Advice

Thank you for the advice you are right about controlling the actions of others it seems everyday we find out something new that makes it even worse. I think that will be what I start praying for we can certainly use all the peace we can get at our house. I had to laugh when you mentioned the scheduling and calendar it does get crazy about the only way I can keep it all straight is that we have one of those large desk calendars on the wall and everyone has their own color so when they have something we can write it down and even then sometimes it is CRAZY! It is nice to know of the support we have. We will let you know as things progress with Sean and his schooling at some point I would like to be able to go back too. I am glad for the blessings you recieve you are awesome people and deserve them all. Tell everybody we love them!

Thank You For Sharing

Hey Katina - Thank you for sharing what is going on in your family and no, it didn't sound whiney. It's what's going on and if we don't know what's going on, then we don't know where to help or where to celebrate.

I can only imagine how hard it is having the blended family that you all have. I get a headache just thinking about the calendering and scheduling you guys have to keep. If anything, I pray for your sanity in keeping it all straight.

I'm sorry to hear that Nannette isn't being a very good person. I recently visited with a friend who is also dealing with her own blended family issues. Her two oldest children are from a previous marriage and suffer from medical issues that require certain medications. Her ex-husband has started manipulating their medication even though she has given him the strict guidelines that were stipulated by the children's doctor. It's sad when the one parent thinks they can get back at the other parent by using the children. She was telling me and my visiting teaching companion about how she started praying for justice on him because she was so frustrated with the health danger he is now putting their children in. This was a serious topic and we talked for quite some time about it but her advice to our friend, which is something you might want to think about, is to pray for peace, some type of understanding and strength for herself. We can't control actions the actions of others, we can only control our own. When we pray about us and our response to situations, we will have the Spirit to be with us more and Heavenly Father will hold each of us responsible for our actions.

To Sean, Brent and I so support you both in your decision to go back to school. It has been really good for Brent personally (as well professionally) going back to school. We have seen our financial outlook increase but more importantly, it has freed us to serve more. I know that this is what Heavenly Father wants for us. He helped Brent get this education not only to better our family but to better those around us. We have had numerous doors and opportunities open that we would not have with we continued on the path we were headed when we first moved here to Washington. Don't get me wrong, we are not rolling in the money, we make each and every paycheck work with very little wiggle room but because Heavenly Father has blessed us with a larger income, our focus is less on the bank account and more on serving those around us.

We love you guys and you are in our prayers. I know that Heavenly Father will bless you with peace and you will know how to handle the situation with Nannette. I know that you both are trying very hard to be Christlike with her and Heavenly Father will help your children see that and live by your example. Keep the faith and endure to the end!

Nicole

Sean, Katina & Family

Well, I must apologize I have been bad at posting, but i am making a goal t try to start doing so more often, since I often have time at night since I find it hard to sleep with Sean gone. So from the top Sean is still working at the hospital and he has decided what he would really like to go into is respiratory therapy. This will start with him having to go to a two year program somewhere we are thinking UVU and then he will be able to take the respiratory portion via satallite at Utah valley. We are having a very horrible, terrible no good time with Nanette right now. We are at a loss of what to pray for anymore where that situation is concerned. It has gotten quite ugly as of late and shows no signs of getting better anytime soon in fact we are quite certain it will be getting worse before it ever gets better. We have tried so hard to be Christlike towards her all for naught! It is extremely frustrating!!!! Sean has finally decided that the time has come that he must stop being a nice guy and just leave her no wiggle room the law is the law is the law period no playing nice or allowin her to have extras or try to play like she is the victim when it is really the kids! I support him in this it is hard and takes its toll on our family every other week like clockwork......We try to be nice but sometimes I have to be quite honest I feel like we are dealing with our own personal version of hell personified in the boys Mom. However not all is bad! We have had a secret from the kids since January......we finally told them on the 3rd of May we are going to Disneyland this summer! Sean and I after much prayerful consideration decided that our tax return this year so go to one last bang up vacation. After this summer Tony will be 18 and will be under no obligation to spend any time with us if he chooses not to and unfortunately to our deepest and greatest sadness we feel we are losing him more and more each day that he lives with his Mother. So, we decided that for our last summer before we start losing kids to age and their own lives that we should make it a truly memorable one. So Disneyland came in to view we worked on it we planned we plotted and we made it happen. We will be leaving June 7th and returning June 13th. I was so excited to be able to tell the kids, that when we did, I had tears in my eyes. Because of court and other shinanigans pulled every summer by a certain person we have yet to have a vacation that lasted more than a few days with the kids since being married so we are so excited to finally pull it off! Sean is so excited that we told them at his prodding a full 2 weeks before we had originally planned it was so fun to see him animated like that. I still have my calling as a den leader for the scouts it is getting a bit better but is still very unorganized and frustrating most of the time I am trying to have a better attitude about it and enjoy being in there with Kole. It is fun to be in it with him and to get to plan and help him accomplish the goals. I am still job hunting though. I love being a Mom to all of the kids and seeing how they grow and learn so much. Tony I have mentioned he is not doing any better in school still does not have a driver's license and has changed quite a bit from the Tony we knew when he lived here. we just continue to pray for him and try to help where we can......:-( Billy has truly blossomed this last school year he has become a wonderful young man full of life and happiness. He is so excited to be able to share his upcoming birthday with Bethani his little birthday present as he calls her. Unfortunately a cloud has drifted over him as well since he is being repeatedly pressured from his Mom to say that he wants to go live there since he will be 15 in June. Sean is deeply regreting ever agreeing to this clause now.... hindsight and all. Joey is turning into a teenager in every sense of the word! he has a girl he likes her name is Kiara he has the tips of his hair bleached (sanctioned by Dad hated by Mom) a cell phone (bought by Mom, Dad lied to about it for quite awhile.....) But he is funny and growin so fast he is taller than Jenny now and is shooting for me! AJ is struggling as well he made it back to where he needed to be but was in danger of having to repeat 4th grade for most of the school year. However he found that he loves to sing and was in the school chorus and did really well. He was in the Hope of America choir that sang in the Marriott center to a full audience on May 5th. It was an awesome sight we were so glad he got to be a part of something like that. I am so proud of Kole! He brought home a certificate from school today recognizing him for outstanding performance on the IOWA tests for Grade 3. He scored in the top 10 percent nationally! In Reading, Core total, Mathematics and Total composite. It is signed by his principal, the state superintendent of public instruction and the Utah state board of education. I just thought that was so cool. Kole also was in the Hope of America show he and a small group from his school performed in the pre show they did 2 songs out on the floor on May 6th and did awesome too! Bobby is the funniest little kid I have met in a long time! He is such a goof! He is getting ready to graduate 1st grade and is doing pretty well in school he is all boy though and has more scabs and bruises from falling down.....he rode a skateboard down the hill by our house in flip flops the other day! Nut! He ended up needing 3 bandaids and a serious shower scrubbing after that! Trinity is getting ready to graduate Kindergarten she has grown a lot this year too both physically and educationally. She is also pretty funny and her and Bobby love to play together when they can. She has taken up writing letters to her cousin Lilly that lives in Pennsylvania and they enjoy sending things back and forth she has a harder time with reading but is starting to get that too. Last but not least Bethani she is almost a year old! Where has the time gone.....She finally crawled properly when we were at Jenny's house on Friday little stink. Too many people to haul her around I guess. She makes all kinds of funny faces and jabbers quite a lot now. She says Dad, Mom, Hi, Grandma(as long as grandma isn't in the room), Stubby and we are working on Jenny. She also waves, dances and sings la la la la la la la with Sean she is a music LOVER. I lost my camera after Hope of America part 2 with the memory card in it....grrrrrr and we just got a new one so I will try to post some pictures but I haven't quite figured out the new one all the way yet. I hope this doesn't sound too whiney I felt like Nicole asked and I should tell what was really going on and the things we are really struggling with since telling the sugar coated version wouldn't really help you know what was going on or what to pray for. I do want you all to know that I love being part of the Stoddard family and that we are grateful for everyday we have to enjoy our children who are our greatest blessings and joy despite the trials that come with a blended family. We have never wished that we hadn't gotten married and we can't believe that on June 8th it will have been 3 years since we said I do. We know that Heavenly Father is with us and pray that someday all of this will work out for the best and that we will know how best to lead and guide all of our children to be the best they can be. It seems to be something that will never happen at the moment but we try to keep a good outlook. We have been through a lot together and know that if it doesn't kill us we will find a way through it together and it will make us stronger. I thank you on behaf of all of us for any prayers you send our way. We pray for you too! If there are any questions you still have or something you want more information on just let me know. I will try to post again soon in keeping with my new goal :-P I am sorry about the punctuation or lack there of I am horrible at it. Sean laughs at me! I can type pretty fast, I can spell but I can't punctuate very well at all.....Oh well! Keep smiling! We love all of you and appreciate your love and support.

What is Family?

That is my question to you. What does family mean to you? For me, it's connection. It's knowing who I am and where I belong. I love my family. I wish I heard from them more often so that I can strengthen my bond with them. I some respects I am responsible for hearing from them. Communication is a two way street. When Heather started this blog, I was excited because I saw this as a way for all of us to communicate with each other. Remember, Brent and I are 800+ miles away and picking up the phone isn't always the easiest thing to do. For me, I write better than I speak and the written word flows more easily than those coming from my mouth. Besides that, I can print the words from the screen to read over and over again. I can't do that with a phone call. Please post! I want to know what you're all doing. I want to make my prayers more meaningful rather than praying that your needs are being met. I would love to hear updates on Sean's pursuit to continuing education or seeing more pictures of what the nieces and nephews are up to. I would love to hear how Jenny and Clint are liking their new home and pictures (I didn't get an opportunity to see their new home when we were down in December). Heather, I love your family blog site and I check it often. I feel like you have done a lot to keep everyone connected. You have made efforts to let everyone around you know whats going on with one central location without having to tell the story over and over again. It was especially useful when you were having your heart surgery. We appreciated having that to keep us updated. My hope is that we can be more consistent with our own blog so that you can have updated information too. I haven't been as consistent as Heather but she has certainly set the bar high. Mom and Dad, I hope that you are reading this too. I love you. You are my Mom and Dad as much as my own parents are and in some respects, much more. I want to know what you guys are doing too. I would love to read some insights of how you are seeing things. You are the heads of this family and we can all benefit from your wisdom and guidance and what better place to do it than here. Like I said earlier, we can print it and read it over and over again.

I know it's not easy to stay connected and that it what Satan wants. It is his plan to destroy families and if he has his way, we would be miserable like him. Let's fight this. Let's stay close. We all need it. Our children are going to need it as they grow and become adults too. Let us be the example of what family is.

So, what is family to you?

I love you ALL! I love the Stoddard family. I have always felt good and at peace about my choice to marry Brent. He has been an excellent friend, husband and father and I know it's because of the example of his family. I know he developed his love of the gospel in your home growing up and I want my children to have a love for the gospel in our home but also from their extended family. The family is central in Heavenly Father's plan for a purpose. We are the core. Let us remember this and continue to strengthen ours.

I Love Couponing!

I just wanted to show you all what my newest hobby is. I can't believe I let all these years go by with not doing this. It feels so good being able to use what we have been given in such a way that as we get our storage together, we can than help bless others as well. Check out our blog site for the complete story!

I hope that you are all well. We're doing good and greatly anticipating the end of the school year. Though we have an extremely busy summer ahead of us, we are looking forward to not having a school schedule to deal with. We certainly wished that coming that way this summer were in those plans but with Scouts, Activity Day Girls, Trek and Girl's Camp, we are looking at mid-August before we can actually say we have nothing going on just in time to start preparing for school to start all over again! Oh well. Bring on the fun.

I love you all and hope you are doing well. Have a great week.

Nicole

We finally got away!

We got to go camping for the 1st time this season! (YEA!) We went to a place called Palisades. WOW! It is Awesome! The water was SO beautiful and aqua in color! They had paddle boats, fishing, golfing, ATV trails, full trailer hook ups...the works! It was perfect!

This is Caleb waitin' on the dock for his turn on the paddle boat... LOL

Update

Go see my cute little blog. :)