But they sure are beauties...

Note to self...don't buy makeup for Grace and Scarlett for the next 10 years. It will end up on my walls, their clothes and everything else in my house.

Christmas, snow and pure joy...

Christmas morning began a little too early for my taste. The kids were up and about by 6am and by 6:30ish I gave up on them ever going back to sleep. I can't blame them I guess. We had a fabulous day and to top it off a fresh blanket of snow. It snowed all day long which only added to Christmas cozy feeling in our home. We made turkey, ham dressing and all the yummy sides to go with it. In other words, we will all be a little fatter by the end of the Holidays. I felt gratitude all day long for my family. For happiness that I have in my life. I felt sorrow for those parents and families in Connecticut. They never left my mind through out this holiday. They will continue to be in my prayers. I know Heavenly father loves each of us. I'm thankful for his hand in my life.

Every part is important...

I can't imagine Christmas in our home with out including the story of Jesus Christ being born. The kids look forward to this every year. Scarlett enjoyed portraying baby Jesus this year. Grace loved being Mary. Halee being the oldest was more than happy to take the role of the donkey. In years past she would have wanted to be something a little more grand, but as our older kids get older they love to see the younger kids experience what they have had the opportunity to experience. This is why I'm happy I have 6 staggered children and not 6 sextuplets.

Rock those pajama's

As usual our kiddos opened up their "Christmas Jammies" on Christmas eve. We ate our usual finger foods and treats. This included marinated meatballs, baby shrimp, cheeseball, lemon cake, fudge, peanut butter cups, and so on. I love our family traditions. I picture one day all our kids coming home with all their kids. What a noisy, chaotic, wonderful time it will be.

Christmas program...

I was a proud Mama last week watching our kids sing in their Christmas program. I love that our school is allowed to sing about the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Afterall, that's what Christmas is all about, right?

What are you doing on Christmas eve?

This is what we're doing. Scarlett is eagerly watching for Santa's sleigh, and Rudolph's bright red nose. Merry Christmas.

Innocence...

When I think about the sweet innocent children who's lives were stolen away in Connecticut, my heart wants to break. There's very few things I have read or seen that have brought me much comfort. But when I saw this picture of our loving Savior holding a dear sweet child, for a brief moment I felt comfort and joy that these sweet babies are reuninted with our Savior who loves them more than I could ever comprehend. I know when they entered into his arms he held them and loved them. I know these sweet children are okay. It's the people left behind who are hurting right now. I haven't ceased thinking about them or praying for them. I'm not sure any of us will anytime soon.

Candy canes...

Whenever I taste a candy cane around Christmas time I immediately think of my Mamaw Billy (My Mom's mom.) She always had them hanging on her tree as ornaments, and never complained when on Christmas eve all the Grandkids would eat a few a piece. I don't even think I had to ask her...I just understood how kind and selfless she was and that she wouldn't mind. She is gone now, but I'm thankful for sweet candy cane reminders of this dear sweet woman that I love. I hope to be as kind of a Grandmother as she was. It's no wonder I have such a good Mother.

Blessings on my birthday...

So, I woke this morning to a homemade card from my sweet husband of 15 years. In it he tells me that I'm more sexy and beautiful to him at 35 than ever before. Just the thing to say, right? Good job once again, Chris. He always says the right thing. I then smell pancakes and bacon. I head to the kitchen praying it's not just bacon, but crunchy bacon. Like I said, we have been married 15 years, so of course it's crunchy. And of course he got up a little earlier to surprise me. Chris then helps me get the kids off to school. He ushers me away as he does the load of laundry I normally do after he and the kids leave. He also makes our bed. He calls me several times through out the day just to say "Happy Birthday." We order chinese for dinner because cooking on my birthday doesn't sound like fun. We have german chocolate cake too....oh so yummy. Chris got me a gift I will forever treasure. A personalized Mother's necklace with charms containing each of my childrens names. Beautiful. It's something I will forever cherish. One of my birthday wishes was to play Uno with Chris and the kids. We played 3 rounds. I love this game because it's fun for adults and older kids, and yet even my 5 and 3 year old understands the concept. It's been a day I will always be grateful for. I didn't think about how "old" I'm getting today. Just how blessed I am.

I like this memory...

This is a photo I came upon from this past Summer. It's of myself, Chris and his dear sweet family. We are playing on our quaint little beach that makes where we live kind of fun. It was a great time. I miss Summer already.

The Nutcracker...

Our sweet little Grace had the opportunity to perform in the Nutcracker this weekend. She looked lovely as she gracefully danced as an adorable little Bon Bon. We are proud of this little one.

Watch your step...

Chris asked to present our family home evening lesson last night. He talked to the kids about the dangers of pornography. Now that our boys are getting older and they have so much access to computers we are staring to think about how crucial it is that we start discussing it now while they are still young. He showed a video depicting the same man on two seperate screens. On one side he chooses pornography over his family and in the other he chooses his family over pornography. When the video ended I asked the kids which man reminded them of their dad. They of course knew. I felt so grateful to have Chris is my life. I know he isn't perfect but he has always put his family first. I have always been cherished by him. I walked away from his lesson on such a sensitive subject feeling grateful that he is my husband. That he is the father to my children.

Handsome...

Christian has been having a really hard time. He thinks he is not handsome. He's always convinced that the kids at school are laughing at him. He is very sensitive and sometimes misreads what people think about him. I have been working really hard with my sweet boy to build his self confidence. I even told our other kids about how he's feeling and asked if they could think of ways to make him feel better.

This morning when I was cleaning the upstairs I found this note posted to Christian's dresser. I got tear eyed and my heart filled with gratitude that I have all these special children. It's not every day that they show love like this to each other, but when it matters the most, they have each others backs. They would do anything for each other...this much I know.

Thank you Halee...this meant the world to Christian.

Oh Christmas tree...

We set out this weekend to get our oh so lovely Christmas tree. It was a perfect day. Not too cold and we lucked out with very little rain.

The boys loved helping do the "Man's work." I gotta tell ya...I love having boys for reasons like this.

The girls and  boys loved putting on all the ornaments. The very part as usual.

 I am in love with Christmas this year. I have been more anxious than ever to get my tree up. All my decorations are out, my tree is up, and presents are purchased. Bring on Christmas.

Good friends...

Saturday our good friends invited us to go on a short hike. Our kids were super excited. Can't you tell how much they love each other? It's been fun raising our kids together. We first met the Brennan's 10+ years ago when we moved here and Saige and Connor were only 8 weeks old. Connor is in love with Saige and I won't be a bit surprised if we all don't end up related in the future. Time will tell I guess.

Sugar and spice and everything nice? Are you sure about that?

Silly me thought it would be cute to recreate the picture I posted a few days back of my dad giving me a kiss when I was a baby. A memory for little Scarlett to cherish, right? Not so much I guess. She would have no part of it and when Chris leaned in to kiss her the mean little girl put her hand between their lips. What a little stinker she is. :)

Where are you?

Today when we were in church it was fast and testimony meeting where the church members have the opportunity to stand up and bear their testimony if they choose. Our stake President happened to be there during the meeting. Several women stood and spoke of their testimony over the course of the hour. The Missionaries stood at the end and bore their testimonies.

Afterward, our Stake President stood and made mention that he was grateful the women stood to bear their testimonies but that until the missionaries stood...not one single Priesthood holder stood during the hour. He then asked a simple, but profound question. "Brethren, where are you?"

This question wasn't just meant to remind us to ask ourselves where we are in a literal physical sense, but where are we spiritually? It made Chris and think about whether or not we are doing those things we should be doing to be the best people we can be? The best examples to our children? The best spouses? the best daughters and the best sons? Our Stake President only spoke for about 5 short minutes and in that time he asked at least 3 times "Brethren, where are you?"

I have pondered that question all day today, and it has really made me put on my thinking cap and think about where I am now. Where I want to be and most of all where I need to be.

After church we walked into the house and Connor looked at his dad and said "Dad, you know you have to bear your testimony next month don't you?" And Chris replied "Yes, I think I will. "

Pop goes the Christian...

Connor and Christian were pretty proud of a homemade trick they conjured up. They cut a hole in one of our unused backpacks...another hole in one of Chris' very favorite shirts (without asking) and put a blanket around both of their waists to hide the fact that they were attached. They then came to me and said "Mom, unzip the backpack to see what is inside." So I did, and up pops Christian's little head. How could I get upset about the shredded shirt? I couldn't. All I could do was just smile and pretend to be scared and shocked by the head in the backpack. Because that's what good moms do.

P.S Later on that night I had a nice little chat about not cutting things without asking.

You make me smile...

Who could ever get mad at a couple faces like that? It's things like this that help me realize that being a mom isn't just a job. It's fun and fulfilling on so many levels. And if my little one's didn't make me laugh now and then...it would be much harder. Thanks kids for the funny factor.

Kissed from dad...

You know how you have pictures from your childhood that you really, really like, and then others that you just can't live without? This picture is one of those. And as I looked at it the other day I realized that if it ever burnt up in a fire or became lost I would release a river of tears, so I am uploading it to my blog where  hopefully it will forever remain safe. Love you dad.

Dearest sister...get out here before I come track you down...

Dear Gina, I think it is time you came to visit your sister and family very very soon. It's been too long. The end.

Look-alikes...

I was rummaging through a box of pictures while visiting my parents, and I came across my son in a photo taken about 50 years ago. Who knew he was born before me?! Actually it's my dad, but I couldn't believe how much these two look alike. Austin didn't even mean to make the same facial expression when I took the photo of both of them. I'm thankful my son looks like my dad. My dad won't live forever, but whenever I look at Austin I will see my dad through him. That to me, is a gift.

Christmas addict...

My mom made me really happy this year when she announced she would be putting her tree up with us there. I can't get enough of Christmas tree decorating. It's just fun and festive, period. My kids are Christmas addicts too so they were super excited as well.

We had a fabulous time with my family for Thanksgiving. I only wish all of us could have been together. Next year maybe the two missing sisters will show up. ;)

I love you, family!!

Thanksgiving program...

Every year we our school puts on a little Thanksgiving program, and every year Chris takes part of the afternoon off so we can both attend. This year was really fun because Grace was in it too. Plus, it was Connor's 1st year playing chimes, and he did excellent. All the kids impressed me and warmed my heart.

Santa and sweet boys...

The boys did something really cute today. They told Scarlett that Santa would be calling to talk to her. One of the boys hid in another room and called our landline from my cell phone. This is her talking to "Santa" and telling him that she wants a "pink bear." I love that my girls can grow up with brothers that love to make them smile.

Don't forget to say I love you...

Two things have warmed my maternal heart lately. first off, I showed up at my kids' school to pick Grace up and just so happened to run into Connor with a few of his friends. He immediately ran up to me gave me a hug and said "I love you mom." I noted right away that he had zero reservations about doing this in front of his peers. My heart melted.

Secondly, I went upstairs today to put clothes away in Austin's room and found sticking on one of his over sized posters, old notes I have written him. I then went into Halee's room and found one of my "I love you Halee" notes sticking to her mirror. I realized then and there that even though I may be crabby and impatient at times, my kids really do love me a whole heck of a lot. I also realized that writing my kids love notes now and then isn't a waste of my time. It's a treasure.

Time out for women and girls...

This past weekend my friend Tammy and I took our oldest daughter's to an event called Time out for women, and girls. Halee was super excited because she got a picture with her favorite spiritual author John Bytheway.

I'm a firm believer that one way to keep our kids strong and happy is to give them spiritual experiences periodically to help them remember that they do have a testimony. I'm hoping this strategy works for our family. So far Halee amazes me with her knowledge of the gospel and her desire to choose the right. This doesn't mean she's perfect, but it does mean she's trying. That's all I am asking for.

We had a blast with the girls. We ate out, stayed up late, and laughed a lot. It was a grand old time. We came home feeling a little happier about life.

Hope...

Waking up this morning was sad I must admit. I had expected the time had come for our Country to heal. I was wrong. As the owner of a small business I realize the ramifications of this great loss. However I will never give up hope. For whatever reason Heavenly father must desire our world to get a lot worse before it gets better. I trust in his plan, even if it's hard to accept.

My brother in law posted something that helped further my hope. It's part of a talk given by our current Prophet Thomas S. Monson in 2009.

 "I testify to you that our promised blessings are beyond measure. Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us.


"My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith.". -Thomas S. Monson

Family pictures...

Family picture day. It's the day where you all skip down to the location in which you will be getting photo's done. Everyone is happy and thrilled to be doing this. Everyone chooses ahead of time to be Cooperative. To smile. To be kind and nice to each other through out the process. Does this sound familiar? If it does, I really do hate you.

Our picture day started off great, and ended up with kids getting mad at me and each other. Me getting crabby and frustrated. The older boys trying to unbutton their shirts as a joke just to make me mad. Chris laughing because the chaos was pure insanity. Let's just say I hope one day we laugh about all this....but not quite yet.

I was overjoyed though, when I found that despite the crazy antics that took place, we actually looked like a happy family!! And I realized that even though we get stressed with each other at times, it's the other 90% that counts the most. We really are a happy family. I wouldn't trade any minute of any of this. I'm grateful to know I will have all of these special people in my life for time and all eternity.