Happy Halloween & Caramel Onions???

It has been a very fun and eventful Halloween week. A few days ago we had a party with our kids and grand-baby and made caramel apples. Instead of joining us for the party, my son J'Dee, planned to go on a date and told us he would not make it to our party. My other kids were not really happy with him for not being there, so instead of getting upset or angry with him they decided to show them how much they missed him by making him is very own delicious caramel apple. BUT instead of using an apple they decided they would use an ONION!

They laughed and joked about this onion the entire time they made it. They had a really hard time getting the caramel to stick because the onion was so slippery once they peeled the rough skin off of it….(Note to self…leave outer skin on next time..haha)! They even opened the freezer and took turns holding on to the apple stick while trying to get the caramel to harden quicker! It was hilarious watching them laugh and joke while working so diligently on trying to cover up the any trace of the onion!

My older son, C'Jay called J'Dee while on his way home from the movie and told him how much fun we were having and that we made him and his date their very own  caramel apple! J'Dee asked him if anyone was mad at him and C'Jay said, "No not at all!" Then he proceeded to tell him to come home and join us in all the fun!!!

J'Dee walked into the house with his date and seemed super happy! We had hid the other caramel apples in the outside fridge so that he would not notice the difference! C'Jay was still holding the caramel onion… because if he were to set it down, the caramel would slide off onto the wax paper! C'Jay handed the caramel onion to J'Dee  with love in his eye and mischievousness in his heart and we all  tried to not act so guilty and continued cleaning up the kitchen! Shaniah pretended to be on her phone so J'Dee would not suspect anything but she was really taking a video of this funny moment!

J'Dee did not even suspect anything as he bit into his caramel treat and started to chew….It took about 3 chomps before his eyes lit up as he realized this was not the sweet apple he was anticipating! He ran quickly to the sink and spit it all out then continued in rinsing his mouth out for several minutes to try and remove the nasty onion flavor! Everyone busted into laughter, even his date, and J'Dee joined along in the laughter full knowing he totally deserved it for ditching on all of us tonight!

Such a funny night that I couldn't help but share it! I think J'Dee got the message loud and clear from his siblings! They did not have to say a word or make him feel guilty for his choice! They found a way to show how much they loved and missed him by taking the time to make it all about him tonight!

I know to some this might sound mean but in my family playing practical jokes on someone is all about showing them how much you love and care about them! I know this sounds funny but if you turn tense situations into funny ones, the mood lightens, the spirit remains and everyone can continue to have a happy heart!

Thanks kids for making tonight such a fun family event!!!

Not sure how to eat a sucker! First time for everything!  haha

Ireland the Dalmatian and Tillee our Black Lab

WHY DOES Everyone look so strange?

Kisses from KODA!

C'Jay had a really rough day today!!! LOL

Turning Our Hearts!

For years I have been trying to doing what I could do to research and work on my family history. I have worked on and off on it  for over 10 years. My mom and I have been searching for years to try to overcome the road blocks of trying to find the parents of my great grandfather Robert Henry Rhea. The last we know of him was that he enlisted the Spanish America War in 1898 and contracted yellow fever. He was sent to a hospital in the states and once he left he hospital he was so ill he could not remember who he was or where he came from. He wandered out west to Texas where he met his wife and there married,  then moved onto Salt Lake City, where they raised their family. Their youngest son Charles Lindberg Rhea was my grandfather on my mothers side of the family. We are determined to one day connect this missing link of our family tree!

Since becoming sick I haven't felt up to working on family history until the past few weeks. Ever since October's General Conference and then again at our Stake conference I have felt the urging to begin this process again. My mom also wanted to join me in this process.

When my mom and I first met at the beginning of October we decided to have a prayer together in order to determine where we should begin our family search adventure this time. We both agreed to start looking at our family tree more closely to determine if there are any errors in the ancestors that we think there work is already done. We decided to write down the questions we had and then take them to the family history center and ask the volunteer missionary specialists.

So after looking at all of our ancestors we had a few questions especially on a great(x5) grandmother to me. There were numerous disputes about her from many other people claiming whom she was married to. We felt really strong about researching and trying to prove that she was indeed married to the man we thought was her husband.

We took these questions of how to research Danish birth and marriage records to the Family search library. We met a volunteer missionary, from our stake, who specializes in Danish, Scandinavian, and German records, We spent many hours and several weeks learning how to use Danish websites and trying to find the needle in a haystack(their marriage record) that we were looking for. We continued to do what he suggested and search census records of him and his wife, and also search birth records of their children. As we did we were able to narrow it between three years of when they could have been married. As each Parrish in Denmark would list every birth, confirmation(age 14), death, and marriage in their records. The government demanded it for tax and recording purposes.

After many hours and days of searching we finally TODAY found the marriage record of Ane Johanne Jorgensen and Neils Larsen Sorensen. In their records it stated they were married in 1865 where in reality their marriage was dated Nov. 15, 1870. We were so elated to finally lay our eyes upon their record that we both started to tear up. We felt such a strong connection with them and knew we could finally put to rest this ongoing debate as to whom her husband was.

In this process we also found out that her first child was not his and needs to have her temple work done and sealed to her birth father. How excited we were to be able to finally get somewhere. We knew that the Lord was guiding and directing us and leading us to find this. We know that we could have never done this alone and learned how important it is to listen to the prompting and ideas you get when working on your own family line.

We left the family history center feeling so elated at the fact of being able to find such vital information. We could not wait to attach this information to family search and put this debate to rest for good! We decided we needed to celebrate and went out and bought a pumpkin yogurt! We then went to our own homes and shared with our families the good news! I even started to tear up once again as I shared this amazing news! Who knew family history would make you feel so close to your ancestors!

 I can now understand what it means that the "Hearts of the Fathers shall turn to the children, and the Hearts of the children shall turn to their Fathers," For us today we felt as if are loved ones who had passed on were cheering us on and so grateful that we had finally uncovered the truth that had been hidden for years!

I found this picture on the internet and it reminded me of me and my mom searching for our ancestors and knowing they were right behind us watching and cheering us on every step of the way!

"And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers,

 and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers."

 D&C 2:2

Shine Your Light

Today was a beautiful Sabbath day. Although staying at church for three hours underneath the fluorescent lighting can be very hard on my body and cause me to flare up, I prayed hard to be able to stay with my family  and be able to feel the spirit. I was so grateful that all my children chose to come to church  with me today.

I know that as a mother of teens and young adults I can't force them to make right choices. I must just love them and try to influence them in anyway that I can. When they were little it was much easier to bring them along with me to church, read scriptures, have family home evening, and say family prayers.

As they grow and become independent and the world starts to pull them in many different directions it becomes even harder for them to want to make the right choice. As they navigate through their difficult years and make decisions that would cause them to stumble, it is our job to continue to love and accept them while the Lord allows them to know the bitter so that they may appreciate the sweet!

It is a lot easier said then done. You want your children to do what is right and you want them to not have to suffer by making the wrong choices. But I am learning just how important it is to sit back, like our Farther in Heaven does, and love them and let them learn what they need to no matter how hard it is to watch them struggle.

One thing this illness has taught me is to appreciate my health on good days. I will never take my body for granted again! I will safeguard my body and never over-work or under-nourish it again!
I know I would have never learned this had I not been given this illness to endure. Without knowing the bitter I could never have tasted the sweet!

This is what I have to remember my children are learning on their own. I know Heavenly Father has an individual  plan for each one of them and He is the only one that knows exactly what they must go through in order to be ready for what lies ahead of them both in this life and the life to come!

As their mother I know all I can do is LOVE them, nurture them, and be a light that shines daily so that they must know to what source they can look to for peace! My hope and prayers is that I can keep my spiritual light burning bright so my family will know the source to which it came!

 Artificial light like the fluorescent lighting can make me sick but real spiritual light that comes from our Father in Heaven can strengthen and create everlasting happiness and peace in our lives!

Niah's 1st Halloween Dance

Shaniah had her first girls pref Halloween high school dance today. Her and three of her friends invited four guys to dress up with them. They started out their date going to Gardner Village and doing the "Find the Witch Hunt." While they were there they all picked something to be painted on their dates faces. Shaniah's date had a witch painted on her cheek and Shaniah picked a full blown butterfly to be painted on his entire face. He did not know what she had picked until it was done. BOy was he surprised! haha!

They then went to cafe rio for dinner and then off to the Halloween dance. They had so much fun dancing their hearts out at the dance. The eight of them came to our house afterwards to have a bonfire and roast s'mores. They finished the night watching a scary movie on our projector downstairs!

 They all dressed up like community helpers…..haha

Look at those cool cops!

The Cops

Cops, bikers, firefighters, and army people

 What a fun group of kids having a good old time!

What a fun and eventful week it was for Shaniah.  A couple days ago she also went to classic skating with a friend thinking it was cowboy night when in reality it was karaoke night! They didn't care and wore overalls and headbands and had a great time just having fun!

Funny Girls!!!

Sunday Dinners, FHE, and Fun Times!

Today we took a Sunday drive up Tibble Fork canyon to have our FHE around a campfire. We had a short lesson around the fire, made smokes and laughed until it go dark. We were not up there for long but really enjoyed the family time being all together!

When your kids are young you really seem to take for granite all the time you have together! As they grow up and start making lives for themselves you realize just how lucky you are when everyone is all together!

This is one of the reasons why we started to have a family dinner every Sunday and then followed by Family Home Evening. I know everyone is so busy during the week and sometimes we never see each other so Sunday's was the day we could all  look forward to being together! We have been doing this for the past 4 months and it has been so much fun!

I  made a little family home evening chart out of paper and pockets and will continue to add spouses and grandchildren as we grow! I know having dinner can be a lot of work each week but if it means that it gets us all together to have weekly family home evening then it is all totally worth it!

I am not going to say that every Sunday is full of happy smiling faces…especially from teens, spiritual lessons, and most the time includes a lot of chaos…. but the food is what seems to gather our family together and by the end of the night the fun and laughter is what keeps us going! I know that no one will ever remember the lessons, the games we played, or even the treats that were served, but everyone will remember that we did try our best and hopefully being consistent will instill in their hearts the importance of being together as a family !

Some pictures from our eventful lesson around the fire!

C'Jay and Ireland having fun

Having fun at the creek

The three kids and Ireland

Ireland just learned how to do high 5!

Passing the baby across the creek!

The cute Powers family

Bubba laughing at C'Jays smores burning

Burnt Smores

Ireland loved the Paleo homemade smokes

Enjoying her smores with grandma

Kim and C'Jay around the fire!

Niah in the flames

C'Jay's homemade gun!

J'Dee 

Irealnd reading with her daddy!

Family Home Evening around the Fire

GOOD NEWS TODAY….GRAND-BABY #2

GOOD NEWS FRIDAY!!

Not only did I find out today at my chiropractor that I can go from 3 times a week down to 2 times per week, but I also found out some amazing, exciting news today!!

My grand-baby Ireland came by this afternoon wearing this cute new shirt! Kim, C'Jay, and I were at home cleaning when Kaylee and Andrew come walking in with Ireland. All of us were so excited to see the baby that we grabbed her up and quickly started playing with her. We never even read what was on her shirt!

So…Kaylee and her Bubba had to ask us, "Don't you like her new shirt?" We looked at it and I screamed with excitement and hugged Kaylee and Andrew!

Such an exciting day today!

"Just read my shirt Grandma!!!!"

I never knew just how fun it would be to be a Grandma! My husband, Kim also loves being a grandpa. We fight over who gets to play or hold Ireland all the time! We are all soooo excited to bring another sweet spirit into our family! Nothing in life can bring us more joy than adding a new member to our family! Our Father in Heaven knew that our greatest happiness would come in this life by means of our family! I am so thankful for the blessings that families bring into our lives! 

Family Picture Time 2014

Today after we had family dinner we all drove up Tibble Fork Canyon to see the leaves and to take family pictures by the lake. We did not have anyone to take our pictures so we took are camera a couple stools and propped the camera up and set it on auto-timer. It was so funny watching C'Jay push the 10 second button and then run back get into place before the camera took the picture. The pictures are far from perfect but we really did have a great time.

Picture day for our family every year starts out as just trying to capture a great photo. But my kids and hubby somehow turn it into quite the adventure. Someone says or does something that seems to spur everyone on. We always seem to make such crazy and fun memories each year during picture time. So I don't mind that we never get the perfect picture because all the memories made in the process is what is truly priceless to me!!!
Her are a few of our not-so perfect pics!!! haha!

Niah and Bubba…What are you doing with your hands???

LOVE THIS FAMILY

J'Dee and I are a little squished here….

Grandpa and Grandma holding Ireland

Mommy and Daddy with Ireland

Aunt Ni Ni with Irealnd

Playtime with Ireland

Everyone loves this little cutie!!

Uncle Cee Cee playing with Ireland

Ireland loves Uncle Dee Dee

Crazy Family!!!!

Believe it or not!!! This one is our favorite!!!

I am so happy Families CAN be Together  Forever!!!

Parry Pumpkin Painting Party

Today we watched General Conference together as a family. Everyone was there except for Kim. On conference weekends he works 12 hour days. It is mandatory that they have security for these large events. Today he was security in the hot box. WHich is the p had the annual Parry Pumpkin Painting Party at my mom and dad's house. Each year we get together on a Sunday afternoon and have dinner together and then paint the pumpkins that my dad and mom grew in their garden. My dad always loves to make sure the youngest grandkids get the biggest pumpkin!

This was Irelands first attempt at painting anything! My parents are  her Great Grandma and Grandpa so in order to make it easy we call her GG and my dad GP.

Ireland loved to pain with her hands until someone gave her a paintbrush and she stuck the paint in her mouth. When her mom took it away from her she screamed and through a fit! haha! I laughed at how cute she was even when she was screaming!!! Bubba, Shaniah, and I all painted a pumpkin as well.

I don't think you are ever too old to decorate a pumpkin!

 Ireland painting her pumpkin!!

Me and Niah 

Ireland eating tomatoes right out of grandpas garden

Lil Clown...

Kisses for Grandpa

Uncle C'Jay and Uncle J'Dee clowning around!

Look who's taller now??/

Halloween Fun!!