It's a Party

Interested in Mary Kay products? Check out the link on the side of the page to "A Pink Party"! Some of the products that I have used and HIGHLY recommend are the 3 n 1 cleanser, moisturizer, eye cream, lip balm, microdermabrasion kit, oil free eye makeup remover, day and night solution, mineral powder foundation and the mascara. I have also heard that the eye shadows, the lip glosses, and the body cream is wonderful too! I truly have been impressed with how well these products work. If you have used any of them in the past or are currently using them I would love to hear what some of your favorite products are!

Unpacking vs. Packing

Well, I must say that it has been my experience that unpacking is so much more fun and goes way faster than packing does! Confused...don't be. We never heard back from Bank of America and they tried to auction the house for $406,000 (which is the amount the previous owner owed). Of course, no one bought it so it went to foreclosure. It should be listed anywhere between 2-6 weeks. Lonnie and I found another home that we put an offer in on too and we didn't get that one either. So, Lonnie and I have decided that we are just going to stay where we are. We have a beautiful home and will just do some adjusting to make it work. We will be adding garage cabinets, more shelves in the storage room upstairs, cabinets on the other side of the laundry room, cabinets in the bathrooms and whatever else we deem necessary! :) It kind of stinks not getting what truly was the house of my dreams but we have been so blessed and both of us really feel good about this decision. The unfortunate part is that now I get to unpack EVERYTHING that I packed up...like 30+ boxes of food! Oh, well at least all of the cabinets are all nice and cleaned out! :) Another great thing is once I clear out all of the boxes in what used to be the playroom I can set up the "real" schoolroom! I guess that I better go get unpacking!

We are all still alive!

Wow! It's been over a month since I have posted anything! Things have been busy around the Durham home lately. As we are all aware school is out and summer is in full force! The children's behavior has really been so much better since they have been home, which is definitely welcomed! :) Little Mr. Gage has really enjoyed having his siblings home too. He's so cute. So what's on the agenda for this summer? I'm glad you asked...first off we are still waiting to hear back from good old Bank of America on the home we put an offer in. Supposedly they have everything they need and we are just waiting for them to close. We definitely have been learning patience through this process. Second off we have implemented our homeschool trial period for the summer. We do school everyday, except for Sunday, for about 3 hours. So far so good. I was shocked at how much they didn't know. For example, Michelle does not know her numbers, and both Mason and Michelle have trouble identifying lowercase letters. So we have been doing a lot of review of numbers and letters. After three years of preschool I find this kind of crazy, but I have to remind myself that it is not her fault and we just need to make progress. We have started working on reading the BOB books. Michelle can read the first two of them all by herself and Mason has no interest in learning to read. I think because it takes so much focus that this is going to be a challenge for him. He is, however, really good at putting the letters in order and saying their sounds. Saige and Gage also sit in with us while we do counting, reading, and phonics. Last week I introduced the "+" and "=" sign along with addition. When reviewing them yesterday I was happily surprised at how much they remembered and they even did an addition worksheet! It is so rewarding to see them learn and the pride that they have as well! We have really been praying hard and contemplating on what is the best thing to do for each one of the children. I have felt so at peace with our decision to homeschool them. I know that we have and will continue to receive criticism from others but quite frankly this is not their choice to make. We are entitled to revelation for our family and trust me we have received it! It still kind of freaks me out that we are doing this, but I have learned on numerous occasions to trust in my Heavenly Father and whatever His plan is. I am so grateful and humbled at the opportunity that I have to be the mother to these four amazing children. I love them so much and still cannot believe that I have been entrusted with them. Talk about an overwhelming responsibility! Yikes!!! Anyhow, I am rambling on now but just wanted to document what we've been up to and how things are going!

Is your joy full?

"I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God. Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things....Behold, how many thousands of our brethren has he loosed from the pains of hell; and they are brought to sing redeeming love, and this because of the power of his word which is in us, therefore have we not great reason to rejoice? yea, we have reason to praise him forever, for he is the Most High God, and has loosed our brethren from the chains of hell. Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love; yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work. Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel....My joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name." {Alma 26}

On The Move

Well, we finally heard back last week regarding the house we put an offer on in January. We will close sometime early in May! We are so excited. The home inspection is tomorrow morning. So assuming that there are no deal breakers (which we are pretty confident that there is not) we will be moving soon! The kiddos are all excited and are looking forward to the pool. I think that Gage will have the most difficult time transitioning but we will see. He is very particular to his room and surroundings. He will soon be sleeping all by his lonesome, along with all of the other children as this house is huge! It is just under 4000 square feet, has 6 bedrooms, a 4 car garage, a ginormous kitchen, a pool, and so much more! We have some busy weeks ahead of us but we are looking forward to it!

Reflecting

15 years ago today an event occurred in Oklahoma City that forever changed my life. Growing up there was a family in our ward that had moved to OKC just prior to the bombing and unfortunately the father of this family was among the victims of this horrible event. I have had the priveledge of going to OKC a couple of times now and every time I have gone to the memorial sight. It is amazing and was so well done. I remember the day and all of the news coverage. For a couple of days no one knew if Paul was in the building at the time of the explosion. He was among the missing for a couple of days. This was also an incredible spiritual experience for me as well. You see my dear friend Poiette and I decided to fast for the finding of Paul. I do not believe that they ever found him, but I remember vividly sitting in the school cafeteria having to explain to others why we were not eating. It was my first true experience of fasting and I am so grateful for it! It was amazing the comfort that I felt during this time and I have never forgotten it. How powerful fasting and praying really is. I am so grateful for the knowledge of the Gospel that I have and for the countless blessings that I receive from being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! I an grateful for the knowledge of eternal families and for the opportunity that we all have to be a part of one. May the Lord's comforting hand be upon those families of the victims of the Oklahoma City Bombing and may we all strive to keep their memories alive!