Food for thought..

"Therefore, let him contend earnestly for the redemption of the First Presidency of my Church, saith the Lord; and when he falls he shall rise again, for his sacrifice shall be more sacred unto me than his increase, saith the Lord." (D&C 117:13)

I heard this scripture a few weeks ago and I just have not been able to get it out of my head.

I love this sentiment. It is so powerful....

It is not how great we have become, how wonderful, accomplished, spiritual, motherly etc etc we are, all that matters is that we rise every time we fall, that we keep trying and trying and trying some more. Each one of us will be judged by our own yard stick that will include just one measure - when I fell what did I do? 

It is a heart and soul that is willing to get up again and change and try harder than before, that is worth more than all the talents and treasures and accomplishments there are to be had.

Got to love that x

Who knew??

Apparently I just ran out of space for my photos on this blog...who knew that was even possible?? I guess you learn new things every day.....anyway, I have to wait for the new storage to kick in before I can add any new blog entries.

Meanwhile...Thanksgiving was awesome and fun:)

My Boys...

I am always able to get pics of my girls....but for some reason my boys seem to disappear when the camera comes out (Andrew included!) so I managed to catch them in a compliant mood and got a few lovely pics
....makes them look like butter wouldn't melt in their mouths (which is not entirely accurate)....but while we're on the subject ...mouths that is.....Jordan announced the other night "I just threw up in my mouth a little and now my throat feels like burning pizza" why thank you Jordan, thank you very much for sharing.
Don't you just love boys??? xx

 obviously loving the photo session...:)

Abbie snuck in there somehow:)

the sounds of music...

My girls LOVE, LOVE, LOVE music and singing and dancing. My Amelia spends copious hours copying down words to songs she loves and has created her very own songbook...

they turn the volume up and sing along just about every opportunity they can....

and have recently worked out a few dances to go along with their most favorite songs (and be warned they are willing to perform for any and all visitors) (multiple times!)

More biking escapades....

As you might recall (it is not too far from my memory as I am still hobbling around) I had a run in with a post as I was riding my bike recently.....well, Andrew was out on the same said bike with the kids a few nights ago and literally flew over the handlebars and kinda hurt himself too....(the pictures don't do his "second elbow" justice and don't show his bruised leg and arm but you get the idea!)....who knew riding a bike was such a dangerous sport??

Let's hope we don't end up with more "elbow troubles"!

Remember, remember...

Remember, remember the fifth of November,

Gunpowder treason and plot

I see no reason why gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot

Actually having to explain to people that this holiday is all about burning an effigy of a "guy" (as in Guy Fawkes)  as a way to remember him for trying (and failing) to blow up the houses of parliament in 1605, makes this holiday seem well,....a little barbaric,... shall we say.....

And yet, it is just one of those great british traditions that I am compelled to share with my kids:)

So I give you Bonfire night - albeit a firepit and not a bonfire:) One of our neighbors even brought fireworks over!!

Getting Political....

You know they say you always remember your first time......well this was our first time voting since we got our citizenship last year (check that out back here)....pretty exciting stuff:)

As much as the whole political spin and negativity has worn a little thin by this point, it is still a huge privilege and excitement to be able to vote....

Can't wait to hear the results....if you believe everything you hear it's going to be a nail-biter:)

Bella

Bella got baptized on Sunday....so fun to see her enjoy such a special day....and she looked beautiful as ever:)

emails.....

I love getting these kind of emails.....

From: Amelia 

Date: November 1, 2012 8:44:54 PM MST

To: Victoria 

It is the first of November!  it's just so you know and I want to remember that. First of all it is awesome! Secent ("second") of all it is all most thanks giving. Lastly of all I love it well actually everybody loves thanks giving Once agin it's awesome! And it's almost thanks giving! And everybody  loves thanks giving! Thanks! For reading. From Amelia to my family.

Sent from my iPod

Really, who wouldn't?? Love my Amelia xx

November Thankfulness...

Halloween is over and Thanksgiving is coming up....22 days of being Thankful before we start doing the whole Christmas thing (which I love and am very grateful for too!!)

"We need to be more grateful. It's one of the marks of strong character, to have a feeling of thanksgiving and gratitude for blessings that are ours. We need more of that spirit in our homes, in our daily associations, in church, everywhere. It's so easy to cultivate the spirit of appreciation." Ezra Taft Benson

So I figured I should come up with 22 "thankfuls" for 22 days...

"Gratitude is a mark of a noble soul and a refined character. We like to be around those who are grateful. They tend to brighten all around them. They make others feel better about themselves." Joseph B Wirthlin

Here goes...

1....thankful for Andrew who is (usually) pretty patient with me and puts up with all my quirks (once in a while I will admit I have a few..!)
2....thankful for my Daniel especially over the last few weeks where he has been so great about driving me anywhere and spending all afternoon doing boring errands with his mom...:)
3....thankful for Jordan who is endlessly creative and always thinking of the next thing:)
4....thankful for my Abbie and her funny stories and happy smile:)
5....thankful for Amelia and her happy dancing & singing ways:)
6....thankful for my sisters who know me so well and are simply always there...
7....thankful for good friends where you can just pick up where you left off no matter what
8....thankful for the home and the many 'material' things that we have been blessed with
9.....thankful to have the gospel in my life and to know that I have a Savior
10...thankful that Andrew is such a great, loving and fun dad to our kids
11....thankful for music and the fun, joy and peace that it can bring in a moment
12....thankful for all the great holidays and memories shared with loved family
13....thankful for all my cute nephews and nieces - I love them all
14....and not to forget Ben and Josh's cute babies who I have yet to meet in person, but love them too:)
15....thankful for the Spirit and the guidance and comfort it never fails to give me throughout my life
16....thankful for good health (broken toe and Abbie's "chunder" aside) for me and my family
17....thankful for Andrew always working so hard to provide for us
18....thankful to live where the sun shines almost all of the time
19.....thankful for the Temple and the blessings of going there
20....thankful for the experiences that I have had that have enabled me to learn and grow and improve....hopefully someday I'll become a better version of myself:)
21....thankful for this beautiful earth and the opportunities that I have had to see so much of it
22....thankful for being able to adopt the Thanksgiving holiday and enjoy a month of focusing on being Thankful:)

November is a GREAT month:)

"You could have an experience with the gift of the Holy Ghost today. You could begin a private prayer with thanks. You could start to count your blessings, and then pause for a moment. If you exercise faith, and with the gift of the Holy Ghost, you will find that memories of other blessings will flood into your mind. If you begin to express gratitude for each of them, your prayer may take a little longer than usual. Remembrance will come. And so will gratitude." Henry B Eyring

Halloween....

This year Amelia announced that she wanted to be Taylor Swift. She definitely has her own STRONG opinions..... We went with it and she looked cute as always....

Abbie decided that she would have to stick to the theme of favorite singer and wanted to be Adele... OK much harder....!!! I was going to do a wash out dye in her hair (the best idea I could come up with)....but sadly, Abbie was sick (as in "chunder everywhere" - family joke:) watch the youtube clip if you like!) and so just sat with me all night....

at least it was a fun night around the fire pit handing out candy:)

Amelia went out trick or treating with her friend Ava and the dad's and somehow managed to 'lose' her costume along the way...(she was too hot and the other boots were too big etc etc...!) She did wear her costume the whole night at the neighborhood party on Saturday so I guess she figured that counted??

I didn't even see Daniel all night and Jordan showed up briefly to grab some candy but I missed taking a pic....he had covered himself with lots of red paint....nice:)

Love my girls xx (and boys!)