At last, mom!!

My Mom has been telling me this week, that it is time to post something on my blog. Well, ok here it is.

We left home almost a week ago, to vacation here in Utah with my family. We were able to be to a cousins sealing last Sat. It was so fun to see family, and to be in the temple with some of them. What a spiritual experience. My grandparents, and parents and my nephew, Konnor came over from SLC to be there, too. So it was fun to be with them and have time together. We drove back to SLC following one another.

It was fun to see my friend, Tammie, and spend some time with her and her husband, and his Grandma. Lynette came to Caldwell from Boise to spend some time, too. We had a great time going to this vintage candy shop, Powell's, and enjoying that time with my girls and Lynette. We even found some Kickapoo Juice, which to our knowledge was only something my father made up in his Buzz the Bee stories he recorded for the kids. It was cool, we had to buy a bottle just because it was in his story, and gave it to dad.
WE wanted to partake of the Gelato ice cream they had there, but it was a little pricey. We should have just done it though for the experience. One of lifes small regrets.

I spent yesterday at my sister, Lori's house, and had a great time being with their family. My girls had been there since Monday, and came back with me to Grandma's with 3 of their cousins.

Jeff & Chewy(dog) were left back in Wenatchee. :-( Jeff had school (Masters Program, we are in his 4 quarter) and work. He is in the middle of preparing to switch jobs. We are excited for his new position as it will give him great opportunities. The money will be alot less, but we know this is where he needs to be right now, so we will make it work. In two years, when he gets his Masters Degree, he will get a substantial raise. We know it will be worth it in the end.
We are thankful for all the thoughts and prayers in our behalf, as we have contemplated this decision.

Tonight we are celebrating Mom's and Konnor's Birthdays together. We will have a great dinner of Steak, French Fries, Green beans(Speciality of Lori's), Carrots Supreme, Watermelon, and of course some kind of dessert.
Lori & family are coming from Orem, Lynette is flying in from Boise, and I think my grandparents are coming as well. It will be great to be all together.

This weekend we are going to St. George to attend the Tuachan Theatre. It is going to be great. We are seeing Les Miserables. http://www.tuacahn.org/ If you have not been to a show here you must find an opportunity to go. It is awesome.

School is almost out!!!! Teenager officially!!

HOORAY!!!! SCHOOL is almost OUT!!! We have our last day (half day) of school on June 18th. That is a long time to wait, you may say, but we do not start until after Labor Day.

I am excited to be finished with school. The girls and I will be going to Utah for about 4 weeks or so. Jeff, unfortunately, has to stay behind because of work & school.
:-(
We will miss him!!

Jolyn will start 8th grade next year, that seems crazy. Only one more year after that and we move into HIGH SCHOOL!!! YIKES!!! We have an official teenager in the house, so beware!! :-) Jolyn has reached the ripe old age of 13 yrs.
Does this mean there is more emotions than usual???

Jalani will be in the 4th grade. We should find out tomorrow or next Friday who her teacher is for next year. We have 4- 4th grade teachers, at Washington elementary.
Mr. Gillespie, Mrs. Forster, Ms. Lyon, and Mrs. Detweiler.

I have been busy with substituting and volunteering at Washington. Plus, all my stuff at home.

Last weekend May 30-31st, we celebrated Jolyn's birthday, with a sleepover. I took the girls (5) to the drive-in, in the back of Jeff's pickup truck. We saw
"Horton Hears a Who", and "Nim's Island". they were both cute films.
The next day we went to the mall with some of her friends, and she finally got her ears pierced. She chose emerald earrings. She is liking it so far, I think. But is going to be anxiously counting down the 6 months till she can wear dangling earrings.
:-)

Not much else exciting going on here. We went to a Chamber Choir concert from the High school Tues. night. It was very enjoyable. Tonight is a Percussion Performance at the High School. That should be good, also.
Looking forward to June 18th.
Happy Summer!!!! :-) :-)

Happy Birthday to Lynette!! (and Sarah, my other sister)

Happy Birthday to my sista, Lynette.
Wow!! Another year has come, and we celebrate the birth of a woman who is so amazing!!

Lynette you are an inspiration to so many, where do I begin. You amaze me with the strength you find within yourself, and the love you have for all around you!
You are a daughter of a Loving Heavenly Father & Mother and also an Earthly Father & Mother who would do anything for you. You have a cool brother, and two sisters who love you and would also do anything they can for you!!
Thanks for your great example of charity and love. You do so much without realizing all you have done!!
Happy Birthday to a great friend, sister, aunt, daughter and much, much more!!!
Love you Lynette!! :-)

I have another sister with a birthday today, her name is Sarah Cabbage. She was born on May 21, 1974, just like my Lynette. They both love children, teach school, return missionaries, collect books, and are so similar in other ways. They are spiritual giants and do so much for others.

I hope this day is wonderful for the two of them.
Happy Birthday Sistas!!!
Love, ME

The rest of the story-the Golden Acorn and more

I promised I would write the nomination letter that Kathy wrote to nominate me for the Golden Acorn award, so here it is.

"I would like to nominate Lisa Stevens for the Golden Acorn Award this year. I call Lisa my library angel, and she is that and much more. Lisa has gone above and beyond as a volunteer and helper in the library.
I first met Lisa about 2 years ago, at that time, she was helping Mrs. Jones in the library doing whatever needed to be done and always with a smile on her face. This last year, when I became Teacher/Librarian at Washington, she came in almost every Thursday to help checkout the students,shelve books and run to the office to do odd jobs. If that wasn't enough, she called me during the summer to ask if I needed help in the library finishing up on the inventory and weeding old books out of our collection. She came in several times during the summer with her two sweet daughters, Jalani and Jolyn, to help do those jobs and then to help me set up my library for this year. This school year, I have 29 classes in the library adn Lisa knows how busy it is with so many classes, so when she can, she comes in several times a week to help in anyway she can. She does some of the processing of new books, deleting/surplusing old books, printing new spine labels to replace the old ones for our books on the shelf, and then checking out and checking in the books for our students.
Lisa has been invaluable to me and our students, I don't know what I would do without Lisa!"
Kathy Dorey
Teacher/Librarian

Wasn't that so sweet of Kathy. I truly feel honored and blessed to work with Kathy and the others in the Library. I enjoy my time with them and the students. I know most of the students I work with by name, and it is fun to address them by their names,and watch the shock on their faces as I do so.
I am thankful for the knowledge I have gained in the Library and for the opportunities it gives me.


Enough on that subject, now on to the next. We are leaving tonight to drive to Yakima and on to Dallas, Oregon to a funeral for Jeff's Aunt Dorothy.
Jolyn hasn't seen most of this side of his family since she was about 2 years old, and Jalani has never met them. So it will be fun for them to meet the rest of Daddy's family. I wish it was under different circumstances, but it will be nice to see them all again.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Love to all!!!

Birthday Luncheon & The Golden Acorn Award

On Tues. the ladies I volunteer for in the Washington Elementary Library had a Bday lunch for me in the library. We had delicious salads and strawberry cheesecake for dessert. I received a bird house on a stake for my yard, and a mini flag holder with a welcome flag. I also received a Giftcard for Starbucks. It was very nice of them to do that for me. It has been a tradition this year, when one of us has a bday we do this lunch together.

That afternoon I was asked to come back to be at the Volunteer Tea they hold every year, to thank the volunteers. They have an award they present every year, The Golden Acorn. The teachers nominate the volunteers by writing a short essay about their volunteers and what they do for them. Kathy, the librarian, who I volunteer for, nominated me this year. I was blessed to be 1 of 2 who were selected to receive the Golden acorn pin and certificate. I felt very humbled to be honored by Kathy this way.
I will write the nomination letter at a later time, as I do not have it with me at this time. It was a good day.

I am thankful I am able to volunteer with Kathy, she is such a wonderful person. I am thankful for her thoughtfulness and her caring for those around her.

I am thankful for my health which allows me to do the things which I enjoy. I am thankful for all of you!!
Love to all!! :-)

The Greatest Week (ok Nine Days)

I know it has been an eternity since you have heard from me!!I apologize for that.
No excuses here.

This past week has been the most wonderful. I had my parents here from May 4th-12th. It was so awesome.
We accomplished alot and had a great time.

Thanks so much Mom & Dad for being here and for all you did for us!! We miss you already and wish you could have stayed longer.

While Mom & Dad were here we fixed some things and planted a ton of flowers, and much more.
We went to a place called Ohme Gardens.
http://www.co.chelan.wa.us/og/index.htm
You can look at it here on this webpage.
They also experienced the tail end of Apple Blossom Festival.
We went to Mai Fest in Leavenworth and had dinner there. Not impressed with the restaurant we ate at. Mom liked the salad. :-)
We spent this past weekend in Spokane with both of our Moms and my Dad. Jeff's brother & his wife also. We had a great Mom's Day dinner of Chicken Cordon Bleu, Rice Pilaf, Carrots, Spinach Salad, Green Bean Casserole, Rolls, Pineapple, Strawberries and lots of good things to eat. It was fun. We played Mexican Train together afterwards. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.
It was great to have both Moms together at once.
Speaking of Moms, Jeff's mom, Walle, has been put on a lung transplant list and is awaiting the phone call. We are so excited for her to have the opportunity to live a better life, one without oxygen. :-)
Please keep her in your prayers, that when the time comes all will go well.
I am off and running.
bye bye for now!!

Time goes by again!! :-(

Here it is a long time again, since I have written.

I have been busy trying to organize my house. It is a big project!! I am not a very good organizer, but I am trying to improve that.

We are anxiously awaiting for the next week to go by, so we can pick up Grandpa Lynn & Grandma Linda and spend 9 whole days with them. I can't wait. We are going to see the end of Apple Blossom Festival on the day they arrive, and then church on Sunday. Monday -Friday we will have various activities to do: such as, Soccer games, museums, and more.

I have been reading a new book, entitled 'The Holy Secret" by James Ferrell. He is the author of "The Peacegiver". It is really good so far.
I have also started reading a new series entitled "The Sisters Grimm", it is cute!!

Yesterday, we came to the realization that our dishwasher has bit the dust. It is no longer running, I hope it isn't anything major, and can be fixed without too much expense.

Life can throw lots of things at you. You just need to be prepared to handle them!!


I have pondered the responsibility of parenting lately.
Susan W. Tanner in the last Gen. Conf. spoke these words : "The scriptures use the word nurture only twice and in both cases speak of the responsibility of parents to raise their children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4; Enos 1:1).
President Hinckley also admonished both men and women to be nurturers. He said, “How much more beautiful would be the . . . society in which we live if every father . . . and . . . mother regarded [their] children . . . as gifts from the God of heaven . . . and brought them up with true affection in the wisdom and admonition of the Lord” (“These, Our Little Ones,” Liahona, Dec. 2007, 7; Ensign, Dec. 2007, 9)

I have been trying more to treat my children in the way Heavenly Father would have me treat them. Trying to use softer tones, less yelling and screaming. It is not an easy task, but I will continue to give it my best effort. I know Heavenly Father loves each of us and wants us to succeed in all we strive to accomplish.
I pray I can do more nuturing and less critizing.