A Thankful Heart

You know those days when your heart just swells as you remember all your blessings? I've been having one of those days. :) I am so thankful for:

My dear, patient, husband... if we had been married "for better or worse" he'd probably be wondering which part this was lately. lol He is kind and thoughtful, hard working, fun-loving. He is terrific!

My family. I am so blessed with an abundance of children! I so enjoy that my married children will share the fun of their early married years with us... brings back many memories. :) It is fun to have them visit often. I am thankful Darren gets to come home for a few days for Thanksgiving. We miss having his humor make us laugh. Keeley and McKay are old enough to be fun in conversation and games and are a pleasure to hang out with. The little girls, Jaylyn and Nicole are such fun to watch as they play using their imaginations. They are best friends most days and best enemies on occasion. They add so much life to our household! Wesley is a joy. I can hardly remember not having him here. He is a happy baby and very social.

I live in a wonderful, relaxed community, close to my parents and Dave's parents, and several siblings who live within 20 minutes. I am grateful for the continued association with them.

I have good health and the ability to care for myself and my family. It is a blessing to be able to do 20 loads of laundry, wash 14 batches of dishes, change an average of 35 diapers, bake 6-12 loaves of bread, prepare 21 meals and at least 7 snacks every single week! In exchange I get uncounted thank you's, at least 14 bedtime hugs and kisses, several "guess WHAT Mom!'s", and unlimited family fun. :)

Life is good. I am blessed. May I live in a manner worthy of all I have been given. :)

Getting Ready for the Holidays!

Well.... I checked, and it appears as of my blog, life ended when Brett got married. LOL! Time to start blogging again!

I am so excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year! (Well, not as much Thanksgiving, but I DO love dinner!) I've been Christmas shopping, mostly online for several months now and am getting close to done. Need to help the little girls figure out what they are getting for everyone, and be sure that Wesley has something for everyone. :)

I've been planning my Christmas Candy - maybe I'll get ambitious and post a few recipes on my Kitchen Kreations blog. Some of them are just so easy to make it's almost sinful NOT to make them. So far I'm for sure planning: fudge, caramels, cracker candy, toffee, marzipan, and dipped pretzel sticks. I MIGHT try divinity this year - it is intimidating to me and I've only done it a few times. Cookies are fun too... I'm making: Snowballs (like pecan sandies), double crunchers and frosted sugar cookies.

We talked as a family and decided we're decorating a gingerbread house this year as well... we had a ball last time we did it. I need to hunt down my recipe.

Well... Wesley is hollering for attention so I will end for today - and you will understand why I don't blog as much anymore. lol

Feel Wonderful!

A beautiful Wedding Day!

As you may know - Brett and Brianna were married yesterday the 27th. It was beautiful weather and I think pics turned out terrific!

Brett & Brianna right outside the temple.

Our whole family with all the new additions.

Welcome to the family Brianna! Brett - we're so pleased with your choices. Keep up the good work! :)

A Beautiful Day

I am finding much satisfaction in being a SAHM right now. Today I managed to stay home all day... baked 6 loaves of bread... made some chocolate cookies for after school snack... we had Family Home Evening and talked about listening to the promptings of the spirit to help us do right.

There are still clothes to fold, several loads of laundry to wash, floors that need vacuumed & swept, apples to sauce, corn from the garden to freeze. BUT today I DID cuddle the baby, do enough laundry, fix and clean up meals for 6-9 people (depending on the meal) and have time this evening to laugh and play with my family.

I have much to be thankful for.

Kindergarten Blues

Today was Nicole's first day of Kindergarten. She was SO excited she could hardly go to sleep last night! She and Jaylyn chose to wear matching outfits and did their hair the same... so cute. I'll post a picture once I get the computer fixed up for downloading again. She claims her favorite part of the day was recess. That's my girl! lol

It's a good thing we have Wesley now, otherwise this would be my first year at home alone in 18 years! I can't believe how quickly that time has gone by. Amazing.

Oh The Irony

Ah.... we are enjoying our new baby Wesley. He sleeps, eats, dirties diapers and has some wakeful time. He is happiest when being held whether he's asleep or awake. I love holding him BUT there are some things that are just easier and quicker to do with two hands.

The Irony? People all around are saying "Well, I'll bet it's so nice to have so many older children, you must have a lot of help with the baby" or "My, that should be so much easier with all the help of your children." HA! What people who say that don't realize, is that older kids have their own lives... they work, they socialize, they stop in at home often enough to sleep, eat, dirty clothes (this sounds somewhat familiar!) and dishes. Most of their wakeful (and helpful) time is spent away from home. lol

School starts here soon so my best help which is Jaylyn and Nicole, 7 & 5 years old, will be gone a good portion of the day. McKay has been excellent help when he's not helping Grandpa mow lawn & work in his yard or moving pipe with his friend.

Ah well... this baby stage will pass quickly and then instead of being up at night with feedings, I'll be up at night waiting for him to come home from dates and activities with friends. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly time passes. I will enjoy snuggling this baby even IF it is in the wee hours of the morning as all too fast this time will be gone.

A Picnic to Remember

Yesterday we were invited to a picnic for the AFCA Adoptive Families for Cultural Awareness. We met so many wonderful people who have adopted african american children and have become multicultural families. It was great to chat with several Moms there who really understood what we're going through in reference to waiting for the probation period to finish and bonding and thoughts about birth parents. Also met a wonderful Mom who has 5 birth children and 4 more adopted children - she mentioned the word crazy a lot & that's my favorite description of ourselves going into this wonderful adventure. lol It IS crazy in some ways, but we've been a wonderful sort of crazy for years and we love it. :)

Wesley is doing great. He sleeps the best when he's being held. I'm torn between holding him and making up for lost time, and wanting him to get on a schedule of sleeping and napping that doesn't include me holding him. :) He is adorable. Nicole has been so loving to him - cooing to him and kissing his cheeks. Both little girls enjoy holding him and feeding him bottles.

One of these days I'm going to start an offshoot blog for my cooking adventures.... I've got to wait until I have a few minutes to cook AND type though. :)