A Prayer From a Sunbeam

**Background
This morning Jackson was allowed to play with the teeny weeny little legos my parents got him for Christmas. They are not allowed out when the babies are around, so nap time is really the only time they come out to play. Seriously, these are the smallest things EVER!

**Prayer
Jackson's teacher told me, "Today Jackson said the opening prayer and in his prayer he said 'please bless that the babies don't get the legos'".

Isagenix Update and Video

I lost another inch! For the past year I have been wearing XL shirts - SO SAD! Thursday my mom bought me a couple LARGE shirts... I had to RETURN them and get MEDIUM!

Are you toxic?

Our Day w/Grandma Shopping

When She's Rich & Famous Remember...

you heard it here first!

Off Schedule

This first picture has nothing to do with being off schedule - although, it was taken this morning and we were running a little late.... I found it in my camera, and I remember Ryan playing with my camera this morning.

I HATE it when the kids falls asleep in the car, unless it's planned that way. Then of course they don't fall asleep in the car. Today we went to the mall after we took Jackson to school. I have needed some new foundation and Tina recommended Clinque - now we'll wait and see if it was wise to listen to her...).
After the mall, on our way to pick up Jackson, things suddenly became peaceful....

I could not tolerate this, I need my down time at home, I need them to all nap at the same time. So I woke them up, we all went to Mc Donald's, and then we came home to play. The kids are JUST NOW going to sleep.... even though I put them in bed 40 minutes ago. Luckily, the only one that will really be affected by such a late nap is Jackson. The babies will still go to bed by 7. Now ask me what I am going to do when my kids ACTUALLY grow up and can STAY AWAKE ALL DAY!?!?!? I don't know, we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

We're On Our Own - we can make it together.... (name that tune)

Yesterday I worked and Cosmo/Papa/FIL/Dad watched the kids. My kids don't sleep real well for other people, so it is common for me to come home to very sleepy kids. On this particular day, Cosmo said that Andi had two half hour naps - this girl typically takes one 45min. morning nap and one 2-3 hour afternoon nap. So you can imagine what little sleep will do to her. Then Jackson never naps for them, and he is used to 2-3hour afternoon naps. He is unbearable in the evenings if he does not have a nap. So I have made a choice, to have him nap and go to bed later, but not want to kill him as I am putting him to bed. Hence the naps!

Anyway.... Andrew had to work late and I am always so tired when I get home. But we made it work. The boys and I, Andi just watched and ate, made English Muffin pizzas and Chinese Chicken salad. YUM!

i

After dinner, the kids watched a little Wonder Pets while I got their pj's ready and cleaned up our mess.

Ryan photographed this part for me because I was so busy....

The cool thing about the kids not getting good naps, is they are ready to knock out by 6/6:30. And, I wasn't the one that had to deal with the cranky kids that afternoon. I just get the crankiness for about three hours.
EVEN JACKSON, the one that typically goes to bed at 8:30 or 9! Andi was SO tired last night she had a tough time putting herself to sleep. I rocked her for a bit, which made Ryan stand up and ask me to rock him.... when I told him no, he was devastated. So after I put Andi back in her bed, not asleep, but content, Ryan stood up again and asked again. So I rocked him for maybe a minute and he was pleased with that.

So yesterday, by 6:50pm, all three were knocked out! I came back out here and did some work and then Andrew got home at about 7:30pm. We watched a little tv and at about 8:50pm, Andrew left for basketball and I went to bed! Good night!

It Doesn't Get Much Better

Tuesday:
took J to school (9am)
came home to clean (9:10am)
Tina & kids came to visit (10am)
***The bummer about that was we were going to do an ab video - but I lost it. The cool thing was Ash cleaned my backyard! Yes, they will be invited back.
got Jackson (12pm)
2.5 hour naps - for kids, not me (12:30-3)
wake up Ry head to Andi's doc. appoint (3:30)
***Andi is doing well at one year. She had to get two shots and have lab work done. She did lose a couple pounds since her last appoint., so maybe that's why they did lab work. Anyway, the worst part of the day was when they were drawing her blood and the assistant noticed blood all over the table. The vial was cracked and leaking. I had to keep her pinned to the table so they could get another vial and fill that one. Yeah, that was a lot of blood. BUT the nice thing is Andi does not cry when she gets shots, they don't phase her. But what she doesn't like it feeling trapped, she wasn't pleased while she was being forced to lie down. She was fine though the second I picked her up. Tough cookie.
Walmart with very little drama (4:30)
Costco with mom, dad, and Andrew (5:30)
***But I'm annoyed because I thought was bought size 5 (for Ryan), turns out I got another box of 4's (for Andi). Of course, it's always the middle child that gets the short end of the stick.
Sushi (???-7:30)
***Andrew was such a stud because once he finished his meal and a piece of my white fish, he took the kids home because they were pretty tired, well mainly Andi. Then he began making the treat I planned to make that night.
Mindee picks me up (8:05...)
Girls movie night at Amber's - Whip It (8:30-11pm)

Seriously, I love the busy days because they remind me how blessed I am and because it keeps me from yelling because the kids don't fight as much! What's that saying about idle time....

Isagenix Update

Now that the cat is out of the bag, I will probably post my progress for my personal (yet very public) records. Since Sunday, I have lost another 1.5 inches BUT the best thing is that today, MY RING CAME OFF, slid right off, for the first time in a YEAR!!

So Blessed

Ryan insisted on this picture - don't know why...

Oh how I HATE laundry. HATE it. There was once a day where I could be all caught up. There was once a day where we could do laundry once or twice a week. Hahaha those days are long gone. I can't stand how much laundry we make and how long it takes to fold and put away. Because seriously, washing it is the easy part. It's the part where you try to fold it, keep the kids from destroying your piles, and then find time when a kid is not sleeping so you can put it all away.

So as I was cursing the laundry the other day, thinking about how this was only a couple loads and I still had five or so in the washer, dryer, or hamper, I realized, MAN WE ARE BLESSED. Look at all these clothes, many of them have been given to us. Our children are clothed and it's such a blessing. No longer will I curse the laundry... I am not saying I will be excited to wash, dry, fold, hang, and put away, but no, I WILL NO longer be bitter!

Isagenix

I began Isagenix the beginning of December. Being so fed up with my weight, I had to do something drastic. Years ago my mom, mother-in-law, sister-in-laws and more, did Isagenix and I knew their results were good. But I didn't want good, so I went into this wanting incredible!

To this date, I feel great. There are days I think, man I wish I could eat such and such, but really, those days don't happen often. I enjoy many meals out, and many home cooked meals. I don't feel too deprived. And really, for the rest of my life I would prefer an Isagenix shake for my breakfast. All other breakfasts foods leave me hungry an hour later. Plus, I really do like the taste of the shakes.

Now if you're thinking I'm crazy and you have done this before, think again. It has changed. From what I hear, it was pretty awful back in the day. I am not a huge fan of the cleansing days, but in the end, I think it's all worth it.

I have been on the 30day program for almost two months now and I have LOST 16.5 inches so far. I am not sure about my weight because I haven't weighed myself since Christmas, but at that time, I had lost TEN pounds! I still have a long way to go, but it's a start. I know my results could be better, but to be honest, I am not willing to be too strict with what I eat. I want to still enjoy my favorite's and so I don't always stick with the 400-600 calorie meals. But overall, I think I am doing ok and I am happy with ok.

So here's to getting back into my old jeans!!! :)

HE DID IT - BIG BOY CLASS - SUNBEAMS

Yes on the way to church I told him he could have a snack when we get home
Yes I told him his friend wanted him in his class
Yes I told him he could have gum after church
Yes I sat in Primary for the first 15 minutes
Yes I threatened him that if he didn't sit still, I would take away his fuzzy, green Reverent Ball
YES HE STAYED IN CLASS THE ENTIRE TWO HOURS!!!!
YES HIS TEACHER SAID HE WAS SUCH A GOOD BOY!
YES SHE BRIBED THE LITTLE SUNBEAMS WITH PLAY-DOH TIME.
YES HE WAS SO EXCITED AND HAPPY AFTER CHURCH.
YES I GAVE HIM A PIECE OF GUM.
YES HE MADE BROWNIES WITH ANDREW & RYAN.
and YES, I am so very, very proud of him and so relieved his FIRST week in Primary went well and YES I am now praying next week is even easier!

Happy 30th Birthday Matt!

Oh how we love Uncle Matt. My kids just adore him and he truly is apart of this family. So the world stopped when Matt turned 30. Really, it was so tough to convince Andrew to get all dressed up and go PAINT BALLING with the boys. Yes, it was torture, but he would do anything for Matt.

So what do you do with a bunch of moms that treasure daddy saturdays??? You get together, socialize, eat, and laugh. Thanks to Brooke, we were all able to spend the morning together, with out 19 kids!

At the start of the morning, Ryan hung out in his favorite place: THE KITCHEN! It used to be because he liked to eat - now it's because he likes to cook. BUT, he did eat whatever was sitting on Brooke's counter. Yes, he helped himself.

I can't tell you how stoked I was that Andi hung out in this thing for close to an hour - WAHOO!

While the boys were downstairs, Jackson and the girls played upstairs. I think it's so cute - my little ladies man.

Poor Brooke.....

LUNCH TIME - yes, that was interesting! Did I mention 17 kids!?!?

The next time it rains and we gather at Brooke's, we will be planning on a huge mud party!! Brooke had to loan out many outfits because our kids were covered in mud. They had a blast.

It's such a blessing to have incredible girlfriends. It made my Andrewless Saturday very bearable. Now I think we all owe it to Brooke to go over to her house and CLEAN!
Now I know this was supposed to be Matt's post, but I don't have pictures for their events. I wanted to go over there and take pictures on my way home, but Curtis informed me that it wasn't too visible from the car. And I needed to stay with the car so I wouldn't have to unload very tired kids. So.... needless to say, the guys had a blast, Andrew can't wait to go again, he has two new beauty marks, and I find it adorable that the guys were talking about the pregnancy contest on their guys day out.
And man, that was an awful sentence....
Happy Birthday Matt!

Happy Birthday BRI & Wes

Friday night we made the journey to Acton to celebrate Bri's birthday. I say journey because with all the rain, it's pretty much a journey on any drive. But it was pretty looking at all the snow and the incredible cloud formations. Once we arrived at La Cabana, we had to wait for everyone else. As soon as Bri showed up, the pictures began.Ryan was SO cute, so in the mood to pose with grandpa grandpa and say cheese.

Andi, not so much... don't make her do ANYTHING she doesn't want to do.

Ryan went from subject, to photographer. It's a good thing no one was wearing a skirt.

At the end of our meal, my mom suggested we make a toast to Wes. It was a bitter-sweet moment. Wes was very much a part of my family, so everyone struggles still. I remember the days we wanted Bri and Wes to get married.

On our way over to my parent's house for dessert, lo and behold, it was THIRTY-FIVE degrees.... what are the odds. (For those of you that don't know, that is Wes' number)

We arrived first, AGAIN, and decided to fix up the appearance of the cake... just a bit :)

Ryan was on one that night, he did not want to release the camera.

The only candle in the house was a "7". So when she blew out her candles, she acted as though there were many more.

Andi truly does like Steven... it might be because when Bri and Steven babysit and Andi begins to cry, Bri hands Andi over to Steven. HmmmmSomeone didn't realize they were videotaping - brace yourselves.

It was a very good night and we are so grateful for the chance to celebrate Bri. She has been an incredible sister, I always know I can look over to her when I need to make sure someone else is laughing with me. Happy Birthday Bri, we love you.