I learned to can PEACHES

I am so excited. I learned how to can peaches this last week, and I ended up canning two bushel. I got 45 quarts of peaches from it. What a great feeling to see your work sitting on the counter in front of you. My kids all took turns helping, and it was so fun. We only had one mishap, which in my opinion turned out to be a small miracle. I had canned 6 canners full previous to this, but on about my 7th batch I picked up a bottle of peaches out of the canner to set it on the towel on the counter. I had no longer set it down, and it exploded sending hot peaches and boileing sugar water all over the kitchen. All of my kids were sitting around my island where I was setting the peaches. McKayla ended up getting burned on her leg, and some hit Tia on her arm. So grateful that that lid, or the glass, or someone getting burned worse, did not happen. Thank you for tender mercies, and small miracles. It was a good lesson for me too. Kids can help with everything, but when you are taking the hot jars out of the canner, everyone needs to move away. We made great memories doing this new project, and I had so much fun.

Quick Summer in Review

OK I need to learn how to rotate pictures before I post them. I have a serious learning curve, and I am getting it, but very slowly.

I feel the need to document a little bit of our summer this year and play a little catch up. Although I say "a little", with as many people in our family, it will be "a lot."

Can I just say, I am HAPPY to be HERE...

On June 6, 2008, we moved our cute little family from our home in Tooele of 10 years, to South Weber. Our emotions were mixed when we both felt prompted that we needed to be somewhere else, but decided to test our faith and go for it. We listed our home the very end of February, and were moved out of our home the first part of June. Because of the housing market and the way the economy is, this confirmed to us that we had indeed been prompted to do this, and moving is what we were supposed to be doing. We found our home in South Weber just 2 weeks before we needed to move in. We also felt the Lord's hand in guiding us here. I once commented that we are so lucky that we found such an awesome place to live. Tony responded that he wished we could take credit for finding this place, we didn't find it on our own. I was quickly humbled by his comment. He was totally right!!

We had an eventful, fun, and non realistic summer. Maybe that is what we all needed. We moved, we camped, we spent a lot of time at Grandpa and Grandma's in Idaho, we made friends, we had lots of fun, and we did a little work. (I mean a little) We also learned how to take care of the swimming pool that we were all excited to have. The kids have had a blast in it, and spend hours swimming together and playing without fighting. That's my favorite part. Cleaning all of the algae out was not the highlight of my summer. It was a lot of chemicals, filtering non-stop, brushing the bottom, and a kitchen scrubber taped to one end of a stick, with me on the other end. It was about 5-7 days before I had it cleaned up. BACK TO SWIMMING!! The kids were sooo excited. Needless to say, I "dove right in" after that and learned how to take care of the pool correctly. Thank you Stacey.

Just a little about each of us:

Stephanie - I clean homes in Tooele every other week, and I am currently looking for new clients a little bit closer to home. I love to work in the yard, camp, read, and I enjoy being with my family. They are all growing up so fast. They are all great kids, but needless to say, I still spend a lot of time praying for my kids.

Tony - Works for Wells Fargo out of our home. His office is set up very nice in our front room. We all love having him here all the time, and it would be a huge adjustment for everyone if he ever went in to an office. He works hard for us. He likes anything recreational, and we all agree that he makes everything fun.

Savannah - Just turned 14 and is adjusting to our new place better that I had anticipated. She has had her moments, but has done well for the most part. She went to Girls Camp and on the Pioneer Trek with our new ward. What an opportunity for her. She does a great job on her saxophone and loves to read. She also just got her braces on. She looks so cute. She is a great big sister, and is a good example to her sisters and brother. They all love her dearly. She is growing up too quickly and has bugged us ALL summer for a cell phone. The answer is still NO...WE LOVE YOU SAVANNAH!

McKayla - Just turned 11 two days before we moved here. She has made many new friends and is having fun. She has learned to do the Ripstick and ride a long board, thanks to the neighbor for sharing his with her. McKayla is loving her social life. She has fun this summer playing night games, swimming, and spent all of July with her Grandpa and Grandma in Idaho. She also got started in braces this summer. Poor mom and dad's wallet. There wasn't that much there to begin with. :) She is a good girl and she is also growing up too quick. She is a perfectionist and pretty much excels in everything she tries. WE LOVE YOU MCKAYLA!!

Madelynn - What a go getter! Nothing slows this kid down. The day we moved in, she spent the entire evening and night unpacking her room and organizing it so that "tomorrow I can go out and make some new friends." That she did too. She has enjoyed swimming this summer and I am convinced she is half fish. We found her a piano teacher and got her signed up for soccer as quickly as possible. She has really taken off with both. This kid can do whatever she puts her mind to. She also had a memorable time in Idaho with her Grandpa and Grandma during the whole month of July. I don't recall what we were doing, but apparently Madelynn thought it seemed a little boring. She made the comment that she wished Grandma was there, and then it would be fun. I asked why? She told me taht everything is fun with Grandma because she makes everyone laugh. Quite the compliment to Grandma. WE LOVE YOU MADELYNN...You keep us hopping!

Seth David - Seth didn't take long to fit right in either. The day after we moved in, I was knocking on every door in the neighborhood and asking if Seth was there. It was a great way for me to meet the neighbors I guess. He found every kid in the neighborhood and made himself known, while making some really great friends. He also met all of the adults. :) We got him signed up for soccer, but he just cannot wait until baseball season. That is his true love, and he is quite the natural at it. Seth started Kindergarten this year and goes to school and comes home on the bus. He is always happy when he leaves and waves to everybody on the bus when he comes home. He is always excited to show me what is in his backpack, but that usually has to wait while he gets a drink. He always has met a new friend, but "I can't remember his name." Seth is loved by all who meet him, and is proving to be a real nice, smart boy. I am proud of him. WE LOVE YOU SETH!!

Tia LaDeen - Tia has slowly gotten used to me not doing daycare and having kids around the house all the time. That was hard for her at first, but she does well following the older kids, hanging out with mom, or her favorite is when she can play with Paiten. Tia was afraid of the pool for most of the summer and spent a lot of time on the swingset watching every one else swim. I guess that kind of got old, because now she will get in and can swim like crazy. Nothing like a little peer pressure. (it was good in this case) Tia is a happy, little sweet whiner. She loves a party and to have fun. She sings constantly and has a cute little voice. When she's not doing that she has gotten very good at whining. I am hoping this is only a stage. Our most said saying at our house is "Tia you are whining." We signed Tia up for a cheerleading clinic and she had a blast. She can now do Toe Touches. We have to watch a whole bunch every day. When she dances though, her lips move more than her body. That is because she is singing. She is signed up for soccer and started a rotating pre-school with the kids in our ward. She can't wait for school and asks everyday. She would be happier to go everyday, but I am not looking forward to all of my kids in school next year. TIA...WE LOVE YOU!! Thanks for your spunk.

Moving has presented its challenges, (to be expected) and each of us have had our moments with homesickness, but all in all it has been a great blessing for our family. The neighbors, the ward, and people in this area have been fantastic. JUST GREAT! Thanks, we love ya. You are truly our brothers and sister. We can't help but love ya.

This is home now, and we love it. I thought I was going to have a hard time leaving my home in Tooele, and felt like I would be very emotional doing so because of all of the memories we made there. Luckily, things becomes a lot easier because the hand of the Lord was evident. As we moved and got settled here, it was a good realization for me to see, that home can be anywhere, as long as you have your family with you. All my great memories in Tooele came with me to South Weber, where we have already been able to build some new, great memories here.

I am very blessed and grateful for everything I have been blessed with, including the difficult times that have made me stronger. I have great kids and an even greater husband. Who could ask for more?

This is a new one for me!! But... I am doing it.

This is a start. A huge thing for me.

I am excited to do this because I am not very good at writing in a journal or scrapbooking to document our family events. I am also not very good at "Stoppin' To Smell The Roses" once in awhile. I am a very task oriented person, and when there is a task to do, (which there always is) I have a really hard time letting the task go, so that I can enjoy and savor my kids that are growing up way too quickly. Maybe by stopping and taking time to document the events of our life, it will help me with "Stoppin' To Smell The Roses."