MORE BIRTHDAYS

THANKFUL BENSON

Benson turned 2 years old yesterday!

Benson is such a thankful kid.

He is so loveable- he is grateful for everything.

He's also easy to pursuade.  

He says, "OK Mommy" after I explain things to him.

He is also so affectionate.

He loves babies.  He always carries around a doll.

He holds my hand constantly- 

in the car, during meals, on walks, etc.

He smothered Grandma Jolene with hugs 

when she came up for his birthday.

HOLLAND'S HATS

Holland turned 4 last week!

She is a darling girl.  She loves clothes and accessories.

She wears a hat every single day- it's an easy hair-do.

I crocheted here this one for her birthday.

She has become quite the story-teller.
When we tuck her into bed at night,

 she loves to hear a story about when we were little.

She then repeats the story back to us as if it happened to her!

She is really starting to get helpful around the house.

She has become our vacuumer.

She is the heart of our family.

She is so much fun.

Myriam's TEN

Myriam turned 10 yesterday!

She has grown and developed so much for only 10 years. 

We made her a poster saying all 10 things we love about her: 

1. Generous giver, 

2. Musically talented,

3. Crafty, 

4. Loves learning/reading, 

5. Great cook, 

6. Natural fisherman, 

7. Early bird, 

8. Flexible, 

9. Healthy example, 

10. Great laugh/smile.

We are so grateful Heavenly Father has given us this wonderful daughter to raise.

She is such a blessing to our family!

Worth of One Soul

I sometimes feel like my toddlers get in the way of 

getting my "treadmill of life" stuff done.

If I consider the value of THINGS I am pursuing, 

they are nothing compared to the value of a SOUL.

I try to think of that while I look at these cute faces during the day.

Christmas Ideas

Here's a few of my thoughts about Christmas-

1. You have to dare to be different.

2. Kids resist meaningful ideas sometimes, but they end up loving them because they are more substantial and lasting.

3. You don't have to follow traditions unless they match your values.

-I do not value buying tons of un-neccesary stuff.

-I do not enjoy creating selfish children.,

-I hate shopping and enjoy saving.

I see the holidays as a time to magnify what is really important. Here's some ways we've tried to

focus on the 4 missions of the church:

1- Relieve the Poor

(Last year we did not buy our kids presents.  We took the money we would have spent and sent it to one of our friends whose baby has cancer.  We made a little video of her to show our kids on Christmas morning.  They loved it so much, they are begging to do it again this year.  What a relief to do NO SHOPPING during this crazy time of year... it makes it feel uncrazy.)

(Invite lonely people to join your family activities- or ask others if you can join them if you are lonely)

(Caroling to widows is always one of my favorite activities.  We are learning songs at family nights and we want to go every December Sunday to a nursing home- Myriam wishes we would go every night)

(One year, we got a full year's supply of food storage instead of wasting money on toys= Future relief of the poor)

2- Redeem the Dead

(We go do sealings with my parents since their anniversary is during the holidays)

(We spend time doing genealogy over the holidays since Donny has extra time)

3- Perfect the Saints

(We got cross country skiis one year for everyone so that we would get more exercise in the winter)

(We usually make a health goal- like not gaining any weight from Thanksgiving to Christmas- or going to bed at a decent hour during the holidays- or doing exercise or sports with family members when we are together)

4- Proclaim the Gospel

(Acting out or teaching the nativity story to our children on Christmas Eve)

(Reading meaningful Christmas stories to our children throughout December)

(Sharing the gospel through music/songs and through blogs)

(We could help missionaries- both with referrals and financially)

Musical Family Night

We have been starting our family night off each week

with a musical talent show from everyone.

We each perform a song on the piano, organ, violin,

or Donny's latest= the bagpipes!

He's only been playing the chanter for a week-

he is obsessed an improving quickly.

I love what an avid learner Donny is.

We definitely have a love of learning.

(And ours is usually obsessive learning)

Here is his new (used) bagpipes:

We recently bought a FULL PEDALS ORGAN.

I love it!  I have been practicing my head off every day.

I feel like I get so much inspiration while playing the hymns and classical music.

It really helps me to TUNE IN to the spirit.

Here's Myriam teaching everyone the Christmas Song-

 "Angels We Have Heard on High"

She wants to go caroling to nursing homes every night!

Here's Holland joining in the fun with a made-up song

after everyone else had performed.

Time with Grandma Anderson

Funerals do bring families together.

I think I am turning into my mom- I enjoy funerals.  

The spirit is so strong as it comforts us and gives us hope in the resurrection.

Hunter could not stay away from the casket at the viewing.  

He kept looking at Great Grandma and stroking her hand.

He said that "she looked so cute."

It was a great experience for our children to learn about death-

and they really understood it- they watched the whole process.

They witnessed a mighty change of heart 

as their great grandma prepared to meet her God.

Grandma Anderson came for the graveside service of her mother

and stayed with us for a couple of weeks.

We hardly get to spend much time with her since she lives in Portland.

She enjoyed observing the children and teaching them a few things as well.

Here she is playing a word game on her lap

 to teach the younger children "opposites" 

Here she is teaching Myriam some pointers on the piano.

Kathy is a very accomplished pianist and a piano teacher.

Myriam has got SO MUCH talent- it excites her.

Here she is teaching Sadie how to make

 her delicious cinnamon bread.

Primary Program

We had our primary program on Oct. 28.

All 6 of my kids are in primary (well, Benson is in nursery)

and I am in the primary presidency.

I was in charge of writing the program- it was a lot of work- but it went very well.

My parents and Logan & Elisabeth came to support us.

One of the sunbeams sang this solo for the last song.

She inspired Holland- she keeps practicing and hoping she'll have a turn

to sing a solo in church sometime too.

Family Economy

Recently, We have re-implemented "token economy," with our children who are 8 and older.  

We have been calling it "cookie economy" because they earn cookies/popcorn/granola in the evening if they did all their responsibilities.  We also went back to paying them allowances for some of their needs & wants.  

They needed to start buying some of their "things" so they would take better care of them. 

In general conference, Elder Perry's talk re-affirmed our desires in this direction by saying:

"We can organize our families based on…'family economics,' where children have household responsibilities and can earn allowances so that they can learn to budget, save, and pay tithing on the money they earn."

Here are some of the principles we've learned:

3 R's for FAMILY ECONOMICS:

         

1.    RESPONSIBILITES

a. Individual Work

b. Family Work (Specialist)

c. Education (Homework)

d. Talent Practice (8+children)

2.    REWARDS

a.      Work earns Food

b.     Honoring Parents earns Lengthened Days

     c.     Allowance Money (children 8+)

  

3.    RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

a. Time (Freedom Funnel)

b. Money (Budget- clothing,learning, fun; Tithing; Savings)
c. Talents (Mental and/or Physical)

'Till We Meet Again

Donny's grandma, Dorothy Edwards Milligan, died today-

ON HER 96th BIRTHDAY!

We were on our way to go visit her-

to take her a doughnut and sing to her,

like we do every Sunday,

and we got a phone call on Donny's cell

from Scott Monson (the owner of Williamsburg Retirement Center)

saying she had just passed away.

We still went in and sang to her and held her hand.

We felt so much love in the room-

the Holy Ghost comforted us and filled us with gratitude

for having been able to spend her last 2 years with her.

 These are some pictures of us at one of our last visits with her.

She held onto Hunter for quite a while, hugging him.

She sure loves him and feels something special for him.

She told us she would watch over him as his angel.

She was so prepared to go back home to her Heavenly Father.

She was full of love and had truly submitted her will to His.

She ended her days in peace and contentment.

We know her spirit still lives and is REJOICING to be with her husband again.

Donny put a picture of her husband by her pillow and we sang to her-

God Be With You Till We Meet Again!

And we know we will meet again because of Jesus Christ and the hope of Resurrection.

Thank you Military

Donny's brother, Reed, is currently serving our nation in Afganistan.

Our kids learned some songs of gratitude for those who are fighting for our country.

We love America and we love uncle Reed and everyone else in the service.

Goals and Roles

I am such a "To-Do List" person.  Lately I have been asking myself if each thing I do is really helping me in my roles.  So, I set goals this week in each role, then created my to do list from those goals.
I have really liked the analyzing of this.

Here's my goals in my role as a mother:
1- Love my children
2- Nurture their bodies and spirits
3- Teach them to love and serve each other

Do you know that the hardest thing for me is #1= Loving them?
I have noticed that I don't feel love when they are not obeying.
I have been pray for love WHEN they aren't obeying- that doesn't come naturally.
I  have also noticed how often I do not listen to them because I am doing something on my "to do" list.
I need to check my projects and programs to make sure they don't get in the way of loving people.

NURTURING THEIR BODIES

(I learned to let them eat fruits and vegetables freely-

just like Adam and Eve could eat in the garden of Eden)

NURTURING THEIR SPIRITS

(We took them to the Brigham City Temple Open House

and then the older ones went with my mom and Sophie and Andrew

 to the temple dedication)

LOVE AND SERVE EACH OTHER

(This was a cute moment on a neighborhood walk)

Fasting and Prayer

Over a month ago, our cousin, GABE STOUT, was in a motorcycle accident.

My sister, Sophie, texted our family and invited us to join in fasting and prayer for him.

I felt really strongly about fasting for him and many of my children were willing to as well.

We were anxious each day to get updates by email about his recovery.

He was a great example to my kids of working so hard 

by pushing himself to go the extra mile which accelerated his recovery.

The Lord blessed him with miraculous healing.  

We were so grateful to be a part of a miracle.

His advice to our children the day he got home from the hospital

was to always make safe, wise choices so we can live a full life.

Just a few days ago our cousin, Jaxon, fell off a ladder and broke his jaw.

Our fasting and prayers went from one cousin to the next.

In both instances, I have been so impressed with the parents.

They were constantly at their child's side showing such devotion and love.

We sure love Jaxon and hope he has a great recovery as well.

Singing for GG

When we visit Grandma Milligan in the assisted living center,

the only way we can keep the kids under control is if they sing to her.

Here's a few videos I captured of the children singing to her.

Packer enjoys singing to her as well- I just don't have one of him yet.

(They have a hidden motive- they get a piece of candy from her nightstand if they sing)

We love visiting her.  She is angelic- we call her "Celestial."

She is so full of love and gratitude.

She is very prepared to meet her maker, yet patient until that time comes.

Wholesome Recreational Activities

BOATING

This summer we got to go boating twice- 

Once with my family and once with my high school friends.
I loved getting out and knee-boarding with Emily-
it felt so fun to play again!

The most memorable experience with my family was when 

Sophie and Donny and I were on the tube with the babies

and we all accidentally got dumped.
We could either join the babies crying or laugh-

We were with Sophie, so of course, we laughed!

CAMPING

Donny planned a fun family camping weekend at Tony Grove.

My family was way supportive and came and joined us.

Kimala and Casey were in town and came as well.

Donny treated the kids to a lot of little camping trips 

near our house all summer long.

The kids got hooked on fishing.

Packer's Baptism

 Packer Donald Anderson was baptized on Aug 4, 2012

By his father, Donald Anderson,

a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

 Packer was named after President Boyd K. Packer,

a member of the quorum of the 12 apostles.

He is one special boy. 

He has a great heart.

The Johnson extended family came to support him.

Aunt Sophie gave him this poster frame.

Packer is excited to be a cub scout now.

We love you Packer.

You are a great son and brother.

14 Year Anniversary

We just celebrated 14 years of being married.
We created a timeline of major events that have happened each year
and took our kids on a car trip to some of the significant places.
Here's a timeline summary and a few pictures of our tour.

1998= Married in the Salt Lake Temple
1999= Went to BYU, lived in Provo, Mollie taught Math in Payson
2000= Hired into CES, moved to Canada, bought our first home
2001= Teaching and Volunteering and SADIE was born
2002= Moved to Logan and MYRIAM was born
2003= Donny taught in Brigham City, Mollie was primary president
2004= PACKER was born, Motherhood Crisis for Mollie with 3 children
2005= Donny got Master's Degree from USU
2006= HUNTER was born and Donny transferred to Logan High
2007= Built a house in Millville, Mollie ran 1/2 marathon- biggest baby gap
2008= Donny called to be in the bishopric and HOLLAND was born
2009= Donny published his book, Mollie learned to crochet
2010= Great Grandma Milligan moved in and BENSON was born
2011= Focus on Learning- Everyone classics, Donny astronomy, Mollie organ
2012= Focus on Health- Whole Foods, Exercising, Tennis

I am so thankful to Heavenly Father for giving me Donny as a husband.

He has provided such a rich and fulfilling life for our family.

Myriam's Lessons

Myriam has taken off with the piano this summer.

Every day she passes off half of a simplified hymn to earn her lunch.

She even pushes herself in her spare time to learn the real hymns.

Myriam is the only one I've ever put into swimming lessons.

She took from a local seminary teacher's wife at their house and loved it.

We always just get a year pass to the local high school pool 

and go a couple of times a week as a family.

I give the kids informal lessons... 

they just get used to the water and play a lot.

Another form of lessons for Myriam is reading classics.

She is an avid reader and loves to read out of "the best books."

In order to keep up with her and Sadie, 

Donny and I started a monthly book club with them.

A few of their friends have joined too.

(This couch just happened to have all the girls)

Memorial day weekend, grandma Myrjam Anneli (who Myriam is named after)

had us over to her house to teach us how to cook a few Finnish dishes.

Afterwards, we went to the Cemetary and I got a cute picture of the two together.

They both are such sweet and loving people.

Myriam is also getting ripstick lessons from Packer these days.

(He has taught everyone- even mom!)