Charlotte Singing Grand Old Flag at Her Voice recital. (sorry the tape ended in the middle of her song)

This is our little Jillian singing "Old King Cole." We always thought that Jillian was the "shy" one and that she would never have the courage to perform in front of people. She proved us wrong!

Charlotte sings "Part of Your World." Note the amazing piano skills of her Aunt Charlotte...this was a tough song to play!

Finally, Jillian sings "Castle on A Cloud." She's so cute!

Par-TEA!!

Today, I did something that I have never done before! I attended a protest/rally! I knew that today was April 15th (Tax Day) and I was aware that the "Tea Parties" were happening today but I thought that I'd just let others go wave their signs while I watched from TV. I felt that way until I saw the news stories (mostly on Fox) and I was moved at the video of thousands of people giving up part of their day for the sake of their core beliefs. I felt like I needed to do my part. (And no, I am not a right wing extremist that is a threat to America like the Department of Homeland Security would have you believe.) So, with the decision made, I started making my signs. You can see them below!

Even the little ones got into the act. (Training them from a young age, we are!)

I took my ten year old with me to the Tea party held at the Gateway post office in Springfield. As we were driving down Gateway Street, I started to get a little nervous with the thoughts of being the only one standing there with my sign. What if no one else showed up? As we rounded the corner and got closer to the post office, my tears began to flow as I saw hundreds of people, flags and signs. I told my daughter that this was why America is so great!

We met up with lots of members of the church at the rally. We Mormons are a pretty conservative bunch you know!

The crowd of people stretched down the street for a couple of blocks. We waved our signs and clapped and cheered when people honked. We only got flipped off once and we had a couple of thumbs down. One car had a lady in it who was frantically honking her horn as she cried. It made me cry. We truly are blessed to live in a nation that allows us to express our opinions. I hope that never changes.

Here are a few of my favorite signs:

I admit, I was a George W. Bush Kool Aid drinker for his first term so I understand the "Koolaid drinking" of those that love Barrack Obama.

By far the cleverest sign there!

This one was funny too!

My FAVORITE sign of the night....let's just flush the whole government out...democrats, republicans...and start again.

One thing that I noticed about the people at this rally was that everyone was so kind. One lady was handing out sandwiches and oranges. People were singing "God Bless America." No one was violent or vulgar. The best part of the night was when a guy from a local business was walking down the street next to us shaking his head. Under his breath he was mumbling, "What do you know, a Conservative movement." Let's keep the momentum going fellow Conservatives! We can't let government bankrupt us!

Easter Sunday

Easter is such a great time to be a kid! Saturday night we colored our Easter eggs. The girls got four each and let me tell you, there were some interesting color schemes. Lydia's just came out brown as she dipped her eggs in every color she could find. Casey loves the egg part because it means egg salad sandwiches for the next week! The next morning, we had a little Easter egg hunt around the house and Casey left for Bishopric meeting. The girls got into their Easter duds and we left for Sacrament meeting. I immediately knew that all that candy in the morning was a bad thing. Lydia made it past the opening prayer and started wailing. (the kind that you can't resolve by just giving her a book or a snack). So, I left and listened to most of the Easter message in the Mother's room. When I returned to the chapel, it looked like a cracker and crayon bomb had gone off. With no one to supervise, my older kids had emptied the church bag and they were frantically trying to shove it all back in. Sigh...when will sacrament meeting get easier? Perhaps when Casey is not Bishop anymore and can sit with me at church! Despite the stresses of keeping kids happy through sacrament, the messages about the Savior were wonderful and the choir (which included Casey, Charlotte and Jillian) did a great arrangement of "I Know That My Redeemer Lives." We concluded our day with dinner at the Booren's.

Today we had a GREAT ward activity. We arrived at the church to do a service project and were rewarded with giant pancakes and a frenzied hunt for 500 eggs buried in the long grass of the baseball field. The details can be read in the scrapbook page below. I knew that I had to come right home and scrapbook this page! I got the kit for free at Peppermintcreative.com.

Here are a couple more...

Okay...I've been dying to attempt my own blog...so here goes. Perhaps I'll start by introducing myself. I am a stay at home mom of 5 daughters. Charlotte (10), Jillian (8), Maggie (7), Allison (5), and Lydia (2). They keep me so busy and I am constantly amazed at how fast they are growing up. I enjoy reading, digital scrapbooking, working in my yard and serving in the Primary at our church. I am terribly patriotic...and conservative. I love this country and the inspired Constitution. Don't ever get me started talking politics...I get a little nutty (especially now). My husband currently serves as the Bishop of our Ward. He is gone ALOT! We see him for about an hour a night before he's off to meetings, meetings and more meetings. He has grown so much though and we have been blessed for the sacrifice. All in all, our life is happy. There is so much to be grateful for!

In order to try and remember out daily comings and goings, I started a new project at the beginning of the year. It's called Project 365. (The idea come from a Becky Higgins blog.) Anyway, I'm taking a picture and writing a quick blurb on whatever it is we have done for each day of the week. I then digitally scrapbook those pictures and will publish the book at the end of the year. It's my way of keeping a journal. Here are a few examples.