MIA

I have taken a break from blogging. I do not feel the need or desire to blog right now. I'm sure there is tons to say and share and cute pictures to upload. However, I am busy with life. I am busy with the kids: their school, Spring soccer, piano lessons, sleep training, being consistent in my parenting, dr's apts, etc. Me: my new jewelry business, my spirituality, Primary, RS and activity callings, teaching some much needed for my sanity drama classes and putting together a musical theatre number for church, budgeting, finding a new car, finding a way to pay for this car, keeping up with friends and especially family who are all just as terrible as me in keeping up with one another. My husband:
his stress of his job, calling, online classes, future prospects, etc.
So now you know. Sorry!

Love you all!

Valentine's Day

Yeah, yeah so I'm a day late and a dollar short: So what?
Much has happened and all my kids are playing nicely and quietly so I thought I'd blog!

(Hurry, hurry!!!)

Valentine's Day is usually a low key event at my house. I try to make something meaningful for the kids instead of giving them candy like they get everywhere else. Last year I made them these great hearts with a pic of me and that individual boy together. See here for a pic. I couldn't think of what to do this year but Gary and I were at Target and he picked up some Strawberry Marshmallows and Rice Krispies and came up with the idea to make rice krispie hearts! They were a huge hit! Also Gary had fun shopping for Valentine's Day presents for the boys: Here's some pictures:

Gabriel got his very own Lego pack that he put together all by himself! He was so proud! I was so happy for him too!

Zech's heart and present underneath!

I have tried loading a picture of Ammon 5 times but for some reason blogspot doesn't like it. :(

Blizzard 2010

Yikes! Seriously, YIKES! We got close to 3 feet when it was all said and done.

My backyard from the back door

From my front door.

Elijah is crawling!

First I'd like to say-my kitchen floor was VERY clean!
Second: this was a week ago. Eli can now crawl the span of a room and go from crawling to sitting up. He's so great! I just love this happy little boy! Check out his beautiful smile! :) He gets that from his Momma!

Park Day

Maryland winters do not offer many nice sunny days to enjoy the outdoors. I had been getting cabin fever and just plain depressed that the sun doesn't shine even though its cold out. However, there was one day a few weeks ago where the sun was shining brightly and the temperature was manageable. I decided to capitalize on it! There is a great park in the neighborhood across from mine that we had not been to yet so after I got Zechariah from school-we headed there for some playtime. It turned out beautifully!

Gabe and Zech are kings of the mountain!

Zech on top of the monkey bars

Gabriel loving the park!

Ammon loves the camera and as much as I tried to catch a candid-
he kept posing for the camera. Isn't he handsome?!

This was Eli's 1st time on a swing.
As you can see, he was elated! He laughed and laughed!
So sweet!

What do you do when you can't do anything?

This week has been a challenging one. My kids have been sick. The 2 that I would never want to be sick were sick: Zechariah and Elijah. I never want Zech to be sick b/c he does not deal with sickness very well. Everything is magnified 100x! And the baby...He's just a baby! Why are they sick? Probably b/c I ran out of the above pic (my blogger is not allowing me to place pics anywhere I want) and was too cheap to buy any more. I just placed my order and will get it soon. Believe me: IT WORKS!!!

Tuesday Zech came home from school and we went to piano lessons. He informed me on the way that he was freezing. I thought he was just be melodramatic and turned up the heater (he had put on his coat, ski gloves, and his hat) From piano we drive to JuJitsu class and I make the boys get dressed in the car. As we are pulling up Zech says his eyes hurt. I tell him to come and get his Gi on and he just lays in the front seat. I tell him to come on b/c the teacher just got there and he tells me his eyes hurt again. I grab his face to look deeply into his eyes and he is burning up to the touch! Forget JuJitsu-we go home, take his temp and it is 102.8! YIKES!!! Zechariah stays home from school Wed while I try to get a dr apt. None were available and Zech's temp was up all day long even with Motrin and Tylenol. Finally at 8pm Wed it breaks. I keep him home from school Thursday b/c we have a dr apt in the afternoon and b/c he needs to be fever free for 24 hrs or he'll spread his germs around. In the meantime, Elijah's cold that he's had for over a week is getting worse and worse. He develops a fever Wed night and his poor nose is caked over with green gunk. Thursday we go see the dr and find a nasty ear infection in baby Eli's left ear. Poor baby! I take him to Aunt nancy's to pick up the other boys and he fall asleep on the way so I put him in her crib and start organizing her house for her. 2 hrs later I go to check on him and he's still asleep. I force him to wake up b/c he just doesn't look or sound good. I take his temp 104.1! I am officially freaking out! I rush to the pharmacy to get his amoxicillan and more Motrin and Tylenol, come home, try to fix dinner for everyone while taking care of baby Elijah, while trying not to completely lose it with a panic attack. Gary is of course, working late and will not/cannot come home. Friday comes and Elijah is still runnning a fever. Zech is feeling great but school was out anyways! All the kids are home and I have a sick baby! UGH!

So over facebook this week I have been writing about the sickness, stress, fevers, etc. A dear friend of mine writes me a comment that stopped my heart and made me reevaluate my attitude. She said, "What are you stressed about- the boys being sick? Be thankful your boys ARE with you-even being sick. Sorry to sound preachy but you know where my words are coming from".

You see, this dear friend lost her son to a drowning accident when he was just a toddler. She would give anything to be able to hold his feverish head, take him to the dr, give him Motrin, stay up at night to make sure he's breathing ok, suck out his boogers with a bulb syringe, nurse him, hold him, kiss him, sing to him at night, and rock him to sleep. She would give anything to have him here at all. I am grateful to her for putting life into perspective. I am so blessed. I am grateful for my boys. I am grateful for the knowledge that families are forever and that there is life after death. I have never had to endure anything of her trial. and hope I never have to. I know I must be stronger and walk by faith. I have felt overwhelmed this week because I couldn't control anything or make my children better. I had to let the virus run its course and let the antibiotics work its magic. Maybe if I had prayed more and lost it less, things would have been different. I can't do this, not alone, and I don't have to. Jesus Christ says come unto me and yet over and over again I try to conquer the world on my own.

What do you do when you can't do anything?

Have faith and trust in someone who can!

A ray of sunshine

Last week we had a few rare days of sunshine (I miss TX sniff, sniff!). So, I forced my hermit-we-hate-the-cold family outside to finally break in their new bikes Santa brought them. It only lasted about 30 mins but Hey! It was fun! (and cold!)

Zechariah got a 20in bike with NO training wheels. He tried to ride it while I held onto the back of it but since he couldn't master it quickly, he rode his scooter instead. Sigh Maybe if I keep at it, he'll eventually want to and get it. His 6 yr old cousin rides a 2 wheeler bike like a champ and I even tried the whole, "Don't you want to ride a bike like William?" and the "William is younger than you and he can ride a bike!". One good thing about Zechariah: he does not succumb to peer pressure! :)

Gabriel absolutely LOVED his new bike (with training wheels). What a gorgeous smile!

Speaking of smiles... HOLY COW!!! This kid could melt anyone's heart. Ammon did not get a bike for Christmas since we have 2 in his size but he had fun anyway.

Oh brotherly love! (This is totally posed. Ammon and Gabriel fight ALL the time!)

The next day was so nice that I walked to Zech's school to pick him up and then forced the boys to walk to the park with me where I did not bring my camera :( It was fun though and I'm glad we went! There is a lake/pond in the center of our neighborhood and a trail around it and a small play area for the kids too. We walked around the lake and watched the Candian Geese walk on the ice to the center of the lake where it was unfrozen and swim there. BRRRRRRR!!!! We also watched (in horror!) as 2 young boys ran across the entire lake. I just prayed the ice didn't give and they fall in. There would be NO way I could've gotten to them. Come to find out, one of them goes to church with me. Should I tell his mom? My kids wanted to do it too where I abruptly said NO! only for them to ask why and I was able to give a science lesson on water, ice, weight, pressure, death, hypothermia, etc. (you get the idea) Needless to say, they no longer wanted to gamble with walking across the frozen? lake.

I hope it gets warm soon. I hate the cold.