April- Week 1- Kids' Dentist, Mission Reunion,Gen. Conf., Anna Sings ABCs, "Be There," Backyard Concrete

Friday, April 1, the kids had dentist appointments with a new dentist (due to insurance changes).  They absolutely LOVED this new office!  It's pretty much a "dog and pony" show, but that's exactly what kids want, right?!  They each received superhero (Molar Man) capes for knowing a special code word. While there, the kids practiced brushing a stuffed monkey's teeth, followed a checklist throughout the appointment, watched screens on the ceiling showing a movie, and the hygienist's enthusiasm was a little over the top for my liking.  They each had no cavities and got a goodie bag with a sample toothpaste, kid flossers, a super hero trading card, and a new toothbrush.  They also got a balloon and prize from a prize box.  But that's not all...I even got a $5 gift card for tagging their office in an Instagram post.  See? Total Dog and Pony show!  Good times though.  The kids keep asking when we can go back?!?  Success!  

Anna didn't have an official appointment but the dentist was nice enough to look at her front teeth from her fall and said we definitely needed an x-ray.  He said we dodged a bullet!  The x-ray showed no broken roots!  He said the antibiotic she was on for pneumonia was also good to help prevent an abscess from forming on her gums, but we also needed to be doing an antibiotic mouth rinse (swab it over her gums).  

Friday evening we attended a mission reunion for Dan.  My sister babysat the older three and we took Bethany with us.  We went out to dinner beforehand with Scott and Kelli Moulton, who came down from Burley, Idaho.  The reunion was celebrating 40 years of the Canada Winnipeg mission being established.  Here's some who attended the reunion from Dan's mission (July 2001-2003).  

All of the mission presidents in attendance, including President Clove, gave a few words.  His closing message was something he said he spoke of often during the mission.  "If you're only sort of obedient, you only sort of get the blessings." The evening brought back many great memories of his mission and serving with such great people.

Saturday was the start of General Conference.  The kids did great playing conference bingo and mostly listened for the first session.  

In between sessions we stepped outside for some fresh air and Dan's parents and Jake and Ailin and fam were out for a walk.  

Saturday afternoon Dan worked out in the yard.  He's been breaking up concrete so we can add some more grass to our back yard.  

Saturday night Dan was able to attend the Priesthood session of Conference IN the Conference Center with his dad and all but one brother.  We had our traditional soup, salad and donuts afterwards.

Sunday during Conference we worked on a decluttering project we did for the whole month of March.  Every day we collected the number of items that matched the date...1 item on March 1st, 2 items on March 2nd, 3 items on March 3rd... and so on.  During the morning session of Conference we sorted items into 6 groups: clothing, garbage, miscellaneous, toys/books, jewelry/hairbows, and kitchen items.  

It felt so good to get rid of all these things!  Some items were no brainers to get rid of, but some were more difficult to part with.  In the end I was pretty darn proud of myself.  I found the most difficult thing was to find TIME to sort through my house's drawers and cupboards.  Almost 500 items in all! Totally rewarding to dejunk our home like this!

Sunday evening we went to Dan's parents' house for the General Conference recap with the Nelson side of the family.  It's wonderful to hear how conference is always an inspiring and uplifting time for so many.  However, I learned something about myself this time around.  DURING conference, I feel like I don't get as much out of the weekend as I always think I'm going to.  Due to having small children who have many needs and often interrupt watching General Conference, I really need to be patient and use my time wisely to study the talks AFTER conference is over.  I'm grateful for the ability I have to listen to these talks at my convenience when the kids are taken care of.  

Monday evening we had a sweet family home evening.  Ben wanted the lesson to be about resurrection.  I asked Ben to tell us what he knew about resurrection.  He briefly told us about the Easter story then wanted to share his testimony.  I used the moment to remind him what a testimony was and we proceeded to give a very sweet and perfect 5 year old testimony.  No fluff, stories, or extra stuff. McKenna then bore her testimony and even referred to a General Conference talk.  We then watched a quick video about Jesus being risen and the Spirit was strong.  I felt a distinct impression about how strong the rising generation is and will be.  I'm so grateful for their example to me!

Anna singing ABCs

Tuesday I went to Ben's preschool "be there" activity.  They did science experiments and learned a lot about mixing colors.  

McKenna got back her Spring school pictures.  Never mind that she looks so grown up! 

Thursday I took a little walk around the neighborhood with the kids.  Dan had to go to the dentist because he had a tooth crack during lunch a couple days earlier. 

We started finding Bethany sleeping on her side more and more.  I just hate having to wake up this little angel to drive carpool...such is the life of the fourth child I guess.  

Thursday evening, the weather was so nice that we did some yard work.  Dan let me have a go at knocking out the fence posts in the back.  That ax/sledgehammer was so stinkin' heavy I could hardly lift it, let alone swing it. ;) 

Try not to laugh too hard. :)