Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Jeff's parents had company over the other night. They asked if we could put together a little video as a closing song to share with their friends. We decided to use this beautiful arrangement by Sally DeFord that the kids have been working on - Sam and Sterling are playing the violin; Savannah is playing the piano and singing.

Rise and Shout

Y Mountain

It's official. As of this morning, Sam has been accepted to BYU! :) With this acceptance and his acceptance to BYU-Idaho, he's choosing between two great schools. Way to go, Sam!

Sam at the Eyring Science Center on campus last summer

Where in the World?

So this is it. Sam just submitted his mission papers.

For those of you who don't know what that means, click here to get the scoop on missionary service. Be sure to open the infographic to see missionary work by the numbers. It's kind of cool.

It will probably take two weeks or so before Sam receives his mission call. For fun, we're taking guesses. So get out your world map and let us know in the comments where you think Sam will serve for the next two years.

I'll start you off...

1. Fiji
2. Sweden

(I get two guesses because I'm his mom.)

This is so exciting! Sam's going to be a great missionary.

UPDATE:  Here are the guesses so far. Some places are getting multiple votes like Russia, Scotland, and Utah. I'm only listing each location once --
3. Thailand
4. Japan
5. Taiwan
6. Idaho
7. Russia
8. Costa Rica
9. Arkansas
10. Chile
11. Washington
12. Canada
13. Ukraine
14. Philippines
15. Nevada
16. Scotland
17. Utah
18. France
19. Madagascar
20. Hawaii
21. Venezuela
22. Washington DC
23. New Mexico
24. Ireland
25. Ohio
26. Maryland
27. Brazil
28. Vanuatu
29. India
30. Hong Kong
31. Djibouti
32. Seattle
33. Germany
34. Nova Scotia
35. Argentina
36. Mongolia
37. England
38. Finland
39. Italy
40. Congo
41. Cambodia
42. Africa
43. Korea
44. Belgium
45. Singapore
46. Spain
47. California
48. Mozambique
49. Czech Republic
50. Mexico
51. New Zealand
52. Texas
53. West Jordan (from Sam's little cousin who lives there. :)
54. South Africa
55. Louisiana (from Sam's little cousin who is moving there. :)
56. Dominican Republic

Ish

Soren is a character. He is just his own unique little blend of surprises and fun. I love one of his latest words.

Ish.

Like when his piano teacher asked, "Did you have a fun day today?"

Soren's tactful reply was, "Ish."

He might use "ish" in answer to "Do you like what we're having for dinner?" or "Are you ready for school?"

It reminds me of the Dennis Quaid/Natasha Richardson version of The Parent Trap. When the girls return from a camping trip, their mom asks if they had fun. One of them says, "Well I wouldn't go straight to fun!"

Soren's use of "ish" is his own diplomatic way of telling it like it is.
I love it.

Love

Happy Valentine's Day! Here are just a few things I've loved about today...

1. Apparently it's a little horrifying getting attacked/kissed by your sister. Love that face!

2. I'm loving this cute little Minion Twinkie Sadie received from her classroom helper. Too cute!

 

3. Sadie came home with hearts stuck all over her face. She showed us this "doctor's note" describing her ailment:

  

4. Savannah posted this picture of her new pet rock on facebook this morning with this caption: "My little brother made me a pet rock so I won't be lonely on Valentine's day. Thanks, bud." Surprisingly, she's gotten more likes for this than for anything she's posted in the past. My favorite comment -- "You guys look great together!" Ha ha!!

Despite yet another snow storm this morning (enough already!!), it's been a great day!

Be Mine, Valentine

Just wanted to share this sweet valentine Sadie made for her brother. It made me smile. :)

A Few Random Things

So this is what it looks like in my little corner of the world...

Can you believe all that snow? It's crazy! There are piles of snow everywhere. We were all completely surprised to find out that school would be in session today. The roads are still a little bit scary and all morning I worried about those poor kids waiting at bus stops in knee-high snow (or if they happened to be standing at this corner, snow that swallowed them whole!) Yuck.

Yesterday Jeff sent Sam out to shovel the next-door-neighbor's driveway and walk. It was a huge task and the snow was deep and heavy. Sam had carved out a small area and was working his way out when he heard a honk. He looked up to see a guy in a big truck with a plow. He motioned for Sam to move out of the way. In two passes, he cleared the entire driveway saving Sam over an hour of work. It made Sam's entire day. Hooray for the mystery snowplow guy!

Here is my cute little Sadie-bug reading with her friends. She begged and begged for the pink elephant for Christmas two years in a row. This year her wish was granted and she loves that thing like crazy! I think it hogs the bed, though, because she sure falls out of bed a lot since it arrived!

This is a beautiful sunset from a week or two ago. We've had more stunning sunsets this winter than ever before. It seems like every night or two I get a brilliant display out my kitchen window. Love it!

And last but not least, there seems to be a lot of complaining around here about things that are a normal part of life but that keep us from doing what we really want to do. Here is one of my current favorite quotes by C.S. Lewis who puts it all into perspective:

"The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's 'own' or 'real' life. The truth is, of course, that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one's real life -- the life God is sending one day by day."

That's all for now. :)

It's Still Snowing

imagesource

Loads of snowflakes in my little corner of the world tonight!

It started snowing around 11:15 this morning and by 12:30 I could see that after-school pickup was going to be a nightmare. When Jeff told me that the University canceled all afternoon and evening classes, I knew it must be bad so I decided to avoid the mess and pick my kids up early. Somehow I knew they wouldn't mind! :) School ended up being dismissed an hour earlier than usual so they didn't miss much.

The snow has been persistent throughout the day. Fairly early this afternoon we received word that tomorrow will be Snow Day #7! The best part is that the University is also closed - a rare event - so Jeff gets to stay home with us. Hooray!!

Romance Through the Ages

I don't promote many products on my blog, but sometimes something comes along that's just too good to keep to myself!

My friend, Karey, has teamed up with six other authors to bring you this amazing set of seven squeaky clean romance novels. I've read My Own Mr. Darcy and The Reluctant Bachelorette and loved them both. Savannah has read those plus Running Barefoot and says they are some of the best books she's ever read!

Do you want to know the best part? You can get the entire set of e-books for 99 cents. Seriously! :)

Buy the set from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, or Kobo.

Valentine's Day is around the corner! So what are you waiting for?

Happy Reading!