Some people should not have children.

Some people should not have children. There are so many children living in households where they are unloved, neglected or abused. Some come from households where there is not enough money to buy food. Well...yesterday at the park I was introduced to a new kind of parent who should not be allowed to have children. I met a couple of ladies who were talking about children. They each had 2 kids and were discussing having a third child. Here is the conversation:
Lady #1: "My husband and I would love to have a third child. We have actually been trying but I really hope I am not pregnant already."
Lady #2: "If you want a child then why are you hoping you are not pregnant?"
Lady #1: "Its a silly reason but I really don't like the birth stone of the month of August."
Are you KIDDING me? I decided then and there that my conversation with these ladies was coming to a close. Of all the things to worry about when it comes to a precious baby...I am thinking that birthstone would be dead last. Maybe thats just me.

Church survey

I am not even going to call this one a tag....if ANYONE wants to copy and paste it I would love to hear it! If you have nothing else to blog about today...just do it! (although this counts for your tag Kelsey! hehe)

1. Where would you say your testimony is the strongest? Right now I would have to say in the area of prayer. I know Heavenly Father hears our prayers.
2. What do you struggle with the most (church related)? I have to pick just one?? ;) I struggle with lots of little things, like finding the time to read my scriptures or getting to the temple each month...its easy to blame everything on babies!
3. Do you have your food storage? Working on it. I do have about 8 72 hour kits if that counts for anything!
4. Do you have a favorite scripture? What is it? Yep! D&C 68:6
5. What is your favorite Church hymn? "I Need Thee Every Hour"
6. Do you have Any Sunday Traditions? Roast dinners & baking cookies, yum! And of course, gotta have that Sunday afternoon nap!
7. Do you have a Patriarchal Blessing? Yes, I got it right when I got to BYU.
8. Do you believe in angels? Yes. I believe that a lot of us are angels to others & don't even realize it.
9. Do you like the ward you're in? I LOVE IT! I was so worried about switching wards but there are so many awesome people in our new ward. No complaints at all!
10. What callings have you had? Young Women's, primary, Sunday school teacher, Relief Society teacher
11. What calling do you want? I have to want a calling, jk! I don't have a preference-any one that will help me grow. Actually...I wouldn't mind compassionate service.
12. What calling do you hold now? Beehive advisor, so FUN!
13. Who out of your friends do you get spiritually lifted from? I think at one time or another they all have uplifted me, that is why I LOVE my friends...Marcy and Ashley can always make me smile even when I've had a lousy day.
14. Personally what do you need to work on with the church? Getting there on time! haha
15. Were you married/sealed in a temple... if so, which one? Yes. Salt Lake City
16. Do you have a favorite temple? I LOVE them all...of course, who wouldn't....but I was amazed with how beautiful the San Diego temple was...and I really love all the history and stories associated with the Manti temple

Copy & paste & fill in your own answers!

2 1/2

It has often been stated that Parker is the trial in my life. At 2 1/2 he thinks he can do everything his big brother can do. When people ask him how old he is he always says he is 5 just like Dallin. He loves to push my buttons and will do things deliberately just to get me all riled up. For instance, my visiting teachers came over the other day and I told the boys to stay upstairs and watch Sesame Street while the nice ladies came to visit me. I told them to stay on my bed and not to get into my bathroom. Halfway through the lesson, Parker comes downstairs naked...covered in toothpaste from head to toe. He is very sneaky and smart. I wouldn't let him play outside in the front yard today so while I am busy guarding the front door he goes out into the garage, opens the car, pushes the garage door opener and proceeds to head on over to the park. He runs off at grocery stores and especially the mall. If I say I am leaving without him he just stays put....he couldn't care less. Trust me, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Despite getting a lot of his mom's stubbornness, I sure love him a lot. He can be VERY sweet and loving. As I put him to bed tonight I said, "You better get to sleep so you can keep growing big and strong!" His reply was, "I don't want to grow up big and strong. I want to stay little so I can stay with you forever." When kids say things like that....it is VERY easy to forget all of the trying events from the day.
Ironically I found this cute poem over at my mom's house today. It is about 2 1/2 year olds.
Hold him a little longer
Rock him a little more
Tell him another story
(You've already told him four)
Let him sleep on your shoulder
Rejoice in his happy smile
He is only two and a half
For such a little while

-Author Unknown

So true!

Buckle Up!

Today I decided I'd better get my Christmas shopping done for my brother who is serving his mission down in Mexico. You never know how long it's going to take for a package to arrive and I want to make sure it gets there on time! My mom and I planned on meeting over at Seagull Book at about 2:30. As I am driving down Eagle I turn around and see that BOTH Dallin and Parker are not in their seat belts. Eagle Road is busy and fast and there was nowhere to pull over. I asked nicely about 5 times and after continually being ignored, I desperately decide to use a scare tactic. "If you boys don't get in your seat belts a policeman could take mommy away for a VERY long time because YOU BOTH are disobeying the law!" They continue to ignore me until we pull into the parking lot. Right as we pull in a COP just so happens to pull into the parking spot beside us! He is headed over to the motorcycle store right next to Seagull. The boys both start crying hysterically and they both put their seat belts on IMMEDIATELY. Perfect timing.

New Family Pictures

New family pics are back! Here are a couple of them:

Happy Halloween!

Here are pictures from Halloween night! We started at the Cooke's for a Halloween Party and then headed over to the "trunk or treat" at the ward. We wanted to go door to door afterwards but Dallin and Parker wanted to go to bed. (Strange I know.) It was a fun night!

Projects and more projects

We've been busy around here lately! Here's a recap of what we've been up to.
Last week, Dad and Nate finished putting up our new fence. Now we have an ENCLOSED and SAFE area for the boys to play. If you ever saw our backyard at our old house you will know how excited I am about this! It has helped out a lot with the puppy as well. Thanks for all your help again dad! We couldn't have done it without you!

I also painted my very first wall yesterday. I almost started tearing up as I was doing it. During all these years of renting Nate and I have always said, "Won't it be nice to paint a wall whatever color we want to one day?" The boys were all asleep and Nate was at work until really late so it was totally quiet in the house and as I painted the wall I felt overwhelmed with gratitude and thanks for all that we have been blessed with.


I have also been busy with my new found hobby...knitting baby hats. It is SO easy and fun and pretty much mindless. I have decided I am going to earn my YW recognition award along with my beehives. Hopefully if I do it along side them, I can encourage them to earn theirs. I really want the new pendant too...it's WAY better looking then the old gold one! Anyway, I am making the hats for one of my projects.


We also had lots of fun on Saturday going up to Horseshoe Bend and hopping on the Pumpkin Liner Express. The boys loved going on the train and picking a pumpkin. It was cold but we had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle J.




Anyway...that is why I haven't blogged in awhile! I can't wait for Halloween tomorrow! It's one of my favorite holidays!

Tis the season for tagging!

1. Best thing you cooked last week? Hmmmm lets see. I did make homemade minestrone soup, rolls, and eclairs because I made dinner for a friend who had hand surgery. I usually don't go all out for dinner because my boys are the PICKIEST eaters on the planet and my husband gets home so late. Usually its more like spaghetti or tacos.

2. If money, time and babysitting were no object, where would you go and with whom? I would go to Hawaii with my hubby. We have both been to Hawaii but not with each other. I would love to just sit on the beach and watch the ocean and do NOTHING for a few days. No diapers, fights to break up, cooking ,cleaning.....ok..this is making me depressed. We're saving to go next summer when Nate turns 30...hopefully it happens!

3. When was the last time you cried? October 14th. I gave my lesson in beehives and fell apart when I started talking about my beehive advisor who passed away while I was a beehive. She and her husband were killed in a car accident and she had 2 little kids who survived the crash. She was such an awesome woman and really impacted my life and I really hope I can do the same thing for the girls in my class.

4.5 things you were doing this month 10 years ago.
Whoa. This month?? That's getting pretty specific for 10 years ago!! Hmmmmm.
1. I was a sophomore cheerleader at Boise High School.
2. I was driving my sweet 1979 silver Mercedes 300D. I got in a car accident and totaled the car. I was so devastated about it and I thought I would never drive again. A few months later we went out to dinner as a family and I saw this car in the parking lot that looked just like my old car. My brother was like, "Gee...that sure looks like your old car Stac." I just ignored him because I was still sensitive about the whole situation. As we left the restaurant my dad was like, "You know...that really does look like your car." I went over and looked in the window. It WAS my car. My dad continued..."Some idiot must have payed a ton of money to fix that thing." I ran off sobbing. Then my dad comes up behind me and hands me my keys. He says, "We all make mistakes but this was an expensive one so don't do it again!." I was ecstatic.
3. I was in 0 hour seminary. I don't know how I survived getting up that early every day.
4. I volunteered at the Women's Fitness Celebration. Kali, Tiff and I were assigned to be security. What a joke! Here we are these 3 scrawny little cheerleaders with these orange vests...pretending to be security personnel. It was hilarious.
5. I was a candy striping over at St. Luke's.

5 things on your to do list today
1. Finish up dinner. I am making apricot chicken with rice for a neighbor who just had a baby.
2. Fold the laundry. That's on my list of things to do EVERY day.
3. Make sure the boys don't kill each other.
4. Buy tickets for the pumpkin picking train ride for Saturday.
5. Play outside with the boys. Its a perfect 70 degrees out and sunny today! I LOVE this weather!

6. 6 favorite snacks
1. Cheese and crackers
2. Spinach Artichoke Heart Dip with chips.
3. Chips and salsa from Andrades
4. Apples and oranges
5. popcorn
6. chocolate covered raisins

7. 5 bad habits
1. Biting my finger nails. I think my New Years resolution will be to stop once and for all.
2. I buy things because they are a good deal...not because I necessarily need them.
3. I say stupid things all the time. I will say something without really thinking about it and then later I will realize how dumb I probably sounded.
4. I have to go somewhere every day. Even if its only over to the gas station to get the boys a tootsie roll. I can't stand to be cooped up all day long.
5. I never put my keys back in the same place so I always end up having a big search party every time I need to go somewhere.

8. 5 favorite foods:
1. Anything from California Pizza Kitchen.
2. Chicken burrito from Andrades
3. Crab legs from Joe's Crab Shack
4. In N Out
5. Cafe Rio

9.5 places I've been:
1. Seattle, WA
2. Washington D.C.
3. Lake Powell
4. New York, New York
5. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

10. 6 favorite memories
So many to choose from
1. May 9, 2001...Salt Lake Temple. Our wedding day.
2. September 21, 2002. The day I became a mom.
3. December 16, 2004. The day Dallin became a big brother.
4. May 1, 2007. The day I ran out of arms.
5. Law School Graduation day.
6. August 17, 2007. The day we took the boys over to their OWN home!

I am tagging Nat (welcome to the world of blogging), Ashotrasho, Kelsey, and Erin.

Tilly the Rooster

Couldn't resist posting a pic of Tilly in her Halloween costume! She doesn't seem to be all that crazy about it. hehe

Puppy Love

I love our new dog. I hate our new dog. She is so sweet with the boys and helps keep them occupied during the day. She has the occasional accident in the house but is getting better. She doesn't bark at night but she starts barking every morning at 6:30 on the dot. This can be a good thing in case Nate doesn't hear his alarm clock, but it is very annoying to a certain someone who doesn't like getting up before 7:30. My main concern about the dog is the fact that Dallin plays especially rough with her. I have to watch her like a hawk because I always worry something is going to happen to her if I leave the room. I've even caught Dallin throwing the poor thing in the air. I was discussing the problem with a friend and we decided that having HER tell Dallin about how we treat animals might be a good idea. We went over to her house a couple of days ago and we sat in a circle. (She has 2 little girls.) We each held a stuffed animal dog and demonstrated the correct ways to hold a puppy and the things you do not do. After going through the appropriate ways to handle the dog we all promised we would be gentile with all animals and we each made a dog collar with our names on them. He has been better since then.
Anyway....any other ideas on how to teach kids how to treat animals? I'd love to hear it!

Naughty Day

Today wasn't a Monday. Instead of Monday, think I will refer to it as "naughty day." You see, many naughty things took place today. First off, Dallin and Parker took my camera and took some pictures of themselves. They took about 100 pictures before I caught them...here are a couple that they took of themselves. (they took some pretty cute ones actually) This wasn't too bad but its only the beginning of the day!
The next naughty thing that happened was while we were at Fred Meyer we walked through the Halloween Department and then through the Christmas Department to get over towards the toys. As we walk by the Christmas tree display Dallin exclaims, "What the hell? Christmas stuff already?" I burst out laughing because I couldn't believe my ears! I have NO IDEA where he heard this phrase. He knew he was in trouble as soon as I turned around. We had a serious discussion about it on the ride home.
Later on, I was upstairs doing some laundry and Parker and Dallin snuck outside and took off their clothes, (all of them mind you) then they turned on the hose and proceeded to run through the sprinklers. It was a nice day today...but still..it was only 75 degrees out. Then they went over and started throwing dirt on each other. The workers who were building the house next door had a good laugh while I was screaming at them to get inside.
Next on the list....our puppy Tilly. She is the cutest thing ever but she is naughty. She contiunes to poop on my new carpet and as I was about to explode I quickly reminded myself that she IS still a puppy and she still has lots to learn. Anyway...just another crazy, funny, frustrating, stressful day in the Starnes Family!

Hilarious!

A guy from Nate's work sent this to him. It is SO cute!!! Check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uISuvTiTYJA

My first tag

A~Attached or Single: Attached...definitely attached.
B~Best Friend: Obviously Nate! My best girl friend though would be my Ash-o-trasho. That's what I called her when we were little!
C~Cake or Pie: Can't I have both? Pleeeease?
Day of Choice: Friday...I love knowing I have the whole weekend spend with Nate and the boys.
E~Essential Item: wipes...I guess this is the state of my life right now!
F~Favorite Color: yellow
G~Gummi Bears or Worms: Gummi worms....especially the red and clear ones.
H~Hometown: good old Boise, Idaho
I~Indulgences: ice cream, shopping and bubble baths
J~January or July: July all the way! 4th of July is my favorite holiday (behind Christmas of course!)
K~Kids: Dallin, Parker and Landon
L~Life is Incomplete Without: Family and Friends
M~Marriage Date: May 9, 2001
N~Number of Siblings: 2 brothers and 1 sister
O~Oranges or Apples: apples.....I love going apple picking and making cobbler and pie in the fall.
P~Phobias or Fears: Something bad happening to someone I love.
Q~Quotes: "Keeping a house clean while children are growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing!"
R~Reason to Smile: We're not in school anymore and we are not renting anymore!! Hooray!
S~Season: I love that I live in a place where we experience all 4 seasons....there is something to love about each of them. I do wish winter was a little shorter though!
T~Tag Three: Jami, Stephanie, Lindsay
U~Unknown Fact: I have been water skiing on New Years Day.
W~Worst Habit: I talk too much and don't listen enough.
X~X-Rays or Ultrasound: I had a couple of x-rays growing up...broke my wrist and ankle. I have had plenty of ultrasounds. I had 2 each for Dallin and Parker. With Landon I had about 8 or so because the Dr. initially thought there was a problem. (a lot of stress for no reason! grrrr)
Y~Your Favorite Food: I love all food...especially when I don't have to cook it!
Z-Zodiac: I am a Cancer

Fall Fun!

We're back! We headed on down to Utah (again) this week! We did lots of fun things and brought 2 new things home with us! (new puppy and new car) We had lots of fun up at the cabin watching Conference with everybody. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures while we were at the cabin but we were all busy wrangling 6 children and 3 dogs! It was madness!

We did find time to meet up with our old friends from the newlywed days. It was fun having dinner and catching up with them. Megan and I were both pregnant together with Dallin and Savannah...look how big they are now!

We went to Wheeler Farm....a definite blast from the past. Nate and I went there on one of our very first dates. The boys had a great time seeing the animals and riding on the tractors. We also went over to Thanksgiving Point and saw the animals there and rode the ponies with Ashley and her kids.

I LOVE the fall! It has to be my favorite season. Its so much fun doing all of the fun family acitivities during this time of year. I love going pumpkin picking, going on hayrides, eating soups and homemade bread, and decorating my house for trick or treaters. I love helping the boys pick out their costumes and decorating sugar cookies so we can go out and "boo" someone!
I am glad we made the last minute decision to head down to Utah. The mountains were just beautiful this time of year and it was fun to see family again....even though it was a short trip!
As for "Tilly" our new puppy. I am hanging in there. Let's just say....we are all adjusting and taking it a day at a time.