Spring 2011

Our photo wall at the front door has been needing some updates, since the pictures there are all from when Brooke was born and 2 months old.. Secretly i have wanted to freeze my kids at that age.. but am having to face reality that they are growing up.. Today my kids agreed to a walk to see the muskrats.. and have me take a few pictures.. There is nothing like looking at pictures of your kids for a "wake up".. I'm just now realizing that Jace is a little boy.. no baby, nor is my baby.. a baby... sniff sniff.. I may have bribed my kids with gum and jelly beans... (but hey.. 3 kids .. 1 mommy... desperate times call for desperate measures :)

Bubbleman

Here's what happens when you mix a 2 year old and bubbles...

Rain... Rain... Go .... Away

My kids sing.. "Rain, Rain go away, come another DAY"... And they have been singing it non-stop.. I must say its getting old.. We have lost more things down the register, had more things plug up sinks and toilets, and had more temper tantrums than i care to think about... And frankly I'm exhausted trying to keep up with them.. We've done play centers, climbing walls, the pool, music lessons, lunch dates at McD's, even caught Brooke playing with her babies, played with worms, practiced using the umbrella in the house, had some great bed head... And this morning.. a little sleep in cuddle... AHHHHHH

Kodaly - Level 1

The first little graduation done for my 1st born and i'm tearing up... I don't know if i have issues, but something about all these little firsts chokes me up... I watched him go from a shy, timid little boy in a classroom setting, to a bold little singer.. It's a great program and a perfect introduction to music..   I won't miss the sitting in the car for 45 minutes with the other kids, on a Thursday morning after a late wednesday nite, or the amount of "Homework" that it involved... but I will miss that special last 10 minutes of every class with Isaac ....

Home.. Sweet... Home

Our kids have been asking for their own little house for a while.. And i have been trying to downsize the amount of stuff we keep that are not using.. so i cleaned out underneath the stairs and with a few nails and some old crates i had Wade save from a job.. VOILA..
DISCLAIMER : No monetary trading went on of any kind in the production of this living space..  (Good thing my kids are easily impressed, and got a bit excited about the prospect of painting the headboard themselves.. )

Misc Pics from May

We've been busy... Or so it seems... Isaac has learned to ride a bike with no training wheels, Jace still insists hes a baby and proceeds to be bribed with potty treats each time... We've managed to mow a little soccer field in the ravine/field behind our backyard(a task which involved ridding the area of the thistles.. pulling.raking/spraying... ). Brooke is now into dressing herself.. (as evidenced by the panties around her arms like a bolero... new trend perhaps?? ) We're saving the birds in our neighborhood... Although Isaac tells me that there are some bad birds... but you just shoot them like poppa.. (cause they scare away the nice ones :) Jace managed this week to have a goose egg, black eye and blood spot in his hair.. :( We have some amazingly awesome friends and fellow mommas that are an absolute blast to hang out with.. even though when we get together it seems like all we do is try and stop the whining and break up fights :) And our neighbor informed us that the best entertainment they've found in the evening is sitting on their patio watching our kids... (Wade and I agreed... its ours too :)

My Daughters Heart

There is nothing like a glimpse into your children's hearts....
I love my daughters :)

Today Jace was having a real time with something that she had.. that was hers... that she loves... and so as he was crying ALOT... and there may have been a few time outs involved... so she just sheepishly came up to him and with a look that said that she really didn't want to give it up... she handed it to him..

Sweet baby girl :) When you're good... you're really really GOOD

Words to Live By...

"No other success can compensate for failure in the Home"
-David McKay

The Best Job Ever...

It really is the BEST job ever... (sometimes i have to stand in front of the mirror and make myself repeat this.. ) but it truly is... My mom inspired me with a card and a great saying ...... that read " As mothers we will touch every generation with our work"... It made me want to teach, give, share more with my kids... I hope that the generations that follow will appreciate my efforts.. great and small... Our kids are the biggest investment we will ever make .. and won't always see results in our lifetime... As a child i didn't always understand the sacrifice my mom made to be at home with us.. In my tiny little mind i thought that she did this because she couldn't get any other job.. And in my teens it embarassed me to have a mom that didn't "Work" and that was all too available for those chaperoning class trips... And as an 18 year old i remember my mom letting go as i moved away from home and saying ... " I have no regrets, I gave you my everything.. you were my job and my life.. " And as an adult i realize that she shaped my life... in everyway.. And i found myself telling her today that I still needed her.. Do we ever stop needing our mothers??? 

Now as a mother myself... i hope that my kids will someday see the value in me 'hanging' around..I hope that they understand that i wouldn't wish to be anywhere else.. that no one could pay me enough to do anything else...  I pray that God would help me to share with them the importance of a love for the things that truly matter... I hope that in teaching them to share they will be kind and considerate people, that in teaching them to love they will be filled with compassion for a world in all its need, that in teaching them to speak nicely that the heart of them will be visible, in teaching them to be clean they will leave the world a better place, and in teaching them to say please and thank you that they will be easy to love... 

I have been somewhat upset lately at the thought of this day arriving .. as Wade is pretty anti-man made holidays.. and his two favorite sayings about this day are "Isn't every day Mothers Day?" and "You aren't MY mother"... and found myself saying to him that all i really wanted was for him to Say Thank YOu to me until the kids were old enough... Anyways as the kids were napping this afternoon I was chastised to think about how many times thru out the year Wade says thank you... Just the other day he was talking to the boys and said .. do you know how lucky you are to have a mommy that ...I drifted out.. because its become common place to hear him say things like that... So really... HOW LUCKY AM I... Thanks to all the mothers of the people that are special to me .. for doing such a good job... Thanks to all my friends who are mothers that inspire me and encourage me... Thanks to my own mom for giving me the best years of her life.. and really thank you to my husband for giving me this opportunity.... 

Missing U

Since we've gotten home i've been missing him.. Might have been all the work piling up while we were gone but i don't care... sick kids.. super sick momma... and all that goes along with it... I'm missing u:(

Weekend in the Caribbean

Makes it sound like we are movie stars :) And for a few days we felt like we were. 3 nites on the seas of the Caribbean is good for the soul!! It could not have been better ...
... perfect length of time away from kids
......perfect weather

.................perfect travelling companion... enuf said