Something New...

Hello!

Guess what?!

After about four years of having two different blogs, I have decided it is time to combine all the thoughts, adventures, and craziness that is us into one blog! That's right, we are "moving," so to speak! :) At least moving to a new blog address.

I was getting worn out of keeping up with two blogs, plus I didn't like sharing part of my life on one blog and another part on a different one. So you can find us all in one happy place now.

Please check it out!

Bloom Where You are Planted

Hope to see y'all there soon!

I'm a lucky Mom

Hi!
How's your week going? Not too shabby here.Grace has some friends over and since she is occupied at the moment I thought I would post a quick picture!

We took this on Mother's Day with the camera remote....not too bad! I told Bryan that was what I wanted for Mother's Day, a nice family picture with everyone cooperating for me! So....Bryan threatened the kids with their lives that they better be nice and this is what we ended up with! :) Haha! I'm a happy mama!

I am also a happy mama because I am a mama! I was thinking a lot about this on Mother's Day. Of course it would have been lovely if the kids had been perfectly sweet and kind, if no one had said a mean word, no one whined about anything and everyone would have gotten a long all day. But in spite of the fact that those things did NOT happen, :) I still enjoyed the day celebrating the simple fact that I have been blessed to be a mom. Even with all the imperfections, it is a huge blessing, and I recognize that more and more each day. So here's to more wonderful days filled with work, play, whining, laundry, time-outs, Peanut Butter, arguing, homework, Candyland, Go fish, playing in the sandbox, and little moments of pure Heaven that make it all worth it! Happy Mother's Day!

Photo Shoot with Grandpa

Well, for those of you who didn't already know, the kiddos and I headed Northwest for Spring Break for a lovely trip to UTAH! We had a blast, and yes, we drove, and yes, I am crazy! :) Just kidding, it was great! The kids did awesome in the car, just like I knew they would. Here's the thing about our kids: they do their fair share of whining and carrying on and arguing on a normal day, but when it really counts, they always pull through for me, so I knew we would be okay! And they did. I'm not even just exaggerating to make it sound better than it was...they really were amazing! They were road tripping ROCK STARS! So anyway, we had a great time, and the week flew by way to quickly! We visited with family, played with cousins, shopped, ate way too much ice cream, met Maren's BOYFRIEND :), went to the movies, and shopped some more (yay for IKEA!)! We also had a fun photo shoot with Grandpa Guymon, aka The Photographer Extraordinaire!! This happens to be about the only event I took any pictures of, so they will have to suffice for coverage of the trip. :) Grandpa rented this studio for the photo shoot, which turned out to be a wonderful idea since it was raining like crazy! Katie and her kiddos had been down to play for the weekend, so we all met at the studio to attempt to get portraits of five children under the age of six! Grandpa is a brave, brave man! :) Since Grandpa is well known for always being behind the camera, I wanted to document that. Looking through the portraits we got from this shoot, you would never guess the amount of crying, pouting, teasing, groaning, face making, and cereal eating that went on in the background! Good times... :) Anyway, I was trying to document a bit of it all.

These are my favorite!

Unfortunately, you can tell Grace has had way too few opportunities to learn patience with younger kiddos...something I worry about a lot! Anyone want to loan us a toddler?! :)

And these are Grandpa's finished masterpieces! I quite like them!

Thanks Grandpa!

Sigh.....they are way..too..BIG!

Thanks to all of our family for letting us come and visit...we loved seeing you all and can't wait until the next time! A lot of our friends here comment about how often we see our families, but to us we can never seem to get together often enough!

And, a big thanks to Bryan for living without us for a whole week. And thanks to Bryan for making coming home to him just as exciting as the rest of the trip!

All good celebrations must come to an end...

In our family, we have all of our major celebrations in a four month span. I like to think of it as our 'celebration season' :). It's basically one never-ending party around here from December until the beginning of March! Our anniversary is coming up this weekend, and that will end the party until next December when Joshua turns 7. It's kind of fun that way, but I tell you what, by the time we have celebrated four birthdays and an anniversary, as well as Christmas and Valentine's Day, I never want to see another cake or sugar cookie again! :)

Anyway, this year the kids both got the bum end of the deal. They both were sick on their birthdays...no fair! It is so sad to see your kiddos sick on their special day. Poor Joshua was really looking forward to taking a special treat for his class and having Grace and I come have lunch with him. Instead he ended up at home with the flu. (I have to admit though, the jealous mom in me was really grateful to have him home with me instead of at school!) He was a trooper though and made the most of it. Opening the remote controlled monster truck perked him up for a while!

Bryan and I definitely got the better end of the deal this year...not only did we not get sick, we both got to have our mom's come visit for our birthdays! It was fabulous! Bryan's mom came for 4 1/2 days and even watched the kids over night so we could have a night away and go to the temple! We played lots of games, did some shopping, visited a bunch and loved every minute of her visit!

Here is poor sick Grace on her birthday. She wasn't as sick as Joshua had been, so we attempted to take her to the park....she wasn't too into it! She did look cute in this birthday crown, though. Joshua had received one from his teacher at school for his birthday, so Grace insisted that I make her one too. I thought it turned out cute, but she would only wear it for the pictures, then she wanted nothing to do with it...silly girl! She tried her best to have a good time, but at the end of the day she admitted that her birthday wasn't a whole lot of fun...breaks a mommy's heart!

I couldn't figure out what was wrong with her, she didn't really have any symptoms other than cold symptoms, but she was just wiped out. Then I came down with it the next week and I completely understood...it was no fun!

For my birthday, my mom also came to town....but I had no idea she was coming! My wonderful sneaky husband had been in secret negotiations with my mom for several weeks, and I had no clue. (which is really good for Bryan...he usually can't keep secrets from me at all, no matter how big or small the secret is!) He came home from work the day before my birthday and said he has a surprise. I looked up expecting some birthday treat or gift and there was my mom! I'm usually not much of a screamer, but I gave it my best shot...I couldn't stop screaming! :) She got to stay for a whole week, and we had a great time! It was the perfect birthday present this year!

And now our celebrations are coming to an end for this birthday season. We had great, good, and not-so-good moments this time around, but definitely a celebration season we won't forget!

Howdy y'all

Well Hello...it's been awhile. :) I can't believe it has been nearly three months since I last updated the ol' blog. That's a record, even for me! Here is a bit of the learning and growing we have been up to lately:

Grace is...

...even more entertaining than ever! She continually amazes us with her non-stop energy and her endless list of things to talk about. She is a smart little girl and loves to read books and play board games and card games.....which she beats me at the vast majority of the time! She is really into princesses, ponies, and Fancy Nancy (okay, that last one might be highly encouraged be her mom...have you read these books? They are adorable!). She can often be found wearing her leotard and tutu, her favorite rainbow striped skirt with her pink Croc boots, or her princess dress. And if none of the above, she is, at the least, dressed from head to toe in various shades of pink and purple. She exhausts me daily and yet I would be lost without her.

Joshua has...

...continued to amaze us with all of the things he is learning at school. His reading has really taken off and I am very impressed with how well he is able to sound out new words. There is just something so neat to me about watching him learn new things, and especially to watch him gain a love of learning! We are grateful for the wonderful teacher he has at school! He came home last week telling me all about George Washington and the Revolutionary War, and whenever he got out his playmobils that week he would play "George Washington and the battle of the Revolution," as he called it. As both Bryan and I have our bachelor degree's in History, we were quite thrilled at his interest in the subject! :) Picking him up from school is one of my favorite parts of the day, and I love hearing about the things he remembers from school. He is just a good, good boy, and I am grateful for that.

Our Family feels...

...very blessed to have one another. The last few months have been full of fun times together and memory making moments, and it has really made me realize how blessed we are in our family. Lately I have realized more and more that there is so much joy in just being together, in being family. It has reminded me that there is nothing I want more, or need to work harder for, than a joyful family life. And I am learning that "joyful" doesn't mean sorrow-free, but we can find joy in even the difficult times as we look at the good things that surround us. What a wonderful blessing!

Christ - the Real gift of Christmas

Hi again....just had to share something else.
Bryan found this section on our church's website full of activities, video clips, music, etc. to help us have a more Christ-centered Christmas. I have been looking for some ways for our family to slow down and enjoy this Christmas, remembering the real meaning of the holiday....our Savior. I was touched by some of the videos and activities and thought I would share. Just click the widget on the sidebar and enjoy!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Inspiration

Hi! In the last couple of weeks I have come across this quote twice, and I love it. So many great reminders in one paragraph! Just thought I would share it. Hopefully I will be back soon with pictures of our recent adventures!

"Life is not a race-but indeed a journey. Be honest. Work hard. Be choosy. Say "thank you," "I love you," and "great job" to someone each day. Go to church, take time for prayer. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh. Let your handshake mean more than pen and paper. Love your life and what you've been given, it is not accidental-search for your purpose and do it as best you can. Dreaming does matter. It allows you to become that which you aspire to be. Laugh often. Appreciate the little things in life and enjoy them. Some of the best things really are free. Do not worry, less wrinkles are more becoming. Forgive, it frees the soul. Take time for yourself-plan for longevity. Recognize the special people you've been blessed to know. Live for today, enjoy the moment."

- Bonnie Mohr