Jack has labeled himself as the Important Pickle. It started when he realized that when he slept in between Mike and I it was like he was the inner part of a sandwich. I have no idea why he chose pickle or why it's important but that's what he says. Anytime Mike and I are hugging and Jack is around, he wiggles himself in between us and says, "Make room for the Important Pickle." Once Mike asked him, "Well, if you are the Important Pickle, what are we?" Jack replied that Mike and I were Ballistic Bread. Ha ha. Once when Mike was gone late and Jack and I were snuggling in bed he said, "Hey it's an open face pickle sandwich"
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Fall Break
We decided to go camping. All year we thought about it. We were going to do it. Go camping. For the record years ago, Mike and I declared ourselves a "No Camping" family. We decided it was not for us. We didn't like the hassle of packing, setting up, not sleeping and then taking it all down and being tired and grumpy for the next few days. Well, then we had Jack. Jack wants to do anything and everything that has to do with being outside. He's 7. We should probably take our 7 year old boy camping at least once. A family council was held, a vote was taken and it was decided that on Oct 16 the Bearden's were going camping. Well, on Oct 15 we watched Harry Potter (it being Halloween season and all) out side projected on a screen in our back yard. It was COLD! It was then that our grand idea of camping in October lost some of it's excitement. We thought, "If it's this cold here in the valley, what will the mountains be like?!" So we did the next best thing and we booked a hotel in the mountains! It turned out to be such a fun mini family vacation. We didn't want to completely give up on the camping plan because we all LOVE the mountains. (just not sleeping in them). So we headed up to American Fork canyon armed with hot dogs, chips, veggies, grapes, sodas and...wait for it...here comes a super campy word....a dutch oven!! (we stopped at an outdoorsy store on our way out of town and grabbed one.) We made dutch oven cobbler. It was really good! We spent the day just hanging out in our picnic area. Annie and Ellie floated bowls down the river, Casie and Lily went and found a quaint place to sit and talk. Jack hunted for snakes and had a blast throwing dry ice into the river (we had dry ice to keep our ice-cream cold). It really was a perfect fall day. It was warm with a crisp breeze. The trees were yellow and every so often a breeze would send leaves floating gently from the trees to the ground. It was perfect. I love spending time with my family in the mountains.
After leaving the mountains we drove to Midway to the Zermatt hotel. We all fell in love with the quaint little mountain town. It's nestled right next to the mountains and is full of beauty. We decided to move there when our kids are all graduated so they can bring their kids to our cozy mountain home. :-) After checking into our hotel we went across the street and swam in a crater full of warm spring water. It was a really fun and unique experience and I'm so glad we did it. Ellie was freaked out because she thought there might possibly be a whale in the water that would eat her...(the crater was 70 ft deep and i'll admit it WAS a bit creepy not knowing what was down there) but we all survived. I honestly hate swimming, but warm crater swimming is ok.
Then we headed back to our hotel and made spaghetti. I love that our "camping"experience involved a two bedroom hotel room with a full kitchen and jetted tubs.
That night we played games and laughed really hard. One of the games we played was called the Game of Things. The topic was "Things you shouldn't write on a Valentine card" Then we all wrote random things down and tried to guess who said what. Casie wrote. "Your breath smelled really bad yesterday, but not today". That silly sentence made us laugh really hard, and became a theme throughout the night. The next topic was "Things you wish you could erase." Someone wrote, "The memory of your breath yesterday, but not today." Jack played with us too. Of coarse most of his answers had the word poop in them, but he was writing them himself so I was happy. (he's never showed much interest in writing)
The next day the kids swam in the morning then we checked out and headed to Park City to ride the Alpine Coaster. It's a roller coaster that is built right on the mountain side. It was a 2 hour wait to ride but that wait was actually one of my favorite parts of our trip. Casie, Annie, Lily, and I played games, sang songs and talked...(hopefully not annoying those around us) Plus we were in the mountains so the scenery was gorgeous. Mike was with Ellie and Jack down jumping on another attraction, (trampoline) and joined us a little later. The coaster itself was really fun as well. The kids loved it.
I can't wait to go camping again!!
After leaving the mountains we drove to Midway to the Zermatt hotel. We all fell in love with the quaint little mountain town. It's nestled right next to the mountains and is full of beauty. We decided to move there when our kids are all graduated so they can bring their kids to our cozy mountain home. :-) After checking into our hotel we went across the street and swam in a crater full of warm spring water. It was a really fun and unique experience and I'm so glad we did it. Ellie was freaked out because she thought there might possibly be a whale in the water that would eat her...(the crater was 70 ft deep and i'll admit it WAS a bit creepy not knowing what was down there) but we all survived. I honestly hate swimming, but warm crater swimming is ok.
Then we headed back to our hotel and made spaghetti. I love that our "camping"experience involved a two bedroom hotel room with a full kitchen and jetted tubs.
That night we played games and laughed really hard. One of the games we played was called the Game of Things. The topic was "Things you shouldn't write on a Valentine card" Then we all wrote random things down and tried to guess who said what. Casie wrote. "Your breath smelled really bad yesterday, but not today". That silly sentence made us laugh really hard, and became a theme throughout the night. The next topic was "Things you wish you could erase." Someone wrote, "The memory of your breath yesterday, but not today." Jack played with us too. Of coarse most of his answers had the word poop in them, but he was writing them himself so I was happy. (he's never showed much interest in writing)
The next day the kids swam in the morning then we checked out and headed to Park City to ride the Alpine Coaster. It's a roller coaster that is built right on the mountain side. It was a 2 hour wait to ride but that wait was actually one of my favorite parts of our trip. Casie, Annie, Lily, and I played games, sang songs and talked...(hopefully not annoying those around us) Plus we were in the mountains so the scenery was gorgeous. Mike was with Ellie and Jack down jumping on another attraction, (trampoline) and joined us a little later. The coaster itself was really fun as well. The kids loved it.
I can't wait to go camping again!!
Monday, July 27, 2015
Sunday
Today has been a low key Sunday. Is that a nice word for boring? Casie has a group of friends over right now. They are out playing red-rover and kindly allowing Jack to play too. Annie has been drawing for about 5 hours. Mike is at a meeting. Ellie is up in Logan spending time with Brook. What is a Mom supposed to do? The Church leaders are encouraging us to make the Sabbath more of a delight. I love that thought, but how do I do that? Casie made some peanut butter bars today. Maybe I will load some on a plate and take them to a neighbor. I'll report back when I am done.......
I am grateful for promptings from the Spirit. I prayed and asked if there was anyone who might benefit from a visit from me. Immediatly a lady in my neighborhood came to mind. I hadn't met her before, but I had heard that her adult son had passed away in a ATV accident three weeks prior. I had been wanting to go and give my condolences but hadn't done it yet. I was scared because I had no idea how I would be received, but she was so kind. She is hurting so badly and is so lost. I know that nothing can take away the pain of losing someone you love, but I hope that my visit showed her that I cared and that others think of her in her time of need. I couldn't help but remember the pain of when we lost Max. I was able to share some of my feelings with her and how with time I was able to cope better. She is still in the beginning stages of her grief, but I know that Heavenly Father is mindful of her and is bringing her comfort. I told her that I would come by again and see how she was doing and she said that she would like that.
I am grateful for promptings from the Spirit. I prayed and asked if there was anyone who might benefit from a visit from me. Immediatly a lady in my neighborhood came to mind. I hadn't met her before, but I had heard that her adult son had passed away in a ATV accident three weeks prior. I had been wanting to go and give my condolences but hadn't done it yet. I was scared because I had no idea how I would be received, but she was so kind. She is hurting so badly and is so lost. I know that nothing can take away the pain of losing someone you love, but I hope that my visit showed her that I cared and that others think of her in her time of need. I couldn't help but remember the pain of when we lost Max. I was able to share some of my feelings with her and how with time I was able to cope better. She is still in the beginning stages of her grief, but I know that Heavenly Father is mindful of her and is bringing her comfort. I told her that I would come by again and see how she was doing and she said that she would like that.
Monday, January 26, 2015
FHE Service
While praying for guideance concerning my family, and what lesson they most need in their lives right now, I was prompted..(in the shower, because that is where most of inspiration comes...I think it's because I am in my most humble state..ha ha ha TMI? Sorry for the visual...lol) ANYWAY, I felt that my family could use a lesson on service.
Here's what we are doing for FHE tonight.
After Jack welcomes us...(Jack ALWAYS, much to Ellie's dismay, gets to conduct. I think it's a youngest child thing) And after we have an opening song and prayer..(although my kids are super musical they are turds when it comes to the opening song of FHE! They think it's fun to sing strange eastern harmonies, or insert potty words, or add vocal percussion..(Mike). I am working on being fine with all these things. Maybe, for my benefit we will sing "Let it Go" for our opening song. It wouldn't be the strangest song we've ever sung prior to FHE. Once we sang the saxophone solo of George Michaels' "I'm never gonna dance again". Anyway, I digress...after welcome, song, and prayer we are going to read this article on service.
https://www.lds.org/youth/article/youth-spotlight-finding-ways-to-serve?lang=eng
It's geared toward teens and it's simple and engaging. Easy for them to understand.
Hopefully by the end of the article they will be pumped up and excited about things they can do to serve others. I love how service truly makes you forget yourself. The most fulfilling and joyous moments of my life have come from serving others. I pray that my kids will come to find that joy too.
I want them to also understand that the most important service you can give are to those in your own family. What a great way to strengthen the love within your family. So that leads us to our activity.
I am going to pass out slips of paper to each member of the family. I will ask them to write down the things in their lives that they need help with, or that stress them out, or that cause them concern. For each different concern, they will use a separate slip of paper. I will make sure they write their name on it as well. Once we are done, we will put the papers in a jar. (I am big on jars full of paper. It seems like such a simple way to remind me to do things. I put all the jobs I need to accomplish around the house in a jar and choose one a day. I tell myself that I will do that job no matter what. It's great because I always feel like I have accomplished something that day. I also like how I don't have to have the burden of feeling overwhelmed with everything that needs to be done. One big job a day is doable for me. Small baby steps...) Whoa...back to FHE
Once all my families burdens are in a jar, we will choose one of them out. Whatever is on the paper, we will work as a family to ease that burden. For example, my closet is a bit out of control. If the family chose that, we would all go and work on it together..(many hands make light work) If we chose a paper saying that Casie is stressed about school, we would focus on ways we can help her get things done. For example, we could take over her after dinner job for a while so she could catch up,...the point is, we will focus on individuals and show them that as a family we can, and will help them in anyway we can.
We won't have time to go through the whole jar in one evening, but I am hoping as the jar sits out on the table, family members will choose a paper periodically and take the chance to strengthen their love for their families through service.
In my perfect world, this is a situation that would happen....
Child: Mom, I'm bored
Me: (while kneading bread....I'm always kneading bread in my perfect world...) Well, darling, have you thought to check the service jar?
Child: Gee Mom, what a great idea!!
Child runs and checks the jar and is later found making the bed of a sibling, or leaving a sweet note of encouragement.
Then child comes back to me and we chat about what a great Mom I am while eating hot homemade bread.
Here's what we are doing for FHE tonight.
After Jack welcomes us...(Jack ALWAYS, much to Ellie's dismay, gets to conduct. I think it's a youngest child thing) And after we have an opening song and prayer..(although my kids are super musical they are turds when it comes to the opening song of FHE! They think it's fun to sing strange eastern harmonies, or insert potty words, or add vocal percussion..(Mike). I am working on being fine with all these things. Maybe, for my benefit we will sing "Let it Go" for our opening song. It wouldn't be the strangest song we've ever sung prior to FHE. Once we sang the saxophone solo of George Michaels' "I'm never gonna dance again". Anyway, I digress...after welcome, song, and prayer we are going to read this article on service.
https://www.lds.org/youth/article/youth-spotlight-finding-ways-to-serve?lang=eng
It's geared toward teens and it's simple and engaging. Easy for them to understand.
Hopefully by the end of the article they will be pumped up and excited about things they can do to serve others. I love how service truly makes you forget yourself. The most fulfilling and joyous moments of my life have come from serving others. I pray that my kids will come to find that joy too.
I want them to also understand that the most important service you can give are to those in your own family. What a great way to strengthen the love within your family. So that leads us to our activity.
I am going to pass out slips of paper to each member of the family. I will ask them to write down the things in their lives that they need help with, or that stress them out, or that cause them concern. For each different concern, they will use a separate slip of paper. I will make sure they write their name on it as well. Once we are done, we will put the papers in a jar. (I am big on jars full of paper. It seems like such a simple way to remind me to do things. I put all the jobs I need to accomplish around the house in a jar and choose one a day. I tell myself that I will do that job no matter what. It's great because I always feel like I have accomplished something that day. I also like how I don't have to have the burden of feeling overwhelmed with everything that needs to be done. One big job a day is doable for me. Small baby steps...) Whoa...back to FHE
Once all my families burdens are in a jar, we will choose one of them out. Whatever is on the paper, we will work as a family to ease that burden. For example, my closet is a bit out of control. If the family chose that, we would all go and work on it together..(many hands make light work) If we chose a paper saying that Casie is stressed about school, we would focus on ways we can help her get things done. For example, we could take over her after dinner job for a while so she could catch up,...the point is, we will focus on individuals and show them that as a family we can, and will help them in anyway we can.
We won't have time to go through the whole jar in one evening, but I am hoping as the jar sits out on the table, family members will choose a paper periodically and take the chance to strengthen their love for their families through service.
In my perfect world, this is a situation that would happen....
Child: Mom, I'm bored
Me: (while kneading bread....I'm always kneading bread in my perfect world...) Well, darling, have you thought to check the service jar?
Child: Gee Mom, what a great idea!!
Child runs and checks the jar and is later found making the bed of a sibling, or leaving a sweet note of encouragement.
Then child comes back to me and we chat about what a great Mom I am while eating hot homemade bread.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Love Languages
Tonight for FHE I decided to have our family take the Five Love Languages test. Basically you answer a series of questions, then at the end the test tells you how you most feel loved by those around you. It was super interesting to see the results in our family. Here they are:
Mike feels most loved through acts of service
Jill feels most loved through physical touch
Casie feels the most loved through gift giving
Annie feels the most loved through words of affirmation
Ellie feels the most loved through quality time.
Jack is a bit too young to take the test, but after asking him a few questions it seemed like Quality time was at the top of his list.
There were other languages that ranked high in all of our tests, but these were the highest. We put the results on individual posters then wrote down specific ways we could show love to that family member. Then we hung the posters in the hall to remind us. So, ya...pretty sure we will be the most loving family in the world now. I expect perfection from here on out. We also talked about how detrimental it is to someone when you go against their love language. For instance it would really hurt Ellie to be ignored. And we joked that you can hit Annie, but don't yell at her because her love language is words of affirmation. Mike and I found out that neither of us really get a lot out of getting gifts when it comes to feeling loved.
Prior to our awesome family night I made some peanut butter rice crispy treats that I thought would end our night with a sweet bit of joy. Nope. They were hard as a rock. I usually don't fail quite so hard when it comes to cooking, but something went horribly wrong. My guess is that I boiled the sugar too long. Oopsies. :-)
Mike feels most loved through acts of service
Jill feels most loved through physical touch
Casie feels the most loved through gift giving
Annie feels the most loved through words of affirmation
Ellie feels the most loved through quality time.
Jack is a bit too young to take the test, but after asking him a few questions it seemed like Quality time was at the top of his list.
There were other languages that ranked high in all of our tests, but these were the highest. We put the results on individual posters then wrote down specific ways we could show love to that family member. Then we hung the posters in the hall to remind us. So, ya...pretty sure we will be the most loving family in the world now. I expect perfection from here on out. We also talked about how detrimental it is to someone when you go against their love language. For instance it would really hurt Ellie to be ignored. And we joked that you can hit Annie, but don't yell at her because her love language is words of affirmation. Mike and I found out that neither of us really get a lot out of getting gifts when it comes to feeling loved.
Prior to our awesome family night I made some peanut butter rice crispy treats that I thought would end our night with a sweet bit of joy. Nope. They were hard as a rock. I usually don't fail quite so hard when it comes to cooking, but something went horribly wrong. My guess is that I boiled the sugar too long. Oopsies. :-)
Friday, January 9, 2015
The first of many, "Random Picture with a Story Day!"
Since I have missed the ins and outs of the Bearden's life lately, today I am going into my picture folder and will choose a random picture. I will then describe, with the utmost detail, and to the best of my ability what was happening in my life at that time.....
Here goes.....
Ok, I had Mike say a number and he chose #22. This is the 22nd picture in the folder I was looking at.
Here goes.....
Ok, I had Mike say a number and he chose #22. This is the 22nd picture in the folder I was looking at.
This year in Annie's theatre class they put on the show, "How the Grinch stole Christmas". Annie was cast as a narrator and had a singing solo. As is Annie's way, she told me that she needed a red and green costume the DAY BEFORE this play opened. (They performed for the elementary) Luckily I had just bought this green cardigan, (I hadn't even worn it yet, but such is a mothers sacrifice) She had had some red leggings that worked perfectly, but she needed a red skirt. We own no red skirts. So what's a girl to do? We ended up cutting up on of Mike's red t-shirts and I sewed....(let me say that again...I...SEWED) it into a little skirt. She was super happy with it and I felt like Lady Macgyver.
The play was really quite adorable. Annie stood out as the BEST and CUTEST Who in Whoville.
She actually quite amazes me with her talent. Her Theatre teacher even told me how impressed shei s with Annie. She has the most beautiful singing voice, and she is such a great little actress. I don't know that she has a passion for the threatre, but she has so much talent for it. Annie doesn't naturally love performing. She would much rather stay in her room and draw or listen to Japanese music...(like she REALLY likes Japanese music), but without fail, she ends up loving the things I force strongly encourage her to do. :) Annie's perfectionism (is that a word) is the only thing I fear that is holding her back. She doesn't enjoy something fully unless she feels that it's done perfectly. (I actually believe that she inherited that from her crazy talented and Mr perfectionist Father....I mean that in a loving way) I feel prompted to help Annie get out of her room and into activities that will help her develop her amazing talents. I see so much growth in her as she tries new things. She has such a tender heart and a curious mind. I just love her so much!
Here are a few more Lame photos of the show.
PS. My new philosophy when it comes to going to my children's performing events is to snap a few pictures to remember the event, then sit back and enjoy it!
PPS This philosophy was developed when I attended a cute Thanksgiving program Jack performed in his Kindergarten class. I chose not to film with my phone but literally EVERY parent there was watching their adorable child through a screen. I even had one parent hovering directly over my head with her phone trying to get a good view. It was very eyeopening for me! I was happy to see Jack and soak in his cuteness device free. :-) Ok, rant over.....
Monday, January 5, 2015
My not so genius idea.
Well, here I am again. I HATE that I have lost so much of my life by not writing about it! We have so enjoyed going back through my blog and reading about fun times had as a family, and I have totally let that slip. But NO MORE I SAY!!! I am determined to write at least a couple of times a week. Even if Jack didn't do something funny, or I don't feel like the day was particularly monumental, I want my kids to remember the wonderful life we have together, so I will write about it all!
So to start off this new and improved blogging me, I will write about my not so great idea. As a mom I truly feel that many of my family activity ideas are inspired. I thought this one was inspired but it didn't turn out so great. Here's how it went down.
ME to myself: Hmmm what should we do for FHE tonight?
Me answering myself: Well, the banister has been half painted for 4 months and it really needs to be finished. Why not teach the family that working together can really build a family.
Me picturing a perfect bonding moment
What really happened: Paint drips, Paint globs, Jack and Ellie fighting over what brushes they got. Lots of paint on the carpet...(good thing we are replacing it soon) Me realizing that the banister isn't going to be looking so good. Me sad that the banister isn't going to be looking so good. Jack having a blast, and feeling like a big helper, (six year olds aren't really perfectionist) Me accepting that the banister isn't going to be looking so good. Me thinking, next FHE we will just play Apples to Apples.
I will finish the banister tomorrow...or next month...or maybe I like it half black and half white. :-)
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