You're gong to miss this...

Why does it seem like whenever you are having a "day" or "week, month, or year" for that matter, with small children that something you reminds you to enjoy the moments, for soon it will all be gone.

Quotes like this are a good reminder:
"Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: 'The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less' (Loud and Clear [1004], 10-11)." from Rusell M. Ballard.

And this song by Trace Adkins. Watch it you feel like hearing the song. It's not an amazing video, it's just picture of Trace Adkins, but playlist didn't have it.



Anyway, here are some things I am going to miss:

The sound of kids giggling with their siblings
The sound of babies babbling
Having babies pat your shoulder when you hold them
The smell of babies
Seeing kids get excited when they succeed
Having my kids tell me that they love me before they go to sleep or leave for school
Seeing kids joy when they experience something for the first time on a vacation or something
All the cute things kids say, and even their mispronunciations
Seeing kids play outside on a warm summer day

Things I probably won't miss too much:

Fighting
Pee on the bathroom floor seconds after I cleaned the bathroom
Whining
Dirty socks on the floor
Making kids eat dinner that they hate during tax season by myself

My Family

Before Christmas my family had a party and took some pics. I just got finished editing them. We are getting big. The original 9 in our family has now turned to 28 people (13 grandkids)

The results...

Before:After: I feel so much better!

Hair Trama

I have a haircut appointment tomorrow for a cut and highlight. I'm going blond (er) now. Brunette was fun while it lasted, but I always go back to blonde. This is my hair today:The question is, do I do a major chop or do a trim? This is close to the longest I've had my hair. I havea strange fantasy of experiencing long hair once in my life. I can pretty much put it a pony without hair falling out of the bottom. However, I fear I look better with shorter hair. This is what I might go with: Granted every photo looks better when you have lost your pregnancy weight. I went clothes shopping on Saturday and when you spend extended amount of time in front of those mirrors it makes you do a reevaluation of yourself. I swore I would chop my hair and never eat another Christmas cookie. At least until I was home and not in front of mirrors again.

I like short hair. I like long hair. I change my mind every ten minutes. I don't like having to cut my hair every six weeks with short hair. I think I probably look better with short hair. How do people pull off long hair and look like they still have a style and not just plain long hair?

Do you have these tramas? Maybe I will decide on the way to the salon. Check back to see what happened...

Today I've been married for a decade

One of our engagement photos.

And in a decade we have gotten one associates degree, one bachelor degree, one masters degree, and one CPA license. We have lived in 5 different places. had three sons and one daughter. many different hairstyles for me, many callings, one cruise to a Caribean, and a lifetime of memories. Heres to the next decade. I love you honey!

And to celebrate, I'm taking 12 scouts to a museum, decorating and making a meal for Enrichment, then going to Enrichment. It's a good thing we decided to celebrate in June!

To my dear baby

You can't be big enough to sit alone in your high chair and want to eat real food. And you can't be big enough to get up on your tip-toes and try to crawl. Because that means you are growing up too fast.

But I will let you be old enough to know what nighttime is for. The end.

Gingerbread Time

A couple of weeks ago, we had a service auction at church where you got to bid on services according to how good you have been lately. I won a complete gingerbread kit from my fabouslessly talented friend Tammie.

The boys had a blast. Sometimes males like to go for quantity of candy over cuteness, but I thought it expressed their personalities pretty good.

Thanks Tammie. My boys have never experienced real gingerbread. I'm all about the graham cracker huts.