Our busiest time of the year...

Well December is really the busiest but this is the second busiest. We start the month off with Mother's Day, then we have uncle Chris's birthday, then Lauren's birthday, followed closely by Jeremy's birthday. Then if we have time our anniversay. Just kidding we always make time. This year we celebrate our 9th anniversay. We are still newlyweds in some respects but the old married couple in others.

Nine years ago this is what we looked like, I am still about 14 inches shorter than him. That might be the only thing that we still have in common with those two in the photo above. When we first met I was 10, he was 11 and we were in the 6th grade. He was pretty cool and I was a no body, at least that is how I saw it. We were friends and as the years progressed we got to know each other and he signed all my year books beginning "April, May, June" very creative I know. Then our Junior year of high school we had a little innocent fling that was official (via note passing) in this picture.

We were young, I was mean, but we maintained a friendship. He was extremely busy playing the field. ; ) When we both had lived a little and matured he called me out of the blue. At least it was for me, turns out he had been trying to call for two months. We started dating for real in December of 98. In April we took a fabulous trip to Disneyland (where else of course!) and to San Diego, and a short trip over the border. It was then that I knew it was not just a fling, and he was serious. It was the first time that we seriously talked marriage.

Our family has grown mostly one by one. But 6 children, 5 homes, at least 10 trips to Disneyland, 7 cars, a bazillion gallons of ice cream and 9 years later we are still in love. Crazy, huh?

We have been blessed with lots of tired nights and extremely happy moments. (This was the last photo we have as a couple. I am not liking my picture taken too much.)

I am so grateful for our marriage, our friendship and the life we have built together. It is not always easy but nothing you value should be, or you will take it for granted. Jeremy and our children are the best part of me. I would be lost without them. I am grateful for the times in high school when I was awkwardly goofy but that we still maintained a friendship that will last forever.

Jeremy, I love you and I love our life together. You have given me more than I had ever thought I could have. We are far from rich financially, but our needs are met with comfort. Most importantly we are overloaded with laughter and love in our home. You continue to make me want to be a better person, for that I am grateful as well, even if I fight it kicking and screaming! So thank you for giving me a fabulous nine years and I look forward to many years to come.

Happy Anniversary!

Lauren is Two

Just two short years ago we were home from the hospital with this "big"girl. She was built like a linebacker and all I could think of was that her future nickname would be Big Bertha. She had more hair than a mop, but she still took my breath away. Baby acne and all she was absolutely beautiful. She was a sweet and fairly content baby.

Now she is still beautiful and takes my breath away, now it is by force while I count to 10, count my blessings and find the humor in her personality.
She knows what she wants and I hope that never changes. Her confidence does not compare with her siblings. She loves to give kisses and will give hugs to say sorry. Those who know us really well appreciate her as well. By no means do I think we have perfect kids and I know no body would trade theirs for ours, but our kids behave well in public, then Lauren came. While she does behave pretty well she is by far louder than the other kids. She is at the point when shopping that she sees clothes racks and takes off giggling the whole way. She loves to get into no-no's and then have you chase her. This little twerp is fast. Who would have thought that would be the case for such a late walker?

Her newest story has to do with cookies.

Lauren was a pretty good eater but hasn't eaten vegetables in I don't know how long. She was too young to reason with so we just let her eat what she wanted. Now it is time for hard core training. We give her dinner and if she doesn't eat her vegetables she does not get dessert. We also are now cutting back on the milk. Yesterday after dinner I was of course at the computer, and the kids come and inform (not tattle that would be annoying) me that Lauren has a cookie. So I follow them to find her hiding by the end of the bed eating her cookie in a corner. From the door you can not see her but as I kept walking she was busted. Here's a little video.

I love her so much and am so grateful to have added her to our family especially at a time when one more child seemed like a financial burden. It was a time when our future was up in the air and we weren't sure another baby would be the right choice. We prayed about it and knew it was time for her to join us. We have been so blessed I can not even begin to name them. This little one's middle name is Grace for that reason. When we do all we can it is the grace of our loving Heavenly Father that fills in where we lack. He sure has.

Happy 2nd Birthday to our fifth child, the one who will not let us loose her in the mix and makes herself known and demands independence. Lauren, I love you!

Blurb Giveaway

Over at Natalie's Sentiments she is having a contest to give away 1 Blurb book to 5 people. Among other books you can upload your blog directly to them and you can publish your blog posts in book form. They are gorgeous. Check it out at Blurb, then check out Natalie's Blog to enter. The drawing is Tuesday May 19th, which happens to be my anniversary so I am sure I will win!!!

Go check it out!

Twins!

I have a sweet friend who is having twins, any day now. She is the cutest pregnant lady! Watching her tummy grow reminds me so much of my days with a freakishly large torso.

The day I got to meet them was amazing. My cup runneth over. I felt amazingly blessed!

It has been so fun to watch them grow. People always ask if I can tell them apart. I will tell you the honest truth, 50% I can since I dress them, 30% yes if I am right in their face, the other 20% when they are dressed exactly alike and not right next to each other the answer is, I need to get real close as Hannah has a freckle above her left eye. Hannah is the thinner of the two (by a pound) But Haylie has a thinner face. Can you tell which is which?

They are the best of friends and they are great playmates! They typically enjoy each other but are equally happy to be apart. They have very different personalities and are very much individuals. Such cute little trouble makers!

Another chef in the family

The kids love to help me cook. Anytime I make anything they are right there asking what they can do. We have one o'clock church this year which makes big dinners difficult. So when we had all the family here for Easter we did something simple so we could enjoy a more relaxing meal together. The following Sunday I was determined to have an Easter meal of ham and potatoes so I decided to make it all before church and set the timers.


The menu
Ham
Funeral Potatoes (or Party Potatoes as we have affectionately changed the name to!)
Green Bean Casserole
Homemade rolls
Watergate Salad


I was doing good on time then I looked at the clock...Miranda was right there begging to help me. So I gave her the job of making the potatoes.


Funeral Potatoes
1bag O'Brien Potatoes
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Pint (16oz) Sour Cream
2 cups of grated cheese
1 small onion diced
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Topping
1/2 cup butter
1 cup crushed Corn Flakes (which I didn't have on hand so we used 1 roll Ritz crackers, De-lish!)


Mix the soup, sour cream, cheese, salt, pepper and onion together, then stir in potatoes. Pour into a casserole dish. Melt butter and mix in with crushed Ritz crackers. Spread over top of casserole and bake at 350 for 1 hour.


The only thing I did for Miranda was cut up the onion in my fancy Vidalia Chop Wizard (9.99 at Target!)

After she was all done I expected to need to mix it up and make sure there were no chunks of sour cream. She did a fantastic job. Here is her finished product.
Now I know I have lots of help in the kitchen.

Four fast months!

On Friday Jackson turned four months old. I wish he could stay like this for a long time. He really is a sweet baby. Last night for Mother's day He gave me the gift of a full 8 hours of sleep! He was doing great then not so great, now we are on the great track again!

So back to my tiniest little darling. I put him on his stoch this morning and got a cute picture or two.

Believe it or not Lauren loves her little brother. She loves to give him kissies.
Then I decide to film a little interaction. I put the camera down and guess what? Jackson rolled from his tummy to his back and I missed it. So I tried again and this is what I got:

I love this little guy and not just because he's the cutest little baby I ever did see but he has brought with him a darling personality. He is pretty easy going. He loves his food, well milk he gets the love of eating from his parents!. I think he has my nose, but the rest is from his daddy. He's a keeper even if he won't stop growing too fast. I think the biggest reason I want him to slow down is so that I can enjoy him since he is the last little baby I will have.

The Grape Post

Jeremy is the comic relief in our family. On a regular basis he says "Welcome to the Jacobs' Family Home Evening" and all the kids chuckle. He says it in a normal voice, no funny face. Now it is is habit but before it was a weird thing. The other night we were finishing up dinner with some tasty grapes. Jeremy proceeded to share a story about his childhood (really it hasn't ended, and I love that!). He said when ever he ate grapes he would pretend they were planets and he was eating them whole kind of like Galactus (I reserve the right to change the name of the comic book character I am new to this arena of comic book characters). So he then gave them examples. In a deep voice he would say something like "I am going to eat you little grape planet." The kids would still crack up even after the 20th time he did it. The next day we were again eating grapes and I thought I would join the fun and eat a grape planet. It seemed like an easy sale. I thought they would crack up at the fact that I was being a little goofy with them. Nope, in our house of eight you could hear crickets, they looked at me like I was immature and crazy, not the tiniest bit funny. Jeremy thought that alone was priceless. A few minutes later he sits down, I believe he cleared his vocal chords and encouraged me to try again. So I wiped the tears of failure from my cheek and gave it another shot. Holding the grape up between my pointer finger and thumb of my left hand and stroking the grape with the pointer finger of my right I said:

Hi little grape planet, what a lovely day. I will put you out of your misery

Then I stuck that grape in my mouth and chomped down so you could hear the little pop of destruction. Wouldn't you know that they all cracked up. I am truly amazing. To bad it was canned laughter, that's right Jeremy encouraged courtesy laughter to make me feel better. What a kind soul!

Mother's Day for me

I had a great mother's day, in fact I would say perfect except (are you thinking I am ungrateful?) Four of the 6 kids had high fevers. Yuck but they are still great sickness and all! I woke up this morning to Jeremy running to the bathroom because Logan was tossing his cookies, luckily in the proper location. Then I fell back asleep and woke up to Jackson who slept from the time I put him down until 6:45 this morning. Woot! When I was finally up for good Jeremy handed me my own personal copy of BBC's Little Dorrit.

It is a great story with all of the best elements, romance, comedy, drama, mystery, and even a tad spooky at parts. Then he got me some Reese's Select Chocolates
Then a couple of T-shirts, that I think are fabulous! Another surprise that I got was from Miranda. I went to pick her up from school on Thursday and she had a plant in her hand. Every year for mother's day they have a plant sale at her school to raise money for the special needs classroom. The plants are $1.00. So I was surprised that Jeremy had given her the money for a plant, she corrected me and said she used her own money. I was floored! It shouldn't surprise me but it did. It made the little plant all that much more special. She must have been pleased with my reaction because the next day she bought her grandma a plant as well. She also bought me a beaded lizard key chain. She even got an all purple one with pink highlights. My two favorite colors.
I was very surprised. Then Jeremy, pulled from the oven some store bought pre-made cinnamon rolls, he even let the oven beep like he actually made them! Following the sweet rolls, he made me an egg, fried potatoes and vienna sausages. It was perfect. When I got home from church, since he stayed home with the sickies, he had dinner almost completely cooked. I tend to do most of the cooking, but told him what I wanted and he made it!

In case you want recipes here they are Classic Baked Ziti, Cheesy Garlic Bread and Caesar salad. It was divine! And about 1 bazillion calories...my diet starts tomorrow...where was I. Oh yeah divine! I was very impressed and felt very loved by my lovies. I worked the crowd and told them they couldn't eat until they told me why they loved me (who doesn't love a little ego stroking?!) The common answer was you feed me. Logan got specific and said that it is because I drop him off as school, not really sure if he means to give him a break from me, but I will take it as that I am always there for him! Jeremy said among other things because I make him laugh. See future post about grapes! I was milking it but loved that my family went along with it. I love them all and am grateful that they put up with my mood swings and most common problem of the growth on my nose aka nose stuck in a book. I'll cook for you when ever you ask, unless I don't want to! Thank you family for giving me such a special day, I was queen!

Mother's

My mom lives in Ohio where she has been since Miranda was about 3 months old. I love her dearly and she is always teaching me something, whether I act on it is another story but I am listening. ; ) She started off as being a young mom while still growing up herself. At the age of 22 she became a single mom raising three little girls. She's still working on it. I believe it is true you never stop raising your children. We have had some rocky roads and I am still learning how to be a good daughter. One of these days I will figure it out. She shaped me into who I am today and for that I am grateful. I am grateful that she loves me with all my funny quirks and my never ending supply of grandchildren, ha-ha! I don't say it nearly enough but I love you Mom. Thanks for always being there waiting for me to come around!

I have another mother who I got by choice. I ran across this poem:

You are the other mother I received,

the day I wed your son.

And I just want to thank you, mom,

For the loving things you've done.

You've given me a gracious man,

with whom I share my life.

You are his lovely mother,

and I his lucky wife!

You use to pat his little head,

And now I hold his hand.

You raised in love a little boy,

and then gave me the man.

I am so thankful for the son she raised and shaped him into, it has made my life a dream come true. Both of these women are extraordinary. I wouldn't trade either of them.

Happy Mother's Day!

What do you get when 7 people get this:

Silly String! My mom sent us a surprise Valentine's Day package full of silly string. It took some time, but when my mom came out for Miranda's Baptism we finally had our fight. She was there to witness it, so kind of a double bonus.

It started out well, the kids enjoyed holding the cans that had been sitting on our counter for a month and a half. We all got into postion, and then...

I'm makin'...

JAM!

My friend Hayley has made strawberry jam for the last few years. I have been wanting to make some myself for quite sometime. She invited me over a few weeks ago to make some with her but I bailed on her. I was too lazy to get my shopping done on time.

I finally got around to shopping Saturday afternoon. On Tuesday I was finally ready to make Jam. Then Jeremy noticed our 4lb package of strawberries were growing inch long fuzz all over them. Good thing I bought two. One to eat and one to make jam. Realizing my strawberries weren't going to last too long, I got off my tail and made some homemade strawberry jam. It was so delicious. It set up perfectly. It was fun listening to the jars pop when they were sealed. All in all it was easy and tasty.

Twitter

I guess this is what twitter is for but I don't need another bad habit. I was listening to Logan talk to Jackson. Rubbing Jackson's forehead using baby talk Logan said "Is your little brain not working?"

Funny stories for the day

I am sure my funny stories are not funny for any one else but for memories sake they are going into the "blogosphere".

As I was getting out of my shower this morning I get bombarded by Haylie and Hannah. FYI when you have 6 young kids there is no such thing as privacy. As I am inside the shower still Haylie comes around the corner crying. Between sobs she says "I was running down the hall and I tripped and hit my head." And from the tone of her voice Hannah probably had her hand on her hip wagging her finger at her beloved mirror image and said firmly with no sympathy "well you know you are not supposed to be running in the house" then with a sweeter know-it-all voice she says "right Mom?" Yes she did actually use "supposed." Hannah is coming into her own and following in Miranda's foot steps as the next little mom.

Later that day...I was holding Jackson after feeding him. He was a happy little camper and then he gassed. From experience he makes his gas heard, but when he creates home made poop it is typically silent and your nose hairs are the first to betray his wicked but necessary deed. Then he ripped another one, this I could feel, but was not too worried. Then came the big one. As I was holding him appreciating the beauty of him pooping, this may sound weird so I interrupt this sentence to explain. My cute nephew has had problems keeping "regular" and poop was typically a painful, once every 10 day, experience. So for some it would be a blessing to have loose regular bowels. Moving on...then there was another noise. Then I think I am so lucky to be a mother I should blog about how grateful I am for poop! (I am not making this up I really thought that!) Then I felt an uncomfortable warmth on my leg. "Weird" I thought, it had only been less than 1 minute since the first "noise." The warmth was too real and too close, so I moved my arm and it was wet so I look down on my cute white linen skirt and there was the markings of motherhood. Jackson's outfit which had been on him for 2.367 seconds before his interruption (that I am making up it was more like 5 minutes) was completely soiled. So let me summarize the story. I am sitting admiring that my son can poop and it quickly turned in to moist poop on my arm and skirt. He is so thoughtful. I am sure he was mentally communicating and thought "Mom if you like it so much I will give you some to hold and some to wear" I am absolutely positively sure that is what he was thinking. Then I cleaned him all up and he giggled at me. Aren't they precious?

While planting flowers, that will probably die in four days time, Miranda was my most avid helper. She was helping me pull weeds and get the bigger rocks out of the dirt. She turns to me and says "this is the worst day ever!" Considering that she had a great time today I asked her to clarify and she said "pulling weeds!" So if this is her worst day ever then I think we are doing something good. Let me remind you she is a SHE which typically equates to dramatic exaggeration!

Just so Logan doesn't feel left out he's his funny story. We have given the kids a time limit for Wii time. They get 15 minutes each. While I try to keep on it, it sometimes slides. So today he went to a friends house and played Wii, and knowing Logan it was for a good share of the time. Later that day he came up to me and asked if he could play Wii, I asked "how long did you play for today?" he said I don't know. So I questioned him further by saying was it a long time or short time. After thinking for one minute with his finger on his chin he said with all seriousness "I played for one minute so I have fourteen minutes left!" Well then I had to call him on lying to me. So he put himself on his bed where I found him 20 minutes later. I told him that I didn't send him there. To which he kindly said "well this is where you tell us to go when you are mad at us."

Lastly, today I had a weird experience. The three girls went to a day camp and Logan went to a buddies house. I had three hours of having Jackson and Lauren alone. She was a completely different kiddo. She was quiet and restful and sweet and cute and lovable and cute. Well she is always cute and mostly sweet I am sure the chocoholic in her helps with that part though. As I was packing the two kids in the car I realized Lauren is really no different from the rest of my kids she is just rambunctious because she has 5 other siblings. She is a little almost two year old trying to keep up with her older siblings. It doesn't convert well! Anyways, I came to a new appreciation of her and who she is. She doesn't want to be lost in the mix, she wants to be known and being...I'm not sure what the correct word(s) is/are: creative, energetic, busy, loud, opinionated, is definitely a way for us to remember her and appreciate all those qualities. Which I do. I love that little girl to pieces. She is, simply put, adorable and the best part is she is MINE!

I have chosen a path that includes these 6 precious kids, all of them bring something to my family and I truly appreciate them all, even if i get mad and send them to their beds sometimes!

Silence...

Tonight I went to a Yoga class. I learned a lot about myself. One I am so not flexible. Two a lot of "me" gets in the way of stretching, and three I am not a fan of silence.

This may seem weird since I am surrounded by children and I am telling them to shhhh all day long. When I am in the presence of others I need noise and conversation. Not deep conversation but something to talk about. So I am sure I do a lot of mindless chattering. What I realized is that while in the presence of others silence makes me uncomfortable, when I am alone, like in the car, I don't need the radio on. In act I find myself being content to drive in silence. Is that weird?

I can handle silence while my hubby and I are reading a book or in a theater, but that is normal. As we were laying there on our nice mats breathing, the silence was starting to drive me crazy not chattering away. After we were all done I think I started talking immediately. Then I thought of my dear friend next to me who doesn't mind silent and is typically known for her quietness. I was thinking I am not naturally suited for yoga while my friend on the other hand it is probably the perfect thing for her. Don't get me wrong I am going to work on it and try to stretch my self and get comfortable with silence.

I guess it also means that I am perfectly equipped to be the mom to several never silent children except when sleeping.

A visit from Grandma Nel

My mom flew out to be a part of Miranda's special weekend. We had lots of fun hanging around the house and simply enjoying each other's company. It was fun having her get to know the kids in a relaxing way. We don't get to see each other often so they get to build their relationship from the short visits they do get. Luckily this summer we get to go out and visit them in Ohio and spend a little bit longer visiting. Watching the kids, especially Logan enjoy the country side is fun.

My mom is known best for her sewing. She has made all the kids a blanket and they are all treasured. Miranda is now almost too big for her blanket so she is moving on to the next step. A Cape. She sewed it while she was here and my little darlings were most interested in helping. They enjoyed the task of pin pulling as necessary.The child was interchangeable but usually some one was looking over her shoulder watching closely. We got to watch movies together. Grandma even played a game or two and read some books. When the kids went to bed we did have some grown up conversations so it wasn't ALL about the kids!

Thanks for coming Grandma Nel, we'll see you in two months. Love you, Mom thanks for coming and being apart of this special time!

It's Official...

Miranda is an official member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Miranda was baptized on Saturday March 28th, by her Dad. It was a great moment. I am so proud of her, not only for making the decision but showing her understanding.

We had lots of friends and family who came to show there support. It didn't matter that they may believe differently they still came. That means the world to me. I am so grateful for our Savior who can bridge the gap between religious differences. This day was all about Miranda, I got to give a short talk about baptism. Then Jeremy did the honors of baptizing her with her Uncle Chris as a witness as well as President Score. He was her Bishop for most of her life but got called into the Stake Presidency in January.

When Miranda, and anyone gets baptized they make the following two way promise or covenant with the Lord. She promises to:
1. To take upon you the name of Christ (D&C 18:21-25)
2. To bear one another’s burdens that they might be light (Mosiah 18:8)
3. To stand as a witness of God at all times, in all things, and in all places even until death. (Mosiah 18:9)
4. To obey the commandments of God and to serve him (Mosiah 18:10)

Heavenly Father promises:
1. To accept you as a member of his Church
2. To forgive your sins if you repent
3. To give you the gift of the Holy Ghost
4. To bring you into the kingdom of God in heaven if you remain obedient for all your earthly life.

We then did her confirmation. Jeremy gave her a beautiful blessing as well as the gift of the Holy Ghost, who will be a constant companion as well as a comforter in times of trial when the feeling of peace is needed. She will have the guidance of her loving Heavenly Father with her always as long as she Chooses The Right (CTR). In the circle where many people who are dear to our family and have watched Miranda grow from a little girl to a blossoming young lady. For records sake there was: President Score, Bishop Lopez, Uncle Chris, Chris Rossi, Matt Cook and Todd Porter (who has a son getting baptized this Saturday Wa-hoo!)

While I am proud of Miranda, it was neat watching Jeremy do the honors. I couldn't help but get teary eyed knowing that Jeremy is worthy to hold the priesthood and feel honored to do so. I had two people to be proud of, awesome!

Lauren, Lauren, Lauren...

Our little girl is so different from the rest of our kiddos. She has so much spunk, energy, personality, ingenuity, she is one of a kind and I sure do love her! It is fun to guess what she will do next. Before I was a parent I used to look down my nose at two year olds who could manage the DVD player by them selves. Seriously who lets their kids do that, it is a sign that your child watches too much t.v.. Now that I am a tried and true parent through and through I say phew, now I can read while they are entertained. While I still try to not allow the kids to do such things all the time, I do rely on the older ones to help out in this situation.

Lauren has surpassed all records. She not only knows how to load and start a DVD, she knows how to put a CD in our 5 disk changer. As well as manage the remote for the aforementioned device. Now she also knows the difference between our Wii games and the DVDs. Yes, she ejects the Wii games. Surprisingly her favorite Wii game is Disney Princess Enchanted Journey.

She is obsessed with DVDs, she loves getting into them and putting them in the players. At first she just wanted to play with them. Now she knows which ones she likes and doesn't like. Barbie and the Diamond Castle is still her favorite. With our other kiddos, we laid a baby gate in front of our DVD book case and it was enough of a deterrent that they quite playing with them after a month or so, not our Lauren. She moves then gate then sits on it to make sure she can comfortably look through our selection. I am just hoping it is not too comfortable behind bars!!! We now have the baby gate rigged between our fire place and the wall, for once I am grateful for the 70's style brick wall in our family room! Needless to say our little rascal is stinkin' adorable and completely precious in our eyes. She keeps us young and on our toes. For that I am absolutely 100% grateful.

Just one more little Lauren antic while I am trying to fill space. She now likes to pull out her pony tails. So if you see me with 6 kids in tow and the youngest little girl has hair that looks like this picture to the left, I do love her and care for her, she is just trying to sabotage my efforts! Her hair is at that weird stage where it is too long to leave down when runny noses are involved, but too short to leave down since the crazy body wave makes it go every which way. The other thing that she loves to do right now is take off her shoes and socks in the car. I have learned that we just leave her shoes in the car so when I get to our destination I put her shoes on when she gets out of the car, then when we get home she has already disrobed her feet, viola, she did my job for me.

Lauren in 25 years when you read this, thanks for everything. You are precious and I love you. Thanks for keeping things interesting and unpredictable.

St. Paddy...

Well I am not sure why we celebrate, although I remember looking it up last year about a guy who saved Ireland from snakes I think. Look it up if you are curious! What ever it was it definitely wasn't memorable!

We had our own St. Patrick's day feast. We thank St. Patrick for giving us a reason to create a yummy meal. We had our traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage as well as a new dish called Colcannon.

While no serious craziness happened at our house, Logan shared that he punched a Leprechaun in the face : ( We were later visited by three extremely cute Leprechauns.

Who did a dance for us:

Remember Valentines Day?

Jeremy and I went out on Friday the 13th for our date night. We've decided going out on the actual date of valentine's is over rated. We met two other couples and went to Buckhorn Grill (most popular for it's tri-tip sandwiches YUMM-O!) then went and saw the movie push...and some where in between had Coldstone Ice cream.

We spent the actual holiday with our kids it was fun. We started out with breakfast. Some call it Toad-in-a-hole, or hot house eggs. Creatively I cut it out in a heart.

We got a surprise package from my mom in Ohio.

It only took a month but we finally had our silly string fight. Pictures with its post to follow!

We then went to a friend's house and had home made pizzas. Followed by Fondue with heart shaped brownies and chocolate chip cookies, as well as the fruity goodness that goes great with chocolate! Just in case you thought that was all we ended the night by playing Wii into the "Wii" ours of the night. It was fun watching Jeremy play rockband and finally attempt Dance Dance Revolution for the first time. I did post a video of him playing for real here. It was a great day and we really enjoyed each other as well as sharing some time with great friends.

Quoting Haylie

As we were driving the very short distance to pick up Logan for school Haylie looked at the clock and stated "We're late." I kind of ignored her, then Hannah asked "Mommy, are we late?" I responded "Nope were actually on time!" To which Haylie says "Yep, we're late!"

Jeremy is trying to teach me that 15 minutes early is on time, on time is late, and late is rude. My habit is that "as long as you show up reasonably close to the time you committed to be there you are doing good." It is an task that is quite large, but I am learning and am about 50% successful.

I just never realized that my running through the house like a chicken with my head cut off yelling "Hurry up we're late" was having an effect on my kids. It is amazing how much they understand. So here's to making a conscious effort to not be rude and to be on time which is really early.

On the same note, when you are invited to a party or play date etc. is showing up a couple minutes early bad? Or is it better to show up a couple minutes late so your host has those last few minutes to prepare??? Or by showing up late are you setting a precedent for the host to not be ready on time? See the conundrum?

Lauren's Blanket

When each of my children were born, or at least soon after, they have received a home made blanket/quilt from my mom. She has some major talent in this area! While all my kids love their blankets, Lauren is especially attached and has been known to cry for 20minutes in the car when we have refused to take it with us. The last few days I have notice Lauren pushing around her stroller. I assumed that she had a baby in it then put her blanket on top. It looked as though the baby was being smothered but whatever it is a pretend baby any ways.

It cracked me up that she was just pushing around her blanket in the stroller. Her blanket deserves the sweet life in her eyes. The other thing I noticed is that she plays with the chenille (i think that is what it is called) side of her blanket by rubbing her finger over the ridges in the material. Towards the end of the video you can notice her little finger. I am glad she loves her blanket and has that little quirk, the one I am not too thrilled about is the thumb. Did you notice when she tried to steer the stroller she wouldn't take her thumb out of her mouth, she just leaned and used her arm pit?

Another little passion she has is chocolate. She is a choco-holic. If you mention the word during dinner she will push her plate away, put her thumb in her mouth, and turn around in her chair to watch the location of chocolate (yes we are still working on our Halloween candy) to make sure she gets her piece. She will refuse to eat the rest of her dinner until she gets her chocolate. Sometimes I give in and let her eat the chocolate then return to her dinner, sometimes I let the fit run it's course while she is on her bed and she will humbly walk back to her chair, thumb in mouth of course! She may have a lot of spunk and personality but she sure is a cutie!

Being Mom...

The kids are so proud to have me as a mom and the give me the kindest gifts. The latest is a cold! That's OK for as much time as they give me hugs and smiles I will proudly take the germs as well.

Jackson is just over two months, I can't believe how time flies. I have learned from experience that the first three months after birth become a blur, and this is no different. I can't tell you how much I love this little guy. I think I have written that in every blog post about him. I was holding him this morning and I came to the realizations that he is already 10 weeks and he has grown so much. He still seem so tiny to me though.

Last week he had his 2 month appointment. Are you curious to know how he has grown? Just as a refresher he was born at 9 pounds 1 ounce, now he is 11 pounds 8 ounces. He is in the 41st percentile for weight. For height he started at 21 inches long and is now 23 inches. He is in the 59th percentile for height. He is growing well. It is funny going into appointments and hearing I have tall skinny kids, especially when referring to my biggest babies. Look at those long skinny legs! The doctor was surprised to hear that Jackson is sleeping a consistent 7 hours at night. Last night he slept for 8.5 hours, and let me tell you I needed it! The little sweetie will then wake up and just start wiggling with little grunts. It is way too cute. I would typically like more sleep but I am so grateful that he slept for so long that I will feed him. I love our hour in the morning where we can snuggle. I love to stare at him, even with his Freddy Kruger like scratches on his forehead. Jeremy says it reminds him of an extremely ugly wrestler, it was hard not to be offended by that. Jackson is adorable. Now thinking about it Jeremy should be offended since Jackson "looks just like him."

Which reminds me of this cute shirt Jackson got from a dear friend, isn't it fitting!

I have a couple post I need to get up but I couldn't resist writing some stuff about my little baby!

Mormon Messages...

Following a friend's blog she lead me to Mormon Messages on http://www.youtube.com/. I have been out of the loop with the "Big Love" Controversy. I know the gist of it but I haven't gotten involved. Anyway, the Church has put together small videos and posted them on YouTube on the Mormon Messages Channel. In response to the controversy the current video is "Why Mormons Build Temples?" It was a neat video but the one that lifted my heart was based on a talk by Elder Uchdorf. The video is entitled Create.



It is always uplifting. In his talk he does talk about motherhood. Which relates to me in about 6 different ways ;-). It is so nice to be reminded of this great talk and put to beautiful music as well as put together in a way that not only applies to women but men as well. We are all given the opportunity and ability to create, whether it is creating happiness, peace, comfort...there are so many things that really require no skills, money or education.

I am truly blessed to know this.

Miranda is...EIGHT!

I can't believe it! I knew this day would come, in fact we have talked of little else around here, eight is a big age for our family. In our church, eight is considered the Age of Accountability. It is the age when you are considered old enough to be baptized. In Moroni 8:8-12 it talks of baptizing children before they are accountable is a mockery of God. We are taught to have faith of a little child, with their innocence. In modern revelation found in D&C 68: 25, 27, it specifies the age of eight.

I am so excited for Miranda to be born into the gospel and to have such a firm foundation in our Savior. With baptism she receives the greatest gift of all. The gift of the Holy Ghost as her constant companion as long as she lives in such a way to hear his guidance. I hope she will grow in her appreciation for this constant companion. She will be guided along the right path and receive confirmation of good choices with positive feelings even when her decision maybe the tougher road. I have been so blessed to have Miranda be not only my first child but the oldest of the bunch. While she is not perfect, she is such a great example to her siblings of how to love the gospel and wanting to learn as well as making good choices. I love this little girl so much and am so proud of her. They always say you learn more from your children than you can ever teach them. I whole-heartedly agree.

Not only does Miranda, reach the age of accountability, get baptized (at the end of the month), receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, she gets to start attending Activity Days. Growing up it was similar to Pioneer girls or maybe cub scouts for boys. They will get to do lots of fun things. They will focus on the Faith in God program. The purpose of the Faith in God guidebooks is to help boys and girls ages 8 through 11 live gospel principles, develop testimonies, and build friendships. The program also helps boys to prepare to receive the Aaronic Priesthood and girls to become righteous young women. The activities for the program are outlined in two guidebooks: Faith in God for Boys and Faith in God for Girls. I can't help but be excited to watch her grow but can't help but want to hold her close, conflict of interest.

With all that we celebrated last night with family. As all of our kids are, Miranda was completely spoiled. We started the day with they typical waking up and singing of Happy Birthday and doughnuts. When possible Jeremy takes the kids birthday off of work. So he walked the kids to school. He then met Miranda and had a cafeteria lunch with her. They both enjoyed it, what a special treat. Her friend surprised her with a gift after school. It was so thoughtful! We had a quiet afternoon, except when I lost my patience and had to leave before I ruined Miranda's special day. I was able to come back quickly. (I just added that to remind you I am so far from perfect!) Then we had Aunt Tamra, Uncle James, Hunter, Uncle Chris and Grandma Bev over for Miranda's dinner of choice, barbecue hamburgers, green salad and fresh fruit salad. Miranda actually helped with the fruit salad, she was very excited to help with "her birthday dinner for the first time." It was like summer, FABULOUS. I have missed barbecues. After dinner Miranda got to open presents. Miranda got a bike from us with Jeremy promising to teach her how to ride it since they don't make training wheels for bikes her size. She also got some adorable clothes, a CD, two Wii games and a mini digital camera. Our friend Cindy knows that 8 is extremely special for us and offered to make Miranda's birthday cake. She did an excellent job!

Instead of a birthday party she decided she wanted to go see Wicked in San Francisco. I think she will enjoy it, for those of you who live under a rock (just kidding) it is about the origination of the Wizard of Oz characters. Kind of like the prequel to the Wizard of Oz. Let me be very clear, the play is nothing like the book. Well it could be similar but the book has mucho raunchiness and the play has NONE. For my big 3-0 Jeremy took me to LA to see it, while my fabulous sister-in-law and her co-horts watched my kids for the evening. I really want to go with Miranda for two reasons 1) it will be her first musical and it makes me sad I won't get to see the excitement on her face as she sits on the edge of her seat learning a new appreciation of music and performance 2) I have seen a few musicals and this is my favorite, so far. With Jackson being so young I can't leave him for that long. Those are the breaks!

I started this post on a spiritual level and ended very frivolously. I do know that this is such an amazing time for Miranda and am so grateful I get to be her mom through it all.

Miranda, Happy Birthday, I love you so very much.

Hannah makes us laugh too!

It seems like when a "twin" does something funny I often forget which one said what so it is repeated in general terms. One of the downfalls of being a twin.

On Sunday there were two funnies. Saturday, and I will admit Friday too, I did Haylie's hair a certain way. So Sunday after their bath Hannah wanted her hair done that way and Haylie wanted a different style. Jeremy is at meetings before church and doesn't get to see them. Part of his new calling is to come in and introduce the monthly theme in Primary. So he is talking to the kids ans asking questions. haylie and Hannah were wearing identical dresses, so Jeremy relied on the hair and called on "Haylie" to answer his question. She puts her hand down with a big cheesey grin and says "No Dad I Haannaaahh!" It was pretty funny since he doesn't usually get them mixed up. Another downfall, sometimes your parents can't tell you apart!

Later that day Jeremy picked her up and flipped her around. After putting her down he said "OK my turn." Rightfully so she started laughing and said "Daddy you are bigger." "Bigger than what?" he asks for clarification. Hannah again giggling says "bigger than a house!" Of course we we all expecting her to say "bigger than me." Luckily it wasn't me she was referring to I am not sure my delicate ego could handle that comment.