WHAT A CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

We are sooo blessed this Christmas with so much to be thankful for :) We were surprised by someone who loves our family, they left oodles of gifts at our door....it was so neat to see the boys excitement.

Tim had to work doubles on Christmas day so he didnt make it home until around 11pm. The boys waited all day for dad to come home.... it was torchure I think for the boys to see all the gifts under the tree, but they did enjoy the day as well. They felt very loved.

After all the gifts under the tree were opened and love was expressed, one last gift that was no under the tree was brought out. Tim gave me his choir binder and asked me to sing a song to close out our Christmas night.... I sat at the fireplace and opened the binder to sing the song.....

As I opened the binder, I didnt see a song, instead, I saw a plane ticket from Southwest!!!! The date and destination were a complete shock and joy!!!! I am going to Lubbock this afternoon for 10 days!!!! I will get to meet my father and my brother and younger sister. I have prayed and prayed for this day and now it is happening.

Heavenly Father has truly poured out His blessings upon us and I am forever grateful :)

I will be able to close out 2009 with my new found family and bring in 2010 with them....What better way to end and begin the year than with those you love.

I love all of my family and am so happy to have been able to see most of them in the last week during this Christmas season. May all who read this feel the spirit burning in your hearts. Remember the reason for the season and keep it burning bright all year long!!!!

Family picture 2009

As you can tell everyone is growing by leaps and bounds. Aaron is now the tallest one in the family and is almost 16... holy cow!!!! NOT POSSIBLE!!!! Brandon is 13 almost 14...hmmm two young men going to dances...not sure how I feel about that one. Josh and Dallin are competing for who is taller...they are only inches apart. Kyler still amazes us with his georgeous blue eyes.

Train ride

This is an amazing slide show that tells perfectly how I feel about all who have touched my life. I posted this on facebook as well, so more friends can see it!!! I love each and every one of you dear sweet friends and family. My life is much sweeter with you in it!! May the Lord bless you all!!!

To hear this, go to the bottom of the page and pause the playlist so you can get the full effect of this slide show. ENJOY!!!

NEW MOON!!!!

In less than 24 hours Tim and I will be watching NEW MOON!!!! We are going on a double date with a couple in the ward..... it will be a lot of fun. I'm so looking forward to it.

Repentance

It's been too long since I last posted anything on this blog lol. Things have been so super busy around here.

During harvest season we were so blessed to be able to can and preserve tomatoes, peaches, applie pie filling, peach jam and pears. We look forward to next season for more canning and learning new things. This years new adventure in canning was the peach jam... I had never made it before, but it turned out great :)

The boys are busy in school and loving it. Aaron has just finished up marching band, and is now in the basketball band season. He has discovered his singing voice and has joined Tim and I in choir. We are all loving Emmett and having a ton of fun and success here. We are so very blessed to be in this great valley surronded by amazing people :)

Dallin's baptism

Dallin was baptized and confirmed last night!!!! What an amazing event!!!! There was such a wonderful show of love and support from friends and family.

Three other children were baptized last night with Dallin...one of which is in our ward, the other two in different wards in the stake.

Some friends that were at the baptism were there for another boy, but stayed for Dallin's baptism as well...things worked out great to finally see them :)

Last night was so amazing, there are no words that can describe it. The spirit was so strong with each of these wonderful children. They truly felt loved.

Our house in Emmett Idaho

HAPPY 8th BIRTHDAY DALLIN!!!!!

Dallin is 8 years old!!!! WOW!!!!!! I can't believe you are 8 now!!!!! It has been amazing to watch you grow and learn. As a tribute to you Dallin, here are 8 things I love about you :)

1- I love that you enjoy learning and reading.... you always find something more to learn...and are learning at an amazing speed :)

2- I love that you are so kind and friendly to everyone.

3- I love when you smile and hug me

4- I love how thoughtful you are of others, you always think of others and try to help them out

5- I love your bright bubbly personality... you seem to always be happy!!!!!

6- You find joy in making others happy, especially your teachers :) That is a WONDERFUL thing!!!

7- I love your eagerness to be in cub scouts

8- I love to see you grow in love for our Heavenly Father and want to choose the right :)

Dallin, there are so many more things I love about you :) I do hope and pray that you know how incredibly special you are to our family and to anyone who knows you. You have a very special spirit and I am so very grateful you chose to come to our family :)

I love you Dallin Machai Hallam :) Have a very very happy birthday

First day of School!!!!!

The boys started school today :) They were all very excited to start a new year in a new school. I didn't get pictures of the older two but I did get pics of the younger three as they headed out the door and then onto the bus.

Aaron is in 10th grade this year...I can't believe he is a sophomore.
Brandon is in 8th grade and looking forward to taking some great classes this year..three of them are begging guitar, drama, and tech ed
Josh is in 4th grade and going to a school by himself at Carberrry.
Dallin is in 3rd grade and is going to be 8 next week!!!!!
Kyler is in 1st grade and very excited about going for a full day and eating lunch and all of the fun new things a first grader gets to do :)

So far, everything in Emmett Idaho is going well for our family, and we are loving it. We feel so welcome here which has been such a blessing :)

WHAT A WEEK!!!!!

This week has been super crazy. I wanted to update all as to how we are and where we are. I will post more later, but just a quick update.

We packed the truck Monday and emptied the house in Hermiston. Tuesday we cleaned the house and moved down to Idaho, not knowing where we would be living. We had no house yet....so we put our faith in the Lord and hit the road for Idaho.

When we got to Idaho, we had two houses to look at. The first in Fruitland, the second in Emmett. When we went through the house in Fruitland first then the one in Emmett. The house in Fruitland didn't feel right, and the one in Emmett.... WOW!!!

We walked in the front door and felt as though we had finally made it home. I was so at peace with being in the house. Then we went to the realtor and signed rental agreement papers. Diane Brissette, a friend from Emmett called for help unloading and we had about 5 men to help unload the truck within an hour. Amazing help and support, we havent felt that in so long.

Then last night we finally got internet capabilities again and I logged onto facebook and had several messages. One caught my eye, which was from my brother... I had been searching for my Father for 16 yrs and his son contacted me. IT WAS INCREDIBLE....to finally have that piece of the puzzle coming together. WOW!!1 I'm still speechless, but loving the fact that I have contact with my brother now. I can't wait to get to know him more and meet my sister as well.

Ok, this isn't short but it is brief...there is so much more that has gone on this week. I promise I will post more about it as well as some pictures. My house needs some loving now though lol....

Family reunion

Tim's cousin Alex playing bagpipes

In order to listen to this, plz scroll down and pause my playlist :)

This is Tims cousin Alex Hallam, at the family reunion July4th. He has amazing talent!!! I love to listen to him play and could listen to him all day :D Alex has been playing bagpipes since I knew him when he was just a boy. His dad Weston taught him how to play :D Both have wonderful talent :D Listen and enjoy!!!

A lesson in germs....do you know the difference?

Last night I was making popcorn for our movie night. I had asked Kyler to take the popcorn to Tim and get his waterbottle so I could get him some ice water. When I was done getting Tim's ice water, I took a drink out of the bottle. Kyler looked at me and said
"Don't give dad your germs".... I told him "I give dad my germs when I kiss him, so there's no problem" Kyler took the waterbottle and shook it...he said he was getting rid of my germs by shaking the bottle. He went into the family room and gave Tim his drink and told him "There you go dad, I shook the bottle to get rid of mom's germs so you don't get them"

I went into the room where they were and kissed Tim, then I told Kyler "There, I gave dad my germs so we're all good" Kyler then sighed and said "...yeah, but those are love germs, you give dad your love germs when you kiss him"

HAHAHAHA I thought that was priceless... so, there is a difference between regular germs and love germs.

Another twilight blog

Okay, so now I'm obsessed over twilight :) I've read all four books in less than two weeks and am now reading my favorite one of the four a second time. I absolutely love the 4th book...Breaking Dawn :) Maybe others won't feel the way I do, but there is so much good stuff in that book :)

I also just added some songs to my playlist that Robert Pattinson(Edward) has done. He's got some amazing talent :) The first three songs on my playlist are Robert's songs :D

Happy birthday Kyler!!!!

I can't believe that my baby is now 6 years old!!!! How is that possible.... time deffinately flies on wings of lightning!!!!

What a blessing it is to have Kyler in our home and in our family. Even more of a blessing that he is developing the way he should and that we are both still here !!!! I am ever grateful for those two blessings and all the blessings that have been a part of those two miracles!!!

In honor of Kyler, I want to share 6 things that I love about Kyler...there are many things that I love about my little man, but I will share 6 since he is 6 today :)

1. I love that Kyler is so energetically loving of everyone!!! He welcomes anyone and everyone with a genuine hug of approval.

2. I love that Kyler sings.... everything he does has a song to it. He loves to sing along with other songs, but he also loves to make up his own songs. Kyler has great tone in his voice as well as control. He will be an amazing singer in choir :)

3. I love Kyler's happiness!!!! Kyler is almost always happy and is so easy to please :) He makes my heart smile!!!!

4. Kyler loves to be creative. His favorite things to play with are playdough and any other thing that he can be creative with. This little man also loves to draw and then write stories about the pictures.

5. I love that Kyler feels the overwhelming need to add his signature to cakes that I make...explanation to that one ;) Whenever I make a cake or brownies for our family, Kyler comes in to the kitchen when the cake or brownies are cooling and takes a handful out of them ;) Not all the time, and deffinately not when the cake is for others, but when it's for us, he's all over the quality control ;) lol

6. I absolutely LOVE that Kyler is so precious when he says his prayers. He truly loves his Heavenly Father and knows he can go to Him whenever he needs to. Kyler knows that he is a child of God and loves that knowledge :)
Kyler is an amazing part of our family. Life would deffinately not be complete without him here :)

I READ IT!!!!

Okay, that was a HUGE feat that I've never done in my entire life. Yeah, it's a tad difficult to admit...but I normally detest reading. I've enjoyed smaller books and certain kinds of books, but never novels!!!! I don't know how I got such good grades in English since I absolutely hated when we had a book to read :(

Well, I loved the movie so much that I had to read the book to find out more details as I know there is much more in the book. The book was absolutely amazing as well !!!! I'm shocked and surprised at how quickly I finished the book. I got it on Monday and didn't start reading it until Monday night when the boys went to bed. I read and read and couldn't put the book down. I read on Tuesday night as well and then spent part of the day today reading the rest of the book.!!!! Less than three days to read that BIG book!!!!! WOW!!!!

I can't wait to read what comes next :) I'm sure it will be exciting as well!!!!

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!

I am such a TWILIGHT FAN!!! WOW!!!!!!! We rented the movie over the weekend after hearing how amazing the book is from friends. I couldn't get enough of it!!!! WOW!!!! That's all I can say.....

We watched the movie Saturday night, then all night I kept thinking about and picturing Edward and Bella and had so many questions about them. We watched it again today... I still can't get enough of it... I HAVE to read the book now!!!! I went onto the twilight series website where the author talks about her story of how she came to write the book. Amazing story as well. I'm so glad she wrote the book and that it was made into a movie. I so can't wait for the next movie, but until then, I'm GETTING THE BOOK!!!! Even Tim wants to read the book to see what we missed in the movie.

Some of our favorite scenes are... wow, that's going to be tough. I love when Edward sees Bella walk into the science class and her hair blows right then. I also love the meadow scene when he picks Bella up and runs her up the mountain. Another favorite is the baseball scene!!! WOW!!!

The whole movie was so amazing that it's tough to pick just a few scenes for favs. I love how Edward is so protective of Bella and how she is drawn to Edward. I also love how Edwards family welcomes Bella and makes her feel welcome and a part of the family. As with everything in life there are gospel principles that I've found in this movie. One is so very important...that is control...Edward loves and respects Bella so much that he exercises great control and protection..... I hope and pray that my boys are just as protective and respectful to the young ladies they meet. Bella loves and respects her father....she doesn't want anything to happen to him, so she convinces Edward to protect her father as well. :) Maybe it's different in the book, but these are thoughts and ideas that I get from the movie.

I just can't rave enough about it... Deffinately 5 stars from me :)

One proud Mama!!!!

Okay, I just have to share how very happy and proud I am of my boys :)

Aaron- Aaron benchmarked on his writing assessment and his speech assessment this past month!!!!! YAY!!!! Now, we have to work on math and reading. Aaron is such a smart kid, it's showing it that we're working on :D I want everyone to know how smart this kid really is...is there a magic juice that I can give him? ;) Each and everyday Aaron rides his bike a little over 2 miles to school and then home. He has enjoyed it and done well. He has been told that when his grades are up and good, then he can get his permit and start practice driving....oh boy...don't want that insurance bill ;) I think Aaron has read the Oregon driving manual at least 4 times now..... Everytime we are driving somewhere, he points out something that he has learned in the manual... it's amazing how much he's reading it and learning ;) I think he will do well on the test the first time...now if we can get him to read his scriptures that much, we'll be doing great :)

Brandon- Just finished a fundraiser for marching band to help pay for their fees and travel. He finished his fundraiser in first place for sales and earned almost $100 for his band. His part of the band fee is taken care of as well as another kids fee :D WOOOHOOO!!!! Yes, the band did a Scentsy fundraiser!!!! I donated my comission from their sales to the marching band. The whole band received almost $600!!! There were three prizes for the top sellers. 1st place won $50 cash, which Brandon won that all on his own. I did NOT help him one bit or buy anything from him. 2nd place won a warmer and a bar, and 3rd place won a plug in and a bar. The kids did a great job and had a great time :) 47 symphony warmers were ordered last month from the fundraiser...they were on backorder until today and shipped out today !!! YAY!!!! Brandon has also been doing chess club after school and has done a great job !!!

Josh- Has benchmarked in Math. He only missed the reading benchmark by less than 10 points and was so very close. Josh also increased his STAR reading level by 2 grades :) That's a HUGE jump especially for Josh as he has struggled so much with reading. It's so nice to see that he is taking a liking to reading. His teacher said that there were days when she would count that Josh went to the library at least 4 times a day to get a new book. There were only two books that he didn't pass the AR tests; he was at 193% of his AR goal!!!! WOW!!!!!!

Dallin- Dallin will be moving up to the highest reading level when they come back from spring break!!!! WOOOHOOOO!!!! At the beginning of the year Dallin benchmarked so he was only retested to be pushed and increased his score on each test :) Dallin LOVES school and just can't get enough of reading. I'm so glad that he didn't take after me in the reading department :) On our way to Idaho last weekend, Dallin had two books with him which he had finished before getting to Idaho. Dallin's STAR reading level in second grade is 3.3!!!! He absolutely loves to check out chapter books and does so well at reading even the scriptures!!! YAYA!!!!!!

Kyler- Kyler is learning and catching onto things. He still struggles, but his teacher sees that he knows things because he answers questions...just not when it comes time to test him ;) silly boy!!! Kyler loves going to school and loves to socialize with his friends :) He's become quite the social butterfly...now, we just have to continue working on his focus ;)

It was so nice this last week to have such good teacher conferences for the three younger boys. They all three surprised me with improvements :) I'm quite impressed with them and their hard work!!!

Our weekend

The boys and I headed to Idaho for the weekend this past weekend :) We had a great time at the New Plymouth Elementary school carnival. It was so nice to see so many friends and family. Saturday, the boys hung out with Tim while I went to my scentsy training in Boise.

I had such an amazing time at the training. I was blessed to meet Orville and Heidi Thompson as well as Kara Egan (one of the "inventors" of scentsy). I also met Heidi's mom and dad as well as many other amazing people. It was so nice to get to know more scentsy people and share the joy of such an amazing SCENTsational product. Orville was sharing with us how fast scentsy has grown in the 5 years it's been around. Each year there is about 400% growth!!!! AMAZING!!!! I'm so grateful to be a part of such a wonderful and SCENTsational company.

I left the conference with more ambition and excitement to grow my business and do more parties and share scentsy with whomever I can :) I can't wait to share it with everyone!!!!

On our way home from Idaho yesterday, we had stopped at the rest area just outside of Baker. As we were entering the freeway, I had seen a truck pulling a trailer that was very close to other vehicles. This truck was driving all over the place and almost hit several cars. I was getting worried after several miles of this driver stirring up dirt and rocks on the side of the road and going off the road and then back on and into the next lane. I followed him a safe distance and called the police as I was worried that this person was falling asleep or tired.

The police had found the pick up that I had reported and I thought all was finished and done. This morning I got a phone call from the state police asking me for a report again of what I saw. They had arrested this man for a DUII. I don't know all the details but I was so grateful that I had called it in. I am also very grateful that no one was hurt from this experience or event yesterday. We were all very well protected and watched over, for which I am extremely grateful.

The picture isn't a picture of the pick up, it is one from the internet...this car was placed in front of a school to show kids what can happen when drinking and driving... duii's are not just from drinking, they are from drugs as well... driving under the influence of intoxicants...drugs can do the same as alchohol can when you get behind the wheel. This particular picture, the driver survived with brain damage and the passenger was killed.

Is it or isn't it Spring????

I thought that maybe spring was here, then we were hit by another blast of cold and wind... I do love the sun being out and shining..it makes things so much easier. I am much more active and get much more done when the sun is shining.

I can't wait for spring to finally arrive.... why???? well, here are a few things I look forward to in the spring
1. opening the blinds and letting all the natural light in that can come in
2. sitting in the front room where the sun is shining through the windows. (I could easily be a cat)
3. flowers blooming... I can't wait to see all the colors in my front flower bed and plant more
4. strawberries in my front flower bed blooming
5. turning on the sprinklers and watching them and listening to them
6. the roads to finally be dry and clear of snow and ice
7. the warmer weather so it's not so miserable walking to school
8. the warmer weather so we can enjoy bike rides....although I need to get a new seat
9.being able to open the windows and let some fresh air in the house and not get a freeze out
10. playing outside and sitting outside watching the boys play in the warm sun without coats, hats and gloves.
11....and the fresh smell of rain... I love april showers and may flowers :)

Happy Birthday Brandon 13 years !!!!

Brandon's birthday isn't until the 5th, but i have a few minutes so I thought I would post a tribute for his birthday.

Again, it doesn't seem possible that I now have TWO teenagers.... I refuse to believe it!!!! It seems like just yesterday that Brandon was born with his little wrinkly skin all folded over his tiny little hands.

Since Brandon is the LUCKY 13, I will share 13 things I love about Brandon!!!!

1. I love that you are outgoing and energetic about life. Everything you do, you tackle with such vigor and excitment. This is Dad's favorite picture...you tried so hard to help till the garden...look at that dedication on that face.

2. I love that you are such a kind hearted friendly person

3. I love that you have the courage to stand for what is right and don't back down

4. You always know what will make me smile and you do such a wonderful job of making me smile everyday :)

5. You have such an amazing personality!!!!!! Bright, bubbly, crazy, creative...the list goes on and on and on and on

6. I love that you make your bed everyday and I don't even have to ask you to do it.
You also LOVE animals!!!!

7. You are so thoughtful of others and often go out of your way to make someone feel special and welcome

8. I love that you love to sing :) D&C 25: 12

12 For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.

9. You are so incredibly good with children and babies. You'll make a great missionary with kids climbing all over you :)

10. I love that you are so eager and interested in your grades and try hard to get good grades.11. I love that you are dedicated to whatever goals you are working on at the time.

12. You love to have a good time and you make sure others have a good time as well

13. I love that you also honor the priesthood you've been blessed with. You hold that noble calling sacred and honor it to the best of your abilities.

There is so much more that I could say to honor you on your birthday!!!! I love you so very much Brandon. I am so grateful that you chose to come to our family and be with us and teach us to be humble and grateful.

I hope and pray that your birthday is a blessed day for you!!!! It was a blessed day when you were born.

I LOVE my washer!!!!

We picked out a new washer this weekend and picked it up today. When we got the washer home, I immediately started my laundry that had been waiting for me. It was SOOOOO quiet. I LOVE IT!!!! The spin cycle did such a good job that the drying time for the dryer was cut dramatically.

Since my old washer wouldn't spin the clothes, I had to empty the clothes out and put a few back in the washer, then jump start the spin cycle by pushing the tub around in a circle. My forearm is quite strong now, but my dryer has taken it's toll for my washer not spinning the water out of the clothes. I now have a squeeky dryer, which is needing to be replaced soon. Although today, when i washed my first set of clothes which was the ultimate test of a good washer... kids jeans!!!! The washer spun so well that my dryer took only 20 minutes to dry the clothes instead of the 2 hours plus to dry them till they were just damp. My drying time had increased with my broken washer, so it took all day to just do one load of laundry.

I am so grateful for my new washer and the time that i'm saving. I now have all the laundry done in just one day !!!! YAY!!!!!

Happy birthday Aaron!!!! 15 years

I can't believe it's been 15 years since Aaron was born. WOW!!! It's just not possible!!!! Not sure where the time has gone....but I do know that we've had our ups and downs.

Since you're 15 years old today here are 15 things I LOVE about you!!!! Aaron!!!

1. I love that you have such musical talent with the clarinet...music to my ears and heart...thanks for sharing your talent.

2. I love that you have a tender heart....you think about others

3. I love your compassion....you serve others so willingly

4. You are a great help and a tremendous relief to this poor mother of yours......most of the time :)

5. You are an excellent reader and very intelligent...too smart for your own good sometimes :)
6. I love that you desire to follow in you Great Grandpa Snowberger's footsteps

7. I love the times we are goofing around and playing around... we have some good laughs for sure :)
8. I love that your mind is always going... I don't think your mind has ever stopped...ever
9. I love that you are so close to getting your eagle and you are thinking of great things to do

10. You love to go to the temple... LOVE IT!!!!
11. I love that you continue to try to improve....that's what counts...don't ever give up

12. I remember when you turned 12...you were so excited to be able to pass the sacrament. I love that you are so excited for wonderful, amazing milestones
13. I love that you absolutely LOVE seminary... makes my heart smile...you're very blessed with great seminary teachers :)

14. I love that when you turned 14 you rose above what others said about dances and went anyway and had a great time... you're not afraid to ask any girl to dance.. GREAT JOB!!!!

15. I absolutely love how you love me and try to help me in all you do. I love that you want me to be proud of you... of which I am so very proud of you.

The Lord has blessed you so richly and the adversary knows it. Keep strong and keep your eye on the prize. I love you my son!!!! May this day be a very happy and blessed day for you :)