A Loving Father In Heaven

This week I was reminded about how much our father in heaven looks out for us and our children. I was going about my morning chores on Thursday morning and I found my self on my knees thanking my Heavenly Father for sparing my little Max. I was going through my house opening all my blinds. I had opened the Family room blinds and I usually wrap them up and hang them at the top so the kids don't reach them. All except the ones behind the couch, those usually just get tucked behind the couch. Max and Ellie were sitting on the couch watching cartoons when I moved into the back rooms and into my room to open the blinds. As I was finishing the last one I had the prompting to 'Go get Max'. The prompting was so strong that I nearly ran into the front room. It was there that I found Max with the cord from behind the couch pulled taut around his neck. He was standing and balancing next to the couch trying to get it unraveled. He was not hanging but he is so unbalanced in his walking that he only needed to lose his balance to be in serious danger. I ran up to him and quickly unraveled it.
        I was so thankful to Heavenly Father for keeping an eye on my child when I could not see him. I am so grateful for the gift of the holy ghost to prompt me in times that I need it. In church today I was teaching the ten year olds and we were talking about what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has that is similar to Christ's church in His days. I told the story of Max and the Holy Ghost. What an amazing opportunity we have, to have such divine guidance in our life. As well as an amazing prophet who receives guidance directly from our Lord and Savior. Incredible, simply a life saver.
   

Big Max Turned 1!

 Seriously how cute is this little guy. He is just full of happiness and is constantly getting covered in hugs and kisses. He is such a sweetheart. He is in the 70th percentile for height and weight and 92nd for head circumference  All the smarter my friends, all the smarter. :) The week of his birthday he took his first 2 steps. Max loves practicing walking, and he just giggles until the outreached arms snatch him up! This year  we had some cake after Sunday dinner at my parents, then had a party on his birthday with the Dorius group. Enjoy some of the pics!

This little smile just melts our heart. 6 teeth already and boy does it hurt when he bites you!

 Mitch came home early from work to make a bear cake with Ellie. It was maddening to watch him and El (I guess in some ways I'm a perfectionist). It turned out adorable, okay, a little messy but adorable. Ellie thought it was so special. What a great dad!

 Ellie kept on licking the cake. Hopefully our guests didn't see it. :)

 I Love this picture! It's as if Max is saying, "what have I got myself into?"

 Chaos and cousins. Need I say more?

Oh, Grandma Sherrill. Max loves her. They are the best of buddies. Happy Birthday Maxwell, you little chunky monkey!

Boys and their Toys.

 I decided I needed to do a post on Mitch's hobbies so that you all know that it is not just me having all the fun around here. Mitch LOVES snowmobiling. Me, I think it's fun but not my favorite thing. Therefore his snowmobiling buddy is usually his brother Matt. They went snowmobiling the day after we got  a foot and a half at our house in Farmington, so in the mountains there was much, much more. Have a look!

 Here is Mitch stuck in the snow. Yes, he is standing up, that is how much snow there was!

 Here is Matt stuck in the snow. Does this seem exhausting to anyone else? However, the 'thumbs up' suggests that they are still having fun!

 Oh, and they are stuck again.  When Mitch came home he showed me these pictures. I was skeptical that this was fun to them and he assured me that they had a riot of a time. If he could go everyday with his brothers i'm sure he would!  After this trip Mitch will be getting an Avalanche beacon for sure!

 Behind our house there is a field that we have enjoyed playing in. Uncle Robb brought Ethan and Olivia over for some sleigh riding fun. We love living close to cousins!

Here is Ellie and I enjoying the snow as dad pulls us behind Grandpa Larry's 4-wheeler. Max enjoys the warm house with Grandma Sherrill to snuggle up to. El is a good sport in the snow until she gets the least bit of snow on her!

Christmas 2012

Here is a little back post about Christmas. We had a great Christmas full of Love, Family, and Good Friends. This Christmas we started a little tradition of letting the kids go to the store and choose a gift for their Grandparents all by themselves. My hope was that it would help Ellie to see how much fun it was think about others and of things they would like. It was a wonderful disaster that still cracks me up. Great Grandma Murray ended up getting silly string, and Great Grandpa Lifferth ended up getting a dog chew toy. The picures below show them opening them up. Ellie could hardly wait to give them their gifts. Then she explained what it was to them. They were a bit puzzeled at first but we all had a good Christmas laugh.

 Christmas Eve was spent at Grandma Sherills and Grandpa Larrys. We are so lucky to have so many Cousins!

 Ellie was a cow in the church 'activity' (nativity).  Try telling her it's called a nativity instead of 'activity' she won't listen. Oh well.

 Here we are in the Lifferth nativity. Mitch is Joseph, Ellie Mary, and Me 'The Donkey'. :) Taylor, Our oldest niece cast the roles for the nativity and did a great job.

Here again is Ellie as Mary, taking her job very seriously. You'll notice our nephew Jackson with the couch arm cover on his head as a hat. He was insistent about that. I Love his personality. Let's just say with 15 grandkids under the age 12, our nativity is a bit of an organized disaster.

Overall, A great christmas, oh and Mitch got me a Kitchen Aid! Hurrah for cooking!

Adios Tonsils, Hello Flu

Ellie got her tonsils out this month. The two weeks after were absolutely miserable for her and everyone around her. It was sleepless nights full of pinning her down and forcing lora tab down her. We are sure glad that its all over. Here are a few pics from the ordeal. We had a long wait as her operation kept on getting pushed back so we had some fun playing "Ellie has a hat", a favorite song/game she likes to play.

January has been miserable for us. Can you say FLU SEASON! We even got our flu shots! I told my mom that I was pretty sure that if we were pioneers we would all be dead by now. Let me just calendar this out for you.
Weeks 1 and 2 Ellie was out with tonsil recovery. Miserable, enough said. Week 3 Sun-Max throw up flu, Mon- Max flu continued, Tues- Ellie Cough flu  & Pink eye for Max. Wednesday- Max double ear infection and pink eye for everyone. Thursday- Stacie Strep, Friday-Strep continued, Saturday- Everyone recovering.    The fun continued the following week as Mitch started running a fever on Monday, then both kids had colds for the next three days and finally again on Sunday, Max started with that nasty stomach flu ALL OVER AGAIN. I think we should have just put up quarantine signs on our front door. I kept thinking, 'man i'm glad I only have 2 kids right now, what would I do if I had 6 and they were all sick! It has been a very, very long, sleepless month. So so glad February is here!

Winter Blues

We've had a long few weeks as Ellie got her tonsils out just after Christmas.  We are VERY HAPPY to report she is feeling much better now. Today, Dad took her for a quick zip on the snowmobile out in the fields behind our house. Max and I happily watched from within our warm home!

Our new ward has been very welcoming to us in our new place. Each presidency has been stopping by to visit. When the primary presidency came they were asking Ellie her favorite color, food etc. When they asked her what her favorite thing to do was, she replied, "I like to play with my Mom." Man I wish I could have bottled up how good that made me feel and keep it for a rainy day! That little lady just melts my heart.

    Ellie has, surprisingly to me, had a difficult time adjusting to the move. She kept telling us on Sunday that she 'just wants to go to her old primary.' Through many tears and discussion we finally got her to church. On a play date with our new neighbors El refused to go play with the kids while the adults talked. After about an hour she left the room and I thought she went to play. But fifteen minutes later she walked up to me and as I grabbed her hand it was freezing! She looked at me and said, "Mom, the door is locked. Could you go unlock it?"  The little Stinker walked home in 15 degrees!!! Yep, bad mom moment right there. We are hoping to have a little tea party soon to help her find a few new friends.

    Max is growing too! He eats like a horse, and my favorite is that he has recently learned how to give hugs and occasionally he just keeps his head laying on your chest and falls asleep. He continues to be sweet, loving, and happy. Mitch and I just can't stop counting our blessings!

Side note: Ellie LOVES play-doe. I LOATHE play-doe. It's the smell. It makes my toes cringe. After we clean it up I sanitize the counter as if a raw chicken had been dancing on it. I have to be in a darn good mood to let her play with her 24 PACK that her friend gave her for her birthday. I will say her rocket ship looks pretty good though! 

We Are Not Exempt

Tonight we went bowling with Grandpa and Grandma Lifferth. Grandpa treated us all to a night of fun and ice cream and it was great! I think he is feeling a little sentimental as he starts his chemo on Thursday. It was at bowling as I laughed at the kids dancing around as their ball took 3 minutes to get down the lane, that I had the thought "we are not exempt".
 For the past few months the concept labeled 'trials' has been on the forefront of my mind. Sometimes we go on living our life in such a way that we only hear of bad things on the news, or happening to other people. Then when it happens to us we are naive enough to say 'why me?!' Or if you're like me I thought, 'really? is this really happening?'
      The more I thought about how fast things can happen and how quickly life can change there was a real fear that entered into my heart. I felt completely out of control of my future and realized that the only one who has true control is the Savior. No matter how young a child is, how good a father is, or how much life a teenager has left, we are not exempt from the trials and learning experiences that we have to face. Initially, this idea is a little frustrating but the more we pray and the more I ask for understanding the more complete the plan is to me. I think in my house I need to have a big sign that says, "TRIALS: That's why you are here!"

     What would be the point of this life if we didn't grow and to change physically, mentally and emotionally. How grateful I am for the opportunities to grow, learn, and depend on a loving Heavenly Father who is aware of us and who wants to help us.