Spring and Birthday!

Finally we are enjoying what I think Spring weather should be.  It has been so nice the last several days.  I even put the long sleeved shirts away and pulled out the shorts.  Woo-hoo!  I have fun taking pictures of the boys playing outside and sometimes I have fun when I edit them too.

 Porter was trying to stack these rocks.  He was so particular about it.  Such a cutie!

 I know this picture is kind of fuzzy, but he was running around with his tongue out.  I loved it.

 Tanner was sitting in the grass looking at the ground.  He looked rather reflective.

 Tanner is a pretty photogenic kid.  I am so glad at least one of the three will give me their cute smile when I ask them to for the camera.

Vance was trying to make a wish.

 He also had fun twirling around this tree near our place.

 For my birthday we went to Red Butte Gardens.  I was disappointed with the cost for what you got.  I guess I was expecting a lot bigger and more variety of things to look at.  We left our kids at my in-laws and I am glad we didn't waste money taken them.  Nevertheless, we still enjoyed walking around, enjoying each other's company and having lunch there.  I stole a picture of Stephen while he was looking at the map.

 Don't these flowers just make you happy?

 What you see behind me is pretty much what we saw.  It was a beautiful day though!

Of course I needed a picture with my 3 boys on my birthday.  I may have been tickling Porter so he'd smile.  :)  Watch out folks, I am old now!

30, 30, 30...

Well, I am 30.  How did this happen?  I really couldn't say, but apparently I was born 30 years ago today.  I thought I would take the opportunity to express my gratitude for 30 different things on this day.  I have much to be thankful for.  If I sound repetitive with my gratitude, well than you must know these are things that I am truly grateful for. This is a lengthy post, but there are pictures. :)

1.  I am thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ and for a loving Heavenly Father.  How does one express gratitude of this magnitude?  I am not eloquent enough to do so.  I can say, "I believe in Christ" and do so proudly and gratefully.

Beautiful picture of Jesus Christ.

2.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I am so grateful to be apart of this church.  I was born into it, but that does not mean that I do not have a personal testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel.  It has given me direction and purpose in my life.  I know I would be very lost without it and I am so grateful to have it as a big part of my life and who I am.

The scriptures!

3.  I am so grateful for Stephen and that I am married to my best friend.  I feel so blessed to have been guided to him and to be married to him.  Life is hard enough as it is, but when you have someone you can depend on and laugh with it makes things much easier.  Stephen is my rock and is helpful and kind.  I appreciate him so much!

June 2012

4.  I am grateful for Vance.  I have learned so much from Vance about who I am and about what being a mother is all about.  Since having him I have learned what it is like to have a little part of me outside walking around and in another human being.  Sounds cliche, but it's true.  Vance is a bright boy and a good kid.  He loves to laugh and have fun.  He is my planner.  I learn so much from him every day of my life.

Vance's 7th birthday

5.  I am also grateful for Tanner.  He is quite the kid.  He always amazes me with how bright he is.  He reminds me of how important it is to be patient and loving towards my children because he always reacts better when I give that reaction as oppose to matching his temper.  I can see my stubbornness in him which teaches me a lot about myself.  Tanner is creative and is a great snuggler.  I am always up for a Tanner snuggle!

Tanner's 5th birthday

6.  I am grateful for Porter.  He is such a hoot.  He is always making me laugh with the cute things he says and does.  He has a great imagination and is still young enough that he likes being a Momma's boy sometimes.  He is my electronics boy which might just be helpful to me as he grows older.  Porter is sweet and loves his older brothers.  I love watching him grow and I am so glad that I get to be his mother.

Porter's 3rd birthday

7. I am grateful for my parents.  They have taught me and continue to teach me so much.  They are both kind, thoughtful people.  They have taught me to be punctual, responsible, forgiving, and so, so much more.  How do you thank the people who put up with 18+ years of living with you?  I am sure many of their gray hairs are caused by me and I appreciate all of it.  I have been blessed with wonderful parents and grandparents!

Mom and Dad April 2012

8.  I am grateful for my sisters and my brothers.  Some people don't get along with their brothers and sisters, but I sure do!  I love each of them individually and collectively too.  They each have a great personality and I enjoy their company.  My sisters are loud and talkative which means I don't have to do much talking.  Generally that makes me happy.  :)  I admire both of them for their abilities to be able to carry on conversations with anyone.  My brothers are hilarious and real gentlemen.  I admire both of their different intelligence.  So know that I am grateful for you all, Holly, Eric, Glen, and Rosemary!

June 2012

9.  I am grateful for Stephen's family especially his parents.  They have brought me into their family and accepted me for who I am.  They are always giving and love my children so much.  They are wonderful, thoughtful people.  I am grateful for the way they raised their son.  I am also grateful for his 3 older sisters who helped his mom mold him into a gentlemen.  :)  I know I have been greatly blessed to marry into a great family.

June 2010

10.  I love music!  I am so grateful for music.  I can be having a bad day or stressed out and sitting at the piano playing music helps me release the stress and feel better.  Or I can turn some music on and it has the same affect.  I also feel the Spirit speak to me and testify of things through music.  

11.  I am grateful for good health.  All my life I have had good health and I am so grateful I have been blessed with that.  

12.  I am grateful for cameras.  I love being able to take pictures and capture moments.  It has become especially wonderfully being able to capture moments of my children as they grow up.  I will always cherish pictures and the memories that come with them.

Vance and Porter March 2010

13.  Technology.  I am grateful that though most of my family doesn't live nearby I can feel close to them through e-mail, facebook, this blog, and texting.  

14.  I am grateful for all of my extended family.  I have a lot.  I have wonderful grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins.  I am grateful to them.  They are all wonderful people.

My Grandpa, Glen Clayson Tanner, with my cousin Clayson, brother Glen, and son Tanner.  :)

My Grandpa Porter at his 90th birthday party last year

15.  I am grateful for good books.  I love being able to escape to another world and read.  I love reading biographies about people.  I love reading from the scriptures.  I am so happy to have good books in my life.

16.  The prophet and apostles.  I am so grateful for Thomas S. Monson, his counselors, and the 12 apostles.  I love listening to conference and learning from them.  They are all amazing people that I love to listen and learn from.

I can't help, but smile at this picture.

17.  I am grateful for good movies.  It's true.  Stephen and I will often find ourselves enjoying each others company while we watch a fun, entertaining movie.  There are lots of movies that are full of garbage, but I am grateful there are also lots of good movies out there that I can enjoy with my hubby and my kiddos too.

I love Les Miserables and Hugh Jackman

18.  I am grateful for a place to live.  We have never lived in a grand place, but I am grateful for shelter and the warmth or cool it brings (depending on the season).  

19.  Temples.  I am so grateful for beautiful temples and the purpose they serve.  We have not been good about attending the temple faithfully and we need to do better, but I know they are important and I am so grateful I was married in the Idaho Falls temple and was able to be sealed to Stephen forever.

August 16, 2003.  I married my honey in the temple.

21.  I love waterfalls.  I am so grateful for them.  Somehow watching them helps me feel calm and happy.  I am grateful for all of God's creations, but that is one of the top ones.

Multnomah Falls.  Gorgeous!

Stephen and I at Multnomah Falls when we were engaged.

22.  I am grateful for the early members of the church.  I have been rereading the Work and the Glory and we are also studying the D&C and church history with our primary class.  Those early Saints went through so much and yet their testimonies held strong.  Thank goodness they did or what would we have today?

23.  Along the same lines, I am so grateful for Joseph Smith.  He was called to be the first prophet of this dispensation and he went through so much.  It is hard to even fathom the things he went through (along with his family).  I am eternally grateful to him for all of his sacrifice and hard work.  He was truly a prophet of God.

Joseph Smith

24.  I am grateful for my elliptical machine.  It sounds silly, but I really am.  I can hop on it, get a good work out, watch something interesting, and not even leave my house.  It is also the best form of exercise I have found for my sad back.  

25.  I am grateful for good teachers.  I am grateful for good teachers who have taught me in my life and who have and are teach my children. I think good teachers are invaluable.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Rose, Holly, and I with our Drama/English teacher Mrs. Brant.  She is awesome.

26. I am grateful for the talents I have been blessed with.  I know my talents are to be used to help others and I hope and pray I can continue to reach outside my box and do so.  I am grateful for the ability to play the piano, to sing, and so forth.

27.  I am grateful for prayer.  I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to commune with my Heavenly Father.  I am grateful for all of you who pray for me and my family.  I am grateful I have the chance to talk to Heavenly Father and to receive his guidance and help.

28.  I am grateful for BYU-Idaho where I got my degree and met my husband.  I feel fortunate to have attended such an awesome school even though I have never been so cold in my life.  BYU-I has a wonderful campus and I am grateful for being able to attend school there.

29.  I am grateful for food.  I am quite a grouch when I am hungry.  Thank goodness we have food to keep us full and happy.  ;)

30.  I am grateful that I have been able to live for 30 years and I hope to live many, many more.  I have been richly blessed and hope and pray to live my life better, to be a better person, wife, mother, sister, daughter.  I thank all of you for being in my life and helping me be a better person!

If you made it all the way through this post congratulations!

Another week

I thought I should post, but thinking about the passed week either my brain is mush or not much happened worth reporting here.  :)  I took this picture yesterday afternoon.  I am sure Stephen will appreciate it.  Porter was sitting contently on his lap while Stephen napped for quite a while.  I know his face looks like he is in pain, but he was actually quite content.

I started implanting a Behavior Chart that we came across on Pinterest.  I think my sister-in-law pinned it first.  There is a link explaining it all here.  I am trying to keep my sanity about me.  We are still getting used to it since we just started it Saturday afternoon.  We'll see how it goes.

Visitors

My parents came down here for a quick visit.  They went to Rexburg to give Glen a car and visit with him and Rose, came down here, went to Preston, back to Rexburg, and then to Nampa to see Eric and Tami.  It was a quick visit, but I am glad we got to see them.  My siblings and I came up with 60 lessons we learned from my dad and gave it to him in a frame for his 60th birthday which happens to be today.  You don't have to read it, but my dad is pretty much the smartest person I know so it may be worth your time.  :)

 I don't know why, but this is the only picture I took while they were here.  Guess we were enjoying the company too much for pictures.

 My younger brother, Glen came down last Thursday for the day.  We had a good time with him.  The boys loved playing in his new car.  I was annoyed that I didn't take more pictures while my parents were here so I took pictures while Glen was here.

 We look like we are related don't we?  :)  Glen is a great guy.  We hope he has more chances to visit in the future.

 My kids had a good time with Glen.  He was willing to rough house with him a little.  They were excited to show off their pajamas too him before he left.

More Scrapbooking

I have been learning new techniques with a scrapbooking class I have been doing online.  These are the last pages from my class.  It has been a lot of fun. Hopefully I can remember things I have learned and continue to improve my skills.

Here is a page I did about Stephen and I's 6 year wedding anniversary.

 Here is a page of Vance when he was two.  Look at those chubby cheeks! :)

 Here is a page of Tanner from pictures my sister, Rose took last summer.

 In this page I have pictures from our trip to Washington last Summer when we went for a visit after my brother, Glen returned home from his mission.

 I don't really care to do pages that are centered around me, but since that is what the class I was doing had me do here is one of the few pages about me you will see.  It turned out okay and probably was a good change for me.

I am also trying to work on Porter's scrapbook for his first year of life so I can get a book made.  I have a book of Vance and Tanner's first year.  I may just be a wee bit behind... :) I am into the 8th month of Porter's life though so I am more than half way with his first book.

Easter

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.  Here are some pictures we took before church.