I can't wait to go to the Temple

I can't wait to go to the temple. This past Sunday one of the students in my primary class got up and gave her testimony. This particular student is one of the more active ones in my class. The kind that you never think you are getting through too. Well, during her testimony she talked about how she could not wait to turn twelve so that she could join Young Womens and finally go to the temple. She said it was something she has wanted to do for a long time. She then thanked her primary teachers for everything they taught her. I of course was in tears and was so very proud of her. Her mother, like myself, was shocked. She told me that all of those family home evenings that she thought she wasn't paying attention actually paid off. What a blessing.

I think of how Jesse and I have come to where we are now spiritually. There have been many people that we owe a lot too for being such wonderful examples for us. There are the missionaries shown below that seemed tailor made for us because they shared our dry sense of humor. We like to goof off and as you see in the picture below so did they. They have all returned home now but have told us that they will be here for our sealing. We are very lucky.

Waiting for the Day.....

I am so excited! Last week I scheduled our Endowments and Temple Sealing. Endowments will be on September 18 at 7pm and our Sealing will be September 20th at 2 and then we are planning to have an Open House at the Easley's afterwards. I was given a piece of advice today and that was to wear water proof mascara. I agreed b/c when I see my little ones look like beautiful little angels in all white I am going to burst into tears. And to look at my husband and know that after that our family will be together for time and all eternity......goodness, I am crying allready. For those of you who live out of town but would like to make it please email me at treetheshee@yahoo.com and give me your address and I will send you an official invite.

The funny part about all of this was that while I was scheduling our sealing I was on my cell phone in the drive thru of a bank and didn't even notice that I took their tube and drove off until I was getting Jackson out of the car later. Luckily they were not upset, they said it happens all the time.

Today we got to see a lot of our friends at church that we have not seen in a long time. It was really nice. Before I joined this church I had some friendships that if I saw them at the store today we probably wouldn't say hello to each other. But something I have noticed about the people that belong to this church is once you become friends, that is a friendship that lasts a lifetime. I am so grateful for the true friends I have made since joining this church. For once in my life I actually trust a large variety of people, which because of my upbringing I couldn't before.

As I read my Ensign last night on Sharing the Gospel Using the Internet I decided that I was going to post more on what makes me happy the most and that is our church. I think a lot of people have a lot of misconceptions about who we are and what we are about so hopefully someone who reads this will feel the spirit and maybe ask a few more questions that will guide them in the right direction. It is funny because being a new member I am probably the worst "missionary" there could be. Lately they have been talking a lot about that in our sacrement meetings and I kinda put my head down. I think I heard one guy say he was going back to talk to a waitress him and his wife had the other night. That is dedication. I think as Jesse and I grow in our understanding of the gospel we will be more attuned to those types of situations. Until then, this will have to do.

Hope everyone had a safe 4th of July!

Messes and learning

This pictures is a perfect example of how busy I am throughout my day. Messes like this happen every hour on the hour. Because he seems so content with his mess I can do nothing but laugh. I know there are days that I feel like I have cleaned the same mess 20 times, but I can honestly say I wouldn't be anywhere else. Being there to clean up his messes is the highlight of my day. I remember when I sent him off for other people to clean up his messes, and kiss his bo bo's when he got hurt, or teach him to be nice and say kind words. Now I am that person, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Ben also keeps me busy but in so many good ways. In the morning during breakfast we have our scripture story, then afterwards our workbook and while we eat lunch we read a story out of the Friends magazine. I can see him growing into such a compassionate person. His prayers are so heartfelt it moves me. I feel like I have taught him a lot this summer and he also has taught me. I have been able to grow closer to my Heavenly Father through my children. I am very thankful for that.

Bens Birthday Party

Bens birthday party was a lot of fun. A huge lesson I learned was that half of the silly masks and hats you buy that cost a fortune just end up in the trash anyway. Probably won't be buying those next year. I had a lot of fun decorating for it. I found some outlines of dinosaurs on my computer and copied them, blew them up and cut them out on construction paper and taped them around the dining room. You can see them in the pictures. The boys loved it. My friend Janelle made Ben an awesome dinosaur cake with a Volcano. The volcano was actually Bens choice for piece of cake. We got to spend time with family and friends and all of the kids got to hang out. So even though planning and decorating were hectic, that made it all worth it.

Birthdays!

Well, yesterday was my 27th birthday. It is funny, I remember my mom when she was 27......I think Letty was about a year old then....not sure. But I do remember thinking they were on their way to getting old. I was about 7 or 8 myself. Anywho, I on the other hand do not feel old or on my way to getting old. I do feel wiser. I am very content with my life right now and have grown so much in the past few years......hence the wiser part. I have made life long friends, found my spiritual balance, and thanks to my hard working husband quit my job, and have a very healthy and happy family. What more could you ask for? I still have a lot of personal things I want to tackle, and honestly I hope I always have things I want to do and learn. I really hope I never get to a place in my life where I feel that I have done all there is to be done. I could never be happy doing nothing or not helping someone.



Bens birthday was today. When I first saw him this morning he looked at me and said, "Man, I can't believe I am finally six." I said, "Me either." He is so cute, and is getting so big. He will definantly outgrow me by 10. My neice allready has and she is 12. I was all excited because I was going to get him a new bike for his birthday and he was going to be able to pick it out himself. So we brought him to Walmart (he didn't know what we were getting him) we walked over to the bikes and he said, "No, this is not what I want." I asked him, "Are you sure? Your other one is too small and you could ride instead of walk with me in the afternoons. I even showed him all of the pretty colors." He replied, "Yes, I am sure. I would like a new game." So off to the electronics section we went, where he purchased Lego Indiana Jones. It is actually a really cute game and cheaper than the bike so I couldn't complain.

Next Friday evening we will hold his Dino birthday party at our house. I love birthday parties b/c it is a great excuse to get friends and family together. I am looking forward to it.

Fathers Day and other things....

So the picture above is what went on Jesse's Fathers Day card. Thanks to a tip from my friend Kimberly I was able to go to the photolab at Walmart.com and create a beautiful Fathers Day card for Jesse and place whatever wording the boys wanted on there. This one made me laugh really hard so I thought it was perfect.

The other day while out running errands with my mother in law we decided to take Ben and Jackson to Petland to see all the puppies. Because Jesse is allergic to dogs and cats this was the closest the boys would get to playing with one. As soon as we walked in the door Jackson shouted, "Hi Puppies." He is a puppy finatic. Every single animal, reptile, anything is a puppy. He went over to the glass kenels and gave each puppy its own little kiss on the glass. It was really cute. They actually brought a baby English Bulldog out for him to play with which he liked before it started going between his legs and trying to bite his shoes. It actually got ahold of my mother in laws flip flop and Jackson got really mad. He shouted,"No puppy!" Took the flip flop and threw it at my mother in law then smacked the puppy. Of course.....the puppy could care less. After that we went to look at all of the fish and Jackson said, "OOhhhh, water puppies." Absolutly cracked me up! I love him. Ben had a good time, he likes looking at the dogs, but not so much playing with them. He doesn't like it when they jump on him and scratch him or bite him. Hey, I don't blame him.

Home is definantly the place to be......

I am so glad to be at home. My house is completly organized and my kids have a great schedule! They are so much fun to be around and I am never bored. Jackson is talking a lot more, he says "Thank you" and "Lub yu" "Hi" and "Food or eaty." It is really cute. Ben seems to be having a good time too. He is really relaxed. We went and bought him a workbook to help him prepare for the 1rst grade and he loves doing that. Jesse says he loves it that I am home and that our house has a wonderful feeling about it. I am so lucky to have him! If it weren't for him none of this would be possible.

One thing that this had made me realize was how unhappy I was in my job and how stressed out it made me. Now that I am home I can take time to look around and really enjoy my life with the people that matter most to me. I am not forced to work with or be around people who have a bad energy about them.

Coming up next is Bens Dino birthday party and Fathers Day. Should be a lot of fun. Oh, and I am going to try to redo the boys bathroom in a jungle theme. I will be sure to post some before and after pictures.

I hope everyone is doing well. I am sorry I haven't written in a while. We have had a lot going on lately.

Oh, and Happy Birthday to my friend Rachel! She is 27 today and is one of my best friends. We have been friends since I was 10 or 11. I love her like a sister.

Keep in touch!

Cherie'