My Heaven on Earth

Okay everyone,
I am looking for some good, entertaining books to read for me and kids books too. I'm trying to turn the t.v. off more and do other things. Plus I really want Daniel to learn to read and recognize his letters more and figure out their sounds. Anyway, if you have some suggestions please pass them on. Thanks!

Here is an e-mail that my father-in-law sent me and it made me laugh. Being a mom I now better appreciate the funny stories involving mothers, and potties, and embarrassing things that kids say and everything that comes with mommyhood.

MOMS.....Answers given by 2nd grade school children to The following questions: Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.
How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.
What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything niceIn the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.
Why did God give you Your mother &not some other mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.
What kind of little girl was your mom?
1. My Mom has always been my Mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty Bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.
What did Mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?
Why did your Mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.
Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because Dad's' such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.
What's the difference between Moms &dads?
1 Moms work at work and work at home &dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller &stronger, but Moms have all the real power 'causethat's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over a t your friend's.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.
What does your Mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.
What would it take to make your Mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.
If you could change one thing about your Mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my Mom smarter. Then she would know it was my Sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on theBack of her head.
WHEN YOU STOP LAUGHING -- SEND IT ON TO OTHER MOTHERS, AUNTS, GRANDMOTHERS and anyone else who has anything to do with kids or just needs a good laugh!!!

Here are the closet doors in the master bedroom


Silly me, those aren't the doors to the closet, they're the
bethroom doors!


There's the closet. You have to go through the
batheroom and it has a normal door.

This is our shower head. I laughed the first time I saw it.

This morning as we were getting ready to leave the house to run errands, water suddenly started pouring out of the light and vent over the dining room. It turns out that our washing machine had over-flowed, which normally wouldn't have been a problem because there is a back-up drain for such an instance. This back-up drain runs to the outside where there is a cap on the end of the pipe that should pop off if water is coming down the pipe. The cap didn't pop off and so the pipe filled up and dumped the water in the ceiling where the light and vent was the only outlet. Hopefully we won't have to pay for the damages because it was not our fault. We'll have to wait and see what happens and what they're going to do to fix it. There is now a spot on the ceiling where you can tell water is sitting and the light in the kitchen is starting to fall down because of the water.

Yesterday we actally had to turn on the air conditioning in the house. It was a very humid 76 + degrees in the house. I don't think I've ever had to use air conditioning in the winter before. Emily is sitting on my lap trying to help me type and get to the computer. She's learning to sit up and sat for about 5 minutes the other day with minimal help. She's growing up. Daniel has stayed dry for the past 5 nights!!! I am so very excited! He even gets himself up at night if he needs to.

We are now settled in a new home, in a new town in Texas, and working a new job. Mike got a new job where he will be working 40 hour weeks instead of 100 + hur weeks. It's in a town called Conroe which is 30-50 miles north of Houston. We are rentimg yet again (yuck) but if the job works out we are thinking about building (YAY!)
The past year has been full of uncertainty and changes but we have been greatly blessed. When Mike got the job with Halliburton we got insurance which was good because I was pregnant and once Mike was out of school who knew how long medicaid would last. Living in Fort Worth Mike had a normal working schedule although we were still going back and forth to Midland. If we hadn't have spent so much time in Midland, we wouldn't have gotten to know the ward we would live in and made friends. That ward took very good care of us and we loved that ward. I found a good doctor in Fort Worth that I liked and was willing to work with our time schedule and do my surgery befrore the end of the year. I have felt better than I have in a long time since my surgery so it was a really good thing to do. If Mike hadn't been looking for a new job in Midland when he did, we wouldn't have gotten his current job.Things are falling into place and we are being blessed. Now here in Conroe we have the opportunity to share the love and service that our Midland ward showed us with a family who is going to have a long and difficult pregnancy to deal with. I am really excited for the chance to help someone else.
And through all of the moves and changes, Daniel has been a very good sport and has handled it all very well. He even potty trained himself while we were living in a hotel. Every now and then he would tell me "I don't want to live in the apartment anymore. I want to live in the hotel." The locations would change depending on where we were currently at. He has also reacted very well to having Emily here. He loves her and very rarely shows any jealousy towards her.

I have been blessed with a wonderful family and so much more. I am so grateful for all the Lord has seen fit to give me even though I'm sure I don't deserve it.

"Why does President Hinckley believe reading the Book of Mormon will be so beneficial to each of us? He states:
" 'Its appeal is as
timeless as truth, as universal as mankind. It is the only book that contains within its covers a promise that by divine power the reader may know with certainty of its truth.
" 'Its origin is miraculous.
. . No one can dispute its presence' ("A Testimony Vibrant and True," Ensign, Aug. 2005, 4)."

Over the past week I have found that reading the Book of Mormon has had a calming effect on me. I am more patient with my kids and I am happier overall than when I don't read. I can't think of any other book that has the same effect as does the Book of Mormon. The benefits I get from reading also spread to my family because when Mommy is happy, everyone is happy.

Emily likes sitting in the boppy because she can sit up on her own more confidently than without it. She can't really sit up on her own yet but she's trying. She is very interested in trying to sit up and eat big food. She's growing up and learning new things so fast. She'll forever be my baby though.

Daniel has memorized the Articles of Faith through #9!! I am so proud of him He is now working on #10. We say them every night before bed and tonight he came and told me the 9th Article of Faith. Of course he needs a few little reminders but he does so well. I am amazed at how many he has learned since he is only 4. He's got a good memory.

We are moving yet again next week. Not including our hotel stays and including the move next week we will have moved 4 times in the last 10 months. But the job out in Midland didn't work out because going out to oil wells required Mike to work at least 100 hours a week and that's not conducive to family life. Mike finally found a new job and signed the offer and found us a place to live. We are excited about this new job and we really hope that it works out good. Although it is oil industry related Mike will be doing mechanical engineering work designing oil droll bits. It will be a regular 8-5 job with some overtime. I'm going to miss him when he goes back to work because he's been home for over a month now but we're very happy and relieved that he has a job.

This last Sunday, Feb. 3, we went to the park that is just a block or so from our house. There is a field right next to the playground with lots of long, dry weeds. There were some kids around 10- 12 years old playing at the edge of the field when we got there but we didn't pay any attention to them. Daniel didn't get to play for long before a lady walked up and said that the field was on fire and asked if we should call 9-1-1. She called and went and stayed next to 3 of the kids that had started the fire and kept them from leaving. We were more concerned with getting a safe distance away from the fire. The wind was blowing away from the playground and the other houses but it spread quickly. Daniel was scared and it gave us a very good opportunity to talk to him about playing with fire. Ever since then when he prays, he tells Heavenly Father about the mean kids that started a fire at the park. He's such a cute little boy and he makes me smile.

There is a challenge, not sponsored by the Church, going around to read the Book of Mormon in now 95 days. The link is www.hinckleychallenge.com I think that it is very good to have a date set to have a goal of reading the Book of Mormon by. However I also think it's kind of sad that we have access to this wonderful Book that teaches of Christ and helps us to come closer to Him and yet we don't take the time to sit and feast on the words of the book every day. I read the Book of Mormon with my family every other night (we switch between Book of Mormon and Bible) but I don't take the time to read it on my own. That is something that I would like to get in the habit of doing this year. I've been thinking about the things that I spend my time on and how very unimportant and unprogressive to mine and my family's spiritual well-being most of my activities are. I would like to grow more in the Gospel and bring my family along with me. We have been given so much and the Lord loves us and wants us to use what He has given us to improve ourselves so that we can become like Him.

Our house went up on the market sometime Thursday night and a sign went up in front of the house yesterday morning. Two people came to look at the house and a couple of hours after the second person had come, we got a call from our realtor saying that we had a cash offer for the whole amount. She wants to close in two weeks which is perfect timing for us because we were planning on moving in a week or two anyway. We had been hoping that our house would sell quickly (within 2 months) so that agter we had moved we wouldn't be renting and paying the mortgage at the same time for long. For someone to want it so quickly is such a huge blessing to us. Our realtor, who is in our ward, says that this almost never happens and that it is a miracle. I know that the Lord blesses those who are obedient and follow Him. He answers prayers and I am very grateful for that.