GRATEFUL

I can't even describe how grateful I feel right now:-)

At the end of September our renters told us that they needed to move to California, because of family reasons. These renters have been such a blessing in our lives, because it has allowed us to not have to short sale or foreclose on a home that we put a lot of hard work into and memories. I was freaking out inside when she (the renter) gave her notice. I thought, "Oh no, now we are up the creek!" Anyway, Jonathan and I went to work getting our signs put up through out the area where our home is and listed it on Craigs list. We got many calls, but it just seemed that no one was willing to pay the amount we were asking. Seriously after A LOT of pleading to Heavenly Father and wanting to do His will, we had felt very strongly to continue to try to find renters and that everything would work out the way it needed to. So, this morning, amidst all the chaos of A LOT of kids at the house, I got a call from our renter, telling me that she was no longer moving and was wondering if she could sign a lease for another year. A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders and I instantly felt gratitude. So I went over with seven of the kids to the house to get things all situated. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who tests my faith and hears my prayers. I am grateful that he pushes me to want to be better. I am on cloud nine right now:-)

SORRY

Man, I really wish I could get on here and update, but I have been so busy with all that I am doing. I wish I had a better excuse, but it is what it is. With babysitting three extra ones, plus doing home school with one of my five, I just don't have the time to get on here and download pictures and such. Life is full and I wouldn't change it for the world. I feel extremely grateful that the Lord has provided so much for me and my family. A quick update....my twiner and her husband and 5 girls are moving here in a week. We get to have them stay with us until they find a home. We are SO excited to have them move so close and can not wait to cultivate our relationships with them:-) So until I have 3-4 extra hours more in a day or I am not tending to other kids, I will be pretty much avoiding this blog, Sorry:-/

TIME OUT FOR WOMEN!!!!!!!!!

I can NOT wait for this years Time out for Women event here in the valley of the sun! It is that time of year where I will be letting anyone and everyone about this wonderful oppotunity to enjoy and uplifting weekend for just WOMEN!!!! Here is a link to check out all of the speakers/singers. If you don;t live in AZ, there are other cities they will be visiting. Believe me, you won't want to miss out on this!
ALSO......$47 GROUP RATE THRU SEPT 16th!Pre-Register a group of 5 or more for the full-weekend and receive the GROUP RATE of $47 on each registration vs. $57 per lady.

http://deseretbook.com/time-out?utm_source=events&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gathergroup&utm_campaign=tofw

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!!!

Just what I needed

I have been really struggling lately with my role as a mother. As long as I can remember I have always wanted to be a mom, but I too often, unfortunately, think I am not doing a good enough job. I get overwhelmed. I get frustrated. I get tired. But. I never give up. I know that I have an important job and even though I fall short (a lot) I won't give up! I am grateful that I saw this short video this morning. It inspires me to keep going and know that my creator trusts me and if I continue to turn to Him, he will always guide and direct me as a mother. I hope you all enjoy!

http://mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/videos/motherhood-an-eternal-partnership-with-god?tabId=new-videos&index=2&autoplay=true

Summer so Far

Wow, Summer has been going great so far:-) Today felt a little weird, because I didn't have other kids at the house that I was watching. It was so quiet with just my own kiddos. With having so many extra kids, it's kinda hard to go anywhere; one because I don't have enough room in the car for everyone:-) We haven't necessarily done a whole lot other than enjoy the mild June so far, so the girls and I decided to go to the library and get some more good books and some dvd's.

We have been taking good care of our garden, as we have enjoyed lots of tomato's and zucchini, yellow squash, and cucumbers. There are several cantaloupe so far, but ton's more buds. We can not wait to sink our teeth into one of those bad boys:-) Jonathan has slept out in the backyard with the girls several times and they LOVED it, minus all the mosquito bites they had gotten. Anna had gotten the most. It looked like she had chicken pox. Poor girl.

We got a swing set that the girls and the kids that I watch have enjoyed every single day since May 29th. Megan thinks that it was a gift for her eighth birthday. Speaking of Megan, she turned eight May 30th. She can not wait to be baptized June 26th. She is full of energy and always gives the best hugs and kisses. We love her SO much! I hope everyones summer is going great!

My baby is 1 already!

These are kinda backwards, but oh well, I can't figure out why I can't move them??

Here three of the girls playing in the yard after dinner and cake (Jonathan has been working so hard on this yard of ours:-) We are LOVING having grass and having a garden!

Amanda and Megan playing in the back as well

This is her enjoying her own cupcake and ice cream cone

This is Anna, me and Megan cutting up the Chocolate, chocolate cake.....mmmm:-)

Granny Jan and Grandpa Johnston gave little Addi some much needed sippy cups and toys, THANKS!

This is us out side after the yummy Mother's Day/Birthday feast.....I could just eat her up:-)

This little lady came to our family last year and has been probably the BEST baby we have ever had. I do feel that all of my babies have been easy (besides Mags, #4 who had a killer scream, she still was a good baby though). She is VERY laid back and so fun to snuggle with. I seem to not be able to get enough of her. She has this way of making everyone in our family feel happy when she is around them. She loves her sleep and takes awesome naps. She is an awesome eater! We love her and feel so blessed to have her in our family!

This has been a little bitter sweet for me. I say this because I am not sure if she is our last baby and even though I say we are DONE! (mainly out of fear), I always have this feeling that, sigh, I love babies and the joy they bring to our family. Now with that said, I don't just have babies cause I love babies:-) We pray and make sure it is what's best for our family! She did come as a surprise though to our family, and a good one at that! WE LOVE YOU Addison:-)

Here is a video clip of her birthday song; Now all I need to figure out is where Anna's birthday pictures and video are:-/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jyz7gmJl-Gk

I was surprised that she was clean in her cupcake eating:-)

I can NOT wait til.......

..........School is done for this year! I don't know if it's just me, but I am SO ready for this school year to be done in 4 weeks. I am so done with waking up the kids and getting us all ready to get out the door by 8:20 every morning. I am so done with listening to at least one child say, "I don't want to go to school.....I want to stay home with you!" every morning. I am so done with having the stress of making sure the kids get to bed early. I can NOT wait to "relax" in a sense for the summer time. Of course I know that there is a lot more work that is involved in the summer time, but I also know that I enjoy a challenge and love the chance to be more free with my kiddos. So here's to 4 more weeks and hope that it will fly by so we can start having some fun!

Some Clarification

Just want to let anyone else know that the, "Expecting number 6", post was an April Fools Day joke. I have gotten several calls and comments congratulating us:-( LOL

We are HAPPILY still a family of seven;-)

Just Thinking:-)

Am I only one who thinks babies are absolutely AMAZING?!?!? As I have watched little Addi go from rolling, then to army crawl, then to real crawling, I thought to myself, on more than one occasion, "Man, how is it that they know what to do; It's not like we are all crawling around showing them what to do?". I can not get enough of these little ones and how they learn, or instinctively know how to crawl or walk, then talk. They grow up too fast:-/ Hope everyone has an AWESOME week!

I LOVE SPRING!!!!!

Here in AZ, and anywhere else I have lived, Spring is my favorite season. I love that I can leave my windows open and hear the birds chirping, "Good Morning!" and that at 5:30am it is light out:-) I love that the air, how fresh it seems because of the gentle breeze it gives. I love that to me it represents a new beginning, with all the new growth from flowers, to new leaves growing. I love Easter and how I feel so blessed to have to knowledge that my Savior lives and was resurrected on the third day. I love this beautiful earth that has been provided for me to enjoy and to be able to learn and grow!

Expecting number SIX

Wow, what a surprise for us....I know, I know, all of you have heard me talk about how we were DONE, but surprise, surprise, number six is on his way! Many of you have wondered as my expanding belly has gotten bigger and bigger, and I have had to lie, which I HATE to do, but we really wanted to surprise you with this along with what we are having......................................It's a BOY. Holy COW!!!!! We are due August 16thish and are a little nervous to have a little guy running around. The girls are so excited to have a brother, and have already named him.

Marvin Isreal Barlow.

Pictures are to follow:

Recipes

Here is the recipes for homemade Super Noodles, bread sticks, and salad dressing.

Warning: These recipes are for those who don't mind if their arteries are clogged by the time they are 40:-)

SUPER NOODLES

J. Mendoza's recipe

1 box of barilla penne pasta

1/2 cup of butter

1 Cup of Whipping cream

1 can chicken broth

3-4 cloves of Garlic finely chopped ( I typically put double)

pinch of red pepper flakes (get them free at whatever pizza place)

4-6 oz. shredded fresh Parmesan cheese (not grated from a can)

Melt butter, add garlic and sautee'. When garlic is soft, add cream and broth. Let simmer for 40-45 minutes. (This is where I did it for two hours and it thickened up a lot more) I sautee' chicken in some olive oil and more garlic, s +p and add to the sauce about a half an hour before the sauce is ready. I also put artichokes in as well. Meanwhile, cook up pasta. Drain, but don't rinse. Add pepper flakes to the sauce and half the cheese. stir. Bring the noodles and the sauce together in a large serving dish/bowl, and remaining cheese. You can add any extras to the sauce; mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, fresh spinach, bacon, broccoli, ect.

Bread Sticks

These are the EASIEST bread sticks ever

Pre-heat oven to 400

1 Tbs of yeast

2 Tbs sugar

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 tsp. salt

3 1/2 cups flour

BUTTER

Parmesan Cheese

Fill your mixing bowl with warm water, yeast, sugar. Let it sit until it foams a little (about 5 minutes) Add flour, salt. Knead until it forms a soft dough (not sticky) the dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl. Cover and place in a warm place for about 20 minutes or until it doubles in size. Roll dough out (thin if you want less fluff, or thicker if you want fluffier) in 1 inch strips. Melt as much butter as your heart desires, in a bowl large enough to be able to dip each bread stick in. Dip each dough strip in butter, then Parmesan cheese, twist and place on your baking sheet. Pour any extra butter over the bread sticks along with any cheese, then place in the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes, depending on your oven.

Sweet garlic dressing

Deb Moffat (aka Dame)

simply delightful addition to any green salad

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar (can sub apple cider vinegar if necessary)

1/4 c. red wine vinegar

1/2 c. corn oil (I've used a light olive oil, but in her recipe it says not to substitue:-/, oops)

1/2 c. sugar

4 cloves garlic

1/4 red onion (the first time I made it I used a yellow onion and it was fine, but it definitely is better with the red)

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth.

Tonights dinner

All I can say is......GARLIC! I love this ingredient (only in main dishes or dressings)! I am pretty sure when I exercise tomorrow, that I will, hopefully, be sweating some garlic out of my pores:-)

A friend of mine made this meal when I had our last daughter almost a year ago, and it has been one of our families favorites since, SUPER NOODLES! Today I did something a little different, I simmered the sauce for 2 1/2 hours instead of the 45 minutes added double the garlic, and it was even more divine then before (which was hard to do). I also had sauteed the chicken with garlic and some extra seasonings, in a separate pan this time as well. The bread sticks were buttery and had just the right amount of crispiness to them. The Salad was so tasty as well, as I made a dressing recipe from a good friend, Sweet Garlic Dressing. All of the combinations of food melded well with one another. Can't wait for lunch tomorrow!

Beautiful Day!

My heart is filled with tons of HAPPINESS:-) As I am sitting at my desk checking emails and gathering information on different schools for my kids, I am listening to birds chirping and looking at blue skies. This makes me SO happy and grateful to be alive and here on this earth. Even though my life has challenges, especially ones that I NEVER thought I would ever have to face/endure, I am grateful to be able to grow and learn from them. What a BEAUTIFUL DAY! Smile and find the beauty in your life today!

We can conquer ANYTHING!!!!!

December of 2009

12 years ago

Jonathan proposed to me.....I have video of the day, but no pictures (or at least none that I know of:-( )

Here are some pictures of the day before he proposed and after. We went to a Valentine Day dance for college, and then there were some several days later:-) What fun memories....I LOVE YOU HONEY BUNS xoxoxox:-)

The bottom right is me making dinner at his house a week after the proposal. The bottom left one is of Jonathan and I at one of his sisters UofU marriage housing, where we were looking at their pictures after he had proposed. FUN times!!

Finding Joy

This Motherhood stuff is sometimes tricky for me. Slowly but surely I am finding more and more joy from it. Now if you would've talked to me a couple of weeks ago, it would've been a totally different story. (growing up for fifth graders are HARD) I think I was ready to strangle a 10 year old. (no children were harmed during the process, just a mom whose head was ready to explode with confusion) I was totally feeling like a failure as a mom. I'll just leave it at that.

Since then, I have REALLY tried hard and prayed even harder to find joy in the role that I have been given to be a Mom and try to be more empathetic towards my children and their struggles.

I have ALWAYS wanted to be a mom and here I was frustrated with the job I've always wanted.

I get so caught up in my thoughts that I should be this or that way, but I have realized the past week that really all that matters to me and my kiddos is that I show them LOVE and to let the little things go. My heavens writing this I am ashamed to think how many little things I let bother me and hinder me from letting my kids be kids. I know that I am not perfect, but I am trying to be the best mom I can be to these girls that have been given to me and Jonathan. I know, slowly but surely (things take time), that if I continue to work at listening to the promptings that have been given to me, on how to raise/deal with them that things can only get even better from here on out.

I love being a mom and love the days when I can put everything in perspective.

I love waking the girls up to some silly song that I improve to, that makes them smile with their eyes closed. Then they say something like, "I'm SoOoOoOo tired and I don't want to go to ScHoOl!", and act annoyed, but then if I continue to sing leaving their rooms (off key mind you & in an opera voice, that is the ONLY way to do it) several minutes later I will hear them making up their own songs and seeing the positive about the day.

I love that I can have that kind of impact on them! I wish I would've learned that early in my mothering career, but no need to wish the past differently, because hopefully by me changing now, they will remember me as this way instead of a nagger. I am sure I will still have my moments of nagging, but lets hope they won't outweigh the moments of teaching:-)

Anna: Awesome at snuggles, always have been and always will! She teaches me to listen!
Megan: Awesome at being creative and crazy dancer! She has taught me to think outside the box.
Amanda: Awesome at being gentle. She has taught me that we should treat each other with kindness always.
Maggie: Awesome at making us all laugh. She has taught me patiences!

Addison: Awesome at making everyone happy!!! Taught me that Heavenly Father loves me!

Definitely JOY!!!!!!! Mmmm I could eat them all up:-)

Right back at ya Sista!

Exhibit A:

A little Shout out to the greatest twiner in the whole wide world.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!

(She beat me to this on her blog, which I find to be hilarious, being that we both had the same idea, gotta love the twiner brains)

The things I LOVE about my twiner:

1. She listens to me when I'm having a bad day and doesn't judge me.

2. She is so confident in her role as a mom.

3. She can make me laugh like no one else I know.

4. She knows EVERYTHING about me and still loves me:-)))

5. I can trust that if I tell her something that it won't be shared to others.

6. Man she is a wicked cook. Mmmmm some good food has been shared between the two of us....we like our food.

7. She knows how to make a garden a GARDEN.

8. She is an AMAZING mom to her 5 girls and a wonderful wife. She is always consistent with her kiddos which is SO hard sometimes to do these days.

9. She is EXTREMELY thrifty with her money and ALWAYS finds these great deals on free cycle, like an awesome wood swing set and I believe a trailer and lots of other things. (I'm too lazy to do that)

10. Takes her role as a Mom and Wife seriously and finds joy in being that!

11. A true woman of God. She loves the Gospel and lives her life to serve God by serving those around her ALL the time. She is always willing to help someone in need.

I LOVE you PAM-ELA LOUISE:-))))))

Curly Q's

Oh man, did your mom ever put those foam curlers in your hair growing up??? My mom did and I HATED it.....so I vowed to never do that to my girls. Well I thought instead of doing that I would make these buns in their hair instead. These are almost a year old, but being that my hubby finally got pictures downloaded to an external hard drive and showed me how to access them, I thought it would be fun to show some (what I think) funny pictures at my attempt to give my girls curly hair with out the foamy curlers.

Well this is strange, it won't let me move the pictures around. I know it's been a while since I've posted pictures, but if I recall correctly I thought I could move them around once I downloaded them...hmmm. Well I will try to explain them even though they aren't in the order I would have put them.

So this would've been the last picture to show, the hair here has calmed down a bit from when I first took the buns out. My two feisty M's eating their breakfast wondering if they like their hair.

Chewing gum with curly hair pose......
Mags wondering "What the heck did my mom do to me" She was SO excited to get this done to her, because she wanted curly hair SO bad, but when we all started to laugh as I was taking the buns out, she became very concerned and didn't appreciate that we were laughing at her....
Meggers...I think her hair turned out the best. I think because she has REALLY straight hair naturally.

Poor Mag Pie and that crazy hair....I seriously was laughing So hard I believe I was crying.
hahahahahahah seriously what is that......
hahahahhahahahaha
TICKED OFF, probably because I was taking pictures at this point:-)))))


It totally looks like she was electrocuted:-/





I totally don't miss those mirror closet doors. What a pain to always clean! So I hope you enjoy these fun pictures and don't think I'm the meanest mom in the world for making fun of my poor innocent children and the awful hair do's I gave them a year ago:-)

From Thanksgiving till NOW...Oh my!

Wow! I can not believe I have been SO bad at keeping up on here. What a shame that I have, because......SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED! Lame excuse, but valid in my mind, is that I feel like I need to have pictures to post to make it worth it. Well, the pictures are gonna have to wait because I need to be able to document all the things that have been happening. Me and downloading pictures are like a person running their nails down a chalkboard.....YIKES! It takes forever and then somehow I put them in the wrong folder or file and then the computer becomes slow because of it:-( Okay enough of that. Onto the good stuff!

Well, November was awesome! We had my mom visit in the middle of the month! We had SO much fun having her just to ourselves. She is such a fun grandma who always has fun little crafts and projects to do with the girls (pictures could someday be posted to show the fun that was had) Then some good friends of ours came for Thanksgiving and had a blast catching up with them. Then December came and it was a nice a slow paced holiday season for us. My sister, who has five girls too, came with her husband and girls for 20 days! We had the best time ever! Jonathan took off work most of the time while they were here , which is not a normal thing, but totally worth it. It was REALLY hard for all of us to go back to normal life in January.

While they were here, we did some fun things, like taking 8 of the 10 kids on a hike to South Mountain (pictures some day could be posted) Some of them went orange picking. Lots of walks to the park. Made LOTS of yummy food! Can you believe we only went out to eat once (I think??Pam correct me if I'm wrong) I thought we did an awesome job cooking for 14 minus two babies people for that many days. We realized that life was A LOT easier with two woman in a household than just one:-)

CHRISTMAS HIGHLIGHTS:

Oh my goodness, Christmas........I'm getting teary eyed just thinking about it......Well as most of you know my wonderful husband got a 20% pay decrease in November. Yes it was a HUGE blow to his ego, but we knew we could survive. Anyway, to make a long story short, Christmas was gonna be small, which was totally fine. The girls knew that and they were fine with it. (Even though deep down I'm sure they were sad)

Anyway, the week of Christmas was here and our family received a package from the North Pole. We don't know who sent it to us, but it was SO incredibly generous and thoughtful! There was a letter in the box to our family, which made me bawl like a little baby. It was so NICE and uplifting. It was from Santa telling each of us individually how wonderful we are. (I felt so undeserving of it personally) Anyway, then on Christmas Day, the kids were so excited to open it......I have this on video, but it's too long (any suggestions would be nice on how to download it on here)

It was the wii...HOLY COW, the wii!!!!! I could not believe it! WHO EVER YOU ARE...THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!! You should of seen the look on everyones face. It was priceless and just such a great moment that I will cherish forever! My husband had been looking for one on craigs list for several months prior, but I would always tell him no, that that was something that could wait, because it was not a need.

I am truly blessed to have such wonderful people surrounding me in my life. My husband and children are such an inspiration to me and seriously make me want to be better wife and mom! The friends I have are so dear to my heart, you have NO idea! I know who ever did this for our family had to have sacrificed to have done this. THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts:-)))

For New Years, we had one of our neighbors over for some games and goodies! We had a blast getting to know them more and letting the kids play super late. Man as I am writing this, I am frustrated that there are no pictures, so I will try today to get my husband to download them all for me. So check back tomorrow to see if I got to add them:-)

The whole month of January was a huge blur. I'm still babysitting the twins in the afternoons several days a week and I started selling bread and granola to anyone who wants to buy it. I have several regulars so far and am grateful for the extra money. I also started to run again, with some pretty awesome ladies. Although this morning I didn't wake up (Yikes, I'm so embarrassed, being that they all met at my house:-( ) I set my alarm for the PM not the AM, didn't realize it until 6:30 when I woke up to the baby crying. I hate missing, it makes my day sluggish. Oh well, I have tomorrow! Hope everyone has a Fabulous week!!!