Grateful

A few weeks ago I had this strong feeling that I needed to start writing down my kids experiences again. For me, blogging is the best way to do that.  So hopefully now I can get back into the swing of things so my kids can have something to look back on.

 We just had Thanksgiving and I definitely have had so much to be grateful for, most of all my family.  For reason unknown to me I feel like the luckiest mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend in the world.  The Lord has blessed me with so many wonderful people to be surrounded by.  Without so many amazing examples my life I would not feel so complete.  I have been thinking about how my life has been led to the here and now and quite honestly I would not change one experience.  I have made mistake after mistake, and I have gotten so frustrated with my choices and actions time and time again.  To these frustrations and mistakes I am grateful.  I am not a perfect person, but some how the Lord has blessed me with the most amazing family and although I have many imperfections the Lord seems to still love me because I have this beautiful life. 

 Here's what we have been doing the past six months:

Halloween was a superhero theme.  Donuts, candy, family and parties. Lina was Spider girl, Rexy was Batman, and Tom Tom was Spiderman.  Our cousins Zuri and Rigby came for the night.

 Caroline started kindergarten.  Isn't she adorable?!  She is loving school and all the kids seem to love her.  Her teacher Mrs. Robbins is so sweet and fun and loves Caroline too. 

 Caroline (6) loves art, jump roping, riding bikes taking care of her brothers and laughing.  She has her first loose tooth and can't wait for the tooth fairy to come. 

 Rex (4 1/2) is my sweet little love bug.  His smile can light up a room as well as his hugs.  He started preschool and has loved every minute.  His handwriting is getting better everyday and he loves to write his name.  He can't get enough of swords, ninja turtles, ninjago or any sport.  He loves his friends and could play with them all day long. 

 Thomas (2 1/2 is so much fun.  He is so smart it's a little scary.  He figured out how to hop out of his crib and unlock any door by 1 1/2.  He gets mad at anybody who tells him he's two.  In his mind he is four and you cannot tell him differently.  He is strong willed, happy, determined and makes us laugh all the time. 

Beautiful kids

My great friends and neighbor took these adorable pics of my kids for fathers day.  She did a fabulous job.  I must say my kids are pretty darn cute ( maybe I am a little bias).  Lina is 5 and so responsible, Rex is 4 and so sweet and Bubbas is 2 with a bundle of personality in that little body.  I love these sweet things and I am greatful that I get to be a mommy to these special kiddos. 

 

The Wreckage

These pictures do not do the wind storm justice and I feel like we had so little done compared to others, but just thought I would post these for the memories. On the bright side we don't have to take down the trees like we planned in the the summer, our kids think it's awesome that they can see the whole neighborhood from our backyard and we can check off our list with getting wood for emergency preparedness. Let's cross our fingers insurance is on our side these days.

Family

October and November have come and gone. Crazy. But they were so much fun. I love being able to watch my kids grow and learn and see life as so exciting. We love our neighborhood and have met so many great people. We love spending the hollidays with family, this is the reason we moved home.
Caroline is such a spunky little girl. She is wanting to color and create all the time. She asks everyday when she gets to go kindergarten. Sometimes I wish it was tomorrow, just to get her to stop asking.
Rexy is pottytrained! It only took him until he was three and a half. I never knew it was going to be so hard. He is so sweet. He comes in our bed each night to cuddle. I can't seem to send him back to his bed because of his sweet little face.
Tommy is a fireball. This child knows what he want's and will do what it takes to get it. I hope this turns into a good quality when he's older. He is starting to put two and three words together. He will say I love you and it will melt your heart.
I love my sweet family.

All about the Lou Lou

It was our sweet girls fifth birthday. What a blessing it is to have her in our home. She is sensitive, fun, energetic, lively, responsible and beautiful. She started out with eyes wide open and hasn't shut her eyes ever since. She makes our home an exciting place to be in. She makes friends easily and people are naturally drawn to her personality. She is so good to her younger brothers and would do anything to make them happy. She is a great helper around the house and a good little babysitter. We love her so much and we are grateful to be apart of her life.
We had a big party to celebrate her birthday. All the cousins her age came and a few friends and neighbors. It still came out to be about seventeen kids (Whew! That's a lot of kids). We rented a bounce house and played at the park. Our friend Camille made her a barbie cake which was adorable. It was a fun and exhausting day, but a day filled with good memories.

I love my family

Just recently we had a tragedy occur in extended family. It has kind of thrown everyone through a loop, but on the bright side of the whole situation it made me feel so much love for the ones surrounding me. I can't tell you how much I adore my sweet little ones and my true love. They mean the world to me. I know that there are hard days, but thank goodness the amazing days completely out weigh those hard ones. We are truly blessed to have these beautiful babies in our lives and make us see life with so much excitement. Count your blessings everyday for the treasures that you have.

He is an amazing dad!

Still amazing

She is a monster out on the field despite the fact that their team name is the Flowers.
My sweet little man is still too sweet on the field. He would always follow two feet behind the rest of them and even if the ball was right at his feet he didn't dare touch it. He was just happy to put a uniform on.

Nathan and Brett on a biking adventure. Oh baby! They are really manly men.

Kids with their cousin getting ready to run the big race

Our Bubbas loves our neighbors dog. He will sneak out of the house to go see her. They have this special little connection. It's adorable.

We love our Papa!

We're alive!

Wow, it's been a long time. I have really missed journaling about our little family and checking up on all my friends. All I can say is- I love you internet and I have missed you. It's been a year since I last updated and there has been a whole lot that has occurred. I won't bore you all on the details, but I will let you check the overview of our year.

1. We made it to Utah with the help of family, friends and whole lot of money!

2. Family vacations to Hyrum and California

3. Holidays with the family

4. Purchased a home

5. Remodeled a home

6. Lived on a farm

7. Witnessed all of Tommy's firsts including walking and talking

8. Continued to remodel our home

9. Went on a much needed vacation to Cancun with Nathan

10. Finished remodeling the house and moved in

11. Relaxed

So we had a some what crazy year, but it will be a year we will always remember. The lesson I learned most from this year is that my home is where my family is. I am so grateful to have an amazing husband and three beautiful children that are my home.

Our farm life