Lift Up Your Voice & Sing!

What can I say I LOVE music! About a year ago I was called to be our ward choir director. I was excited about the opportunity to learn and grow and even direct - that is if I could direct a group of my imaginary friends in the confines of my bedroom with the Mormon Tabarnacle Choir singing in the background. Well, I still have no formal training, only the hands on figuring things out stuff on my own, but my comfort level has grown and even a few directing skills are beginning to emerge (even if I did make them up, they seem to be working). However, the one thing that hasn't changed is the overwhelming feeling I get when the choir sings all together either in unison or in parts. It's amazing!!! I honestly cannot even put words to it, but it completely envelopes my whole body, I can't help but just feel like I'm beaming just from hearing their sound. I am so grateful for the calling, for the growth, for opportunity to work with such talented people, many of whom are new to the choir scene as well, and grateful for the unseen angels who I know often accompany us!

Soccer Season Has Begun!!!

The girls have each tried soccer and neither found it to be "their thing," so we thought we'd let Jacob have a go at it. This was his first game! I have to say those kids were quite the troopers. It was an 11:00 game and 100 degrees outside. Their uniforms have gotta increase their body temps several degrees! They were baking! Despite the heat they did well. Jacob's still figuring out the rules of the game, but at least he's not afraid to get in the mix. In fact, sometimes a little too close. The end of the third quarter he butted heads with a kid from the other team. That combined with the heat meant the end of the game for him. There was no convincing him to play the last quarter. Can't say I blame him! Now cooled off and refueled, however, he's already talking about the next game! It was fun to watch! We sure missed Dad though. However, we're lucky enough to be on the same team as our friend Gracie. Thanks to them (the Reid's) we got a little bit of shade!!!

Now that's a star...5 on 1. Go Jacob!!!

Jacob and Gracie ready to go! Aren't they adorable!

No Hubby, No Remote, NO SLEEP!!!

So what do ya do when your hubby's out of town, you wake up at 2:00 in the morning and can't find the remote to turn on your recorded general conference (the only thing that puts me back to sleep)? What else? You play with your blog!!! I've bee wanting to figure out how to use various backgrounds, mess with the html code, and add friends to my blog but I just haven't felt like I could take the time during the day to do it, and my sleep's too precious to give up at night to do it. Well when I couldn't go back to sleep at 2:00 this morning I figured what the heck. I've learned lots and enjoyed my time playing around with it. I'm sure I'll pay for it later, but I think it was worth it!
I sure am missing Erick though. He's been up at our land in Heber almost every weekend for the past couple of months participating in the replant the forest program. I'm not sure how many new trees he's planted on our land; I'm sure over a hundred. I'm amazed at how hard he works on the land. He is a man with vision!

"Don't Shoot!!!"

While Sandy and Jason are playing in Alaska, I get the privelege of having Zak over to play with Jacob. I overheard Jacob say "You want to shoot my mom?" I look down the stairs. And on the landing there they lay guns ready to fire supported by some contraptions Zak made from K'nex. Pretty darn cute!

Cousins & The Phoenix Zoo

Sandy and Jason are in Alaska. Mom's watching their kids while they're gone. Yesterday we took my kids (except Makessa she stayed in school), Penny's kids, Chrystalyn's kids, and Aunt Sherry's Anna and all went to the zoo. Even in the scorching 100 degree weather we had fun!. The Phoenix zoo has a splash pad we just put on their suits and got them wet when it started getting hot.

Pumpkin Festival

FALL - my favorite time of year! Schnepf Farm's Pumpkin Festival is one of the activities we look forward to each October. Though still hot at 93 degrees, it's a blast! We missed having Chrystalyn, Sandy, and kids, but we sure enjoyed Penny and her gang. As of a couple of weeks ago, we weren't sure whether they were still going to be able to come due to Tayden's broken leg. But he's doing much better and seemed to really enjoy himself.

We always make the kids start out with us taking their pictures. Not their favorite thing to do, but some of my favorite pictures of the whole year.



















Next is the carousel. Nearly 100 years old. Adults aren't even aloud to sit on the horses. Pictures don't show too many of Jacob's smiles, but I got one on this ride. It's kind of hard to see, but the girls are in the back of the picture and Cory and Jacob in the front.

My First Ever BLOG!!!

Okay here we go. I'm gonna try this whole blog thing. We had an enrichment called "preserving memories in the 21st century." One of the things they talked about was the advantages of online blogging. The draw for me was perhaps an easier more appealing way to quickly journal and attach photos. Scrapbooking was great when I had one kid but went out the door with number two. So I'm gonna try it this way. Time will tell if it works for me.

It's hard to know where to begin. I recently posted an update of my family on our Hulse family website. So I think the easiest thing would be to just post the same info here:

Makessa's now 10. She's a huge helper - a 2nd momma in the house! She is doing well in school and is involved in our community children's theatre production of Suessical. She's my straight and narrow girl. Always making sure we're praying and reading the scriptures. She's a great member of our family team.
Samantha is 6 1/2. When she was a baby she was so mild mannered. However she has quickly grown into the stereotypical redhead firecracker. That girl has a lot of power. I just hope I can keep her headed in the right direction, fighting for the good side! She is very, very bright, does exceptional in school, and plays soccer. She has one killer smile and a lot of charm!
Jacob is 3 already! My time flies! Man are boys a whole different breed! He's a lot of fun. He loves to play with his friends and go to preschool. Just like his dad he loves anything with wheels that goes fast or can jump high! He loves going to the sand dunes, riding the quads (BY HIMSELF!) and pulling wheelies on his bike (no training wheels!) He's crazy! However opposite his rough and tough side is one great cuddle bug! He's a real delight.
And just because I'm a mom I can't not mention my Calli. She came to us 10 weeks early in Feb of this year, 2007. She lived for a very short time and returned home. Her earthly visit was short but has forever changed our lives. I can often feel her helping our family team with great power from the other side. I miss her dearly, but have no doubt she is doing us much good where she's at. I love to go to the temple and have recently began doing family history work. I find a particular attraction to it because I feel we are engaged in a common work. It's something she and I can do together. There's a lot of peace in that.
Erick is doing well. He stays busy with our landscaping business (installation) - ELM Landscaping & Design. He has quite a knack for the design. In addition, he builds spec houses on the side. When he finds time (or as the case often is makes time) he'll either spend time building or playing on his sandrail. Now he's what I'd really call CRAZY! The jumps, wheelies and speed that man pulls off are out of this world!
As for myself... what can I say more than I'm a mom! I stay busy running the kids here and there, helping down at the school, playing outside with the kids, preparing for my calling (ward choir director - what were they thinking?!), keeping up on the house, and all sorts of this and thats! When I find (or make) the time I enjoy studying health, nutrition, cooking, and alternative healing.

Well that's all I'm posting for now. At least it's a start!