Armor of God

So the other night for Family Home Evening it was my turn to teach the lesson. I searched for awhile and came across an Armor of God lesson. It was a great lesson for us because we wanted to talk to the kids about being prepared and able to stand up for what they believe. Well, I found some things around the house that would work for the armor. gird up your loins--apron, breast plate of righteousness- duck tape vest, feed shod with preparation- dad shoes, shield of faith- lid, helmet of salvation-motorbike helmet.

So I first got out the nerf gun and some darts. I had Logan stand and I started shooting them at him. He didn't like that much, even though it didn't hurt him he still didn't like it. Then I started telling them about the Armor of God. As I told them about each part, I dressed Logan in that piece. When we were done dressing him, I got the nerf gun out again and started shooting fiery darts at him. This time the darts reflected off of his shield, helmet, etc.

The kids loved this lesson. And I actually think they got it and understood what we were trying to say. I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ to help us along the way. I am grateful for all the teachers, friends and family who have been great examples of the gospel for us. We will have to be reminded often, but I hope we can all put on our Armor of God and go forth and do what is right!!

Rifle Falls

One afternoon we packed up a picnic and headed up to Rifle Falls. It is about a half an hour drive away. It is a state park with a camping area and day use picnic areas. There are a couple of hikes. So we had our picnic and then went hiking. These are the Rifle Falls

Side view of the falls.

Exploring a cave

Or Two

Andrew was a trooper. He loved hiking {for a while}

This is on another one of the hikes.

We went with some of Russell's friends. We had a great afternoon with beautiful scenery.

Home Tour

So after the kids went to school, I got an energy boost and clean my house up and got rid of the rest of the boxes in the living areas and took some pictures. Here is our living room from the front door. The first doorway is the little boy room, and the second door is the bathroom.
This picture is the living room looking from the hallway to the kitchen.

The little boy room

The main bathroom

The hallway to the kitchen

The kitchen/dining room

The back yard

The side back yard :)

The master bedroom

The master bathroom

The master closet

The stairs

{Logan thought it was pretty funny that I was taking pictures of the house}
The girls bedroom

The family room

There is a bathroom off of the family room.

Brock's bedroom

across from Brock's room, the laundry room

The hallway

The storage room

Brinton's room

The messy craft room.

That is now more clean because I have been sewing--but it was the last room to be cleaned and I didn't want to take another picture :)

And that is our home for the next few months.

First Day of School

This year the first day of school was exciting but a little different that in years past.

This year everything is new, the school, the travel to school, the teachers, the students.

So there was a higher level of nervousness.

Still as any first day of school, everyone was up and ready to go early.

1st Grader Hattie4th Grader Breanna
5th Grader Brock

8th Grader Brinton

What a great group of school kids we have.

They all had a fair day for the first day. I won't say great because it is hard being a new kid at school. Breanna and Hattie made new friends easily. It is a little harder for Brock and Brinton. But after a week of school, things seem to be going a little bit better. It is nice to be in a routine and actually learning some things. {We had kindof taken a break from that over the summer :)}

Logan and Andrew had a good first day of school as well. We invited some friends from church to go to library story time with us. Then they came to our house and had lunch and played with us. It was good for us to have something to do as well.

I did walk the girls into the school and took pictures of them by their classroom

This is a picture of the little girls school

I didn't yet take a picture of the boys school. Maybe sometime.

Andrew turns 2

Andrew is such a funny, curious boy. He loves Toy Story and Phineas & Ferb, he loves to ride bikes and jump on the trampoline, he loves to be with his brothers and sisters.

He received some cards in the mail for his birthday {which is a first for us} that was fun!We made a cake for him in the morning, and in the afternoon we ran a couple errands.

But when dad got home from work it was party time!!

Eating his cake

YUMMY!

Riding his new bike.

Andrew's birthday was a hard day for me. We normally spend the day with Grandmas & Grandpas & Aunts & Uncles & cousins. And this year in Colorado we didn't even know our neighbors. I am glad that Andrew is young enough that he was glad he had his family around him. He had a great day.