Book Review

L-O-V-E 'd this Book.
This is the first book in a while that I couldn't put down.
Now, I want to see the movie even more than before!!

Wish List

I want this sewing/embroidery machine by Brother. I have a few sewing projects in mind and honestly I want to get better at sewing. What better way than to get a sewing machine? After looking around a bit, I have found this wonderful thing.

My mother in law gave me the advice that since my kids are getting older and doing things on their own, maybe I should invest in something that will keep my mind and hands busy. Looking at this machine... I totally agree.

Now, the only problem is the ca-ching.
Gotta start saving!!

The Thing About Love

Matthew's BIG lips kissing me goodbye before he went to school.

I love my husband. All the time. There are some wonderful days, though, that from the moment I wake up in the morning until I fall asleep at night that I feel nothing but love when I look or think about him. No irritation. No judgment. Sometimes my brain is so crazy that I don't even give him a second glance because he's there all the time. He's just my husband in a whirlwind of a busy day. I always love him though.

But, on these "love days" that I have, I can't help but give him little glances ALL day long. Every time I do, I think one thing... Gosh I love this man. Then I think.. I am so happy. Then I think.. He has given me almost everything in my life that makes me happy.

A couple of days ago, while I was having a "love day", I asked Matthew if he's ever had a day like that. Where every time he looks at me, he feels all the things I explained above. His response was so simple.

"Every day."

When I think about that, it makes me realize that even though things are hard on us right now, it can still be easy to be happy. Who wouldn't with a love like this?

They're Finally Here!!

Our awesome bunk beds!! We got them wholesale at a place called Direct Source Furniture for an amazing price! We are so happy with the way that they look and the fact that it makes my kids room look great! Everything finally has a place. The only thing that I hated about getting these beauts was that it took about 2 months for them to come in!! It seemed like FOREVER! But, they are here now and up and running. We love them! Especially the kids. They sleep in them like they have never slept in anything else!

Here is Lily on her bottom bunk the first night we had them.

I think William's in there some where! Since he's older, he has the top bunk and is LOVING it.

I feel like my little place is actually forming slowly into something that I'm loving. I am happy with how my house is coming along! The bunk beds have finished off the kids room for right now!

Next on the list... get new bedroom furniture for us! But, it will have to wait a while.

Happy Birthday Will!

Will's birthday turned out to be a pretty okay day. I guess. According to William. I'm finding out that with the age of four comes the ungratefulness. William was excited at first and then he found out that his party wasn't until later. He didn't like that very much.

We went to Grandma Townsend's house so that William could open up the golf clubs we had gotten and stashed there. We thought he would have been a little more excited. He just wanted the next present. Grandma and Grandpa Townsend got him a scooter. William just wanted the next present. When he was told he had to wait until later to have more.. Well, he didn't like that very much.

After discussing whether or not we thought it was a good idea to go home and nap or not, Matthew and I decided it was a GREAT idea, but seeing as it was William's birthday, he deserved to do what he said he wanted.

So we went to Cabela's.

William had a lot of fun looking at all the animals and the small aquarium that's there. He got a piece of fudge and a man gave him free tokens to shoot in the gallery. This, of course, freaked him out, so Matthew and I had a good time shooting for free in the gallery.

When we got home, we had dinner and he talked to Grandma and Grandpa in Tennessee. Then Carrie, Nathan, and Raven and Tessa came to share some golf ball cake and open presents with William. He had a lot of fun opening more presents. William got trains and a Thomas plate and cup and some Wall-E pajamas. Not to mention the golf balls and neon green tees he got with his golf set.

Over all, I think he had a great day, even if he did have a little bit of a rough start. He's a great little boy. I can't believe he's four!!

Operation Planting Flowers - Part Two

Our Family Home Evening with the flower pots was a success! Matthew gave an awesome lesson about Faith and showing faith by doing things that Heavenly Father want us to do. Then we went outside and started planting. The kids LOVED planting the flowers that they picked out into the pots that they decorated. Unfortunately though, we had used washable paint (mother thinking gave me the idea to use that kind so it would wash easily off the children) and it ended up raining and washed off the paint on our flower pots. Sad. It's okay, you can laugh at me not thinking it all the way through! So, we have half painted half not painted pots. They're still cute though, right?

A Sweet Sweet Boy

Today is my William's fourth birthday! I really can't believe that he is getting so big. He is an amazing boy and such a big part of who I am. See? I was doing so great until I started writing this blog post. Now I'm going to be a bawl baby like on Lily's birthday!
Like Lily, William is one of my best friends. I love talking to him, even if it is about Thomas, I'm happy that he wants to tell me the things he does.
I wanted to post pictures of William through the years of his life (above) and he wanted to take his birthday pictures inside of our apartment complex (below).
Today, William told me that he wants to go to Cabela's Sporting Goods store, so that's where we will go. Then, tonight, we will have his party with his golf ball birthday cake.

Happy Birthday William!!
We love you so much.

My Day

Maybe it's because we live in the desert and we don't get many gloomy days here, but I love when I look outside and see the sky like this. I have the windows cracked open so I can hear the rain pitter patter on the concrete. I can feel the breeze coming in. Hear the thunder that comes every now and then. As much as I love a wonderful sunny day, I love the gloomy ones too. Today is one of those days.

Today is also the 21st of April. Which in turn means that it's the day before William's birthday. Which means only the yellow chain is left from his countdown. See how happy he is?

But, with the excitement of Will's birthday for tomorrow, comes the bitter for me a little bit. Today is also the last day that I have 2 three-year-olds. Which, I mean, it's not the end of the world, but it is special to me. I kind of like the three weeks in between my kids birthdays when I can freak people out and say that I have 2 3-year-olds, but they're not twins. Not to mention, it's hard to have them get older.

For My Madre

Mother of mine- Here are all the things that I have told you I would post for you to see and I haven't done it yet! I took the kids pictures in the clothes that you got for them above. Lily was afraid of bugs outside, so we had to move inside. They both LOVE their outfits.

Here is darling Lily opening her Ariel doll. She has so much fun playing with her and the Tinkerbell that you got her.

And lastly, here is the paisley print that I absolutely can't get over and want your help painting on canvases so I can hang them above my couch. *SMILE*

We can't wait for you to come out here!! We love you so much!!

Operation Planting Flowers - Part One

I had a brilliant idea for a family home evening. Applying "Faith is like a seed" and having our family paint/decorate their own flower pot and then we'll each plant our own flower in said flower pot. We only did the painting this past Monday night, but we're looking forward to warmer weather so we can plant our "Faith Seeds" into our pots. It will certainly charm up our few planks of wood and a fence that pose as our balcony outside a bit.

As you can see, the flower pots weren't the only things that were painted... by Matthew.

More pictures of our planting and pots to come soon.

Flying Kites

William and Lily got kites from the Easter Bunny this year. Will got Buzz Light Year. Lily got The Little Mermaid. Today was our first time flying them. William was a pro.

Will had lots of fun flying kites in the park with Carrie and Tessa and me.

Lily, on the other hand, had other interests.

A Day Trip with No Pictures

Friday night, Matthew and I decided to be spontaneous. This is pretty much a miracle because as parents, spontaneity kind of took a back seat. Between the two car seats apparently. So, as last minute as we could, we decided to take a day trip to somewhere in Utah we've never been. So, we got up Saturday morning, and took off to Manti, Utah. It's about 2-2 1/2 hours south of Murray. We packed a cooler with water and sandwiches, fruits and veggies, and my kids new favorite - Sponge Bob Go Gurt and spent the afternoon in a new city. That would be "city" in the "in the middle of no where" terms.

We saw the amazing temple there and saw four couples that had just been married out taking pictures on the grounds. If you have never seen the Manti temple, I suggest you go when you can. I absolutely loved it. We drove through the city and found a playground to have our picnic and let the kids play for a while. Matthew got some sun on his forehead. After a while, we went back to the temple to take pictures by the sign, which is something that Matthew and I have done since we started dating. And then we started our journey back home.

Manti is a pretty historical place in Utah. I had no idea. I figured the next time we go there, I want to do research beforehand and see all the historical sites. I'm excited for that, next time.

Yes, I keep saying next time because we WILL be going again. Why? Because, we took LOTS of pictures. Beautiful pictures of the temple and the grounds. The hilarious pictures I took at the playground. And some random ones in the car to have in memory of this trip. But, as you might have noticed, none of these are up.

The batteries in my camera died on our trip. When I tried one more time to turn my camera on, something glitched in my camera and I lost not just the pictures from Manti, but everything that was on my memory card. Sad. So.. yes... I think we will be going again. We need our picture in front of the Manti, Utah Temple sign.

Maybe this summer for the Manti Pageant!

William's Countdown and Resemblance

Here is William making some sort of crazy face and showing off his chain for the day.

All year, William has been wanting it to be his birthday. I had to tell him that first it's Christmas, then Tessa's Birthday, then Ammon's Birthday, then Lily's Birthday, then Easter, then his Birthday. Welp, now that all of those have come and gone, William is growing impatient. Easter morning, he asked if it was his birthday. No.
Finally, I made him a chain to countdown. Blue leading up to the days and when the yellow one is the only one left, it means it's his birthday. Pretty clever, I thought. So I took pictures of him taking his chain off for today. He looks forward to doing it daily.

Next countdown will be for grandma and grandpa to come out!

Speaking of William. I recently "played" with this picture and I really thought that he looks like me. I've heard it all of my kids lives that Will looks like me and Lily looks like my adorable hubby. But, I've always felt like William looks like William and Lily looks like Matt. Maybe because I can physically see the resemblance between my daughter and the hubby. In the picture above, I think he looks a lot like I did. Long blond hair excluded.

It's That Time of Year

Need I say more?

What Did We Do?

On Lily's birthday, it snowed. Not fun. So we tried to do some fun things inside, so we invited Carrie and her girls to come to South Town Mall with us! Why? Because they have a Dinosaur Playground, a real train the kids can ride in, and a carousel. Fun, huh?

We spent the afternoon playing and then came home to take a nap, because after so much fun, the kiddies were wiped out. Then, Carrie, Nathan, Raven, and Tessa came over to enjoy the festivities, i.e. cupcakes and opening presents. Lily got a CTR necklace, Tinkerbell house and people, and Tinkerbell dishes from us. And she got "Dolph" the dog from Carrie and Nathan. Yes, she named the dog herself. Dolph. Don't ask me where she comes up with this stuff.

And she got to hang out with one of her best friends.

Pretty good day.

CJane Said it Best

Yesterday was Lily's birthday. My youngest is now three years old. Which, I mean, she's not exactly applying for Social Security, but it's a big deal in a mom's eyes. One that I don't think I've actually had time to realize.

I have had hard times on my kids birthdays, but for some reason, this year has blown the past out of the water. While William and Lily were napping yesterday, I broke down. First time that has ever happened on my kids birthday. How fitting was it that one of the bloggers that I read on a daily basis wrote something a little along the same lines and explained just how I feel in two sentences:

"In the human experience, I declare passage of time is the biggest surprise.

You wait for it to pass and then wonder where it went." -CJane


How true is that?? All this time as a parent, I have been looking forward to the point where my children would be independent. Oh, how I wanted them to be able to feed themselves. Dress themselves. Bathe themselves. Go to the bathroom by themselves (which we're still working on with Lily). And now, I realize that all I have been doing was wanting them to be older faster.

And now the time is here.

My time is growing shorter and shorter with these two little ones. They ARE becoming more independent and it's sad to see. It will soon get to the point where they no longer physically need me. I think that's the kicker.