Jack's Spa

Jack set up a spa tonight for whoever would sign up.  I signed up for two slots and Mike signed up for one.  I was instructed to knock on the door at the time of my appointment.  He greeted me with a darkened room...(the bathroom) and a soft chair..(from Mike's office)  I put my feet in a bowl of hot water.  The room was dark except for some red and green laser lights,...(from Christmas).  He also had "River sounds" playing on the google home. There was also the space heater to make the room nice and toasty. He then set a timer for 7 minutes. (every minute after that cost $1)  Then he gave me a back rub.  I have to say, he has some talent for massaging!!  It felt really good! It was a really relaxing Spa.  Mike even fell asleep during his session!  Mike demanded that the water for his feet be cool and that the space heater be turned off.  He is already a living furnace. :-)

I hope this Spa will become a Sunday tradition.  It left the house a mess, but we had fun.

Miserable Missionary Mamma

This week has been tough!!!  I got this email from Casie's Mission President's wife. 


Dear Jill,

I just wanted to update you on your missionary and her health this week. I am not sure of how much you know but she has been having a lot of pain in her stomach and so she went to the doctor yesterday to see what they could tell her. As it turned out, the doctor she was scheduled to see had cancelled all of his appointments but did not let them know. They gave her some kind of medication and she returned back home. This morning her companion called me and told me that the pain got worse this morning and so they were going to the hospital. I do not know all of the details but they admitted her and they ran some tests and I think she said they did a CatScan. When they got the results back, they said everything they were worried about or thought it might be turned out normal and so we were happy that surgery was not needed. They gave her a IV with pain medicine and sent her home with medicine from the hospital. She has a follow up appointment with a stomach specialist and so hopefully they can figure out why there is so much pain. She seemed to be in good spirits when I spoke with her today and so hopefully she will feel better with the medication. I am sure you will hear from her  but I thought I would give you what little information that I have.

We are grateful for your daughter and hope to get her on the mend soon. I will keep a close eye on things and let you know if anything changes. If you have any questions, please let me know. Do you have an iPhone? If you do and want to give me your number, I can text you and keep you updated or even FaceTime with you if needed.

Love,
Sister Taylor




I haven't been able to talk with Casie about it, but will tomorrow on Pday.  All I have had is nightmares about her. It's been so wonderful to have Casie serve a mission.  She has been so happy and having amazing success.  It's hard to be so far away while she is having these problems.  I want so much to be there and comfort her and help her.  I have been fasting today that she will have comfort and peace and that the doctors can find out why she is having so much pain.  I've never had such an easy time fasting.  I REALLY want my fast to help her.  I have been praying for faith and peace, but I have had a lot anxiety about this. 


I need to remember that she is the Lord's servant and he will care for her.  

Pinewood Derby

Mike and Jack participated in their first Pinewood Durby!!  Now, let's just say, Bearden's are really great at singing and dancing and being charming, but car builders we are not.  They spent a lot of time on the car, but it wasn't very fast.  Jack was shocked to see that he wasn't called up as the third place overall because he said, " Hey, I took third place in every race I did!  I should be third place!"  There were only three cars that raced each time and about 20 boys competing.  haha.  He did get best paint job though!  He was happy and didn't realize that he was the slowest car there.  Maybe I will tell him when he's older.  He looked adorable in his little scout shirt though, and he had tons of fun.  As I sat there and decided to google "How to make a winning Derby car" to get ready for next year, I had a thought come to me.  Jack has a lot going for him.  He's smart, funny, adorable, and talented.  I think he will win at a lot of things in life.  He has parents who love him and are happily married.  He has a fun extended family that love him and do lots of fun things with him. I think it's ok to not win ALL the time.  Maybe we will try some techniques next year that might make his car a little faster, but in this case, I think it's ok that other children win too!  One of the boys that won has a Dad that isn't in the picture.  He was helped by our former Bishop.  They were so proud and had such big smiles at the end of the night.  Another boy is handicap and took second place.  His smile and the smile of the crowds were priceless.  Jack was proud of his car, and we were proud of Jack.

A Christmas letter in January.

 I feel a bit sick about all the Bearden day to day living I have missed because I don't write it down. Here goes another attempt to write in my blog daily......

So here we are living in St George, and it's maybe, sorta, kinda, a little bit starting to feel like we made the right choice to come down here.


Casie is doing sooooo great on her mission.  She seems so happy and is having so much success.  She amazes me with her ability to speak the language.  We spoke with her on Christmas and it was the highlight of the season.  It's such a blessing to have a missionary in our family. She makes us all want to do better and be better.



Annie auditioned for her Tuachan Highschool madrigal choir.  Up to this point she has shown little or no enthusiasm for going to school there.  But the last two days I have got texts from her telling me how much she loves choir!  She says everyone one in the choir WANTS to be there and that makes it fun. 

Ellie hasn't adapted amazingly well yet, although I think she's had some good opportunities to look beyond herself and her friend group.  She has taught an elderly lady in our ward Uke lessons, and they have a cute relationship.  She has also, (on her own) decided to help with the handicapped kids in her school as one of her electives.  She comes home and talks more about that class than any other she has.  She has lots of friends, although she still remains loyal and true to her friends in South Jordan.  She also, with Mike auditioned for St George musical theatre Broadway review.  The director fell in love with Ellie right off and gave her a part...(we don't know what yet), but that made Ellie feel really good!  Hopefully this will be a way to feel more part of our community.

Jack is so energetic, smart, creative, willful and HARD!  I will admit he is has been a hard child lately! He's pretty stubborn and VERY in tune with what he wants and doesn't want.  No "layed back" behavior from this boy.  I do see many of his traits that will help him in life, but Mike and I are sometimes at a loss as how to handle him.  He is also very funny.  He has started to develop a hilarious sense of humor that I love.  He says funny things, like,.."Mom, doesn't my hair look flawless?"  He's also sensitive and has a hard time when Mike and I want to go out of town and leave him with his cousins.  He like me to be home with him.  He's getting better at reading and math and even says good things about school from time to time!

I have been made the Relief Society president of our ward.  I feel like a child trying to do a grown up responsibility!  I have amazing counselors though.  Each of them are EXACTLY what I wish I were.  I am trying to have Faith that Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when he called me.  I know I have an opportunity to grow, but I also know I will make many mistakes.  I do feel a deep love for the sisters of my ward.  There are so many wonderful people around us. I also was obsessed with making Angels for Christmas.  It started as a small craft idea, then I ended up making around 160 in all! (I sold them...I don't have 160 fairy dolls at my house:)

Mike, along with the rest of our family is obsessed with the new movie, The Greatest Showman.  After seeing it for the 4th time...(yes 4th..in the theatre) he came home and arranged one of the songs from it and he and Ellie recored it.  It sounds great!  They are now in the process of planning a music video to go along with it.  I love that my family does this sort of thing!  It makes life really fun.

Casie is going on a mission!

Although this happened back in Feb, it still calls for all CAPS and three exclamation points....CASIE IS GOING ON A MISSION!!!  All throughout her senior year of high school I kept hinting (ok, it was more like commanding/begging) to her that I thought she should serve a mission.  Maybe it's just a teenage thing, or maybe she really didn't want to go, but she resisted.  She kept saying, "I really don't feel like I want to go."  I had accepted that and was excited to see what her future would hold.  Shortly after graduating she decided to get her patriarchal blessing.  The patriarch said some very specific things about her serving a mission.  I was a bit nervous and told her that just because he said that didn't mean she HAD to go and that it could mean later in life.  But she told me that she had already decided to serve a mission but just hadn't told me yet! The next few months she moved to Cedar City to work for Amy and Dusty at their newly acquired business Great Harvest Bread CO.  Working with Dusty, (who was her Stake President in the singles ward) she put together her mission papers and was called to the Brazil Maceio mission!!  She leaves July 18.  Awesomely, that is the same mission that Mindy and Kyle served in 20 years ago!  And awesomely, they live just down the street from us! And awesomely, Casie is moving home in May to live with us until she leaves.  I know the Lord has called her to the place she needs to be.  I know she will be a force for good in bringing souls to the Gospel.  I can't wait to see her grow and learn.  We are so proud of her!!! She is so amazing.

Japanese exchange students

Annie is Japanese.  Ok, not really, but her heart and mind are!  For the last 3 years she has become obsessed,...(what? Annie obsessed with something!?) with everything Japanese.  She loves the culture, the music, the language, the toys, the tv shows, the animation, the clothes...everything.  She has been teaching herself Japanese and is doing really well.  Shortly after we moved to St. George in Feb of 2017 (had to throw that in since it's mentioned NO WHERE in this blog) we had the opportunity to host a Japanese foreign exchange student.  We jumped at the opportunity.  Mostly because Japanese people had almost become celebrities in Annie's mind and we thought it would be fun for her.  IT WAS!  At first Annie was a bit star struck when she came face to face with them.  She clammed up and wouldn't utter a word of Japanese to them.  She felt awkward and embarrassed.  Luckily our student Kana, was super out going and started showing Annie a funny face swapping app on her phone.  The girls started laughing together and from then on they became inseparable!  It was so fun to see our normally reserved Annie come to life with these Japanese kids! Mindy was hosting a student as well so we through several parties and invited all the Japanese kids in the area (who were part of the exchange program as well) to come over and socialize.  They roasted marshmallows one night, karaoke one night, we took the girls kayaking, and to snow canyon.  On the nights we didn't have an organized party, Annie, Kana, and Ayumi (Mindy's student) could be found watching movies together, laughing and eating popcorn, and practicing their Japanese/English.  I loved having them here.  I found the Japanese kids to have such sweet spirits.  They were so in awe and so cute about being in the US.  It was fun to show them things they hadn't seen before (like microwave popcorn and Italian soda)  They have very rigorous school schedules so it was fun for them to kick back for a few weeks and really enjoy themselves.  Annie was in heaven!  She really bonded with Kana and Ayumi.  It was a very tearful goodbye for all of them.  She is friends with both of them on facebook and they text each other as well.  I am so grateful we had the opportunity to have them in our home!!

WAY too much time has gone by!!!

Way, way, WAY, WAYYYYYY...too much time has passed since I have updated my blog.  My heart hurts when I think about all the wonderful memories that will fade and be forgotten because I didn't write them down.  It makes me want to cry. But greatfully it also has inspired me to start blogging once again.  I love my life and I love my children and I hope by recording a bit of our lives I can fully appreciate all that I have, and most importantly REMEMBER all the wonderful things that happen to us.  (and as a side benefit, perhaps my children will read this in the future and tell their therapist that perhaps I wasn't such a horrible mom after all.)

As I scroll through pictures from the past, so many memories pour in.  Each photo could be it's own blog entry.  Each photo is filled with memories and details that deserve to be recoreded.  I almost don't know where to start.  Maybe I will just start with a bit of what's been going on in my mind, because the last couple of years have been an inner struggle for me, yet wonderful memories have still been made, and so much happiness and joy have been experienced.  I have been expeirencing depression and anxiety.  Not, like "I'm feeling down, and a little nervous", but more like, I felt like I was losing my mind.  I went from positive and optimistic to scared and apathetic..almost overnight.  My whole experience has baffled me, tormented me, and made me miserable, but it has also taught me, and is teaching me, amazing things.  I don't have the desire or need to go into all the details of my  journey, but I have found that joy can be found even in the darkest times.  I can have depression and still have happiness.  I hope that I can learn more to thrive, and understand, and most importantly help others who are going through the same thing...(which I am finding are a whole ton of people!)

Important Pickle

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" 

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!!

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.  

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.

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. :-)

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.  

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.....

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. :-)  

                                         He's mad because Ellie wouldn't give him the roller.

                 Now I think he's going to try and take the roller by force.  Good times, good times.

                       Annie was happy that I let her have her head phones in while she painted.

The fun parts about being a boy.

Yesterday I came in the bathroom to get Jack out of the tub.  He was standing up and he was...how do I say this?....exploring his boy parts. Anyway, he told me with great excitement. "Mom!, there are two little bubbles in here.  I can move them around.  You should try this, it's actually pretty fun!"  Ha ha...I love that kid so much.  When I told him what the bubbles were really called, he laughed.  Annie, who was in the bathroom too, was mortified.  

Adventures at Stake Conference

The pioneers had to walk barefoot across the plains with little or no food in winter blizzards while carrying all their earthly possessions, but we...we face a slightly harder trial in our day.  We have a two hour meeting in which we have to keep our kids quiet and attentive while sitting on cold, hard metal chairs, (if we were not smart enough to arrive 2 hours early to secure the coveted soft seats).  This trial is known as Stake Conference!!!!   It was funny to exchange looks with the other mothers as we hauled our bags full of coloring books, crayons, snacks, and whatever toy we thought wouldn't be too loud into the church building.  We seemed to say to each other, "Stay strong sister"..."This too shall pass".  Now, for at least the last 5 years, this feeling of dread was not the case.  Because other than this year, most of the time I have been ingenious enough to be a part of the Stake Choir.  Stake conference had always been a highly uplifting experience for me.  How could it not!?  I was sitting in the EXTRA comfy choir chairs (a huge step up from the padded pews).  I was usually sitting by a friend and not by wiggly children.  I was super attentive and alert. (usually because I was on camera and didn't dare doze off) And I could look out at the happy listening faces of those sitting in the pews as we shared in the strong spirit of the meeting.  Ok, this year was different...Today I learned that there are two very different meetings going on in that building.  You have the "Spirit Paradise" meeting.  These are those who are in the choir seats, and the padded pew in a well lit chapel.  They are smiling and attentive and surrounded by those who are smiling and attentive.  They enjoy a reverent meeting and come away edified and uplifted. Then you have that small number of padded chair folding chair people who are super close to the light and just in front of the large screens that are pulled down for the people in the back.  They usually have a similar experience as those in the front of the chapel. Then...oh then, you have that line where it changes from carpet to gym floor.  From well lit to dim.  From soft seats to cold, hard, super uncomfortable metal chairs.  I call this spirit Prison.  This is where you are surrounded by noisy kids, grumpy moms, dim lighting (because of the screens that are projecting the meeting) sleeping dads, and restless teenagers.  Of course I am exaggerating, but it was funny to see the differences between the meetings I experienced in the choir, and the meeting I experienced today.  Although being in the back is probably a more appropriate place for my family.  We had some good laughs during the meeting.  One of them came when the words to the rest hymn were not displayed on the screen and we didn't have a hymn book to look at.  The song was All Creatures of our God and King.  This is pretty much exactly how it went for us:

 Other than the hard chairs and noise around us..(and within our family) the meeting was still wonderful.  It focused on both missionary work and family history work.  (That much I did get)  I was being a little naughty and took a few photos of my family and our adventures in Stake Conference.  I will look back on these pictures as a reminder to join the choir again next Stake Conference.

Mike, who usually has to sit on the stand, got lots of back scratches and attention.  He only slept  a tiny bit . :)

Casie and I listened the ENTIRE time.

Jack was pretty good and played with my phone most of the time.  Not something I love during a meeting, but come on, it was a TWO HOUR meeting!

Yep.  This is the face Ellie kept giving me the WHOLE time.  I will translate what it means: "Mom, why does Casie get to sit by you and not me?" "How much more minutes?"  (she still says "much" even though we tell her it should be "many." ) "I want to go home." 

Annie can draw for hours.  At this meeting she drew for two hours....straight.  I hope she was still able to listen a little.  But I know for sure she entertained the guy behind us because he was mesmerized the whole time as he watched her draw. :-)

This was before the meeting started.  Casie wanted to walk up front so she could be on the two huge screens in the back.  I've never been so proud.

My son needs to stop watching Cake Boss.

Jack's 5th birthday is coming up.  It has been super entertaining talking about all his hopes and wishes for his big day.  In our family we get to choose each meal on our birthday.  Here is the menu for Jack's big day.

Breakfast: Chicken nuggets and bacon

Lunch:  Ice cream

Dinner:  Yummy Burritos with sauce.  Beans and Tortillas

The Cake: Jack informed me he wanted a My Little Pony cake.  I said I could make a cake and put pony's on it. "No" he said, "I want one shaped like a pony".  I informed him that it was probably a little too hard for a woman of my skills to pull that one off.

 His Response.....
"It's easy peasy!  Just go make rice crispy treats and shape them into legs and a body.  Then you put the head on and cover the whole thing in fondant.  See...easy peasy!!!!.....(thinking)....actually we might need to call Cake Boss and he can bring it on a plane from New York."

My poor child may be a bit disappointed on his big day.


In other child news.....

After scripture study last night someone picked up a ball that had been left on the ground and we started  tossing it back and forth amongst the family.  Because I am a cheesy Mom and always searching for ways to spread my cheese, I said "Whoever is holding the ball has to say something they like about the person who threw it to them." After establishing my game, I threw it to Annie.  She says in a serious, yet mocking tone, "I like that Mom doesn't go out gambling.  Instead she stays home and ponders our needs."

I have funny kids.

Falling off the potty train.

Jack will go down in history as the hardest Bearden child to potty train.  Casie will take a close second, Ellie third and Annie wins the easiest by FAR!

I love that little boy of mine SO stinking much, but I was mean to Jack yesterday.  I don't really want to record it, because it wasn't my finest parenting moment, and quite honestly I want him to forget it ever happened, but what he said was so cute I wanted to write it down.  After peeing his pants for the third time I put him fully clothed in the shower to wash off.  I didn't do freezing water, but it wasn't fun for him.  He was crying and I was almost crying too...(it's been almost 3 YEARS of trying to potty train him people!).  After turning off the water, I told him to stand in the shower while I went to get a towel.  As I was coming back I heard Jack say, "She went too far this time....Mom went too far."  My heart melted and I scooped up my little drowned rat and apologized for losing my temper.  I hate when I react  
negatively in situations when I know it's just making it worse.  I honestly am at a loss though.  I am not sure how to get him to use the potty!  I have gone through positive rewards (like treats and toys) to negative consequences ( like losing his scooter, oh, and add fully clothed shower to the list).  It's such a good thing that I am so head over hills in love with him.   It's also good that he loves me too and is quick to forgive my short comings.


One cute thing he said about potty training once was, " Mom, it would be so much easier if I could earn  prizes for peeing my pants."

Honest Abe...(aka Jack)

It was raining, it was cold, we went swimming anyway in the outdoor pool.  In order for kids to be able to get in the hot tub they have to be five.  Jack will be five in 2 months.  Here is the conversation I had with Jack before heading out to the pool.

ME: Jack, if they ask you how old you are then let's say your are five ok? (In my heart I knew I shouldn't had said that, but I also knew how cold he would be...and the serpent  Mike beguiled me and said that Jack was essentially five...and...and...and...)

Jack: (looking up at me with shock and disbelief) But, that's not right.

Me: (sheepishly) You're right..ok we won't do that.

Jack:  It's the rules Mom! And if you tell them I am 5 I will say, MY MOM IS A LIAR!  I'M ONLY FOUR!!!

Me:  (kicking myself..feeling small..and laughing a little)  I am sorry...you are right...good job....

Jack: And if they believe you and give me a wrist band that is blue (indicating that he is 5 or older)  I still won't get in the hot tub!!

Coloring with Uncle Matthew

Instead of trying to catch up on all the wonderful parts of life that have slipped by undocumented, I will just jump right back in and start blogging again from this point.  Sound good? Good.

Matthew, Jessica, and Toa came and visited us last week.  Matthew and Jess are extremely attentive and patient parents (like how I used to be until I grew grumpy and tired).  They really do their best to meet all of two year old Toa's needs and are really sweet to him even when he is in "terrible two mode".   On the last night they were here we felt like we wanted to soak up every minute we had left with them so I let the kids stay up late.  While Jessica was putting Toa down,  I walked in to find Matthew and Jack coloring together.  Matthew would draw Jack a picture then Jack would color it in.  First of all Jack has never, in all the four years I've known him, sat down and colored.  But these two sat like this for an hour!  The thing that touched me the most was that it was past 11pm.  I know Matthew had to be exhausted.  Being a dad is tiring on it's own, but be a patient and attentive dad is super tiring!! I am so glad he took the time to make Jack feel special.