So cute!

L. is 3 1/2 and good at it in every way. She loves snuggling, following the big kids around, helping in the kitchen, getting into things that spark curiosity, you know - all of the regular 3 year old stuff. Sunday night I was tucking the girls into bed and asked her if she had gone potty yet. She answered with a muffled thumb-in-the-mouth 'yes' and the tone that lets me know that she really hadn't. It took me several tries to convince her that it was, in fact, necessesary to go potty before bed so that she didn't have to get up in the middle of the night.
After she finally did her duty she came back into her room and said "You know, Mom, going potty is a real pain...pain...um" I helped her with the phrase she was looking for - "Pain the the neck?" she said enthusiastically "yes! It's a real pain ON my neck!"

How Can I Possibly Complain?

I've heard the name a few times. "Nie Nie" and until this evening I had no idea who or what it meant. Recovering from surgery I've been sitting at the computer tonight looking at different blogs and somehow I found her story. Reading a narrative of a woman named Stephanie Nielson and the airplane accident that she survived. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/stephanie-nielson-intro-120609.html  Apparently her blog: http://www.nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/ was popular with readers long before her husband took up flying, and as is the case with the blogging world, word traveled quickly and strangers stepped into place as countless people loved a stranger.
I met her tonight and read, first, about the horrific details of her plane accident, recovery and ability to come through the darkest of days alive, and in love, and grateful to be a Mom. Talk about a wake-up call. Poor Nicole....feels bad that she can't make cookies or re-cover the chair sitting in the living room - feels bad that she can't hold baby on her lap to put him to bed tonight. HELLO!!! I will hold him tomorrow, maybe only for a minute, but I will.
I've had a motto that has become a regular part of my life during the past 6 months. "Fake it 'till you MAKE IT!" And yet, there are still days where I feel bad for myself because my cramps are so bad (waaa!) or...whatever. It's been a maturing experience to learn to tough it out and press forward regardless of what physical ailments may be present. It's a different kind of trial, just like every single persons trials are some kind of different - that said, no one really knows what the person down the street is going through, so why don't we all just give each other a hug and an encouraging smile and look for some way to help?
Each of us will walk through our own fire of this life, what will we do? I am grateful for the days that I've been given the strength to "Fake it till I make it" and grateful for the loving forgiveness of our Father in Heaven on the days that I feel bad for myself.
Take a moment to read the story of Stephanie Nielson, it may just make your life.
Click here to read an insiders narrative of Nie Nie's story

"There is in every true woman's heart a spark of heavenly fire, which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity; but which kindles up and beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity."

Surgery Tomorrow

So FUN!! (not:)


Just thought I'd let you all know that I will be going in for out-patient surgery on Wednesday of this week. (Dec. 16th) After lots of testing and ruling other things out, my 'WoMaN dOcTeR' believes that I have a pretty bad case of endometriosis. If you want to know what that is, CLICK HERE ! Hopefully I'll have some relief from the constant, annoying pain that I've been dealing with for months now. Prayers are appreciated!! That's the main reason for even putting this on a blog. I believe in the power of prayer and since I'd like to make it out of this alive, and I'd like my kids to make it out of  4-5 days sans Mom alive, we need your prayers. Not that I was implying that Kurt can't take care of the kids....because he can - very, very well.
 

Merry Christmas!

P.S My baby is walking, everywhere. Does that mean he's now a toddler instead of my baby? (tears!) Don't say it,

I don't want to know.

Christmas In July....

He changed his mind. Again. I know I am not the only parent dealing with "santa gift" problems. I've decided that it would be awesome to start a new community tradition. Wouldn't it be great if the malls put Santa in the stores in, say....July? If that seems like overkill then I could compromise with September. Just for a couple of weeks and then he could go back to Christmas Island, or wherever he happens to hang during his off season. This way, the kids would have to ask, be done, be committed, end of story. None of this changing your mind about what you are going to ask Santa for after your Mom has already (ahem) told him. By this point in the game, Santa's gift is happily waiting in the sewing room for it's magnificant presentation on Christmas Morning. Ugh! Grrr. Sigh. What's a Mom to do. Well? This Mom shops online, so well in fact that she doesn't pay for shipping. I certainly don't want to pay to send it back since I didn't even pay to have it sent here.
This time....my oldest son lucked out. It just so happens that his birthday is the first week in January so I'll give myself a pat on the back for getting his birthday shopping done early! FHE is tonight and I'm thinking that we need to make a little trek down to the mall so that the kids can tell Santa what I've been waiting to hear all year - it will certainly make my job a bit easier.

PS. Santa already has the other kids gifts too. The chance of Bugga-boo changing her mind was also pretty good, but Mom was a step ahead. Mom shows Bug a picture online, we talked about it, got excited and then?......Mom printed the picture out so that Bugga-boo could give it to Santa.  Since the kids are only allowed to ask Santa for one thing, looks like Mom won this one ☺

Nothing's In There Mommy....

So, tonight I was sitting on our couch enjoying the happy feeling in our home (for once!) when Bugga-boo came up to me and asked to play doctor. She had a big huge popsicle stick that was in all actuality a toung-depressor. "Open wide Mommy, this is my flashlight....(which I obedientely did.)....yep, I don't see anything in there...except your pain." said Bug, Then I said, "Well doctor can you make it better?" Bug:"no, I don't think so, I'm not a very good doctor but you can put this ribbon around your neck...like this....and, does that help your pain? I didn't think so, well I have to go. Good Luck"

So, Isn't that just the gosh darn truth? Just because we can see the pain, doesn't mean we can fix it. She was being so cute, in fact...surprise, surprise, ALL of the kids were being so cute. Playing hide and seek together, then playing house, then playing doctor (with ALL of their clothes on.) and they weren't fighting, much. Or tattle-taleing, often. But they were having fun. Ohohohohoh!  AND these three kids actually cleaned up the mess that they had created in the basement family room. ALL BY THEMSELVES! Seriously. And it was GOOD. Of course, what they don't realize is that performing to such a high capacity has now officially raised the standard of expectation for what they are able to do.Yes-sir-re-bob!

I love these fleeting moments that bring hope into my heart. I love the chance to smother the kids with praise for playing so well together and - getting along. A happy heart is the best kind of heart to have and so often, as a Mom, our hearts are filled with worry  or sorrow or quilt. But the Lord has promised and taught "behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have."

 I've seen it over and over again. Once I think I have one of the kids figured out, they go and (gasp!) change. Once I feel like I am finally getting the hang of things someone gets sick (ugh!) So learn the lesson now, and save yourself from the pain of losing whatever you had already been given. I suppose that if we spend our lives on our knees in prayer, seeking for more ways we can do better, thanking HIM for what we already have. Then keep plugging away, one day at a time. And when your family has an evening that seems to be more rare than you'd like, acknowledge his hand in allowing that blessing to come to pass, and then humbly ask what more we can do. Because "After all, Tomorrow is Another Day."

As that famous philosopher, Anonymous, says, “Life is all about Plan B.”

What better time for a tribute to my FAVORITE artist than a cold, snowless day in December? Mind you, I am NOT complaining about the lack of snow, in fact I'm thrilled that this afternoon will not consist of taking 30 minutes to bundle up the kiddos in order for them to go out and play for 10 minutes and then tromp back in "freezing" and beg for the hot-chocolate that I keep forgetting to buy at Costco. Yes, today is a PERFECT day to remind the world where to find lots, and lots, and lots of color. Since it can't be found out the window, let hope you can find it inside - everywhere!

Mary Engelbreit is FAMOUS, and amazing, and my inspiration for so many things, especially having to do with decorating, artwork and how to look at life. If there were ONE word used to describe her work it would be COLOR! Everything she produces is saturated with color! So much, in fact, that I recall reading in her biography that at that time, she owned every marker that had been produced. She started drawing very, very early and her wise Mother took notice of her talent and encouraged her to the point that if her siblings were complaining that Mary wasn't working, her Mother would tell them to leave her alone...."Mary's Drawing."

Yesterday I was popped into a Deseret Bookstore to grab a clock that they had on sale and though I was on a severe time crunch I decided to look around and see if anything else sparked my interest enough to buy with my birthday gift-card from my McLean Grandparents. What did I find on a spinnie-thingy? THIS ↓

Did I even have to think about it? Nope! Not even for a second. I've used her desk calendar twice in the past and I love the artwork so much that I won't throw them away (or recycle, ahem.). This calendar is my life in a nutshell. In fact, on her website, the first sentence in the product description says,

"Some artists use a canvas to create masterpieces, but others use their home as their medium for displaying their artistic talent."

What are the chances? Just about a month ago I was walking around "Color Me Mine" art studio in downtown Ogden with a friend - we were exploring the possibility of developing this new area of artistic talent - painting our own pottery. She commented that I must be the artsy type and while laughing I assured her that I was as much as an amature at pottery painting as she was! Then I suggested that perhaps I should choose the largest platter in the shop and eventually go smaller since my artists' canvas up to this point in my life has been the walls of my home. Heehee! My hands shake! Painting little things is difficult and required a TON of concentration, but I DO LOVE to PAINT MY WALLS!!! So much, in fact, that I've quite grown to detest white walls, or countertops, etc.

What does this have to do with GOOD FAMILY LIVING? I believe that your home really IS your canvas. Especially if you own a home and can do what you want when it comes to color. There are no rules out there for what shade your living room should be. There are always trends, you know, the popular colors that are inspiring and fun for a couple of years before they are outdated. PAINT WHAT YOU LIKE! Paint what makes you happy to look at! What makes you feel good inside? What I like and what you like will be two different things but no matter what, don't be afraid of color! Paint will give you the biggest bang for your buck and it's also one of the easiest things to change. So if you go for RED and it ends up being the wrong shade. Do it again. Practice makes perfect. The more you paint in your home, the faster you will get.

For the sake of this post, AND for the purpose of this blog serving as a family journal I've included some pictures of our last home. It was our FIRST HOME!! (That we bought, not rented.) I was so excited to paint that I spent a day with Kurt's Grandma Jensen painting the kids rooms before we moved in!

See? It's not Decorators Magazine worthy, but

it sure was fun!

Mary Engelbreit. Amazing, Colorful, sigh...just what

a drab day in winter needs.

I just read her latest blog post

and laughed outloud. So if you

need some cheer, like a free

desktop background, or if you

want to just look at happy

artwork, go to her website - and

SMILE, and be happy - because, you know what they say...........