We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

Yesterday for church my kids looked so darn cute that I had to take a picture and post it. I was able to sing in the Christmas choir, we were just about the whole Sunday service. We sang about 5 songs and there were a couple other groups that sang with narratives in between. I also got to watch Scott suffer through sitting with Madelyn. HA! Except she wasn't as naughty as she usually is with me there. Why is that? Anyway it was a great Sunday. It completely set us in the mood to celebrate Christ's birth and enjoy our family. If they would hurry and get here! Grandma, Grandpa and Anna are coming for Christmas, and we will probably spend New Years with the Andersons as well. Merry Christmas!

I have to tell you a story about Rylan that his school teacher told me today. Mrs. Waters not only goes to our church, but she also is our next door neighbor (we love her that much)! Well today at church she told me that at school they had been writing poems about the upcoming Christmas, the fun commercial part, the Christmas tree, Santa etc. Well Rylan asked her, "Mrs. Waters, when are we going to write a poem about Jesus?" So sweet, my little boy. Very proud that he was concerned about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. We talked today at dinner about why we don't talk about Jesus in class at school, or why his teachers can't teach about him. But we also told him that he can always tell his friends about Jesus and how he believes in him. To that he replied, "Well I do believe in him!"

Last weekend we went to Provo for my niece's blessing. We arrived at their church house and the instant we got there and it was quiet while people were getting ready to worship, Maddy starts fidgeting with her dress and says out loud multiple times, "I wanna be naked!" I wanna be naked mommy!" It must have made her itch for a second there. We distracted her with something and she didn't mention it again. Sweet baby Elizabeth Lynnette (named after my mother) was born back in October. She wore the blessing dress that I was blessed in and that Maddy was blessed in. So we had to take a picture. Maddy really didn't want to sit still, and she was for sure not going to smile. This was the best we could do. Doesn't it look like I am smuggling a basketball under my shirt? It is just a perfectly round ball isn't it! I had to tell her that we were taking a princess picture with all the girls. That helped a little. She loves princessess. In fact everytime she wea...

Yep today is December 9th, my day of birth. No big deal, except I turned 29! My last year in my twenties! FREAKY! No, I am ok. I am in a good place in my life, I have everything I could possibly want in life. Plus I have 5 weeks to go until the baby comes and I get comments all the time how small I am. I will take it! You should have seen me with Madelyn, . . . huge. However this pregnancy is totally different, I am probably small because the baby is in my back, with the placenta in the front. It is a big debate, which is better to be huge or to have random nerve spasms and numbness? I don't know, I am just anxious for this little guy to come. I have been excited, yet after I watched my friend's 5 week old today I am REALLY excited to have a "little baby" Here is what I have learned in my 29 years on earth: No one but you is in charge of your happiness Fake it til you make it In almost every situation, it could be worse, or there is always some one else who is...

After hearing the horrible side effects of kids who use the binki long after they are toddlers, I decided that it was time for the binki fairy. (Actually they weren't that horrible. But I thought Madelyn was old enough to understand the concept, plus she wasn't using it during the day (we stopped that habit when she was about 18 months) and she wasn't waking up at night and asking for it. So my motherly instincts thought that it was time to give it up. We talked about it for about 2 days then we gathered her binkis and placed them in a basket in her room. I hope that was all of them, these are the ones that survived. The green one we got in the hospital when she was born. The blue one was purchased in Grangeville while visiting Scott's parents after we lost two during Border Days, and that pink one was purchase not too long ago, probably her favorite. Anyway, we said that if she left her binki's in the basket then the binki fairy would come take the binki's and...