I know I already blogged once today, but I am feeling super sad and hoping I guess that talking/writing about it will help! Scarlett is getting at an age where she can be very stubborn. Up until now when I would give her a nap in her swing during the day, she would sleep 3 hours or more in a row! It was WONDERFUL! At night she's been my sleeping buddy. When she was born she cried a whole heck of a lot. It was like she was scared to be in this very big scary world! At night her and I love to cuddle. She would only sleep really good if she was snuggled right up against me. Almost literally like she was still in the womb. Well, this all came to an ugly end today because she refused with all her might to sleep, and cried a good part of the day. I came to the realization that my last child is flying the coop. I was forced to put her in her crib and let her cry. I have no problem doing this once they reach a certain age, and in fact think it's one of the only ways (for me at least) to find sanity! But I DO have problem when it's my last baby!!!!!! I am getting ready to go to bed and literally ache for my little girl to be right up next to me. How bitter (not sweet in the least) that each day that goes by is another day I won 't ever experience with another baby of my own. Don't misunderstand though...I am very resolute and at peace with my decision to be done having children, but that certainly doesn't make watching them grow up any easier! Darn this!! Why does letting go have to be so ridiculously painful???? If this is a preface to what I will have to endure as my kids each start leaving me, then I don't want any part of it. I want them to stay my babies forever. If only life were a little less complicated. Okay enough, I have every reason to remember that I have absolutely NO RIGHT to complain about something so silly, but I will continue to be sad that my sweet smelling baby girl is snuggling her blankie instead of me. :(

Family Night

Tonight for our family night we turned the couches so they were facing the fireplace and we lit the fire up and drank hot cocoa with marshmellows and sang tons of Christmas songs. This is one of my favorite things to do at Christmas time!! I am wanting the snow to get here ASAP!!! (Maybe not three feet like last year though.) I love living in the beautiful area I have the privilege of living in. :)

Thankfulness And Learning To Laugh...

I am what you might call over obsessive about order and cleanliness. I haven't always been this way, but the last 10 years, I have become this way and I have no idea how to change that. Oh well, the plus is that I have a clean presentable house, but I have determined that I need to learn to laugh and not forget to have fun in my own home. And who really cares if it's a wreck, right?? Halee helped me out with this the other night. Isn't she completely lovely covered in white? Does it look as though you could reach your finger out and taste sugar and sweets? Not this time....try shaving cream. This is definitely out of the ordinary for Halee, but for whatever reason she did something that would normally really make me angry. However, she looked so funny and so puffy white cloudish that all I and Chris could do was laugh. Boy she got off the hook. I think I will try laughing more often in stressful situations. It was serious therapy.

I am so thankful for Thanksgiving. I have every reason in life to be grateful. I have a great husband, my beautiful children, a secure future (at least I think) and I have the Lord in my life. I'm sorry to sound cheesy, but I am so blessed as I am sure so many of you are!!! Enjoy this Holiday...I know I will. I love to eat!

Not enough eyes to see....

This is what happens when you're the mother of six, and your two year old has all access to the kitchen because you're too busy taking care of everyone else. I'll have her know that I JUST bought that roll of paper towel!

This is a no no!

My baby is growing up on me. This is absolutely and positively not okay on ANY level.

Good Times With Kids...

If I could come up with one activity that I absolutely adore doing with my kids, it would hands down be reading. I am really bad because I raid the library and then take forever to return the books. Chris gets really annoyed because I always have late fines. I try to remind him that I am being a good mommy by expanding our kids' minds. I took them there today in fact, and I always feel a calm happy feeling while at the library. I don't get people staring at my large family as much there. Why is this? Oh well, I like it!! The kids were really terrific most of the time, but maybe there's something in the air because they have been AT each other a lot lately. At the end of our outing they started to fight, and I spanked them all (not really) then said "Okay I'm out of here" (really.) All in all I was happy to be there! And I have to say that I am very sad because here soon our library is closing due to low funding. :( I will be buying books at that point because reading is a gift I refuse to deprive my children of.

Funny? Not So Much...

Okay so a few seconds ago I'm sitting here looking at my email and Chris I guess must have been feeling deprived of attention because all of a sudden he's looking in the fridge and he drops to the floor as though he's had a heart attack. I of course (being that I'm a neurotic over obsessive worrier) jumped down and was like "CHRIS!!!!!!!!" He felt instant regret when he saw that I actually thought he might be dead. He ran over and kept saying "I am so sorry!" Meanwhile my heart was beating out of my chest. Was I a happy wife? Um, no. Oh well, it's only been 15 minutes and I am starting to think it was just a tad funny.

Halloween, 2009

My children being funny and oh so scary. I was too lazy to post this on Halloween, but better late than never! :)

Kiss My Foot!

Growing up this was one of my moms favorite things to say to us kids when she wasn't going to take any you know what from us! This is what I felt like saying to my brood today. We went to visit my parents in my hometown because Chris was due to take some continuing education courses, so I thought I would hang out with my family. We had a great time. I was able to visit one of my best friends that lives an hour from my parents which was very refreshing and fun! Plus she made me chocolate chip cookies...darned girl!! They were yummy. Anyway, it wasn't until the drive home today that I wanted to exclaim to my children "Kiss my foot!!" It was one of those days where the fighting was NON STOP. Constant exclamations of "Her feet are in my face!" or "He poked my back!" or "She spit on me!" (That one really made me mad.) I literally felt like I needed to run far away to another land. In fact at one point I stopped at a red light, looked over and there was an old lady all alone in her car, and I said under my breath..."can I get in your car?" Chris took the "fix" it approach as he watched me crumple before his eyes. He kept saying things like "Oh come on, you know you love them" and "One day you'll laugh at this." Hmmmm...I told him it would be a LONG time before I laugh! Bless Chris' heart for trying to talk me out of my mini breakdown, but you would think he would realize after 12 years that this approach never works for me! I do believe that I will one day laugh though...especially when I am the little old lady sitting in a car all alone....probably even wishing the kids were driving me crazy. Yay for tomorrows...lets hope there won't be any foot kissin'.

Why I Love The People I Love...Part VII

Okay, I really feel sorry for those of you who can't stand your mother in law. This would be a horrible feeling. I am so blessed to have a good mother in law because I have heard of a few really scary, overbearing, controlling, nosy mother in laws!! (Sorry to sound harsh...but they DO exist!) My father in law passed away 16 months ago, and I loved and still do love him so very much too! I can honestly say that I am so grateful for these two for many reasons, but for the most part because they raised Chris to be a wonderful person! They raised him with the same core values I was raised with. Chris and I both come from different backgrounds. I am more of a city girl and he is really kind of a country bumpkin, but it goes to show you that as long as you share the same values and you love another, then none of that really matters! The thing that really matters is the fact that our parents loved us, and raised us to be good people. We make lots of mistakes, but we keep trudging ahead and attempting to raise our children with values that will lead them to have a life that brings them joy. I am grateful to my in laws (mother, father, and siblings too!) because they contributed in the making of my dear sweet husband. I will be indebted to them forever for just that.

Tiny Fingerprints....

At our last General Conference President Monson gave a talk I thoroughly enjoyed. I have set goals the last few years to watch every session. I never regret it! I always think "What if I had missed this part?" Something is always said at each session that I needed to hear. President Monson said this of raising children "If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly." WOW. I needed to hear that so I could once again be reminded that my children are everything and that all too soon, they will be raising their own little family. I love my children.

Why I Love The People I Love...Part VI

I was 6 years old when my one and only brother David was born. Being one of 4 girls, having a brother had always been a huge dream I wanted to come true. I remember holding him and saying to him "I promise I will never tell you I hate you." Funny the things we think of when we're kids. Unfortunately by the time David was around 4ish, I broke my promise. I didn't play with little Davie boy as much as I should have because G.I Joe and boy toys weren't really my thing, and Barbie's and Strawberry Shortcake weren't his. But how grateful I am to have a brother! I'm finding as I get older and time passes that the people we love won't be in our lives here on this earth forever. One day my dad will pass away, and who will help ease that? My brother. If my mom out lives my dad, David will be the rock we all lean on, I have no doubt. Of course I will have my dear husband, but as far as us sibs?? We will be grateful to have the male influence because having that brings comfort and peace. And my brother happens to be very smart and intelligent and very much like my dad. I love him! Above is a picture of he and his daughter, and wife Krysta (whom I also happen to love very much!)