Responsibilities

The other night when I told Sarah it was time for her to go to bed, she said, "I can't go to bed until all of my children have gone to bed." Tell me about it. Now go to bed!

Holly in my Window and Other Random Stuff

1. I just realized that I still have holly in my kitchen window and it's April. I noticed it back in February and thought about changing it then (I usually put new garland in the window for the season), but I thought "I'll do it later. It's still winter, so I have some time." The sad thing is that I seriously hadn't even noticed it again until now. I feel like I'm barely keeping my head above water as far as getting things done around the house, and obviously, the holly in the window is no where near the top of the list of priorities. I'm lucky to get the "absolutely has to be done today" things accomplished. Even my blog (which I do feel should be a daily thing since I am using it as a journal--and it is my thing I do for me each day) is suffering. At one point a few weeks ago I had over 10 drafts started that needed to be finished and posted. And my house is so bad. I have a super long to do list that is just getting longer with each passing day. Someday I will catch up. Someday.

2. Aaron took the girls and one of their friends to see the Hannah Montana movie last Friday. I told him I would take them and he could stay home with the baby, but he said he wanted to take them, so I let him and I stayed home and took a nap and got a few things done while they were gone. The crazy thing is that I called him after the movie was over to make fun of him for having to sit through it, but he told me he liked it. I thought he was just saying that because the girls were listening, but he REALLY liked it. He said it had a great message and he even liked the music. He said he want to buy the soundtrack and the movie when it comes out. He said he even cried. Wow! Seriously didn't expect that.

3. I feel like I'm a very un-fun mom these days. While I don't feel bad about not getting things done around the house, I do feel terrible that I can't seem to find time to do things with the girls that I would like to. It makes me sad for them and me. I tell myself that it's just a season, and that soon I will be a fun mom again. I just hope they understand and don't hold it against me and need therapy when they're all grown up.

4. I saw my personal and family goals on the refrigerator list the other day and realized that I'm doing terrible on both. The good news--it's only April and I still have time to get them done. But I need to get on the ball! So last week Aaron and I went to can some stuff for part of our date night. No, we didn't plan to can for date night, it just worked out that Friday night was the best time to get it done. It was actually kinda fun. I like canning. And I feel good afterwards because I know I have done something important. It was pretty fun watching Aaron try to figure out how to use the canner. He did, however, mess up two cans in the process. Oh well. I guess we'll have to go ahead and use up those two cans of apple slices. YUM! A very tasty mistake! At least it wasn't wheat. Now I need to get started on my other goal--getting in shape. I saw a guy in Kroger the other day and his t-shirt said "I am in shape! Round is a shape!" I thought it was pretty funny. But, I don't want to be round, so I guess I need to get to work on that goal too.

5. The girls have noticed in the last week or so that we have some raccoons that come into our yard in the evenings. For some reason Sarah is pretty freaked out by them. I don't know where she got this idea from, but she thinks that "raccoons can rip your face off". We have tried to convince her otherwise, but to no avail. She is even having nightmares about raccoons and crawling in bed with us in the middle of the night. UGG! So how are we supposed to resolve her concerns about raccoons so she can sleep peacefully? We are apparently clueless.

6. Random rude people are really annoying. I'm really sorry they're having a bad day, but unless I am responsible, then I feel they should take their rudeness elsewhere.

7. My sweet little man slept for a 7 1/2 hour stretch! Wahoo! It feels so great to wake up and actually feel like getting out of bed. Then reality sinks in and a for a moment I freak out and wonder if he is okay. He is. SWEET!

Another Day, Another Doctor Visit, Another Ear Infection

I took John David to the doctor today for an eye infection and found out he has another ear infection. Yes, that's #3 in the last month. Actually the doctor thinks he never really got over the last one, but doesn't know for sure since we didn't have a follow up visit to check to see if it was totally cleared up. So we have a follow up scheduled for next Friday, and he said if he isn't cleared up that he'll send us to a Ear, Nose, and Throat Doctor. So hopefully he'll be all cleared up and won't have anymore problems. Poor baby. He's been quite miserable today though, with his infections, and he also got three shots. I can hardly stand it when my babies are sick. It makes me wonder how our Heavenly Father must feel. He must hate to see us suffer, but knowing it will help us grow and be stronger, he allows it to happen in our lives in different ways. I am so grateful for His perfect knowledge and love for each of us, and that He will give us comfort while we are suffering.

"I Can See Clearly Now"

When Katie went for her 8 year old check up on her birthday, she failed her eye test pretty bad. So she went to see the eye doctor last week and sure enough, he said she needed these.......



..........glasses, which she was actually pretty excited about. Thank goodness.



We went to pick them up today after school. When we got home, she came and sat in the recliner and said, "I can see the clock!" I didn't know she couldn't see it before. I wonder what else she couldn't see.



She loves them, and so do we!



Could she be any cuter? I think not!



I'm not sure, but she may have gotten a little tired of the camera in her face.



Cutie patootie!



Of course little sister wanted to try them on. Now she wants her own glasses. She'd be pretty darn cute with them too.



Here she is on the phone telling her friends and family about her new glasses. I'm so glad she's so excited about them. The doctor said she needs to wear them all the time, except while she is playing. He also said her eyes should correct themselves after she wears glasses for a while. So, we'll see what happens.

The Big 6-0!

Kent turned 60 on the 13th, but we didn't celebrate until this past weekend. The surprises started on Thursday when Ammon flew into town from Virginia and Adam and Rachel drove in from Austin. Then all of the adults of the family went out to eat at Spanky's in Orange, Texas on Friday night, which is one of Kent and Aaron's favorite BBQ places. The food was pretty good, but the company was great. We had a fun time, despite our waiter who informed us that he tried to stay away from Mormons. Pretty funny.

On Saturday, all of the family and a few close friends went over to Kent and Johnice's house for a fish fry. Aaron was in charge of cooking, and it was fabulous! My man can sure fry up some fish!



We then let him open the present that we all pitched in on and bought together. He was pretty surprised (and excited) about that too.



Then it was time for the scrumptious looking birthday cake, which tasted even better than it looked!



We also celebrated Rachel too, who has a birthday coming up Wednesday. Happy Birthday Rachel!



Here is Kent with his best buddies, Mr. Gene, Mr. Donald, and Mr. Brady. They are quite a group.



Kent and his sons.



The women of the family.



The cousins had a great time together.







The girls love when Uncle Adam and Aunt Rachel come to town. They love to play with them..............



.........and their dogs, Peanut..............



..........and Dixie. We call them their cousins from Austin.



And since we missed Easter weekend together, we had to play the traditional game of "Funny Bunny"....................









.........and of course we had to have an egg hunt too. Eggs hunts at Maw Maw and Paw Paw's are their favorite because they put money in their eggs. However, it was raining cats and dogs, so we had it under the car port, which was pretty interesting, but still lots of fun.





Katie hit the jackpot when she found about ten eggs in a little pile all together. The only problem was that Uncle Ammon had strategically placed them right under the water pouring off of the roof of the house. =) So she got them, but for a price.



Even Dixie enjoyed playing 'fetch' with the eggs.



Sarah checking out her 'prizes' from the eggs.



A fun time was had by all. We love you Paw Paw Kent and hope you had a wonderful birthday!

Easter Weekend

We had a most 'egg-cellent' Easter weekend. We started it out by making these beautiful 'Mardi Gras' Easter eggs on Friday with some of our Mardi Gras beads.



Our neighbor showed us how to make these and we just love them. They are so pretty!



Since we weren't getting together with Aaron's family because they were all out of town, we accepted an invitation to the O'Dell's on Saturday for an afternoon of fun. First the kids dyed eggs.



My girls love to dye eggs...........



.......and they also love to eat them.



Then they hunted the eggs.



And of course they love to hunt them too! We had a great time at the O'Dell's hanging out and visiting with friends and enjoying the nice weather. It was such a beautiful day.



Then Saturday night we left some carrots and milk out for the Easter Bunny. We didn't have any whole carrots, so we had to leave out matchstick carrots. But the Easter Bunny didn't seem to mind and ate them almost all gone.



The girls we excited to find their baskets full of yummy treats the next morning.



All dressed up and ready for church.



Aren't they so cute! Look at our handsome little man!



We even went outside and got a picture before church.



And it's a good thing we did the picture before, because it poured the entire third hour of church. And this was our driveway when we got home. The girls couldn't resist playing in the water a bit before I shewed them inside to change out of their dresses.



Then we made these cute 'Bird's Nest' treats that Maw Maw introduced us to last Easter. We of course fell in love with them and decided we needed to make some ourselves this year. Fun and yummy! Edible crafts are always the best.



Then we dyed more eggs. Did I mention how much we love to dye eggs........



.......and eat them too? Yummo! I cooked brisket, creamed potatoes, and rolls and we had our neighbors, a new family in the ward, and Kent and Johnice over for dinner. We had a great time visiting and sharing our Easter dinner with good company. We are so grateful for this time of year when we pause to reflect on the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We are so grateful for Him and His great love and sacrifice for each of us. Hope you all had a wonderful Easter too!

Two Months

Our sweet little boy is two months old. At his well check up today he weighed 14 lbs. and was 23 1/2 inches long. He's growing like a little weed. We think he is the most adorable thing we've ever seen!



We took him to the doctor a few days ago and he has another ear infection. Bless his little heart. Hopefully this is not a sign of things to come.



He is such a happy little guy during the day. If only that would carry over into the nighttime and we could pretend like the 'C' word was never even mentioned.



He still likes to be wrapped in a blanket and be all snug and cozy. And he absolutely LOVES bath time.



He gave his first little laugh to Grandma while she was getting his sugar the other night. It was the cutest thing, and made Grandma's day, of course.



His blessing day. He looked so handsome.



He started smiling last week. It is seriously the cutest thing ever and melts my heart everytime!



He has also started 'talking' a little too. They are the sweetest little sounds. We sure love you little man and are enjoying watching you grow!