Great Grandma comes to visit

Great Grandma Henrichsen came to visit for uncle Spencer's graduation from high school. She got to meet Evelyn for the first time. It is hard because we haven't been out to see her in several years, and don't really plan to soon as she lives in Pleasant Grove. But it is a huge blessing she is able to come!! We braved mosquitoes and had a cookout.

Grandma Mclean also came that week to bring back Great Grandma Lucas who had been living in FL for the winter. I think it literally saved her life because our winter was so awful here. Aren't Tyler's home made benches awesome?!

Ava has taken a great interest in photography.

Here she is reading to Midas at the local library. She devours books!! I am so happy for both these interests. She also has a pretty good group of friends she has made at school. 

Baby is crying. Gotta Run!

Tastes like chicken

Today we ate a chicken we raised and harvested. I have to admit it was a little weird, and made me want to gag a little. The taste was fine, but remembering that cute little chicken and then seeing it on my plate was a different experience. It is one of God's creatures I am thankful for!

You can see our coop in the background above with the grape vines.

The boys from church helping so they know what to do "just in case."

Sabbatical!

It is SO sad I haven't blogged in over a year. It is something that I love to do and I believe is really important for our family. Our family grew, then shrunk, then grew again over the past year. Thanks to my amazing aunt I got a new-to-me computer that is amazing and can do all I want it to do! I'll just catch up where I left off. Maybe I'll write a little bit more so my kids can read over and over what an amazing family we have and what they are a part of and how much we love them and know how special they are.

The past year has been a time of growth in many areas:
Emotional - Foster parenting, and being the mom of a newborn again, and Tyler and I celebrating our 10 year anniversary
Physical - I learned I had a few underlying medical issues that prevent us from getting pregnant easily. It has led to a real lifestyle change for me for the better!
Spiritual - I feel like I need a little kick in the pants in this area. Now that Ava is baptized it is really game-on in the parenting area. Especially in this department.

Now to discover how to read my friends blogs again since Google Reader is no more.

Go Blue!

We were so excited that U of M is in the NCAA Championship game!

Spring Break and Easter and St. Patrick's Day

By far my most favorite picture from Spring Break is this one.

 Have I said before how much I love having my kids home? Because I really do. I love to reconnect with them and just take a gut-check on whether sending them to school is the right thing. I always ask myself questions like:
-How is my relationship with my child(ren) currently?
-Are they learning what I believe they should? -How are relationships at school effecting our home life?
-Can my children play happily at home? (If the answer is ever no, then definitely home schooling would be bumped up in priority)

Tyler took a couple days off work (well, one, but the other he worked from home). We then went to a TINY town called Nauvoo. Tyler didn't even get cell reception! Awesome! It was the last town the Saints lived in before they headed west to "Zion" aka Salt Lake City. Tyler actually had two ancestors live in Nauvoo. One was a scout for Brigham Young and actually saw the Salt Lake Valley before Brigham did. Tyler was excited about it and got to sign a book that he was a descendant.

The missionary working there said he "made his day."

The other fun part of Nauvoo besides confirming I am violently allergic to horses was seeing all the senior missionary couples. There has been a huge surge of people signing up for missions due to the lowering of age restrictions. All of the missionaries we saw though were senior couples. It seemed a very social mission. All of the couples were just SO happy serving. They put on a dance/singing show two times a night and help out at all the historical sites. They can even live in historic houses the church has restored. It was really inspiring to see a huge bunch of people serving the Lord later in life.

 Other highlights: The giant milkshakes Tyler got the kids at Culver's.

 Ava's reflections picture winning second place in the district in her category! We went to an awards ceremony at the district building.



 North finally got over his cold. Runny noses that last 5 weeks are no fun. He tested positive for Influenza B and had pre-pneumonia as a result. Good times.

 Happy St. Patty's Day!