Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family! We love you!

Pi Day!!!

Happy Pi Day!!! People this is serious it is 3-14 see Pi is 3.14 for those of you who don't know these things.

I promise to do better!

A good friend of mine was telling me that she has replaced her scrap booking with blogging. She blogs all year long and then prints off the blog into a book form at the end of the year and WALLA.......you have a scrapbook! I think this is such a fabulous idea since I have had no time the last 7 years to even think about scrap booking......even digital scrap booking. Anyway, I am going to give it a go. Let me know what you think?

two months and counting!

Life has been so busy! I know....what's new! We are adding to the Gardner clan the end of April. Before then we have three bithdays and one baptism. Maddie is now 11, Dawson is now 5 and Kelson will turn 8 in three weeks which means we will add scouting to our crazy schedule and a baptism! Maddison and Kelson are still very involved in gymnastics. Kelson has been competing and has done very well and really enjoys it. Maddison is busy with homework this year and just finished her first science project that she did very well on! We are busy getting Dawson ready for Kindergarten in between moments of Mason's curiosity with crayons, toilet paper and make-up! Dan is busy with his business and Bishoping so we are grateful for the moments we have with him. I am getting anxious for spring to come so I won't be pregnant anymore and can go running! Ahhhh....believe it or not that sounds so wonderful! I'm sure the time will fly with all we have going on the next couple of months.

the busiest time of the year

I'm sure all of you are in the same boat! The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is the busiest time of the year. I have to schedule time to put up the tree and decorations, see the lights, listen to Christmas music and enjoy some of the other seasonal festivities because our lives become so crazy. Crazy with choir concerts, gumnastic meets, church callings, tithing settlement, school performances, and just keeping up with the day to day craziness of life. This year I am hoping to read a meaningful Christmas story for the 12 days before Christmas. I started a collection last year. They have some BEAUTIFULLY illustrated stories at Deseret Book that have wonderful Christmas meaning. I am making my schedule now so we will have time to feel the peaceful and loving feelings that should take precedents at christmas time. I am thinking jammies, hot chocolate and stories by a soft glowing light before bed! Ahhhh....that sounds like Christmas to me. What are you doing this year to bring in the Christmas Spirit?

Missing Grandpa Marve

Last week we went to St. George for the funeral of my dear Grandpa Jenkins. What a bitter sweet time it was. Every child, grandchild and great-grandchild was able to be at the funeral. We laughed and cried as we rememberred our Grandpa. The funeral service was a great tribute to the life he lived and the example he set for all of us. Although he could be awnry at times he was a great man and had great qualities that I hope to emulate. I have been so blessed to have known all of my grandparents. My two sweet grandmothers are still alive. I am grateful I have more time to spend with them. They are truly angels here on earth. I love them dearly and am honored to be a part of their posterity. Dan and I are also thrilled to announce we will be adding one more to their posterity in April.

Summer Fun

I was thinking about our summer and all of the great things that we were able to accomplish:
1. Vacationed in Denver for 10 days!
2. I went to a Music Mind Games training in Washington DC for 1 week and the family survived (the latter is the greater accomplishment)
3. Maddison tested for her purple belt in karate.
4. Kelson tested for his little dragons green belt in karate.
5. I was in the musical "All Night Strutt" in Clearfield City.
6. Maddison took swimming lessons and passed another level.
7. We have a garden that is producing green beans, tomatoes, summer squash, lettuce, green bell peppers, carrots and cucumbers!
8. Kelson moved up to the boys gymnastics team.
9. Maddison moved up to the girls pre-team gymnastics class.
10. Dawson learned how to say and write his numbers (1-20) and recognize and write all of the alphabet.
11. Made apricot fruit leather
12. Had an awning put over our patio

All and all we had a busy but great summer. How was yours?

Back to School

We have had a fun summer but I think we are all ready for school to start. Routine is GOOD! I always think about the staples commercial where the Dad is zooming around on the cart throwing school supplies in the cart with a BIG smile on his face and the kids are behind him with scowls and slumped shoulders. I feel just like that man riding the cart around the store. Giddy as a little kids at Christmas. Don't get me wrong. I love my kids and love to spend time with them but I LOVE routine too. First thing I am going to get into a morning exercise and scripture reading routine. After that I am going to focus on organizing our home. Hopefully, come January we will be ready to paint the whole house and install new flooring. Happy School Days!

how time flies!

Okay....so life is busy and I haven't had a chance to blog! Let's see what has happened in the last couple of months:
1. I directed the musical at SAA and Maddie was in it.
2. Kelson and I had birthdays! Kelson is 7 I am ?
3. Dan started traveling again.
4. My parents came to visit from Denver
5. Karate lessons (for me and the kids), gymnastics lessons, piano lessons and baseball games.
5. Deanna was called to be an institute teacher for the stake (but did not get released from her other two callings...Primary music leader and Stake Primary music leader.
6. Kelson broke his hand falling off of his bike.
7. Sick kids
8. Computer got a virus (UGH!)
9. I have read about 10 books (This is my new way of dealing with stress)
10. Dan and I performed for a Stake Relief Society meeting that Sister Smoot spoke at
11. I had a two day training on the Music Mind Games (soooo much fun and soooo awesome)
12. Not to mention keeping the yard and house somewhat clean and intact while all of this was going on!

It has been crazy but fun! Dan is working hard at Oil-Well. It is so neat to see how his company continues to grow and the skills that he has developed. When he is home on the weekends he has to catch up on Bishop stuff. And he manages to squeeze in family time! He is amazing.

The kids will be out of school on June 3rd. I am so excited to have them home. I LOVE summer time.

Well, the house is quiet! Dan took the older two boys camping and Maddison is at a sleepover. So I am going to go take a bubble bath and read a book and then curl up in front of the TV and watch a movie! Ahhhhhhhhhhh

where has the time gone!

I realized I haven't taken the time to write on our blog for a while. So here is a quick update. We celebrated Maddison's 10th birthday by going to Classic Skating. The kids get to pick the dinner menu the night of their birthday and Maddie chose to have top raman noodles, sour dough bread with an oil vinegar dip and fruit cocktail. (I think she loves carbohydrates!) We had a great time at the skating rink and finished the evening off with ice cream, cake and presents. Maddie is growing into such a beautiful young lady. She is so sensitive to others needs and loves to serve those around her. Her knowledge and testimony of the gospel continue to grow. We feel blessed to have her in our family!

birthdays

The months of February and March are full of Birthdays. This year we are letting each child decide one activity they would like to do with the family and then choose what they would like to eat at one meal on that day. Dawson turned the big "4" on the 13th but the official celebration was yesterday (Saturday). He wanted to go swimming and have spaghetti and meatballs for his birthday dinner. Everything was Transformers (plates, cake, party hats etc.) He had a great time being in the "spotlight" for the day. I think he was hoping it would go on a little longer because he told me this morning...."I don't want waffles for breakfast! I want cereal and I get to choose!" We had to inform him that his special day was over and of course he had a melt down! (Whoever said that girls were emotional!) Next week we will be celebrating Maddison's birthday on the 25th. She turns the big "10." She has opted to have waffles with strawberries and whipping cream for breakfast and then go roller skating for her activity. Kelson is still trying to figure out what he wants to do. Luckily he has another month to figure it out.

Lehi dwelt in an Igloo?!?

It can be difficult for our little children to sit still and listen during scripture reading time. So Dan and I have incorporated a couple of fun things into our scripture reading. While reading a verse we will substitute different words and names for those found in the scriptures to see if the kids will notice. For example we might read, "I George, having been born of goodly parents..." or "Lehi dwelt in an igloo." The kids think it is so funny and they love to try and catch our mistakes. Last night instead of reading a verse I decided to sing it opera style. The kids found this quite humorous. Maddison joined in on the fun and read one of the verses with a cowboy twang. At first it felt a little sacreligious but it has made our scripture reading fun. Of course we don't do this all of the time but on those evenings when the kids are wound up it helps pull their focus to the scriptures.

love is in the air

Well, Valentine's is only a couple of weeks away and I am trying to come up with some fun ideas to bring in the spirit of love! On Valentine's day I am going to make pink heart pancakes and pink milk! (any other ideas?) I am going to put out a little valentine's bucket that has candy hearts and valentines in it. I will encourage everyone to write little notes to the family and put candy hearts in hidden places for the family to find. Now for the difficult one....my sweetheart Dan! I am trying to come up with something really creative and fun for him! Any ideas? I thought it might be fun to buy him a digital picture frame that would just happen to be on his desk when he gets to work. I also thought I might make a CD of some of "our songs" and have it playing in his truck with a candybar and rose on the seat when he leaves for work! I am open for any other great ideas! I thought I might raid all-a-dollar and see if they have any cute valentine's place mats etc. for dinner. Maybe I could come up with a cute Valentine's menu! Hmmmmmmmm! I'll have to thing about that one!

Focus in 2008

It is hard to believe that we are half way done with the month of January. Soon Valentine's Day will be upon us. Hence the pink blog colors! I am amazed at how quickly time passes and I often wonder if I am investing my time and energy in those things that are most important. Often times I find myself wandering around my house like a lost child worrying about these things instead of focusing that time to gain more knowledge, develop a talent, play with my children, listen to good music, pray, etc. Our reminder word for the year 2008 is FOCUS! Our family has set some goals that we are hoping to accomplish by the end of April. We will focus the majority of our time and energy on accomplishing these goals. One of them is to finish reading the Book of Mormon. We have also challenged the children to finish the current level of piano books that they are in and test to the next belt in karate. To celebrate we are going to go out to eat and spend the night in a hotel. The kids are excited and it will be a great way to focus all of our attention on the kids and say "GOOD JOB! YOU REACHED YOUR GOALS!"

A look back at 2007

We hope that your holiday festivities were filled with love, laughter and joy! We have made some great memories with family and friends this holiday season. We spent Christmas Eve at Shaun and Shelene's house and Christmas day at Mom and Dad Gardner's. The following wraps up our Christmas...Spiderman, Transformers, Pixel Chicks, Play Station 2, Dance Revolution, food, family and snow!

As I look back on 2007 I am very grateful for what the Lord has blessed our family with! Health, Talents, Gospel, Love, Children's Laughter, Gardens, Musicals, Choirs, Josh Groban, Dancing with the Stars, Primary Music, Family visiting from Denver, thanksgiving in St. George, cars that work, Friends near and far, karate, belt tests (when they are over), babysitters, birthdays, 12th row seats at the Kieth Urban concert, Cafe Rio, good employment, windows of heaven opening and not room enough to recieve the blessings, piano lessons, ward campout, family reunions, beautiful children, tender mercies of the Lord, e-mial, MSN Messenger, Blog spots, karaoke, dancing, fresh fruits and vegetables, naptime (for adults and children), channel 13 news, snowmen, Deal or No Deal, good grades, good movies, canning, air conditioning, picnics, date night, family movie night, temple, Bishops (especially mine:), repentance, a new year, Harry Potter, phone calls, flowers, sunshine, swimming pools, trips to Denver, steady paychecks, rhodes rolls, family, barbeques, good friends, good music, Jesus, Heavenly Father, a living Prophet, Conference talks, service.

christmas spirit

We are two days into our 12 days of testimonies and things are going great. We begin the evening by singing a christmas carol accompanied by either Kelson or Maddison and then we read a story. The first night we read the "Legend of the Candy Cane." After reading the story I gave each of the children a life saver candy cane(YUMMY) and they ate it while I read my Grandmother's testimony. What a sweet thing it was to hear her love of the gospel and to have it forever! On the second night we read the story titled, "The Christmas Orange." After reading it I pulled out a chocolate orange and shared it with the kids. We opened the scriptures and read the testimony of the three witnesses. This has been such an amazing experience for our little family. It has brought a greater abundance of the Christmas Spirit into our home! I hope that the Christmas Spirit has found its way into each of your homes this season!

the 12 days of testimony

This past weekend we had the wonderful opportunity of hearing the words of Elder and Sister Hafen of the first quorum of the seventy at our Stake Conference. During Elder Hafen's comments he shared with us a tender story about Elder Faust. Elder Faust was holding his newest great-granddaughter and while looking into her sweet face he wondered if he would live long enough for her to hear his testimony of the gospel and know of his love for the Savior. Shortly after this experience President Faust shared these thoughts in a meeting with the leaders of the church. He mentioned that in today's world children need more than just their parents testimonies to lean on. They need their grandparents and great-grandparents testimonies to be a pillar of strength in their lives. Little did anyone in that room know that Elder Faust would die a few days after.

As I pondered on these words I realized that my children are truly blessed to have three of their great-grandparents and all of their grandparents alive, and they all have burning testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I want my children to know of their testimonies and to be able to refer to them often. So this year we are going to begin a new tradition, "The Twelve Days of Testimonies." I have asked all of my children's grandparents and great-grandparents to write their testimonies down and send them to us. We will read one testimony a day beginning on the 13th of December. Of course this will only fill seven of the days! To fill the other five days we have decided to read Joseph Smith's testimony, The first presidencies testimony found in "The Living Christ", and testimonies from prophets in the Book of Mormon. On Christmas Eve, Dan and I will share our testimonies with our children and then let our children share their testimonies with us.

I am hoping that this Christmas season our children will develop a deeper understanding of what a testimony is and, just as Elder Faust desired for his great-greanddaughter, our children will also be strengthened through the testimonies of their loved ones.

Kelson's Korner

Hi Friends! What are you doing? What is your favorite movie and toy? What do you want on your check list for Christmas? I want a Transformer toy and a X-box 360. I hope you all are having fun at your home! Isaac, the zip-line looks fun. I wish I could come over there and try it! BYE GUYS!

Maddison's Moments

Life is good in Clearfield. I am in the Syracuse Arts Academy Audition Choir. We have several performances coming up. The first one is tomorrow night at the Appletree Assisted Living. Hannah, if you read this please send a comment. I would love to hear from you!

Mason's Matters

Happy Birthday Mason! We celebrated with chocolate cupcakes that Maddie and Dawson made. They were delicious! And as you can see...Mason thought so too! He was so cute and had a great time digging into his cupcake.