Joy in Each Day

One of my favorite videos to watch this time of year is this one:

I shared it with my night class earlier this week on a day that I needed some extra encouragement to look for the good around me. This was me as I was leaving the doctor who told me to not move my shoulder for two weeks. (Yeah, no big deal I just have 3 small kids and one sleeps in a crib.)

I sent this picture (sorry this was real life) to the Smart One and told him the diagnosis of waking up with shoulder pain and not being able to lift my arm. The doctor called it Bursitis, to me it just feels like I'm old and not even 35!

I went home overwhelmed at the thought of my to do list. I had school stuff to get done and my house was a wreck (it was the day after Halloween after all). Of course the Smart One immediately calmed me down and helped me prioritize, he's good like that. He and the kids cleaned up while I taught my class. 

As I showed the video to my class I was reminded of some great blessings I had at that moment.

1. How great of a blessing our bodies really are, I still have my health and can function ok.

2. Freezer meals are perfect at times like this, so glad I did a bunch with one of my besties last month!

 3. I have a pretty amazing husband and pretty great kids! Truly, I'm not just saying that. 

4. A season in which to strive to focus on those things I'm grateful for.

Yesterday I started looking for some quotes for Thanksgiving and came across this talk that Pres. Uchtdorf gave 4 years ago in general conference, Of Regrets and Resolutions

My favorite part was this:

"Brothers and sisters, no matter our circumstances, no matter our challenges or trials, there is something in each day that can bring gratitude and joy if only we will see and appreciate it. 

"Perhaps we should be looking less with our eyes and more with our hearts."

I look forward to being able to stand up straight to do my hair and put on makeup in the (hopeful) near future. Until then my goal is to try harder to find gratitude and joy in each day. 

Kindness Above All

I'm trying to grade right now as my baby takes a nap and my middle child plays Minion Rush. Usually this is semi-effective but the assignments I'm grading right now are hard ones. They are time consuming and get a bit tedious at times. 

I should be redlining assignments . . . .

The hard part for me this morning is trying to focus as I keep thinking about an email a student sent me this morning. I am finishing up my 7th year teaching at LDS Business College in a few short weeks and the email I received today is unlike any other I have received. This ending of the year brings a lot of stress to the students in my department as they prepare for their big portfolio event and graduation. They often talk about the stress they feel and times of overwhelming to do lists. I have had students in the past who have done very well, that have failed, just made it through and been average. 

This current semester I have one particular student who is struggling, in danger of failing and not graduating. This is nothing new or out of the ordinary. It has sadly happened before to others. She sat next to another student in class this week who at times has struggled but has also spent a lot of extra time to understand and is much more confident than in the past. The student who is more confident sent me an email this morning asking for help. Not for her own assignment but how she might help the struggling student, what she might be able to do. I was initially shocked, knowing how busy each student is right now. But then I thought of this student and what a Christlike example she is to care for another when she has so much on her own plate. 

As I look to celebrating Easter this Sunday I was reminded of the Savior's example of kindness and the scripture Matthew 25:40, which reads, 

"And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

What an eye opening reminder for me as I look to celebrating the life, death and Resurrection of my Savior this Sunday. Hallelujah for kindness!

New Year, Fresh Start

10 years ago New Year's Day was life changing for me. I didn't think so at the time but a decision I made that day was pivotal in creating the life I now have. As I think back to that day and the turmoil I felt I was in, I think it almost ironic all that happened on the day it did. As people are making resolutions to do so many things and people are so full of hope and change with a fresh start at the beginning of a new year. Because of the things that happened on that day 10 years ago I remember the next couple of days being literally ill; like fever, chills, throw up, etc. kind of ill. I believe it was a release of a lot of emotional stress that I had been under. 

One might ask why I look back on that day as life changing, it sounds pretty crappy. It was. But there is also no coincidence that my husband and I will be celebrating our 10th anniversary this year. I didn't decide on that New Year's Day that I would marry him or anything even close to that. Without all the details, I decided that day that I wanted to move forward in the direction to date him and see where things went. This might sound silly, but because of that I've always looked forward to the new year as a fresh start and a chance to change direction. Do I make great resolutions and live up to them even close to perfectly? No. But in the words of Anne Shirley:

Credit to Jill, check out her great talent here.

So this year for my resolve I am focusing on a poem. This last year my Grandma died and at her funeral my uncle read a poem that was written by my Grandpa. And then my aunt actually gave us a copy of it in his handwriting for Christmas. 

Do you wish the world were better?

Let me tell you what to do

Set a watch upon your actions

Keep them always straight and true

Rid your mind of selfish motives

Let your thoughts be clean and high

You can make a little Eden

Of the sphere you occupy. 

There are several more specific goals to go along with this but this if my focus. I am going to memorize it and have children memorize it also. 2016 is full of so many possibilities, I look forward to what it brings. 

Christmas Lessons 2015

Each year at the beginning of the Christmas season I think about what will make this Christmas memorable or different or whatever else. This last year has been an adjustment to three kids and I feel that this Christmas was busier and crazier than normal trying to accomplish the never ending to-do list. But as Christmas has now come and gone I have thought about a couple of things I’ve learned from this Christmas season that I wanted to write down, even if I’m the only one who reads it.

I often think of this quote from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, “For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself.” Two experiences made this particularly poignant to me this year.

#1 Earlier this fall when doing some testing for my oldest he was asked what he would wish for if he was given three wishes. The doctor told my husband and me that he had asked our son this and asked us to guess what the answers were. Now I start asking my kids early what they want for Christmas and they are quite creative making up toys that don’t exist so I figured it was something like that. I was shocked when the doctor told us that our son had wished for his own house and family of his own (when he is older) and to be kind.

#2 I got the chance to take my boys shopping to buy a present for each other. We decided last year this would be a good chance/lesson for them to use their own money to buy something for each other. I first shopped with the oldest and we counted his money while at Target so he knew how much he had. He was ready to spend ALL his money on something awesome for his little brother. It was quite sweet. I then shopped with my youngest son and went through the same thing of counting his money at the store. And just like his brother, he was ready to spend ALL his money on a cool present for his brother. It was wonderful to see this moment twice separate from each other how both of my boys wanted to give all they had to their brother. That same brother that they fight with most of the day long and leg tackle and yell at and punch, etc.

These two made me realize I need to focus my priorities and see things more simply. My boys are such wonderful examples to me. I hope all had a wonderful Christmas and wish you a Happy New Year!

Babies Don't Keep

I have been thinking about my children and what I can do to teach them and help them a lot the last few days. I was even thinking about writing a blog post about it also. I went to church today and was able to attend Relief Society. The lesson just happened to be on families and parenthood. It was just what I needed. I recently (probably the last month or two) read an article about a mother struggling to care for her newborn. I could really relate, it can be so straining to care for a newborn and then add other children and responsibilities. Some things don't get done each day but the baby has needs that HAVE to be taken care of. There is no saying, "I'll get to it later" or "When I have more time . . " What I gained from the article was that this woman changed her perspective to that of caring for her baby was her job, that was her primary goal to accomplish day in and day out. She found that she got more joy out of her "job" when she thought of it that way.

My thoughts started this week when I was frustrated at the condition of my home. It was a disaster, you know tornado type disaster. The things I had accomplished that day were take my kids to swimming lessons, vacuum the family room, clean the toilets, make dinner, and watched my two nieces. We had a great time with them playing, my kids love their cousins. It sounds like a lot and actually is I guess but I was frustrated when I looked around and my house was still a mess. What did I expect when the whole house wasn't vacuumed, just one room. The bathrooms weren't clean, just the toilets. I then remembered a little poem my mom had hanging up when I was a child.

"The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow, 

For children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep."

Baby #1 about 4 months old

Baby #2 about 5 months old

Baby #3 - 5 months old

My 3 babies a month ago

It is true that babies don't keep, look at them! I was about in tears when I thought of that little poem. Am I missing the point? My job is to be a mother! I need to wake up. So that night I went into their rooms and looked at them and kissed them goodnight (again). They were so sweet and peaceful just sleeping.

I often use #IAmAMother when I post things because it explains so much. Kids are crazy and our days hardly go as I plan in my mind and that is ok. I started thinking how I want my kids to remember their mother. It is a big job but I hope each day will be better and we learn from each other. I'm not perfect, far from it! I just hope to keep trying and being able to learn and play with my little ones.

One quote I loved from today's lesson was, "Do you know why righteous mothers love their children so much? Because they sacrifice so much for them. We love what we sacrifice for and we sacrifice for what we love." My own mother told me this same thing several years ago and more and more I understand not only what she was saying but what she did for her family.

Easter Thoughts

I know Easter was over a week ago but is it ever too late to post a message about Jesus? I think not. I just wanted to write down a couple of thoughts I had leading up to Easter that were started with a short and frustrating story. About two weeks before Easter we were cleaning up the kitchen after dinner and asked the boys to clean up the living room to get ready for Family Home Evening (FHE). The usual whining and complaining ensued. However; the Silly One, for whatever reason, decided to throw a plastic dinosaur at the Small One and hit him right in the face. Now this wasn't done from across the room, he was a couple of feet from him. This also wasn't done with one of those little plastic dinosaurs, it was of those those about 6" or so. I was immediately so frustrated and could not comprehend the logic that caused this action.

The FHE lesson I planned was no longer going to happen as consequences were such that the Silly One was going to bed ASAP. They both got ready for bed and I remembered the Bible story picture books we have so I pulled out the Easter Story one.

We read it quickly and at the end I was struck by something so simple. After the Savior has been resurrected he appears to his disciples and in the book he said, "Go and tell the world what God has taught us: if we do bad things, we should be sorry. If other people do bad things, we should forgive them." We finished the book and had family prayer, the Silly One said sorry and the Small One forgave him. It was amazing to me what a profound lesson came from such a mess. None of our lives are perfect and not one of us is perfect, but because Jesus dies and rose on the third day we have hope for tomorrow. Hope to be better and become better. Peace through forgiveness because of His atonement. I know He lives!

A little Busy

We've been a little busy around here as this little sweet pea joined our family over 7 weeks ago!

We love this baby sister!

Can you tell some boys just love being big brothers?

We love our little family of 5!

Christmas of Peace!

I have had a lot of thoughts going through my mind the last few weeks. I have thoroughly enjoyed this Christmas season and I was trying to figure out yesterday what the difference was. Last night my extended family gathered for our traditional Christmas Eve program/evening. My mom gave the Christmas message. She told several stories and talked about different messages of Christmas and how they can vary each year. As I contemplated on this I realized my personal message of Christmas this year has been peace. As soon as I write that I automatically think of the countless moments and days that were not peaceful in my house leading up to Christmas and I'm sure will continue in the future. I am a mother of two young boys with a little girl on the way. That is life and so much craziness comes with that, at least in our household!

I have tried to be really organized and not stressed out. (Being pregnant has caused me to, perhaps, over plan things.) I have tried to focus more on the Savior and not on all the projects and things I need to do. I started a tradition in our family last year that each day for family scripture study we read a story about Jesus starting with his birth and Christmas Eve is His resurrection. I tried to not pack our days but do several meaningful things. Was this really the difference? Honestly I am not sure. My visiting teacher came to visit last week and the message she shared was the Savior being the Prince of Peace. This part specifically touched me:

"'The Savior is the source of true peace,' said Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. 'Even with the trials of life, because of the Savior's Atonement and His grace, righteous living will be rewarded with personal peace.'"

As she shared that with me I immediately reflected on my day. The Smart One was working late, again, the boys were at that moment being crazy/loud and running, and I was tired. There was no peace surrounding me and yet I felt it through the spirit.

I am grateful for this wonderful Christmas Season to learn about and celebrate the Savior. He truly is the way to find joy and peace in our lives. Merry Christmas!

Positive Challenge - Day 4

Cheers for me to post my positives actually today!

1. Play dates with great friends. I have a great friend from high school who has kids close to my boys' ages and we often get together and while the kiddos play we chat. I look forward to those days.

2. Dancing and singing to "Roar" by Katy Perry with my boys while cleaning up the kitchen. Yep, one of their favorites. :)

3. Anyone that knows me well knows that I clean the laundry but don't often get it folded in a timely manner. Tonight I folded a lot while listening to General Conference talks and it feels great to have it done.

Women and the LDS Church

I started a similar post last fall, it started to take a contentious tone so I stopped and never posted it. I hope that I can just convey my thoughts and opinions as a way of understanding. I feel the need to write down my feelings and thoughts no matter if no one else reads them. I know that not everyone agrees with me but I feel there is a missing voice, or perhaps a not so vocal voice, on my side of the issue. What issue is that? Women and the LDS church. It all started last September with articles about the injustice of women not having the priesthood and those same women wanting to attend priesthood session of the upcoming General Conference. Everything got stirred within me again this last week. I was talking with some neighbors who are LDS women about some issues and some people who have decided to leave the church. There was also recent article in the NY times about this that was pretty good and somewhat fair but still had to thrown in what I call the “Joanna Brooks Camp.”  I am not part of that. I tend to get frustrated when they make blanket statements as if they are talking for all women of the LDS faith. They do not and that is the reason for this blog post. 

I am a quite passionate person and this passion can push me to act rash at times but I feel also is why I feel so strongly about my faith. Let me give you some background about me and why I have the perspective I do. (Why do people always have the need to explain themselves especially when stating an opinion? To justify it? Perhaps a question for my rhetoric studying lil’ brother) I grew up as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah. Yes, what you would call a typical “Mormon Girl.” I attended church weekly with my family and was involved in Primary and the Young Women program. I attended Seminary in high school and my dream was to attend BYU. I made a two-year stop at BYU-Idaho but did make it to BYU where I met my wonderful husband in our singles ward(congregation). Like I said, typical Mormon girl.

Here is where I didn't feel like I was “typical.” From about the age of 14 I had a great interest in architecture. My family built a new home and I was fascinated. I had a desire to become an architect, not the typical stay at home mom that is common in the LDS church. I also was a very independent person. I wanted to do things my way and for myself. One time a male friend of mine told me I was “dependable.” I took this that I was a great friend. No, what he meant was that I needed or depended on having a boyfriend. He also said this right before my boyfriend at the time left for an LDS mission. I was determined to prove this friend wrong and being stubborn like I am didn't have a boyfriend for two years. Also while in my first semester of college I was taking a Book of Mormon class and we were discussing foreordination in Alma 13. It was focused on male foreordination to the priesthood. I raised my hand during the discussion and basically said this is all great but what about me? Where do I fit? I don’t have the priesthood. My professor responded with a generic answer that we are mothers and all that goes with that. I was somewhat satisfied but was incredibly impressed the next time we had class. The professor got up and expressed how he had not felt he answered my question completely during the last class. He proceeded to share numerous quotes by prophets and apostles about the divine role of women. It was amazing and what I see as the start of my shift in perspective.

So with that being said are women in the LDS church equal to the men? In short, yes. I believe that. I believe that men and women have divine and also uniquely different roles that without each other cannot be perfect. Perfect like the Savior, Jesus Christ, and our Father in Heaven. That is what we are all striving for, right? My final shift in perspective was the first time I went to the temple to receive my own endowments. I was engaged to marry my husband and before being sealed in the temple I needed to be endowed. I sat there in the temple that day and learned more of what that partnership between man and woman was. The next week I was sealed for time and all eternity to my partner and eternal companion. A partnership in creating a family. A partnership in helping each other learn and grow. A partnership that can also be partnered with a loving Father in Heaven. That is why I believe women are important and equal in the LDS church.

Where am I now? I am a wife and a mother full-time, you know 24/7. I am also a part-time instructor at a small college. I teach a Computer Design class in the Interior Design department. I teach my students to draw and create floor plans and other drawings of the spaces they design. I teach a night class once a week. I have a supportive husband who leaves work 30 minutes early once a week to switch cars with me and go home with our boys. It is a small job right now and I have goals to one day own a design consulting business. We'll see where the future takes us.

Saying what I have, I don’t want to discount others feelings and past experiences that are painful or discouraging that I myself have not experienced. Those are real and can be difficult to overcome. I thankfully have never had bad experiences with my priesthood leaders. I know that some women who have not married may not feel that same faith in a partnership that right now doesn’t exist for them. But all of us are promised the blessings of heaven if we are faithful. That includes an eternal partner in the future.

This doesn't come close to all my thoughts and experiences on this subject but I feel it all comes down to a few thoughts for me. The gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect, the men and women within the church are not. This fact is why it is important that we doubt our doubts first and not our faith. I don’t understand everything and feel so inadequate at my roles and responsibilities all the time. (My husband could second that with the amount I cry to him about this and that). But when I start to doubt I go back to my faith. I have a testimony that Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and restored Christ’s church to the earth in these last days. I have a testimony that he translated the Book of Mormon and have personally read that book and have a testimony of its truthfulness. I also have a testimony that Thomas S. Monson is our living prophet today. I have a testimony that Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father live. They love us and are in the details of our lives. I have a testimony that as my husband and I strive to work together toward perfection that we can gain our eternal exaltation. This is my faith and it strengthens me when I start to doubt.

Photo of the Day - A Game

This was just too perfect for today's picture. We are big BYU fans and went to the basketball game tonight. We loved watching our Cougars beat Pacific tonight!

Near the end of the game. 

Here we are cheering on the boys in blue!

Photo of the Day - Laugh

Laugh was actually the challenge for yesterday but I loved this picture. The boys think they are pretty funny. One thing they love to do is put on their Daddy's shoes and show him they are wearing them. Of course he makes a big deal so it is even more fun for them. This was the Small One this morning:

Photo of the Day - Delicate

This is the photo that was supposed to be for the 9th but don't worry, today's is not far behind. Guess what is in bloom? Seriously I bet you wish you had this beauty blooming on your counter in January. I love this flower!

Photo of the Day - Fresh

January means here come the new house projects which obviously needs the fresh ideas. Here is the project in the works:

Obviously it is just in the plan stage, and yes, I draw up on AutoCAD most of the house projects. (I draw picture layout options in AuotCAD) My sister is the one who found the idea and told me about it. Now we can do it together. I also knew my husband would want in on the action and wanted a saw for Christmas so he could help with the project. ;) It is always exciting for me to have a new project especially if I can get my paint brush out for a fresh coat of paint!

Photo of the Day - Organize

A little introduction. I am not a photographer and I am not one that thinks I take fabulous pictures or even tries to take fabulous pictures, I just enjoy taking pictures. With that said, anyone that knows me knows that January is hard for me. It is a let down from the holidays and having lived in Utah my whole life, with the exceptions of two years in Eastern Idaho, January is usually cold and depressing. This is where you can start thinking about the lines from Groundhog Day, "It's going to be cold, it's going to be wet and it is going to last you the rest of your life." Really I feel that way at times.

One of my goals this year is to be more positive but I'll blog about that later. So part of that I am going to try to take a picture each day the month and January and hopefully that will help me not hate the next 30 days. And I am not going to get frustrated or down on myself if I skip a day (ahem, like yesterday, you know, January 1st.) I am using the photo list from the Idea Room. Most days probably won't have this long of an explanation. I guess I just had to write down my reasoning to justify myself?

Today is Organize:

We've been sorting and organizing toys. It helps when you get cute blue bins for Christmas and a great deal on more bins at IKEA!

What do you want for Christmas little boy?

Every time I think of sitting on Santa's lap all I can hear in my head is the scene in "A Christmas Story." Things like, "I like the Wizard of Oz. I like the Tin Man." "Football? What's a football?" On to my story:

We went to a Christmas party with my sister and the big man was there. This is the first year the Silly One has actually wanted to sit on Santa's lap and talk to him. This was a big deal. Sometimes it is hard being a parent and really knowing what your kid wants for Christmas. It is easy when they are little and they are just excited to get a present. Last year the Silly One became obsessed with wanting a Mack truck (from the Cars movies) in early December. I just kept waiting for that to happen this year because whenever I'd ask him he would make some crazy thing up (ie: a huge Santa that would move and talk on its own, seriously sounds creepy to me). I figured this was my chance, he would tell Santa what he wanted and I would finally know. 

He first stood next to Santa and talked to him. We then convinced him to sit on his lap to get a picture with Santa and the Small One. As we walked away, I asked the Silly One what he asked Santa for. He responded, "I told him I wanted a Samurai Castle just like mine for my brother." This is what Santa brought him last year. My heart melted, my sweet boy didn't ask for anything for himself but instead something he likes for his brother. (Now true, he could be thinking that if there were two he wouldn't have to share but I'll stick with the sweet thought.) What a wonderful example to me of the true Christmas spirit, being Christlike to those around us and being truly selfless. 

Forced Thankfulness?

I started a blog post about a month ago after the first ER visit with the Small One but didn't like the direction it was going so I never finished it. I haven't even blogged about that kid's birthday on our family blog. It has been a hard month for us, I won't go into all the details. The quick facts: the Small One ended up with a skull fracture, the Silly One got 5 stitches in his chin after crashing on his bike and the Smart One was in the ER earlier this evening and ended up getting a gastroscope. (Hence I referenced the "first" ER visit.) After the first incident I had a huge wake up call as to how precious life really is, things are fine one moment and can be gone the next. Thankfully everyone is fine, even as I write this. The boys are healed and back to their normal (crazy and wild) selves. 

The Smart One is sleeping it off and hopefully will be back to normal tomorrow. I thought about writing a blog post about being thankful for modern medicine and the wonderful things they are able to do and discover in an instant, it is Thanksgiving in a week after all. I thought about writing how thankful I am for my wonderful little family and how each of them mean the world to me. I could go on and on about the thoughts I had about being thankful but as I was thinking I realized it is more than just being thankful. I need to live that gratitude. 

My greatest blessings, as silly as they are!

A few years ago at a large Thanksgiving dinner (my favorite way to have it) there was a particularly poignant thought on the favor that year. I liked it so much it has been stuck to my fridge ever since. It spoke of not just giving thanks but in actually living it. We shouldn't have to be forced into thankfulness as I feel I am at times. And yet here I am overwhelmed by my feelings just for 3 people, not counting the many others who impact my life for good. My goal this Thanksgiving season and moving forward is to not just be grateful and thankful for the bounteous blessings I have been given but to act on that gratitude. To show those people that mean more to me than anything how wonderful I think they are. To strive to share the blessings I have with others around me.

"Gratitude is expressed in prayer and thanksgiving, but more so in living lives of honor and integrity, of kindness and compassion, in awareness of others and their needs, and an honest expression of gratitude for all those who bless and affect our lives for good. Thanksgiving is best expressed in thanks-living -in lives of goodness and obedience and love and service."

- A. Theodore Tuttle

Thinking Positive

Yesterday was our 7 year anniversary. We recently returned home from a family reunion to Idaho and Yellowstone. My plan was to wash everything and then enjoy the evening as a family to celebrate. The Smart One and I had made plans to celebrate just the two of us next week at the OC Tanner Gift of Music Concert with James Taylor. The Smart One headed to work and I started the first load (of many) to get the wash going. I soon realized the washer wasn't working and after many internet suggestions and cleaning up water with the shop vac I was ready to give up. Not how I anticipated the day going at all. Other things happened as well that I won't go into detail, just to say that life happens. At one point the Smart One was apologizing for things not going as planned and I had the thought, it is all because Adam and Eve fell. It is part of life and although I understood it I was having a hard time not being a downer about things.
I tried to find something positive about it all and the only one I could think of was that this was the first appliance repair in all 7 years, not too bad on that front. But the thing that really changed my outlook was driving home from getting dinner and doing a couple of loads of laundry at my parent's home.
The sunset:

Sunset view from the end of our street

The sunset in itself was amazing and pictures never do them justice it seems. I remembered a silly story from when I was in high school. I had gone to Temple Square for a YW activity and I remember that night looking at the temple and seeing the sunset was purple behind it. I decided I was going to get married on that day, May 14, sometime in the future to have a purple sunset on my wedding day. Well 4 years later I got married but it was August 26 instead, and if I remember correctly the sunset was purplish that night just like last night. A small tender mercy and a blessing to see something good in frustrating life moments.

Legos and my boys!

I love being a mom, that is the truth! But to be totally honest, it is hard to be a mom. It can be exhausting and frustrating and at times bring me to tears. It is also one of the most rewarding things in the world. As hard as it is to be a mom at times I wouldn't trade it for anything, really ANYTHING. 

I had one of those great moments tonight. Usually on Thursdays I am so ready for bedtime and usually because the Smart One goes to scouts so I do bedtime solo. The Silly One wanted to play with Legos so while I was doing dinner he was working on building a race car. He got Legos for Christmas and has been loving them and is even getting pretty good at building things and modifying to make them his own. We ate dinner as a family and the Smart One was off to scouts and I cleaned up. Once the dishwasher was loaded I helped finish the race car. I got totally sucked in, we ended up making two more cars and the boys and I had a race. A race in which started simple but then the rules changed mid-race and all of a sudden the cars could fly. :) It probably sounds silly but while we were playing I had the thought how wonderful it is to be a mother of boys. I am grateful for these two crazy boys!

On a side note, I have been meaning to post the sweet flower my Silly One gave me on Mother's Day.

The middle says, "I Love My Mom because. . ."

Each petal has his answer to a question:

My favorite thing to do with my Mom: Play games

My Mom is good at: making stuff and playing basketball

My Mom is as beautiful as: a flower

My Mom teaches me: to tie my shoes

My Mom loves me because: she makes yummy stuff

My Mom makes the best: Chocolate stuff

Apparently I make a lot of good food. :) This made my day. See didn't I tell you being a Mom was the best? So worth it.

Excitement of a Child

On our way home from the store tonight I stopped to pick up the mail. I noticed a couple of postcards in the mail for the boys as I got it. I got back in the car and told the Silly One there was something for him, he could hardly wait to get home. Once home I showed him the postcard and it was from Grandpa and Grandma who have been in Arizona this week. He loved looking at the picture and when I read the back to him. Tonight when he said his prayer he told Heavenly Father he loved many things and one of them was, "I love my mail!" It was so sweet. I need to remember to "love" and enjoy the simple things.