Sunday thoughts

These past few days I have had a lot of time to reflect on my life and the direction it is going. There are so many days I feel like I am running around in circles with no directions at all. Days like that make me realize what I am doing in my life and how I need to make changes that will help my family and myself. I was DEEPLY touched by President Uchtdorf's word's yesterday at the Relief Society Broadcast. I was praying that I would be able to get something out of this meeting that would be able to help me in parenting, being a wife and in dealing with everyday life. I felt like President Uchtdorf was talking right to me and it brought tears to my eyes to listen to him. He said, "Our sisters sometimes undervalue their abilities. They focus on what is lacking or imperfect rather than that which has been accomplished and who they really are." I find myself under valuing my abilities all the time and have to remind myself that Satan wants me to do that. He wants me to be discouraged, miserable and negative about life. He doesn't want me to succeed and be happy. He is so sneaky and can slither into our lives in so many different ways if we let him - by our thoughts, TV, radio, internet, etc. Our homes are definitely under attack and I can feel it on a constant basis. How important it is to send our children out into the world wearing the Armor of God! We have been trying really hard to be constant in reading scriptures every morning and saying prayers together before the kids head off to school. I must admit that some days we only are able to read one scripture, but at least we are doing it. One of my favorite songs is "Scripture Power."

Because I want to be like the Savior and I can.
I'm reading his instructions, I'm following his plan.
Because I want the power his words will give to me.
I'm changing how I live, I'm changing how I'll be.

Scripture Power keeps me safe from sin.
Scripture Power is the power to win.
Scripture Power - every day I need
the power that I get each time I read.

These words are so powerful. I want my children to gain a love for the scriptures and realize how they can help them through anything that may happen in their lives.

I love being a mom and being able to raise 6 children. I pray constantly that I will know how to raise them righteously and help prepare them for missions/marriage. I have realized lately that this undertaking is made possible by so many wonderful people around us. We have such great primary teachers for my children who put so much effort into their weekly lessons. The Young Women's program is amazing! Camille can't say enough good about what goes on there. The scouting program is wonderful and Johnathan & Tanner have such amazing den leaders. Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles can have such a lasting impact also.

I am truly blessed to have so many wonderful activities, people and resources around to help in this great endeavor of raising my children. How could I ever not be happy!

It finally happened!!!

For 8 years we have had our Dodge caravan and felt blessed it lasted as long as it did. We kept praying that we could go another 4 years without having to get a new vehicle. Well last Friday we started having transmission issues again - we had the transmission replaced 14 mos. ago - and of course it is not under warranty at this point (only 12 mos.).

JUST OUR LUCK!!!

We ended up realizing that it was inevitable that we needed to get a new vehicle. We started looking around to find the cheapest van that will seat 8 passengers. We were excited to finally find one and ended up buying it on Monday.

The kids were ecstatic and couldn't quit trying each new contraption. We have so many fun options that I didn't even realize were possible - The kid's haven't complained once to go run errands or to just make a quick trip in the van. They have been so excited to go (which is definitely not normal). We hope that this van will last us many, many years.

Saturday - September 20th

I woke up to the most amazing sight - I opened my kitchen blinds around 7:45 a.m. to see this out my back door. I quickly grabbed my camera and within a minute it disappeared - I caught it just in time. Then we had a huge rain storm hit. What a beautiful thing a rainbow is!
Tanner is in flag football right now and loving every minute of it. He has had 3 games so far and has been able to be the quarterback quite a bit for two of those games. I love watching him play. He is very coordinated and quick on his feet. One of his best friends is on the team, which makes it more fun for him. He has improved so much since playing last year. Now that soccer season is winding down - one game left - it will be fun to just focus on one sport.

Way to go Golden Tigers!

Nu Skin Party

Every year Nu Skin holds a family summer party. Can I just say that I have never heard of a company that treats it's employees as well as Nu Skin does. What a great company we have been blessed for Byron to work with!!!

This year they had it at Lagoon - on Sept. 19th - and my kid's talked about it so much that you would have thought it was Christmas:). Lagoon was closed to the public, so we were able to walk onto many of the rides all night long. Allyson was so nice to watch Bradley for us so we could enjoy our evening better - thanks Allyson!!! Byron & I took turns taking Camille, Tanner & Johnathan on the roller coasters and then taking Carter & Parker on the rides they could go on. We all had such a great time.

Johnathan was tall enough to go on all the roller coasters this year and sure had a lot of fun. He was pretty timid at first, but didn't seem to let this stop him. Byron & I were able to enjoy roller coasters more this time then we have ever before. All of us (5 oldest) went on Wicked and loved it. This was probably the ride with the longest line, but well worth it.

ParkerAll of us riding the train. The older kid's weren't so excited to be in this ride, but were troopers. It was fun to go on a ride with us all together.

Parker & Carter waiting for their brothers and sisters to go on "The Bat." They were wet from riding a new ride, "OdySea" previously.
Byron can't handle rides that go in circles, so he sat out on this ride - Tilt-a-Whirl.
I can see why rides have to put a height restriction, but get so frustrated when I hear from my 6 year olds how sad they were that they couldn't go on a ride that most 6 year olds can ride on. I remember myself being in this predicament, but feel sad when I see it first hand with my children. Then I see the kid's that are tall for their age being forced on these big rides by their parents because they are able to ride them, but they mentally can't handle them - other than this issue we had no complaints the whole night :).

Camille & Tanner went on rides that I didn't even dare to go on. I don't have any problem riding most of the rides at Lagoon - except if they go straight up or free-fall - I am scared to death of them. "The Rocket" was one of those rides that I didn't feel comfortable riding on. Tanner & Camille rode it twice. I think they were absolutely crazy!!!!

We had such a fun evening - the kids are already talking about going next year.

Buddies

Parker & Carter are seriously the best of friends or worst of enemies. I thought school would help make things better, but we still have those moments every morning when I hear one or the other crying. I got a huge kick out of them the other day when they were so excited to have me see them giving each other piggy back rides. Parker did a great job being able to carry his own weight. Carter found it a little harder task, but both did great. I just wish I can freeze these moments and play them over and over again.
The other day my sister, Allyson, came over during the day with her two adorable kids - Myles and Rose. We had so much fun visiting with them. Allyson has lived pretty close to me since she got married, but has never felt comfortable driving to my house. She has made a HUGE milestone lately and finally came over. I loved being able to visit with an adult instead of having children to talk with - like every day:) The kids played great other than Bradley taking Myles toy constantly - we need to work on that one.
Parker & Rose Rose & Bradley
Bradley & Myles

Funny!

We came across this video in youtube.com today and couldn't quit laughing. My kids had to watch it about 4 times and uncontrollably laughed every time. Just something to help cheer you up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OBlgSz8sSM&NR=1

Clean-up

Bradley has started acting so grown up lately with his thinking and how he copies most everything we do. The other day he brought me into the kitchen and pointed to the cups - which interprets "Can I please have a drink of water." I quickly got him a 1/4 cup glass of water and being busy with something else quickly leave the kitchen. A little later I see Bradley running down the hall with a wet wipe. I though how cute, but didn't think much about it until I walked into the kitchen. He had spilled his water and ran in to get a wet wipe to clean it up. Of course the wet wipe wasn't soaking any of it up, but at least he is learning how to clean up any mess he makes. He was looking so proud of himself as I walked into the kitchen that I had to grab him and give him big hugs and kisses. He made my day!
So I open the fridge this morning to find this in the fridge door. At least he is trying to put it away - at this point I don't even care where it goes - just as long as he is learning the concept.

Now if I can just teach my other kids to clean up after themselves - my days would be so easy :)

Shoes

Do you ever feel like your kids are growing out of their clothes like crazy? I have lately and don't feel like I can keep up. I have decided whenever I purchase new shoes or clothes that I will get them a little big so that they can't grow out of them so fast.

Today this thinking backfired on me. Carter and Parker are out on the field playing soccer. Parker is playing defender and has the ball heading straight towards him. He runs up and kicks the ball. Not only does the ball go flying, but also does his shoe - 7 feet up into the air. He quickly runs over and grabs his runaway shoe and puts it on. About one minute later the same thing happens. So after dealing with this runaway shoe for 3 different episodes, I quickly had Carter run over and trade shoes with his brother. Luckily they wear the same shoe size or this game could have been disastrous. The comical part of it all was watching Carter and Parker trade shoes in 10 seconds flat every time one or the other would go in to play.

Ok - so buying shoes a little big can work most times, but not during a soccer game.

My Baptism Boy!

Johnathan turned 8 in July, but has had to wait until now to get baptized due to scheduling conflicts. He was so excited for the big day to come and finally arrive. What a special day it is when one of your children make the choice to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized. There were 2 other children that were baptized at the same time as Johnathan. The spirit was very strong in the chapel. Thanks mom for giving the talk on the Holy Ghost - you did a wonderful job! All of the siblings of the kids being baptized sang "We'll Bring the World His Truth" and "I Am a Child of God." The song was beautiful! Thanks Genevieve for playing the piano - you are quite the pianist. Thanks also to all those who took the time out of their busy lives to come - we appreciate all your support.
The Beck Clan - Tricia, Camille, Byron, Bradley, Tanner, Johnathan, Carter & Parker
Each child had a special table for them - Johnathan loves BYU football, "The Mouse and the Motorcycle", Pokemon cards and soccer - to name a few. Below is a fun collage I put together of through the past 8 years.

I love you so much Johnathan and am so proud of your decision to be baptized. You are such a great example to your sister and brothers. You are the peacemaker in our home. How blessed we are to have you a part of our family!

We were fortunate enough to have both sets of Grandparents at the baptism - thanks Dad & Mom for flying out for this special day. We had so much fun spending time with you.
Thanks Dad & Mom Beck for coming also -- you are always such great supporters of everything we are involved in. We are so fortunate to live so close to you guys.
Here are some fun pictures of after the baptism back at our house. There was great company and not to mention the wonderful food (YUM!)




After the very close BYU football game to a close we headed to Glenn Park in Highland to enjoy the evening. We missed having Byron with us since he had a Priesthood Leadership Meeting. The kids were excited to try fishing again. The water level was down so much since we were there in June. We were sure that we wouldn't catch any fish, but Camille surprised us by catching two! The others were so patient, but nothing - maybe next year:).

What a special and full day! Thanks to all of you who helped make it one day that will not be forgotten.

Random Pictures

With summer winding down, Michael & Genevieve invited us over for one last swim party for the season. The weather was actually really nice and the kids LOVED playing in the water. I felt the water and decided against getting in - this didn't stop my kids though. Bradley had fun in the water for about 30 minutes then he was done. He enjoyed squirting others instead.
Come on out, the waters not deep!

Carter having way too much fun.
Grandpa & Grandma Beck playing frisbee.
Poor Byron - he always gets hung onto by all the kids. Here he is with Tanner & Johnathan.
Byron, Camille & I had the fun opportunity to watch "Oklahoma" put on by the Lehi Arts Council. The play was so fun to watch with extremely talented actresses/actors and great music! There were quite a few that were in this play that were also with Camille in "Sound of Music" last year. She had fun renewing some of these friendships and getting a picture with them. Below is Emily, Camille, Shae, Tori & Max.

Byron, Parker & I were able to attend the first BYU Football game on August 30th. The weather was SO hot, but cooled off by half time. Before the game started we had fun going to the pregame show and getting the free items and playing some games. Parker even won a BYU shirt. I didn't get to attend any of the home games last year due to having a young baby, but took advantage of the first game. There is nothing like being there in Lavell Edwards Stadium being around the die hard BYU fans. One of my favorite parts is being able to sing the "Cougar Fight Song" after each touch down. To top off the fun evening, we even won 41-17.

GO COUGARS!!!


This is a picture of Tanner cooking on his buddy burner that he made at scouts. He was so proud of it that he brought it home and cooked an egg. Tanner loves going to scouts and learning new things.

Kindergarten and Bradley-18 months

Carter & Parker are so excited about school and LOVE going every day. They started one week after the other kids started and you would have thought it had been a month with the endless questions about when they were starting. They have afternoon kindergarten which I truly wasn't excited about when I found out, but it has grown on me to the point where it actually works great for us. I have about 2 hours by myself while Bradley is taking a nap and then the other kids get home from school - just enough time to do homework - and then it is time to pick up Carter & Parker. They ride the bus everyday and get really sad if we are running errands and they end up missing the bus. The ride with mom in the car just isn't as exciting:). Here are some pictures from their first day of school.

Carter above and Parker below.
Such great friends! How I wish they were like this every day:).
Waiting to get on the bus. They have about 7 kids in our ward in their school class. They love having so many friends with them - hopefully the teacher will survive.
I followed the bus to school and met up with them out front. They all lined up by class and their teacher put a name tag on all of them.
Coming off the bus after school, Carter didn't seem so excited to see his mom. I'm sure the first day seemed short and also since it was an early out day even shorter. Carter & Parker were about 20 steps in front of me the whole walk home. I was excited to meet them at the bus stop to hear how their day went, but I guess it had to wait until we walked through the door. Bradley is growing up way too fast. He is 18 months in a few days (NURSERY HERE WE COME!!!). It seems like everyday he says a new word or does something new. He has been carrying a bike helmet around the house the past few days opening and shutting the clasp. Of course he can't undo the clasp after he closes it, so off to find mom every 15 seconds to have her help. It does pay off with his cute smile afterwords and "thank you."

He has quite a fun vocabulary. Some of his favorite words to say are hot dog, cheese, hi, bye, yum, sock, shoes, baby, mom, dad, up, down, off, help, Grandpa & Grandma, Jesus and diaper. He is definitely a monkey and will climb onto everything. He loves getting onto the table and enjoying all the yummy food left behind by a brother or sister. Many messes have resulted in this - you'd think the kids would learn after cleaning up a cereal or milk mess. For the past month he has started grabbing one of our hands and bringing us to something that he wants. He is such a sweet tooth that he usually is looking for candy in the pantry. He has one piece of candy and won't let it stop with that one until we have a huge temper tantrum on our hands. Bradley gets so excited when the kids get home from school. He loves to also look out our front window if he is waiting for someone to get home. Lately he also climbs behind us when we are sitting on a chair and puts his arms around our neck to give us hugs. He blows kisses all the time and is a fun loving guy! We love him so much and can't imagine our life without him.