The Right Time for the Right Things......

We recently made the decision as a family with prayer, research, and pondering to get a dog....again.  I wanted to make sure that this time we did things the right way and that I in particular was ready for the kind of commitment a dog is.  It also helps that i researched out breeds that fit our family's (and especially my) personality best.  We came across, online, a little terrier/dachshund mix who was just about 5 months old called Madeline.  I specifically wanted a small dog this time that would be fiercely loyal in the appropriate moments and easy for me to take care of.  I wanted a dog that would be a blessing to our family and most of all that is what i prayed for.  Prayer, you ask yourself....is that really necessary?  Well after my last attempt to own and train a dog, it most certainly is.  I am a firm believer in the right things at the right time.  Last time we got a dog was before Jack was born and during my pregnancy our poor dog, Wilford, really started to suffer from lack of adequate attention and ergo i was tense and irritable from his acting out 24/7.  We gave Wilford to a good home and one that would give him all the love and attention he needed.

I have to say that when i came across "Madeline's" picture online i knew instantly that she was the dog for our family.  Although owning a dog does not come without it's hiccups as they are trained etc., our little puppy who is now named lovingly, Norah, has really been just the blessing we were looking for.  She is really starting to get into a routine with things and the crate training has been a mental life saver for me!  (thanks for all the advice everyone!)  :-)  Norah is my little buddy and follows me almost everywhere i go.  She is sweet and LOVES to play with the kids and her toys.  She is super fast and when she has an energy burst in the back yard it really is all you can do to stop yourself from falling over with laughter as the kids and i have experienced.  She runs around and around in circles encouraged by our laughing and loves to chase and be chased too.  Simone our cat of just a year old now, has a love for her that has been reciprocated and watching a cat and a dog play and love each other the way these two do is really something unique and special.  Norah really has become another member of our family and i look forward to many more memories with her to come.

The following pictures are of the kids in anticipation for Norah to be dropped off as the organization we adopted her through, Freedom Farms, came to do a home visit to check that our home and back yard was suitable for Norah.  The kids adore her and frequently argue over what is "best" for Norah and who gets to have her on their lap etc.  ;-)

 Sarah, not patiently waiting.....

 They are parked outside and ready to come in......

 TA DA!  Welcome Norah!  :-)

 In my pillows....she loves to bury herself in the blankets and pillows.  

"I want my Bro!"

Not having shared a brother to brother relationship for obvious reasons i can only guess and assume at what the bond between them is or can be like.  But what i do know i have received from my observations as a mother.....


Despite their 6 year difference in age Immanuel and Jack have quite a bond together.  Siblings will be siblings, but these two spend more time together than i thought they would given Immanuel is 10 and Jack is just 4.  Jack adores Immanuel and refers to him as his "Bro."  Immanuel is a great big brother and will share many of his belongings with Jack at his request and spends time play fighting, wrestling and teachng him the "ways" of coolness.

I am grateful for Immanuel's sweet spirit and his kind heart that make him such a good brother.  Jack takes every opportunity to glean from Immanuel what he can, even if it's his toys!  Often when Jack is upset by something and crying he is calling for his Bro....."I WANT my Bro!!!"  ;-)  For whatever reason having Immanuel come give him a hug heals all wounds at times like this.  I think they find a way to balance each other's personalities out too.  Immanuel is not the typical "althletic type" of a boy, if there is even a fair way to stereotype a gender anyway (probably not as i know girls don't like to be stereotyped either!).  He is more into his art, music, books, video games, and Lego.  However Jack is totally a boy all the way and loves to wrestle, run, bounce, play sports, karate chop you, etc., etc., etc..  And yet these too are able to share their love of their things with each other and for Jack, Immanuel is all about being tough and for Immanuel, Jack is the Lego Master!  :-)  What a perfect pair.  I am glad they have each other and look forward to seeing how their bond continues to form and grow over the years.

 Tickle Fight!

Rasberries!  ;-)

Two Day Camping Trip......In Our Living Room....

Six months ago in October we came out the Nashville area to search for a place to live.  John had been hired by LDS Family Services and they wanted us to be located in the Nashville area.  They had acquired an office for him the Madison Stake Center and so we knew we would be looking in that area.  After many searches from our Craig's List list we took a pause in our hunting and accepted the offer of the Stake President's wife, Kay Abernathy, to come and visit with them.  It happened to be the weekend of the Semiannual General Conference the LDS Church does in October and April.  We went house hunting that weekend because it gave us a weekend without John's church responsibilities as there is not regular church on General Conference weekend.  Just for those that do not know, General Conference is a two day conference on Saturday and Sunday with two, two hour sessions separated by a two hour block where member's of the church (and anyone else that may want to listen too) get to listen to and watch the leaders of the LDS church speak about topics that Heavenly Father has inspired them to speak on.  It is fabulous and very uplifting.

Anyway, back to my story......So we went to the Abernathy's house and they introduced us to their family tradition of making Conference weekend as fun as possible for their family by allowing fun treats, a free for all if you will, and a tent in their living room for the kids to lie in while watching Conference on the t.v..  We LOVED this idea and the positive associations it brings with the all anticipated conference.  I have to say, i'm not sure what my kids all got out of it, as i haven't asked them really yet (although i think it was more than they ever have got out of it before), but for whatever reason, i was able to focus better on the talks given and their messages.  I had a blast and we will definitely be doing this "Conference Party" every 6 months for sure!  :-)

I took notes and received personal revelation that will help me be a better person and give me strength to do the Lord's will.  I am so grateful for those inspired men and women whom the Lord has chosen to speak.  I really feel like a lot of the talks are just for me, even though i know there are many that are befitted by them.  The Lord knows my weaknesses and struggles and i know of his love for me because of the messages that are given that help me in my life.

OK, so now i have asked my children about their conference experience.  This is what they had to say.....

IMAN:  (paraphrasing - immanuel always has a lot to say, lol) I had a good time, i thought it was fun.  I liked that we had snacks and candy and that made it fun.  I also liked that we watched it on byu tv because i liked the cools shows we could watch in between conference sessions.  As far as the prophets and stuff, i liked how one of them talked about Cain and how he murdered his brother.  It made me think about how it is important to be kind to my own brother.  The party made things more fun because we had puzzles and candy and it wasn't boring.

EDEN:  I felt the Spirit.  The candy was awesome and good.  I loved hanging out with my family.  It was sorta like Christmas, except without presents.

SARAH:  I liked that the prophet was there and that there was lots of candy.  I'm glad i could watch conference and i'm glad i could have food coloring.  (Sarah and Immanuel cannot have food coloring because it makes them moody and crazy respectively.  Immanuel also cannot have wheat because it makes him moody, and super emotional......bet you can guess what my Monday was like!  ;-))

JACK: I liked the candy!


My husband said this:  I'm really happy with this conference because i think we were able to create some fun and new traditions and it felt sacred being with family and starting a new tradition.  That with the really nice weather made for a great weekend.  I loved that i got to stay home the whole weekend and play and reflect on spiritual messages and eat snacks.  It could not have been a better weekend.

FOOD COLORING for all!  lol.

Noah's Ark 1000 piece puzzle completed mostly by Eden with some help from John and Sarah.

....reveling in Bottle Caps!

Sisters Are Bliss.....

One of the greatest joys i have is when i witness my children getting along.  Now, don't get me wrong, i don't say this because it is a rarity or anything like that, but it still brings me so much pleasure.  I know from my own personal experience with my siblings that strong ties when a child lead to stronger ties when an adult.  I enjoy the relationships i have with my brother and sister and am grateful that even though we are far apart from each other, we do talk, or text or Oovoo on a regular basis.  I look forward to the day when i see my children hangout as adults.  When i will see or hear about them spending time with each other or calling each other, babysitting each others kids or whatever the case may be.

Something particularly special is the bond between sisters.  For those of you with sisters, you will probably understand what i am talking about.  Although it is something that has to be worked at.  Just like any other relationship if not fostered it becomes nothing, but when grown with love and fun it can beccome a vast reservoir of amazing experiences.  I have many fond and also funny stories of when my sister, Louise and i were young.  Some naughty i must admit, others secretive and special, and others yet that even though they were based on mutual painful experiences it was something that strengthened us as sisters.  My sister has been my confidant .....my audience (do performances of the Flintstones in the bring back any memories, Lou?), and a fantastic example of everything that is good and righteous.

I hope for these things for my children too....for my girls.

Several months ago Eden and Sarah had somewhat of a hard time getting along.  Sarah was the desperate little sister dying for Eden's attention and yet at the same time the worse tattle tail you've come by.  And Eden was the bossy big sister who was annoyed by her little sister and the way she copied everything Eden did and wouldn't play unless it was "her way," but then was also resentful because of being betrayed by all the tattling.  Part of the problem originally existed because Immanuel and Eden have been so close that Eden wasn't sure how to negotiate being close to both siblings at the same time and so would either love one and hate the other of vise versa.

It quickly became clear to John and i that something needed to be done.  So we prayed and talked with the girls together and separately and i am happy to announce that things have completely turned around.
Eden has done a fabulous job of finding balance....she finds ways to connect with Immanuel which happens especially in the evening when they get to stay up later than the younger two and spend time doing art together or playing board games, or talking about who their latest "crush" is.  ;-) In contrast Eden will spend a good deal of free time during the day doing "girly" things with Sarah like painting nails, showing Sarah how to do her hair "cool", dressing up in "cool" clothes and accessories and then today i found them in the secret hide-out playing a game.....Headbandz (so fun!).

I hope that my children will continue to develop their relationships to the point where they will be an infinite source of comfort and joy to one another as they age into adulthood and face challenges ahead of them.  I know that even as parenting may surely get harder as they grow older, it will also be more rewarding too.  So proud of my lovely babies.....

It's still a new year....better late than never i always say! ;-)

New Years Eve this year was definitely more fun than in years past.  Usually it seems that even though John and i are typically late night people (or at least i was before i repented and started going to bed at 10:30pm) we would always manage to fall asleep on New Years Even by like 11:30pm.  Any other night of the week and it would have been a 12:30 or 1am deal, but not for New Years.  Almost like an internal rebellion because we're supposed to stay up, lol.  However this year the Wrights accepted our invitation to party and we made it!  These are some of our most favorite people and we are so glad they came and celebrated with us.  Some children did not make it.  Actually we put Jack to bed as usual and Sarah passed out on the couch watch t/v at some point, but Iman and Edy were happy to be allowed to stay up and the picture of Edy sleeping is the next day as she crashed after church.  :-)  We celebrated with toast to the new year with sparkling grape juice and dancing to 80's music from Jared's iPAD.  The next day we had a fabulous dinner with the Wrights and the Boyles (more of our most favorite people).  They all stayed and joined us for a fabulously good time of playing settlers (my most favorite adult game, although i was last beat at it by Eden). We even got to use Ben's awesome foam board which one day soon John will hopefully copy for our playing pleasure.  ;-)  My most favorite picture on this sequence however is the one of Jack passed out asleep on the floor New Years Day with his plastic toy knife in his hand.   My second is the group dinner photo.  John and i LOVE having friends over.  Takes us back to our farm days where there was always a surplus of people and fun around.  :-)

 Amy swinging her girls around!  

That woman is strong! (in every sense of the word) :-)

 Iman dancing!

We as a family have since made family and personal goals for this year.  One of my favorite ones that was made was Sarah's which was to be kind and serving towards Jack.  She has been working hard on this and even was a dream to me the other day when we checked out the YMCA for the first time with a free-day pass and she stayed with Jack in the kids zone so he wouldn't be scared to be alone.

Each year we make a "Blessing Board" which is a poster board of all the goals and dreams and blessings we would like to come to pass.  We have experienced that when we are reminded of our goals visually it helps us even on a sub-conscious level to help to bring to pass those things more, even if it's just through prayer for certain people or ourselves.  This is a glimpse of this years Blessing Board.  We do this as a Family Home Evening activity at the beginning of each year.  :-)

2012 Blessings, Goals, and Achievements - The Morgans

 Some things on our board.....

 "Nana succeed at work"

(prayers and blessings for Nana)

 "Daddy Daughter Dates - Lots"

 (the girls goals)

"Sarah Serve Jack-a-lope" 

"Iman Pinewood Derby 4 the Win!!"