Back in Business

Brent was finally able to get the diaper sprayer hooked up to the toilet again last week. I can't tell you how happy I am to be cloth diapering again. I was getting quite sick of paying for disposable diapers all the time. It's amazing how fast you go through them and how much money they cost! It's ridiculous!

Bon Jovi Reborn

I'm raising an 80's punk rocker.

Jealous?

I knew it.

Lazy Days

Yesterday I got a million things done. Today has been a totally lazy day. (This seems to be my new routine.) My midwife came this morning and everything's still looking great. Baby's got a good, strong heartbeat. :)

This afternoon has been spent outside playing in our "new" backyard. I'm loving having grass again. Wanna see my lovely grass? (I know there are yellow spots....it seriously looks tons better than it did a couple of weeks ago. It's growing, I promise.) There's a "basketball court" (not full-size) back there where the "car" and Lady are. Now all we need is a hoop!
Fun with sidewalk chalk!Here's "The Pit." (entrance to the basement) It's all cleaned out now! We're going to put a fire pit down there to make homemade s'mores all summer long. :)
And here's our new patio to have fabulous parties on and our freshly-painted deck. Brent and I stayed up last Saturday night painting it after the kids went to bed. It was a bit tricky to do in the dark, but it turned out great! (If I do say so myself, which I do.)

I am looking forward to many lazy days this summer!

8 Years Ago Today

Our lives were changed forever.......

We became parents.

That's right! AJ is 8 years old today. I can hardly believe it. She'll be baptized next month and I'm having a hard time swallowing the fact that my baby girl is so grown-up. I am so amazed at the beautiful, loving, responsible, wonderful girl she's become.

Things I love about AJ:
- She tries very hard to include everybody
- She is the best big sister ever
- She is extremely responsible
- She changes diapers, Lady's clothes, wipes Tink's bum, and can get breakfast or lunch ready for all the kids
- She makes her bed almost everyday without me having to tell her to and she usually makes Tink's too
- She has a very "adult" palate.... she enjoys foods that most kids do not. Last year for her birthday she wanted us to take her to our favorite Thai restaurant (and she LOVED it). And she always wants bites of our leftovers when we go out to our favorite Indian restaurant. She likes sushi and California rolls and she likes MOST of the meals I make.
- She's very thoughtful and complimentary
- She has a very outgoing personality and loves to make new friends
- She's very forgiving
- She has a beautiful testimony and understands gospel principles so well already
- She is super smart, a quick learner, and a very hard worker
- She loves reading, playing with friends, and making any sort of craft she can come up with.
Her imagination is amazing.
- She's getting very good at the piano

We are so glad she came to our family first and we've told her so many times that God made her the oldest for a reason. She's very good at it. :)

When I asked her what she wanted for her 3 birthday meals, her response was:
Breakfast - Cream of Wheat
Lunch - French Toast and fruit
Dinner - Wraps

We love this girl and have loved watching her grow up these past 8 years. We couldn't be more proud of who she is.

WE LOVE YOU, AJ!!!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Happy Mother's Day

Today has been a great Mother's Day. Brent and the kids let me sleep in. Lady took a good nap before church. We were EARLY to church (we had to be since they'd asked us to come early to extend a calling to me). And Brent and I gave talks in Sacrament meeting.

I know, I know.....didn't we just do that? Yes.....in our other ward. So of course we knew this was coming, but we didn't expect to be asked to give the Mother's Day talks. I wasn't super happy at first, but it turned out to be a very good thing.

The preparation for my talk was something I very-much needed. Since motherhood is something I'm passionate about, I was actually ok with the topic, but I was strengthened by what I learned and re-learned in preparing for my talk. My testimony of the power and divinity of being a mother was strengthened and I feel even more blessed than I did before.

Also, it gave me the chance to listen to my wonderful husband (who is a very eloquent speaker) again. I love to hear him talk. And he made me feel very good about myself and about the way he feels about me as a mother. I am so thankful for Brent.

Oh, and by the way, it was our 11th anniversary Friday. I can't believe it's been 11 years already! I will never regret the decision I made at the ripe old age of 18 to marry my best friend. And I'm so thankful he gave me the gift of becoming a mother.

I hope all of you have had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Oh, and my new calling is the Ward Information Specialist.....sounds important, doesn't it? I'm in charge of putting together the weekly bulletin that they hand out before Sacrament meeting, the monthly newsletter, and the yearly Ward History. I'm excited for this calling....I'm excited that it's not a Sunday calling. I've really been enjoying going to Relief Society again! :)

Excitement in the backyard

Right now my children are glued to the back door, watching in amazement.

Wanna see what they're looking at?
We're getting concrete poured today! The sprinklers are in and the sod will most likely be here by the weekend. I'm so excited!

Oh, and apparently our windows were quite dirty because whilst looking out of them, Tink took it upon herself to start wiping them down with a baby wipe.

Now they're beautiful. :)

A Day in the Life

Lady has a shoe addiction. She LOVES to wear shoes (especially if they're not hers). So I got the camera out to document this addiction and these are a couple of things that transpired in the few minutes that the camera was out.

Lady in Roo's shoes:
Don't you just want to nibble on her? (Seriously.)
Then the kids had me turn on some music. I think it was Michael Buble that day.
Roo got tired of dancing and made an Eiffel Tower.
He was extremely proud. This shot was taken about .001 seconds before Ruby knocked it over and broke it.
Here's Roo patiently putting it back together to show Daddy when he got home.
Lovely day.