Caroline

Lessons from the Easter Eggs
Everyone starts with smiles.
Caroline has the best “cheese” ever.
Sophia is a close second.

And how quickly they turn on you.

And turn some more.

 O.k. Caroline, you can have a turn.

Now everybody is happy.

Some like to eat. Some like to show off.
I prefer eating.
And then showing off.

Sophia gave this awesome talk in primary on Easter. She wrote it all by herself.


We are all like Easter eggs.

We are all like Easter eggs because when a chicken lays an egg it is white, smooth, and good to be eaten and it is like Heavenly Father is the chicken and we are the eggs, when Heavenly Father sent us down to earth we were white, smooth, and whole.
When we come to earth it is like we are in a package and our parents keep us in the safe package until we are eight. When we are eight and get baptized, we have to take care of our own egg.
When we sin our egg gets dirty and gross. Sometimes people sin so bad that it’s like their egg breaks apart and splatters all over the kitchen floor.
For the egg to go back to Heavenly Father, it has to be white pure and how it was when you came to earth. But, when we mess up our eggs, we can’t fix the egg by ourselves. If we tried to clean up our eggs ourselves it would just get more and more broken and make a bigger mess.
The only one who can fix us or forgive us (or our egg) is Jesus Christ. So when we sin, we have to ask for Jesus Christ to use the Atonement to fix our egg. The only way Jesus Christ could make it possible to fix our eggs was for Him to atone for our sins in the Garden of Gethsemane and to die for us on the cross.
I want to keep my egg clean white and non-broken and I am very happy that Jesus Christ will fix my egg even when it gets dirty and disgusting and broken.


Jam Making
A few weeks back our family studied
The Family: A Proclamation to The World.
This was a timely declaration made by our living prophet.
It is filled with wisdom and truth.
We discussed with the kids this line:
“Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.”
We came up with the best ways our family could work on living these principles.
This is what the kids came up with:

 
Faith – Read scriptures daily.
Prayer – Everyone pray more often.
Repentence – Admitting when were wrong and saying sorry.
Forgiveness – Not being upset, loving in return.
Respect – Listening /Put ups instead of Put Downs
Love –  I cannot hurt /Breathe/Support Each Other
Compassion – Include Everyone
Work – Everyone Pitch In
Wholesome Recreational Activities – Activity Jar
 
As I pondered how to implement these things into our home I felt inspired that I needed to take the lead. I have personally been wanting to work on being actively engaged with the kids. I want to lead by example. I want to be more kind. I want to be more respectful and quiet. I want to work hand in hand.
 
I found some strawberries on sale last week.
99 cents for 2 quarts. 
That’s a steal.
The fruit was bought and so was the Sure-Jel.
It was time for some jam making.
 
I felt a feeling that instead of making jam alone that I should include the whole family.
I decided that we would forgo our typical sit down Family Home Evening lesson
and work together.
 
This turned out to be one of the best evenings we’ve spent together as a family.
We worked on the jam, each taking turns with the different jobs.
When we got through the kids burst out into a impromptu jam session.
We never work without music around here.
There was such a feeling of love and cooperation and industry.
I was so happy. 
We had Strawberry Cake for dessert and sat down to
sing, pray, and read from the scriptures about work.
The girls made up a great song.
I am so grateful to a God who listens to my prayers
and answers them.
He answers when I take time to talk to Him honestly
and to listen to Him when he talks back to me
through the Holy Spirit.
I love my family.
They are the best.
I am so glad God has given us tools to learn together and grow closer.
And now, every member of my family knows how to make jam,
but I doubt they will ever want to do it without someone with who they can jam at the same time.
What a sweet evening.
Oh and inquiring minds want to know, I am sure.
The homemade freezer jam recipe is a piece of cake.

Buy a box of sure-jel, a couple quarts of strawberries, and a lot of sugar, and you are good to go.
Make sure you have a freezer safe container.
And did I mention A LOT of sugar.
There is NO better jam in the world.
So yummy.
I’m going to have some now.
All the sudden I am starving.

The Public Library
One of our first stops here in our new home was the Public Library.
for new library cards.
Of course.
The library is a poor man’s friend. It is the smart man’s friend and it’s my sanity.
I love public libraries.
And I love our new library.
It’s humongous! 
There is a whole basement of movies, books on tape and music.
There is also a whole wing of children’s book with a whole upstairs of more advanced readers for middle school age.
Just thought you might like some of the photos of the view from the front of the library.

This is where you go if you don’t turn your books back in time.
He he

And look, we have blossoms here almost as pretty as in Tennessee.

We live in a wonderful place where we not only have beautiful mountains but also a lot of people who think literacy is important.

We are really looking forward to the world-famous Timpanogas StoryTelling Festival.

Ramen Noodles

My new across the street neighbor is great. She made us a homemade meal on our first night here. And it was delicious. I loved her homemade wheat bread. It was the perfect breakfast the next morning, toasted with jam. As soon as I get her recipe, I will be sharing.

For now, I am sharing with you a GREAT tip she gave me for a healthier lunch option.

After you cook Top Ramen, throw in a handful of frozen peas. It cools down the ramen and it adds some veggies to the usual carbohydrate overload with no nutritional value.

The bad news is that you will more than likely have a lot of leftover ramen when usually your kids scarf down every last drop.

The good news…more leftovers for mom!

Who knew that a random photo shoot could turn out such cute photos?

Caroline really is our doll baby. I gladly share her with her sisters and dad. None of us can get enough of her.

Home Sweet Home
Here is the long awaited post.
I have had so many people ask me about the house that I posting before I even attempt to return e-mails.
Our new house is a lucky number. I am not saying it on here, but everyone got a good laugh at church on Sunday when I told them our new address and the we are The Gold’s and we live in a gold house.
We try to make ourselves easy to find.
They thought it even funnier when I told them that we have a thing for picking great houses.
I am not sure if they believed me when I explained that we used to be The Gold and the end of  The Rainbow, but most of you know that to be true.

Caroline loves our front window.
She smiles and blows kisses to everyone who passes.

Obviously my mom doesn’t read the blog.
This is what she brought me for the porch.
I’ve only lived in Utah for two weeks and I’m already a hypocrite.

Our front room.
I can’t believe that I live in a house that I love.
Thanks so much to my mom for her generosity in the decorating and furnishing department.
She thought it was about time that I love my space.
And she was right.

I absolutely went gaga over this portrait of the Salt Lake Temple.
This photo does not do it justice.

It looks like the girls have made themselves at home.
We already have Uno cards all over the downstairs family room floor.
Do you see those couches? They have your kids names on them.

And this is Abigail’s room adjacent to the family room.
It’s pretty much a Five Star hotel.
It doubles as the guest room.
Come visit soon, ya hear?
You can’t see the beautiful photo of the dogwoods.
You will have to see for yourself if it does Tennessee justice.
I think it can only do so much when it’s just in black and white.
Abigail and I fraught over who got this portrait for a whole 24 hours.
Her decor won out. Boo hoo.

Our office is in a little alcove off the family room.
It’s perfect. We were able to put in a table next to the desk for homework/laptop space.

The table is to the right.
You can’t see it but straight ahead is the downstairs bathroom.
We put in one of those extra roomy shower curtains just for you.

Here is half the backyard.
I can’t wait to plant some stuff in the flower bed.
LG loves the shed. It’s an extra bonus. And doubles as the kids clubhouse.
I think today he is really happy that it only takes him a half hour to mow.
We are gonna save ourselves some serious yard-work time.

The other half. The girls love the swing.
LG and I have been too busy to take advantage so far.
The photo is taken from the garage door entrance. You have to go through the garage to get to backyard.
Olive and KittyBear use the doggy door.

Back inside.
Going down the hall.

Our room.

Our half bath.
I told the owner of the house that having our own sink and toilet is an upgrade for us.

We still have to share the shower in the bathroom down the hall with the kids.
LG wanted to keep the extra powerful showerhead,
but I told him it would have to be toned down so that I could actually stand to shower.
LG loves the shampoo dispenser.
I love the glass doors that keep the kids from splashing water all over the place.

Sophia and Bella are so proud of their new room.
They even make their beds every other day.

Thanks to my mom and dad for the new bedding and dressers.
It is awesome having their own special space for all their things.
They even shut their dresser drawers every other day.

Last but certainly not least, Caroline’s room.
I picked out the shabby chic cherry blossom bedspread.
The green leaves match the antique dresser  perfectly.

The old vanity/desk is painted white and ready to be moved in also, but I haven’t done it yet.
One thing at a time.
Next project is painting all my old frames brown to make a collage downstairs.
I’ll keep you posted.
You know I will.