Jordan's Special Weekend

Jordan had been looking forward to being baptized for a very long time...She had been planning and preparing for her baptism for many, many months...and so she was one excited gal when the time was finally here for her big day. Grandparents from Utah arrived on Friday night, along with Grandparents and cousins from Missouri. On Saturday morning, we all gathered along with many friends to see her be baptized. She was able to be baptized with her sweet friend Grace which was really neat too. Jordan look absolutely radiant in her new dress. She was so happy, and we were of course, thrilled for her to make such a good choice and a choice that we know will continue to bless her life forever.
Some things to remember about the day-
-It was a beautiful, crisp (very chilly), but sunny February morning here in Iowa

-The font water was very cold!
-Grandpa Kirk gave a special talk on baptism and Grandma Cindy said the opening prayer
-A group of Jordan's church friends sang "If the Savior Stood Beside Me"
-We were surrounded by family and friends, all of whom really LOVE Jordan





-Jordan wore a CTR bracelet from Grandpa Kirk and Grandma Patsy, and a special necklace that was my mom's. I wore it on my wedding day and Ashton wore it on her baptism day. It is our special connection to our Grandma in heaven who we know is also proud of our children and their choices.


-Grandpa Steve and Grandma Cindy gave Jordan her own set of scriptures with a case- what a treasure for her!

-Grandma Patsy and Grandpa Kirk presented Jordan with a quilt made by Great-Grandma Mary...it is to help her remember the Holy Ghost as a source of "comfort" throughout her life.

-Jordan chose doughnuts as her baptism refreshment and boy, were those a hit!

-Jordan was so thrilled to not only be baptized and confirmed by her dad, but also by the Bishop!


-After the baptism, we had a lunch celebration- Jordan had planned the menu which included funeral potatoes, a meat/cheese tray, rolls, chips, jello salad, a veggie tray, and of course, chocolate cake.
-Later that day, we went over to the John Deere pavilion to see all the equipment. Then we went swimming at the hotel where Grandpa Kirk and Grandma Patsy were staying. After swimming, Tod and his mom took the little kids home, while Ashton, Jordan and I stayed at the hotel for some extra visiting. We soaked in every bit of time that we had with our family. We love it when they come to see us, and it is so hard to say good-bye! But we were so thankful they could share the weekend with us!

I hope Jordan will always remember this day. I know that I will. I love my Jordan so much- she is a source of laughter and a great help in our home. She is always trying to learn new things, is very loving and full of life. We are proud of her and thankful that we could enjoy this special time together.

Our Valentine's Day

Woke up to treats on the kitchen table- books and giant pencils for girls, a toy motorcycle for Cole

Packed up everyone's Valentines and boxes

Went to Regan's Dance Party

Enjoyed 3 Classroom Parties- Preschool, 2nd grade, 4th grade


Received beautiful flowers from my Valentine

Savored an entire day to think about and remember my special Valentine Angel...my mom who would have turned 62 years old! Love her so much and miss her every day...but especially on "love" day (her birthday) because she was so full of love.

Chinese New Year

I love traditions...and here at our local elementary school, they have a great 2nd grade tradition of celebrating the Chinese New Year. The highlight is a parade where the entire 2nd grade goes underneath the "dragon" as it winds throughout the hallway and the other students come out to watch. The only way to identify your student is to know what kind of shoes they are wearing! Good thing Jordan wore her favorite black boots!


Regan and her friends (who will all be in kindergarten next year) got right down on the floor to try to get a better view of who was actually under the dragon.

Cole made himself right at home in the classroom to sample some ham fried rice. It was a great celebration!

2012 Snapshot

I found a blog that I really love to read (www.71toes.com). The author gives the idea of writing a "snapshot" each year to capture some of the ordinary, regular things about everyday life. I love the idea! When I look back on past years, I love to remember the big things...but I also want to be able to remember the beautiful, day-to-day things. So here is our snapshot for 2012.

We are still working on our never ending project of finishing the basement. We are getting much closer...in fact painting and carpet should happen next week! Bathroom won't be done for a while. I am most excited for the pantry/sewing room.

Mornings are so chaotic at our house. There is always so much going on. I have to wake the girls up every morning...except on Saturdays when they amazingly get up before 7 AM to go watch TV.

I used to wake them up with an obnoxious song...now, per Jordan's request, I use a whisper version of it. She does respond better.

Tod has been the Bishop now for almost a year. It is time consuming and stressful...but also a great blessing. I have gotten very good at doing bed time and Sundays on my own.

I still read to the kids every night. I look so forward to that time. This year we have read some fabulous books, including the entire Little House series.

I have the best calling in the church- Primary Music Leader. I love it! It is a calling I have dreamed about for years. I am also the Cub Scouts Committee Chair.

This year has been hard from the stand point of having several really good friends move away. We all miss them a lot. This coming year, several more dear friends will leave, too.

For the past several months, our lives have been consumed by basketball. I am coaching Ashton's team (Monday, Friday practices and Saturday games) and Jordan is playing (Tuesday practice, Saturday game) Coaching is something I love and something that makes me incredibly nervous even on a 4th grade level!

We have had some health scares the last couple of weeks. It very quickly makes you realize what your priorities are and how quickly life could change.

I am still teaching piano to 14 students. Most of the time, I don't really know why I am!

For the first time in almost 10 years, we don't have a baby around the house (Cole will be 3 next month) It makes my heart incredibly sad.

However, Cole still does not sleep through the night! He has recently graduated from sleeping in our bed to sleeping on our floor.

I made cinnamon rolls almost every Sunday morning last year. Now that we have early church, we are missing that tradition so much.

Having Regan do another year of preschool this year has been such a good decision. She has grown up so much and loves her school and her friends. Cole misses her so much when she goes off to school each afternoon.

Ashton and Jordan sometimes have a hard time being together or being apart. They argue a lot but also love to play together.

Cole wakes up crying every single morning. I don't know why since he is generally a happy kid.

We have our family prayer in the van before we leave in the morning. If Cole doesn't get to say, he screams throughout the prayer.

Ashton is getting very good at violin. I am still teaching both older girls piano and have started teaching Regan a little. We try to get music practice out of the way before Dad gets home since he doesn't love it.

I have given up on staying on top of the laundry or organizing our "papers". I will keep trying.

Our favorite family dinners are anything breakfast-ish, lasagna and roast with noodles. Jordan is the pickiest eater. Regan is the best eater. Cole prefers soda and candy.

The little kids and I go to Sam's Club every other Thursday. We always finish our trip with a drink and a soft pretzel.

Tod gets every other Friday off and we greatly look forward to our lunch date- Azteca, Hy-vee and Culvers are our favorites.

The girls have taken over cleaing the bathrooms. This has been awesome for me.

Invent Iowa

Ashton came home from her TAG class several weeks ago and told me about "Invent Iowa" which is an event (similar to a science fair) where students come up with a new invention. After going through several different ideas, she settled on "Re-Doh". One of the problems we have at our house is that the Play-Doh colors get mixed and no one wants to play with it anymore. So Ashton's solution (with a little help from Dad) was a pill and mixer...you put the Play-Doh in the mixer, drop the pill in and grind it up...then presto, the Play-Doh returns to it's original color. Keep in mind that the invention didn't have to actually work! I thought it was very creative, and she did a great job. On the evening of the event, it was so fun to go and see all the inventions....it may sound corny, but it really did give hope for the future when you saw what these kids were coming up with. Such bright, innovative minds! I was proud of her for all the work she put in, and she did a great job of explaining her ideas to 3 different judges.

Birthday Weekend

We had so much fun celebrating Jordan's birthday last weekend! Our morning started with the opening of a new birthday outfit...then the birthday girl was off to school.

I picked her up after a couple of hours so that she could go get her hair cut....then it was on to Olive Garden to meet up with Dad for lunch.

It's a family tradition that for 8th birthdays, the birthday kid gets to go alone with Mom and Dad to a sit down restaurant. What a rare treat to just be with Jordan and enjoy her great personality. She was so excited for our lunch date and had talked about it for weeks!!! Funny incident...when we were driving back from her hair cut, she asked me if when we took Ashton out for her 8th birthday dinner, did we just sit in awkward silence and stare at each other. Is that was she thinks people do when they go out to eat? After the meal, she told me she was relieved that it wasn't "silent, " and that we had plenty to talk about!!! (I have to thank my amazing friend for coming to the rescue and staying with the 2 little kids who were sick...for some reason, sickness and Jordan's birthday go hand in hand...something about January!)

Another tradition for Jordan's birthday is a present treasure hunt...her gifts are hidden all around the house with clues leading to each one. Her siblings love it too. Of course, she was kind enough to let Cole help out!


As you can see from the pics, this year's gifts kind of had a theme- Jordan is a sporty gal who loves to be active and have her own sports equipment! That works for me since I have always loved sports.

The last gift we gave Beans was her own email account and boy, was she excited. I had sent out an email requesting birthday emails to her new account...she was thrilled to have 30 messages in her inbox when she opened it! I was so grateful to family and friends who took a minute to send a reply....makes me thankful for all the people the kids have in their lives who love them.
Jordan's not a big fan of cake, so she chose ice cream for a birthday treat! And of course, Whitey's is the best!
The next day was her b-day party...sandwiched between 2 basketball games and more sickness...another dear friend helped out at the birthday party since Tod had joined in the fun by getting sick, too! Anyway, Jordan had decided months ago on a bowling party and what a hit that was! She has such a cute group of friends- so calm and well-behaved which is saying a lot for eight 2nd graders, plus two 4th graders and a preschooler! They had a blast and the bowling provided the entertainment with no clean up required. Perfect. It was one of my favorite (and easiest!) birthday parties!!


(We borrowed the doughnut cake idea from a facebook photo of CG on his birthday!!)





So happy birthday to our Jordan Marie. She is quite a girl. Some things to remember about her at age 8:
- She is so funny. She does funny things and says funny things and just makes us all laugh all the time. She's got this goofy, funny side to her that is really great.
-She is a great reader and a great student. She loves art and especially her art class at school.
-Jordan loves sports and really tries to improve...right now she is playing basketball...and waiting anxiously for softball to start up.
-She doesn't love to share and really wishes that she had her own room. She loves to shut her door, listen to her music and make up her own dances. She needs her alone time!
-She is really looking forward to getting baptized. One of her favorite gifts were her scriptures from Grandma and Grandpa. She reads them diligently and she tries to be good. When she makes a mistake, she honestly tries to correct it and move on.

I love her so much! Can't believe she's already eight!

Eight Years Old!

From this

to this

Love you more than words can say! So glad to have you in our family. Happy Birthday Beanie!