Houston connections

I just wanted to give a quick shout out to all of my friends and acquaintances that I met in Houston. I've been thinking about all of the wonderful people that we met there in the church. We look back on that time and feel very blessed to have been a part of the HP ward. I have so many wonderful memories from our 4 years there. We grew so much there, from being around so many righteous examples and just genuinely good people. I remember sitting in one sacrament meeting and listening to the speaker say that he was looking at a bunch of future bishops and stake presidents. I have no doubt that was true. My only regret is that I didn't get to know some of you better. It's been fun to catch up with some of you through facebook and blogging. I thank Melissa J. for encouraging me to start a blog (and since I've started one, everyone in my immediate family has one!). I know there are several of you out there who I'm not linked to yet - I'm slowly trying to make amends where I can. (To any HP ward stalkers out there, "Hi!" I don't mind - I know how things go in the blogging world.)

It's amazing to me to see the hand of the Lord in our lives, leading us and helping us to grow. When we were considering graduate schools, we hadn't even considered Houston. Who wants to live in Houston? :) But as things unfolded, we knew we were supposed to go to Rice University there in Houston. It was one of the best decisions we've made. The experiences we had, the people we met, and our financial decisions there have made a lasting impact on us and the success that we have today. And I'm just grateful that I was able to meet so many wonderful people there, who have had an impact on us in big and small ways. Thank you!

just when things get hard...

...then little things make it better, like Owen sleeping 8 hours at night. He's been doing about 6 hours at night, but last night he did 8!

And he has some smiles for us!

don't do that!

I had to do a quick post on some of the words that I heard today. Are these common phrases in your house?

"Don't throw that knife at your brother!"

"Don't put that around his neck!"

"You're going to start a fire!"

"Don't drink that. You'll get sick!"

Wow. It must have been quite a day...

The first 3 were said by Alex as he was talking on the phone with his family. What must they have thought? Ahhh...boys!

It wasn't that bad. The knife was a wooden one that goes with a play food set, the next was a ribbon, the next was the boys putting tissues over the light bulb (trying to make shadows on the wall), and the last was a cup of milk from yesterday.

And one other funny thing I just heard:

"Tomorrow is a holiday. Sleep in."

Ha-ha. Wishful thinking.

why blog?

So I've been thinking about the concept of blogging, wondering how we all got involved with it and why. Why do we like these so much? Most blogs have a common theme or purpose. Some are to post opinions about politics, sports, religion, etc. Others are for entertainment or to make people laugh... (like those moms who post embarrassing childhood pictures of their kids and see what kind of comments they can bring in. :) Others are cooking blogs to share recipes, or home decorating, crafts, etc.
I think mine is one of those "mommy blogs" to show off the kids (particularly to the grandparents) and get sympathy and encouragement from the other crazy moms out there. Sometimes I post random thoughts, like this one, but usually I just blog about the daily happenings in the life of a mom with young kids. I know...boring.

But I guess behind it all is the need to be connected and acknowledged, and blogging is a means of communication that brings that connection with others that we all need. Whether for venting, for sharing common interests, a creative outlet, or whatever your reason, it's great. Happy blogging! (And I'm looking forward many more boring blogs from the great moms and dads out there.) :)

I can do 5!

Nathan turned 5 yesterday - we had a party today. There were 10 kids here including Nathan and Jared. This is the front of the invitation. The theme was apples, with inspiration from the book "Ten Apples Up on Top" by Dr. Seuss. (Nathan loves apples - I had everyone bring an apple instead of a card.)

Nathan got a nerf gun - it turned out to be a big hit ;) especially with Alex.

The kids each had a "hat" to wear with 5 apples on it.

cupcakes that are supposed to look like apples

We played hot potato with an apple. (Jared was excited when the music stopped and he had the apple. "I got it!") We also played sort the apples, using green, red, and yellow apples - who could sort them the fastest, and we set up a cardboard ramp to have apple races.

















His new favorite seems to be Transformers.

We gave him a bike.

the gift favors - construction paper apples sewn with thread around the edges, filled with gummy worms and apple flavored candy

SPIT happens...

We had a pretty good chance of making it to church on time... until Owen decided we needed some wardrobe changes. I was feeling pretty good about getting the boys ready for church and was about to take a picture. And then Owen spit up all over himself and me. Scratch getting to church on time, but we were only about 7 minutes late. So I guess we did pretty good. And I didn't glare at Alex when I walked in the door. :) The boys did great during sacrament meeting. I fed Owen during Sunday School and he slept through Relief Society.



I decided I better document our 1st experiment with trying to get somewhere on time. (Nathan took this picture for me.)



So here are the pants Owen was going to wear...















They weren't quite excited to take a picture. (I had just told them they couldn't take the Kung Fu panda toys to church.) At least Nathan had a fake smile for me.

They sang to Nathan today since his birthday is this week. He's in a new class this year - CTR 5. He's looking like such a big boy.

Sunday?

I've been dreading Sunday all week. Last week, I had lots of help from family getting the boys ready for church and entertaining them during church. I think I held Owen for about 5 minutes last Sunday during church. This week is another story...

Will I survive? Alex has early meetings and sits on the stand during church, so it's just me and the boys. How do I get 3 boys under the age of 5 and myself to church on time? I'll let you know how it goes...

1st bath

Someone didn't get a bath last year...





It was time for Owen's 1st bath of 2009 and ever- I think he liked it.