It is the little things..

 Like coordinating colors for church.  It makes me happy!

 Like Henry's total and complete attatchment to Love-a-Love...and that he hides under my belly. It makes me happy.

 Like the fact that Lily needed a picture too. :) Makes me happy.

 It is things like watching your kindergartner enjoy a book,

 (every year I question the sanity of emptying out a bookshelf and replacing all the books with Christmas books... I mean, only libraries and school teachers do that right? I am all about simplicity this year, but I did it anyway...)
 And this is why. It makes me happy to see the kids sit around reading old favorites, and reading them to each oteher.
 That little Fisher Price Nativity we've had for 10 years? It makes me more than happy! It gets a lot of playtime. Perfect.

 The fact that 3 years ago I bought 5 pairs of matching plaid Christmas pj's on a killer Kohl's deal. Later that year I found another pair for 90% off that were a "middle" size... 3 years later everybody but Michael (darn that growth spurt ... and 12 year old independence.) has matching pj's. :) Boy have we got our $ out of those!

 Henry wakes up every morning and asks if it is 24 yet. This makes me smile. Even really early in the a.m.

 And last but not least, these kids, working really hard to clean up leaves, SMILING while doing it, and keeping Henry happy (do you spy him?)

No wonder I am happy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

My heart is full.  Early in November I found this quote on pinterest:

This has been my personal theme this month. Truthfully, life is hard. We struggle. Pregnancy is not for wimps.  Days can be rough, kids can be grumpy, heavens-- Mommy can be grumpy! I am continually reminding myself of all the good things that we enjoy each day. The love and forgiveness of others, the beauty of the world, the warmth and safety of home. I've long loved the song "Count Your Blessings", and many nights find myself singing it to my kids, not so they fall asleep, but so I stop and remember what it is all about.  I think I like the 4th verst the best:

    So amid the conflict whether great or small,

Do not be discouraged, God is over all.

Count Your Many Blessing, angels will attend,

Peace and Comfort give you till your journey's end.

I am so grateful for so many things.  For the Peace and Comfort that the gospel gives me, and for the amazing people I get to spend my time with.  (and for the wiggly guy who keeps me company and doesn't let me forget he'll be wanting to test mashed potatoes out next Thanksgiving!) :)

For Mom. And Posterity I suppose...

Here I am, in all my 28 week glory. I haven't figured out (after 6 pregnancies) how many months that makes me...  I think we'll have a baby in about 3 months... I'm due in 12 weeks... but I feel a lot more pregnant than 6 months!  I look it too...   Today, my EX favorite Walmart checker asked when I was due, then said, "OH Man! February is a LONG ways off and you are already big. You are gonna be huge!"


.
.
.
  Um, ok.

I smiled. She is right.  But not really.  12 weeks will fly... 6 weeks till Christmas? Woosh, over almost.  :)  I told her she was right, I do get big, but in the end, I get a baby, so it totally pays off.

somebody turned 4!

Oh Henry.  

4 amazing things about Henry.

He is adorable.  He is rough and tumble and has these most awesome dance/fighter/groovy moves.  He pretty much does a victory dance everytime anything remotely good happens. It is delightful.

I realized about 3 weeks ago that I have never really encouraged him to dress himself... or put on his own shoes, or a myriad of other things my older children did alone by 4.  He simply hasn't needed to!  However, he has responded beautifully to being encouraged to be independent.  My FAVORITE thing of the day is watching him pull his underwear up in the moring. Then his pants.  One of these days I'm going to video it for posterity.  It is... well, so terrific I can't stand it.

Henry likes to be right. He espeically likes to point out when others were wrong.  "You were WRONG Mommy, right? You were wrong!"  He is nice though.  Yesterday he was extolling the virtues of losing a game to Lily (who had just lost to you can guess, Henry.)  "It is GOOD to lose Lily! You like it, it is so much fun!"  I said, "Yeah, loosing is great!" and she said, very straight faced, "Yes, but it isn't fantastic."  I laughed hard!


Henry has an awesome imagination.  Some mornings he makes us all Salami Smoothies. (He LOVES the word Salami.)  Other days he has us all going on airplanes.  He has imaginary friends too.  However, his best friend (aside from siblings, whom he adores), is his Puppy Dog Love-a-Love.  Or wuvawuv.  Every morning before eating his own breakfast he draws some scribbles on a paper and sets it on the floor next to his high chair and places WuvaWuv face down to chow down.  He brings him nearly everywhere we go. He  gives him amazing hugs and reads him stories.  (If Santa had only known to bring 2 of these puppy dogs.....)  It is sweet.  At night, Henry often has bad dreams,  we hear him fussing and then saying,  "Where is Wuvawuv, I need to hug him!"  Precious.

Oh, and a few more for good measure.  Henry has decided to name his baby brother Bob Jones.  Cool. Henry is techy, he is good at i-pads and nooks, and all computery things.  Oh, and he always points with his middle finger. Always. We have all tried to convince him how awesome the other 4 fingers are. He is not convinced.... so, picture him doing that victory dance, telling Lily how awesome it is to loose, all while flipping her off with both hands. And you wonder why I was laughing so hard.... :)

Somebody is 6!

6 Glorious Lily Facts.

1. Lily is fun! She loves to play and skip. On the way into church on Sunday she was holding my hand and said, "You know Mom,  skipping is MUCH better than just plain walking."  This speaks volumes about Lily and the way she goes about life.

2.  Lily wakes up cheerful every morning.  Last weekend I heard her waking and then saying to Henry from her bed... "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"  It made me laugh to hear that be the first thing out of her mouth. :)

3.  Lily is good at schoolwork. I never have to bug her to do her homework and she is good at it.

4.  Lily loves green salad.  She prefers if I send a salad in her lunch to a sandwich.

5.  Lily draws amazing pictures.

6.  Lily is a trooper. We recently went to NYC and walked our little legs off and she was not a whiner at all!  She also is super good at hand holding.  Walking next to her (well, she was skipping...) along side of Central Park, with autumn leaves blowing off the trees is a memory I will cherish.

Favorite line of October., by Lily.

"Boo! I'm freakin-einstein!"

 (or Frankenstein for those who don't speak Lily.)  I've laughed over this line for 31 days. :)

Halloween 2011

So, I miss blogging.  I miss being able to look back at my cute family and the things we do and the funny things the kids say and the thoughts that run through my head.  I'm going to try to give it a go again. Who knows,  life could get really crazy in about 3 months, but then I'll have something glorious to blog about. ;)

Halloween was fun, the kids are at great ages for dressing up, and I love answering the door to all the cute trick or treaters. I read a blog that said something like "I like the craziness of October because unlike the Craziness of December I don't feel like I'm missing out on making it "meaningful" or special for my kids".... maybe EverydayRomneys said that? (yep, and she said it better than my paraphrase.)  Anyway, the month was fun and full of decorations and silliness.

Merry Mazatlan in May

About a year ago, we began planning our trip to Mexico.  My amazing mother in law arranged for us to fly  to Mazatlan and be there with 2 of my sister in laws and their families, as well as her and Grandpa Hart.  We were so excited!  We kept the trip a secret, and while she and Grandpa Hart were tending our kids for a week last fall, they gave them one clue a night... a bottle of sunscreen, a paper airplane, "saltwater" taffy, maracas, a NYE party hat (because we were going to celebrate 2011 on the beach!).  It was so fun for the kids to figure out what these clues meant with Grandma and Grandpa! (I think they needed a lot of helping putting the puzzle pieces together.)  Anyway, we were so excited! Our  Christmas plans were filled with plans for our big trip. Then, it snowed. In an effort to make it to Mexico, we woke our children at 2 a.m. and made it to the train station for our first leg of the trip, a train from Philly to Newark, NJ.  This was the only easy part of the day! :)  (and the only functioning and on-time train!)  After a very long day of trying to figure out how or when we could make new arrangements since all flights were canceled, we returned to our home about 24 hours later, with tremendous appreciation for our kids.They were ROCKSTARS!  (Also, tremendous appreciation to our Stake President and friend who drove us in the wee hours of the morning to the train station on slippery snow covered roads, and a dear friend who picked us up from the train station in the wee hours of the next morning!)

This is a list Dave made the day we came home of some interesting stats from our 24 hour trip:

- people at the airport trying to reschedule all at the same time: over 4000
- times we attempted to board a train: over 30
- times we were unable to board, despite being 1st in line, due to aggressive/rude adults: over 15
- hours waiting in below 59F temperatures while prepared for Mazatlan Mexico temps: 12 out of 24 hours, some of it in sub-zero temps and 20+ mph winds (note that we were told by many people that the train was non-stop dropping us off within the airport - not even close to true)
- Broken-down trains: many
- time expected to get to airport (via reservation): 1 hour
- actual time to get to airport: 7.5 hours
- times escalators were used: 50+ per person
- number of "escalator mishaps": 5-6 (some involving toppling, another going up the whole way upside-down)
- Backpacks/Bags: 7
- Suitcases: 6 (5 carry-ons, one for checking)
- Snacks consumed: a weeks worth (including 14 cheese sticks)
- Clementines consumed: 14 (including 5 given away to others who were "starving")
- Train ticketing/boarding errors: many
- People heard yelling out of anger: well over 100
-Number of drug deals we watched "go down" in Penn station while trying to get a taxi to take us to the airport -- too many to count, very uncomfortable!
-one woman being hauled off by security after yelling at the Continental agent
- Foul language: of every kind, from all ages,
- Time either standing,walking, or sitting on cold floors: 12+ hours out of 24
- Acts of kindness done toward us, sometimes at considerable personal cost: many
- Observed acts of kindness done toward others: many
- Unobserved acts of kindness: countless
- Number of wonderful upbeat kids throughout the whole ordeal: 5 out of 5
- Resulting family-bonding and discovered mutual-respect: immeasurable

As we were leaving the train station in Philly, about 22 hours after we had first arrived there, I watched my children, all but Henry who was asleep in my arms (and boy howdy did they ache the next day from so much holding and carrying!), each with a backpack on their back and a suitcase in their hands, heading out into the cold cold snowy night, my heart swelled with love and pride and maybe some exhaustion. I nearly kissed the man who came to pick us up and drive us home!  I want to remember that nobody melted down, that Lily fell asleep standing up on a train at about midnight, while a man sat on the seat next to her texting somone;  that there is no place for blame or vulgarity, ever. I want to remember that a couple from Sweden risked missing a train, and their opportunity to get home, to make sure all of our children made it on a shuttle, and that a very gruff train conductor allowed us passage all the way from the airport to the station in Philly with the incorrect tickets... and oh, his train was so warm and soft and safe! .I want to remember that my Dad and Bev, brother and Mom were all trying to figure out how to help us, from Idaho and Utah! They made phone calls, Dad tried desperately to find us a hotel, a car, anything to get us out of that dang airport! Their love and support and help, even though there wasn't much to be done buoyed our spirits!  I want to remember hearing Michael say to one of his sisters, "Let me carry your bag, you are tired, and it is heavy, and I'm your big brother!"  I won't forget sweet Henry constantly grabbing my chin and putting my nose to his nose and saying "'Wet's go Home! I wanna go home now Momma!"

I can blog about all of this now because we've just returned from a fantastic week in Mexico.
Doesn't this picture just make you say ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. :)

Tomorrow, the other 347 pictures.

Weekend update

Big weekend for Michael. First temple trip, to Washington DC,  first time passing the Sacrament at church, first time giving the youth talk during Sac Meeting.  All events were awesome. He rocks. :) 

I married a rock star.  Really.  He spent a long time getting Lily's bike working, with her talking to him the whole time... like 2 hours?  She adores her Daddy and so do I.

Can you believe that grungy face? The other night I was tucking Henry into bed and he didnt' want to go. So he started crying "Ouch, Ouch!!! You are hurting me!!!"  When I asked what hurt he said "My feewings! Owwwwww, My feewings huwt!"  I laughed.

He also has been trying a new tactic to get what he wants. It starts out like this "Say YES mommy!" "Huh? Say yes to what?" louder "Say YES MOMMY!"  "What do you want Henry?"  even louder "JUST SAY YES MOMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  :)  It makes me laugh. He tries so hard.

Last of all, in the world of funny Henryisms,  he has decided when I say something he doesn't like that I'm saying "bad words". So, if you hear him saying "My mommy hurts me and she says bad words".... take him with a grain of salt. Please? 

Things that pull at your heart.

• When your 5 year old explains to you how her friends don't believe that Jesus is real, but that she does, because when she sings songs about him and hears stories about him she feels happy.
• When your 8 year old tells you that her "Goliath" is the little boy who sits next to her who repeatedly takes the name of the Lord in vain, mostly to annoy her.
• When your children pray, humbly, without reminder, that their bishop, the sweet leader of our congregation, will have courage, and that his doctors will be smart and know how to help him as he faces Pancreatic Cancer.  
• When your 3 year can't wait to show his big brother his new car seat, and when that big brother gets in the car and, in spite of a hectic day, responds first and foremost to his little brother, letting him know that new car seat is the best thing he has ever, ever seen.
• When your 10 year old daughter thinks that every thing that comes out of her Dad's mouth is the funniest thing she has ever heard... and that if he tells her to get her shoes on or put her dishes away she responds cheerfully (without rolling her eyes...) 
• When your rambunctious little guy tells you 300 times in one day that he wuvs you... and how he hugs your legs every time he is near. And, how when you hold him he rubs your back and plays with your ponytail.
• How the best pancakes a kid has ever tasted are the ones they made for themselves. Independence when it comes to helping make meals is fantastic!!!

Parenting is hard. (so is taking a good picture of 5 kids at once...) The other day I looked at my kids and felt a little bit shocked at how unlike me they can be. They aren't little robots that do exactly as I would say or do. They are assertive, sometimes they talk too much in church and are kind of obnoxious in their Sunday school groups.  They let other kids take things away from them and don't  always stand up for themselves... or they stand up a little too much for themselves. ;)  They have opinions! They think for themselves! They like things I don't like, and don't like things I do!  They are individuals!  And, what awesome individuals they are. They are kind to each other, the truly love one another and often write each other love notes. They pray for one another and ask where each other is if they aren't where they expect them to be. It is precious and makes me so thankful that they have each other.