The Effects of Downton Abbey

Today I asked A if she wanted to wash her big dishes.  She threw her book down, stomped into the kitchen and said,

"I just can't wait until I marry someone royal so that everyone else can do my chores for me." 

Can you tell what we've been watching?!

Pictures Anyone?!?!

Meet Our Smiliest Kid Yet!!!



This was funny to me because this was his constant position while in the womb and it's how he continued to sleep for the first few months.

And I couldn't resist a picture or two of my six crazy kiddies all together.  CRAZY like their Mama!!!

Let's Think About This

What is wrong with the English language?!  


One spelling...5 different sounds:


 -ough = 


dough
plough
cough
through
rough

?????????????????????? 


(the kids thought this was pretty fascinating)

2 Birthdays & Baby Pics

It's been three weeks!!

I'm cuddling with this baby so much more than I did with the others.  I think it's because I realize just how quickly they become big kids! 

The worst is over with my illness, though there are still some unanswered questions. 

I can say, this child has been a blessing.  He is such a calm, mild-mannered, content little boy.  Hopefully he won't grow out of that or get spoiled into thinking he needs to held all the time (with so many hands around to hold him!).  

I love this picture!!!

Isn't he so Handsome!

And amidst all of this baby-ness we celebrated two other birthdays!

Brooklynn turns 10!

Ethan turns 4!

Family Night Fun

Each week we have what is called Family Home Evening (aka family night) during which we have a little gospel lesson or discussion and then usually play a game, have a treat and just be a family. We all keep that one day of the week free from any other calendar events (as much as possible). Here are just a couple of our more recent family night activities.

The last couple of times after General Conference our family night the Monday after has been "Conference Jeopardy."  This year we had topics such as "Follow the Prophet" (things our prophet said),  Music, Temples, Numbers (i.e. how many missionaries are currently serving throughout the world), and Words of the Apostles.  This is becoming one of our favorite FHE activities.  Next time I think I'm going to have the kids come up with some questions/answers. 

This was JL's lesson this past week.  It took him and B 3 hours to prepare.  Why?  Because they kept changing the scripture story they wanted to share.  It went from Samuel the Lamanite to Ammon cutting off the arms of the sheep robbers to the story of Abinidi.  Either way, I thought the figures JL drew were quite impressive and he really did work hard! 

 * * * * *

On another note:  my husband and I have been discussing how to manage Family Night with the age differences of our children.  The older kids are ready for a much more relaxed gospel discussion-like setting whereas the younger kids still need a little bit of that "entertainment" value that the older kids have had up until now.   I suggested we have a Sunday night discussion with our older kids and then have a quick family night on Mondays geared more toward the little kiddies.  Then I just discovered that a great friend of mine does this with her family and that they love it! 

Another suggestion I had from my sister was that they just have the one family night but her husband will just come up with a topic and each child has to share what they know about that topic.  The little & the big kids can all participate this way going from the very basic to more in depth discussion. 

What do any of you do for famiy home evenings if there's a wide age span?

The Mind of a Three Year Old

So I just had this conversation with my 3 1/2 yo son.

Son:  Mom, can JL play with the basketball upstairs?
Mom:  I don't care.
Son:  But I just said no to him.
Mom:  Well, you're not in charge.
Son:  Yes I am!
Mom:  You're the one in charge?
Son:  Yeah!

Okay....silly conversation but it tells you everything about this child!!!  I really do think he believes he's in charge and doesn't go by one day without telling me so in one way or another!  Heaven help me!!!

Relishing in the Moments

 Okay, so normally I destest snow.  I have loved living here for that very reason . . . very little snow.  But this year is a whole different story, and it's a good thing because it came record-breakingly early!!  For some reason I just couldn't wait to get the kids out in the snow.  Maybe it's because I've been feeling cooped up in the house for the past 8 weeks (yes, we are expecting #6 and morning sickness if finally subsiding!).  Or maybe it's because JW was home for a whole week and I wanted to just make it a week of fun and games!  Or maybe it's because the snow actually made it feel like holiday time because we've had such a warm, sunny autumn.  I don't know why, I just know that I was eager to take the kids sledding!  So, I had each of the kids invite a friend to go sledding with us.  We only lasted a short 45 minutes before most of the kids were frozen (mostly mine because we really aren't equipped for snowy weather!).  Afterwards I brought them all to our house for hot chocolate and sour cream twists (a yummy pastry created by my very own mother!).  Delicious!  We had all the fixin's for good hot cocoa, too . . . flavorings, cinnamon, wipped cream or ice cream.  And then the kids just stayed to play for a good couple of hours.  It was fabulous. 

Also, thanks to the snow, our travel plans were cancelled which means we got to stay home and have our own quiet and lovely Thanksgiving dinner and day!  Don't get me wrong, I love our families, but it was sure nice to have a week of nothing but our own family, games, movies and yummy food.  I tried a small turkey breast in the crockpot this year (our large, ancient dictionary came in handy keeping the lid tight) and it was so fabulous & easy, I don't think I'll want to do a large turkey ever again!  Loved it! 

And so this week I got to relish in the simple, the fun and the joyous parts of being a mother and a wife!  Again, I attribute a lot to the fact that I'm actually feeling so much better and ready to start the 2nd trimester.  The pressure of being a wife and mother was starting to weigh on me as the weeks dragged on these past couple of months.  It's always nice to know the bad moments don't last forever.  But it's also just as bitter, sometimes, to realize the good and great moments won't always last forever! 

This week was a reminder to me of all that I truly am grateful for and to be even more grateful for the small moments that add up to many great memories! 

This week reminded me to remember what truly matters most!