Good to Be Alive

I really needed this video today. I truly have been given so many blessings in my life, and I am so grateful for them all!

Happy Friday, friends!

Love,
Mama Rachel

Random February-ness

Our "Ten Virgins" cast

Dear ones,

We had a calm, good week-- my favorite part was being in the Ten Virgins musical! :-) I'm afraid I will subject you to several pictures on that subject! ;-)

Monday I took Lliam, Gavin, and Ronan to get haircuts. Yes, even Lliam was ready for a trim. I stopped in the McDonald's drive-thru for ice cream cones afterwards. It was nice to spoil them a bit. :-)

Haircuts make us happy!

On Tuesday I ran Morganne to Institute Choir at CGCC (Chandler-Gilbert Community College), and then Daddy took her back for Institute that evening. We need to get that girl driving soon!

Wednesday evening was New Beginnings for the Young Women. They had a fun "Cruise" theme and Dierdre brought home one of the decorations; a tiny goldfish she named "Goldilocks."

Our lovely "Goldilocks" (a.k.a. Dierdre)

We spent Thursday cleaning the house in preparation for feeding the missionaries that evening. Morganne made her famous chili and served it with tortilla chips, cheese and sour cream. They couldn't stay long, but it was so nice to have them join us to eat. It sure makes us think of our missionary!

Friday morning's Biology class that's usually at our house was cancelled, so I gathered some props and stage decorations for the Ten Virgins play and after almost getting in a car accident on the way, (WHEW!) I headed over to the church to help decorate the stage. Even though I had my class to plan for later that afternoon, I decided to stay and help. It was so fun! I was draping fabric, pinning trim, and arranging decorations and props. I had a BLAST!

Our stage, all dressed up

About the play: It felt soooo wonderful to be using my talents to build up the Lord's kingdom. I had been praying for an opportunity to do so for a LONG time, and the Lord answered my prayers in a wonderful way! :-)

Cast members getting direction in between performances

We had our final dress rehearsal Friday night, where we also performed for our families. It was a little rocky, but overall, it went really well.

Saturday morning we had our first performance at 9am. President D--, our stake president, came and talked to us briefly after our warm up. It was so neat! He reminded us of how much the sisters in our stake needed to hear the message to prepare spiritually. We also performed at 11am and then again at 1pm. We really felt that the Lord used us to bring His daughters closer to Him that day. It was the BEST experience I have ever had being onstage. I loved every second!!!

Our director and pianist discuss song speed with our one dancer.

Being in this presentation has been such a blessing in my everyday life, too! It has helped me feel close to the Savior every day, and taught me lesson after lesson about staying in tune with the Spirit, and being prepared to meet the Lord. I have had some very sacred, personal experiences because of my preparation for the performances. I hope I remember them all! (Yes, I am recording them in my journal...)

Me, backstage

Last night, after choir practice, Daddy and I attended the Priesthood Preview meeting with RONAN! Can you believe it?! Yes, he turns 12 this year. He and all the boys in his group are so fun. There's a LOT of them! Most of the boys sat together on the front row, but even though they invited him to come and sit with them, Ronan wanted to sit with Daddy and I. That was sweet!

At the end of the inspiring meeting, Ronan and all the boys stood up at the front and sang "Armies of Helaman." I'm pretty sure there wasn't a dry eye among the parents. (The sound cuts out in the middle when I accidently covered the mike, and you get subjected to my soprano voice at the end when the sound comes back up. I tried to sing quietly-- I really did! LOL!)



During the meeting, Brother--, who is in the stake YM presidency, said that only 35% of young men in the stake are going on missions! OUCH. Satan is really working hard to distract the young men in our area from serving. Yes, I cried.

We we miss you all, and we want you all to know how important you are to us. We pray for each of you daily, and love each one of you sooo much. May the Lord continue to bless and teach and heal us all!!!

Lots of love,
Mama Rachel

The Refiner's Fire

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." ~Romans 8:28

Love, Mama Rachel

Holding on to Hope

I think most bloggers would agree with me that it is not easy to blog when we are going through tough times.

That's how I feel, anyway.

I am normally obnoxiously candid and transparent on my blog. But my candor in real life has recently really bit me. Hard. And I am still reeling from the trouble and heartache it's created.

So, even though I HATE ambiguity, I just can't be more explicit about what's going on in my life right now.

However, I DO know that Jesus loves me. And I know that joy WILL come again. And I have HOPE in happier tomorrows, all because of Christ and His all-encompassing Atonement.

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me.
Confused at the grace that so fully He proffers me.
I tremble to know that for me, He was crucified.
That for me, a sinner, He suffered, He bled, and died.

Oh, it is wonderful that He should care for me,
Enough to die for me.
Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful, to me!

I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine
To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine,
That he should extend his great love unto such as I,
Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify.

Oh, it is wonderful that He should care for me,
Enough to die for me.
Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful, to me!

I think of his hands pierced and bleeding to pay the debt!
Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget?
No, no, I will praise and adore at the mercy seat,
Until at the glorified throne I kneel at his feet.

Oh, it is wonderful that He should care for me,
Enough to die for me.
Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful, to me!

Love, Mama Rachel

No Baby Yet!

My girls and I in the Easter dresses my amazing mother sewed for all of us!

I am now 40 weeks pregnant, and I'm afraid that due to end-of-pregnancy-ennui, I have NOT been in the mood to write on any of my blogs.

*sigh*

But, since I should really record what's going on in our family's life right now, I thought I'd just share the email I sent to my missionary son this morning.

I hope my readers had a WONDERFUL Easter Sunday, and are having a happy Monday! :-)

Eryn loves Easter!

Easter Weekend

We had a wonderful Easter weekend! The big kids are helping so beautifully, and I REALLY appreciate it. Yesterday was the baby's due date, so I'm in that final stage where I'm just a big pregnant lump, waiting for the baby to come.


On Saturday, Bonny, Dierdre and I filled the plastic eggs, Lliam and Bonny hid them downstairs, and Dierdre dyed the eggs with the kids. We ate the boiled eggs for lunch, and had a fun egg hunt in the afternoon.


Then Sunday, the girls and I got dressed up in the homemade dresses Granna made for ALL of us!!! She is amazing-- she made dresses for Gina, Emmy, Libby, Morganne, herself, and Abby, too. We all looked marvelous! ;-) Daddy made his traditional Easter feast with ham, funeral potatoes, and peas, and we had strawberry shortcake last night to end the day.


Church was wonderful, and Dierdre and I sang with the ward choir. The bishopric spoke, and it was a great meeting! Sunday school was good, Relief Society was, too, and it was just a lovely peaceful day.

The kids sent you some Easter letters last week, and I hope you get them soon, if you haven't already. :-)



The Church has been using a beautiful new video in social media for Easter this year, that you probably already know about, called "Because of Him." It has been a great thing to share! It makes me cry every time. I know that I have been blessed so much in my life, and it's all because of HIM! I am so grateful for the Savior and all He has done for me and all those I love! He IS hope!

A Midsummer Night's Dream

The play is THIS weekend, and so things are still pretty crazy. Because the play is being performed outside at night, all of this week's rehearsals are at night. Tonight is a tech only rehearsal, but that will take Lliam, Bonny, and I think Deirdre, too. (Did I tell you that Gavin did not want to be in the play this year? He's become the babysitter. Ronan is in the play, though.)

Your brother, Lliam, is doing a PHENOMENAL job as Lysander!!! And yes, he gets to wear the pink poofie. Duke is wearing your old costume as Demetrius, and is also doing a great job. (Katelyn is Hermia, and Susanne is Helena-- also doing a great job! Lizzie is fantastic as Puck.)

We will send pictures, after the show!!!

Baby Keppner

Well, nothing is happening in the baby department, other than the baby gets bigger, and I get slower. I go to the doctor every week, and I am basically the one who gets to decide what happens now. I could go in and be induced any time, but with the play AND Daddy's conference both happening this week, it's not the best time. So I may wait until next Monday for induction.

We'll see. I'm pretty DONE!! :-p

I do have an appointment this afternoon. We'll see how things go.

At least the costumes are finished!

Davy is practicing being a big brother.

Davy learned a new word last weekend, and he LIKES it:

"PEEPS!"

We love and miss you, and hope you've had a wonderful Easter week, too. I'm counting down the days until Mother's Day!!!! 

(When I get to Skype with my missionary boy!)

Love, Mama Rachel

Gilbert Temple Cultural Celebration: Part 1

Here's a preview of my BIG post to come! :-)



The Gilbert Cultural Celebration from Cameron Trejo Films on Vimeo.

Love, Mama Rachel

Our Family 2013 Year in Review

Love, Mama Rachel

Still, Still, Still

After a long, noisy day running here and there, I just need to sit for a brief moment and take a deep breath.

I'd like take time to share some of my favorite, peaceful Christmas music with you. I hope you enjoy the peace it brings. (I know I will!)

In the Bleak Midwinter

I love to listen to vocalists that have a clear, bright tone. As a singer myself, (though nowhere near the class of the vocalists here!) I really appreciate angelic-like voices! The two ladies in these following videos are my FAVORITES. Oh, I can't get enough of listening to them!

The Wexford Carol

Silent Night (Oiche Chiuin)

I adore music from "the old country." I have lots of English, Welsh, and Scottish blood in me, and whenever I hear a folk tune from "across the pond," I get chills. It just sounds so familiar!



{I know I need to do something about being an "Anglophile," but I'm pretty sure than only a visit to the U.K. will ever cure me... Someday...}

O Come, Emmanuel

And last, but certainly not least, is one of my favorite Christmas Carols played by one of my favorite musical groups, accompanying one of the most beautiful reenactments of the Christmas story I've ever seen.



Hosannah!!! I wish everyone a very merry Christmas, with a lovely moment or two of quiet and peace to ponder on the true reason we celebrate this time of year.

Love, Mama Rachel

Davy's First Birthday

Happy Birthday, little buddy!

I can hardly believe that it was just over a year ago that I welcomed our fifth son and twelfth child into the world.

Davy is such a joy! He is a happy little guy who loves being a part of this big crowd of people. (Good thing, huh?) He smiles most of the time, and likes to hug and kiss and snuggle, even though he's such a busy toddler.

He had a fun birthday, but we had to rush to get him to open his presents and eat his cupcake before he drifted off to naptime.

He got a fun card with real money from Grandma (Thanks, Diana!), and an awesome Renaissance Halloween Costume from Granna and Morganne! (Thanks, ladies! Yes, we will post pictures after Halloween!)

One cute thing about Davy: He has never shown much interest in any movies we've watched, but one movie night, the kids were watching "The Man From Snowy River," and Davy was squealing and screaming on the part where the man rides the horse down the steep mountain. He about jumped out of Dierdre's arms! It was so adorable!

Oo! Oo! The horsies!!!

From then on, he has shown an interest in horses, so we were thrilled to find a sweet and simple stuffed pony for his birthday.

Davy and his new friend

And now, for our far-away family's viewing pleasure, we present two videos of our Davy being super-cute. The first one is on the night of his birthday, when he decided to put a fun "show" on for all of us. The second is of him giving up on eating his cupcake and saying "Night-night," instead.

Love, Mama Rachel

Brainwashing?

This video sooo inspired me today!!!

Do I "brainwash" my kids?

After watching this video, you tell me...



(I sure hope so!)

Love, Mama Rachel

Mission Call!!!

Our Missionary

I want to let my blogging buddies know that our boy, Brennan, received his mission call yesterday to serve in the WASHINGTON SPOKANE MISSION!!!

He will be preaching the Gospel in the English language and enters the Provo MTC on January 1st, 2013.

Happy New Year to him!!! :-)

Here's the video of the call opening, surrounded by friends and family (thanks to technology!).

A New Little One

It's a tiny, wee kitten!

Yesterday, our kids came running in the house, telling me that our small cat, Katie Belle, had a kitten. Katie has been grown for a few years, and had lots of male "callers" during that time, but she's never had any kittens. We have just assumed that she is infertile, and not able to carry kittens.

So when the kids INSISTED that there was a new kitten in our backyard, I was pretty skeptical. But when they proclaimed that the kitten was MOVING, I went to check it out.

Our little Katie Belle cat is a good mama.

 Sure enough, there was a tiny, wet thing crawling around in Katie's bed with her. But Katie was really anxious, going in and out of the bed, leaving the kitten alone. I could tell that she didn't like where her bed was, so I grabbed an old towel, and picked up the bed and moved it right next to the house. I put the towel underneath her and the kitten, and moved Katie's food and water right next to her bed.

She is never far from her tiny kitten.

When I touched the kitten, it was very cold, and still wet. That made me worry a bit, but after I moved the bed, Katie settled in and sat right down on top of her new little one! I could tell that she finally felt more secure and could get down to the business of nursing.

We don't know yet whether it's a boy or a girl, but isn't he/she adorable?

We waited for more kitties to come, but there was just the one, sweet little kitty. The kids are over the moon with excitement, and Bonny (Katie's owner) has been very attentive to both their needs.




It's so fun to have a new little one at our house!

Love, Mama Rachel

Catching Up!

...We took a last family trip to Idaho...

Things sure are weird around our house these days!

First of all, we are enjoying our new, BIG home, and are working to finish settling in. Part of our "settling in" includes getting used to not having our angel Morganne around. We sure are missing her peaceful presence and loving strength! I can't go into how I feel too much, or I'll start to cry! (again)

We drove up to Idaho to see our families, attend reunions, and drop our Miss Morgie off to stay with my parents as she serves the Lord as a service missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! We don't yet know what all she will be doing, since her assignments will be made through her new bishop, but we'll find out soon. So far, she's been asked to serve as a Nursery worker in my parents' ward. A perfect fit for her! :-)

Needless to say, though our lives are not the same, but we all know she's where she should be, doing what she should be doing. It's been REALLY hard for me to let her go, but she is excited for this new phase of life.

I was bawling like a baby just before this picture was taken...

We had a great time with our families It was especially nice to see family we haven't been with is a LONG time (my brother, Wade and his awesome kids, and my sweet sister Abby), and to meet the beautiful new babies in my husband's family and attend our new nephew's baby blessing. Lots of love, hugs, and visiting all around!

Adorable Aunt Abby finally got to meet our Davy!

Since our Morganne will now be reading this blog to know what we're up to, I just thought I'd add a couple new pictures and a cute video or two. Hold onto your hats! (Or stop reading now...)

Wade and Granna lighting fireworks

Libby and Wade making their handprint for the new fire pit.

RAIN! We Arizonans were in shock! (The Oregonians, not so much...)

Chillin' with uncles and cousins (See brand new baby Sophie laying on her daddy, Uncle Karl?)

Uncle Kevin and cute Ava

Grandma with a baby, chatting with Aunt Lisa, cousin MacKenzie, and Aunt Kenzie

Daddy introducing Davy (Grandpa's namesake!) to Granny Pike

We had lots of fun getting together with our dear friends, the Dye family!
(Even though the Idaho wind about blew us away...)

Soon after we got home, we decided to take the kids swimming when a dust storm came up. Almost all the other parents and kids left the pool, but we thought it was fun to swim in the wind!

Three little swimmers

A blown-down tree! (Chilean mesquites have shallow roots, because the wind wasn't that bad!)

But then, we saw lightning, and got out of the pool and went home. We've had lovely monsoon weather ever since, and are enjoying it thoroughly.

Two milestones happened yesterday to two of our kids. First of all, Lliam got his LEARNER'S PERMIT!!! (And I let him drive part of the way home. We were both terrified! LOL!)

And then, later in the evening, Grayse lost her top front tooth!

Grayse Dawn has a new hole in her head!

And just before bed, Davy showed us a new trick. See the video here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBEqXUB0VHI

He turns 9 months old tomorrow, but he's ready to get moving! 

All is well, God is good, and we are so grateful for all our many blessings! Soon, the chaos of another school year will begin, but for now, we are just trying to adjust to our new lives. We love and miss you all!!! 

*MUAH!*

Love, Mama Rachel

A Friend's Heartache

I have a sweet friend that just lost her baby at 37 weeks pregnant. My heart absolutely aches for her, and I am holding my own little one tighter today. :'-(

I'm sharing this song in her honor. (I love you, April!)

Love, Mama Rachel

Agency-Based Education

"Education is nothing like the filling of a reluctant pail.

It is the lighting of a fire."

~William Butler Yeats 

There are some  big and scary things happening in education right now, and so if you don't want to hear about it, I advise you to find another blog to read today. ;-)

Some may wonder why I care about the public school system, and the requirements that the federal government now places on  parents, students, teachers, administrators and schools. My answer is that when freedom is taken from one sector, the powers that be look around for other freedoms that can be destroyed. The homeschooling movement has come too far and done too much to remain unnoticed. Not to mention, many sacrifices have been made by pioneering home educators during the last century to restore the rights and liberty parents have to educate their own children, as our forefathers did for a millenia.

I will go into more of my opinions on the matters at hand in upcoming posts, but today I thought I'd share something that sets the stage for why "Agency-Based Education" is so very important to me:

I am SOOOO GRATEFUL for the freedom I have to educate my children as I see fit!!! I will do all I can to defend that right and the rights of future generations to do the same.

I hope you enjoy this video explanation as much as I do. :-)

Hugs, Mama Rachel

Thoughts on Light

These beautiful videos touched my heart and illuminated my mind today. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. :-)

Hugs, Mama Rachel

May America Bless God

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!! I pray we will all remember where our liberties truly originate.

Love,
Mama Rachel

Working on a Happy Marriage

No marriage is perfect, but we can all do more to make our marriages better by forgiving one another, praying together, and working toward eternity every day.

I am so thankful for the wonderful husband the Lord has blessed me with, and I want to do all I can to keep my covenants so we can be together for all of time and eternity!

(I love you, Russell!!!)