I think its a pretty big one for her,....the big 05, oh excuse me that's 50. hehe. Tim the kids and I all took her some flowers and chocolate cake and sang to her, I personally think she looks amazing for her age!!! Love you Mom!
When I went to the store for flowers I thought I could get her ones for a vase but those would die quickly, so we got her ones for the garden instead. Of course first thing she said when she saw that was, "yea, flowers I can kill myself!" lol!
Grandpa is my name spoiling is my game.
Uncle Daniel left his cake too close to Timmy, hehehe.
This look just says, "You gonna eat all that?"
Benefits to being 50;
You quit trying to hold your stomach in no matter who walks into the room.
You sing along with elevator music.
Your eyes won't get much worse.
Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off.
Your joints are more accurate meteorologists than the national weather service.
Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember them either.
Kidnappers are not very interested in you.
In a hostage situation you are likely to be released first.
No one expects you to run anywhere.
People call at 9:00 PM and ask, "Did I wake you?"
People no longer view you as a hypochondriac.
There is nothing left to learn the hard way.
Things you buy now won't wear out.
You can eat dinner at 4:00 PM.
You can almost live without sex but not your glasses.
You enjoy hearing about other people's operations.
You get into heated arguments about pension plans.
You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge.
Your supply of brain cells is finally down to manageable size.
You can't remember who told you about this list.
You notice these are all in big print for your convenience.
Here's an journal entry I did a few months ago, I thought I would share it on here, just because I like to share what my life is like during the school months. Summer is a little different with going to play-dates and Story time @ the library. Since I cant come up with any thing juicy to share here's something from my Homeschool Mommy journal. :)
Yes it is a job, the pay stinks and the hours are intense, but its the most rewarding job there is!
You see I wake up at about 3:am to nurse a crying four month old and kiss a hubby who has just come home from working third shift, after unattractively falling back asleep with baby still attached, I wake up again at 7:am to welcome babysitting children sing "Good Morning Beautiful girls" to the messy headed grumpy faced teenager wanna be’s, they actually are five and three yr old beauties who "love" to be awoken!
As Dear Hubby rushes off to his 9:am class we get started on a day full of craft paint, glue, scissors, crayons, rocks, bubbles, string, flour, eggs, goldfish crackers, and anything else mommies crazy imagination can cook up! Mommy gets much inspiration from wonderful places like Five in a Row, Jumbo Alphabet book, the Iron Rod, and other noteworthy sources.
By noon were all crafted "funned" out, and sit down either outside or in to a lesiurley lunch of pb&j or what ever mommy has created!
We then take turns doing workbooks and one on one reading while the others build cities of blocks and use stickers to decor the walls.
Playing outside is fundemental in mommies sanity control! Needless to say on rainy days Mommy has to hide in the bathroom for a few minutes.
Nap time is loved, ah , I mean accomplished by those in need of it, Mommy exempted. After which to earn a little computer time all kiddos do their chores! Little do they realize that the computer time they love they are just doing more school work! Muahahahaha, evil Mommy laugh!
By this time Dear Hubby has rejoined us only to go get some much needed sleep, and babysitting kids go home.
Dinner together is a must other wise, our world will fall down! After cleaning up and playing with Daddy for a bit we pray together, kiss Daddy goodbye for the night, and ride off to dream land, where Mommy gets foot massages and the kitchen is always clean.
Sure there are days when our little world is turned upside down but that’s what makes this job exciting.
Did I say the pay stank? Well scratch that, the four month baby boy just learned to give kisses, the three year old just learned to write her name, and the five year old just told everyone at dance class that her Mommy was the best teacher ever.
The eldest of my younger brothers is getting married one week from today in Missouri. Our whole family had fallen in love with his fiance Tia Marie when they came down for a visit last year. Even though they hadn't announced their engagement yet we could all see it forthcoming. So being that we all loved her already we were so proud/happy to hear that she had decided to be baptized! She's such a strong person and has come a long way in her life I know were all proud of her. She told my brother that she wanted to be baptized in a river, because if it was good enough for Christ it was good enough for her. So here are the shots my brother got of Tia's Baptism in the Big Piney River in Missouri. (My brother is the one with Sunglasses on and unfortunately I don't know the names of the Elders.) I also love that in one of the pictures you can catch a glimpse of her engagement ring! lol!
Little Brother of Mine is in California on a mission, and he needs picture's and news so here's some updates for him to read! Love you David!!!
Tim is in summer school and very worn out, but going to have fun this week-end on a scout camp-out!
I'm good, Ive lost 21 pounds and I'm gonna look good for Philip's wedding in two weeks! (I'm more proud of myself for keeping my goal than losing weight really.)
Mae has grown alot which is a big deal for Miss Shorty. She got real brown cowboy boots and a red cowgirl hat, scarf, and cap guns for her b-day and hasn't taken them off in a week!
Liza is excited because I found her a Super-Girl cape and she's going to wear it to dance camp this summer.
Timmy has started scooting/army crawling and is soon on his way to real crawling. This makes Mommy sad. :( But he's known around town as the Stark HAPPY baby who is always smiling!
We all miss you, and last night for F.H.E. we talked about bearing testimonies, and the girls all agree that they want to come and help you on your mission by bearing their testimonies to everyone!
Waaallllaaaa! A spot needed to be filled in primary, a sister is being released from her calling due to the impending birth of her new sweet baby. So the primary presidency looks over their list of people in need of a calling. (As you read remember I love my primary presidency but I think their a tad CRAZY.)ENTER, me, Sister Stark. I love kids, I need a calling, some of my best friends serve as teachers, happy, happy, happy! Ohhh, And I LOVE being in nursery, there is a nursery spot available, please God, put hide me in with the babies and let me play all day!P.S. I have NO music experience or background what so ever, so there's no chance anyone would ever consider me for a calling in music, right?!!!! RIGHT????? WRONG!!!!Oh SO Wrong! I my jaw hit the floor when I was asked to be the ward Primary Music Director.What is God thinking? What is the Primary Presidency thinking? They all know I cant carry a tune in a pick-up truck! I cant even read music! My memory is awful so I cant remember words, and not to mention the intense FEAR I have of speaking in front of people, even Little People!Then as the Icing on the cake they mention the end of the year sacrament music program,....sister Stark almost fainted in church. (For my non-member friends that's where the kids get in front of the entire congregation to sing, guess who gets to direct.)Well I did the only things I knew how, I prayed, and cried on Tim's shoulder.My prayers have been answered by way of,The Lord is trying to teach me something new, he wants me to learn. I've been hiding behind babies for too long. For some odd reason I have a VERY musical child, and I was going to let Tim take the lead in her music education, but I think the Lord is preparing me to be apart of her musical life.I have done my best the past few weeks. It was very rocky at first, with the older children pretending to be asleep, and telling me I wasn't doing something right, and the 5 yr. old sunbeams trying to get up and walk out, (I'd try to get away from my singing too.)But now I find myself putting on a show and performing each week now in fun new ways. With ALOT of support from the presidency, the pianist, and Tim, and help from the Lord I'm starting to fool myself into thinking I can do this! This website has also been a gift of God as well!I'm still coming home completely drained and I don't look forward to the next Sunday, but eventually it will turn around, and I'll look forward to hearing many beautiful voices.I have a firm testimony that the Lord gives callings for reason's and you never turn one down, so here's me doing my best on the calling that's the furthest thing from my talents there is.WAAALLLAAAA!(I do however get a bit of satisfaction thinking of Tim getting the baby for the majority of church. 'Evil Mommy Laugh'---Muuaahahahaha!!)
My Camera memory card is full, amazing I know right! SO my sister was gracious enough to get a few fun shots of the kids Easter egg hunting at Nonnie and Pappy's house! We had a nice big meal and watched some classic favorites, the cartoon Easter story and seven brides for seven brothers, awesome movie's! This is a quick blog because I need to get back to school for the day, so here are some pics of our Easter fun!
Wow its been a REALLY long time since I was able to sit down and blog, ahem, I mean Journal. :) As I've said before I have a sweet determined younger brother in California on a mission for our church, so sorry if this seems like a news letter with updates for him. At least when I say I've got to write David, it gives me an excuse to be on the computer. (giggle)
I've been extremely busy keeping up with kids, house, and church calling. But I can officially say were as ready as we can be to start school. I'm really excited for this year because along with what I hope will be a fun curriculum, were learning to play the VIOLIN!
Now to understand what a big deal this is I have to take you back a few years to a very young me watching Disney's Fantasia over and over again! I was obsessed with the fact that the music told a story. Then my family got the entire set of The Forgotten Carols by Micheal McLean on cassette tape. Now I know he mainly does piano but I was completely in love with the stories told to me by music. My mother would get sick of hearing the same music over and over but my father understood what I was thinking he himself being a lover of Peter and the Wolf.
I eventually chose the violin as the one instrument I HAD to have! If any unsuspecting adult asked what I wanted to do the got the prompt answer , 'play the violin.' I now realize how sad it made my parents not being able to afford lessons. It was a big thing I asked for! The Violin alone was a major expense for them. After a few years of being teased of not being able to carry a tune, and realizing that I had no talent, and couldn't read music to save my life, I put the idea aside and did my best to develop my other talents.
My sixteenth birthday rolls around and my Grandfather shows up with a brand new absolutely gorgeous Violin, bow and case. I was totally dumbfounded, I had given that dream up. I didn't know what to do. So I am ashamed to say I let it sit for years. I always took care of it, I took it to WY as a newly wed. I moved it with me every time we moved. I never let ANYTHING happen to it. But I never did anything with it.
I have always been sad by that, but kept telling myself one day when I had the money I would pay someone to teach me. ENTER HUBBY.
I guess Tim got tired of seeing that black case move with us everywhere we went, because he took a sudden interest in the neglected violin. Without my knowing he replaced the strings, and had it tuned, then he started to teach himself to play it. Maybe it was because I was pregnant and hormonal, or more likely it was years of guilt, but I lost it. I had a 'woman fit' about him playing it, "it was mine and I still loved my music and my Grandfather had wanted ME to play it!!!"
Well lets just say the Lord blessed me with the most patient man. He put it away and said, "I'll wait until your ready."
Eight months later I go to the Homeschool Conference in Atlanta. Its just myself and Timmy and I'm missing my family like crazy. So very unlike me (but very like my hubby) I take a lecture/class on music and how it develops parts of the brain that normally go unstimulated. It helps children to learn to read, but the biggest seller to me was the mathematical tributes of learning music.
I think, "how on earth can I afford classes for the children, much less me?" Then I run into a booth at the conference selling a music tutorial for parents to be able to teach children to play the violin and/ or the viola. EVEN if the parents cannot read music. They also sold tiny violins, cases, and music stands. (Pictures forthcoming.)
I very humbly returned home and told my husband to take my violin and teach our girls music. (He's also tutoring me on the side. :)
I'll post some pictures of the girls and Tim playing when I can find my camera.
(The difference between Los Angeles and yogurt is that yogurt comes with less fruit. Rush Limbaugh)
Yes we are that crazy LDS family that for family home evening we build a campfire and make our children endure the cold so they can have everlasting memories of scripture's and smore's! The stars were pretty that night and nobody caught a cold, so we are indeed blessed to be in such a loving crazy family!
My sister and niece all covered in Chocolate are testimony to the fact it was a yummy night.
I made her a tutu and she wouldn't take it off even to put on a coat and blanket! Such a chocolatey princess!
I love my father, though he wouldn't look at the camera!
My brother Joseph keeping Mae warm.
Tim poking the fire and Joseph keeping Timmy warm. (Tim was in hog heaven, even in shorts, he almost fell asleep in front of the fire!)
I think Lissa was trying to get a shot of me but I hid under Liza. I just think it was cute how engrossed Timmy was in the campfire.
(Ugh, she caught me on camera.)
Later on in the evening we finally got cold enough that we went inside to wrap things up. During which time Liza and Pappy had the following discussion:
Liza; "I'm a pretty three year old." Pappy; "I know! I am too." Liza; "No your not!" Pappy; " I want to be three." Liza; "Okay, but your not pretty." Mommy; "Liza mind your manners! Why isnt Pappy pretty?!" Liza; "Because he doesn't have any hairbows!" Mommy; "Well what if he had hairbows would he be pretty then?" Liza (laughing really loudly); "Pappy cant wear hairbows, he's not a girl!"
As a result of said conversation the next Liza turned around she saw this.
You must remember that my Dad is a Colonel in the Army! It was great, Pappy is officially one of the girls! I love him so much!
I must also post that Mae made everyone a treat with her easy bake oven and everyone did a wonderful job making a big deal about her cooking skills. lol!
When I went to the store for flowers I thought I could get her ones for a vase but those would die quickly, so we got her ones for the garden instead. Of course first thing she said when she saw that was, "yea, flowers I can kill myself!" lol!
This look just says, "You gonna eat all that?"
