Mother's Day

The most beautiful Mother's Day flowers and some family fun on Mother's day. Can you see anything hilariously wrong with any of these pictures?




Just some fun news. We have a family of foxes living in the gully just below our house. It seems there are two babies, a mother and maybe a father, or it could just be the mother again. But it has been a real treat to sit outside and watch the babies play and the mother just sit there and watch over them. You can see just how much she loves them because she never leaves their side and keeps a sharp eye on us. I love the power of a loving mother. I love being a mother. I get to be there for my baby and watch him when he's holding his toys and as they drop and he looks at his hand like that is so much cooler. I love kissing my kids boo boos better and doctoring them up. I love making wholesome meals for my family and reading with them. I love being able to drop everything and go play at the park or pretend to sail and sword fight with my son or play house and Barbies with my girls. There are so many milestones that I have experienced with my family that I wouldn't trade for anything and I am so thankful to my husband for working so hard so that I can be June Cleaver. I may not be as good as she was, but she had set designers and the magic of tv, I have the real thing. I am finally able to understand why they call this the best and hardest job in the world. This is my Mother's Day tribute, better late than never, but I really wanted to say it because simple things like watching a mama fox watch over her cubs make me realize that I am so blessed to have the best job. I know in this new age world where feminism reigns strong, it would seem that I am taking steps backward, but on the contrary. I feel truly empowered to be such a strong influence in these small people's lives. Everything I do makes a difference to them and they take it all in. It is such a large responsibility and not to be taken lightly, nor is it one that I feel comfortable to turn over to someone else. I don't judge others for their choices, in fact, I can understand how one would need more time apart from such an exhausting and unending job, but for me it feels right to be at home. I feel that I am very strong for making the choice to raise the kids I chose to have and to make that my focus until they are old enough for me to pursue anything else. I don't want this to seem like I am passing any judgment on others that have made choices different from my own, I just wanted to express how happy I am with my own choices. I don't want anyone thinking that this is a note to say just how perfect I am, either. I loose my cool, I have to apologize to my babies for making mistakes on many occasions, we get to bed late some nights and I even forget to give my kids a bath now and then. I have lots of pre-made meals in my pantry and the laundry gets so far behind that the family of Foxes could hide out in there and no one would ever know. I just wanted to write this to say that this mothering thing is a 'learn as I go and hopefully I'll get a little better with each new day but I wouldn't change it' kind of life and I'm so blessed that it is mine. I thank the Lord for my beautiful, smart, healthy, good and kind family, and I am so grateful that we get to learn it all together.

Upcoming posts: Brother's B-day, Teddy's first solids and the girl's graduations.

Some Pics of some of the fun we've been having.

Visiting the Easter Bunny, getting ready for him and being visited by him, getting the first pink eggs we've had since we've been married, Brother Bear found two of his birthday presents early and wont take them off without a fight, Family Home Evening and

just some general love. Enjoy

Hippity, Hoppity, Easter has come and gone and I'm just getting around to blogging about it.

Things are very busy around here these days, by the time bedtime rolls around we feel like we have done nothing but we're beyond exhausted. You all know that feeling, I hope. Anyway, it's times like these that Mama really likes that the Easter Bunny does all his shopping early. We had a very nice Easter, as we always do. We are very blessed and we are very aware of the Lord's hand in our lives. We are also very grateful for the Atonement and the promises and blessings that come with being faithful to the Lord and His only Begotten Son. With the children getting older we really tried to make this Easter more about the Atonement. We had a very nice FHE about it, Papa and Honey Bear lead this lesson and it was lovely.

We also had a good time with the other perks of the season. We dyed our eggs and flew the kites the Easter Bunny brought this year. He brings kites every year, but this year he brought the nice ones in hopes that they will last longer. The wind was so violent that we didn't get much air time, but the kites have proven themselves. We spent a lot of time reading the books he brought us, including a new Berenstain Bears, God Loves You! The kids had a good time searching for the eggs the Easter Bunny hid for them and they even had the gold dollars in some, because he forgot to get some quarters. The girls loved that. Then it was on to a very Spiritual General Conference. I really enjoyed having General Conference, it really did a lot with keeping the true meaning of this special day all day.

We ended our day with dinner at Gramps and Grans' house followed by an Easter Egg Hunt. The kids all had a very nice day which always makes the mom's and dad's day extra special.

Thank you Dear Lord for this wonderful family that I have been so richly blessed with and for the Atoning Sacrifice of our Savior. I hope we can remember these things all year round.

St. Patty's Day Fun and a Happy B-Day Dr. Seuss

This St Patty's day was a fun one. We had a brunch of green eggs and ham, to celebrate Dr. Seuss's Birthday and St Patty' s day, to which no one was quite sure of eating, but we all had a lot of fun making.

I also had my monthly Bunco night last Thursday.

These are just some pics to enjoy.

The Berenstain Bears and the Blame Game

Uh Oh

We put the kids to bed the other night and went about our business. It was quiet faster than usual so we decided to check on the them. The girls were not in their beds so we went to check and see if they had snuck into our room. The pictures show what we found,and it was a bit unusual. When we went to go to bed ourselves, we found out why they were not sleeping in our bed as they usually do. It seems Brother had taken his diaper off and had an accident!! We just had the mattress cleaned before Christmas!!! And I had just changed the sheets that week!!! My oh my, the joys and rewards of having kids are plenty. At least the memory will be cute.




And these are just a couple darling pics of our new little Bear. Enjoy.

RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR

Well, the holidays are over and it's now time to get back to reality. School starts for Carley tomorrow and we still have yet to find a way to get her going to bed at a decent hour. Papa will be going back to work and school next week. Keeley starts preschool next week. I am a little bummed, I have really enjoyed having everyone home these past couple of weeks. I know the older children have become more of a challenge but they are still my babies.

We have had a good Christmas this year, as we always do, we are truly a blessed family. Santa delivered a lot of the things on the kids lists, and a few extras. Sister Bear is growing so fast and finding interest in things older girls enjoy, very sad, so some of the things she wanted were a little mature and he agreed that she was too young. Not to mention one of the things she wanted was on the news for the dangers it presents. Zhu Zhu pets, or something. I have decided that Saturday Morning Cartoons are off limits around the holidays.

The other three were much easier to please. As soon as Brother opened the first gift handed to him, he loved it. It was shirts which made it all the more adorable when he hugged them. What a greatful little sweetheart we have. The next gift he recieved were some knight accessories that were not even wrapped and that was it for him. He didn't want to open another gift, spoiling our fun. The girls were more than happy to help him as he was too busy running around acting like a Musketeer and yelling "Ungaurd!" at everyone. Daddy even spent the time to build Brother a cool airplane with the sweet blocks Santa brought and Brother just slashed it to bits with his sword.

Sissy Bear was tickled pink when she opened her new Barbie and the awesome Barbie house Santa brought the girls. Mommy even had a great time playing with it. Sister loved the house too, and got a Barbie herself, but she was really excited about her Cinderella baby. She even got the bath robe she had been asking Santa for since last year, green of course. I am getting tired of watching Barbie and the three Musketeers.

Pooh Bear got a piggy bank, jammies, and his first ornament. The jammies have airplanes on them to make his big brother happy. He is such a loved member of this family. We are all so excited to have him, and in his short two months here it has felt like he has always been a part of our family. It's a good thing, if I have to cut all dairy and chocolate, among other things, then it better be for a real sweetie.

The girls love to hold him and carry him, it makes them feel so grown up. It would make them feel more so if Mama wouldn't follow them around with my arms out, but I can't help it. Sister loves reading to him and carrying him around when he feels sad. She has a magic touch that seems to soothe him. Keeley loves changing his diapers. She runs to tell us that he is poopy but not to worry, she'll take care of it. Of course we do worry, it's poop. Brother just loves to hold him and kiss him. He gets this sweet little adoring look on his face and kisses Pooh's head, then sunuggles him and says ever so softly, "my baby Tucker." I truly have a wonderful family.

Papa Bear got a couple of the books he's been wanting and one that Santa thought sounded cool, The Five Thousand Year Leap, The Real George Washington, and my fav, America's Prophet. He got a new coat, he couldn't and wouldn't wait for Santa to deliver it, and some workout clothes. He can be so easy and yet so difficult at the same time.

I was excited about the new shirts and skirts Santa brought. I needed them as it is very hard to nurse in a dress. I got a new purse, the first one I have had in over 6 years, and another chair for my kitchen table! We have no room for it yet, but I wanted it anyway.

We had a good time visiting with our families, it's always nice to see loved ones that don't live close. The kids were spoiled by all of their grandparents, lovely. I hear it's the right of a grandparent to spoil their grandkids. We sure do love the parents in our lives. And some of the Grandmas even got the stuff that we agreed with Santa that the kids were too young for. I guess it's the right of the parent to love the grandma for the gesture and put it away for awhile.

I had an interesting conversation with my nephew, Collin.

Collin: "There are 3 babies here!!"

Me: "Yep, a lot, huh."

C: "How much are they going to eat?"

M: "More than you know."

C: "It's a good thing there are three girls with their boobs working."

eeeeeeeKKKK! He is such a funny kid.

We blessed Baby Pooh Bear on the 27. It was a beautiful day, having our new baby blessed by the men in our lives. Uncles Chet, Truman, Kevin, Danny, Brett and Brent, Grandpa John, and friends Greg Ransom and Dillon Steed stood in for the blessing. What I heard of it, it was lovely. Oh the joy of having a toddler. Blessing a baby is such a special gift a father can give his new child, and I am so greatful that my husband respects his Priesthood. I'm going to have to stage a few pictures of the blessing since Pooh exploded out of his blessing outfit right before the pictures.

New Years was a fun and laid back day. We went to Outer Limits with my Brother and his wife Katie, and their two boys Collin and Liam. This is something we have been doing with them when they come to visit, I think as a way to spare Mom and Dad's new house. After that, we went home and put the kids to bed. Then we sat back and enjoyed Harry Potter and A Christmas Carole together. It was a nice way to end this crazy year.

I need to post some pics of the kids birthdays and this summer like I said I would, I guess that will be this months blogging task.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE