Hello Again

It's been a while, but I promise we are still here. Here are a few things going on with us....

Elliot still loves school, especially the bus
Evie is officially 3 and as sassy as ever....in fact she's been spending a lot of time in time out for talking back
We took a trip to Florida to visit Magah and Papa
The kids had their first Disney park experience and loved it (I'll post more about this later)
We will be welcoming a new baby to our family in July :)

Hopefully I will get better at this whole blogging thing soon

School!

We officially have a kindergartner :) (as of a week ago...I swear I'll get on the ball one of these days).

PS. Isn't his kissing hand so cute?!

I Can Never Seem to Remember...

"Let's go get Daddy!!", I said in my happiest, most sing-songy tone as I piled my two screaming, cranky, napless children into the car. The joys of being a single car family, right?

As annoying as it it to have to wrangle my kids to the car, when I should be cooking dinner, all because I had one or another appointment to go during the day, I really don't mind driving around with my kids. There's just something about the thought of them being strapped, buckled, and unable to touch each other that puts a little spring in my step.

Plus, it is usually in the car when Elliot and Evie say the funniest things. Or want to have serious, thought provoking discussions (think simple here...they are 5 and 2 after all). Or where I have some kind of epiphany as I relish the tiny snores coming from the back seat after they've both fallen asleep.

This particular Tuesday there wasn't anything particularly funny, or thought provoking. There wasn't an epiphany either. At least not really.

There was a song though. And some tears. Mine, not theirs.

I'm sure most of you have heard the song "You're Gonna Miss This" by Trace Adkins. I've heard it too. But for whatever reason, this time around it took all of 2.8 seconds and a quick glance in the rear view mirror before the flood gates opened.

The screaming, fighting, talking back, and mess making from earlier in the day all suddenly melted away. All I could see then was my cute little Princess and my sweet handsome boy sitting quietly in the back seat.

He's right! Trace Adkins is right! I AM going to miss this. I AM going to want this back. And you better believe I'm going to wish these days hadn't gone by so fast.

So why can I never seem to remember that? When I get out of my ten minute shower to find every book we own on the floor, my two year old screaming because she's somehow been locked in her bedroom and my five year old painting with red finger nail polish on the bathroom counter why do I feel the sudden urge to rip every hair out of my head. Or to at least curl up in the fetal position, suck my thumb, and cry for my mommy. Where the heck is Trace? Shouldn't he be there warning me of the emptiness I'll feel when my kids are grown with families of their own?

I wonder if I could hire him to follow me around and sing that song all day. Doubt it. Not for what I could afford.

Besides, I bet my kids' antics just might make him want to curl up in the fetal position too.

Chistmas Time!!

This year I decided we needed a little help to really get into the holiday spirit. Luckily I know a great group of ladies from an online forum (my dad calls them my imaginary friends...nice huh?) who have amazing ideas. They've been talking about advent calendars.

You know, there are those ones you can buy at the store that have a piece of chocolate counting down each day til Christmas. Or there are the ones with little doors where you can hide a little toy or treat. Those are cute and all but if you have more than one kid then there has to be trading off if you are up to listening to the fighting and whining every day, or one for each child if you're not. Fun. Not really.

But leave it to my imaginary friends to put a fresh spin on an old tradition. Instead treating your family to a mini sugar rush, why don't you plan an activity for the entire family to enjoy each day. Genius I tell you! Pure genius :)

So that is exactly what I've done (with some help from my mom.....Thanks Mom!). We have a fun activity planned for every day leading to Christmas. Some are simple like reading a story or watching a movie. Some are creative like building a gingerbread house. And some are a little more exciting like going to Zoo Lights. We have some religious ones planned to hopefully help the kids remember the reason for the season too. Whatever the activity it will be spent with family. I can't think of a better way to bring some holiday cheer.

I think this may just turn out to be my favorite part of the holiday season this year!

Right Now

We are waiting oh so patiently for the kids to go to sleep so we can have a date at home. We're going to have dinner by ourselves and watch a movie and I'm sure it will be lovely.

What's even more lovely are the sounds coming from Elliot's room. No, he's not snoring......yet anyway. He is singing "scripture power....keeps me safe from sin". I love his little voice. I love how fast he learns things (especially when there is a song to teach with). I just love him :)

Now go to sleep Elliot :P

Thankful Thursday!

It's that time of the week (or decade, since it's been that long it seems) again. So pull on your thankful trousers and let's get down to business.....

1. Yummy smelling laundry detergent. Pretty lame, I know, but I really mean it. When we ran out of laundry detergent I decided to try something new. We bought some apple mango tango scented Gain (ooooooooh, fancy) and I'm telling you what....it is seriously like the commercials.

You know the ones. I'm sure you've seen them. There is one with one guy sniffing the other guy while they are celebrating a good play during some kind of a ball game. I know there are others but that's the one I can remember right off the top of my head. Seriously, it really does make laundry and and even just wearing clothes* a lot more enjoyable.

*disclaimer....I do not know, nor have I ever wandered around in the buff. Honestly I am one of the most modest people you will ever meet....I would wear clothes made out of tree bark if that's all there was just because I like to be covered up that. much.

2. I was taught about God and faith from a young age. This year has been a big struggle for me. One trial right after another. I know I'm not the only one so you must know what I'm talking about. But no matter how hard things have gotten, there is one thing that continually creeps into my mind....my faith. The knowledge that I have that there is an all knowing God, and He is my Heavenly Father. I am literally his daughter. And no matter how hard things get I can go to Him at ANY time.

In fact, one particularly hard day, I convinced myself that it would be easier to not feel the need to differentiate between right and wrong. To be able to just kind of float through life doing whatever I want. To not believe in God (gasp....blasphemous I know but it happened so there it is). So I tried it. I tried alllllllllll afternoon. And when I found myself about to pray to ask for help to not believe in God I realized it was hopeless. I'm a believer and always will be.

3. The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. Wow! That's almost all there is to say about that. But no need to fear, I've always been known for finding words when there are none to be found (or perhaps just when I shouldn't *blush*)

I recently decided to embark on a new project. I'm not quite ready to announce what that project is but suffice it to say I have also found myself doing some serious studying. Studying that will hopefully help with my project. In my studying I found my way to the Maxwell Institute (it is part of BYU and used to be known as FARMS as far as I know....but if I'm being honest back in the day my mom told me about such things I just found it boring and turned my brain off until she was done talking). But now....oh......hmmmm.......yeah, wow is pretty much all I can say about it. If ever you are wondering about something scriptural this is the place to go. Their mission statement says-

The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship exists to:

• Describe and defend the Restoration through highest quality scholarship
• Provide critically edited, primary resources (ancient religious texts) to scholars and lay persons around the world
• Build bridges of understanding and goodwill to Muslim scholars by providing superior editions of primary texts
• Provide an anchor of faith in a sea of LDS Studies

Really super cool! Check it out sometime!

I could add some more, but I think I'll save some for next week.

Now it's your turn =)

It's Not Thursday Yet....

So I think I'm going to have a Whiny Wednesday moment here real quick.

I just tried to schedule an appointment at a local spa. BJ gave me a gift certificate for my birthday and I haven't had time to redeem it yet. No big deal, the thing doesn't expire for a whole year.

I just hopped on the computer to take one last look at the website to decide for sure what I wanted to do, but when I got to the page all it said was "this website is no longer active". Hmmmm, that's a little weird.

So I decided to just go ahead and call.....AND THE NUMBER HAS BEEN DISCONNECTED! I'm completely bummed.

I got an awesome gift for my birthday and never got to use it. Lame.

At least So You Think You Can Dance is on tonight.

Thankful Thursday

This week I am extremely thankful for BYU Education Week, for all of the people that have made the event possible, and for all of the people that have made it possible for me to go. My mom worked out a deal with my Aunt and my cousin that if they would watch my kids for two days so I could go to Education Week, she would treat them to the other two days. It has been just incredible. I feel all sorts of edified. I feel well fed, spiritually speaking. Heck, I just feel down right warm and fuzzy!

It is extremely difficult to listen to sacrament meeting(and therefore be spiritually uplifted) when you have two little ones crawling all over you asking for fruit snacks or crayons or why it's not okay to play with transformers at church. So it has been pure bliss to sit completely still and just listen. To have the spirit speak things to my mind and to my heart. To recognize some areas where I need to try a little harder but also to realize that I'm mostly doing OK. For the first time in a while I feel at peace. This is just what I needed.

Thanks Mom, Aunt Julie, Aubrey, and of course BJ for making this happen for me this week :)

Hello Friends.....Long time, no see!

Totally my own fault and I know it.

I promise to be better though.

There has been a lot going on over the past little while and I'm ashamed to say that I've spent a good deal of that time wallowing in my own self pity. But, NO MORE!

So get ready, blogosphere....you're going to be seeing a lot more of me ;)

One More Year with our Miracle :)

Well, that time of year has come again. Tomorrow is Elliot's birthday. This year I am just plain excited. That is a much different feeling than in years past. The day he was born I was scared. His first birthday something was just "off" (we were so happy he had come so far but there was some apprehension behind the celebrating). His second birthday I was dealing with morning sickness. His third birthday was starting to feel more normal, and this year is pure elation.

He has come so far and is doing so well. He is no longer a baby (,"I'm a big boy!) He is getting bigger all the time, and he is healthier than he has ever been. *Knock on wood*. He is truly a miracle!

This is one of the very first pictures ever taken of Elliot.

Back then I worried if he'd even make it through the night. It was painful to be away from him. He was so fragile and I knew he just needed his mommy and daddy. Eventually the fear of losing him subsided and instead I worried that he'd still be on oxygen during his senior prom.

He eventually outgrew that too. Then we worried if he'd make it through a winter without a hospital stay, or if he would need another surgery. But now we are fortunate enough to have different worries.

Like if he will hate me for the rest of his life for subjecting him to daily growth hormone injections. Or if he'll ever be fully potty trained (maybe he'll be wearing a pull-up to prom instead of that cannula, ha). Now we are able to worry if we are teaching him how to make correct decisions, or showing him often enough how much we love him.

I know that as a parent the worry never really goes away, but I am so grateful that we have come far enough to put our worry on the back burner for one day....because you better believe there will be nothing but celebrating tomorrow!

Thankful Thursday

Holy cow, it's been a long time since I've even opened blogger! It's high time I came back and shared a few things I'm thankful for :)

This week I'm thankful that...

I got Evie's Easter dress done on time....with some assistance from my mom. I was getting a little worried that I wasn't going to make it but we got it done just in time.

BJ bought a new cd drive for my computer today. This is really good news. I haven't posted in so long partly be cause my dumb computer can't read the discs with all our cute new pictures on them. But that will be changing on Monday, yay!

My good friend Jill posted this article on her blog a while ago really. I had been thinking about this for a while anyway, but when Jill posted the article on her blog it really made me think. This is the other reason I've haven't been posting as much. I've been trying really hard to wean myself off the internet. I also am not sure I would call my internet use an addiction, but I definitely have spent more time online than I would care to admit. At one point, with a very sick baby and some seriously messed up emotions, the internet and the friends I made there were my lifeline. But now I have a healthy, beautiful family. And these are the moments that I'm going to look back on and miss. My sweet little kids are growing up too fast, and I don't want to miss a single moment of it. Especially not because I was too busy worrying about what was happening on facebook or on someone's blog. I love you all, but it's time to readjust my priorities a little :)

We had a Playdate. Elliot's little friend Matty got to come over to play for a couple of hours today. It was SO fun to watch them interact and have such a fun time. The must have played with every single toy Elliot owns. And it took Elliot's focus off Evie for a while...I don't remember the last time the poor girl has gone two hours without being pinched or pushed. I'm sure she was grateful for Matty too!

What about you? What are you thankful for this week?

A Strange Request

While we were out to dinner last Saturday we were approached by a guy (probably in his early 20's) who had a really strange request for us. I was away from the table when it happened but was told all about it when I returned.

I guess the kid came over to the table and asked my mom if he could take a picture with her little boy. Elliot was sitting by my mom but she deferred the question to BJ, but they were both pretty confused by the request. I guess the kid could tell that BJ was confused so he told him that he just had to have a picture with Elliot because he looks JUST like the kid in Meet the Robinsons.


I can see it, what do you think? My mom has always said that Elliot looks like a cartoon character.....I guess she wasn't kidding :)

At least everyone seems to like his new glasses. I should add that we took the rectangular ones back and got him a different pair that are more round, they fit him better and look nicer too!