Blue...

So far Scarlett is the only daughter of mine that isn't brown eyed. She's switchin' it up. :)

Beautiful Ella Mae...

There is a lovely old lady that we go to church with that I have decided to take under my wing. She is living in a care center and I don't think she's very happy about it, and understanably so! I must first say that this is not quite in character for me. I have to admit that I usually completely suck when it comes to reaching out to others and being charitable so please don't misunderstand this post...I of all people do NOT belong on a pedestal. Anyway, I have been visiting her for the last couple of weeks, and have come away feeling a high I'm not used to! Each time I have seen her I have felt so close to my Heavenly Father. Last night Chris and I took the kids to see her in the Care Center she is currently living in. The kids were acting crazy as usual, so Chris offered to take them for a while so I could visit with her. I was with her for a few hours. The nurse came in at one point and said it was time for dinner, so I offered to go with this lady...her name is Ella Mae. As I sat there, they brought her a tray with a sandwich and soup. Ella Mae asked me to help feed her because her hands get so tired. I was thrilled to help her. I told her I am used to feeding people! I've been feeding my sweet babies for so many years...she laughed...I wanted to cry as I helped her eat that sandwich. I felt closer to the Savior in those few moments then I have in a very long time. I realized that it's true where the scriptures say "If ye have done it unto the least of these, ye have done it unto me" I really did feel that I was at that very moment feeding the Savior! What a neat experience it was. I believe Ella Mae gave more to me last night then I ever gave to her. I hope for that opportunity again.

Lady G.I Joe

This is what you get when your the mother of three boys...I was feeling very G.I Joe-ish.

My Mom Is So Darn Smart....

Do we ever stop learning from our Mothers? I suppose it depends on the mother we're speaking of, but somehow or another my mother continues to teach me. Yesterday she told me that she had come to the conclusion that we choose to have faith, or we choose to have fear. Then why not she says can't we choose to be happy? She said she's decided that when she is having a down day, she wants to choose to be happy. What astounded me the most about this conversation we were having is that she said she was at the grocery store, and started singing Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer out loud to herself, but to where others could hear. If you don't know my mom, then maybe this isn't shocking to you, but for those of you who do know her...um, this would NEVER happen. I felt proud of my mom for reaching out of her element. I felt proud knowing that even at her age (almost 60) she is still willing to learn knew ways of being a person that has real joy. I felt proud knowing she wouldn't keep that info to herself, but share it with me and allow me to learn from her. Maybe to others this new conclusion is a no brainer, but choosing to be happy doesn't always seems like an option, but in reality it most definitely is! I will try take her advice, and when I am having a day where my kids are driving me completely insane, I will put it to the test. Thanks Mom!

I Have A Teenager...

Well, not technically, but from the looks of it, I might as well! Halee won't actually be 12 until May, but all of a sudden she is blossoming into a young lady. I have had several people just in the last month mention this to me. She isn't that much shorter than myself, and now boys are checking her out!!! What has happened here? I feel like I'm watching a movie of my child's life, and there was the scene of Halee being baby, then a toddler, then a child, and an hour and a half later she's a young woman. It's not fair how quickly life passes by. I love having Halee around! Her and I often like to escape the chaos and go shopping or out to eat. I am thankful for my soon to be teenager...but am not ready in the least to let her grow up.

Discoveries and friendship

We had our good friends the Brennan's over for our annual tradition where we have dinner and exchange gifts. For whatever reason we got off track for a few years, but are now back to it. The kids had fun exchanging toys from their own toy boxes and playrooms. It was too funny and way cute. I made a few discoveries as I spent time with this great family. I realized that our kids aren't babies anymore. At least not most of them. I remember when their oldest girls were just babies. It amazed me as I watched them how quickly time passes us by. I also discovered that a doll we have in our toy box is Chris' twin (check out the pic) this was funny/creepy, and I can't believe I hadn't realized this sooner. I also discovered that when I met Tammy I was only 24 and I absolutely look 8 years older, but she doesn't. Oh well, some things are out of our control I guess. Most of all though, I discovered that friends are a part of life that should exist for anyone and everyone. I am grateful to them for being the people they are. I am grateful for all my good friends and the strength they give me to keep trudging forward!! Merry Christmas Brennan's until next year. :)

Christmas Tree!

This is most definitely the longest we have ever waited to get a tree. We headed across the river Saturday morning and instead of the usual Christmas tree farm we visit, we stopped at one that only grows Nobles. I LOVED them! They really weren't that much more costly. Here are a few pictures from our great adventure. :)

Happy Birthday....

Behind this picture of me with my cupcake that I ate right after it was taken, is a woman that is 32 years old today. I guess I am hoping that it's true when they say that the 30's are the new 20's. I'm thinking someone in their 30's decided this to be the case. Either way, I think it's a great saying. I told Santa I wanted to look younger for Christmas, and he said maybe in 15 years and only if we have lots of money. Maybe by then I will think it's okay to just except mother natures will in my life. I'll update you on that in 15 more years. :)

This is why I feel so happy to be alive. I don't know how many "Dear Future Husband" letters I wrote as a kid, but I have to tell you, there were many. I always wanted to be married to a great guy and I had very specific requests in these letters. It would go something like this "I hope you are kind, caring, selfless, motivated, spiritual, happy, definitely not moody or rude. Patient (especially if you have to be married to me.) Funny, and most of all, you absolutely and without a doubt must be an excellent father." I can't say Chris is never moody, or always happy, and none of us are motivated all the time (although he seems to never stop and rest.) But I can say that he is an outstanding father. The pictures above depict what happens the minute he walks in the door at the end of the day. He loves to wrestle with Scarlett as crazy as it sounds, and she loves it even more. He has been like this with each and every one of our children. And I might add that he's a wonderful husband too. But WOW, I love the father of my children.

Snow!

Okay there isn't any, but there might as well be! It's currently around 23 degrees out right now and the low tonight is going to be around 8 degrees. Connor was home sick today and it was definitely a stay at home, bake cookies and eat them while looking out at the cold from the window kind of day. I made 5 dozen chocolate chip cookies, and have eaten approximately 8 so far. No regrets. Feeling truly bad for anyone that doesn't have a warm house to go to. Feeling truly grateful that our family is blessed with warmth and delicious cookies.

Happy Thoughts...

Just having random happy thoughts about my dad that I would like to share. He really IS a terrific Grandpa (papaw.) Can't you tell? I have been sick the last few days. Caught a nasty bug from Grace, who caught it from Scarlett. Hopefully it ends with me. Anyway, I was randomly remembering one time when I was little and we went on a road trip with my dad. He ran into the store on our way out to buy us some coloring books. I couldn't wait!!! I was picturing Strawberry Shortcake (gosh I loved her.) Or some Barbie or Princess coloring book. To my astonishment and disappointment he came out with a G.I Joe coloring book. Are you kidding me? He did have 4 girls!!!!! Ahhh...I guess we can't be perfect all the time. I have since forgiven him. My dad is awesome because he doesn't get stuck in the times. He is always eager to learn something new. If there's a better way, he will learn it and execute it. I love this about him. The funny thing is, I look back on fond memories often (especially now that my parents are aging quickly) and I realize that my dad was at that time my age right now, or YOUNGER!!!! How scary is THAT???!!! I feel blessed to have a mom and a dad that are excellent human beings and taught me well.

Thankful for laughter...

As you all know my family and I belong to the LDS church. We have a Prophet that leads our church named President Thomas S. Monson. He's such a wonderful person! Anyway, today I was showing Grace a picture of him and I said "Grace, this is President Monson. Can you say President Monson??" She took me for a loop and relied "President Monsters." Thank goodness for children.

Love, love, and more love...

I have had a few people who have asked me how I can possibly have enough love to spread to all these children of mine...almost as if we are only given a designated supply of love that will run out if not cautious. To this I would like to share a quote that I ran across a few days ago. "A woman's heart expands in proportion to the number of reasons it has to love." Six children is what the Lord had in store for me, but if he'd given me 20, I would love every single one of them with all my heart. This heart I have isn't little...it has more capacity than I ever dreamed it could hold.