Girls Girls Girls. Righteous Ones!

For those of you that don't know I am currently serving in my church in the Young Women's organization. This is a program in our church that involves girls ages 12-18 in spiritual instruction and church based activities.

When I was asked to serve in this capacity I cried. Not because I was sad or scared, it was because I felt completely unworthy. As some of you ladies who grew up in the LDS church know, all Young Women leaders are like gold to these girls. I IDOLIZED my Young Women's leaders, Michelle and Val (to name a couple), and I didn't think I could EVER be like them. They were righteous, fun, beautiful, crazy, spiritual and much more. I loved them so so much and still do. Here I was presented the chance to be like Michelle and Val and bawling my head off. I finally got a grip and of course I accepted the invitation to serve and I have loved every minute of it.

Other callings (as these positions are referred to in our church) have been fun and then turned to drudgery as time went on. Not this one. I truly believe that the Lord has blessed me with such a great love for each of "my girls" that I am happy to do whatever I need to for them. I am not saying that I am even close to being as good of a leader as Michelle or Val but I am trying and I hope that I can make a difference in my girls' lives for good.

Here is a picture of most of us at New Beginnings this year. Who is that in the back row right under the numbers? Why it is Elaine Dalton, the current General Young Women's president (for the entire worldwide LDS church). We are soooo lucky to have her in our ward and she was kind enough to speak to us at our New Beginnings. Yeah Awesome!


Almost all of my Laurels at the time. Me, Miss S., Miss A., Miss E., Sis. Dalton, Miss M., Miss L, and Miss A. Missing are Miss O. and Miss B.

Little Brother

Just tryin' to get a better view.

Second Place!

Sports, Sports, Sports! We never stop and I love it. One of our family's latest sporting excursions was a trip to St. George last month for Katie's soccer tournament. Their team did great with a 3-1 record and they won 2nd place. Pretty good for their first outdoor play since last fall.

Matthew sure looks like a soccer player though it is the only sport he doesn't play.

Nostalgia?

My kids are growing up waaaayyyy too fast for my taste. For anyone who knows me I am not really sentimental or nostalgic about too many things. I am finding though that this is getting less and less true about my kids growing up. For the first time lately I have found myself wanting to snuggle and hug my not so little kids more. Maybe that is because they are all really too big to do that anymore. Luckily "Baby Jake" can fold his legs up and still fit on my lap and the triplets who are too big for lap snuggles have moved into standing hugs. I just need to enjoy this stage while they are still willing to hug me because that will end too.

This post was sparked by the discovery of this picture of Claire. She is 9 years old in this one and she still looks so young. I love it because it is sooooo her. Right down to the slightly messy hair.

Guilt

The last thing I need in my busy life these days is more guilt. Guilt that I play tennis instead of having a clean house. Guilt that I have an office in the basement that has been PACKED with stuff for over a year and still haven't cleaned it out so that Matt can work down there. Guilt that I didn't send out Christmas cards last year. These are just a few examples of my guilty thoughts; there are many many more mostly related to my inability to be organized and tidy.

Unfortunately this blog is a big source of guilt for me. Obviously I haven't posted for a while nor am I good at posting about big events in our family's life. Since the whole purpose of the blog is journaling I have failed. I am now going to try harder to keep up with this blog. I am not going to set a goal because I have a strong aversion to setting goals (a very long explanation for later) but I will try harder. At least to get rid of the guilt.

Jake turns 9

Happy Birthday to my baby Jake. Sadly my baby has not been a baby for along time--he has turned 9. As I have stated many times before, I am NOT a very sentimental person. I tend to live in the moment without spending too much time pining for times gone by. Anyway, I am surprised at how sentimental I am about Jake growing up. He is officially too big to fit in a ball on my lap but luckily he is not too old to want to snuggle. We are so blessed to have him in our family and I am so blessed to get to be his Mother.

10 things I love about Jake:
He has the cutest dimples
He has "chomper" teeth - very straight and big for his head at the moment
He is super smart
He loves to snuggle
His memory is like a steel trap
He LOVES his Dad (and me too but not as much as Matt)
He is incredibly athletic
He is almost always happy (except for when Matthew is picking on him or when he has to got to piano lessons)
Everyone loves him
He is my baby.

Jake (his name fits him perfectly)

Birthday cake for breakfast in bed

Birthday gifts in bed

Christmas 2010

Christmas this year came fast and left fast. It was a busy season filled with get togethers and family parties. This year we were happy to host Anne and Brian in from Virginia. It is probably their last Christmas in the states for a while because they are headed to Conakry, Guinea next August.

Here are some pictures from our Christmas Eve program at Grandma and Grandpa Clawson's and a few from Christmas morning. For some reason I wasn't feeling it to take a lot so the pickin's are slim.

Thomas, Katie, Abby, and Claire

Brian doing a reading.

The family listening to the program about the birth of Christ. I love Anne and Brian looking lovingly in each other's eyes. They are not technically newlyweds but still act like it. Cutest!

Katie and Claire are in orchestra and band this year at school and have new talents to share.

Grandpa Brad and Ry reading us a story.

Claire. She is sure growing up! (stop it please!)

Claire opening a certificate to get her ears pierced!

Katie
Jake showing off his Michael Jackson glove. He got the Michael Jackson experience for the wii. Both of my boys love to dance! (shhh it's a secret though)

Matthew with a few gifts on. Fuzzy hat, fake ray ban glasses, and striped socks. Classy!


We are truly blessed by all that we have both temporally and spiritually! Most of all we are grateful for our wonderful family and friends that bless our lives daily.