kid pics/update

Isaac: Still loves reading. Did great in the school spelling bee last week. Is an awesome big brother and example. Loves making no bake cookies. His latest food invention is a sandwich with mayonnaise, pickles, ham, and a mini taquito inside, he loves them. Trying to earn money to buy a parakeet. Enjoys making up games to play (usually involving war) and enjoys writing stories and trying to make and invent things.

Ethan: Says he had the "best Christmas EVER" because he got 5 new stuffed raccoons. He loves his "cuties" which this is a picture of him with all of them gathered together. He loves gymnastics and I must say he's got skills, probably from the hours he has spent out on the trampoline. Every time he prays he says he is grateful for his family, the trampoline, and the neighbor kids. He adores Eliza and can't help squeezing the life out of her whenever she is nearby.

  

Mason: This kid loves to draw. He spends so much time drawing. I love to see what is in his head. His favorite medium is ball point pens. He always writes "To Mom, From Mason" on them. He is still very cheerful and positive and I hope that lasts forever. He and Eliza have a great understanding and friendship budding and it's awesome to watch. He still loves bubblegum and LEGOS.

Eliza: She is growing up so fast. This picture doesn't do her much justice but it was at hand and shows a bruise on her forehead which is very typical. She has gotten hurt the most already out of all the kids. She always has some cut or bruise on her forehead. She's crazy and loves to wrestle and jump on the trampoline with her brothers. She really loves to draw and she really loves to follow me around. If I'm not within a foot of her she cries and either has me hold her hand or pick her up. She is so funny, sweet and sassy all at the same time. She loves to smell her stinky monkey's tail.

almost robbed?

Christmas night at 10:15pm Dave and I had just turned all the lights off in the house and were getting into bed when there was a knock at the door. I wondered if our neighbors needed help or something? Dave immediately felt something was fishy and told me to stay in our room and get the cell phone handy. I've never felt unsafe in our neighborhood. It's the most suburbian, least ghetto place you could imagine. By the time Dave got to the door the person had knocked once more, and then also rang the dang doorbell. It ticks me off when anyone rings my doorbell because we have a note taped over the doorbell that specifically says "please knock." Dave got to the door and asked without opening it, "who is it?" Some guy said his name. We didn't know him. Dave then asked, "what do you want?" The guy then asked if we had seen his lost dog. Ok, lost dog at 10:15pm Christmas night? Knocking on our door with all our lights off and then being so urgent as to ring our doorbell??? And not only that, but he didn't go to our neighbor's houses, but got in a car full of 3 other men that had its lights off and then turned around and drove away. I texted my neighbor who said she hadn't had anyone knock on their door, and she added that all of their lights were on. So putting all of the pieces together, we decided it was a car full of men, looking to break into someone's home and rob them of all their new Christmas gifts while they were away at a Christmas party or on vacation! Why else would they have knocked repeatedly and rang the doorbell when they knew they shouldn't have except to make sure no one was home before they broke in?? Need I say Dave and I were a bit spooked? We reported the incident to the police. Interestingly we had just gotten home about an hour earlier from having Christmas dinner with some friends. What if we had stayed later? The day would have ended as a disturbing Christmas! I'm so grateful we got home in time. I'm so grateful Dave had a feeling of warning as he heard the first knock. I'm so glad he didn't open the door. I'm so glad nothing happened!

just to remember

I love the way...

the boys played on the computer today, each in charge of manning one key, so they could all play the computer game together, fairly. I didn't even say a word, they were doing it when I walked up.

Ethan took Eliza at the aquarium at Sea World today and showed her all the fish and helped her up and down the areas she could not get to on her own. Also he would point to each fish and shark with her and ooh and ahh over it with her.

Eliza smells her stinky monkey's tail.

Mason thoughtfully shared the dippin' dots he'd earned, by riding the roller coaster at Sea World, with his older brother (and all of us) who had not ridden the roller coaster.

Dave has turned into Mr. Fix-it. Wow, he really has.

Isaac found a Lego and a penny on the ground and thoughtfully gave them to a grateful brother, Mason. Then Mason told me "Isaac is the best brother ever! Isn't he so nice?!!"

Eliza laughs deeply, and squeals, and points and pulls to let you know what she wants.

Mason gave his last drink of Egg Nog to Ethan who had already drinken a full cup.

Ethan wrapped his arm around Mason's shoulders and took him through the crowd to see the the fish feeding at the aquarium. (And how when I complimented Ethan on taking good care of his brothers and sisters, and being the best brother he said, "Well, I learned it from you.")

Isaac told me tonight that he loved to make me laugh, and then kept trying his hardest to do silly, funny things to hear me laugh more.

Dave really helps me cook, and clean, and care for our children, happily. And he's so good at it too. (And I'm talking serious help here, not just a little deed here and there, but full on back to back grocery shopping trips to Costco and Wal-Mart done in record speed together, using hours of his days off to help me thoroughly clean the house, and he's even made our home ground, home made bread lately which has turned out amazing! I am really enjoying the team work.)

Ethan said that it was "the BEST Christmas EVER!" because he got 5 new stuffed pet raccoons.

Isaac says that Eliza is so cute, and that "when she grows up she is going to be a heartbreaker, with those big chocolatey eyes."

Dave is my best friend, and we're so happy we've found alot of great PG movies to watch together recently, and that he is a "modified vegan" aka, " you are vegan, but you can eat meat and dairy whenever you want to."

Eliza blows kisses, waves her hand in the air by her nose to say "stinky," and how she always loads on all of my necklaces and jewelry in my closet.

Mason is so cheerful, so happy, so laughy, so positive, so loveable.

Isaac and Ethan pray for poor people in their prayers. And Ethan is always so grateful in his prayers, including the trampoline, the neighbor kids, having a car to drive around in, and always, always, he tops it off by giving thanks for "most of all my family."

Eliza points to things and emphasizes it by leaning her head to her shoulder, and how she puts her two pudgy hands together and shrugs her shoulders to say "all gone."

The boys have gotten so good at unloading the dishwasher together, and help eachother with their certain duties until they are all done.

Isaac talks about wanting to better himself by eating healthy, exercising, and being a good boy.

Mason at various times would just run up from nowhere and wrap his arms around my legs for a big hug after I'd been gone to NY with Dave for a few days. He missed me!

Dave and I still laugh alot together.

Today Mason said we should name the baby in my belly Ethox, and then he changed it to Kathox. Usually he wants to name him Cody, so we can call him Code (for spying) or Cody.

Life has good spells. And we are definitely in one now. Loving it!

On my own

That's right. On my own. No one is with me. Not even Eliza. I have been given (by my dear and wonderful husband) a few days of freedom, peace and quiet! And it gets even better! My few days of peace and quiet are at the beach!

Earlier this week I was feeling down in the dumps, angry, frustrated, trapped. Not because I don't have a beautiful life. Not because I don't love who I'm with or what I've chosen to do with my life. But simply because I was bogged down. Bogged down by the normal every day things that a mother and wife has to do and deal with. You know, the whining, the fighting, the arguing, the explaining, the cleaning, the laundry, the cooking, the preparing, the getting ready for school, the putting to bed, the diaper changing, the appointments, the noise, the tiredness, the issue of not enough time and always too much to do, the sports, the play dates, the planning of entertainment, the issues, the duties!!! Oh, and you know that's not all. There is more, much more. So in the depths of the trenches I just yearned to get away. Alone. So I asked Dave what days he had off this week (his schedule is letting up a bit! Yay!) and he told me Fri-Mon. Really? "Well then" I said, "I would like to take a getaway by myself." Without hesitation he said, "Yes, you should, you deserve it." I don't really feel like I deserve it. But I did feel that the depths of my inner self needed it!

I began looking on the map as to where I would like to go. And I decided I didn't need to go anywhere far, and I do like the beach... So I found an awesome hotel right on the beach on North Padre Island, Corpus Christi. And I got it for super cheap! I saved $50/night off the published price! That always makes you feel even better about it doesn't it?!

So Friday morning came and I packed up swimming suits, my bike, my cameras, my laptop, and a heap of excitement! I decided to take Dave's truck down because how fun is that to drive a truck out on the beach. Plus I just love his truck anyhow. And in the planning of this getaway I decided it would be fun for me to be alone on Fri., Sat. and half of Sun. and then Dave and the kids would drive down Sunday afternoon and stay through Monday with me. And wouldn't the kids love a drive on the beach in the back of the truck too?

I headed out. About 2 hours on my way I decided to pull over to get gas as I had just less than a 1/4 tank left. I got out of the truck, opened the gas tank door and tried to open the gas cap. Locked. Locked???? But I didn't have a key!!! I knew then that I was in deep trouble. I didn't have enough gas to get me back to San Antonio and probably barely enough to get me into Corpus Christi, but not out to the island to my hotel! A nice old Harley grandpa saw my problem and tried to help. But there really is nothing you can do to get gas when your gas cap is locked and you don't have the key! So I called Dave. He said he could drive down and give me the key and then drive home or I should try calling a nearby dealership. (I can't believe he was so kind enough to offer driving 4 hours just to get me the dang gas key!) I got back on the road and decided I'd see if I could get into Corpus Christi before running out of gas, because at least then my chances of finding help would be a little better than being out in the boonies like I was at that point. So I got on the road and called a couple Toyota dealerships in Corpus. They said Toyota didn't put locking gas caps on and it was an after market thing the previous owner had installed. They could break it off and put a new one on for $20 plus labor. But could I make it there and how long would I have to wait? This was my precious alone time you know?

So next idea was to call my Geico road side assistance. The operator told me they could have locksmiths come out and pick the ignition or door, but not the gas cap. She also told me they could bring me gas if I ran out... but they wouldn't be able to get it in! That was no help, seriously. So desperately I asked the operator, "Now what am I supposed to do?" She was a kind woman and decided to help me! She put me on hold and called around to all the locksmiths in Corpus. She got back on the line and told me she had found one shop that could unlock my gas cap for $18 but I would have to drive to the shop! Oh man, I just prayed that it was on my way and that I would have enough gas to get there! Thank heavens for cell phones, gps, and prayers. Because the one shop in all of Corpus that could help me WAS on my way. And I ended up having enough gas that I DID make it to the shop (just barely on fumes I might add!). And it only took an extra 15 minutes to get it taken care of, and they made me new keys for the cap and there was a gas station VERY close by. Now how's that for feeling like the Lord was really watching over me? And I felt at peace the whole time, well mostly :). There were a few tense minutes when the needle was touching empty and I still had 20 miles to go that I wondered if I would make it. But I still felt like everything would work out. And it did, and so smoothly at that!

When I got to the hotel I was so happy to have arrived! I was early but decided to go in anyway and see if I could check in. I also had hopes of sweet talking the front desk into upgrading my basic room to a balcony on the beach. I know. My hopes are always so high. The front desk lady informed me they were pretty booked due to a high school reunion this weekend, but after I told her my story of the locked gas cap and friendly chatting with her, she said she could upgrade me to the top floor balcony where the sun sets beautifully!!! Yes!!! God bless that woman!

I got up to my room and it was wonderful. It's just so nice to have a balcony and a view! Even if it isn't a view of the ocean, at least I do have a view of a lagoon and the sunset! And it has 2 queen beds for when the family comes to join me. It's just perfect!

After getting settled in my room I decided to take a very long walk on the beach. It was awesome being able to choose what I wanted to do without any complaints, and deciding to where and how long I wanted to walk without any whining! So I walked to a nice fishing pier and enjoyed the view from there, watching the fish in schools swimming below me. It was perfect weather with a beautiful breeze. I was in heaven!

After my walk I decided to drive down to Padre National Seashore. That was fun, peaceful and pretty and I saw a place I might like to go kayaking and also saw some deer, pretty dunes, birds and drove the truck out on the beach.

By then I was getting hungry and the sun was setting. Again, it was so fun deciding what I felt like eating without having to take any considerations for what others may or may not like feel like eating! So I went to this local Italian food restaraunt. There was live music and it was a very lively and fun place. I ate salad, bread, baked ziti and cheesecake. I saved half of it for my dinner for tonight. People may have thought it was awkward for me to be there alone, at a table by myself surrounded by couples and families, but it was not. I really enjoyed the food, people watching, listening to the good music and knowing that in a couple days I would be surrounded by my beautiful family once again! I enjoyed the night!

Before I could head back to the hotel I needed to stop by the local Wal-Mart in hopes that they would have a Presta bike pump. I had forgotten to bring my pump from home and when unloading my bike at the hotel I realized that my front tire was way flat. Sand and flat tires don't mix! Well at Wal-Mart all I could find were pumps for Schrader valves. Ugh. I couldn't believe it! I really wanted to be able to take a ride out on the beach in the early morning. I prayed. I looked again. Nope. All Schrader. I almost walked away. Then I felt to look at this one single pump that was the same looking as all the rest but was in black instead of red. And lo and behold. ONE lonely Presta pump! Unbelievable! I snatched it right up, thanked my Heavenly Father for his loving kindness and headed out. Sometimes I feel like I am Heavenly Father's only child. I am stunned by how little things (and big) just fall into place as we seek His help and companionship.

Back at the hotel I spent the rest of the night watching and listening to uplifting programs on the Mormon Channel studying how I can make myself a better person, Mom and wife. That's also what this getaway is about!

I slept in until 8am! Then went out on the balcony and read my scriptures as the sun peeked through the clouds. Then I pumped up my bike tire (hurray!) and left for a refreshing and long bike ride on the beach. What a beautiful morning!! What I didn't realize though in riding out was that the wind was at my back. So what took me 20 minutes to ride down the beach, took me an hour to ride back :). But I found some pretty shells and barnacles, saw some pretty birds, and enjoyed the sun and sea in the morning light!

Now it is afternoon and I am going to take a drive along the coast up to a National Wildlife Refuge to check out what I can there. It could be a long drive and I think I will enjoy it so I should while I can, and while I don't have to torture my kids in doing so! Maybe I will take a dolphin cruise this evening or just take it easy and come back to the hotel and read a good book or sit on the beach. Isn't this just beautiful? Boy do I feel spoiled! I tell my kids it's ok to be spoiled, as long as you're not rotten. I hope I never turn rotten!

Off to adventure...

Back from adventure...

So I drove up the coast, through Port Aransas and took the car ferry over the canal. Fun! Then I drove 2 hours up to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. It is right on the coast and once you pull into the refuge it is just gorgeous! Lush and green against the blue water and sky. Lots of birds gliding on the ocean breeze. Big oaks and wild flowers. So when I pulled up the gentleman who stopped me let me know it was free day today. Bonus! And that there were activities and booths going on for the next 1/2 hour. So I hurried in to see what was going on. A woman ranger told me there were different booths and food (that they were actually starting to take down) to see but that I could probably make it in time to take a kayak out down by the fishing pier. Kayak?! What?? Hurray! That's just what I had wanted to do while I was on my special getaway but I had decided not to pay the money to do it. Earlier that morning I had said a prayer that the Lord would help me know what to do that day to make the most of my time and do the things I should do. Well looky now! I drove out to the fishing pier and made it just in time to take a kayak out! It was just lovely! The kayaks were tandem and they found a woman named Lynn to go out with me. That was nice because she could inform me of some things in the area. The waves were high and so I got completely drenched, but at least the water was not cold and I wasn't wearing white. It was a whole lot of fun and that little kayak trip made my day! There were mullet jumping all over just like in Florida. Lots of things on this trip have reminded me of Florida. Love it. See why I say I feel like an only child?

Luckily I had a towel in the truck so I could dry off a little. Next I took the 16 mile scenic drive. They have all sorts of animals in the park but all I saw were a few white tailed deer. What I really wanted to see were alligators and the wild hogs. Lynn told me they were very common. Well, shucks, not yesterday! Not a one! Because of the drought all the lakes and swampy areas were just prairies. I guess they are usually teeming with gators. Where are they all now? But I did stop and take a short hike out for a view of the bay and took some photos. It was so beautiful!!! There was this huge, old oak tree, with those large twisting limbs that spread out so far and make a canopy at the end of the path. And I saw an osprey and just enjoyed the wildflowers and peaceful aloness, until I heard this sound and there was this man standing behind me. Scared me. I skeedadled after that.

The drive back to the hotel was nice. I stopped at Kohls to buy a crock pot and HEB to get groceries for Sunday for the family. They are joining me in the morning. I wish I still had more time alone. Oh, did I say that?

I always hope I will be missed and appreciated more for what I do when I leave like this. I hope our reunion tomorrow is a nice one. The kids were excited to talk to me on the phone last night. I can't wait to hug them all! I sure love my husband and my little family!

Oh, when I got to the hotel last night it was a crazy party!!! There had been a wedding and a high school reunion here! There was a live band playing (crazy sleezy drunks) and the place was packed!

I went out to the Sea Wall and it's always so beautiful at the beach at night. The moon was large and hanging low and the waves were coming in fast. I took a short stroll down the Sea Wall walkway and turned to look at a hotel, right when I turned back to look at the ocean again, I turned just in time to catch a beautiful shooting star shooting across the sky. Magical. I know my Heavenly Father loves me!

This is the life

Just a few times today I found myself aching for a few moments to myself without any responsibility (did I say moments? I meant hours). Who could I call to babysit???... ugh, still don't know any babysitters yet... and hubby is out of town...and I have a nursing baby...

So I pushed on. Trying my best to hold it together another day, trying to be a nice and loving Mommy one day more. Well, I successfully got the kids down at 8:30pm, and because I was able to sneak in a nap today, I decided it was time to have some alone time FUN. So maybe it's the middle of the night, maybe I should have been asleep 5 hours ago, maybe I am a little naughty, but I am ALL ALONE and I can do WHATEVER I want for HOURS on end!!!

As Mason would say, "This is the life!" First I busted out the paints and canvasses and painted in bright colors and shapes as I listened to lds radio talks and interviews and enjoyed some inspiration for hours without interruption! Then I read my favorite blogs, and listened to some music and even downloaded new tunes! Now I'm writing in my blog! What a thrill! ("Wow" you are thinking, "she calls that fun?" Heck yeah, it is.)

And you may ask, "won't you pay for this irresponsible sponteneity tomorrow?" Do you know what I say to that? "So what!" And "word to your momma!" Because the kids can buy lunch for the second day in a row and we can eat cereal for every meal and I can even shirk my responsibilities for another day and maybe even catch another nap! (Dave is gone through Saturday you know.) Because ya know, the rejuvination that has occurred in the depths of my soul these past hours has been absolutely de-licious!

small miracle?

Yes, I believe a small miracle happened today and it was fun for me to see. It probably won't be as exhilirating for you as it was for me but I'll share nonetheless.

Right before school starts Wal-Mart has these awesome deals on school supplies right? And you know how the Mormon church does those humanitarian service projects and they give you directions to make and fill school bags for kids? Well school supply sales and humanitarian school bags go hand in hand.

About 7 years ago when Isaac was small I put together a bundle of them. But now that my children are older, and now that some of them exist who didn't before, I thought it would be fun to have them join me in this book bag service project again.

This past summer I talked about it with the kids and told them what we needed to do for the project. We had to decide on how many school bags we were going to make this time around. Last time I made 20 and so we wanted to do more than that. The boys suggested we do 30 this time. No problem. We bought oodles of notebooks and pens and erasers and rulers and scissors and the cashiers at Wal-Mart gave me funny looks. But we did it, we got all the supplies that we needed. Now all that was left to find was fabric and time.

Somewhere in between here and there I decided I'd stop in at my nearby thrift store to see if they had any good fabric laying around... you know, enough so that I might be able to sew 30 book bags. Can I just say I love thrift stores dearly? Always have. Magic awaits me there. Walking through those doors unleashes my creative juices. Anyhow... you'll never believe it, I came upon a stash of beautifully perfect cordoruy and there was a bunch of it to boot! Someone had donated 3 bunches of it- brown, navy, and dark purple. I grabbed it right up and paid the $3 total for it and thanked the heavens! I just hoped it would be enough and if it wasn't I figured I could scrounge up some more fabric somewhere else...

Time passed and school started and I had a baby and things like that. Wouldn't ya know that the school supplies and fabric are still sitting in my craft room in piles and stacks and overflowing bags?

Today I finally decided that now was as good a time as ever to get started on this project. I spent all day cutting that wonderful corduroy into book bag shapes, thinking about how sturdy the bags will be and how the children will be able to use them through college even, I'm sure.

I didn't really measure the fabric to see how many bags I would get out of it, I just started cutting. I figured when I was out, I'd be out. Now here's the miracle, the moment you've been waiting for: When I finished cutting, and couldn't possibly cut another single 14x18 rectangle or 12x3 strap from the fabric I counted them all up. And get this, there were enough cut bags and straps to make EXACTLY 30 school bags!!! WOW. Can you say WOW? What angel was doing that coordinating? I mean seriously!

So once again I'm thanking the heavens! And I'm also hoping that the next miracle I'll find in the morning, when I go into my craft room, is that my coordinating angel will have worked through the night sewing all 30 of those blasted bags for me...

I'm a housewife?

The other day I had to sign my name on some legal document for Dave for who knows why (wait, should I have read over that before signing it?!!) and I noticed that Dave had check marked the box for me that said "housewife."

When I saw that I cringed and felt a crustiness brewing within. Not towards Dave but towards the term. Housewife? Stay-at-home Mom? Is that what we ARE? Hey world, did you know I am actually not married to a house, I am married to a husband? And did you know that I actually don't stay at home that much? Did you know us "stay-at-homers" probably get out more and see more of the city and the world than you think?

I just wonder why us housewives are looked down on so much. (Not really, I do know why... but why are people falling for it?) I mean we are as capable and intelligent and well rounded as all get out. So where is the due respect for our labors of love?

As I layed in bed the other night I tried to think of a label for us that would be more deserving. Don't laugh, well okay you can laugh, but I'm serious here! And yes, it was hard to find words for a title that is so great and all encompassing, but I came up with a few...

How about:

The Master of Many Skills
Or
The One Who Taught You Everything You Know and Are
Or
The Intelligent Altruistic One
Or
The Sacred Bearer of All of You
Or
The One Who Does Hard Things, Wisely Knowing It Brings The Greatest Joys, Fullest Potentials And All Sorts Of Progression

Whaddayathink?

Maybe we should get together and talk about a revolution of sorts, like getting rid of those lame-o labels? All in favor?

(Funny thing just now. My specialized, very intellectual, orthodontist career man husband just read this post. Bless his heart, when he got to the part where I said "intelligent and well rounded as all get out" he corrected me and said it is actually "as I'll get out." Wha? So we argued a sec and then looked it up on the internet... and the answer is.... AS ALL GET OUT!!! Give it up for the housewife!)

So I'll be signing off now, finishing up, moving on or maybe I should just say good-bye "as I'll get out." Peace!

mason is easy to love

Today as I sat at the computer, Mason sat on my lap. Randomly he said, "Mom, I love you. I love you more than heaven!"

Today I also took Mason to McDonalds for a happy meal and to play on their sweet playground. I had wanted to buy him lunch and then take him to the Burr Oaks nature center. But when he realized I said I would buy him a happy meal he asked if we could go to the McDonalds with the sweet playground too. He said that is what would make him so happy. And he also said, "Mom, we can go to that other place that you are begging me to go to tomorrow." (meaning Burr Oaks nature center). Was I begging? Huh. So as we were sitting there and he was eating his lunch at McDonalds I asked him what he was going to do when he was five. He thought about it for a 1/2 a minute and then looked at me and sincerely said with a smile, "When I'm five I'm going to do what you tell me to do Momma."

Mason is officially Mr. giggle silly man. He giggles at everything- when he's happy, after he gets hurt, with his brothers, at his brothers, for his brothers, when he's tired, when he's well rested, when he's mad. He is the laughiest kid I've met. I wish adults could laugh as much as children do.

Mason is responsible. He puts clothes away, does any chore he's asked, takes care of his own problems, and cleans up after himself. He even lets me know when he's tired and puts himself down for naps.

Mason says awesome prayers. He prays about everything from A-Z. Last night his prayer was like 10 minutes long, thanking God for everything he could think of which included not having to be naked forever.

I love Mason. I love Mason SO much. And it makes me very, very happy when he says he has a secret to tell me then whispers in my ear, "I love you!"

the magazine rack

At Borders today, waiting to purchase 4 awesome notebooks just because I LOVE notebooks, I had a few moments (actually more than a few sheesh that cashier could talk!) to scan over the front pages of various magazines that were staring at me. Yay, I feel like a better person for looking at them, NOT. And thanks to the brilliant magazine makers who come up with these headlines and ideas. NOT. Seriously people, get a clue.

Front page 1: Two gay men holding their new baby boy. Is this not frightening for our society?!! And that poor baby, does he have a chance in this world?

Front page 2: Beautiful woman showing she knows how to wear almost nothing in front of the world and she also knows how to make "sexy face." What good does this do me? Or anyone for that matter? There are alot of beautiful women out there but I appreciate the ones who know how to get dressed, respect their beauty, and who know how to smile. All she really is saying is sex. And I would hope that's not all that she's good for. But who knows these days. Where is strength of character?

Front page 3: "How to have the greatest sex ever"... or something like that. But really, how would they know? What makes them think they know and can teach us what it is? 'Cause I can tell you it's not what they are thinking or what the tv and movies are showing. The greatest sex isn't grimy, lustful, degrading or selfish. It's not something to be lauded on covers of silly magazines. It's more than that. Much more. It's beautiful, deep and wholesome and is the ultimate unifier between husband and wife. It's lovely, and the greatest when it's all about LOVE. So what do they know? And are people really going to them to find out anyhow? How sad, because in doing so they will never find "the greatest sex ever."

Front page 4: "Bad girl sex"... see commentary for front page 3.

Front page 5: "Gay Teens On TV." Oh yeah, let's promote it, let's teach our kids that it is normal and fun and A-OK and that maybe they should even try it. TV is getting better and better I tell ya!

Oh, and I'm just getting started... there were many, many more! You know, you've seen them, so I'll spare you, that's enough.

I think, well I hope, you get the picture.

awesomeness

Lately I think awesome is a good word and this is why:

A week or so ago as Mason prayed over lunch this is what he said:
"Thank you for buying pants, for Mommy buying cutie pants. Thank you for awesomeness, for awesome us. Thank you for church, for pets..."
A couple things I love about that prayer- "awesome us" oh yeah. And then also he thanks Heavenly Father for pets. What pets? We don't have pets.

Also a couple weeks ago Mason came into the kitchen and asked me if I would put a Lego guy's arm back on. I said sure and snapped the arm into place and gave it back to Mason. He grabbed it and skipped back to the green room to play, saying all sing-songy, to himself, under his voice, "My-Mo-mmy-is-awe-some!"

And then a day after Mason said to himself that I was awesome, I was down in the basement with Isaac. I had picked up the basement earlier that day and folded quilts etc. I mentioned to Isaac that I had done that and he looked around, then at me, and said with all sincerety and joy and a big smile, "You're AWESOME Mom!"

Wow. So much awesomeness I don't even know how we contain it!

loving my heater

Well, the kids and I did it! We survived 1.5 cold, long, cold, dark, freezing cold winters without a heater in the van! Did I mention it was cold? We overcame, and now we've gotten smart! This week we finally replaced the thermostat (which come to find out was broken clean in half!).

Nevermore in the van shall we have to wear our coats zipped to our noses, hats pulled down to our eyelids, gloves swathing our fingers making buckling seatbelts impossible, and blankies wrapping our popcicle legs! And we are LOVING it! Isaac now complains that it is TOO HOT in the dead of winter while we are basking in the hot air of our car, wearing nothing but swimming suits and flips. Oh the joy of it! And to think last January I drove, lone pilot and parental figure, pregnant, and with the 3 young boys in tow, 2 days through mountains, subzero temperatures and blizzards without a heater! I'm so happy about our new heater that I think I'll go sit out in the van right now and let the warm air blow through my hair while I day dream about yellow summer days. Oh, simple joys.

something about her

It's ridiculous, we can't stop loving her. We just can't get enough. The boys are as tender and loving and caring as ever. They've never stopped since the day they met her. I've never witnessed sibling love like this. It's thick and warm and makes my heart burst. Dave always says that Eliza has "hit the jackpot." She is precious to us. Babies are so perfect aren't they? Their smell is intoxicating, their smile warms the coldest day, their touch like sweet heaven. Mmm. Eliza. Our darling baby girl.

gratefully grateful

Today I feel so overwhelmed by goodness that surrounds me. Beautiful children. Wonderful husband. Many memories. Life experiences. Opportunities that lie ahead. The gospel. The beauty I've seen. I feel so lucky. I feel so blessed. I am so grateful. Tears in my eyes. How could I have so much? There is beauty, depth, and generosity given by a kind and gracious Heavenly Father. And I am feeling it today.

us lately

I LOVE THIS BABY