year, so the kids were super excited when the doorbell rang at 10 p.m. only to find Santa staring at them! The kids were obsessed with him. This is me catching McKenna cuddling with him and singing "Silver Bells."

We got to perform for the Choralaires annual Christmas concert. McKenna played the part of Mary, Jaden played Joseph, and Ky and I were shepherds.

One of our favorite traditions: The Kindness Manger. Every time we do a secret kind act, we give and receive a chocolate and then place the wrapper in our manger to make a soft bed for baby Jesus. This was Justin's message left for me in the chocolate jar.

Carson made my bed for me! (Note the chocolate left on the bedspread.) Yes... a little lumpy, but quite an accomplishment considering that the bed is taller than him!

For years, my Dad has directed Pocatello's Annual Messiah Sing-in. It started as a Stake event and has grown into a city-wide, multi-faith event--complete with a full orchestra, professional soloist, and three conductors. McKenna and Ky sang--or should I say giggled and stumbled-- their way through the entire oratorio! We are so proud of Grandpa!

My December piano recital.

Carson putting on quite a show at his Preschool Christmas performance at an Assisted Living Center. I think he got the performance gene.

Matching Christmas 'jammies on Christmas Eve.

Acting out the Nativity at Grandma Stevens' Christmas Eve Pajama Party.

...just after Santa's visit!

Marveling at the evidence of Santa's existence. He really eats and drinks the cookies and milk!

I made lots of Heritage Makers gifts this year... always the best gifts of all because they're from the heart! I made each of the kids a personalized calendar.

I just had to include these photos because they were so funny. You can see the kids were hoping that these small, rectangular boxes were...

Is it really?

YESSSSS! D.S.'s for everyone!

Merry Christmas 2010!

Opinionated Kids

I've had a nice needed blog break, but tonight's dinner conversation with my kids made me giggle, so I thought I'd share it with my blog readers... all four of them! As I was making dinner tonight, I was obnoxiously belting out Katy Perry's song, "Firework" (a frequently played radio tune right now.)

McKenna interrupts me and says, "Mom! You shouldn't sing that song! Katy Perry is bad! She has blue hair!"

I say, "Katy Perry does have some bad songs... but I don't think that "Firework" is a bad song..."

Kenna and I continued to argue over the "badness" of this song until we were suddenly interrupted by another child--Carson. Apparently, he was involved in this too.

In all of his four year old wisdom, he too chastised me, saying: "Mom! That is a bad song! A baby could get a firework, and it could go off in their hand!"

Thank goodness my kids are keeping me on the 'Straight and Narrow!' No more singing bad songs for me!

30 Days of Thanks #30

Whew! I made it to gratitude post #30... and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't grateful about that! However, this process has been an interesting experience. Here are a few things that I've learned about gratitude:

#1) Gratitude is like prayer. Sometimes you don't feel like praying, but you do it anyway--and by the time you're done, you feel prayerful. Making my gratitude list worked the same way. There were many, many nights when I wasn't feeling very grateful... or just not in the mood to be creative... but by the time I was done writing about my blessings, my Spirit was lifted--every time.

#2) Heavenly Father has commanded us to be grateful because He loves us. I have a fervent testimony that each of the commandments are for our safety, our protection, and happiness. At first, the commandments may seem restrictive, but when lived, you realize that they are evidence of God's love for you. Gratitude is the same. Gratitude blesses our lives with contentment and joy...

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." ~ Melody Beattie

#3) Gratitude makes us more aware of God's love. When I started this project, I began to feel that I was being blessed for it... but then I realized that the blessings had always been there. I was just more aware of them.

#4) "Pondering" allows the Spirit to communicate. Every day of this past month, I was mindful all day long about gratitude. Because of this, I feel like the Spirit helped ideas to come and the writing to flow.

#5) Expressing gratitude is important. I think most of us FEEL love and gratitude for others all the time, but don't always express it. President Monson describes this as wrapping and present, but not giving it. I'm thankful that this project encouraged me to publicly write my gratitude for my parents, in-laws, siblings, children, spouse, friends, and teachers. It was often hard to put such big feelings into words... but it felt good to do it.

Tonight, for my very last post...

I am grateful for this lesson in Gratitude!

30 Days of Thanks #29

I have a picture of Justin and I standing in front of the temple on our wedding day in my room. It's been there since we moved in this house, but Carson noticed it for the first time the other day. He gasped and said, "Mom! That's the temple! I love the temple. I want to go there someday!" That made me giggle... but also filled my heart with all the happiness it could hold. There's nothing I want more in my life than for each of my children to be sealed in the temple. Eternity will only be wonderful if I can be with the ones I love most.

I am thankful for the sealing power of temple covenants.

At the last General Relief Society Meeting, Silvia Allred, first counselor in the presidency, told a story that I couldn't stop thinking about throughout the entire meeting. She told of a family from Mistolar Paraguay who wanted to be sealed in the temple, but the closest temple was 27 hours away in Buenos Aires. In the middle of very cold winter, they made the trip with their two small children. With much sacrifice, they made it there and were sealed for time and all eternity. On the way home, however, both children got sick and died. They buried them along the way and returned home with nothing. Though they were heartbroken, they said of their experience, "Our children were sealed to us in the house of the Lord. We know we will have them back with us for all eternity. This knowledge has given us peace and comfort. We have to remain worthy and faithful to the covenants we made in the temple, and then we will be reunited with them." Amazing faith. It's these experiences that remind us what life is truly about: living to return to our Heavenly Father. Nothing else matters.

This story also reminded me of how blessed I am to have always lived close to a temple. The peace that the temple brings is just minutes away... and yet I'm guilty of not taking advantage of these blessing as much as I should. I'm committing today to do better.

"Let us truly be a temple-attending and temple-loving people... Let us make the temple, with temple worship and temple covenants and temple marriage, our ultimate earthly goal and the supreme mortal experience." - Howard W. Hunter