God's Hand in my life

The hand of God has been very apparent in my life the last few days. We had the opportunity to have two of the girls' friends stay with us for a night. They are sisters and their parents were in Boise. Since our girls are involved in many of the same activities, they stayed with us and we helped get them to their practices and other things. I am so thankful for these girls in Mataia and Morgan's lives. They are such good examples and so mannerly. They are just the kind of friends I had hoped the girls would find when we moved them to Madison schools. It is obvious that they have testimonies of the gospel and that they want to do what is right. I'm so thankful for that. Beth, the oldest one said she felt like she has known us forever, even though we've only known them for a few months. They just came and made themselves at home and were comfortable here. They fit right in! Hopefully we can do it again someday!

On Saturday, Jeff and I had the opportunity to attend a sealing at the temple for our good friends, Mark and Jenny. They welcomed a little girl into their home just before Christmas. They finalized their adoption about a month ago and had their beautiful baby girl sealed to them for time and all eternity in the Rexburg temple on Saturday. They have been such examples of faith to us over the past year. Mark was diagnosed with cancer about a year ago. They went through all of that treatment at the same time they were trying to adopt. They have kept a positive attitude and have been so blessed! I'm so happy for them. Their daughter, Paige is truly straight from Heaven! I'm thankful to have been a part of that special day with them! I love the the temple!

Yesterday I taught the lesson in Relief Society on how exercising faith builds character. It was from a talk that Elder Richard G. Scott gave in General Conference in October. As I studied, the thing that stood out to me is that if we will exercise faith and have courage, then we can be more than we think we are. We are capable of doing many things. Sometimes what lies ahead of us is scary and intimidating. If we will have the courage to step into the dark, the Lord will light the way for us. Last week, our High Councilman said something that has stuck with me. He said, "There is no growth in the comfort zone, and no comfort in the growth zone." I really liked that and believe it is true. If you want to read all of Elder Scott's talk, you can find it here. (I hold a special spot in my heart for Elder Scott, because he came to our stake when my Dad was called into the Stake Presidency. We were able to meet him, shake his hand, and visit with him. He talked specifically to my kids and gave them some words of encouragement. It is an experience that I hope my kids will always remember.)

http://lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2010/10?lang=eng If you follow this link, it will take you to a page where you can listen, watch or read this and other talks from October's General conference. Elder Scott gave this talk in the Saturday Afternoon session.

On the note of General Conference. This coming weekend is General Conference again. I love this weekend! We get to hear from our church leaders in the comfort of our living room! They always give talks that I swear were given just for me. I look forward to learning what Heavenly Father wants us to hear!

Jeff is such a good dad. My kids love him so much and he always tries to do fun things with them. He is their biggest fan - no matter what they are doing, whether it's sports, music or just showing off. Last night he had both the boys just giggling before bed time as he carried them upstairs - "double piggy back style." My favorite thing is hearing my kids laughing and getting along with each other. This morning I saw Chad and Mataia give each other a big hug in the kitchen. That is priceless to me! Life is Good! (A little crazy, but definitely good!)

Cub Scouts and Tool Boxes and Patience (or lack thereof)

I'm not trying to pat myself on the back or anything, but I think I should have earned a badge today. I successfully held Cub Scouts where we made tool boxes out of wood. All six scouts (and two little brothers) left the building unharmed with finished tool boxes in hand and big smiles on their faces. I have to admit that the last wood project we did, was basically a disaster. Today all the tool boxes were not exactly perfect, but they were done totally by the boys. I've been a little worried about how this would go. So I was pleased with our accomplishments today. I was blessed with patience.

Kace doesn't realize he's not really in scouts yet. By the time he gets there, he will have technically already earned is Wolf and Bear badge by attending scouts with Chad and I for two years. He is just as big as the rest of them - and if you don't believe me, just ask him!

Chad got his tool box done and then finished helping Kace complete his. What a good big brother!

Proud scouts!

Too bad my patience didn't last for the rest of the night. I think my homework got the best of me, as I was very short with the kids tonight. Or maybe I should blame it on the snow that will NEVER go away and started falling again this afternooon! You've heard the saying, "When mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." Well, that was the case at our house tonight. I feel bad, because my bad mood spilled over to everyone else. So needless to say, the kids went to bed early and now I'm headed there, too! I hope to wake up on the "right" side of the bed tomorrow!

Chad and Kace have had some major spring fever! They decided they were going to clear the driveway of all the snow so that they could ride their bikes. Chad came up with this redneck snowplow with his bike and the snow shovel. I don't know how well it worked, but he had fun with it and it kept him entertained for hours!

This was Morgan hitting the ball over during her first volleyball tournament in Ashton last week. She had a great time. They ended up third.

Jeff and the boys are enjoying wrestling practice at the new high school. They had their first wrestling tournament last night. Both boys ended up with a second place medal. It was fun to watch - and hard as a mom at the same time. It's a hard sport to watch as a mom. I don't like to see my boys cry and it seems like every wrestler leaves the mat crying. I'm trying to tell myself that it builds character. Jeff attributes a lot of the way he is to wrestling - that's not a bad thing. So I try to keep telling myself that. The medal seems to dry up all the tears.

Mataia has had a couple of lessons with her pole vault coach in Pocatello. He went to Nationals last weekend and got 6th place. That's pretty good. He graduates from ISU in May and then he's training to try and make it to the Olympics. That's exciting! She's doing really well. Her track meet in Burley got cancelled this week due to the weather. We weren't too sad about that because she has been fighting a cough and I didn't want her to be running and standing around in the rain and wind. That also gives her another week to practice. They finally got on the track at the old high school today for the first time. It was a sprint day, so they didn't vault. Hopefully Monday.

What a crazy life we lead. I haven't had the time or energy to make a new post since my last. I know I choose to live this life, so I'm not complaining - just stating a fact. We figure we need to squeeze every last drop out of every day! We do a pretty good job of that, most days.

My grandparents' house is under going a full cleaning and restoration process right now from the smoke damage done in their house fire 10 days ago. So they have been staying with my parents in the mean time. They all decided to take a little time and get away this week. My grandparent's are visiting my aunts and some other relatives in northern Utah. My parent's went to St. George just to relax and search for some decent weather. I hope they are all getting some much needed R&R.

Mataia started driving for Driver's Ed yesterday. I have mixed emotions about all of that. On one hand I'm ready for her to be able to drive and help ease my road time. On the other hand, it scares me to death. I talked to her driving instructor yesterday after the first drive and he said he could tell she had been doing some driving because she knew what she was doing. (That's the benefit of living out in the country!) Some students don't even know which is the gas and which is the brake. So she's been telling me all day what a good driver she is. She tried to get me to let her drive home from Rexburg. Didn't happen. So I just trust that the she'll be watched over when she does get to start driving for real.

I have put the Periodic Table in the back of my mind! We finally finished that unit in my class. I took the test and got my butt kicked. I even tried to re-take the test and did worse the second time around. So I will move on the next unit and hope that I never have to go back to that again. Other than that, school is going well. I still enjoy my classes. I registered yesterday for two online classes for the Spring semester. Since I'm off-track, I can't take on campus classes. I'm on the Fall/Winter track. So I'll take a few more classes this fall and then I'll be real close to having my Associate's Degree. I'm seriously considering making Spanish my Minor when I start on my Bachelor's degree. I'm still gnawing over that, but leaning that direction. There are many times in our office that Jeff wishes he could speak Spanish. I know it would be an asset in many areas of my life. I just have to find the courage to tackle it.

I have seen the hand of God in my life many times the past few weeks. Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the temple with my cousin for her first time. She has been working hard for this day for a long time and it was really neat. She in marrying her eternal companion in the Rexburg temple tomorrow morning and Jeff and I are going to go to their sealing. I love going to sealings in the temple. It reminds me of the covenants Jeff and I made (almost 17 years ago.)

17 Years?! I cannot believe that it's been 17 years. That's crazy! It's been a fun ride and the time has flown by. We have done a lot of things in that time! We are a perfect match for each other! He's fearless and that helps me stretch myself sometimes. I'm very conservative and I help reign his lack of fear. It's a good balance. We heard some good advice recently....when you get frustrated with your spouse you need to remember the 80/20 rule. You are going to love about 80% of what your spouse does, the other 20% you just overlook. I tell Jeff our rule is more like 60/40. (He needs to over look about 40% of what I do. He does a pretty good job of that.)

After a super busy week of school, tests, volleyball practices, pole vault lessons in Pocatello, wrestling practice and tournaments, piano, guitar and violin lessons, birthday parties, scouts, canning chicken, laundry, work, etc. etc. we are going to sit down and watch a movie and then go to bed early. The girls both have volleyball tourney's tomorrow. Here's to another insanely busy week in the Roderick house. Gotta love life!

Firefighters, EMT and Family

My heart is full tonight and I am feeling very blessed. I got a phone call from my brother tonight telling me that my grandparent's house was on fire. It took me right back to the phone call I got in November of 2007 when my parent's lost their home in a fire. I thought there was no way it could be true, because I thought for sure there was a fire quota and that our family had met their lifetime quota. Apparently not.

As we rushed out to Grandma and Grandpa's house, we found the lane to their house full of vehicles owned by the Fremont County Volunteer Fire Department and our family. Shortly after I arrived the ambulance and crew arrived and cared for my Grandparents. They are a little shaken up, but they are going to be ok. The fire never broke out into a full blown fire with flames, but smoldered in a good part of the ceiling. Apparently it started near their wood burning fire place and had started earlier in the day. They didn't know it until an employee from the power company came to see why they didn't have power and noticed the smoke. There is a lot of smoke damage and some damage where they had to tear into the roof to get to the smoldering insulation. My grandparents are staying with my parents for now. We will know more of what lies ahead of us tomorrow when we can assess the damage in the daylight.

We are very lucky that it happened in the day and that they were able to get out. It could have been a lot worse. I am so grateful for volunteer fire fighters who drop everything and come when called upon. Some of them had their wives and kids with them because they came so quick. What would we do without them? Our family has needed their services more than once and can not say enough good about them. The EMT's that checked my grandparents out not only provided the needed medical care, but gave them a listening ear and a comforting word. They will never know what that means to our family. What great people we have in our community!

So the hand of God has been very apparent in my life today. It makes me want to hug those I love a little longer, check my smoke detectors, practice our family fire drill with fire ladders and thank my Father in Heaven for watching over my Grandparents today. I feel a family unity building experience coming on with the cleanup we have ahead of us. That will be good. Hopefully my grandparents could feel the love that all of their kids and grandkids have for them tonight. Life is Good.

Fun Times With the Girls

We have had a great weekend so far! Jeff took the afternoon off yesterday and we came to Boise to watch the Madison boys basketball team in the State Tournament. We brought the girls and left the boys home with my parents. (The boys are not really basketball fans, yet.) Morgan brought a friend, and we also brought my nephew, Foster. We have had some really fun times - several times we were laughing almost to tears!

I have mentioned a couple times how much I love little babies, and it's true. But I love teenagers, too! There is something fun about kids at each stage in life and I'm just trying to enjoy each stage. It's fun to watch Taia with her friends cheering for their team! (Madison fans are crazy! They call the student section, the "Madison Maniacs" - and they live up to their name! They have great school spirit and tonight was no different as they won the 4A State tournament! They won by two points in overtime and it was a great game!)

We went to the mall today and we could actually split up and let the kids go where they wanted and not have to worry about babysitting them. I don't need to remember the diaper bag. (Although we still need wet-wipes!) When they need to use the restroom, we can let them go by themselves. When I want a drink during the game, we can send Morgan (and she likes it.) When they throw up, they make it to the toilet and don't do it all over the bed, the floor or your shirt! We can let them swim at the hotel by themselves and not have to worry about them getting in over their heads. There are a lot of nice things about traveling with older kids. And they are FUNNY! Even funnier when their dad is the leader of the funny stuff. I told them I felt like I brought 5 kids to Boise! I thought we were going to get kicked out of the restaurant last night....and the night is still young. I'm not sure we won't get kicked out of the hotel still tonight. One thing is for sure - we are making memories and having a great time! We needed this little get away. Not to mention that there is no snow in Boise! It has been raining today, but I can handle that. I wish we were not going home to 3 feet of snow! (Remind me again why we live in Southeast Idaho, where winter lasts forever!)

It's not all easy traveling with teenagers, though. They cost more and they take up more space! None of these kids want to eat off the kids menu anymore. We can't throw three of them in the same bed very easily, either. But, it's ok. They are growing up too fast, so I will overlook those things and just be glad they still want to travel with us!

I'm also thankful for good parents who are willing to help with my boys. We have missed the boys, but know they are in good hands with Grandma and Grandpa. They were really looking forward to staying with them. Their house is always fun and since Braxton was here in Boise they had free reign of the Wii, the TV and probably his bed! And Grandma always has lots of food and treats!

God has blessed me with a great family and I'm thankful for each of them! What would life be without family?

Not My Best Day!

Well, today started out a little rough. For reasons, that I will not disclose, we had "one of those mornings" at our house- before we even had breakfast! So I'm pretty sure that at least half the family left the house half in tears or at least upset. That's not a great way to start the day. After a long morning of studying and homework, I got Kace off to school and then got ready to go have a little "me" time.

I met my good friend, Jenny at Applebee's for lunch and got to love on her beautiful baby for about an hour! There's nothing like a little baby! I could just snuggle them all day! I had a great time catching up and laughing with Jenny! I was reminded why friends are important in this life! We couldn't do it alone. So lunch was great - right until we stood up to leave! I had been holding her sleeping little baby in my arms for the last hour or so and as I started to buckle her in her car seat, the restaurant manager approached us. He started making small talk with us and then he asked me, "Is this your first grandchild?"

GRANDCHILD? Really? Did I just hear him correctly??? He is lucky I didn't follow my instinct, which was to jump up and punch him right in the nose! Seriously? Do I look that much older than Jenny? Do I look like I could be a grandma? Now don't get my wrong. I have nothing against grandma's. In fact I love them dearly and I hope to be one - SOMEDAY!! When I'm old enough to be a one! This was not really what I needed to hear today. I've really been struggling lately with the fact that I'm getting older and that I'll be closer to 40 than 30 in a week! My face is filling up with wrinkles, and other "fun" things are happening that come with getting older and I DON"T LIKE IT! I've vowed to fight it and thought I was doing OK, until today. I'm just not sure what it's going to take to get that out of my head. I can still hear it ringing over and over. GRANDCHILD, GRANDCHILD, grandchild! Agh! I'm not sure I'm going to be able to sleep tonight. I'll probably have that dream again....the one where I look in the mirror and my face is practically falling off with wrinkles and my boobs are sagging clear down to my waist!

I'll close with this little poem...
Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray the Lord my shape to keep.
Please no wrinkles, please no bags
And please life my butt before it sags.
Please no age spots, please no gray.
And as for my belly, please take it away!
Please keep me healthy, please keep me young
And help Jeff remember why I am "the one!"

Oh, by the way, Mark (Jenny's husband) just texted me and asked me when I wanted to see my "granddaughter" again! Very funny, Mark!

Peace and Quiet

Tonight I'm thankful that God has helped me find a few moments of peace and quiet - even if it is at the office. I've had some work at the office that has been piling up and between school and kids I haven't had time to get to it. So Mataia had a late volleyball practice from 6:00-9:00 tonight and I spent that time at the office catching up. Now that I'm done with my work, I'm blogging to the sound of nothing. Usually I would be playing the radio or have the TV on or something for some background noise because being alone at the office at night is not really my favorite thing to do. For some reason tonight, I am just enjoying the sound of nothing. My kids sometimes wonder why I don't like to have the radio blaring in the car or the TV blasting at home. As I have had more opportunities for quiet times as my kids have gotten older, I realize I quite enjoy it. I realize that those quiet moments are when inspiration comes and when I can feel the Spirit. Here's what Elder Faust said about tuning out the world.

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I just love Mormon Messages.
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Periodic Table of Elements - (my post for yesterday)

I'm really trying to stretch here and see the hand of God in the Periodic Table of Elements.....I just can't do it. Maybe in your life it is important and meaningful. In my life, I want to learn just enough about it to get through my current Science class and more immediately, my upcoming test. Then I'm back to MY reality. I do believe that Science goes hand in hand with God, (although, I'm sure there are many who would disagree with that.) I just like my simple view of Science. I have faith that God created the earth as the scriptures tell and I am amazed when I look around and see the beautiful world around me. I just don't care to understand how it all came to pass. Is that bad? I have other things that keep me up at night.

One of those things that keeps me up at nights lately is my oldest daughter, Mataia. She has decided that she is going to do the Pole Vault in track this year. Originally when she started talking about it a few months ago, I thought it would be fine. Now that it's here and staring me (and her) in the face, I'm having a little anxiety over it. I was watching a video of some pole vaulters this morning and it really scared me. Quite frankly, it looks terrifying to me. The anxiety is only mine and she feeds off of it. So I'm going to try and keep it to myself. The more I express my concern, the more she wants to prove to me that she can do it. She is her father's daughter! There will be many more prayers on her behalf as she starts this new adventure. Who knows - maybe she'll be the next Stacy Dragila?

Here's a little video of Stacy and maybe you parents will see why I have some anxiety.

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As I thought about the hand of God in my life yesterday, I thought about how nervous I was to send my girls to Madison last fall. After much fasting and prayer and several visits to the temple, I knew in my heart that it was the right thing to do. My biggest fear was that my kids would make good friends. I knew they would adjust as far as school went, but friends are so influential in life! They both had some really good friends at South Fremont (who they still love) and we wanted them to have the same at Madison. I wanted them to find some friends who would not lead them down the wrong path. I know that it's only been a few months, but I feel like that prayer has been answered. Both Mataia and Morgan have made some very good friends and I'm so thankful for that. As I picked Mataia up from school yesterday, one of her friends got in the car with us and I felt very strongly that she was an answer to those prayers. I love how God uses other people to answer our prayers!

This is Morgan and her friend, Heaven. Yes, Morgan has every bow she has ever made or owned in her hair. (This is what she gets for using my computer to take her picture. :)

Now off to get some homework done and plan Cub Scouts for this afternoon.