108*

Today was 108*.....

108*!

So what do we do in 108* weather?

Snow cones and fountains obviously!

These three are little bottles of sunshine. Love them.

Where I Live

For the last several months we have been battling with the very long process of finding the perfect house for our family to call home. The only thing we knew was that this quaint,  two bedroom condo was not it. We have a long list of of evidence to back that statement with as well. But what a struggle it has been. We would start down one path just long enough to get excited and start to make plans only to hit a dead end and have to go back to the beginning. It was stressful to say the least. But for me it was a little heart wrenching at times. I've been wishing for that perfect home. The one with toys littering the grassy backyard. The kitchen that was actually big enough for the kids and I to be able to stand around the mixer together and watch it swirl around the chocolate chip cookie dough. The house that had room for visitors who didn't want to spend money on hotels. The one with lots of neighborhood kids helping themselves to your front yard and your food and even your bathroom. You know, that house! Not this one! Not this tiny, cramped, boring box we've been counting the days to leave.

 But I have realized something. In addition to the long list of negatives we've made up while living here, there is a much longer list of things I love about this tiny, cramped, boring box. I love that we can't escape each other. You can hear each other from opposite ends of the house. I love that when I'm in bed I can hear my kids breathing in their room next door. I love blowing bubbles and eating Popsicles on the balcony. I love my kids scooting chairs up to the kitchen counters to sneak treats out of the cupboards. I love dancing in the living room after family home evening. I love that my kids ask to go outside every time they hear our neighbor step outside for a smoke, just so they can visit with him and tell him all about their day. I love that he loves to listen and says it makes his day every day. I love movie nights where we all pile on the living room floor. I love movie nights where we all pile in mommy and daddy's bed. I love when my kids press their little noses on the window to watch the garbage truck every Tuesday. I love that Tyler's office is a three minute drive away and we can visit whenever we feel like it and he can do the same. I love that we can walk to downtown and play in the fountains and eat snow cones.

See, there are a lot of things to like about this silly condo. Because it's not really the house that makes a home. It's the people inside and the memories you make with them. The feelings you share and the Spirit that envelopes you every time you walk in. I might just miss it. But I'm sure glad that no matter where I live, I will always have my home with me.

Twenty Seven

I am a little embarrassed that I just had to do the math again in my head and on my fingers to make sure that I am, in fact, turning twenty seven tomorrow. And I am. What a great blessing it has been to be on this Earth for 27 years! If you had asked me when I was younger where I thought I would be on the eve of my 27th birthday, I'd imagine it would be quite similar to where I am right this second. It probably would have sounded kind of like this:

At 27 I imagine myself very happily married. The kind of happy that is there even on my worst days, just because I have him. Most likely with some kids, who knows how many, as many as God feels I am capable of taking care if at 27 years old. I'd probably spend my days loving, teaching, encouraging, scolding, playing with, comforting and cuddling these tiny monsters who look up at me with big blue eyes and their daddy's smile. At night, before crawling into bed with my very favorite person in the world and laughing about the day's little moments with him, I would probably have to put the monsters to bed. Which entails laying in their room, listening to their made up jokes, tucking them in and kissing them to pieces, and holding their chubby little hands while they whisper, "Mom, I love you with all my heart." 

Yep. 27. Sounds pretty scary.

Yikes!

Wow, almost five months have come and gone since the last time I even laid eyes upon my own blog. Sad, isn't it? Not really because I have been busy, and busy is good because it means I'm living, right? And I have four extremely time-consuming blessings to thank for that.

There have been numerous times I have thought to myself, " I need to put that on the blog." But somehow those thoughts are quickly overturned by something important. I think blogging is important, especially as it is my journal, however blogging does not even rank on an importance scale to a child who really wants to go to the park or needs a band-aid or really, really needs some chocolate milk, right now, or they might die of thirst! My kids are kind of dramatic like that.

Another reason for the lack of blogging is that I have been a little worried about privacy issues. I've been getting a lot of random comments from strange names and thought maybe going private is the way to go. But I really like the fact that strangers can read about my faith on here, I feel like its a simple way to be a missionary. Any thoughts? Besides, I'm pretty sure no one would read my blog if it was private. Not sure anyone does anyway :)

I have a lot to say but it's a little hard to play catch up at this point, so for now I will just say that life goes on and it is great! And I hope to be back much sooner this time around!

On being a Mom

Since about the day after Thanksgiving, each member of our family has taken a turn being sick with some form of ailment or another. And because of that, the people in this house are straight up going crazy. We are all wearing thin on patience, emotions are haywire and the house looks like it belongs on the East Coast post Hurricane Sandy. We rarely go anywhere, so we have an extreme case of cabin fever to top it all off. I've heard, "You're a mean mom!" and "Mom, why are you so evil?" (yeah where did he learn that?)

I'm not proud of that... I am just trying to get some order back in this house and no one wants to help me out.

So I was feeling like a failure as I climbed into bed with sick little Rylan last night in the same clothes I had worn all day... Thinking of all the things that didn't get done and all the tricks to get my kids to clean, get dressed, brush their teeth, etc. that failed miserably, and just as I was about to close my eyes in shame, I heard Parker's little voice from his bed across the room. 

"Mommy, did you know that Jesus was born on Christmas?"

"Yeah... That is why we celebrate Christmas, huh Parker?"

"Yep. Did you know that he was born in a barn because there were no hotel rooms for his mommy and daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"And Mommy, did you know that the animals in the barn knew Jesus was coming?"

"They did? How did they know?"

"Because they were smart."

"Ha ha."

"And mommy, then Jesus got big and the bad guys killed him but don't worry he got resurrected. And when we die, we will get resurrected too. But I don't want to die."

"You are a good boy Parker. I love you."

"I love you too.... and I love Jesus."

It turns out that you don't have to be a perfect mom. You don't have to do everything right every hour of every day. All you have to do is your best and your kids will take what they learn form you and turn it into something wonderful. 

Things My Kids are Thankful For

I tried to ask Parker and Rylan what they were thankful for each day of November leading to Thanksgiving. Here is a list of some of the things they answered with:

Jesus

Horsies

Baby Noel 

My Sisters

"Parkee"

Daddy

Mommy

Candy

Trees

Playing with my Sister

Doggies

Grandmas and Grandpas

Blankets

Milk

Football

Preschool

Horsies

Horsies

Horsies

Kids, they are a good example of being thankful for just about everything...

Except bedtime :)

Pumpkin Palooza

I love Fall. I love all of the wonderful foods of Fall. I especially love all the delicious pumpkin treats of Fall. So far I have made:

Pumpkin Donut Holes

Pumpkin Cream Cheese

Pumpkin Cookies

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Carmel Apples

And I have bought:

Dreyer's Pumpkin Ice Cream

Krispy Kreme Pumpkin Spice Donuts

I plan to make:

Pumpkin Roll

Pumpkin Oreo Cheese Cake

Pumpkin Pie (obviously, right?)

Conclusion: Fall is a terrible time to be trying to lose weight after having a baby. At this rate I am pretty sure I will weigh the same amount as I did when I was 9 months prego by the end of December.

Worth It!

If you want any of these yummy recipes you can find me on Pinterest- they are on my "Halloween Fun" board. They are worth trying!