Simplify

If there is anything I learned in 2009 it was the absolute necessity to simplify my life. I love being a mom and I love expressing myself through my hobbies. BUT, one thing is for sure...being a mom is way more important. That's not to say that I am giving up all of my hobbies. NO WAY...I would go crazy. It does mean that I am at a point in my life where I have reached two roads. One road continues down this crazy path, trying to fit it all in while running around meeting deadlines and squeezing in reading and playing time with the kids and dates with Mike. The other road is more open, less stressful and allows for uninterupted and more enjoyable moments for everything that is important in life--FAMILY. I think too often as mothers we want to do it all, we want to be Superwoman, we want to conquer the world...AND WE SHOULD...but within reason. I love the new year because it gives me a chance to reflect on where I am heading. Although I don't feel like I have ever neglected my children I know that there is more of me I could give. Time is slowly clicking away and the moments now are so precious. My oldest is approaching nine this year and he still loves to give me hugs and kisses and have late night chats. I wonder how long that will last. I hope it lasts forever. I have a good feeling it just might. My relationship with each of my children is so special to me and I don't take any of it lightly. There are so many teaching moments during the day--and not just the kind where we teach them their ABC's. There are so many moments to be cherished and remembered and so many things our children share with us that we need to pay 100% attention to. The lessons I learn from my children are invaluable. They are my greatest examples living in the present. At the end of every day I think to myself how lucky I am to have four wonderful children. Yes they each have their naughty moments. But those naughty moments only last for a short time before their sweet spirits are revealed by the innocent and profound things they say and do. I am thankful for my children for quietly reminding me every day why I am here and what my purpose is in life. There is no greater call than to be a mother. It is truly the greatest and most noblest of professions. I am proud to say that my profession is that of a MOTHER. All the extra is just extra and nothing more!!

Stink Pickle

Both of the girls have adopted this new name but for very different reasons. We call Abby this when she is literally stinky and we call Emma this when she is just plain naughty. A couple of weeks ago I was opening one of my sewing drawers and found this:

I don't know when or how she managed to cut a really good chunck of her hair without me noticing. I do find it a little humorous that she tried to conceal it by leaving her hair in the drawer. I am pretty good about always knowing where my kids are and what they are doing. I guess I am somewhat of a paranoid mom. Don't get me wrong though, there are moments when I just let them do their thing hoping they are not getting into trouble while I am finishing up a project. This was not one of those moments though. At first I was a little angry. Then my anger turned to sadness and I was nervous to look closely at her hair. After I surveyed the damage on her cute little head I was quickly relieved to see that the cut was made in a place that was not that noticeable. In fact it even blended in quite nicely with the rest of her hair...just lucky I guess. When I asked Emma why she cut her hair she just shrugged her shoulders and said she didn't know. It didn't take long for me to realize that all she wanted was to get her hair cut at the salon. I can understand her frustration of always seeing the boys sitting in those fun seats and getting their haircut month after month. So what did I do as punishment for cutting her own hair?? I took her to the salon and got her a new haircut. Ok so maybe it was more of a reward than a punishment but in the end we both won because her hair had gotten to the point of being out of control. It was looking pretty awful. She agreed to have it cut shorter (3 inches to be exact) and it finally looks so much better. She loves it and I love it. All the little scissors have now been put away somewhere else so as to not repeat the same mistake. I am going to have to have hawk eyes on this little Stink Pickle!!

Grandpa Al Visits

We were so lucky to get a visit from far away Grandpa Al. Since he lives in Virginia and we are all the way in Washington state we don't get to see each other that often. It was the perfect timing--right after the rush of Christmas was over. We didn't go anywhere spectacular but just enjoyed being together at home while it continued to be yucky and rainy outside. Grandpa Al is really good at playing games with the kids and I could tell that the kids really enjoyed having him here. The trip was short but we were grateful to get him for a few days anyways. The kids favorite game to play with Grandpa was the tickle game. For some reason the kids just love to be tickled and especially by Grandpa Al. Some of my favorite moments while Grandpa was here was seeing the kids at random times just snuggling and hugging him. It really warmed my heart to see how much they love him. I really appreciate the time he took with each of the kids to talk with them and listen to their stories. Hopefully it won't be too long before we can go and visit Grandpa at his house.

Our little Abby...

...is finally 18 months old!

There are so many cute and naughty things she does these days. We are just happy that she is a little ball of fun in our home. She is so energetic and loves to explore, touch, and try everything. Her favorite activity as of late is going on walks. When it is not too freezing outside we will walk up and down our street. She still loves to hold my hand and repeat, "walk outside." It is always the simple things that excite her the most.

Abby is still working on getting more hair but we all love the little that she does have...especially the cute curls in the back. The other day I noticed a big curl in front. It was to die for cute.

Abby is constantly being showered with attention from her older siblings and from mom and dad. She is just so much fun to have around. I don't know what we will do when don't have any more little ones in the house!

Abby's favorite sayings:

*don't touch (maybe we say this to her too much)
*up peese (up please)
*more peese (more please)
*tank you (thank you)
*used to say molk (milk) but now says milk
*nana (banana)
*nigh nigh (night night)
*all daw (all done)
*all gaw (all gone)
*wata (water)
*Go Go Go (for Go Dog Go book)
*Popca (Popcorn)
*God
*walk outside
*book
*no no
*upsairs (upstairs)
*house (when she wants to play with the dollhouse)
*baby
*uh oh
*yucky
*bafroom (bathroom)
*nose, eyes, toes
*daddy, mommy or mama, teter (Peter), Andrew, Emma, Abby
*gaga (grandma and grandpa)
*cheese
*buta (button)
*Baby Bach (favorite VHS tape)
*bye bye
*hi
*baf (bath)
*sha (shower)
*1,2,3
*shoes

Abby's fun moments:

*runs towards me with her eyes closed
*sits on the piano bench and opens the hymm book so I will play her a song
*loves to sing the ABC song
*would run around naked all day if I let her
*loves to sit in the rocking chair on my lap while we read books together
*loves to be held with a blanket and sung to before bed
*will pick out her shoes from the shoe bucket and bring them to me
*will attempt to put on her shoes
*loves to play with Emma's new dollhouse...especially the car
*loves to push any kind of button that makes noise
*loves to play with the babies
*loves to push the strollers and shopping cart
*after seeing mom and dad kiss will immediately give out kisses
*loves to sing and giggle to the alligator song
*favorite songs are Popcorn Popping, I am a Child of God, The Temple Song, In the Leafy Treetops, and the Snowman song
*likes to wear necklaces, braclets, and hats
*loves chocolate and even gets excited at the sound of the word
*looks in the mirror and says Abby over and over again

Abby's disgusting/naughty moments:

*will let the doctor look in her ears but doesn't want me to brush her teeth
*still finds a corner to sit in to do her duty
*picks her nose
*will only leave the bows in her hair for about 2 minutes
*will play in the toilet bowl when given the chance (ie...the door is left open)
*chews on all the rubber tops to the water bottle lids
*stands up on the big chairs and will only sit for a second before standing up again
*shoves the remainder of her meals in the hole where the tray fits into
*loves to coat her hair with peanut butter from her sandwich
*loves to pull moms hair at random moments
*will scream at the top of her lungs and then put her finger to her mouth and say shh

...and after all that I still LOVE her 110%!!!

Happy End of 2009

Well, it's time to say goodbye to another year. Looking back I can honestly say that there were some great moments in 2009. We learned a lot from this year. It was a year of togetherness, trial, joy, knowledge, hope, faith, prayer, and love. I am so grateful for the things I faced this year because they taught me that the most important things in life truly are our families. I have always known this but my testimony of true happiness through eternal families is so much stronger now than it has ever been. Our family drew closer together this year and because of that we will be stronger when we leave Washington. Who knows where the winds will take us and I don't really care because I know that wherever we go I will have my best friends right there with me! Here's to another great year in 2010!