So Lily has turned one. It is truly amazing how quickly one year goes by. She has been a very wonderful addition to our family. She is so happy to be alive! Since she is girl number four, she got really exciting things for her birthday! Baby food, bibs, cups, books, etc. She didn't seem to mind. She had a frog on a "Lily Pad" birthday cake. She loved it. We were quite lazy about letting her dig in for her birthday. It has been a fun year, the older girls have really honed in on their mothering skills. They all fight over who is going to hold her at church. They all love to play with her.
April was a good month. We had plenty of basketball and volleyball games to keep us busy. We even threw in some field trips, a fishing derby, visited a chicken coop, played in the water w/the hose, and a little golf.
Zach coached Davis's basketball team and I coached the older girls VB team. It was crazy, but a lot of fun. James now has a pair of BSU shorts that he puts on and asks if myself or his father will be his coach. Then he says we need to get in the car and go to practice.
Mackenzie is almost done with the 5th grade and will be traveling to middle school next year. This is quit a leap, for both parents and daughter. I can't believe I will have a twelve year old and the end of this calendar year. It has been fun to watch her grow and change.
Anyhow, life is good. Busy but good. I look forward to summer break and Junior Golf. It is really fun! We will get to see the Downs every week and I know the girls will like that! It will be nice this year. We won't be waiting until noon for anybody. Davis still only golfs three holes. So as the older girls finish up, Davis will be half done!
Happy Mothers day to all you mothers out there. I would encourage you to celebrate your families, they are our most prized possessions.
ps. this is our newest family member. His name is Rocky!

Well another month come and gone. However, time flies when you are having fun. Valentines day was great! It was the longest weekend ever. All seven of us got sick out both ends. Nice long weekend! After recovering we have been enjoying each others company. Lily has joined Diva School and apparently James would like to join also. We have been acquiring pink and brown attire for Easter/ Aunt Reilly and Uncle Shem's wedding. James thought his tie was not enough. So after church he wanted to be a princess. Silly Boy. We are excited to all be matching, however only with colors. I am almost done finding clothes. It is like a treasure hunt. Anyhow, life is good we had a great get together with the Blacker side of things. We even played human fuse ball. This was fun except, after five children I had to visit the man about a horse syndrome affected me. Spring break has officially started and we are so glad. We are doing a little of this and that. I would really like to get to Idaho Falls. Anyhow, life is busy and so I am pretty lame about my blog. I must do better.

Basketball is Almost Over and we now have a Three Year Old!

Well I can honestly say that I am going to be glad to have a break from basketball for a few weeks at least. Mackenzie has her last game this saturday and Kathryn will be starting Tourney next week. Then we will have like two or three weeks then Davis will start. However, Davis's will be less involved. It has been a lot of fun watching the girls. They are growing up so fast. It is amazing to see the personalities that are being developed. I love to that they enjoy things their parents do also. I really have forgotten how much I like to watch a good game. I know Zach does, but we both don't like the challenge of little ones. So we have missed out for a while.
In the middle of all of this James has become a three year old. He had to have his candles lit about 7 times to blow them out. We had all of the Grandma and Grandpas out, including Grandma Lily for his birthday celebration slash the Super Bowl. It was a lot of fun. He was very excited about his present. He picked it out about two weeks ago at Toys R Us and well Mom pretended to forget it at the store. He was so sad, he said Daddy has to go get it. Well when I brought his present out wrapped he knew what it was and about jumped off the walls. We told him he had to wait for Grandma's and Grandpa's and well he did, then when they got there he was pursuing it again. His present was the tube of sea life. He loves ocean creatures. Anyhow, it was loads of fun. Zach was concerned that his real birthday was a drab, but I said he will remember the party not the day at this point. If he even remembers anything. Which, with this kid I am sure he will. He did like all his birthday calls on his birthday. He wouldn't talk to one call because he was to busy playing Zoo Tycoon. So sorry Grandma.
Anyhow, overall life is good and busy. I suppose I wouldn't have it any other way!

Happy New Year

Hello Everyone,
I know it has been one month. Yikes!!! We survived the Holidays. It was a great Christmas! We spent time with family and friends. It was great fun. We even got to see family we haven't seen for a while. We spent one week with a sick baby and all are doing much better now. Thank goodness. I forgot what a good nights sleep is. I am so thankful for sleep. Now that school has once again begun, life can start fast forwarding. I am surprised how quickly time flies. Mackenzie and Kathryn are playing Basketball and it keeps us all hopping. Davis will be playing a little later. I can not believe how old my children are getting. I am now starting to understand my oldest sisters life. Running older children all over and draggin little ones to boot. At least, everything is close so I don't have to go to far. Church is good now that we have it at nine AM. YEAH!!!! Now when we get up we are not getting ready for church all morning. Lily seems to do ok, even though morning is her prime napping time. James loves nursery. So the run down. We are all doing well. Mackenzie is glad to have her teacher back from maternity leave. She is discovering new friends, still reading "Warriors", playing computer and so forth. I took her shopping for clothes and she hated it the whole time. She is too much like her mother. She is playing Basketball with some of the girls in our ward and her grade. It is a great experience for her. Kathryn is playing AAU ball and she loves it. She is loving fourth grade and has suddenly become interested in reading again. She is great with Lily. She loves to go shopping with her mother, but thanks Santa for taking care of that shopping trip. Davis is are toothless first grader. Slowly those front teeth are coming in. She is a silly girl. She loves school and all her friends at school. She has already started talking birthday party. I told her that she wasn't allowed to ask me about it until March 1st. She is getting better at remembering to obey things like that. We will see. As you can see in the picture James and Davis have great fun together. James loves his sisters. He goes crazy boy when they come home. We are trying to convince him the potty is the place, but he doesn't seem to think so. Lily is loving baby food and is thinking about moving. I am doing great. I am grateful to have the holidays over. I didn't send Christmas cards until after new years, but oh well. I feel like I have my brain back. I do know I function better when I am busy. So why I keep saying yes, I will never understand. Anyhow, I hope everyone's new year is going well. I am very thankful for all the many blessings we have been given.

Barbie Shepards, Roaring Lions and Nativities

Well another crazy week has gone by. We decided to have a play day on Saturday. The church next to the temple was having a Nativity display. We went to see what it was and to our surprise we found a pink Barbie Shepard and we were even related to her. It was fun to see Aunt Reilly and all the different Nativity sets. Then off to the zoo. It was free, so we went. It was a little chilly, but not too bad. It was fun to see the new giraffes and Lions. The male lion actually roared for us. If you have ever heard a lion roar it can be quite shocking. James and Zach had moved on, but when James heard this he came running back. He loves the animals. It was nice to get out of the house. It was nice to see all the parents, who it was obvious would not take them because of cost, bring their children. Anyhow, it was fun! Home to the warmth and Forgotten Carols and Polar Express. Two great Christmas shows. Bedtime came way to late. However, Sunday was a bizarre day for Lily. She pretty much fussed all during church. She never does that. I think she could feel her mother's stress. However, the Christmas Devotional was great. I am thinking bowls of oatmeal for Christmas and a little Samuel the Lamanite might be joyous fun. Monday we went to Grandma Lily's and this is always a treat. The kids had fun finding costumes to perform the Nativity for Grandma. James, who was Joseph stole the baby Jesus from Davis(Mary). This was great humor for us all. Then we decorated Grandma's tree. James did his Chicken impersonation for Grandma and of course we all had ice cream! What a fun night. We stopped by Zach's parents for a quick visit and home again to bed. Tuesday was enrichment night and I am so glad it is over. I did get to see some golden friends earlier that day and it was pleasant. Then to new friends that night. Even more pleasant. I just love people. I just love getting chores done also. Enrichment was a good success. Today is Market day for Kathryn. She will be selling her picture cubes. She is very excited and I think the whole school is humming about this adventure. The fourth graders will run a market that the rest of the school can purchase items. No more than fifty cents. It was funny to hear Kathryn discuss what people were selling. Some were smoothies, bubble gum, sling shots, home made Idaho spud bars, etc. She is selling a craft out of wood that you can put a picture on. I wish I could attend, however, crazy two year olds are not permitted. So Zach will attend. I hope everyone is doing well. I will be grateful when it is December 24. Then I will have completed all major tasks. Happy HOlidays!

Crazy Days are Here Again

Happy Holidays everyone. The time to reflect and think of the true spirit of Christmas. Or perhaps, glancing at ones calendar often and hoping that you don't forget something. Crazy, crazy, crazy days. I suppose I just have to buck up and go forward. Everyone is well, Thanksgiving was good. I hope everyone keeps a level head this season. Goodluck to you! I don't know what kind of blogging I will get done this month. We have family parties, ward parties, pianos to play, projects at school, cookies for school, work parties, yikes. I know that everyone can relate at some point in their life. What a crazy way to celebrate Christmas, however, it is fun creating and giving to others. So the haste in it is muted somewhat by the end result. So remember smile while you are baking your 500th cookie and changing your 6 millionth dirty diaper. All is well when we smile!

Happy Thanksgiving

Well I suppose since it is Thanksgiving that I should list a few things I am thankful for. I am thankful that eleven years ago to the day we were blessed with a child. I can not believe it has been that long. I am also thankful that in the last eleven years we have been blessed with four more children. It is hard to imagine life without any of them. I find myself wondering what I ever did before them came to our family. I am so grateful to be a mother and wife. I am so grateful for a husband who works hard for our family, in all aspects of life. I am grateful for turkey, potatoes, pumpkin pie. I am grateful for relatives, all of them. I am grateful for blogs, because it is the only scrap booking I am getting done. I am grateful for eternal truths. I am grateful for sleeping family members. Every mother needs a little quiet now and then. It is as if our brains need the radio stations (children, husbands, phones, etc.) turned off for a while to refocus. Anyhow, I guess it donned on me how many things we take for granted as I was putting a belligerent 2 year old to bed. I was trying to side track him by saying all the things we are thankful for. I could go on and on. He didn't not seem to be thankful for going to bed. I was thankful for him for him going to bed. Anyhow, I hope everyone has a wonderful day and stops to ponder all that we have been given. Gratitude is an incredibly satisfying tool. It reminds us we are never ever alone. Happy Thanksgiving!!!!