Uniform

I was teasing Todd that nobody in the family believes he really works because they never see him in his uniform, so he grudgingly let me take his picture and post it!

So I present First Officer Todd Christensen....

Pretty handsome I'd say! Todd said that since I took one of him in his "work clothes" he got to take one of me in mine...

I refused to put on an apron and have a baby on my hip :-) But I do love my job!

Pillows

I've seen the SUPER cute pillow covers made from shirts around. They look so easy to make and I had a couple of old shirts to use. So.....

They were as easy as they say to do! The white one is one of Todd's old pilot shirts and the other is a shirt I bought for $2 maybe $3 a while ago and it never quite fit right. It seriously took 5 min for each pillow. Outline, cut, sew. No hand stitching because you undo the buttons stick the pillow in and ta-da. Done.

I'm am considering trying THIS pillow next. Although, that will have to be a project for when Tanner is sleeping.

HaPpY EaSteR

Seriously though. I'm grateful for our Savior, for his sacrifice and for all that means to me and my family. Today was a great spiritual uplift, I needed it! I hope as the boys get older they continue to understand and appreciate what the sacrifice and resurrection mean to us.

I'm so grateful that I'm sealed to these stinkers forever!

TCs Missionary Work

On the first day of school here in Texas, TC got assigned a "friend" to show him around school, give him the rundown, where all the classrooms are, all that good first-day-need-to-know kind of stuff. The friend that volunteered was a girl named Abby.

TC and Abby hit it off from the start and became very good friends. I had the pleasure of meeting Abby when I got to eat lunch with TC and one friend of his choosing. I was a little shocked, happy and proud of my son that day. Shocked, because he invited a (cute) girl to sit with us (boys don't like girls yet). Happy, because he trusted me enough that he knew I wasn't going to freak out or tease him about it (I could tell he was nervous when they walked up). Proud, because, well I just was. Its a father/son thing... I can't explain it... guy code stuff.

About a week ago, Abby asked TC if he reads the Bible. TC was caught off guard, and kind of stumbled through a "I-wasn't-sure-what-to-say" answer and was a little embarrassed. Connie had asked what he told her, and he said that he told her "Yes, we read the Bible" but he did know how to explain the Book of Mormon. After feeling a little like we totally dropped the ball as parents, we had a good discussion about the gospel.

Tonight we had the ward missionaries over to visit and before they left they challenged us as a family to find someone to share the gospel with. We all took turns, one by one, accepting the challenge. I noticed TC had a little to much enthusiasm, I thought he was just being a dork so I didn't think much of it.

After they left I was walking past the boys backpacks and picked up a Book of Mormon that was lying on them and going to put it away when TC stopped me and said it was for Abby. I was a little shocked, he'd thought this up on his own. I told him to write his testimony in the cover before he gave it to her. He thought that was a good idea, and asked if I would help him. Again, I'm so proud of TC (all my boys for that matter).

He asked if we could go in the den were it was nice and quite. When we got in there I asked what he wanted to testify to her about. He said he didn't know what he should write to inspire her to read it, so I suggested we pray first. I could totally feel the spirt come into the room, I could see how much sincerity he has in his heart for what he is about to write. He tells me, "Dad, I feel good about this. I know this is the right thing to do." I'll be honest, I was using all the emotional power I have to hold the damn of tears back.

This is his testimony that he put of the first page of her book:

"This book is really special because it is another testament of Jesus Christ. This book teaches the same principals of the Bible. I have read this book and I believe it is true. I believe in Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost. I testify to you that I know this book is true. Read this book and pray about its truthfulness and the Lord will tell you it is. Before you start, read Moroni 10:4-5 (pg 529) Todd Christensen"

He asked Connie to make a book mark for her and we put the scripture, James 1:5-6 on it. He said, "Tonight when I say my personal prayers I'm going to ask for the spirt to be with me so I'm not afraid to give it to her tomorrow." I don't know when he started to plan all this, but he came up with it on his own.

Connie and love our boys so much! We are scared to death for them to grow up, we're not ready for it. They are growing so fast, some times we feel like we can't keep up. Then we get a awesome parenting experience like this and it brings into perspective the big picture and that its all worth it.

Things I figured out...

Being a mom sure is interesting. I've been at it for 11 1/2 years and these are some things I am just figuring out:

1. I know why mom's embarrass their teenagers- payback!

2. When mom aint happy....no one else in the house is allowed to do anything wrong and could get grounded for no reason.

3. The qualities that I have a hard time with, in my kids, are the ones they got from me.

4. I should have given more credit to my mom growing up.

5. I will never be prepared for my kids to grow up.

6. The list will keep growing....or shrinking depending on the day and year.

Potato Gun

How to build a potato gun:

Step 1: Have dad put all the parts together with lots of helpers who are somewhat interested in what your doing...

Step 2: Load the gun with the potato and think it's pretty cool that you get to shove a potato down in the tube.

Step 3: Add fuel. In this case hairspray works great!

Step 4: FIRE!
With our fence missing from the storm and a wide open field behind us it was the perfect shooting range.

The kids had a blast building and shooting the gun. It is well out of reach so it is only played with when dad is around to help!!

Another First

We experienced another first here in TX. Our first "big" storm. We've had some pretty crazy thunderstorms here. A lot of them have been while Todd was gone, but a couple have been while he was home. This was one of them and I was SO glad. This was the first time I was truly worried about the storm.

I woke up a minute before everything hit, but I am not sure what woke me. It might have been how quiet it was because the electricity had gone out or the lightning. It was crazy! The lightning was flashing every few seconds...yes seconds. One right after another. Todd and I looked out our bedroom window but couldn't see a whole lot. Then came the hail. The noise was also crazy. It was SO loud. I thought for sure Todd's car would have dents all over in it, and I thought our windows would break. I heard the boys cry out for us so I went to find them. TC and Titus had bolted out of bed, and Tobyn and Tate were huddled on their bed afraid to go anywhere, where was Tanner? Fast asleep...the whole time...little boy didn't wake up once.

We gathered everyone in our room and "rode" it out. It was probably 3:30 before I calmed down and fell back asleep. But I seemed to be the only one. The boys went back to sleep, but in my room. The hail only lasted a few minutes but the lightning took a while to go away. The electricity was turned back on fairly quickly. Much quicker than I would have thought, but I guess they're prepared for this sort of thing.

We looked out the window once and had a fence, looked out again a few mins later and parts of it were missing. This is what we saw in the morning:

This was our front porch at 1 am. Those are shingles, my wind chime that was hanging by my door, and Titus's shoe (it was left out side)

This was the hail piled up in the corner:

This is the size of the hail. Todd's ring is just slightly bigger than a quarter:
We were so lucky we only had the damage we did. A few shingles, things tossed around the yard a little, and missing fence panels. (Not a dent or scratch on Todd's car) Houses just south of us had windows broken because of the hail, and some trees blew over, I think some cars might have been damaged also. Some counties around us had tornado warnings. Again, I'm glad Todd was home. I know it's a little silly I was so worried. After all I did experience the micro-burst in UT and have been through some other crazy storms, but it was just nuts waking up to it! I guess things are just a little more intense during the middle of the night. I am also sure this won't be the last of the "big" storms and things could be SO much worse. But I hope not....at least for a long time!

Wildlife

Here at Carter Ranch we have a couple of ponds. The kids have told me about the turtles that live there. I had pictured little turtles and not many of them. But I walked down to the park the other day and took pictures of them. We probably saw 6 of them before they jumped in the water.

Here is a couple laying on the log getting warm. They are bigger than I expected! The shells are probably 18" round. I tried to get closer for a better shot, but they are shy and slide into the water if you get to close. (click on the picture to enlarge and see them better)

This guy surfaced just in front of me. He kept getting closer, until Tanner came yelling "MOM"
The ponds are also full of fish that are for catch and release. The boys have had a ton of fun! One of the big ponds has big catfish that apparently like hotdogs. Titus is very excited to see if he can catch some! I've also been told there is a duck nest around. I want to get over and take pictures...I will soon, hopefully before and after the eggs hatch.

We have had some fun learning about the different animals that live here. We have seen cranes, ducks, turtles, (smell) skunks, hawks, owls, opossum, and armadillo (it might have been dead). We haven't seen any snakes, but have been learning about them, since there are a few that are poisonous that live here.

A wreath

My newest project. It is still a work in progress, but it's been fun trying to decide what to do with it. I'm trying to get more creative with things I have around the house and things that I can buy for SUPER cheep. The wreath cost $2 at Hobby Lobby (it was originally $4 but it was 50% off) the ribbon, button, and material I had already.

General Conference and other fun things

General Conference was this weekend and I love this time of year! I love most times of year, but my favorite is spring and summer. So while we listened to Conference I decided during the Sat. morning session we would blow out eggs and decorate them. They were a lot of work! But the kids thought it was so cool to see all the egg stuff come out of the egg.

It was a big mess and I remembered why my kids don't know how to decorate eggs. We don't do it very often.

We found this way was easier than using your mouth to blow it out. I read it somewhere and about 1/2 way through we decided to try it. It worked like a charm! I won't do it any other way now.

Displaying our final work. I glued ribbon to the top of all the eggs and hung them up. The ribbons aren't attached in super cute way, but it works.

I also redid our chore chart and decided to display what the tickets (the kids earn tickets for their chores and such) are worth and can turn them in for.

Trying to take better charge of our life I also came up with an FHE "chart" so that the kids know exactly what their turn is for that week. I usually just try and remember who did what. The charts I would look at always looked so hard to make, but it really was easy.

We had to just listen to conference this year because we don't have TV. I loved listening to all the speakers, but I know I will be reading them again in the Ensign in a month or so. I think this year I am going to get 2 copies and give one to Todd. I will also get each of us a highlighter so we can underline and mark up our own copies so we remember what we learn. I needed to hear much of what was said and although it was mostly a reminder, it helped me renew my goals of raising these boys in an uplifting and loving home.

A good laugh

I'm not a huge April Fool's Day fan. Never have been....but here's some good laughs for the day:

Some, well, interesting state laws:

Texas:

The Bluebonnet is the official song of the state flower.

Wire cutters can not be carried in your pocket.

Illinois:

It is forbidden to fish while sitting on a giraffe’s neck.

Wheelbarrows with For-Sale signs may not be chained to trees.

Kansas:

Pedestrians crossing the highways at night must wear tail lights.

No one may wear a bee in their hat.

No one may sing the alphabet on the streets at night.

Utah:

Birds have the right of way on all highways.

It is illegal not to drink milk

Georgia:

Donkeys may not be kept in bathtubs.

Goldfish may not be given away to entice someone to enter a game of bingo.

One may not dye a duckling blue and offer it for sale unless more than six are for sale at once.

Connecticut:

In order for a pickle to officially be considered a pickle, it must bounce.

It is unlawful to walk backwards after sunset

Alabama:

It is illegal to wear a fake moustache that causes laughter in church.

Boogers may not be flicked into the wind.

You may not have an ice cream cone in your back pocket at any time.