May 30, 2011

Memorial Day

Today was wonderful!

We cleaned the house today - really cleaned. I even got to vacuum! We got the kids room, our room, and the playroom deep cleaned and a couple loads of laundry done. After that, we spent most of the day hanging out with Tribes, Johnsons, and Grandma and Grandpa Nielson. Good food, and a marathon game of Phase 10, which no one had played in years. After the family party was over, we headed to the cemetary to visit my Grandma and Grandpas' graves. We also took pictures in the "Jackman Family Tree" - A tree near my Grandma and Grandpa Jackman's graves that we used to climb into and get pictures when I was a kid. That's kind of been a tradition all my life - and here are the results!


Talk about tough lighting! I wish I could spread some of the light from Emma's face onto the Boys.

Luke Posing. If you look carefully, you can see my hands holding him up. I was kneeling behind him, trying to hide my hands while supporting him.

Levi Ponders

What a handsome Dude!


Everyone's looking at something different. Can we focus here, please?


Josh!


"You've still got me, right Dad? You're not gonna drop me?"


Emma.


Josh maxin' and relaxin'.

May 27, 2011

Discovery Gateway

Thanks for the fun at Discovery Gateway, Gedges!

















Thanks for the fun at Discovery Gateway, Gedges!

May 09, 2011

Another great quote

"Only when the truth is known is one actually making a choice; otherwise, he may be simply guessing at the course he should follow." -A Parent's Guide, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

I like the simple truth in this quote, but I also like the mercy and hope it offers for those situations when we have to choose between two good things or two bad things, rather than one good and one bad. If you honestly don't know what to choose, perhaps you're not as accountable as when you do.

I also like this one, just a few paragraphs after the first one: "Live just the way you expect your children to live." I expect my children to be better in general than I am because I know they can be and are, so if I live up to this quote, I also expect myself to be constantly improving and getting better. The quote also reminds me to be fair with the kids and stay grounded and realistic in my expectations of them.