Three Years, Four Kids

Christmas Pictures

2012-01-15T22:33:00.000-08:00

Still behind...but here are a few pictures from this Christmas season:

We had an advent calendar (courtesy of my mother) for the first time this year (should have been included in the traditions I listed last week...) and each day had a little slip of paper with something simple and fun to do. The kids LOVED it and looked forward to it each day. We opened them after dinner each night and got to do lots of fun stuff:

Drinking Hot Chocolate with candy canes:

Coloring Christmas Pictures:

We even got to go visit Santa one night:

No, we didn't pay the $20 bucks to get a picture with him, so this is the kids in line:

We had a "polar express party" with the boy's joyschool group and Samantha got to come since it was at our house:

We made treats for those same joyschool friends:

We played lots of Wii with Granna:

ate dinner at In & Out on Christmas Eve:

We acted out Luke 2. Noah was SUPER sweet! He kept putting his arm around "Mary" trying to help her and saying things like "It will be okay, I love you." Micah is a king. That is the only crown we had! And Samantha wanted a real baby (Hanna) in her tummy at first, so that was the best we could do and made her quite happy!

There were other things that we didn't get pictures of....always true I guess. It was a really fun month / / week. I will try to post Christmas morning next week! (-:

Quick Christmas Re-cap:

2012-01-08T22:48:00.000-08:00

I had planned to get ALL of Christmas posted and up today. But instead, I got into a great conversation with Cory and since my "motto" for the year is "choose what matters most," I chose that tonight. I'm also going to choose to go to bed before 11:00 pm, so instead of posting ALL of Christmas, I'm just going to post what mattered most and try to the rest of it next week! (-:

There were a few precious memories (at least to me as a mother...no one else may even care!) that I don't want to forget:

A few weeks before Christmas, we were sitting in sacrament meeting. We had sung a Christmas song and whoever was giving the talk mentioned Christ and Christmas in the same sentence. Noah leaned over to me and said: "Mom, I like coming to church b/c they know that Christmas was really Jesus birthday and not Santa's." I teared up and still do when I think about his cute little voice saying that. I'm sure we had mentioned it, but I don't really remember trying to drill that into his head at all. He really just came up with it on his own. Of course, we jumped on the opportunity and mentioned it a BUNCH over the next few weeks.

I took each of the kids to the dollar store to buy gifts for their siblings and Dad. I gave them each $5 in $1 bills. When I got to the cash register with Noah, his total came to $3 and change. I told him to give the cashier $4. He did. She then gave his change. He turned to me wide eyed and said: "I gave her 4 pieces of paper and she gave me MONEY!"

(we caught this one on tape): Christmas morning Noah was jumping up and down excited for Micah to open the gift he had gotten for him. He was more excited for that than any gift he received. I LOVED it. Once Micah opened it and was obviously very excited about his giant coloring book, Noah said: "Don't you just want to hug me?!" Micah thought it over and said: "Um, no thanks!"

I've always talked about having the kids give away a toy each time they get a new one, but this is the first year we've actually done it. And I was SO pleased with how well it went. They played with all their new gifts for a while and then I took each of them aside individually and had them choose things to give away. I encouraged them to choose something similar to what they had received (for example, Micah got a robot, so I encouraged him to choose something from the "talking toys" bucket. Sam gave up and old doll for a new one and Noah gave up some old cars for the new ones he got.), but other than that, I completely let them choose. They each gave up 4 toys total and I was so pleased with how willing they were to do so and that they didn't just pick their least favorite, crappy old toys, but really thought about something that would still be good for someone else. Definitely keeping that tradition!

Cory spent HOURS on my gift. He was up until midnight (sometimes later) every night for 3-4 weeks before Christmas making it. He edited out all our family videos to include just the absolute best clips of each kid (lots of smiling, happy, giggling, dancing, funny faced kiddos) and then slowed them down and put them to music. He made a different DVD for each kid so I can kinda watch their whole lives (to this point) in just a few minutes. I LOVE it. The kids LOVE it. We have watched it every Sunday since Christmas. It is bringing a wonderful sense of unity and love into our home and I am so grateful for his incredible effort in putting it all together. Only trouble is, I don't want him to stop. I want one every year now! haha

We went to see a incredible light show in La Costa a few nights before Christmas and the boys LOVED it, but Sam was totally scared the whole time. She just kept her eyes covered. Really a-typical for her, but it sure was fun cuddling with her (she had her head buried in my arm most the time)

And a few things we'd like to make tradition (writing them here so I dont' forget next year):

7 Mondays before: Christ centered Christmas for FHEs
12 days before Christmas: 12 days of Christmas stories / ornaments from Devin and Melissa
22nd: Watching the dancing Christmas lights in la Costa with hot cocoa; talk about Christ as the light of the world (What think ye of Christmas? book) turn off all lights; add a lanturn; add all lights = letting Christ into our lives.
23rd: Joseph Smith birthday party with Roast, potatoes from a ricer, the missionaries and the Restoration video & testimony meeting.
24th: Artichoke dip for lunch; In & Out for dinner; acting out Luke 2; Reflections of Christ video & testimony meeting; water and magic oats (oats w/ sprinkles) for Rudolf with the cookies for Santa
25th: Picture of kids on stairs in am; Santa's gifts wrapped in Santa paper; Egg casserole and ableskivers for breakfast, bean dip for lunch; Ham and cheesy potatoes for dinner; choosing toys to give to others

Merry Christmas Nanna!

2011-12-26T19:56:00.001-08:00

This was our gift to my Mom this year. The music and lyrics were written by an incredibly talented friend of mine. Once she'd written the song, she spent 3 hours with my kids recording it and then hours more editing it. Her talent is AMAZING. My kiddos can't really sing, but she has this method of getting things "just right." I added the pictures to the music for a slideshow. It is now my kids favorite song to listen to and I'm loving the memories. So is my Mom! If you are in So Cal & are interested in having one made let me know and I will put you in touch with my friend. Oh, and Samantha's last line is "I love you to the moon!"

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Thanksgiving trip to Utah: part I

2011-12-11T21:15:00.000-08:00

I'm exhausted. Not sure why. Last night wasn't bad, but I haven't been able to keep my eyes open all day. It has been 4 week since I updated this blog. We were on vacation for 2 weeks. I was still playing catch up last week and now tonight I just don't have the energy. I'm going to bed soon. But I wanted to get at least something up. I just keep getting further and further behind and these memories are so important to me.

So, I picked something relatively easy and quick. On our way to Utah last month, we stopped a Bob's Big Boys. Cory has fun memories of this restaurant as a child, but I had never heard of it. He said they used to take pictures in front of the restaurant with Bob. So, I was determined to get one, no matter how windy and COLD it was:

The kids did pretty well for most of the trip. Hanna was the toughest one. Each stretch went about like this: she would sleep for about an hour (at most). Once she woke up, she'd be happy on her own for about another 30 minutes. We'd get another hour or two with her happy(ish) as long as I held her hand. Yep. Me in the front seat reaching backwards holding her hand. My arm about fell off, but it was better than her screaming. Eventually even that wouldn't calm her and she would just cry and scream until we stopped again (usually about an hour). Poor girls does not like the car. Samantha, Micah and Noah did really well. So that was a huge blessing.

Only real hiccup was about 2 minutes after we entered the gorge, Samantha threw up. Just a little at first. I even debated whether to go back there: we were in the gorge, at night, below freezing temps: not exactly when I want to take my seat belt off. But she seemed pretty upset, so I decided to climb back there. Just as I did, she threw up again, only this time it was a LOT and all over. She was so, so sweet though. I told her not to move while I started cleaning up (I didn't want her to spread it all over), and she didn't move at all. I started cleaning up her face first and after a couple minutes she says: "Mom, my hand dirty too. Please clean it." still without moving. So sweet. So, I cleaned her hands and then had her put them on her head so I could attempt to clean her lap and seat without her getting her hands dirty again. She did just as I asked and didn't move at all. Then suddenly Cory yells: "Light off and duck! Cop ahead." Crazy. Luckily, our hotel was in St George and we got there just 15 minutes later or so. Put Sam right in the bath and brought up her seat to wash as best we could:

Samantha and Hanna were as happy as ever. Samantha LOVED getting to take a bath in the middle of the night (about 11 pm) and Hanna was just THRILLED to be out of the car. The boys, however, had fallen asleep in the car and did not appreciate being woken up. They cried and cried and cried (still half asleep) for the entire 20 minutes it took us to get everyone / everything into the hotel room and make their bed (on the floor). Within seconds of being in "bed," they were asleep (lights still on, Samantha and Hanna still up etc):

4 more posts

2011-11-13T21:08:00.000-08:00

Once again, two are recent and are just below this one and two are "catchups" and back dated. You can find them here:

Spelling Champ
Messy

Stir Crazy

2011-11-13T20:50:00.000-08:00

We have all been going a bit stir crazy around here. We've had sickies for over 2 weeks, and I tell you, sometimes I think I might go nuts. Cory asked me today, "When did our kids all become brats?" I laughed....that's what you get when you spoil them silly b/c they are sick. I slept in Samantha's bed for three nights and responded every time she whimpered and she got to eat all the ice cream she wanted. Oh, and did I mention I think we've watched every movie we own?

Anyway, Sam's temp finally broke on Thursday of last week so I decided everyone should go out back to play. We've been living in our jammies (I told you...spoiled!), so I just let them go out without changing, but made them put their shoes on. Samantha insisted on her frog boots and a few minutes later, I found her like this:

Glad no one came to visit at that moment!

Halloween Day

2011-11-13T20:04:00.000-08:00

Sam had a temp of 103, but was so so sadden by the idea of being left behind that we let her go. We made her stay in the stroller the whole time though so she didn't get close to any other kiddos. She only made it for about 15-20 min. and then asked to go to bed.

On the way out the door:

The beginning of the neighborhood parade:

The very first candy stop:
Right before we split up (I took Sam to about 3 houses and Cory went ahead (much faster) with the boys. Gotta love the boot Tinkerbell insisted on:
The loot:

4 new posts today

2011-11-06T21:03:00.000-08:00

Two directly below this one and the other 2 are back dated. You can find them here:

The Girls
She Really is a girl

Emjoy!

Welcome to my world

2011-11-06T20:59:00.000-08:00

It's a beautiful world! This is what it looks like every morning while I prep dinner:

Lately all four kids favorite thing to do is to help me cook. If I put dinner off till 4:30, their "help" is the last thing I want, so I really try to do most of my dinner prep before 9 am while everyone is still in a good mood. Each kid (except Hanna) has two days a week that are their "assigned" days to help me. They actually get to sit on the counter right next to whatever I'm doing and help me with all sorts of stuff. Hanna is almost always underfoot and Samantha joins her when it isn't officially Sam's turn. I love it.

*Disclaimer: I don't ALWAYS love it, but most of the time I do. And I don't love it in the evening, they are just too grumpy then. I only love it in the morning!

If you need a good laugh...

2011-11-06T20:06:00.000-08:00

This video ought to do it for you!

Cory had seen the mouse run in there from outside a few days before. After 3-4 days of not catching it with traps, Cory decided to go after it. I did NOT want him to. I wanted him to buy more (different) traps. I was so afraid it would get lost somewhere else in our house and nibble my kids toes at night and give them crazy diseases. I liked having it safely trapped in the closet. But, he insisted. So, Noah, Samanth, Hanna and I got on the counter. Micah wanted to stay down in the kitchen. Cory just knew it would be funny so he had me tape it. He was right. I really don't like mice.

I had been taping for forever and turned the camera off. Then, Cory screamed like a girl and I turned it back on and got the rest:

Sorry, I had to remove the video b/c we submitted it to America's funniest home videos and they don't allow any videos that are published online. If we get accepted, we'll let you know and you can watch it then!

Good, Better, Best

2011-10-30T22:10:00.000-07:00

If there is anyone who still actually checks this thing, you've noticed that I"ve all but stopped blogging. That is b/c I have this goal to put all my blog posts into a book each year. Well, I started blogging 5 years ago, and I have two books. So I am WAY BEHIND. I've been trying to put each post into a scrapbooking page before I post it here so that they will be all ready to transfer to a book. Well, that is exactly what is keeping me from posting. I just don't love to scrapbook. It isn't my talent. It isn't my love. It takes me forever and I'm still not usually happy with the results. My Mom is ULTRA good at it. As a side note, if you want to learn how, she just started a blog to help teach others. Here is her most recent page from that blog:

Anyway, if you've read Pres Oaks talk about Good, Better, Best, you will know what i mean when I say that I've decided that having all our memories in cute scrapbooking pages and bound in a book is good, but having them recorded here is best. So, I'm forgetting the scrapbooking for a while and just posting the pictures with a quick explanation of what is going on.

I'm just soaking in every moment I have with my kiddos right now. I guess it is the spirit, but I just feel so very strongly that these precious moments will go so very fast and all I will have left of them is my memories. I want to preserve those memories here b/c I really enjoy being the mother of these four beautiful children and the wife of my incredible husband. Life is good: it is also hard, but it is oh, so very good and I want to remember it that way. I want my kids to know that I enjoyed them - that we enjoyed each other while they were young. They are so fun and so good and so pure. I want to remember every piece of them I can.

I'm going to start with what is most current and work each Sunday evening until I get caught up.

Keep scrolling down and you will see three that I put up today. I also added some things to the "funnies" in the sidebar (I had posted them to facebook which is how I was able to find them again).

Enjoy!

Misty

Halloween Festivities so far.

2011-10-30T21:32:00.000-07:00

I LOVE FALL! I love the cooler weather, the leaves, the soups and hot cocoa. I especially love all the traditions. This fall has been the best b/c the boys are finally old enough to remember some of the things we did last year and our little family's traditions are starting! I'm LOVING it! They remembered that last year we made ghosts out of milk cartons and asked to do it again this year. So we did:

They remembered that we decorated our door for Halloween last year as well and want to do it again, so we did that as well:

We added a new tradition: turning the toilets into monsters (odd, I know, but I found it on pinterest and thought it cute, easy and fun):

And we even let the kids each pick out their own pumpkin (still yet to be carved b/c Micah and Sam have been sick the last few days):

I'm also loving that the kids are getting old enough to not be so scared of everything! Last October, we were with my parents for the 1st half of the month and it took a few days before they would even consider trying on a costume. This year, they were so excited about it, they could hardly decide. Aren't they adorable?

They also used to be deathly afraid of any sort of pretend plastic bug. We have hilarious video of both Micah and Noah nearing hyperventilating over a fake plastic bug last year. Well this year, they got a cute Halloween treat in the mail from Nanna: candy and bugs and the bugs were their favorite part:

Last year I couldn't get the kids to go anywhere near anything festive: they freaked near anyone in costume and wouldn't touch a bounce house. This year, we went to a Halloween party with the boy's joyschool group and they weren't afraid of the other kids in costume:

Samantha and her adorable friend Meg (don't you love her hair!?) were super cute:

They got to play lots of fun carnival games like bowling:

Doesn't Micah really look like Woody?

I also took Noah and Samantha (Micah was sick, poor guy) to a city carnival. Yes, Noah switched to Woody:

They bounced in the bounce house and even went on slides:

I still couldn't get them to sit in a fire engine or next to a motorcycle or a big black cat though. And Noah would not try the cotton candy: scared to death b/c he said it looked like Monster hair and he didn't want to be a monster. Samantha loved it though:

I'm looking forward to trick or treating tomorrow night with anyone who is healthy! Poor Micah is still coughing like crazy and Samantha spiked a high fever just before bedtime tonight. We'll see...

Brotherly Love

2011-10-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

This girl ADORES her brothers. She follows them around all day and wants to do everything they do. She asks for them first thing in the morning and after naps. She cries and cries and cries each time they go to joyschool without her.

Here is just one small evidence of her adoration. Almost everytime I try to take a picture of the three (or four) of them, she is looking at them instead of me for the first (or more) pictures:

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2011-10-20T21:50:00.000-07:00

I forgot Cory's birthday last year. Yep. We had been living in different states for a couple of months and I just forgot all about it. What makes it worse is that my birthday is just 6 days before and he made it really nice: even without any money. So, I wanted to do something nice this year. We had agreed not to get each other gifts b/c we bought a new video camera instead, so I tried to think of something meaningful, but cheap too! I decided to do a cute picture of the kids, but since I'm not a photographer, and my four kids squished together are a bit wiggly, it was quite the process. Here are just a few of the "takes" (some got deleted):

Messy

2011-10-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

You just have to have a few of these pictures of each of your kids, don't you?

The girls

2011-10-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

I'm sure this is true of most moms, but most of the pictures of my kids do not have me in then b/c I'm behind the camera. This really makes me a bit sad as I want my kids to have pictures of me interacting with, loving and playing with them. Today I was "resting" on the couch after church. As is typical, Sam and Hanna both wanted to join me and we snuggled for a bit. Only this time, I asked Cory to snap a picture. Sorry you are naked Hanna, but you just can't eat dinner any other way!

I absolutely love being the mother of these two precious girls. They are pure joy. Their relationship is adorable. They can't get enough of each other. Their affection really does go both ways. They are both such happy, fun, smiley, stubborn girls. I adore them.

She really is a girl...

2011-10-16T20:26:00.000-07:00

Samantha got a *new* dress from our wonderful neighbors. They have a daughter that is exactly (to the day) 1 year older than Samantha so they keep us well supplied with adorable clothes. Samantha was SUPER excited to wear her new dress and the boys were adorable. They kept telling her how beautiful she looked and asking her to twirl. She loved all the attention. Cory snapped these pictures right before we left for church.

Spelling Champ

2011-09-13T21:03:00.000-07:00

The other day Micah says to me:
"Look Mom, I spelled Baby McDonald!"

I looked and he did:

Do you think he is ready for Kindergarten?

Post Updates

2011-06-26T20:23:00.000-07:00

I updated a few posts with my Mom's amazing scrapbooking. We kinda have a deal. I try to scrapbook, but I'm just not great at it and always getting behind. So, occasionally there are things I just throw up on the blog b/c I don't want to forget them, but don't have time to scrapbook them. She then scraps them for me and I update them when she does. Aren't I lucky? Seriously, her scrapbooking is so incredible!

So, here are some updates

We shaved her head
Hanna Catherine Marsh
Micah

Catching Up

2011-06-26T19:26:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of other scrapbooking pages my mom did based on the "funnies" (see sidebar). They both happened a few month ago, but were pretty cute.

Proud of Noah

2011-06-20T16:59:00.000-07:00

Today when I went to pick up the kids from the child watch at the gym the following conversation took place and it made me really happy so I wanted to be sure to record it:

Worker: Your kids are adorable
Me: Thanks. I think so!
Worker: No really, they are sweet and obedient ; just really good kids.
Me: That is so good to hear.
Worker: In fact, today I asked Noah if he knew that his name was in the Bible. He said: "Yes, and so is Micah and Samantha (Samuel) and Hanna. We love the Bible. We want to be like Jesus."

I almost teared up. I was so incredibly proud of him.

We Shaved Her Head

2011-05-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

Misty Mother

2011-05-08T18:54:00.000-07:00

I gave a talk in Sacrament today on Mothers.

"I'd like to share a story about a girl, that is near and dear to my heart.

When she was two or three, in nursery, she was the 'little mother.' She was always cheering other kids up and helping take care of them. She was learning how to nurture. She was becoming a nurturer.

As a young child, she would go Trick or Treating during Halloween, come home, and divide her pile up to share with her parents and siblings. She was learning how to share. She was becoming selfless.

As a youth, she received her Patriarchal Blessing and was told she would be a source of knowledge and a teacher to those around her. She was learning how to teach. She was becoming a teacher.

As a young woman, she was valiant in her participation of the Young Woman's program. She was learning how to obey. She was becoming obedient.

As a young woman, she was successful in her studies throughout high school and accepted to a prestigious university. She was learning how to learn. She was becoming intelligent.

As a young woman, she dated several young men from diverse backgrounds. She was becoming experienced.

She interrupted her studies and her dating life to serve an honorable full time mission for the Lord. She was learning how to heed. She was becoming valiant.

She returned from her mission a woman. She continued her studies and her dating life. She was learning how to be diligent.

She worked and paid her own way through college. She was learning the meaning of hard work. She was becoming a hard worker.

She found a handsome, dashing, charming, intelligent, athletic, caring, and sensitive man to marry in the temple of the Lord. She was learning how to apply her knowledge. She was becoming wise.

After a couple years of blissful marriage, she was unsuccessful in becoming pregnant. She was learning about patience. She was learning how to become patient.

After several unsuccessful attempts at infertility surgeries, she was told she would never have children. She was tested.

A few months later she would learn that she was pregnant, with no infertility surgery. She was learning about gratitude. She was learning how to become grateful.

Several weeks into her pregnancy she would learn that she was having twins. She was learning to believe in miracles.

Shortly before her twins were born, her husband quit his job, moved her out of state and away from her family, and began law school. She was tested again.

During her husband's first year of law school, he was gone from 6am until 9pm, leaving her to take care of the infant twins on little to no sleep. She was learning how to sacrifice.

During her husband's second year of law school she would learn that she was pregnant again, no infertility surgeries needed. She was learning about joy. She was becoming joyful.

Over the next year she would spend her days taking care of three children under the age of 2. She was learning how to be selfless.

Shortly after her husband graduated she would learn she was expecting her fourth child, no infertility surgeries needed. She was learning to be careful what you pray for.

Shortly thereafter her husband lost his job, and she would be a rock and a strong example for her little family. She was learning to persevere in faith.

She currently spends her days taking care of 4 kids under the age of 3, running a home-based business, and supporting her husband in all that he does and doesn't do. She is learning how to love. She is becoming charitable.

She is Nurturing; she is Selfless; she is a Teacher; she is Obedient; she is a Hard Worker; she is Intelligent; she is Experienced; she is Faithful; she is Diligent; she is Valiant; she is Wise; she is Patient; she has been Tested; she is Grateful; she Believes in Miracles; she continues to be Tested; she has Sacrificed; she is Overwhelmed at times; she Perseveres in Faith; she is Loving.

She is my wife and the mother of my children and I am grateful for her and the Christ-like attributes she exhibits every day. Mothers are wonderful examples of these attributes that we all strive to attain. They are examples of Christ."

Sam

2011-05-08T12:16:00.000-07:00

Their Favorite Things

2011-05-07T20:32:00.000-07:00

Once again, this scrapbooking was done by my wonderful mother.

Family Pictures.

2011-05-07T11:31:00.000-07:00

We recently had family pictures taken by Kim and Corey Nasfell. We are thrilled with the job they did. If you are looking for someone here locally, we highly recommend them. You can see all our favorite pictures on facebook. I've been hoping to scrap them all soon, but just haven't gotten around to it. Well, my Mom has started scrapping them and she does a MUCH better job then I could ever hope to. She done Samantha's and I'm hoping (hint hint) that she'll do the rest. For now, just enjoy these cute pictures of our adorable, spunky little Sam:

Overheard

2011-04-29T16:32:00.000-07:00

I just overheard this conversation after Micah & Samantha bonked heads. It warmed my heart, so I thought I'd share it.

Micah: I'm sorry Samantha.
Samantha: NO!
Micah: It's okay Samantha. Just tell me where your owie is. Is it right here?
Samantha" NO!
Micah: Is it right here?
Samantha: NO!
Micah: Well, if you don't have an owie, why are you crying?
Samantha: Owie (points to where it hurts)
Micah: Okay, do you need a kiss or a tickle?
Samantha: Giggles.....
Micah: Both? Okay! (gives a kiss and tickles her)

I guess they really do listen sometimes.......

Easter Fun

2011-04-24T21:04:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't blogged about Christmas, Thanksgiving or the 4th of July (yes, 4th of July 2010), so I thought I'd better get our Easter post down right away or I'd never get to it either. I love Easter. It rivals Christmas for me. So, we had a fun week:

Today we made resurrection rolls and talk about what Easter actually means. We also had a ham and cheesy potatoes dinner, but I forgot to take pictures of any of it. They boys enjoyed the rolls though. They thought it was fun that the marshmallows disappeared, but I'm not quite sure they made the connection to Christ being resurrected. We read a few scriptures about it, but Micah's only comment was: Well Mom, marshmallows can't be resurrected, only people can b/c Jesus was a people!

Here is what cute Hanna did during all the activities:

2011-04-10T21:18:00.000-07:00

2011-04-10T21:00:00.000-07:00

2011-04-03T20:39:00.000-07:00

2011-04-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

2011-04-03T19:54:00.000-07:00

Another Reader...

2011-03-20T19:55:00.000-07:00

Good Friends:

2011-03-20T19:24:00.000-07:00

Valentine's Day 2011

2011-03-20T11:14:00.000-07:00

The Funnies...

2011-03-09T11:44:00.001-08:00

These kids are always doing / saying something funny. I just can't scrapbook and post them all. So, I've started a running column at the very bottom of our sidebar on the right. When something funny happens, I will just jot it down there. So, go check it out every once in a while. Here is what we have so far:

2/20/11:
While sitting on the playroom floor, Granna and Micah have the following conversation:
Granna: Are you in Nursery or Primary?
Micah: I'm in my house!

Micah was eating Nachos for dinner tonight. He said: "I love guacamole. Here is the guac and over there is the mole."

2/25/11:
The following conversation took place during breakfast:
Noah: Mom, I have a hypothesis
Mom: Oh, really? (where did he learn that word?) What is it?
Noah: Honey Nut Cheerios are really gross. I will now need a BIG bowl to test my hypothesis.

3/1/11:
I've been sick recently, so Cory reminded Noah before family prayer tonight to pray that Mommy's sick bugs would go away. This is what he said in his prayer: "Please bless that Mommy can take a shower so that she won't be sick anymore."

3/8/11:
Micah has a toy that asks him questions and then records his answers. I think the following two were a bit telling:
Toy: Pretend you're a Daddy. What would you say?
Micah: Micah, watch out! That's a bee!
Toy: Pretend you're a Mommy. What would you say?
Micah: Can you do me a big favor?

Making Cookies

2011-03-06T21:40:00.000-08:00

They love her

2011-03-06T20:39:00.000-08:00

She Makes Us Laugh...

2011-03-06T20:11:00.000-08:00

bath time

2011-02-21T17:08:00.001-08:00

Faces

2011-02-20T10:12:00.000-08:00

Sisters

2011-02-13T20:36:00.000-08:00

She's HUGE!

2011-02-10T20:07:00.000-08:00

Hanna Banana

2011-02-04T08:37:00.001-08:00

Micah

2011-01-27T13:48:00.000-08:00

Hanna Catherine Marsh

2011-01-20T14:18:00.000-08:00

Samantha

2011-01-16T08:27:00.000-08:00

All scrapbooking in this post was done by my amazing mother, Nannette Dalton. Thanks Mom!

Noah

2011-01-15T19:14:00.000-08:00

All scrapbooking in this post was done by my amazing mother, Nannette Dalton. Thank so much Mom. I love it!

Come Soon Hanna!

2011-01-14T11:08:00.000-08:00

When Daddy Comes Home

2011-01-10T19:23:00.000-08:00

Funny Micah

2011-01-04T11:43:00.000-08:00

I don't have the time to scrapbook this, but wanted to record some funny things that Micah has said recently before I forget them. I keep not posting stuff b/c I don't have time to scrapbook it and I'm just missing too much!

The other day at the dinner table, I told Micah that he was very handsome. He looked up at me a bit confused and said: "But Mom, I'm not wearing my church clothes."

This morning, Micah woke around 5:30. I didn't want him to wake Noah, so I just pulled him in bed with me. He was playing with my hands and started rubbing one of my knuckles. The following conversation followed:
Micah: "Mom, is this your uncle?"
Me: "No, that is my knuckle."
Micah: "Where are my knuckles?
I show him where they are
Micah: "Then where are my uncles? I'm really sad I don't have uncles."

ARGH! There was one more I can't remember right now....when I think of it, I will have to post it. Stay tuned.....

Days of Gratitude

2010-11-22T18:26:00.000-08:00

I'm Grateful....

for 3 beautiful children. Four years ago, I couldn't have imagined that they would actually be here...mine. With all the craziness they have brought, I am truly and deeply grateful for the amazing opportunity it is to be at their sides all day every day and watch them grow and learn and change and become...

Last night we spent an hour or so looking at old pictures with the boys. They loved seeing themselves when they were smaller. I marveled at how much they have changed. Being with them every day, I sometime forget that they are growing up.

It is such a privilege to have been there for all of it...almost every minute of it. I watch all three of them learn and explore every day. I see every tiny little growth and change. It is an absolutely amazing process to watch another person - a child of God - grow to reach their potential.

It is humbling and motivating that I've been trusted with these amazing children, trusted with their growth and development in every way. When I actually think about what that means, I am deeply grateful, truly, deeply grateful for the trust my Heavenly Father has in me. Sometimes, I feel so far from where I need to be, especially as a mother. But then I remember that Heavenly Father has trusted me with these beautiful children. He knows better than me what my abilities are. He knows I can do this. I am so very grateful for that knowledge...that confidence.

And then I look at Micah and Noah and Samantha and I see how good they are, how easily they love, and how much they want to learn and grow. I can't help but think, I have really been given something good, and I love my life. There is absolutely no better calling than mother, no day better spent than one teaching and loving and cuddling and playing with my children. I see so much of God in them, it makes it impossible not to believe in Him. It is impossible not to want to strive harder to be diligent and good. I struggle so much of the time to do what I know is right. I think God sent me these children so quickly b/c He knew I would need regular and beautiful reminders of just why I want to be better.

I am grateful for my children.

Days of Gratitude

2010-11-21T16:13:00.000-08:00

I'm Grateful.....

for beautiful and thoughtful young women that inspire me to be better. I am so very blessed to be a part of the Young Women's organization in our church. I work with the 16-17 year old girls. Each Sunday we have an hour long discussion about the gospel and how it has affected, or how it should affect our lives. Recently, they have decided that these discussion go better when we all sit in a circle. So each Sunday, we set up a circle of 5-10 chairs and discuss one topic or another. They have the most thoughtful comments and questions. It is so wonderful to watch them bear testimony to each other and work to strengthen each other. They recognize and admit weakness in themselves, compliment the virtues they see in each other, and ask thoughtful questions about the gospel and the Savior. I come away inspired each week. I am so grateful that my place was reserved for me while I was in Utah and that I was able to jump right back into working with these inspiring ladies.

I am grateful for my calling

A Cory Update

2010-11-15T21:07:00.000-08:00

Carving Pumpkins

2010-11-15T14:39:00.000-08:00

Crafts are Fun!

2010-11-14T21:40:00.000-08:00

Halloween

2010-11-09T21:23:00.000-08:00

Noah Makes Us Laugh

2010-11-07T20:46:00.000-08:00

Yes, We Are Alive (and moved in)

2010-11-07T17:20:00.000-08:00

Cory Has A Job!

2010-09-24T20:29:00.000-07:00

Samantha's New Hairdo

2010-09-24T14:23:00.000-07:00

Micah and Noah are Three!

2010-09-19T21:05:00.000-07:00

Pool Fun

2010-08-21T15:40:00.000-07:00

She is Perfect

2010-08-04T18:58:00.000-07:00

Me

2010-08-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

One more page

2010-07-30T21:17:00.000-07:00

So, my goal was to have all of 4th of July (which will likely be around 10-12 pages) done tonight. Unfortunately, our computer is having issues and won't let me do much. So, 4th of July will just have to be done later.

I did, however, get this page done: Just Like Daddy

Character

2010-07-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

I'm getting there....

2010-07-27T21:40:00.000-07:00

I really am trying to play catch up here. We have had some things come up recently though, so it has gotten pushed to the back burner. Cory was laid off on Friday and we have spent the last few days trying to decide what to do and then put our plan into action. We will be moving in with my parents (in Utah) in a few weeks.

Anyway, I have put up quite a few new posts today. I've decided to post the most recent stuff first and work my way backward. I want to get the things I can remember posted while I can still remember them. So, I will be back dating lots of things so that it falls in the correct place in our book. When I do, I will give you a link to any new (but back dated) posts so that you can still find them.

The only one you may have trouble finding today is: Fun On Our Bikes

Enjoy!

Micah the Artist

2010-07-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

Samantha at the Park

2010-07-22T20:42:00.000-07:00

Samantha's Birthday

2010-07-21T21:21:00.000-07:00

There She Goes Again

2010-07-20T21:05:00.000-07:00

Catch Up

2010-07-19T21:20:00.000-07:00

I'm am going to try to play catch up on this blog. We all (the boys included) love looking through the first two books I've made, so I really want to continue it. However, I am extremely far behind and have a TON of catching up to do. In addition, I'd really like to scrapbook everything and I know if I don't now, I won't go back and do it. However, Cory accidently deleted all my scrapbooking stuff (HOURS AND HOURS of work) a few months ago. So, that will take a bit longer as well. My goal is to do 1 page each day--hopefully, I won't have more than 1-2 new posts a week so I should be able to get caught up eventually, right? I will back date all my posts from the past so that they appear in the correct order, but I will let you know when / if I post something new that is from a while ago (because it won't appear at the top of the blog). Yes, I know that my mom is likely the only one reading this, but I just thought I'd let you know!

The only new post from today is Samantha's one year old post. Can you believe she is 1 yr old? Wow.

Samanta is 1 yr old!

2010-07-19T21:10:00.000-07:00

Fun Times On Our Bikes

2010-07-13T21:36:00.000-07:00

Just Like Daddy

2010-07-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

Funny Boys

2010-04-18T22:21:00.000-07:00

Good for a laugh

2010-03-30T20:22:00.000-07:00

Potty Training

2010-03-28T21:36:00.000-07:00

A Fun Preschool Activity

2010-03-28T19:36:00.000-07:00

Preschool

2010-03-21T20:39:00.000-07:00

Solution

2010-03-14T20:55:00.000-07:00

So determined

2010-03-07T21:59:00.000-08:00

Balboa Park

2010-03-07T21:11:00.000-08:00

Daddy find Rainbows

2010-02-28T20:53:00.000-08:00

Tricycles

2010-02-28T20:10:00.000-08:00

Date Time

2010-02-28T14:31:00.000-08:00

Train Time

2010-02-28T14:21:00.000-08:00

Chic Magnet

2010-02-07T22:13:00.000-08:00

My Baby girl is 6 mo old

2010-02-07T16:21:00.000-08:00

Clean Up Time

2010-01-31T20:54:00.000-08:00

Just about every night when we clean up the house and start getting ready for bed we vacuum our front room because it gets pretty dirty from the kids playing in it throughout the day. Micah and Noah recently have been adamant about helping either Misty or I vacuum. They insist on helping us push and pull the thing all over the room. Even though it ends up taking twice as long, it sure is cute to watch them want to help.

Fun Food

2010-01-31T20:45:00.000-08:00

Misty has been making some healthy and yummy foods recently in an effort to help me lose weight, and for all of us to eat healthier. We've changed from white rice to brown rice, which is huge for me because I love white rice. Here is a nice salad Misty made for dinner one night last week with sirloin strips.

We have also been making a Sunday treat every Sunday afternoon that the boys help with. Today, Misty and the boys made some pretzels (we copied Melyssa). They were delicious.

Family Pictures

2010-01-24T14:45:00.000-08:00

We had our pictures taken while we were at my parent's house for Christmas. They were done by Alisha Siddoway Photography. Not only did she do a WONDERFUL job, she did this on New Year's day and she came to my parents house. I am absolutely thrilled with these pictures. Here are the family / group shots:

Samantha

2010-01-24T14:44:00.000-08:00

Angel baby that she is, Samantha was the easiest that day. But, she had gotten more sleep than anyone the night before. I think she is just beautiful...gorgeous...perfect basically. I love her easy smile and happy eyes.

Noah

2010-01-24T14:30:00.000-08:00

Noah totally played it up to the camera....made faces and did basically anything we asked. He has always been such an expressive little boy. I can't get enough of these pictures. I love his cheesy grin and beautiful dimples.

Micah

2010-01-24T14:21:00.000-08:00

Micah was a bit tough that day...and who can blame him after only a few hours of sleep the night before and LOTS of sugar? So, we didn't get quite as many shots of him as the other kids. Oh well, I absolutely love the ones we did get. Isn't he the most adorable thing ever? I love his crooked smile and beautiful eyelashes.

Bedtime

2010-01-20T08:58:00.000-08:00

So a few funny/sweet things happened last night during the 2 hr bedtime battle. (-:

(1). Last night, both Samantha and the boys were ready to be put down about the same time. So, I put the boys in the tub and then went to feed Samantha (with the door open so I could still hear them). When I was about 30 sec away from finishing up with Samantha, I hear this:

Micah: "I all done...Micah go poopy."
Noah: "Uh-oh"

Yeah, so I quickly finished up with Samantha and went running in there. Disgusting! I asked: "Did you go poopy?"

Noah: "Micah go BIG poopy!"
Micah: "Yes, me go poopy."
Me: "Micah, we only go poopy in the big boy potty or our diapers, ok?"
Micah (with the most sincere little tears in his eyes): "I so sorry Mommy."

So sweet, I melted and was no longer upset...we just made a game of getting all the "brown bugs" out of the tub, cleaned them off with antibacterial wash and had the shower head "rain" on them...it ended up being quite fun.

(2) Micah was screaming, so he lost his binky (the newest rule, which actually seems to be working rather well...I really wanted to get rid of their binkies all together, but I'll keep them for a while if it will help them learn to go to sleep). He screamed for about 20 min and then got quiet. Once he had been quiet for 2-3 min, I took his binky back to him, but before I gave it to him, I asked if he was going to be quiet now. I didn't hear any answer, so I asked again, and again, and again. Finally, I hear the softest ever little wisper: "yes....." I think he had be answering me very quietly the whole time....poor guy! I quickly apologized and told him that I was sorry I kept asking, I just couldn't hear him b/c he was doing such a good job being quiet.

(3) Before starting this story, I have to note that Noah only has one binky, while Micah has two. We managed to get rid of one of Noah's before we went to Utah. However, he absolutely loves that one binky.

So, during the above mentioned screaming episode, I hear this:

Noah: "Micah have Noah's binky?"
Micah: "NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Noah, you have always been so sweet! Thanks for trying to comfort your brother!

Micah-isms

2010-01-18T09:50:00.000-08:00

Just a few things that I love when Micah says. I'm sure he will stop soon, so I wanted to record them:

* "O my gOOOdniss!"

* "Dat my faaavit"

* "yodel lay eeeee oooo"

me: "Micah, what are you doing?"

Micah: "I yodeling."

* "home...home...home" (when you ask him what Santa says...)

Three Years, Four Kids

Christmas Pictures

Quick Christmas Re-cap:

Merry Christmas Nanna!

Thanksgiving trip to Utah: part I

4 more posts

Stir Crazy

Halloween Day

4 new posts today

Welcome to my world

If you need a good laugh...

Good, Better, Best

Halloween Festivities so far.

Brotherly Love

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Messy

The girls

She really is a girl...

Spelling Champ

Post Updates

Catching Up

Proud of Noah

We Shaved Her Head

Misty Mother

Sam

Their Favorite Things

Family Pictures.

Overheard

Easter Fun

Another Reader...

Good Friends:

Valentine's Day 2011

The Funnies...

Making Cookies

They love her

She Makes Us Laugh...

bath time

Faces

Sisters

She's HUGE!

Hanna Banana

Micah

Hanna Catherine Marsh

Samantha

Noah

Come Soon Hanna!

When Daddy Comes Home

Funny Micah

Days of Gratitude

Days of Gratitude

A Cory Update

Carving Pumpkins

Crafts are Fun!

Halloween

Noah Makes Us Laugh

Yes, We Are Alive (and moved in)

More New Posts

Cory Has A Job!

Samantha's New Hairdo

Micah and Noah are Three!

Pool Fun

She is Perfect

Me

One more page

Character

I'm getting there....

Micah the Artist

Samantha at the Park

Samantha's Birthday

There She Goes Again

Catch Up

Samanta is 1 yr old!

Fun Times On Our Bikes

Just Like Daddy

Funny Boys

Good for a laugh

Potty Training

A Fun Preschool Activity

Preschool

Solution