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 ...

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 s...

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 Pres...

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 tr...

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 ye...

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" ...