October was a Blur...

So, October was a blur. We took a quick trip to Vernal, Utah for a baby blessing,
 a 3 day trip to Southern Utah for UEA, Charlotte was in her first play,

She didn't want a picture of her costume. As soon as I see the CD from the play I will post more. She was front and center for her dances!

Chillin' on the couch in Mom's glasses!

Six Months!

Michael started the Trombone, Stormond turned 6 months,
I took 2 Chemistry tests, Mike wrote training and modules, we did a little cleaning, and we ate a lot of fast food. I'm sure I missed something, but I am exhausted writing all of that, so I am going to let it go.

Oh, yea, we had a great Halloween. The weather was cool, but not nasty. The kids had a great time and I got a good long walk up the hill, then down the hill, back up the hill, across the hill, then FINALLY all the way down the hill.


 I got the MOST UNIQUE award at the ward chili cook-off. Mike says that is because it is gross, I thought it was good after some modification. It is a vegetarian Pumpkin chili, next time I will double the amount of pumpkin.

Stormond had his first experience in a swing in Roosevelt Utah. He LOVED it!

Kids in Roosevelt

Michael loved his Ghostbuster costume and is planning modifications for next year!

Michael did ten laps at the school fun run!

 Saturday I did 3 triple loads, one maxi load and 2 mega loads at the laundromat. If I could afford to do it all in three hour every week, I could get used to that!

 Found these today when I up loaded photos. Sorry they took so long to find Anna!

5 months old... time flies...

So, sleep is still being had in too small of quantities around here, at least for Mama. Everyone else is getting a little more. As a result this week starts the crack-down, forcing baby to start taking naps. This has been going fairly well, I think he likes the way he feels after a nap. He wakes up smiley and ready to play!

We are also doing some solids now, as long as the fruits & veggies have no texture he seems to love anything. He did react to bananas last week, so we will have to wait a while before we do those again.

In other news Sis got her new jewels last Friday and didn't even blink.

M has joined a lego team. No photos yet, but soon!

Letters to My Kids and Others

I used to write poetry, someday maybe I will start again. Until then I will use the words of others. In this world of non-stop media there are so many negative images daily it can be overwhelming for adults. I cannot even begin to imagine how this is going to impact the current generation. How can we possibly teach our kids what is truly important? I think much will come from our example, but sometimes I think we need to spell it out.

So, this is for my kids. Here are several poignant letters from other people that I second. Never sell yourselves short to keep up with media hype. God has so much in store for each of you! Love, Mom

 http://themattwalshblog.com/2013/08/28/dear-son-dont-let-robin-thicke-be-a-lesson-to-you/

(this one has some profanity in the blog post, but the letter is clean and well stated.)

http://healinghamlet.com/healing-stories/letter-to-my-daughter-after-watching-the-bachelor-2/

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865585423/Dear-daughter-let-Miley-Cyrus-be-a-lesson-to-you.html?pg=all

( you know your parents will follow through on the threats in this one, try us :)

And Finally, for all of the women in my life, be kind to yourself and remember that we are each doing the best we can!

http://www.emilywierenga.com/2013/07/a-letter-to-kate-middleton-on.html

http://living.msn.com/family-parenting/mom-to-mom-blog-post/?post=b1775da5-fef6-4e61-9e8e-51f5a048f5c2

http://growinginashrinkingculture.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/in-defense-of-the-iphone-mom/

http://thegiftofgivinglife.com/blog/

http://www.lifeingraceblog.com/

http://wonderwalther.blogspot.com/

(This is my sister-in-law Marissa's blog. She is an amazingly Provident Woman if you are looking for recipes! Also click on the ads on her blog, it makes her some $)

I know these are mommy related, but even those who are not in the mommy stage,
I love you!
God Loves You!

Be happy where you are in the journey,
and remember who you are!



Last, but not least...Mike is the most amazing man I know! I am thankful everyday for his love, for the way he cherishes me and our kids. Thanks for choosing me for eternity Babe! This song made me feel so many emotions, the strongest of which was greater gratitude for each moment we have together...

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1409956452563446

Life is Crazy!

Have you ever tried going to school with a 4 month old? Yeah, homework and reading already WAY behind. Hoping the 3 day weekend will help me catch-up.

Charlotte needed a current photo for Young Women's this week so we pulled out the camera. She is growing up too fast!

And since the camera was out we decided to take a few of the little monster! (Michael was busy playing with his friends so we will have to catch him another time!)

Four months has flown by...

and even though I wish everyday for a little more sleep,

I would not trade the beautiful smiles I get each day

For all the sleep or money in the world!

Stormond is really pushing to be a big kid,

I think mobility is just around the corner,

he can already move himself around in a circle 

and scoot around on his back.

My sister Lydia sent this beautiful quilt to us last week, 

thanks dad for being the courier!

It is probably the only thing he will ever own with his name on it...

Okay, there may be a few more custom thing eventually,

but no key chains or plates from the store :)

So that is the news, now I am off to do a little homework before he wakes up!

Quick Trip

As our last summer Hurrah the kids and I took an over night trip to see my brother Bruce and his family in the Vernal area. (I don't actually know what his neighborhood qualifies as, Ballard? Uinta County?) Anyway, we had a great time, and the kids came home exhausted after enjoying little cousins for a day.

The drive was amazing, I should have pulled over for some pictures, but all I had was my phone camera. May be next time. I will post the few I took from my phone.

Bath time before we left, Stormond would not sit up, he wanted his head in the water!

Sun rise while I fed the baby, truly beautiful!

Blurry ( I let M take it, he is getting really good with the SLR, but the phone is hard to control)

Feed the kids M&Ms, sorry about the stains Marissa!

Just one of the views I wished I had my good camera for... this is almost back to Heber. Next time I want to stop at Starvation Reservoir!

Last, but not least, the important things:

Stopping at Dairy Keen in Heber for a shake!

Making sure I have everything going for the baby is keeping me from really taking many pictures. Hoping to get back to it soon!

Honestly...I thought this summer would be different!

I started the summer with great intentions, I have been doing better doing the school year at getting up with the kids and moving through the day. So, I mistakenly thought that with a new born I would be able to have some fabulous schedule where we all did amazing activities and learned great new skills. FUNNY!

Turns out our new little guy does not want to sleep 12 hours at night like the other 2 were at this age. He is constantly hungry, so if we get a 6 hour stretch at night it is a blessing. I have started quipping when people ask if he is sleeping through the night that "He has done x, y, or z for the last 3 nights, so we are sure to have a different pattern tonight."

He sure makes up for any lack of sleep with his pleasant disposition and smile. We are constantly finding new ways to make him laugh. Tonight we were fighting over whether he would get his fingers in his mouth or I would get the binky in. Turns out he thought it was a great game, he figured out that laughing let him get his mouth open wide enough to get a finger in around the binky. That made him laugh harder! What fun!

The kids are amazing with him. He follows M's every move, including trying to dance while watching him play "Just Dance 3." C has so much patience, and is totally saving me. I don't know how I will get anything done when she goes back to school. She is always willing to sit and talk to him or hold him while I accomplish a simple task or two.

Anyway, it is too bad I cannot type and upload picture while I nurse! This blog would have extensive entries everyday, but I guess I will just have to enjoy cuddling the precious miracle the Lord has given us instead!

Love to you all! Hope the remainder of your summer is blissful and full of perfection, Lol!

Letters to our kids

Just saw a beautiful letter from a mother to her young daughter. For some reason my phone won't let me paste the link, I will share it on facebook. It was about how the women on the bachelor act, and how it will affect her daughter if she acts that way. We must try harder to help our girls see themselves through a realistic lense, not the media lense. It breaks my heart to see girls with low self-esteem who are amazing and beautiful!