Family Night with Missionaries

Ethan's Braces

Ethan finally got his braces yesterday and it made his day. When we pulled up to the orthodontist yesterday, Ethan jumped out of the car and ran in to see Dr. West. After getting his braces we went and got him some shoes and headed to the boy scout office to order some bird houses. On our way home after our errands, Ethan says " This is the best day! I got braces, new shoes, and I get to go to scouts today." I'm so glad that Ethan is happy about his braces and that soon he will have nice teeth to go with his nice smile.

Our cute little boy scout after sharing his Star Wars collection with the scouts.

My Baby Pictures

Our Funny Dog Buster

When Travis is working on his computer Buster will jump up and try to sit in his lap and gets in Travis' way. One day Travis found the perfect spot for Buster in the hood of his shirt. Buster loves it in there! Travis will walk around and get things done while buster relaxes in his hood.

Goodbye Elder Judkins!

We love it when the missionaries come and visit our family. Elder Judkins and Elder Tanner are great missionaries and we're so thankful for the spirit they bring to our home. Elder Judkins will be transferring next week so last Sunday we through him a going away party. The kids and I filled the family room with balloons, made him a big poster with his picture on it and a cake. After dinner we played a game of Sequence and then visited for a while. We will miss Elder Judkins and hope that he continues to bless others lives like he has blessed ours.

Snow and Scouts

This was Travis' first trip with the scouts as their leader. They all spent a day sledding, playing on the zip lines and just playing in the snow. Travis had a great time with the scouts!

Activity Days

I went with Allison to activity Days today to take pictures of their newspaper fashion show! The kids were having so much fun designing modest outfits out of newspaper, I wanted to join them. Aimee was nice enough to be my model. I had a fun time making Aimee's dress and taking pictures of the girls stylish creations.

Yeah For Bryson

Bryson slept in his bed last night! I know that might not seem like a big deal to a lot of people but it is to me. Bryson has been sleeping on his favorite recliner for a long time now and I have always had a hard time getting him to sleep in his bed. I was always to exhausted at the end of the day to fight with him. I spent a few hours yesterday getting Ethan and Bryson's room clean. I found all Ethan's old Spiderman bedding and put it on Bryson's bed. I showed Bryson his cool Spiderman bed and told him that this is where he would be sleeping every night. Last night I put a Spiderman movie on in his room and he fell asleep in his bed for the first time. I'm so very happy! I hope he continues to sleep in his bed and that bed time will be a little easier for all of us.

Lexie's Talk

Hi I am Lexie Skabelund and I was asked to speak on the blessings of family prayer.

I know that family prayer is a blessing and brings blessings to many families around the world. Prayer helps my family a lot in life. A generation or 2 ago family prayer in the homes of Christian people throughout the world was as much a part of the day’s activity as was eating.

In the True to the Faith book under Family Prayer it says ……………..

………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………….

In my family it is really funny to see the kids fight over who says the prayer, even little Bryson wants to say it every time. So each night we take turns saying it. All my friends have different ways of saying a prayer. Some kneel only at breakfast time, some hold their hands together, some have really long prayers and some have really short ones.

We should always thank our heavenly father and ask to bless our friends and family in prayers. We should have our arms folded; eyes closed, and head down. Prayer has helped my family out during our life so many times. One time our family went on a trip to Sea world. We went to a big jungle gym park and Ethan got lost. At this time he was about four. It was so panicking when he was missing. We searched and searched and called and called but we couldn’t find him. So we decided to pray. After the prayer we went up to a police officer and told him about Ethan. The police asked us if he was short about 4 or 5 years old with blue eyes. We all yelled yes!! The police man talked on his walky talky. And said that Ethan was on the other side of Sea world at the lost and found. So we ran over there as fast as we could and found him sitting on a bench with his head down and tears in his eyes. We were so relived to see him.

I am so thankful for the blessings of family prayer and I know that if we pray to Heavenly Father in faith he will answer our prayers. So take 2 minutes of your time to kneel down and pray with your family daily and you will be happy. Family Prayer is a major blessing!

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Lexie did such a great job preparing and giving her talk!

Lost Tooth

Maddy's friend Kyla came over to play today and the girls had so much fun together. After playing for a while Kyla came up to me and asked.. "Maddy's mom, can you pull out my tooth?" I asked her if she really wanted me to pull it out. She said yes and then she pointed to her permanent tooth that was growing behind her baby tooth and told me that her tooth was already up. I pulled it out and she was so happy! I hope that her parents aren't upset with me for doing it. If so..I'm so sorry!

My New Calling

Travis and I were called to be Den Leaders in our ward. We are both so excited to be involved in scouting. Last night Travis and I had our first Pack meeting and Monday will be our first time working with the Wolves as their leaders. I'm so excited to get started!

Lexie's Rooom

I thought I would surprise Lexie today By cleaning and organizing her room. She works so hard in school and does her very best at everything, I just wanted to do something special for her. Lexie is a very smart and talents girl and I just want her to know how much I love and appreciate her.

Church At Nine

Here is a picture of my family all taking a Sunday nap after a long morning at church. We just got our church time change from 1:00 to 9:00 and I love it. I'm not sure how the rest of the family likes it, but it's nice to go early and then have the rest of the day to relax. I had a little bit of a hard time getting some of my family member up and dressed so we could make it to church on time but we made it. Bryson was also moved to Sunbeams today and he wasn't to happy about leaving nursery. Travis and I received another calling to day. We will both be serving with the scouts as Den Leaders. I'm hoping my family will get use to the new changes soon and it will be a little easier for us at church.