Some days are harder than others to find the positive and learn from and let go of the negative.  Last Sunday Kylie was an angel child and was ready to go to church ahead of time while Brandt was still in his pajamas and out in the pasture with the horse when 10 am came and went.  We finally got to church 30 minutes late and by that time I was thinking, "what's the point?"  Well, we had some good talks and Brandt spent some days with no technology and we were ready to try to do better today.  So.....this morning buddy was great to get ready for church and Kylie was terrible!  She was moody and uncooperative and didn't want any part of bathing and getting dressed up to go anywhere.  So once again, we were late.  At least this time we got there before the end of the sacrament, but both kids spent the first half of the meeting fighting with each other and crying. And once again the thought kept creeping in, "why am I doing this?"  I was in charge of sharing time today and was feeling pretty good about it going in.  I had downloaded the Bible Story "The Prodigal Son" onto my laptop and then planned to hook it up to one of the TVs to show and then discuss afterward.  For whatever reason we (meaning me and multiple kind people in my ward who tried to help) couldn't get it to work, so I ended up showing it from my laptop, which wasn't even close to optimal since there were a lot of visitors and it was hard to hear. It felt like a complete flop!  So what is the point and why do I keep doing this?  Why do I make myself crazy trying to get the kids and myself to church when it seems like we aren't getting much out of it anyway?  Because more than anything I want my children to learn of their Heavenly Father's plan for them and to know how much they are loved.  I want them to learn to recognize the spirit and choose the right. And I think it's happening despite all the chaos that often goes to church with us.  Today Brandt volunteered to say the closing prayer in sharing time and did it with a smile.  Then he went to class and had a wonderful time. His teacher later called me to tell me how great he was in class and that he participated and answered many of the questions. Kylie's nursery teachers keep telling me about the sweet things she does in there and about how she knows the answers during lesson time. Both kids sing primary songs intermittently throughout the week.  Both children know that when they pray they will be answered and there are many times that they are the ones who remind me to pray.  So why do I keep trying so hard to teach them to keep the commandments even though it often seems like it would be a lot easier to just quit?  Because I love my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, I know that they love me, and I want my children to feel the same way because they are what I treasure most in this life.

Brandt's friend, Tavis Ward, had a beach party for his friends on his 6th birthday.  In the words of Brandt: "it was really fun.  My favorite part was everything like digging in the sand and eating Spiderman cake.  I gave him a bead snake that was made by me, Brandt D. Thompson, and a growing snake to put in his bathtub.  He said, 'I love it, I love it!' And I said, 'you're welcome, you're welcome, you're welcome!"'

Tee Ball 2013

This was the first year that we let buddy play tee ball.  His coaches were Nathan and Julie McLemore and he was on a team with boys (and one girl) who are mostly from Paris and St. Charles so he goes to school and church with them.  It was fun to watch him play and have fun.  He was super nervous before he went to the first practice and game because he was worried about which pitches he should hit.  In fact, at 11 pm the night before his first practice he was quizzing me, "mom, do I swing at the high ones?  How about the low ones?"  Since he had only hit off my bad pitches in the backyard prior to that, I had a hard time getting him to understand that he didn't have to worry about any of the pitches-all he had to do is hit it as hard as he could off the tee.  The first couple games he did a lot of looking for bugs in the infield instead of watching for hit balls, but by the last 2 games he was doing much better.  He has a great swing and a strong and pretty darn accurate throwing arm, so it was easy to feel a little proud watching him.  The funnest week for me was the 3rd one when Bryce and I got to be substitute coaches.  There aren't many things I love about summer more than baseball (and softball, of course) so I hope that my kids continue to enjoy it as well.

Brandt is the cute one in the cool shades :)

Happy 34th Brycie!

Brandt (with a little help from his sis and me) planned a birthday party for his dad this year.  Quinn, Mal, and kids came over for dinner and then my parents stopped in for cake.  Bryce wanted tater tot casserole, which was fine by me since it's fast and easy.  Brandt picked out strawberry cake with pink frosting and sprinkles because "I know strawberry is dad's favorite."  Then both kids helped decorate it with farm animals and candles.  They had also picked out party hats and noise makers and then had all the kids hide while Bryce and Quinn ran an errand.  When their dad came in the house they all jumped out and yelled "surprise" and then sang happy birthday to him.  Bryce was such a good sport to let them have fun and act surprised.  He works so hard for our family and we appreciate him so much.  The kids especially love it when he has a few minutes to play with them or take them for rides in his truck or on the 4 wheeler.

Midgie's Puppies

My dad's red heeler Midge had 9 puppies last week.  The kids love getting them out and holding them.  Today they had fun letting Bridger, Jolie, and Allee turns holding them as well.

Brandt gave a talk in primary today and did a fabulous job!!  He helped write it, which made it that much more special.  He was so brave and said the entire thing loud and clear (with some prompting from me) while he held up our family picture.

"Heavenly Father blesses us with families.  I like to get pictures with my family.  I like to go fishing with my family.  I like to go swimming with my family.  I like to jump on the trampoline with my family.  I like to play baseball with my family.  I like to stay at hotels and go to the zoo with my family.  I like to do everything with my family.  I love my family.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen"

It doesn't get any better than that...

Free Fishing Day

We've gone to Georgetown for free fishing day with the Thompson's almost every year.  This year Kylie was extra excited to go  so she could use her new pink fishing pole that we gave her for her birthday. Neither of my kids caught a fish, but they had fun anyway.  Kylie's favorite part was playing with the worms and then setting them free by throwing them into the river whenever she had a chance.  Bryce went "bear hunting" after Matt said he had seen one-thank goodness they didn't see anything again because all Bryce took with him for a weapon was my camera!