Hands Full

I know I don't blog very often, but sometimes, what I have to say is just to long for a FB post.  :-D

I can't tell you how much I love it here.  I was meant to be here.  I wish I could stay forever.  It's so nice to get positive comments from people about my children compared to the usually negative ones I got when we lived in NC.  For example.  Every time I went grocery shopping there, I'd get at least one comment that was something to the effect of, "You're not having any more...right?"  Contrast that with  a comment I got a couple weeks ago by a sweet woman when she saw the seat of my shopping cart empty (Jimmy was walking with the older kids).  "Looks like you need one more."  I was totally taken aback by that one.  I regularly get nice comments here.  "Look at your beautiful children."  "Oh, you are doing a good job.  I have 5 myself.  They are all grown now though.  Enjoy them.  They grow so fast."  "You have such well behaved children."  It's so nice not feeling defensive about my choice to have more than 1 or 2 children (and wanting more).  Especially when my children are acting out.  I know that I'm not gonna get looks or comments that imply, "serves you right for overpopulating the world."

Today, I decided to brave the holiday crowds and go grocery shopping...at Walmart   It wasn't as bad as I was expecting, but still pretty crowded.  Looking back, shopping with 3 kids was a breeze!!  Even 4 wasn't bad at first.  Jimmy in the seat of the cart and Andrew secured in his infant seat, sideways, propped up on the sides of the cart.  Each of the older kids holding on to the cart on each side.  (When they weren't chasing each other around the cart, anyways.)  It was manageable.  THEN came the dreaded day when Andrew outgrew his infant seat.  Oy.  Now he has to go in the seat of the cart and Jimmy now has to walk.  One more pair of hands wanting to touch everything on the shelves and "help" put things in the cart...when he's not trying to run away from me.  And Andrew...oh Andrew(bless his little heart)...can now easily turn around and reach groceries in the cart and throw them on the floor.  Such a helpful child.  This is only my second shopping experience in this situation.  And the first time doing this on my own.  (We were smart and went on a weekend last time when Mike was able to go with us.)  By the time I got to the the checkout line I was ready to tie the kids up and strap them to the top of the van on the trip home.  As I was loading stuff onto the conveyor belt (And picking tomatoes up of the floor that Andrew dumped out) the checkout lady says, "looks like you've got your hands full."  And as I was about to explain to her that they are usually 'slightly' better behaved than this, the Lady behind me says, "I've seen you several time throughout the store, and I've got to tell you, you're kids are so well behaved."  I was a little stunned by the comment.  I'd been nagging at my kids the whole time to, "Keep your hands on the cart and off the shelves.",  "Jiimmy, put that back.",  "Jacob, pay attention to where you are walking,"  "Lizzie, WALK!"  (she likes to hold on to the cart and let it drag her along.) "Lizzie, if you trip me one more time....", "Jimmy, stop running away from me!"  "JACOB watch where you are WALKING!"  "Jimmy, keep up."  "For heavens sake PUT THAT BACK!!!"  At that point I was like, "Sweet.  Kids, run wild!"  Okay, not really.  But all the sudden I felt less frazzled and frustrated and a little less embarrassed by my children's wild behavior.  It's amazing what the power of one positive comment can have on someone.  So, remember that next time you see someone who looks like they are about to leave their kids in a box on a street corner with a sign that says, "free to good home".  

Then and Now

Remember this chubby monkey???

 Can you believe he's ONE?!?!

Happy Birthday, Drewster.  We sure love you!

Movin' On

Two more days and we hit the road.  What a crazy ride the last 7 years have been.  4 kids, 3 states (moving on to state #4) medical school, residency, the army.  I always wanted to live outside of Utah, but I always imagined that I would settle in just one..close to home.  I never imagined that I'd be moving from one cost to another and a few states in between.  And I definitely never imagined myself living the military family lifestyle.  As much as I hate moving, it's kind of growing on me.  I've met so many great people, and made some great friends.  So many great examples of strength every where I go.  

I'm really looking forward to our next place.  I will definitely miss people here (and the beach) but I know I'm going to meet some more great people, and it will be very nice to be a LOT closer to home.  Plus I'm looking forward to being near mountains again.  Even if they are all charred and black when we get there.  (Come on people.  Pray for rain!)

Yay for new adventures!!

Happy Birthday to my handsome little 2 year old.

I don't think I know a happier little kid. He is so much fun. He loves to laugh, and dance and sing. He also loves to snuggle and give lots of hugs and smooches. Every night when we tuck him in he makes us come back for at least 2 or 3 additional hugs and kisses. Without fail, every night after making the rounds of tucking all the kids in, as I'm walking towards the door I will hear Jimmy say with puckered lips, "tiss, tiiiiiss!" And I just HAVE to go back and give him one more smooch. I just can't help it. He's so darn cute. Happy Birthday Jimmy! We love you!

And here, for your enjoyment, is Jimmy's rendition of The Itsy, Bitsy Spider. Complete with actions. Seriously, can a kid get any cuter?!

Happy Birthday Jakers!

Jacob is 6 today! How did this happen?! (That was a rhetorical question, all you smart alecs.) Look how big he is. And losing teeth!

This kid, LOVES his baby brother. He loves all his siblings, but he particularly loves Andrew. Most of the pictures I have of him lately are of holding little drew. He will hold him any chance he gets.

His first lost tooth. (He's lost 2 now and 2 more are getting there as well.)

Despite how big he's getting, he still loves to snuggle and that's what we started out the day doing. Snuggling in the recliner and watching Smurfs. :-D He's such a fun kid.

Happy Birthday Buddy! We love you!

Just Another Controversial Topic

I know this is a controversial topic, but most of these topics can't really be avoided at present. All sorts of things are popping up about my religion and hitting the media. Today I came across this blog post that I thought was really great. Some people might not think it's great though. I'll admit it's hard not to cringe. I think we as members of the church are scared to admit that maybe we aren't perfect. I mean, we know we aren't perfect, but we almost feel we have to be, or people around us will take our mistakes as proof that we are sad, misguided, people that have been sucked into this wacky religion. (Lets face it, many do.) I recently had this conversation with Mike about the imperfections of our church leaders. They never claim to be perfect. As much as we love and respect them, we don't worship them. We worship our father in heaven and his son Jesus Christ who ARE perfect. No prophet has EVER claimed to be perfect. They all make mistakes. They are not all knowing. They come to conclusions that are sometimes incorrect. They oft times realize the incorrectness of some of those conclusions and many times will tell you they were wrong. (I might add too, that they never claim that those speculations are doctrine. They are very clear about what is direct revelation from God. The proclamation on the family for example, direct revelation from God.) There is a difference between ideas they get and actual revelation in regards to church doctrine. In this blog post, it talks about the Blacks and the priesthood. For a long time, church members would try and explain away, or justify why black members of the church were denied the priesthood. I think we felt we could not admit a mistake. We had to pass it off as God not allowing it at the time for some unknown reason (which may be true, who knows). We couldn't just admit that it was a time in life, when prejudice was strong. WE were the ones not allowing it to happen. Now, this is all speculation on my part. I don't know all the details behind it all. But I would like to think that we are not above admitting we are not perfect. It goes back to the ol' saying, "the gospel is perfect, people are not". Just because I am not perfect, does not mean the gospel is not true or that this church that I belong to is not true. I believe with my whole heart and soul that The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints is the true church on earth today. That we do in fact have the fullness of the gospel. I've studied, I've pondered, I've prayed and I've received that personal confirmation that comes only through the spirit. So for me, it doesn't matter what mistakes people make within the church. My testimony will never be shaken. (As long as I continue to study, ponder and pray.) Still, my heart does go out to those who have had bad experienced with member of this faith. I pray that they too will remember that we are not perfect, and that no one is, and instead of looking at those mistakes, look at what we have to offer, and that is the gospel.

(Here's another good blog on the subject that I found. [Thanks Holly. :)])

Happy Birthday Lizzie!

Well, I'm kind of late getting this post up, but I've been busy all day making an awesome cake. :-D

I'll start off by listing 4 things about Lizzie.

1-Currently, her favorite color is purple. She has a collection of purple clothes and on Sundays, the only dress I can ever get her to wear is the one she picked out herself...which happens to be purple and covered in sparkles.

2-She's such a lightweight, but all day long, she is constantly asking for food and saying, "but mom, I'm stiiiiiiil huuuungry! She's like the hungry little caterpillar...except she doesn't put on any weight. :-D

3-When ever you give her a snack that she really likes, she will say, "Mmm, that's the *good* stuff". Speaking of snacks, her favorite snack is graham crackers and chocolate milk. That's all she'd ever eat if let her.

4-She is and always has been, a master hider. She randomly goes missing and we have to go look for her. Usually you have to be really quiet and listen for her breathing. She likes to turn toy boxes upside down and hid under them.

I can't believe she is 4. Where does the time go.

Despite being kind of a goofy looking baby...

She's turning into a pretty little girly. We just love her.

For her birthday she got a little Cinderella figurine play set, and the book Purplicious. I also gave her a purple crown to wear during dinner. She loved it. lol.

And, here's a picture of just her cake. I originally planned for it to be much smaller. It would have been a lot easier to do had it been. *shrug* Oh well. I still think it turned out pretty good. :)

Happy Birthday Miss Lulu. We love you and are so glad you are a part of our family.