New Blog

I really haven't tried to abandon this blog all together. In fact often times, I want to sit down and make a post but time seems to run away from me. I have however started a blog recently to go back and re-live the weight loss journey I've been on recently. I'm doing this mostly for myself but also maybe to benefit others too. I'm not keeping that blog and thinking this one is no longer important. Not at all. In fact, my hope is to do both soon. The one I'm doing on my weight loss journey is a part of the healing process I'm going through in learning to love my new body. I hope you enjoy! You can find me at www.joyjourneypaige.blogspot.com

Sunday Dinner - X 20!

We decided with the new year, Steve's family would get together the third Sunday of every month for dinner. Still, with three of the six kids living in the Boise area, when it's your turn to host, it makes for a group of 20!

I guess you could stay Steve and I kinda headed this one up so we offered to have January's dinner at our house. The idea is that the family that is hosting the dinner will provide the main dish and then everyone else brings a side or dessert to go along with what is being served. Still, cooking chicken divan for 20 people instead of my usual four was quite the experience. ( I've never used a whole bag of chicken on one meal!) Needless to say, It's a favorite so everyone was happy there was plenty to go around.

The teenage girls always seem to find a spot at any family gathering to chat and catch up. Five girls and four different schools makes for never a dull moment!

These boys love to be together and this girl is quite the Daddy's girl. Loves to hang with her Dad any chance she gets. (I love it!)

I happened to have my camera in my pocket and heard my little niece mimicking the prayer that was being said prior to dinner. I couldn't help but take a picture as it was such a precious site.

At the close of the evening, a short message was shared. Steve talked about taking the time to really get to know God. To find ways to magnify who He wants us to become and then become it! It was very inspiring and I know others including myself were uplifted and left with sense of taking on his challenge.

It's already been a day and we're looking forward to the time we can gather again next month and do it all over again. (I'm especially grateful It won't be my turn to cook chicken for an army for a few months.) We are truly blessed to have as much family as we do that live close enough that we can share a special Sunday evening like this once a month. It'll be a nice addition to 2011!

Joy in the Journey

I can't say I believe in the saying; " New Years resolutions". Maybe it's a personal thing I have with that phrase and the idea of people making lengthy lists of the things they are going to change or attempt to change in the coming year. I admit, I've made lists like these myself in the past only to find myself unmotivated or in the end, the task was never completed.

Over the past several years, I've taken a little different approach at things when I see January coming near. I tend to do a lot more reflecting on myself as a person, my relationship with God, the role I play in my family, and who God wants me to be. I then usually come up with some specific things to focus on and make more a priority per say. But for some reason, it's now a week into January and I still can't seem to pinpoint any specifics for myself that are maybe different than years past that I want to seek and do. My thoughts have been almost on overload with ideas and things I want to study. So much that It seems overwhelming.

Sometime before Christmas and New Years, Blake had mentioned to me a few of the things he was wanting to accomplish in the coming year. I thought his ideas were great and I appreciated him sharing them with me. It wasn't until I went to put some clothes away in his room yesterday, that I found the following taped to his wall just above his bed.

I could tell that he had truly given his list some thought. I loved how his number one thing was to grow closer to his Heavenly Father. Shouldn't that be our number one priority as well? I also loved that his list was so attainable yet very simple. His whole list was centered around things of God. ( even down to the saving $ 200.00 buckaroos!) I love it! I realized in that moment, that it's by doing the "basics" the Lord has asked us to do, is when we truly find joy in the journey. The ancient Roman philosopher Horace admonished, “Whatever hour God has blessed you with, take it with grateful hand, nor postpone your joys from year to year, so that in whatever place you have been, you may say that you have lived happily.”

Let us relish life as we live it, and each find joy in our journey. I'm so grateful for the simple innocent heart of a child that is there to remind me to keep things in perspective. Thanks for sharing your list Blake!

New Year - Fresh blogging start?

It's really sad when your children remind you often about the fact that you have a blog and they've missed logging on a reading anything posted by their Mother for quite some time. I'm embarrassed to say I only posted once in 2010. In January, no less. I can't say I'm here fix that completely or that I will be as diligent as I was when I first began blogging a few years ago, but I am here to say...I'm going to TRY and be better about getting my thoughts as well as family happenings down on paper so we'll hopefully have something to print off and put into a book the end of 2011.

McKenna Meets Laurie Roberts!

(Have I really not posted since July? Yikes! I'm really going to try to be better about keeping up on things in 2010!)

My best friends cousin happens to be a Christian music artist. We've been blessed to have a copy of her CD's and listen to them quite often. McKenna especially loves to listen to her music ANY chance she can. Don't get me wrong, we enjoy the music as well, but McKenna LOVES to listen to it ALL the time! In fact she has several of her songs memorized.

Last summer while on a trip home to Seattle, McKenna was asked who Laurie Roberts was while sitting at Ivar's Fish Bar on the waterfront downtown. (she was wearing her"sacred" as she calls it... Laurie Roberts t-shirt.) She even offered to sing a demo of her music to the lady and her 2 kids. It's obvious McKenna is a true fan!

McKenna and Laurie have been "pen pals" as McKenna calls it, for quite some time. ( Might I mention, I think they live a total of 10 miles from each other:)

McKenna's #1 item on her Birthday and Christmas list this year was get Laurie Roberts tickets with backstage passes! ( I love it!)

Needless to say, over Christmas break we surprised McKenna on a Sunday evening when we announced to her that we'd be going to a Christmas program at my friends church where she and Laurie would be involved in singing a variety of Christmas songs. McKenna FREAKED out to say the least. Then she went into a mode of being a bit nervous, then anxious, yet couldn't quite wait. She kept telling me " I can't believe I'm going to meet Laurie. Tonight! FINALLY!"

The night was perfect. It was a wonderful program and McKenna claims Laurie is everything she expected and more. I'm grateful that Laurie has influenced my sweet McKenna and blessed her little life with her music. I've always known music is a powerful thing and when it touches you like Laurie's music has touched my McKenna, it's something that leaves an imprint on your heart forever.

There is something special I love about this picture of McKenna on the Oregon Coast last summer wearing her Laurie Roberts t-shirt.

Seattle - July 2009

I've had many phone calls and emails in regards to my lack of blog post's over the past 4 months. I love the idea of blogging, so that I can print what I've posted each year and put it in a book. Kind of like family journaling. Anyway, I guess I just didn't realize how many of you were faithful readers. So for you, I'm back at it and maybe you'll inspire me to keep up better. :)
Last week the kids and I made a trip up to Seattle to see old friends. The main reason for the trip was to get together with my old "youth group" from church when I was younger. It was sooo fun and such a treat to see old friends I haven't seen in years. We had a gathering at a park one afternoon with our kids, then a dinner that evening. Ahhhh.... what great memories.


This is a picture of part of the group of us girl's. (I don't have a picture of the whole group :()

Aimee & I

One afternoon while we were there, we went to Seattle to do the waterfront. This is one of my kid's favorites. We started out at Pike's Place Market.

The kids always love to go watch the throwing of the fish! This time they even got their picture's taken. ( McKenna was a little grossed out, but a trooper. )

Next we headed down to Ivar's on the water. This is my favorite stop!

The kids LOVE to order french fries and could literally spend hours playing with and feeding the seagulls. It was defiantly fun to watch.

The rest of the week was spent with friends and family playing, going to the lake, hanging out at the pool, and just catching up on life. Good times!

McKenna & my cousin Lauren. We stayed with my Aunt & Uncle. The kids just LoVe being there as do I. McKenna especially enjoys hanging out with Lauren. Shes off to college next year. Willamette University.

The Kids and I sure missed Steve but had great week! It was good to get away from things and enjoy a taste of summer. I'm so blessed to have the kiddo's I do. They're so good to me.

France & Italy - March 2009

What a Week!

We had quite the week last week with Blake's mishaps and accomplishments. The week started out with Blake spending the night in the hospital due to asthma complications that arose during the week. I have to admit it was the first time in a LONG time Blake has had any issues with his asthma. The shot therapy has been going great and his body seems to responding well, for the most part. You're never really "out of the woods" with any type of therapy, it's just a preventative and will help with the severity of things when an attack does occur. I'm so thankful for Blake's treatments, and know that if they hadn't been in place, our stay at the hospital that night might have been a lot longer.

Then, Tuesday morning I dropped Blake off at school. All was well and he was excited and ready for a new day. When I arrived at the school a few hours later, Blake had tripped outside and crashed his head into the cement. OUCH! He's response when he saw me was, "Don't worry mom, I just had a bit of an accident." " It doesn't even hurt!" I couldn't believe it. It was like one thing after another. As the week went on it continued to get black and blue and the scabbing was rather unattractive, but I'm happy to report it's looking much better this week.

The day after his "head crash", was Blake's school Music program. The kids had worked so hard and it was a great program to watch.

This is Blake with his teacher, Miss Kirkland after the music program. She's GREAT and Blake has really been enjoying her classroom this year. Not to mention, the kids LOVE Her!

This is a clip of one of the songs they sang. Blake really likes this one! (So did the boy standing behind him in red.) You'll have to of course mute the music on the side bar to hear.

We then finished off the week Thursday with the Blue & Gold Banquet. Blake earned is Wolf badge and is excited to move on in scouting. We're so proud of him and all the hard work he put in to earn his Wolf. Way to go Blake!

I'm happy to report we are nearing the end of the next week and things are going well. Our week has felt rather normal. Busy of course, but nothing out of the norm. No crazy crashing heads stories to report, along with unexpected trips to the hospital. Here's to many more week's like this one! :)

Meet our "Dancing Queen"

Saturday was the beginning of clogging competition season and McKenna's team took the stage in one of their dances dressed right from the 80's! Hair and all. It was a sight to see. Too fun! The crowd LOVED the dance and the girls loved shaking around those big wigs as they moved their feet to the song, Dancing Queen, by: Abba

McKenna with some of her teammates just prior to heading backstage.

McKenna with 2 of her teammates, Jordin & Reegan in the bathroom after removing their wigs. ( 50 bobby pins later mind you!)

Kenna's Friend Jenna, dressed like a NERD for her dance!

McKenna & Lauren hangin' out, watching clogging.

It was a great day and a great way to start the season! Go Idaho Rhythm!

This is a clip of Mckenna's solo. ( you'll have to mute the music on the side bar to hear it) Also, when I uploaded it to blogger it cut off her feet part of the time ( kind of an important element when your clogging.) You can still get the idea and I will maybe try to upload it to my facebook and see if that is any better.

Born a Reader!

Blake has LOVED books since the day he was born. I often tell him he acquired that love while still in the womb as I have a passion for reading a good book, not to mention the countless hours spent reading great books to McKenna before Blake was born. As an infant Blake was content to sit for long periods of time listening to me read and as he got a bit older he would spend hours looking at books and making up his own story as he went along. I remember in Kindergarten, Blake was trying to make the sounds he knew best that went along with whatever story he was reading. It was often cute to listen to what one might think was a foreign language.
When Blake started first grade he was really ready and eager to learn to read. By this time he had mastered most books in the house that contained any 3 letter words. He sometimes would hunt for the 3 letter words in books and read them...soon to find out, nothing was making sense because he was skipping all the words in between.
Then came first grade. Blake had the most AMAZING first grade teacher! Blake found out within the first few days of school that not only was his teacher a huge Nike fan, but a huge reader. Need I say anymore. From then on, he was hooked and to this day she is one of the most important people in Blake's life. He often brings up times he can remember, and how Miss McMorrow taught him how to read and what a good reader does and what strategies they use. It's too cute!
With all this, Miss McMorrow has become a family favorite and we cherish the friendships we have formed. Over Christmas break, she came over and gave the book "The Tale of Despereaux" to Blake for Christmas. I later informed Blake that after he had read the book, I would take him to see the movie as it was playing in the theatre. He was excited about the idea as he had never read a book and then been to the movie.

When it came time to head to the show, he couldn't go without taking Miss McMorrow. He said, " Can I invite Miss Mcmorrow? after all, she did give me the book for Christmas." So he made the arrangements and called her for the invite, along with getting her a treat. We had a great time. Blake loved the movie, but claims he still likes the book a "twitch" better. He told me on the way home, that in the book they describe the characters a lot better and don't leave out all the important details. I told him unfortunately thats how it usually goes when you head to the theatre after reading a book.

We hit Carl's Jr. following the movie so Blake could get his favorite. The Bacon-A-tor! he loved every bite of that huge greasy Hamburger with bacon and onion rings on it.
We had a great day and I'm so lucky to have kids that enjoy reading and using their imaginations. Thanks for the special day Mr. B.

Recap - 2008

OK...per request, since I didn't send out a detailed letter with my Christmas cards, a few of you are wanting to know what life is currently like here in the Morrill household...

Steve - Or sometimes referred to as Steve "O" or Daddy "O", continues to work downtown Boise at St. Luke's Hospital in Radiology. He has worked there over 4 years and LOVES it! He comments often on what a good feeling it is to know your helping someone in need. He primarily works in the ER, so he sees just about everything on a daily basis. (this of course can be good and bad)

He continues to have a passion for rebuilding cars and tinkering in the garage. This is a hobby of his that started as a young boy in the garage working side by side with his dad. ( it is kinda nice to never half to take the car to the shop)

Steve was recently released from serving as the Elders Quorum President in our ward and although he thoroughly enjoyed the blessings of his church calling, he's now enjoying a bit more free time.

In his spare time, Steve enjoys to cycle. He is hoping to ride the STP ( Seattle to Portland) this summer and is looking forward to that with much anticipation and preparation.

Coaching soccer in the fall/spring has also been something he has enjoyed doing the past several years.
What more can I say, Steve is truly the BEST Dad & a GREAT husband. :)


OK....onto what keeps Paige busy. All I can say is, I LOVE being home with my kids! Even if it means full time taxi driver, maid and everything in between.
I thought when our ward at church split 2 years ago and I was released as Primary President and was put in a new ward where no one new us, I would be "safe" for a while as far as a calling that requires a lot of time commitment. I guess it was wishful thinking on my part, as I was soon put in the Stake Young Woman's Presidency. At first to be honest, I was a bit intimidated by my new responsibilities or a better word might be, I was FREAKING OUT about the idea. It grew on me little by little and now I can say I'm truly enjoying my church calling. It keeps me very busy and the ladies I work with are the BEST!

I continue to enjoy reading in my spare time. One of my favorites this past year was.....YES, I know, the Twilight series. Who would have ever thought a book about vampires would be so catchy.

Scrap booking or something of the sorts continues to be on my list of things to do. When I do get the time to sit down and play with pictures and turn memories into keepsakes it is so rewarding. Not to mention FUN!

I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful family. I count my blessings everyday and am so grateful to be a mother, daughter, wife, aunt and all the blessings that come along with it. Life is Good.

Miss McKenna (11) - As noted in the side bar, so FUN and full of Adventure. This truly is McKenna. Little miss social and loves to be adventurous and try new things. There never seems to be a dull moment when McKenna's around. :)

She continues to play the piano and enjoys playing church hymns and song she knows. She played a piece for the Primary program at church in October. We were so proud of her. She did a great job. It was a tough piece and she really had to work at it. ( not to mention, she was VERY nervous)

ClOgGiNg is of course at the top of her list. She absolutely loves to clog. She is enjoying the challenge of a new team this year and is anxious to head to competitions here starting next month.

In her free time, McKenna enjoys clogging ,clogging, and more clogging. No, just kidding. She also has enjoyed having email and emailing her cousins on a sometimes daily basis. it's pretty cute. She also loves to write stories and play games. ( Scrabble is her favorite!)

Blake (8) - Or often times known around the house as Mr. "B". He is our SWEET deep thinker. He has such a tender personality and is just a GREAT kid! Blake turned 8 and was baptized the end of March. It was truly a special day for Blake.

Blake continues with his treatments for allergies and he has mastered the "shot process" and getting poked on a weekly basis. He's such a trooper!

Blake started piano lessons this year and is really blossoming and enjoying learning to play.

Cub Scouts keeps us busy and its fun to see the excitement in Blake as he focuses on completing goals and learning new skills.

Blake enjoys soccer in the fall/spring. He started Basketball this week and will have a chance to try it out for the next 5 weeks. he's excited.
In his spare time, Blake enjoys, reading, drawing, building with Lego's and playing "Star Wars" outside with his friends.


We continue to enjoy living in Idaho and are so blessed to have both our families nearby. Like I stated earlier......"Life is Good"

Christmas Break

It's hard to believe our 2 weeks of playing and sleeping in have come to an end. Tomorrow it's back to reality with early mornings, and our regular routine under way. I love the breaks during the year as well as summer, but always look forward to getting back into a routine. We enjoyed the holiday season with family, fun, and snow, snow, snow!

Christmas morning

The Wii has become a family favorite. LOVE IT!

We spent Christmas Eve out at my parents house with my brother and his family.

It wouldn't be a family gathering without Grandpa harassing the kiddos.

We spent Christmas afternoon with Steve's family at his sister's house.

McKenna & Chey

Miss Leah and her mommy

Tired Alicia

Snow time!

The kids played outside for hours....

And hours!

Frosting Christmas cookies

New Years Eve!

A night in Hollywood......We had a BLAST!

And of course, plenty of food to go around

Happy New Year!