Raley Field - Kids Day

Today Kids and Moms were invited to Raley Field to meet Dinger and play fun games on the field. They had a great time!
Addie, Brody, Rylee and McKenna

Engineer Jon!

The four of us just want to give a big CONGRATULATIONS to the most wonderful husband and father!!! Jon got promoted to Engineer and we couldn't be more proud of him! He worked so hard on studying for the test and getting 4th on the list never felt so good. He now drives and operates the pumps on the engine. We love you so much Jon and are so very proud of you. Thanks for all you do for our family.We just had to celebrate by sharing a Daddy Dave's at Leatherby's, Rudnicki style - Substitute the vanilla ice cream for almond ice cream AND substitute the pineapple topping for carmel. This is like 2 desserts for the price of one. It's a "Black and Tan Sunday"! You gotta try it!!!

Fun with Daddy

One day while I was cooking beef stake tacos, Jon entertained the kids outside and made these drawings. Rylee loved his colors and how creative he was. Great job Jon!

Tortilla recipe:
- 5 eggs
- 1/2 cup almond meal
*beat together and make crepes on the stove. So thin, just like tortillas - amazing!

Family Love

Random fun with yet another new camera. Seriously, I don't know if Jon can hang onto anything for very long before he sells it and gets something different. We'll see how long this one lasts! Taylee can stand very well all by herself. She could walk if she just got a little more confidence. She loves ramming to things especially Brody's feet with her walker which makes him cry because it hurts. Serves him right for all the times he gets in her face. She's fightin' back!
Rylee chose Taylee's outfit. It's funny how with every outfit I dress Taylee in, Rylee always asks, "Did I wear that when I was a baby, Mom?" The answer will always be the same. Yes. I think she loves knowing she looked cute as a baby just like Taylee.

Organized

Yes, that is a salad bar in our refrigerator. I'm loving my food processor. Ok, so we are a little weird, but OH so smart. Cheers to healthy living!

New Calling

So I got called to be the new Mia Maid advisor in church which means I teach the 14 & 15 year old women during 3rd hour of church. This calling has been a learning experience for me about myself. My goal is to teach these girls the things I would like to have been taught as a teenager - that they are capable of anything and that Heavenly Father loves them always. These are my great group of girls!
(L-R: Danielle, Kayleigh, Alexandria, Bailey, Paige and Jordan) Kari decided that for mutual (the weekly young women and young men's activity) she would take the girls to the temple, have their pictures taken and then talk about a conference talk about striving for goals especially the important ones. Great job Kari!

Surprise!

Jessica decided to do a surprise birthday party for Oma hoping she wouldn't suspect. Better yet, we held it on my birthday! Everyone helped. She didn't realize anything until the last minute and I had to drag her into Jessica's house. All of her closest women were there to jump out and say, "Surprise!" while she acted surprised yet somewhat pissed. Everyone knows she hates surprises and attention so we did both for her 60th birthday just to make it special. HA!! Jessica made dinner with stuffed mushrooms, chicken salad sandwiches and salads. We played games such as - "What was in Mom's purse?" Bingo, and "How many". This game consisted of how many things she has done or made like dance costumes, trips to CalWest, sports meets and games she attended, number of callings etc. It was amazing the things that Megan and RaeDean came up with. When I find a picture of the answer sheet I will include it. People brought her gifts which was nice and unexpected. By the end of the night my Oma was having a great time and thanked us for putting this together. I made a little party favor for everyone in attendance, which read, "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make he happy, when skies are gray."By the way, Jon got me tickets to see GLEE next month for my birthday present. I am so excited! Thanks Jon.

First really hot day of Spring!

Today the kids wanted to swim so we filled up our little boat pool and had some fun in the sun. It was nice and relaxing to be out in the sun watching the kids play together. I love these three!

Daddy Dressed Me!!

So Jon comes down the stairs and says, "Don't look! Drum roll please and here comes Taylee Baby ready for her workout!" Yes, he dressed her in her Infanatdel apparal including the sweatband. Cracks me up!First time on the swing and Brody is pushing. Is that such a great idea Jon? Luckily she loved every minute from her teeth-gritting aggressive brother.

Rylee's Testimony

As you know we are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The first sunday of every month is fast and testimony meeting during sacrament meeting. On this day we fast as they did in times of old to help us draw closer to the Spirit and to seek special blessings from Him through prayer. During this meeting anyone can get up to the pulpit and declare the truths they believe in to everyone by the power of the Holy Ghost.

About two months ago it was fast and testimony meeting and people were going up as usual when Brody leans into me and asks me, "Are you going to go up there and get your text message?". I thought I was going to die laughing right there in church before I even got a chance to explain to him. So I said, "Yes, I will go up there and bear my testimony". It was nice to get up there and reflect on my testimony, how I gained my testimony, and how it is still growing. When I was younger I thought that a testimony was a finite point you reach. Now that I am older and understand things better a testimony is always growing if nourished. It truly does starts with a seed. A tree never stops growing unless it's not taken care of and nourished with the proper things it needs to grow...just like our testimonies. It's been wonderful to see the seeds that have been planted in our family and watch them grow.

About two weeks ago Rylee said, "I want to write a talk so I can say it in sacrament meeting like you Mom". So we sat down and I went through the basics - I'd like to bear my testimony, I know this church is true...but before I could go any further, Jon suddenly jumped in and said, "Don't tell her to say that! It sounds like you are brainwashing her." I figured he was right. That was a fabricated testimony written by someone else. So I then explained what a testimony was "A testimony is usually defined as knowledge or assurance of a truth that a person declares by the convincing power of the Holy Ghost." So I asked Rylee how she felt about the church, what she thought of Jesus and Heavenly Father, and what she thought of our Prophet President Monson. This is what she came up with:

"I would like to bear my testimony. Rylee is my favorite child. I believe in Jesus and Heavenly Father. I believe I should choose the right. I believe that President Monson makes good choices. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

Jon was much more pleased, as was I, with what she came up with. She could hardly wait to say what she wrote. I told her two more weeks and she will get her chance. So she waited patiently and the day came. During sacrament meeting she asked me to go up there with her and I told her that I'd love to, but that I was holding Taylee and she was having a rough time in church. I continued to tell her that if she asked Daddy I know he would go up there with her. So she did, and he accepted. She was thrilled. She finally got up enough courage to go sit in the stands with Jon, but I could see in her face that she was getting more and more nervous. I was thinking in my head, "What is she going to do? What is Jon going to do if she runs?". Lo and behold, she ran. She ran back to our pew and hid underneath it in embarrassment. I don't blame her, it's nerve racking to go up there and share a special part of yourself with others. So Jon got up there and said, "She tricked me". This was the first time he has gotten up in fast and testimony meeting. He explained what happened at home leading up to this point about the testimony and then read her testimony with tears streaming down his face. We were all touched. He then ended with his own testimony.

The thing that touched me the most about the testimony was the part about "Rylee is my favorite child". I asked her numerous times if she really wanted to put that in there, but she insisted. The take home lesson I learned from my daughter that day was that she is a daughter of God and that she knew she was special and that she loves herself. So many women out there have a hard time loving themselves because they are constantly comparing themselves to others, which makes them feel like they are never good enough. Not my Rylee. She loves herself and is proud of herself and her accomplishments, just as I am proud of her. We both are daughters of God with INFINITE worth. I love my family with all my heart and I am so grateful for the direction we are heading together.