Thornton Mom

 Happy Birthday Maddie!!  Today is her actual birthday.  Up to know she has had 2 parties and lots of celebrating.  We are so happy to have her in our family  She jumped up and down this morning as she exclaimed, "I'm 5!!!"   The Infinite Atonement (Illustrated Edition) , by Tad R. Callister pg. 113--"Part of the human experience is to confront temptation.  No one escapes.  It is omnipresent.  It is both externally driven and internally prompted.  It is like the enemy that attacks from all sides.  It boldly assaults us in television shows, movies, billboards, and newspapers in the name of entertainment or free speech.  It walks down our streets and sits in our offices in the name of fashion.  It drives our roads in the name of style. It represents itself as political correctness or business necessity.  It claims moral sanction under the guise of free choice.  On occasion it roars like thunder; on others it whispers in sublet, soothing tones.  With chameleon-

Michael loves balls.  He always wants to collect as many as he can and the bigger the better.  One of his first four words was "ba" for ball.  He also says, "Hy" for hi, "mah" for more, and "ba ba" for bye.  It took me a while to figure out that his babbling was actually him talking.  It has been fun. The other day I was changing Michael's smelly diaper and Maddie came up and said, plugging her nose, "That stinks!"  I said, "When you are a mom you are going to have to do this."  She got all defensive and said, "No, when I am a mom I will have a robot."  With the way our technology is progressing it wouldn't surprise me if she is right.  Later in the car she told me she did not want to be a mom because she didn't want to have to change dirty diapers.  It is cute to see them thinking, reasoning, and coming up with their wants and desires. 2 Nephi 16:5-7

I have the best mom ever.  Today is her Birthday.  Happy Birthday Mom!!! Christmas 2012. She MADE pillow pets for all of my kids.  Amazing!! I love that my mom reads my blog.  Many times she will call me up and talk to me about what I wrote.  One time she called me as I drove home from the temple.  She said, "I almost called your earlier but thought that you would still be at the temple."  "How did you know I was at the temple?" I asked.  "Your blog!!"  I had written a few days before that I would go to the temple and she remembered.  What a sweet woman. Saturday night was another example of her sweetness. She called all excited, "I found 3 names for Elizabeth." "What?" I asked.  "You said on your blog that you wanted Elizabeth to have names to take to the temple when she turns 12 so I found 3 names.  Now we just need to get her and me on the phone and on the computer and I will show her how to find the names and then she c

Sunday mornings are always busy.  If church starts at 9, 11, or 1 I always feel rushed.  This particular Sunday morning included baths as we had not done them the night before.  John Derek had taken his bath but didn't have his clothes yet.  Michael was asleep so he could not go in his room and I was busy with hair so I told the cold, shivering boy to get under my covers and I would sneek in his room and get his clothes.  Where is John Derek? Oh, there he is!! When I came in with his outfit he was all snuggled into my bed and did not want to get out.  I placed his clothes on the bed and grabbed the camera. A little while later he got ready and was as handsome as ever. My future missionary!! Chapter 5: Faith and Repentance Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Jos

John Derek is bairly passing 1st grade.  He is constantly teatering between failing and passing.  He does fine in every subject except reading.  This is a subject that he needs to survive in this world.  I have been worried about him.  The Lord has been directing me with what to do about hime and he helped me again. When John Derek was almost 5 he was able to go to Kindergarten.  I felt that he was too young but the Lord told me I should send him so I did.  Half way through the year I took him out because again I felt it was the direction of the Lord and he needed one more year to truly be ready for school. In Kindergarten that next year he was struggling with his ABC's.  He received extra help and by the end of the year he was back on track with the rest of his class. In 1st grade I noticed that he started falling behind again.  I talked with my neighbror about her son and the difficulty that she has been facing because he is having trouble with his reading but that it was n

I wanted to post the pictures from Maddison's Birthday Party.  She celebrated with one of her friends who also recently had a birthday. They had so much fun.  We had a Tea (Lemon-aid) Birthday Party.  All the little girls dressed up, we loaded them up on sugar and candy, they played games like "Stick the heart sticker on the crown" (pin the tail on the donkey), a pinata, a cake walk, they made wands, decorated cup cakes, it was a great 5 year old party.  Elizabeth and Samantha were helpers and loved it.  When it came time to blow out the candles Maddie could not get her candle to go out.  I think she blew about 15 times before she finally got her breath in the right direction and the candle went out.  It was adorable.     Three Ways You Can Prepare Your Children for the Temple By Sister Rosemary M. Wixom, Sister Jean A. Stevens, and Sister Cheryl A. Esplin, Primary general presidency James Hamilton was only 10 years old when he began doing fa

My darling husband had the kids Saturday night while I went to Les Miserables with my sister in law (We had gotten tickets for Christmas.)  He put all the kids in the garage and let them build.  It was fun to see them so excited.  What a great hubby I have. I have been studying the Teachings of Presidents of the Church Joseph Fielding Smith Chapter 4: Strengthening and Preserving the Family .  This has really caused me to think about what kind of mother I am and how I need to be.  Here are some of my favorite quotes and some of my thoughts: "As the forces of evil attack the individual by tearing away at his family roots, it becomes critical for Latter-day Saint parents to maintain and strengthen the family. There may possibly be a few very strong individuals who can survive without the support of a family, but more of us need the love, teaching, and acceptance that come from those who care very deeply. 9"

For Valentines my hubby took me out to dinner and the temple.  A friend of mine who was working in the temple said, "This is the best reservation in town."  I had to agree. We had more snow days.  My kids were off Wed, Thurs, and Fri.  They do have a make up day tomorrow and they are going. The snow was so bad Wed. that hubby took 3 1/2 hours to get home.  I was a nervous wreck.  I wandered the house, cleaned a little, ate lots, and prayed continually.  It was a blessing he got home.  I was grateful for his 4 wheel drive and grateful for all the prayers from parents and loved ones that got him home safe.  I didn't let go of him all night long.   The two snowmen are married.  The one on the right is Olof and the one on the left is his wife. The next morning work had been canceled and he played with the kids all morning.  They loved it.  Our neighbors let us borrow their shovels so that we could shovel our driveway.  Derek and I worked on it together.  When we

Saturday Samantha slipped going down the stairs and landed on her foot.  We iced it and gave her Advil and went on with our day.  Sunday evening she was complaining that it really hurt.  I told her to pray about it and if she felt that we should go to the doctor Monday we would.  Monday morning she said that she had prayed and felt that we should go to the doctor.  Away we went.  I was quite skeptical.  But she was right.  She has two fractures on her ankle.  She was in a splint for 4 days and today she got a boot put on, so much easier, what a blessing. 2 Nephi 8:11 "11 Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy and holiness shall be upon their heads; and they shall obtain gladness and joy; sorrow and mourning shall flee away." This will be a good day. The righteous shall be rewarded and have

Wow, what a day yesterday was and what blessings I felt from my Heavenly Father.  He gave me so much patience yesterday.  There is no way I would have gotten through without His help.  I was blessed with patience as one of my children tried to  tear me down with words and try to convince me why we didn't need to go to church.  But we went. I was blessed when I went to give my lesson in Relief Society (the meeting we have with just women) and realized I had left all my notes at home.  I had felt prompted to have my children get up and sing the song Gethsemane .  Elizabeth, Samantha, John Derek, and Maddie all went up and sang infront of the women.  They did a really good job and really brought the Spirit into the meeting.  Derek was able to be there (benefits of being the Bishop he can go to Relief Society) he said that he wishes he could take a video of their performance and just keep it in his brain forever.  It was really sweet of them and they really did a great job.  The le

Maddie is having her 5th birthday party this afternoon.  Samantha made cake pops and did a very good job.  Elizabeth was in charge of the streamers and could reach the high places that I could not.  I can't believe my daughter is taller than me.  And Maddison laid out her outfit that she will wear today.  What darling helpful girls I have.  I feel so much better since I went to the Temple and talked to my mom.  I feel lighter, less stressed, I see the good, I am more positive, I am more patient with my children.  I do really need to go once a week.  Derek is there right now.  I am excited for him to feel the way I do. 2 Nephi 6:3 "Nevertheless, I speak unto you again; for I am desirous for the welfare of your souls. Yea, mine anxiety is great for you; and ye yourselves know that it ever has been. For" Sometimes I think that I don't lov

My Mom is the BEST!!  She calls me whenever I need to talk to her, even if I don't know I need it.  She called me today as I was driving home from the temple.  I was still overwhelmed, better but overwhelmed and she told me what I needed to hear.  She praised me and encouraged me and gave me the strength I need to go on.  She reminded me that we all wish we could do more but we shouldn't do more than we have strength.  Some of the things I had been praying about would have been too much for me and my family and by doing them I would be taking away from my family not helping it.  My Mom and Samantha 2005 She encrouaged me to look at all the thinks I am doing instead of what I am not.  So for her and my benefit here is a list: My kids have clothes to wear. My kids have clean clothes to wear. We have breakfast, lunch, and dinner, usually home made. I try to go to the temple once a week. I go to Church every Sunday. I teach Relief Society once a week. I try to visit

Michael is becoming more and more independent.  Instead of staying right by me all the time I find him all over the house.  He has discovered that he can open drawers and pull out all the clothes, he loves to knock down towers, and enjoys playing with (destroying) whatever his siblings have put together. The Sacred Responsibilities of Parenthood By Elder M. Russell Ballard Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles From an Education Week devotional address given on August 19, 2003, at Brigham Young University.

Today I am overwhelmed.  Do you ever have those days?  It doesn't matter how well things are going or what you have accomplished you just feel like you can't do it all.  Today my house is clean which does not happen often in my life and frankly only happens because when my husband became bishop we decided it was time to have someone help me with the deep cleaning.  But you would think that that should be enough, but it is not.  I have been studying up on eating "clean," meaning no processed foods etc, but wow, is that work.  It is a great idea, I love it, but it is expensive and time consuming.  That gets me thinking about my family health.  The youngest 3 are doing great but the older 4 of us need to be better in exercise and food nutrition.  As I ponder on this I am reminded of laundry, birthday parties, class room parties, teaching on Sunday, diapers, groceries, budgeting the list never seems to end. So I prayed, what else could I do and I was reminded that I hav

Maddison sang a song yesterday and it was so cute I wanted her to sing it for her dad.  I had her sing it again but she couldn't remember all the words she had sang before.  Here are the original lyrics: Mommy and Daddy sitting in a tree, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, First comes you then comes me, Our whole family in a picnic tree.    We have been commanded to follow the Word of Wisdom.  This is a commandment given to our first prophet Joseph Smith to abstain from coffee, tea, tobacco, and alcohol.  It is one of the many things that makes Mormon's unique.  The whole revelation can be found in Doctrine and Covenants 89 .  But it further commands us to eat fruits and vegetables, grain, and meat.  We are then promised that if we follow these commands we will have great promises.  I feel that my family needs to work harder at eating properly.  I have been wondering how and what to do so I decided to reread the revelation today.  Here is some of what I found. A Prin

I asked Maddie to break up her pancake.  It took about 5 min. to do one.  She how meticulous she is.  Our 2" of snow turned into 4 days of missed school.  The kids were supposed to do a make up day Saturday but that was cancelled as well.  It is amazing to me that they justified missing that much school because of the snow.  Our friends. Friday we invited friends over and spent most of the day doing melting beads.  It was a huge hit.  They turned them into necklaces and went around being super heroes and their powers were determined by what melty bead creation they had made.  I spent the day ironing melting beads.  It was nice for all of us to enjoy friends and have a fun activity to do together. John Derek was mad about something so he laid on the floor.  He picked the perfect spot right on top of the vent. Yesterday our Church put on a Woman's Day for our Stake.  It was wonderful.  I am surrounded by good people who love the Lord and want to co