DARIN and HAYLEE GUNNERSON

Saturday, January 17, 2015

The Orange Chair & Power Tender Mercies

THE ORANGE CHAIR

Many people know that I LOVE parties! And I LOVE the details in a party. I do realize that the details are probably more for me than Lindsay because she is so easily pleased.

After Lindsay decided on “rainbow gumball” theme (ha ha), I had an idea that it would be cute to have little chairs for each kid in the colors of the rainbow. I only had 1 red chair, but my mom just happened to have yellow, green, blue, and purple. That meant I only needed 1 orange chair. I called about 6 stores—and they didn’t have ANY (let alone orange). I posted a want ad for ANY color and thought I could just spray paint it. Again, nothing.

Then, 2 days before the party, and still no chair, I said a little prayer telling Heavenly Father that I knew it shouldn’t be a big deal, but it was something that was important to me and to please help me find an orange chair.

That night at Relief Society, I was visiting with 3 friends and I had a feeling to ask if by any chance they had a red chair I could borrow (I had the thought that if someone had a red chair, I could paint my red chair orange). My friend Camie said, “I don’t have a red chair, but I have one that I spray painted orange.”

I know that this story may not seem like a big deal, but it was just a little blessing to me to know that Heavenly Father was listening to my prayer and that he loves me.

THE POWER OUTAGE

The day before Lindsay’s party, I had a bunch of unexpected things come up that took away from me working on Lindsay’s party. I started doing the prep work around 9:00 at night—which is normally my bed time. At 11:30, I was so tired I decided to go to bed, then wake up early the next day. As I got in bed, I had a strong feeling that I needed to go finish. So, I got up, made cupcakes, frosting, a cake, jello, and charged the battery to the camera.

The next morning when I woke up, the power was OUT! And it didn’t come back on until an hour before the party! I felt so blessed that I had had that prompting to finish because if I hadn’t, nothing would have been done in time for the party! I’m so thankful for a Heavenly Father that is mindful of me, and the little things that are important to me.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Not on a SUNDAE

For Family Home Evening I told the kids that we were going to make ice-cream Sundaes.
Then I asked if they liked chicken, (yes) but would it be could on a sundae (no)?
Do you like pickles? (yes),But would it be good on a Sundae? (no)
Do you like chocolate? (yes) Would it be good on a Sundae? (yes)

We built our ice-cream Sunday and then I told them how there are a lot of good things we do during the week, but they aren’t good for Sundays (swimming, shopping, etc.) And we talked about keeping the Sabbath day Holy.

I thought the lesson went really well until the end of the lesson, Matt said, “Why can’t we eat chicken and pickles on Sunday?” ha ha Apparently he’s never had a SunDAE before, and he thought I was talking about SunDAY the whole time!

Which kind of explains his confused face in this picture:

Also, funny side story...You'll notice one cherry is missing (from Lindsay's scoop).

When I bought the cherries she said, "Ooo! What are those?"

I said, "Frog hearts!"

She said, "Oh I LOVE frog hearts!"

Then she started eating it happily.

Just before she swallowed, I said, "I am teasing Lindsay, they're not frog hearts, they're cherries."

Then she spit out her cherry and said, "YUCK! I don't like cherries!!"

I got the original idea for this lesson HERE

Friday, January 2, 2015

Sick Little Lindsay

Lindsay has been sick the past few days.
She’s had a nasty cough, been really lethargic, and just not herself.
When I took her in to the doctors, she had croup, just as I had suspected.
She also magically turned the corner while we were at the doctor’s office.

Dancing and talking nonstop.

She enthusiastically told the doctor all about how she got to eat soup in a special bowl, on a special tray, IN HER BED! And told the doctor that her dad brings mom fruit on that special tray for her birthday. And on and on and on.

I guess being sick has a few perks!

Now, we need to make sure she is healthy, so she can go in for her MRI next week.

When I explained to Lindsay a little about the upcoming appointment, she said,

“Woah! I did not see that one coming through the door.”

Funny kid!

Thursday, January 1, 2015

In a Jam

Sometimes when you are cleaning up breakfast, two of your kids will ask you to read a book.

And, even though you’re not finished cleaning, you read the book anyway.

And then, you may get half way through the book and realize your 3^rd child never came in.

Then, when you return to the kitchen, to find said child, you find this:

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Ring in 2015

We had a fun New Year's Eve!

Mom, Dad, Ben, Kristy, and the girls came over for dinner and games!

I set up this little table for the food, and took this picture on Darin's phone.

I went to text it to my mom, and accidentally sent it to a group text with the Bishopric, Elders Quorum, and High Priest group leaders. They texted back and said it looked nice! HA!

It looked even better once the yummy food was there!

Ben and Kristy made pot stickers and ham-fried-rice. Mom and dad did some yummy chicken, and WALNUT SHRIMP from Joy Luck. We did soup, and some awesome dessert that Tom and Judi brought back from Asia.

The kids did some sparklers and poppers--but it was SOOOO cold, so we didn't last too long.

We also set off one of these floating lanterns. Right after we let go, I found out they are illegal. Glad I found out after we set it off, instead of before! ;)