Widows and Widowers Conference

I'm a very blessed lady. There are 3 ladies that I consider to be some of my very best friends and we have a common bond. We all lost our husbands. We joined the dreaded widow club, but through it we have found each other and I love these ladies. We had the opportunity to go down to Salt Lake and attend a widows conference this last weekend with the theme being "Finding Peace in Parenting". It couldn't have come at a better time. Being 6 months into my remarriage with Tony, challenges have come up and I have found myself discouraged at the stepmom I am and expected to be. The lesson I continue to learn is to be the kind person I am, and change my reactions to situations to make them better.
I drove down with Heather and Jen and attended the Friday night conference. I left uplifted, but yet a little sad that Tony couldn't be there. I was hoping I could share with him what I learned so that we could do things together.  I was feeling very down about that and I was very surprised and pleased when I received a text from him saying that he found someone to cover his shifts at work. He drove all night Friday night to be with me for the workshops on Saturday. Amazing, he is simply amazing. After driving all night and sleeping for a few hours, he met up with us at the church and we were able to attend the workshops together. It was all about step parenting, which I needed tremendously. I hope Tony got as much out of it as I did. It uplifted me quite a bit and gave me hope that it won't always be so hard. As long as I keep close to the Lord all things will be turned to good, even the bad stuff. I'm glad I went. So glad I got to spend time with friends and with Tony. So grateful we were able to spend time with Jeanna, and it was just nice to get away for awhile. Melissa had a wonderful weekend spending it with Stephanie Green and the Whiteleys. So glad it turned out good all the way around.

It's a GIRL!

That's right...another girl...where will we put her you ask? Good question, haha! No, just kidding we have it figured out. It will be tight, but you do what you have to do right? I'm really excited for this little girl. I'm excited for Melissa to have a sister that never has to leave our home. She is super excited for a little sister and I am so happy about that. Tony Jr. is still the lone brother in the midst of 6 girls, he almost cried, but quickly recovered. He is right smack in the middle with 3 girls on each side of him.

I get a little teary eyed just thinking of what the next year brings for me. To have Melissa turn 8 and get baptized and have a little one to bless close to the same time, what a blessing! The changes I've gone through this year have been overwhelming and hard, but oh so worth it and I couldn't be happier. Now that I'm halfway through this pregnancy and really am counting down. I want to hold this baby girl in my arms and just enjoy her. I've waited so long not knowing if I would ever get to experience a brand new baby of my own again. I'm so blessed!

School time!!!

This is Melissa at the meet and greet the day before school :-) She is SO happy to be in 2nd grade!!

First DAY of school...All ready to go!

Elena starting 5th grade...she isn't quite sure of her teacher yet. She has heard some horror stories, so we'll see how the year goes for her.

Tony started the 4th grade. Not much excitement out of him, but he is super smart, so everything should go well for him.

Anna is in Kindergarten this year. She goes to all day Kindergarten, so she goes Mon, Tues, and every other Wednesday. SO I get a lot of days all by myself at home. I'm so glad!

 I didn't get pictures of Audrey and Erin...Boo...but Erin is in 7th grade and Audrey started HIGH SCHOOL!! EEK! I am a step mom to a high schooler! She is in 9th grade at Vallivue High School, and so far she says her favorite class is Seminary. I hope that it always is her favorite class :-)
I'm super excited that all the kids are in school...for still trying to get used to having 6 kids around it was a VERY long summer.  This gives me time to just chill and get ready to have another one home with me. I am halfway there to having the new one join this crazy family. We should be finding out this week what we are having, so I am super excited for that! That just gives me about 20 weeks to prepare this house and myself and 6 kids to have a new one join us. Let the NESTING begin!!!

Uh...It's been a while. I have an excuse I promise!!

It's been a long time...so sorry about the lag in posts! It's been eventful and I haven't felt well, because of being preggo! It's due January 19th. I finally made it to 2nd trimester, so things are looking up!

 Here is our announcement made in June

We also went to the Kerbs Reunion at Camp Manapu right outside Ketchum...so fun, it would have been if we could have taken all the kids, but timing didn't work, and they were with their mother that weekend. It was a great weekend camping...it always is when you are surrounded by family. We took the Stanley way back and it was pretty exciting with the herd of deer and 9 more in the road all the way home. It has been a great summer and we've done some pretty fun things as a family. I will try to do better in keeping updated as we progress this year!

10K for the 2 of us!

Look at us, walking a 10K together...we absolutely had the best time and we did it in 1 hour and 50 minutes and 20 seconds. Tony took 2nd in his age bracket too! I'm sure there were maybe 2 or maybe 3 of them. HA HA! I love doing these kinds of things with Tony and I love the time I get to just being able to spend time and talk with him. It is 1 more goal that I accomplished this year and I am so excited to get started on some more! I sure do love this guy!

Getting through April...

Phew!!! We made it through April...barely. Three of the six kids have birthdays within 10 days...Tony Jr. is the 13th, Audrey is the 21st, and Melissa is the 23rd. Lets add Easter on top of that. Needless to say, I'm tired of cake...really tired of it. We had great parties and thoughtful family to help us out and come to the parties to make them special for all of them. Good times were had by all!!

Tony's car cake...he is 9!

Audrey's barbie cake...14! Well into being a teenager...oy!

Melissa's turtle cake...7 years old...going on 14!

 Coloring eggs with Tony on her birthday, lots of fun! We also had her birthday outing that day at Chucky Cheese with just the 3 of us. Good times!

The Easter bunny found her and gave her some yummy candy! She is still working on eating it along with all the other candy she bought herself with her birthday money. So glad it's May now! Let the flowers start blooming and the weather warm up so I can get my garden in. I can't wait!!

The Derby...

It was so much fun to be able to help Tony Jr. make his first pinewood derby car. We shouldn't have waited until the day before to start it though. We didn't have the right glue to secure the weights. We had one moment of tears when we had the washer and a couple pennies go flying off during one of the races. Lesson learned, take your time and get the stuff you need. He did great though. He showed good sportsmanship and won 5 of his races. All in all it was a great time and fun for everyone!! So different to be able to enjoy the pinewood derby without being in charge of it. It really makes you appreciate those who put it together when it used to be me doing it. Great job scout leaders, it was a great race!