Squeeze me??

After disciplining my four year old, my sweet 2 year old marched into the kitchen, hands on hips, and very sternly said, "You don't talk to my Noah yike dat. (Pointing finger at me now) You understand me?"  Oy.

A Snuddle...

There really is nothing better in the world than to snuggle with a little baby.  Ever since Ava was born, she hasn't been much for snuggling.  About a week ago she wasn't feeling so hot, and she really liked to be comforted.  So I'd rock her in her chair in the middle of the night to try and put her back to sleep.  It was heaven, I tell you!

Well tonight while I was tucking her in, she gave me a big hug and as I told her I loved her, she whispered, "Mom?  Will you snuddle me?"  I almost couldn't believe what I heard, so I asked her again, "You want mom to snuggle you?"  "Yes."  You don't have to ask me twice!  I swooped her up and we spent the next 15 minutes rocking in her chair, talking, reading stories and having her lay her head on my shoulder and wrap her tiny little arms around my neck.  It was a little piece of heaven on earth.  Its tiny little moments like these that melt away the hard days and long nights.  I live for my kids and for the moments that take my breathe away!

Halloween!!

I do believe I have the most adorable trick-or-treaters ever. Of all time. For reals. No really.  See?!

This is Link.  He's like the best princess saver ever.

Just ask Zelda.

And you all thought Babe Ruth was dead.

Think again.

Ladies?  Prepare to swoon.

The most handsome Jack Sparrow ever,

and he's only four.  Watch out!

Pony up, cowgirls and boys!

This here's Jessie and she's the rootenest,

tootenest cowgirl around!

Love this little cowgirl! :)

Chemotherapy & a Selfless Six Year Old

I was recently diagnosed with Actinic Keratosis Lesions, and left untreated AKs may turn into a skin cancer called Squamous Cell Carcinoma.  Fun stuff!  The treatment for this type of skin lesion is a 4 week regimen of a chemotherapy agent applied topically (its a lotion) that will attack the affected skin cells and kill them.  This in turn makes your face oh-so-lovely to look at!!  Not.  It will cause red, irritated, possibly open lesions on the skin for up to, and possibly longer than, 2 weeks AFTER treatment STOPS!!  So I'm looking at up to 6 weeks of beautiful, radiant skin!  Grrr.

Anyhoo, the point of this post (other than to warn anyone that may still be reading this blog of my upcoming facial beauty, and tell them it really isn't an elaborate Halloween mask!!), is to relate a story of my most amazing 6 year old son.

Isaac overheard me telling Nana about the treatment that I'm starting and asked me about it while I was putting him to bed tonight.  He wanted to know if I was going to be embarrassed about my face.  I tried to explain that as you get older, you worry less and less about the things mean people say and how they react to you.  I tried to explain that even though people might look at me strangely, or might make hurtful comments, I don't get embarrassed by it.  I told him I know who I am, I know my Father in Heaven loves me, I know my family and true friends love me and that's all that really matters.  The people I love and who love me are the only ones I care about, and if someone makes a rude comment, they really aren't my friend and it doesn't bother me.  He was still very concerned about how I was going to feel, not wanting me to be uncomfortable at all.

He thought about that, asking a few more questions in the mean time, and finally started to get a little teary.  He said, "Mom?  If you are going to be embarrassed, I'd want to be embarrassed instead of you.  I don't want you to feel like that."  I almost burst into tears right then and there.  I said, "You'd take the embarrassment for me, so I wouldn't have to?"  And with more tears welling up in both of our eyes, he quietly nodded his head, reached out for me and gave me the biggest bear hug ever.  I am in awe of the magnificence of selflessness.  Greater love...

Blug.

That's a hybrid:  Blah and ugh.

Bang Bang!!

Mike, Debbie and I went to Range Masters to try out a Glock G22 .40 mm semi-automatic.  Doesn't it just sound bad?!  Here are some sweet shots Mike took with my phone.  Sorry they're so small. And listen here kids...

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!!

Mike and Deb...  The Gun Slingers

mmmm...  Nice goggles, chic.

Look at the concentration!!

Wish I'd taken a "kill shot" --  Thank you, Steve Carell!

(Date Night!  Anyone?  Anyone??)

Not bad for a newbie, eh?!

Please don't judge me because its a lady.

Picture her with an oozy or something...

Deer Creek

The kids are always asking if we can take a drive up the canyon (mostly because they hope we can gets shakes in Heber!), so when Matthew got home from school we took a little drive. It was absolutely gorgeous today, about 68 degrees when we left!

By the time we got to Deer Creek, Ava was begging to "See water! See water!!" so we drove into one of the little parks and got out for some pictures. The boys took turns seeing if they throw rocks into the lake, contrary to the wishes of their mother... But then, I think that's what boys are for! :) Ava kept trying to climb down the hill to "see da water," which in her mind means touch it! Luckily she didn't go tumbling...

Enjoy some pics from our adventure!

Love the look on Sissy's face! :)

Took a little coaxing to get him to agree to this shot!

Thanks for taking the picture, Nacho... Great job!

How did she get this big so fast?!

How lucky are we to live somewhere so amazing?

The monkeys...  Nice pose, Noah!

Thanks Photographer Isaac! :)  LOVE YOU!

Santa...??

Little Missy loves to be a big girl. She loves to drink Propel straight from the bottle, but I do my best to put it in a sippy for her because, well, she's LITTLE!! :) Best efforts aside, one of her darling brothers left his Propel somewhere in reach... You know, top of the fridge, on the roof, dangling from the ceiling... this sweet girl can climb pretty much anywhere! But I digress... She got ahold of one of their bottles, hid in her toys, opened the bottle and promptly spilled it all over herself and her stuffed animals! And I mean everywhere!! Her onesie was wet from top to bottom, FRONT AND BACK, and her pants were about the same. Stinker! So I put her in the bath, which may have been her plot all along - she adores the tub!

Anyway, she always gets bubbles and loves to play around for as long as I'll let her. (Wow, this is a long way to go to get to the Santa part!!) She said I should sit (on the commode) and stay "wif" her, how could I refuse?! So I sat and she played. I watched her splash around and then very pointedly gather a bunch of bubbles and stick them on her face. (Weird... what is she doing?!) "Look, Mom! SANTA!" she says with THE biggest smile ever!! She just thought she was the most clever little thing! So after I stopped giggling, I told her to wait while I got the camera and I would take a picture. Well in the 2.2 seconds it takes to walk from the bathroom to my room, the bubbles were gone. But she agreed to put them back so I could capture the moment, and I did. Immediately after the flash went off, she demanded to "See, Mom! See!!" So I let her look at herself in the camera and she just tilted her sweet little head and said in the most soft, lilting voice her one year old heart could muster, "Awwww, so tute!"

Life is good.

Scarlett Ann Leavitt

My sweet brother Josh and his amazing wife Brittney had their first baby yesterday. Scarlett Ann joined the family at 6:00 pm weighing in at 8 pounds 6 ounces, 20 inches long with lots of long, dark hair. She's absolutely beautiful! Congratulations J & B!!! We love you all!

Miss Ava

Could she be more sweet? I adore her!!

Nacho

The photographer asked him to put his hands in his pockets, but not to let the pockets swallow his thumbs. Hence the thumb sticking straight out! :)

Matthew

It seems like this picture is a million years old now because he has new glasses, but what a handsome boy!!

Isaac

Big Girl Bed

I was able to find some of the bedding I wanted for Miss Ava's new bed, so here are a couple of photos to give you an idea of what it looks like. They really don't do it justice, but that's ok. (And please, pay no attention to the hideous blue safety bar!)

Hello?

Is anyone out there?

Big Girl Bed...

A mommy has mixed emotions when her little girl is grown up enough for a Big Girl Bed. There's amazement that the little one is growing up so fast, joy in the little person she's becoming, longing for the itty bitty she once was, and a little sad the cuddle bug has been outgrown. But I must admit I was really excited to find the perfect headboard, go to the hardware store to buy what was needed to convert the very old headboard to the size of a modern twin and drill, bolt and put it all together for my little princess. It took weeks of hunting for the headboard, lots of measuring, planning and shopping for the perfect parts, and even more hours of making it all happen.

So you'll all completely understand how my heart jumped when I found my little princess enjoying the fruits of my labor!

Oh yeah... Big girls can climb out of big girl beds and fall asleep by their door calling for more bottle. Snap.

Kids say the darndest things...

Isaac and Noah are in the living room. Noah is watching Isaac play Carnival Games on the Wii and this is the conversation I overhear:

Noah: Isaac! You're on FIRE, man!!

Isaac: I know. That's how I roll.

Awesome.

Mommy's Bragging Rights!

We went to parent teacher conference last week to find out how the boys are doing. We met with Isaac's Kindergarten teacher first. He is doing great! He's reading 21 of the 25 site words, knows all his letters and sounds and is starting math. He's so eager to do his homework and seems to really love learning. He's so determined to get his homework done quickly and is so focused. He can often be heard telling the younger ones to be quiet cause he's working! Too cute!

Then we met with Matthew's 4th grade teacher. Based on past meetings, I was a little nervous for Matthew's appointment. HOWEVER!! His teacher could not have been more positive! He's improved 10 fold in his reading, he's received 100% on his last 6 math assignments, he's paying attention and is less distracting (he LOVES to talk!), he's helpful in class and has just basically come into his own. I ALMOST CRIED!! I am SO proud of him! He's struggled so much lately and I've worried about his confidence. But his teacher, Miss Cluff, seems to be his biggest fan! She said his confidence has improved so much and he seems to really have a new found love of learning.

Needless to say, this mom could not be more proud of her amazing boys!! Way to go, guys! Keep up the good work!!

Quotable Quotes

I was given a copy of a portion of an article by Elder Holland today that was perfect for me, and for this new year. I'd love to share:

"The start of a new year is the traditional time to take stock of our lives and see where we are going, measured against the backdrop of where we have been. I don't want to talk about New Year's resolutions, but I do want to talk about the past and the future, with an eye toward any time of transition and change in our lives -- and those moments come virtually every day.

As a new year begins and we try to benefit from a proper view of what has gone before, I plead with you not to dwell on days now gone nor to yearn vainly for yesterdays, however good those yesterdays may have been. The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead and remember that faith is always pointed toward the future. Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will yet be efficacious in our lives.

Forgive and Forget - There is something in many of us that particularly fails to forgive and forget earlier mistakes in life -- either our mistakes or the mistakes of others. It is not good. It is not Christian. It stands in terrible opposition to the grandeur and majesty of the Atonement of Christ. To be tied to earlier mistakes is the worst kind of wallowing in the past from which we are called to cease and desist.

Perhaps at this beginning of a new year there is no greater requirement for us than to do as the Lord Himself said He does: "He who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more" (D&C 58:42).

The Best Is Yet To Be - This is an important matter to consider at the start of a new year -- and every day ought to be the start of a new year and a new life. Such is the wonder of faith, repentance, and the miracle of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Some of you may wonder: Is there any future for me? What does a new year or a new semester, a new major or a new romance, a new job or a new home hold for me? Will I be safe? Will life be sound? Can I trust in the Lord and in the future? Or would it be better to look back, to go back, to stay in the past?

To all such of every generation, I call our, "Remember Lot's wife." Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that Gad has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the "high priest of good things to come" (Hebrews 9:11).

Keep your eyes on your dreams, however distant and far away. Live to see the miracles of repentance and forgiveness, of trust and divine love that will transform your life today, tomorrow, and forever. That is a New Year's resolution I ask you to keep."

Now. The trick for me is learning how to do that! :)