The Foolish Six

Yes the title is in reference to the Parable of the 10 virgins, and yes, we are the foolish six. Let me say this, we have lived in Oklahoma for 9 years and I swear we have said 100 times, we need a tornado shelter, we need to make sure we are ready. Are we.....NO and it was very evident last night.

We went to bed and all was well, peaceful and quiet. At about 1:30 we were awakened to blaring tornado sirens. Chris and I jumped out of bed and looked outside. The sky gets a particular color and look when a storm has circulation and the sky was just that. We mobilized into action and turned on the TV to get a play by play. We were being told that a tornado had formed about 3 miles from our house and had touched down. We began to panic when just as quickly, they said it had gone back up and there was nothing. The sirens stopped but by then all the girls were in our room and it wasn't a pretty sight, the panic was evident. In the past 9 years we have had to get in a tornado shelter 3 times and luckily we had a neighbor who's mother had a huge shelter very close to us so we always felt secure, unfortunately she died 3 months ago so we now realized we had no where to go. All of a sudden our TV went out. We turned on the radio to keep posted and this is what we heard "It looks like we have another tornado touching down" 1 mile from our home...........................then silence, our power went out and it was pitch dark. The girls started screaming and Olivia turned and hit her head on a pillar. It was mayhem. We grabbed all the girls and headed outside.....I know this sounds crazy to go outside but we knew our neighbor had just installed a small shelter under his garage so we were going to our next best option. I just want you to picture this; torrential rain, 50 mph winds, all of us barefoot and running to the neighbors house through mud and water up to our ankles. Ava was clinging to me in absolute terror. We started banging on our neighbors door when we realized they are probably in their shelter and can't hear us. Chris and I are screaming to each other to be heard over the wind. I am telling him we need to get back in the house and get in a closet, he won't give up on getting in the shelter. He starts banging on the garage door and to our relief we are finally heard and they let us in. I really can't imagine what a sight we were at this point, soaking wet, in our pj's, muddy feet and 2 of the 4 girls crying hysterically.

The shelter was a sardine can and we were so squished that it was almost laughable. Ava never raised her head from my chest, she was shaking so hard and I could hear her heart beating. I just held her as tight as I could. After 15 min we got word that it had turned and moved north and east of us. We headed back to the house.

We got the weather radio out when we got home, put all the girls in our bed and Chris and I were up for the next 2 hours listening to it all. There were tornadoes all around us all night but nothing came so close again. When I climbed into bed Ava was still awake and still scared to death. I cuddled close to her and then in the dark I heard her cute little voice....."Mom, does the potato have eyes and big teeth?" "What" I responded "What are you talking about?" "The potato, was it going to eat us?" I started to giggle, "you mean the tornado?" "Oh, yes the tornado" she responded. She doesn't even know what a tornado is and I realized that the whole time she thought we were being chased by, and hiding from, a big scary monster potato. It made me chuckle as I went to sleep.

We went to bed but forgot to reset our clocks and slept in. Wow what a night.

An Old Soul!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Chloe Just a few days old

I am now the mother of a teenager. Chloe turned 13 on March 17th. So here I go with "A Birthday letter from a Mother to her Daughter".

She was a daddy's girl at this age!

Chloe you are now 13. I entitled this post "An Old Soul". You know I have always said that I think in spirit years you are older and wiser than me. That being said, in earth years I am much older and much wiser about life here on earth so I am going to impart to you a few of the most important things about beginning your teen years.

Oh sooo cute!!

First, I cannot stress this enough, do not place major importance in material things. Chloe I want you to think through this carefully, material things never last and are NEVER the source of joy. Material things can be fun, bring brief happiness and they are often good but they are not important. Whether you have the right purse, outfit or car has nothing to do with your success in life. I always think in terms of this; what can I take with me that will be important no matter where I go? If I am in Africa working in an orphanage will my coach handbag or my expensively decorated house mean anything, NO. Spend most of your time and energy on things that can be taken with you to bless the lives of others. These things will be; your talents, your kindness, your faith in Christ, your mind, your strength of character, your integrity, your education. All these things are inside of you and are not based on anything but your hard work and personal journey. You will always be happy if your quest is for these good things.  Fill your life with experiences, not "Things".

These two girls love each other

Never put stock in physical beauty. Are you beautiful? Absolutely! and I love to look at you when you are quietly studying at the table at night and your face and skin seem almost angelic to me. When you were born I believed that you were truly the most beautiful baby I had ever seen but as you get into the teen years you are going to find that so much of the world around you will focus their lives on that. Some of the most beautiful people I know are not physically beautiful. When I was young a 15 year old girl in my town was in an accident and was burned beyond recognition. If physical beauty was of utmost importance then her life would have been of no value at that moment because her face was beyond recognition but she became a strong, amazing, accomplished mother of 5 who is admired by many. It is important to create, surround yourself with, and seek beauty. The earth is beautiful for a reason, I love beautiful things such as music and art. I love beautiful pictures of my children and you will get up everyday, as I do, to make sure you look great as you head off on your day......this is good. Just don't loose sight of how fleeting and meaningless it is in scheme of things. Seek to be better inside than outside.


Laugh, all the time! I haven't been the best example of this lately, I often get feeling stressed as I am maneuvering through the day but your teen years (your whole life for that matter)should be full of laughter. You are good at this and I love it when you and Olivia are laughing so hard you are both crying.

Chloe fishing in the pond behind our house...she has dehooked and done it all by herself since she was 5.
Be ok with yourself when you make mistakes. We all make them and they don't define us, they just help us grow. My greatest progression in life has come after a mistake and self reflection. Don't get down on yourself. The whole plan of salvation was for you to repent, grow and get closer to your vision of yourself.
Have a vision for yourself. I want you to form in your mind a vision of the person you will be in 10, 20, 30 years. What will be the focus of your life? What will you be known for? What is it you want to accomplish? How will you bless the lives of others? You need a road map.......The gospel is the foundation and is the center of this vision but the clearer the vision you have for yourself the closer you will get to becoming that woman. You have read my personal vision board, use that as guide and choose for yourself who you will be and give your all to becoming someone who will accomplish the Lords work. All the talents, abilities and blessings that you have been given are for but one purpose....you know what that is. Solidify that vision.

In any situation look for the lonely person in the room and go to them. I have never been more proud of you than when we were at cotillion and I saw a girl who was all alone. I headed over to you and said "Hey Chlo, do you" You cut me off before I could even make my point and said "I'm on it Mom, I already saw her" and you headed straight over to her. I mean it when I say, soooo proud. I have heard you write and perform music, I have seen you take first place in major tennis tournaments, and I have seen you tackle your fear head on and dive off a 5 and 10 meter platform.  but that moment when I knew you had seen another's need was the most proud that I have been of you. Please keep this philosophy all your life. I am not the best example of this but I am working on it and I want you to "get it" early in life. People are the most important thing. How you treat them, uplift, and love them will define your life, not worldly acclaim. Again, I don't speak about this because I excel at it, I just know it is vital for growth, success and joy.



I am going to stop here, this is no where close to all I want to say but these are some of the things I am feeling right now. I know you say that I am always imparting "fortune cookie" advice and that drives you nuts. You have a Mom that thinks too deep sometimes but I know that I am your mother for a reason. Chloe I love you with all my heart. You are good, wise , spunky and never back down from a good fight and your fight is usually good. I feel honored to have been given the stewardship of raising you and I know we will be dear friends always but right now I am your mother and my whole purpose is to help you reach your potential.........and I'm on it!!

More spring break

I had to add a few more fun pics from spring break!!

Elle and Olivia

Chloe and Ashley

My Hot mountain man!

The three muskateers, Rylee, Alyssa and Elle

Ava's love Tyler!
All the kids making silly faces

I had to post a couple of videos of dancing. Chloe and all her friends made up endless dance routines and so one day Chloe made one up with Ava....I love how Ava tries so hard to keep up with Chloe and I love that Chloe made up a simple little dance to do with Ava (who is still in her pj's.
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This video cracks me up.......at first it is a little boring but give it a few seconds and watch Ava, (light blue shirt), she gets seriously down with some wild booty wiggling......haha!!!. So funny.

Spring Break!!!

Chris, Chloe and I out sledding.

It is late Saturday night and we just got home from our Spring Break vacation. Chris drove the whole 12 hours so he came in and went straight to bed but Elle is riding home with our friends the Orgills who got a flat tire so I need to stay up and wait for her to come home....a great time for me to blog. I am exhausted but so happy as we had the BEST time. We have some good friends, the Allens, who have a cabin in Pagosa Springs, CO and they were nice enough to let us stay there. I must give a clear picture. This cabin is HUGE. There are 8 bedrooms that each have a king or 2 queen beds and the rooms are each large enough to fit a whole family, 2 full kitchens, 3 huge living areas, all on 30 acres nestled in the Colorado mountains. There is a pin ball machine (circa 1970's) a ping pong table, pool table, shuffle board and 3 snowmobiles. What else could we need!! 4 other families went with us (each with at least 4 children) and we didn't feel crowded at all. This cabin is not luxurious, it is rustic and there was lots of work to be done but that is what we loved about it.

This is the cabin....you can see why it was so cold, the only thing not completely covered in snow was part of the roof and the door.

Our family left Sunday evening and arrived Monday morning at about 6 am. We left the kids in the car for about 2 hours as the cabin was colder inside than out. Chris and I got all the pilot lights lit, water turned on, I chopped up some kindling and lit 2 large roaring fires and at about 8 am we let the girls join us. (Yes you do want me in your wagon train as I can build an amazing fire in no time!) It is so weird but I loved the rustic part of our experience so much. It is just not the same when you arrive at a nice hotel and have all the amenities. (don't get me wrong, I love that also) but getting there and working hard shoveling snow, digging out snowmobiles, cutting kindling and roughing it together was so much fun to me.

Jimmy and Chris getting the snowmobiles dug out and running.

We had the first day alone and had the best time celebrating Chloe's birthday (I will do a whole separate post on that) We went into town, had dinner and focused on making it a great day for Chloe. The rest of the families arrived Tuesday morning and the mayhem and fun began.

My list of the GREATS from the trip!

1. Endlessly visiting, playing games and getting to know our friends better.

2. Eating amazing cabin cooked meals prepared by great cooks. (Us)

3. Skiing with everyone, especially Elle and Ava, they were troopers and did such a good job!

4. Our Family dance party! this is always a must and is usually a highlight. Dancing is good for the soul. We all now know every line dance ever invented and we can party like no one else!!

5. The Easter egg hunt!

6. Staying up late one night with Scott, Richard and Chris and having a great discussion. I really enjoyed laughing until it hurt but also the great insight from good friends. I AM SOOOOO DONE (that is for Scott)

7. Playing Pin Ball. Congrats to Isaac who won the high score in the pin ball tournament and will receive $10.00.

This is Isaac and Olivia who battled it out until the bitter end....Isaac prevailed

8. Great visits with Tana, Karen, Jenny and Cherie....I love the great wisdom they have and had fun laughing about everything. I really love each of them. (Didn't get a pic of Jenny as she came late)

9. The hot springs, from the Burg to the Lobster pot. Also Chris and Scott swimming down the river by the hot springs, I think the water was 40 degrees and we all thought they were crazy but they had a blast.

10. Going off a huge jump and catching 3 feet of air on the snowmobile with Alyssa (5), Elle(6) and Logan(6). My favorite part was, as we landed safely my heart was racing and I was waiting to hear one of them start crying, Elle screams....SWEEEEEET AIR, Lets do it again, so we did, 5 or 6 more times. It was a blast!!

11. Ava (3 years old) telling me that I needed to "relax" as I am taking my first ski run down the mountain with her in tow. Taking a 3 year old can be a little nerve racking and children, like dogs, can sense fear.

12. The 11 hour drive with all the girls asleep in the car, Chris and I had some great talk time.

13. Our pet fox that came up to the cabin every night to see us and get fed some leftovers.

14. The girls getting chased by our friendly fox as they are out snowmobiling at night. They were screaming so hard that we all thought that someone had been killed or seriously maimed. (We can't figure out what kind of parents let kids snowmobile at night in bear, coyote, and mountain lion territory......I think we had lost our minds.) They had fun and came back in one piece.

15. Quiet time sitting by the fire reading.

16. THE MALT STOP in Pagosa and boy did we ever stop.....every day. I think I gained 10 lbs.

17. The fact that it was so hot and sunny the whole time that we could ski, sled and snowmobile without our coats on!!

The Not so Greats of the week!

1. The 14 mile, dirt road bumpy. drive up to the cabin. It was the longest 14 miles of our life!

2. The fact that the kitchen sink had no water for the first 2 days, there was no hot water on one side of the cabin for the first 3 days and one of the toilets was broken. Oh we were happy when we turned on the kitchen sink and hot came out....no dishwasher so we were washing everything in cold mountain water. burr

2. Drama!!! there were 9 girls under the age of 13 there, need I say more.

3. Me getting the "party foul" award for making whole wheat pancakes and forgetting to clean up. Sorry Scott and Cherie!

All in all it was AMAZING. We came home tired and happy. I love being with our friends and seeing the kids bond together. Most of all I loved the family time skiing, snowmobiling, sledding and just laughing a lot......we like to laugh and there was plenty of it.

Talent Show

I took this picture just as we left to go to the talent show!

Tonight was Chloe's school talent show and I must say that it was a great show!! There were several electric guitar solos that were fabulous. 2 drum solos. Lots of dancing, singing and some great comedy. I really enjoyed it. Most of all I was amazed at how supportive the school and kids are of everyone. There are always kids that perform who don't quite fit in or are somewhat awkward. Well I was so happy to see the kids scream for and cheer on everyone like they were all stars. Chloe performed with a group of friends and also did one of her original songs. She did a great job and looked beautiful. We were so proud of her. It will be in two segments.....the song is called "What if I said No?"  Sorry part of the 2nd verse of the song got cut out.

Here she is with some of her friends. The 4 girls sang a song called circle of friends and the 5 boys did a hilarious dance. It was a fun night.

I no do this job!!!!!!

Every time I think about the events of today I am both completely horrified and completely amused at the same time. It goes like this. Elle has a blankie.....a beloved, never sleep without it blankie. Well this blankie was once an adorable soft lime green with a pink background and cute little sheep jumping over little fences. She is 6 now and it is now in shreds. About 2 years ago I replaced the backing but now the front is literally falling apart and there is no hint that it was ever green......grey, muddy, blah is the color now with stains and holes. Well I decide it is time to replace the front with a cute new flannel in hopes of getting a few more years of life out of it.

So I head to the fabric store today, find a cute new print and head over to the local alterations shop. As I walk in there are several customers and I notice the nice Asian man at the counter looks at me, then down at the blankie I am holding and......I am not sure but I think I see disdain in his eyes, No I am sure I am wrong. I wait my turn as others enter the shop and wait patiently behind me. When it is my turn I toss the very old, blah colored, shredded blankie on the counter when, and this is no joke, the sweet Asian man at the counter recoils as if I had thrown a wet rotting mackerel fish on his counter. He even turned his head as if there were some kind of smell eviscerating from it. I am suddenly turning red as he looks at me and immediately says...."NO"!!! "Wait", I say, "I just need this fabric sewn on to the front of this blankie". Again he says louder, "NO, you buy new one, this one gross". "Oh sir you don't understand, she would kill me, I need this one redone, she loves it", I say. At this point he pushes the tattered fabric toward me with one finger, and repeats. "I no do this job". I go into begging mode. "Please sir, I need this done my daughter loves this blanket". At this point he is so mad that he screams, "Ma'am, I said I no work on this gross thing!!" and walks out the door slamming it behind him. I am standing there holding the shredded blankie in my hand in shock as the girl behind me, who is silent for a minute, quietly pipes up and says...."Umm, I think it's a no". I turn around and sheepishly smile "I guess so" I say and I quickly walk out.

I sat in the car for a minute and thought.....I think I have been blinded by Motherhood, so I look down at the blankie in my hands and realize that what I see in this blanket is; holding my newborn and rocking her to sleep, cuddles and tears when she had fallen and need it for comfort, I see the days when we couldn't find it and the whole house mobilized to help because we knew she couldn't sleep without it. I see her sleeping with her blankie under her cheek clutched tight as I go up to tuck her in one last time. All these sweet memories. But if I set them aside and put away all my love and memories.....I looked down and, hmmm funny thing I saw a rotting wet mackerel. I really don't blame that man.

An Unexpected Source

It has been a difficult 4 days. There are just times in our lives where our weaknesses and struggles seem more pronounced and frustrating. The past days have been that way for me. Lots of hours of self-reflection and prayer as I have earnestly sought to figure out why I continue to struggle with things that should be so far gone after 40 years of living. I know that my weaknesses can become my strengths but right now, they just seem like weaknesses. So as I have been miles deep in thought about my personal growth I get a little sweetness from Elle. I need to go back to explain.

About 6 years ago I had an idea one day (for those of you who know me you know I ALWAYS get ideas....a strength maybe??) Well, I was thinking about how as my girls grow and my house is full of busy living I may not be able to devote the same amount of time to individual communication as I was able to with only the 2 little ones so I felt I needed to find a way to keep those communication lines open. A light bulb went off and I headed straight for Barnes and Noble. I went to the journal isle and perused all the beautiful writing books. There were leather bound, Chinese silk, raw homemade paper with neat closures and all kinds of accouterments. They have some really beautiful books there.

Well, I chose 2 of the most beautiful ones I could find that reflected the personalities of Chloe and Olivia. I went home and that afternoon I began a tradition that has been one of the greatest ideas I ever had. I wrote in the front of that journal to each of the girls and told them that this was our special book to write back and forth to each other...."there may be nights when I am busy and I won"t have time to talk...write everything here and I will always respond". I put the book on their pillows without a verbal explanation (with a beautiful pen of course) and I still remember that night 6 years ago as they went up to their rooms and found their books. Chloe came back down clutching the pink flowered Chinese silk book with a tender look on her face. "Mom, this is just so special" she said and quickly ran up to write back to me.

Nothing is ever said, I just find the book by my pillow and read their sweet sentiments, sadness's, joys and feelings, then I respond and set it on their pillow. We don't write every day. Sometimes it will be days, or weeks before the book lands on my pillow again. We have had long periods of sabbatical and then suddenly the faucet seems to flow never ending just based on what they are going through. I know that one day they will treasure these books with all their hearts because it has journaled, not only their life, but my love and advice as they have weathered it. (When Olivia first began she was too young to write so she I and would draw funny, sweet pictures back and forth to each other.)

Well, as I was having these difficult few days I went into my room and there by my bed was little Elle's book. As I began to read there were some cute funny things as she asked me "Mom, Why dus your hair go so crasy in the morning?"(her exact spelling) Then she said, and I will write verbatim because I just loved it. "Mom, I am waching you. Do you know who you are? Do you like yourself? Right when I read those last 2 lines I started to cry....Here my 6 year old was, without having any idea what my personal thoughts and struggles were, asking 2 very deep questions to me that helped me come back to myself. I do know who I am and I do really like myself and she is always watching me. It is OK to have personal struggles and I want my girls to know that you can have hardships and still know who you are, and still really like yourself. Her unexpected words were a powerful catalyst for me. I feel so glad that I can be a mother and help guide their lives. I am doing just fine and I hope that one day I won't be weighed down by my shortcomings.....until then....I will keep liking myself.

Off to bed, I have 2 books to write in tonight!!

Breathe in

OK, to some this may be a really off the wall post but I'm thinking it so I'm putting it out there. I LOVE smells. I love the smell of Lilacs, it takes me back to my childhood as I ran passed rows of lilac bushes while heading to primary on Wednesday after school. I love the smell of a roast dinner that has been cooking for hours when everyone is hungry after church. I love the smell of fresh cut grass in the summer with a hint of barbecue behind it as you know someone in the neighborhood is cooking out. I love the smell of my girls after they have been playing outside all day....I tell them they smell like dirty dogs but really to me it is the smell of laughter, nature and fun. I love the smell of Christmas trees and cinnamon, hazelnut and vanilla. I could go on and on. So much of my joy in life is associated with smells. Why am I writing about this? Because today Ava fell asleep on the couch. She was deep asleep and I went over and gently eased into a cuddle next to her. Our faces were only 3-4 inches apart and the smell of her sweet breath was intoxicating. She was breathing deep and I just laid there and breathed her in. I couldn't get enough. It was pure sweet childhood......the breath of heaven. It reminded me of when each of my girls were babies, I love to breathe them in. The smell of a baby is not to be equaled in my mind because it is pure and epitomizes love in its truest form. They only have this sweet smell for a few short youthful years then as they grow they become independent and I no longer get to breathe them in. I am so glad I had 15 minutes of breathing her in today! I feel so lucky.

My new favorite thing!!

Whalah!! I have discovered my new favorite thing. Zip'n Steam bags. These are incredible! Let me tell you why. Our family is on a health kick. We have had so much fun making healthy breakfasts, lunches and dinners but I always ran into a glitch.....Lunch for me. I am so busy that when it is time for lunch I am usually ravenous (lunch is my big meal) and the thought of defrosting a chicken breast or salmon, cutting up veggies and cooking it all was more than I could stand. I was getting tired of whole wheat tuna fish sandwiches and I was finding all the healthy options boring or time consuming. Then we discovered the Zip'n Steam bags. These things are amazing. I can throw in a frozen chicken breast, 2 handfuls of fresh chopped veggies, salt, pepper and a little lime juice and in 6 min I have an amazing meal. Yesterday I cut the salmon in chunks, added some zucchini, carrots, red pepper and lemon dill sauce, it was heaven and from beginning to end it only took 5 min to make. I am sooooo happy. As a side note if I use a whole chicken breast, steak, or piece of salmon I will do the veggies in a separate bag because I like my veggies crisp. I only combine them if I cut the meat in chunks then they seem to cook at the same rate. YEAH!!!