YES IT'S LINDSEY'S TURN...PLEASE APPLAUD I DID IT!

Tate's Birthday Party was last Friday and he had a blast! We had Mom, Dad, Kels, Nate, Deb, Larry, Kim, Cassidy, Courtney, Carter, Tyler, Sara, Landon, Cohen, Travis, Monica, Grandma/Grandpa Jones, Rod, Amy, Kaden, Jaren, Tyson, Talon, Diane, Jimmy, and Bentley. Yes, quite a party! We had grilled chicken, watermelon, plenty of sides, and of course cake and ice cream! I made a bean bag toss, a cake walk, and had chalk for coloring in the driveway! When it was time to open presents...let's just say that Tate should just get one present because that's all he has attention for! He was so excited to open it and wanted to play with it right away that when I forced another present on him to open he got REALLY frustrated! Well, note to self: open one present a day next year :)

As you can tell Stu's family was starting to get into town and they all finally got in by that Sunday. We all went to St. Anthony and stayed at a cabin there. Good memories were made but I learned a few lessons on the way....

We all get frustrated with each other and that will just happen but the way we handle it is vital! We can not let frustrations brew inside. We must communicate with each other and discuss our feelings so that we can forgive and forget. We must remember how Christ would want us to act and react in any situation we find ourselves in.

It's good to give ourselves a time out and think what we might say before we say something that we might regret later. It might even be beneficial to have an emergency response answer when we are feeling angry or irrational. EX: Can we talk about this later after I think things through more clearly? Then you most likely won't be kicking yourself for words you may say that you did not truly mean.

Talking behind other people's backs in a negative way is not Christlike. If we have an issue with a specific person please go to that person. It's not beneficial to talk to everyone else instead of directly speaking to the person that you have an issue with. This causes feelings to be hurt and a barrier will be made that will take time to break down. Stu is a great example of not doing this! Whenever a sibling of his talks to me about another sibling I of course want to tell Stu what I heard. He will cut me off and tell me he would rather not know the gossip that is being spread around. We must stand up and not take part of this hurtful process. No good comes out of it! Stay close to the Lord and he will direct thy path.

I love you all and I truly want us to be strong as a family! Don't let Satan in! He will find his way through any crack and get in and destroy! We must make sure we are protected at all times!

-Linds