This Girl Of Mine

This girl right here was fantastic to be with today! 

We were shopping all day!

All Day!

We were a great team too. She helped with many decisions,

and lifted me up when I was down.

I lifted her when she was down,

We enjoyed the best Sourcream and Onion Pringles and 

chocolate rice crispy and pretzel bars when we were shaking

with hunger. 

We found some great deals, finally decided on some gifts and 

high fived it a few times because we thought we were pretty great!

I'm so thankful for her being my shopping buddy today. 

Love you so much Lilly Girl!

Missionaries!

I am so proud of these two. 

 Sara and my niece Rebecca  have received their mission calls!

Sara, to Charleston, West Virginia  reporting February 24th 2016  

and Rebecca, to Salem, Oregon reporting March 2nd 2016.

We are so excited for them to be able to share this adventure.

Shopping has already been underway, 

They will both go to the temple to make  beautiful covenants 

on the same day, together. 

It's still soaking in my mother heart that my second missionary 

leaves so soon. It's feeling a bit different this time around. 

My daughter, who  is every bit as capable, is a little more sensitive 

and emotional. But I believe that is why she is going to be so awesome 

out there.  She is understanding and loves unconditionally. And she 

is firm in her testimony of our Savior and speaks with conviction. 

We've heard a lot about bugs and chiggers and humidity and eating road 

kill there in WV and it's a bit unnerving.  We have enjoyed our lives 

here in our little  dry desert-not a lot of dangerous spiders at our 

house anyway-no roadkill bubble.

However, it's beautiful there in West Virginia and we  

have also heard the people are awesome and the missionaries 

have a special connection to all who serve there. 

Sara is already friends with a few people who have served there,

 who have given her sound advice. 

It's amazing who you meet, and become friends with while 

missionary shopping! 

Rebecca is serving in my beloved state Oregon!  She will love 

all the beauty there too and the blackberries! 

Oh those blackberries!  I can't wait for her to experience it! 

A new adventure is just right around the corner!  

We are so excited for Sara and Rebecca!

But we will all cry like someone just died! haha

Oh, the fun times....

I think the funnest times my kids have is when they are with
their cousins. They learn in the best ways when they are together.
Spelling Bees, Cooking class, Harry Potter book clubs, Multiplication
Contests and endless skits.   

Recently, Emma got a fun new app on her Ipod. 
It's a movie making something or other. 
They have so much fun with it. 
Please watch this one.

They are blessed to have this in their lives right now.
And they all crack us up because they are just so darn funny!
And, lets all take our hats off to Emma the director!

Update Aug. 2015

How I love my family. They are all on new adventures 

and it's fun to watch them get excited...or not,  about them.

Tony Jr. started school today. College! 

He's excited to get moving and I'm excited for him. 

His schedule is pretty packed  but he's determined to 

make it work.  Debt Free.  I'm pretty proud of him.

Sara is working right now to pay for her mission.

She is getting everything ready too.

In the next couple of weeks she'll get those dreaded

Wisdom Teeth pulled, docs appointments etc. 

Chloe's Junior year of school. She has a love/hate 

relationship with school. But she's so awesome to 

find humor in all of it.  She has her people, and that 

it the most important. 

Dallin is the same. Only, he creates the humor. He is

such a crack up.  He has some teachers that are......

special, and he face palms everyday. I love listening 

to their stories when they get home. 

Lilly is starting several clubs this year. Young American 

Stateswoman Association (YASA). Cooking and History.

We are reading some of the best books (I'm excited for that).

Ian also has a few clubs too. Mastering Knighthood, Cooking 

and History. He is an amazing athlete and will be starting Soccer.

I am steadily working on food storage, 72 hour kits and 

canning chicken, and making fruit leather. I am working

on my spiritual self. And educating myself through some

amazing books.

I think I have learned more about being a parent in reading 

Juvenile Classic Literature than I do in self help books. 

This year my goal is reading 50 books. I am a little over half

way there. They are not all big books and I have counted 

the many hours I spend preparing a lesson or talk for church 

as a book,  It's been awesome. Right now I am reading a sweet 

book called "Shadrach" that I believe has some of the most 

important lessons on parenting.  It's about a little boy who receives

a little black rabbit as a gift from his Grandpa for working hard. 

And "Tattoo's on the Heart" which was recommend to me by 

Sara and Chloe.  I'm not very far in yet, but they just love it!

My hubby? Well, he just works hard to take care of  and provide 

for us. He is one of the best men I know.  Next month we celebrate 

23 years of marriage. 23 years of learning and growing together.  

That's a long time and all the tough parts are totally worth it.

We sold our huge swing set and jungle gym to a guy who buys them

for less fortunate communities. Our jungle gym made it to an indian

reservation and the swings  are going to New Mexico.  

It provided us a way to get a new trampoline for the kids.

O, how they love that thing. We've done school on it a few times

and we read out there. 

We have a huge pumpkin growing, in our garden, along with like,

 6 watermelons, tomatoes, zucchini, and cucumbers. 

And big sun flowers that were suppose to produce sunflower seeds for us. 

The seeds didn't come, but the flowers are huge and they're really pretty. 

They grew about 7 feet tall. Maybe next year. 

Things are good. 

Bye, Felicia!

Life with Tony back in the mix

It's been so awesome having Tony home. He's been busy with his personalized
daily schedules. He's got a phone to keep in touch with his buddies and now looking
for a job, getting registered for school etc...

I have loved every minute seeing him here. He's  a pure joy.  Really. Even though
he's working hard on living with younger siblings who idolizes him and won't give him
a moments peace.  It's another lesson in patience for him. Ha!

We all stay up too late because we want to be with him and talk to him, so we are
all exhausted.

Sara and Tony have been on a double date together. Tony with one of Sara's friends
and Sara with one of Tony's.  He's been on two dates so far and having fun. He's not
wasting any time. He's all for having fun and really getting to know more girls. He has
different ideals now that he's home. Which is a very, very good thing!

I'm still a slacker and haven't really taken a lot of pictures of him but the girls have
with their Instagram.  Become friends with them and you will see.

He's making us a couple Russian meals this week and I'm kind of, really
excited for that.

The rest of my Family are doing awesome.

Sara will be graduating this May. That's in like 3 months, taking a semester at   SLCC
and then off on a mission herself.  She's an amazing artist too. She can pretty much
take care of herself, very well.  Although she still needs me and I her.

Chloe is 16 but doesn't really want to date the dorky guys from school. She ready,
more than ready for her license and a job. She would much rather demo a bathroom
than help with the house work. And she's a really good painter. As in water color.

Dallin is in love with drawing and now, programming,  He is very active in his Scout
troop and has a lot of influence over the boys there. He has to wear pretty big shoes for
such a young guy. But he does it well and is well thought of.

Lilly is coming into her own passions. Cooking, organizing,  and babysitting.
She is a spunky ball of craziness and drama. She like things done just her way or
no way at all.

Ian is also figuring things out. He's almost 8 but still wants to turn back into a baby. :)
He loves to cuddle still, but he is a fast runner and an amazing athlete. We are still
trying to talk him into playing soccer or running track.  He loves math and science!

Tony and I are still working our way through parenting teenagers and young adults.
What a challenge. Oh my heck, it's hard.  But of course we love it and learning
through our many mistakes.  We are loving our callings (High Council for Tony,
Stake Relief Society counselor for me) at church and growing and
being challenged all the time.

Life is good and happy. All my kids are under one roof again and it feels nice.  It's really
heart breaking, in a way, to see them grow up so fast, and yet we are having amazing
experiences with them at this time in their lives.
The end. :)


 

Summer

I don't know why I don't write so much anymore. Life has all kinds 

of surprises and then time just moves by without you really realizing

 it and then all of a sudden everyone is big (meaning my kids) and 

Tony will be home in February!

Tony and Elder Buck in Ulyanovsk

But life is great!
We are learning all kinds of things!

Lisa Falls up Little Cottonwood

Ian, Andy and Sophie having great conversations!

Lilly entertaining Cirkle at girls night.
We had so many dance parties that night.
It was awesome!

Cousins and friends at Girls Night.

Ian and Sophie playing dress up.

Hangin' with my girlies in Parowan.

 Hiking a trail in Brian Head With Lilly

Parowan 4th of July Parade. Dallin and the boy cousins from Tony's side.

Lilly and Ian with Kinzie and Brigham (cousins)

Sara and Chloe with Jolie (cousin)

Grocery Shopping with Sara and Dallin.

Elder Tippetts and Elder Fennemore

Dallin  at his last Band concert.

Tippetts and Lefavor Girls.

Chloe made fun of me for taking this selfie . 

Old cousins minus Sierra (dang it)! On our trip to Colorado
to visit the Backes ladies! So fun!

Only 7 More Months

This is an older picture of Elder Tippetts. He's not allowed to send pictures 

home right now from where he is. I sure miss that kid. Only 7 months to go.

He is an amazing person and has shown so much growth. I'm actually excited

to meet the new/still familiar Tony.  My mama heart gives out on me every time

a new missionary leaves his or her family, or when I get any kind of news from people 

in Tony's mission.  God speed his safe return. I'm so proud of the man he has become!