Family

My Princess...

Maybe I'm trying to make up for the months of no posts, but since I just posted pictures of the boys, I thought it fitting to do one about my little princess.  Ava is such a sweet heart and I don't know what I would do without her!  While she can be a total drama queen, she is patient, caring, and always willing to share with her three little brothers.  I actually think she is getting to be more and more fun as she is growing and learning about the world.  She and I can have real conversations (something I miss sometimes being at home all day with the kids) and I really appreciate that.  She has started to tell "jokes" that make absolutely no sense, but she still thinks its funny and it makes me laugh!  I love her to death.

Everyday Moments; its a mess, but a beautiful mess!

Sometimes I love it, sometimes I don't.  But whether I like it or not, this is what my livingroom looks like on a daily basis....

New Year= resolutions!

      Okay, I'll admit that I honestly thought it was a little funny that people made new year resolutions. I've always thought of resolutions as something you always work on.  I remember as a little girl sitting down with my parents every so often and laying out goals: spiritual, physical, mental, etc. The thought of a special time of year to set a resolution hasn't made much sense for me. 
       But this year is different and I am kind of excited for the new year.  I'm not sure what it will bring.  I hope it brings a loss of weight, maturing children, and a new (higher paying) job for my husband!  For the first time in almost six and a half years I am not breastfeeding or pregnant; so this is totally my year where I can focus a little more on what I want for me instead of being sick, or huge, or sleep-deprived. 
      I am making goals for two things in particular.  Over the years my quality scripture study has seriously decreased while my weight has seriously increased.  I am not exactly sure how I am going to squeeze exercise and scripture study into my chaotic day, but I will!  I know it sounds way cheesey, but I am going to do it and I am excited.  Hopefully these goals will get me through the January and February blues I get every year (I SWEAR those are the LONGEST months of the year)!

Merry Christmas!

 

Our Christmas Day:

(pictures coming soon)

Today was amazing! It was a perfect balance between gifts and fun, but also sweet and spiritually uplifting.  I LOVE having Christmas on Sunday because it puts the day in perspective when you leave all your brand-new toys at home and go to worship the Lord! Then of course you get to ponder for some time about the true meaning of Christmas. I loved the program, especially this year, with beautiful thoughts, scriptures and, of course, hymns.

             William and I were both grateful that the kids slept in til 7:30 since we got into bed around 2 a.m.  Normally they are up by 5:30 and it was the first time all four kids have slept in- EVER.   So we started with our traditional “prayer on mom and dads bed,” then “picture on the stairs.”

We went downstairs and emptied the stockings.  In our family there is a small gift that sits next to the stocking and Ava’s was a piggy bank, later when she was asked what she got for Christmas, that is the one thing she could remember!

         Then we opened gifts.  To keep spending and expectations at a reasonable level, and make planning easier, the kids know to expect four gifts: Something to wear, something to read, something you want, something you need.  Honestly it ends up being some books, whatever clothing is needed, and more like two fun gifts.  This year Ava got a bike and squinkies, cam got a nerf gun and dress-ups,  Bennett got blocks and balls, and Pierson just got a single present (a $2 yard sale toy) but he doesn’t really care!

I feel like it was the perfect balance; they didn’t get too much, but just enough to feel very blessed and satisfied!

            After opening all the gifts I asked the kids if Santa ate the cookies they left for him.  Sure enough, the cookies were gone and there was a short note and a picture of our toilet!  What?!?  Why did Santa leave a picture of our toilet?  I don’t know!  That’s weird!  Lets go look at our toilet.  Then on our toilet was a picture of the fridge…. The scavenger hunt lasted about 10 minutes, and ended in our basement where there was a brand new 8 foot trampoline!  So ok, yes, it was a big Christmas.  But I have a feeling this trampoline will save my sanity while we are stuck indoors over the winter.

             Anyway, it was just a wonderful morning.  Following church we traveled to my grandma and grandpa Anderson’s place for the waffles, eggs, bacon, and orange Julius they prepare each year.  Yum!  Then we visited my sister and enjoyed some more family time.  Awesome day!! Hope yours was just as great!

DIY fun!

Between dishes and disasters, I try to retain my sanity by creating something that doesn't become undone almost instantly. Here are some recent attempts (BTW- It is painfully obvious here that I am most definitely NOT a photographer):

Ava's bed was looking a little unfinished, so I threw a couple accent pillows together one night.  I made the large flower one in the center (i was copying a flower pillow I saw on etsy that was selling for $40) made with lots of half-circles of a nice quality felt. The other two pillows I made with fabric I already had on hand.
Now its looking better and although Billy would disagree with me, I think it still could use a couple more.

A mason jar with a spray-painted glass candlestick and wooden knob= cute candy jar.  Obviously I over-did the ribbon, but it has to look festive and my kids wont leave the colorful candy in it!

This Dry-erase menu board was easily less than $10 to make.  I picked up the frame at a yard sale, painted it, used some scrap fabric behind the glass, and the cricut cut the vinyl- walla!

Having sold a large piece of artwork that use to hang in my entryway (believe me, the kids will enjoy the trampoline that they will be receiving with the money MUCH more than they ever appreciated the picture), I needed to put something on the wall!  So this is it.  It is obvious what I did, so I won't go into it.  But its cute right  All of the frames are roughly 8x10 or 5x7.

Take a guess at what these are... that's right!  Re-purposed cabinet doors!  Sanded, painted, antiqued with a little stain, then simply mod-podged some fabulous photos of my kids and there you have it!  SO simple, but way cute- and quality too.  PS- don't worry. The color is off and the nauseating blue you see here is not true to form.

A couple of Sundays ago I was bored before church and got an itch to do something, so i pulled out some old fabric and started cutting (This idea was thanks to pintrest!)  About 10 minutes later this is what had!  I love my DIY scarf and have never worn it without receiving at least one complement on it- even my cashier in the grocery store commented on it yesterday!

So thats it, just a couple of the things I've been working on lately.  I'm sure Billy would appreciate folded laundry a little more, but I have to stay sane somehow.  Creating is really quite theraputic.  This is what I do for me!

This too shall pass...(like a kidney stone)

As a full time mom of four little rascals sometimes I feel like the day will never end, that I'm actually moving backwards (as far as getting anything accomplished) and I just want to sit down and cry!  I'm soooo far from perfect.. I'm not even in the same hemisphere.  But I really do get so much joy from being a mom. Watching my children grow fills me with amazement and appreciation for the life the Lord has blessed me with.  I can easily say that I love every day of being a mom  (but maybe not like it every moment).  Today I had one of those moments...

But at the same time, I know someday I'll miss moments like these!  And thats what I kept saying to myself as I swept up about 8 cups of this flour up, and vacuumed the carpet, and wiped down the back of the sofa, and started the laundry, and bathed my boys...

It's alive!

Bennett just made my day!!

He refuses to talk; he has a repertoire of about 10 words and still he prefers to sign. In fact, he uses "Eee!" to refer to almost anything.  By the time a child is two, they are supposed to have about 200 words.  I know that if I were to take him into the pediatrician, the state would provide a speech therapist to come to our home every week to work with him.  But at the same time, while I know he is significantly behind the curve, I haven't been truly concerned. Then this morning as I was lying in bed Cam came in and started to ask for breakfast and in walks Bennett...


"Mom, can you make ...uh...pancakes?" 

WHAT?!? I was dumbfounded! He has NEVER put more than two words together (He doesnt even say his siblings names). So I turned over and asked Billy "Did he just say...?" and Bennett interrupts me

"yeah, I did." 

Ahhh! I just couldn't believe it! The clincher... he hasn't said anything since. ;-( Stinker! I still have a hard time believing I didn't just imagine it! But Billy was there too, so I know I wasn't dreaming!  Now I know he CAN talk, but just doesn't care to. 

Playing Catch-up

Well, I hadn't blogged in over 6 months and I didnt want to loose the record of that part of my kids lives, so the last two days (and 17 or so posts) are me playing catch-up.  Lots has happened in the last 6 months, 3 birthdays, 2 camping trips, lots of family activities, almost none of which were documented.  All of a sudden I find myself "camera challenged" as if having the fourth baby ment my hands were too full for a camera (or my mind to full)!  Anyway, I hope this kind of makes up for it, although there is very little written on each post, at least you can kind of get a vague idea of our life the last couple months.  Enjoy!

Trick or Treat!

Pierce was my stroller buddy while the rest of the kids went house to house :-)

Carving Pumpkins

The only "exclusively-Halloween activity"  that I really enjoy is carving pumpkins.  I dont know if I cannot appreciate the holiday because I didnt really celebrate it as a child, or if its because of all the creepy stuff and ridiculous amounts of candy.  Dont get me wrong- I LOVE fall activities;  hay rides, bobbing for apples, caramel apples, corn mazes, etc.  But I could leave Halloween and take an extra Thanksgiving ;-)  Here are some pictures of our jack-o-lanterns this year:

 If you really know Cameron, you won't be surprised to learn that he drilled holes in his pumpkin instead or carving it- and it looked really cute all lit up (his face, and the pumpkin)!



Piersons Favorite Passtime

 Pierson just loves water (of course we practically lived at 7-peaks water park over the summer).  Bathtime= favorite time.  He will even crawl to the bathtub, pull himself up, and start babbling and hitting the side of the bathub to try to get you to let him in.  Too cute! Did mothers ever really have a hard time getting children to bathe?  Its just play in this house!

Well, I couldnt get the video to work...I will try again later.  Here are some pics: