Savanna Eileen

I took these out at my parents place. We spent the day out there with both my sisters and their families. All the kids played outside on their 10 acres, which is all dirt and mesquite trees. They had a blast with the cousins. They all came home covered in dirt with smiles on their faces.

This is Savanna enjoying the day. She is in deep thought here.

Savanna is cuddled in Grandpa's arms on his four-wheeler.

The Sweetest Moments in Life

The smell of a freshly bathed baby.

Along with his sweet smile.

This is enough pay for all I do.

Word to the WISE!

Last Sunday the RS lesson was about having a good atmosphere in our home. The lesson was wonderful. During the lesson an older lady, who is a grandma, with obvious memory loss speaks up. She thinks us "young moms" should turn off the DVD player in the car and "talk" more to our children during trips. The idea sounds just wonderful, doesn't it?? So this last Friday we are headed to Phoenix for my post op ear appt. and we don't have the dvd player. So things are going good and we're "talking" and all is well. Well, by the time we get to Globe it is totally out of control. Hunter and Loralie are in the backseat fighting, hitting, all the kids stuff they like to do when you can't reach them. The baby is crying, and Savanna is hungry. I am about ready to jump out, and then all of sudden Carlee yells "Are we there yet??" Jeremy and I just busted up laughing. It was a classic moment. Like the ones you see on the t.v.! Laughing was about all we could do. So a word to the wise. Take the DVD player and "talk" while your changing movies!! On a good note we did get to see the Temple lights this year. They were just beautiful! But to top off the whole trip, I had sitting on the dash some frys with ketchup from In and Out Burger. Hunter gets into the car first when we are leaving the temple, so I tell him to get right into his seat. What was I thinking?? He climbs into the front, gets the frys, and they dump face down into my diaper bag. Frys, ketchup, the container all into my diaper bag. You can imagine what happened next!!! Lucky for Hunter, we were still on the Temple Grounds. Now I can laugh. Not so funny Friday night when I was cleaning it up!

2 HUGE parenting moments

Ok, first off I am proud to announce Savanna is POTTY TRAINED!!!! And she did it HERSELF. I was not ready to do it right now, but I let her wear the training pants and all that. Within a week she is doing it herself without accidents! SWEET!! No more diapers! Ok, only Fisher now I should say.

Now for my next moment. Well I have to say I was not ready for this one at all. I knew this would happen someday, but not at this age! My oldest child decides she will use her free agency for the first time. So after school both girls get off the bus (or so I thought!) and come in the door. Well Loralie comes in all upset and telling me something that I can barely understand. So once I really listen I realize she is telling Carlee didn't get off the bus. So I ask her if she was on the bus, and she ways yes. So I figure she went to her friends house and got off the bus there. So I call twice with no answer. So in my HOUSE SHOES I drive over there, and sure enough, there she was. Trying to act like it was normal!!! I nicely told her to get into the suburban and she was not suppose to be here without asking. So when we arrived home she went straight to her bed to do her homework. I called her father and told him, which he said he will talk to her when he got home. I was in total shock. This wasn't like Carlee at all. So I decided I need to make her FEEL like it was wrong. Not just lecture her. So that night we sat down with her and talked about the situation. I know older kids do things like this. But at this age??? IS this normal??? For all you moms with older children I would love to hear some feedback. What works?? What doesn't??

Truly Blessed & Thankful

I am happy to report that all went well with my ear. I did not have any dizziness this time. I was sick from the anesthetic, but that wasn't anything compared to the dizziness. The doctor only found two pearl size pieces this time that were not in the canal, which is great. My hearing could not be restored, but we do have some other options in the future. So your right Melissa, we'll be deaf old ladies together! I am so grateful for the Lord's hand in my life. Fisher did really well. We were truly blessed. All the nurses just loved him. Thank you all for your prayers and words of encouragement. Now for Thanksgiving. We had Thanksgiving at our house this year in case I wasn't feeling well. It turned out perfect. My parents came, Jeremy's parents & his sister Shelly, His sister Ginger and her family, and my Dad's father. We all brought different dishes and had a lot of fun. It was so nice to be with family to enjoy the day. The kids had a great time eating pie and seeing everyone. It was one of my favorite Thanksgivings. We have so many things to be thankful for this year. I am so grateful for my family & the part they play in my life. This time of year, family and good friends are so important. We are blessed with both. I love this time of year!

PreOp Jitters & A Testimony Builder

Well, tomorrow is the day that I have been dreading for weeks now. But I know it must be done. For anyone who isn't aware, I had an ear operation September 2007 and this a follow up surgery to make sure none of the tumor has grown back. For anyone who knows me, I haven't ever been able to hear out of my left ear very well at all and had a constant infection in it. Well in the Summer of 2007 I had been seeing an Ears, Nose, and Throat specialist and he decided that I needed a CT Scan to see what the problem might be. That is how the tumor was found. Because of the severity of it he recommended me to "super" specialist who deals with diseases of the ear, skull base and facial nerve. He is a wonderful doctor. So last September he went in and found that is was way worse then he had anticipated and had gotten into my brain tissue. All my inner ear bones were destroyed from the infection. So because of that I had severe vertigo for a week. I was so sick I couldn't eat or drink for a week. I lost 10 pounds. It has to be one of the hardest things I've been through. But I survived, and that is why I am dreading it so much. This time I have a 3 months old baby who is nursing, so my main concern is loosing my milk if I am unable to eat or drink. Plus I feel really bad for him not understanding where is mommy went. But yesterday, I received a priesthood blessing, and am feeling at peace about it all. I am so thankful for the power of the priesthood and the gift of the Holy Ghost. It is a true gift. There were so many promises given to me in that blessing if I had the faith. I really started to ponder that. It was contingent upon my faith. I know Heavenly Father can do anything he wants, so that wasn't the problem. But sometimes I fail to realize that I am a daughter of our Heavenly Father and he loves me no matter what and I am worthy to receive these promised blessings. So I realized the faith I was lacking was in myself. I am grateful Heavenly Father was able to teach me that. So I guess there is always good that comes from Hard Things. I love Sister Dalton's message in General Conference this past October. "In the strength of the Lord, I can do all things" This has been a testimony builder for me. How grateful I am for Gospel of Jesus Christ. I can't imagine going through this life without it.

My Son

Mary's Deer Hunt

I didn't even get a shot this year! I was really

bummed about that. But I still had a really good

time. Fisher was such a good boy out there.

He is happy most of the time. I was able to hunt

with my dad this year for a day which was a treat.

We're not often able to spend that much time

together without the little ones. I learned alot about

him and his childhood. And the time Jeremy and

I spent out there was special because we really

haven't spent much alone time since the baby was

born. It is nice to know that even when the kids

aren't around we still have alot to talk about and can

enjoy each other. Sometimes I feel like I forget who

I am as ME. And last I went hunting with my

Father-in-law which is alway fun. We took Savanna

and Hunter that moring. It is always fun when

Grandpa comes. Overall it was a great hunt for the

fact I was able to spend time with special people and have

some quiet mental time to myself, which is

always welcomed!! Plus I was able to take a bunch

of great photos. Who could ask for more??

Finding Joy in the Journey

This is my Inspiration each morning.

You'll understand when you see my pictures below!

President Thomas S. Monson
Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family.

If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly.
Stresses in our lives come regardless of our circumstances. We must deal with them the best we can. But we should not let them get in the way of what is most important—and what is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. Wrote William Shakespeare, “They do not love that do not show their love.”3 We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us.

This is our playroom

Note: I just packed away half the toys in the

closet because Jeremy was tired of stepping

on them every night!

This is the 9 loads of laundry I just drug out of

my room and decided TODAY was the day to

finally fold them. Jeremy will be glad to know

that we REALLY DO have carpet in our bedroom!!

I am so grateful for a prophet who gives us the council

we need to lift our lives and inspire us to be better and

gives us the perspective we need to accomplish all

we have to do! I love General Conference.

I've gone DiGiTaL!!

Ok, after a lesson from Sandra,who is a Photoshop expert, I've created my first scrapbook page. It is so exciting I finally did it. I have to say, I wish I would have gone digital a long time ago. All the scrapbook supplies I could ever want, plus there is no way little fingers can get into all the supplies. And best of all, a click of the mouse and your done with NO CLEAN UP, let me say that again, NO CLEAN UP! Who could ask for more?? I highly recommend it.

A VERY Special Day!

Carlee & her birthday waffles

This week has been very exciting in our family. Carlee turned 8 on Wednesday. We made waffles for breakfast and sang Happy Birthday to her. Then for dinner we went and ate Pizza with both sets of Grandparents. Then Saturday we had Carlee's baptism and Fisher's blessing. Our family came and our very good friends from Vernon. We had so much fun! Carlee just beamed all day. It was great to share such special moments with people who really care.

Mommy & Fisher


Carlee the morning of her baptism




Fisher

Jeremy, Lynn (his dad) & Fisher

Sweet little Savanna

Curly, Michael, Rex, Jeremy, Fisher, Lynn, John, Don

Moments like this are so special to me when the Priesthood is being used. Especially to bless one of my babies.

There is so much power and safety in the Priesthood.

Carlee just beaming!!

Daddy & Carlee after her baptism

This is Carlee's Birthday Cake.

All white for her baptism!

Halloween at Our House

Savanna the "Pizza" Princess

PIZZA

Not such a good idea before trick or treating!

Loralie & Hunter

Fisher


Well, this year was a little different from normal. Carlee came home from school sick. VERY sick. For most of the night everything was coming up. So this year we only had 2 princesses, a pumpkin, and a Nephi. And it all worked out very well because we decided since Carlee was sick we would trick or treat in our neighborhood instead of the trunk or treat. We only had to go to 3 houses before their pumpkin bags were full to the top. The neighbors said they didn't get very many trick or treaters. It worked out great for us! So here are the scary little monsters!

A Passion of Mine

Family History & Old Photographs

I LOVE them!!

My Great Grandfather

This is John and coworkers working

in the oil fields during the Depression.

John and my uncle Ronnie are playing marbles

This is a post card John send to his

wife,Willie Dee, during WWI.

John Turley with my Aunt Donna

Willie Dee with my grandmother

Mary and her brother John.

John during WWI in France

I truely LOVE family history. I have been working on my Great Grandfather, John Turley Berry's side. What is so fun is that the link to these ancestors is so close. I am looking for all of his siblings so they can be sealed to their parents. Through my research I have found 4 more children and one that died that I do not have a name for yet. They had 11 children with two that died as children. The census records have been so fun. They tell you so much about your family. Where they lived, there occupations, how many children born to them and how many living. That is how I found out that there was one more child that had been born and died between the census. When you do the work you feel like you know these ancestors. To me, it will be exciting to meet them when I leave this life.

I often wonder about the lives they lived. What did their home looked like? What did they enjoyed cooking and eating. What did they do for family get togethers? Or what happened to the two children that died. I think of how the mother and father must have felt to loose 2 children and of how excited they must be that someone is working on their family and they can be together with there loved ones again. It was also fun to see where my name came from. John had a sister named Mary. Then he named my grandmother Mary Imogene. I can't wait to see if Johns parents passed the name Mary from some of their family. Is anything more important than family??

Anyway, I am really enjoying finding out about my family and working on getting together names for the temple. I haven't ever taken a family name and done temple work for yet. I think it is going to be very special experience. And someday I will be able to meet them which is more exciting! This is just what I've been up to lately. Thought I would share.

Terrible TERRIBLE Twos

Savanna likes to get up into

the sink and wash her hands, feet,

arms, and face with hand soap.

I call it her sink bath.

She likes to act innocent like

I haven't told her a MILLION

times not to do this.

So now I have to lock the door.

But she does look cute doing it!

I just have to tell myself that

these days won't last forever and

I will probably be wishing all she

was doing is bathing in the sink!

I couldn't resist posting this adorable picture of my niece Abby. My sister said the funny thing is she kept it on ! I told my sister to send this picture to her friends through email and put in the subject line "Hairdo gone bad at Beauty Shop, HELP!"

Some Things We Did This Summer

LOCKS OF LOVE

The girls were ready to cut there hair this summer.

I was sad I must admit. They have been growing it

their whole lives to be this long and it was so beautiful.

But they assured me they were ready, so I explained the

whole locks of love program and they were so excited

that someone would be using their hair who needed

it. I got online and looked up how to do it and away we

went. Below is the finished products.

Carlee & Loralie

Carlee cut off 13 inches of hair.

She hadn't even had a trim before.

What a cutie!!

Loralie was the one who wanted her hair cut first.

I was very nervous since she hadn't ever had hers cut either.
She also cut 13 inches of her hair.

She was so happy when she looked in the mirror.

Plus she could finally do her own hair now.

Just Beautiful!!