Pollyanna

I just love Pollyanna.  She is my role model.  I want to be more positive like her.  My grandma is a Pollyanna.  I have had a stressful few days.  So, instead of focusing on the rotten stuff I was thinking that it would help me to remember the things that are making me happy.  

*When Juner threw up this morning, he made it to the toilet.  I love it when I don't have to scrub puke off the carpet.

*Because of the puking I knew we would not be heading out on the town today, I decided to let myself wear my lounge pants all day.  I never do that.  I'm a "let's get up and moving and get on with our day" kinda gal.  I don't hang out in my pjs all day.  I didn't even work out.  Serious slacking going on here and I am pretty okay with it.

 *Kelsey's bedhead this morning was AWESOME!  She had a high fever last night and she let me rock her for a couple of hours until she finally felt well enough to sleep.  Since she had been so sweaty, she had a major "bonus" in the morning.

 *Kelsey loves to watch the kids play outside.  When I came into the kitchen I found the kids playing with Kelsey through the window in the door.  Soooo cute!  She loved it.

 *Kelsey's little buns in those tight pants are too adorable!  I want to pinch her little cheeks all. day. long.  But I have other things that occupy my time besides bum pinching unfortunately.

 *Those happy blue eyes and her smile are so contagious.  I love them.  And that rainbow shirt is so stinkin' cute on her!

 *I love finding things that make Kelsey happy.  She can be slightly high maintenance at times.  Peek-a-boo is a favorite.  She has also discovered the piano and loves to pound on it.  Since I got it for a whopping $75, I am fine with her pounding on it.  I just don't have the time to let her sit on my lap all day to play on it.  So, I strap her in her booster and she can go to town.  Love it!

 *Daddy convinced me to increase our internet speed.  I do have to say it is nice to upload pictures and not have it take half an hour.  Kelsey was such a big helper with installing the new modem.

 *Have I ever mentioned how much I love Yuma winters?  The weather is great.  Farming is in the air.  This guy was in front of me going down a main road.  We passed several other tractors on the way home.  Seeing tractors (and the smell of them) remind me of my 5 summers on my aunt and uncle's tart cherry farm.  I have happy memories of those times.  I love to see different types of fruits and vegetables grown and harvested since then.  I LOVE seeing the lettuce fields.  I am glad that there are random fields all over town.  It makes me feel like we live in a small town and they remind me of the first time I came to Yuma to meet my husband's family.  I couldn't get over how cool the lettuce fields were (you don't see that in Washington where I grew up).  He thought I was crazy (he was right, but he married me anyway!).

 *I love that I get to stay home with these crazy boys.  Tanner climbed in bed with me yesterday morning and snuggled for a good 20 minutes.  Yay for sleeping in past 6 a.m.! Nathan is very into "Mom, take a picture of me doing this..."

 *I love how much Eliza loves to read.  She gets so excited when The Friend comes in the mail.  She made herself a "reading corner" and read the whole thing the day it came.

*I love my spunky little Kate.  She made me some colorful paper flowers that last far longer than real ones and were free.  Boy does she know how to get to my heart!

*I love that I have a supportive husband that is ever so patient and forgiving.  I sure married a good one.  I love that when I went visiting teaching last night the kids were in bed when I got home.

*I am happy that I am in good health.  It is hard to take care of others when you are not feeling well yourself.  (So in other words, it could be worse...it could be me that is sick.)

*I just smelled the double bubble Kate came home chewing and it reminded me of being a kid.  I had THE BEST childhood.  Nope, it's not up for debate.  I really did have the best time as a kid.  Hands down!  I didn't worry about bills, or fevers, or the size of my waistline then.  Which leads me into the next one...

*Last, but not least, I am grateful for the GF treats Nancy dropped off at my doorstep.  I already made (and ate) the brownies.  (Curse Bless you for knowing I can't resist GF treats!  At lease I can run it off tonight with Tyrel.) They are very tasty!  She takes such good care of me.

Say a Little Prayer

Obviously, being active members of the church, we pray regularly in our home.  Unfortunately, it is rarely a very reverent thing.  The kids are wiggly, they poke each other, talk, tattle...you get the picture.  I feel like I have failed as a mother seeing as they don't value prayer like I think they should.  It really makes me so sad every time we kneel down to pray and the kids can't get through it without being naughty.  But, there still may be hope for my little ones. 
On Sunday I joined my family in a fast for my cousin.  She was having some serious complications in a long awaited pregnancy.  I was explaining to my kids why I was fasting when it wasn't a fast Sunday.  My 6 year old, Katelyn, came up to me and said, "Mom, I'm going to fast lunch for your cousin."  She walked away and I thought how sweet that was of her to do.  She came back into the kitchen a few minutes later and said, "I just went into the living room and said a prayer for your cousin that her baby would be okay."  I got a little teary-eyed and hugged her.
Yesterday, Nathaniel's scooter was having some problems so I dropped him off at work with his bike so he could ride home after work.  When Nathaniel opened the side door to get his backpack out he saw Nathan in the back seat with his eyes shut and mumbling.  Nathaniel laughed and asked what he was doing.  Nathan said, "I was saying a prayer for you that you will ride your bike safely home to us."  Sweetest thing that he has ever done. 

So maybe we haven't failed after all.

Mini Trek

 Saturday, Jan. 19th from 2-10 pm there was a stake pioneer mini trek.  It was really fun.  Nancy and I made bonnets and skirts for our girls.  Look at how adorable little Kelsey is in a bonnet!  Kate kept hers on all day.  They were soooo cute!

 A few family photos before we load into the carts.

(I just love that pioneer clothing adds 50 pounds to your waistline.  I do have jeans on under that.  I haven't let myself go that much!)
These are the same handcarts we used on the trek and the kids were very excited to get to do this activity.  They got to ride in the cart and they sang all the while.

 When we got there they had a parade of handcarts and Nancy went up front with the girls while Nathaniel made sure no one stuck their arms into the spokes of the wheel (just a little fear of mine).

 I love this picture of the girls helping from behind...and doesn't Tanner just look adorable in that hat Nana had made?!

 Next was games.  Nathaniel ran the stick pull for me and that was a huge help.  Here he is with our kids.  He was letting them feel like they had a chance...even Nana couldn't save them.

 Daddy didn't have quite the same luck with Dallin.

 Grandma Sorenson vs. Nana

Grandma Sorenson vs. Tanner...I think he had a chance!

There were other games, ice cream (gotta love the Lundreen's), dinner, a hoedown (which the girls LOVED!), and a video from the trek.  It was so fun to go, not just because I went on the trek, but because I am my mother's daughter and have a great love of all things pioneer.  I am glad I could share it with my kids.

Tanner turns 3

 I can't believe this little guy is 3.  He is still my little guy and he has me wrapped around his finger (I hate to admit that).  I love how snuggly he is and how he loves to help me cook and clean.  I love this shy little dude!

 He had spiderman cupcakes and he got a spiderman toy that he LOVES.  I am glad I took the other kids with me to pick it out.

 When we finished singing to him he was scared to blow out the candles.  Daddy had to give him a pep talk.  He still didn't do it (he looks like he is blowing, but he really isn't), he had help (from behind as you can see).

Just a funny side note.  The other day Becca was here hanging out with us.  We had a few treats out that we (Nathaniel, Becca, and I) were snacking on.  One of the kids asked if they could have one.  I had one in my hand that I was handing to Tanner as I am telling her "no, they are just for the adults".  The funny thing is I didn't even realize I was giving him one of those very treats.  I didn't see the irony in it until Becca and Nathaniel started to laugh and pointed out how much I favor him.  I need to pay more attention to that or the kids will think I love him more.  I tell ya, that kid gets away with way more than my other kids ever did.  I don't even really know what it is about him that does it, but I am trying to crack down or I'm hosed!

January randomness

 Aunt E and Kelsey (Kelsey is wearing her "Aunt Elizabeth loves me" shirt)

 I love this picture because I have a million pictures of me as a kid and I always have something in my mouth...always (hmmm...that may be why I need to lose weight)

 Kelsey started scooting around in mid Dec.  She barely got up on her hands and knees this week to graduate to an official crawl.  Either way, she has been moving around and getting herself stuck in places.

 Poor cousin Austen, he is a sitting duck strapped in there.  Don't worry, I rescued him.

 Trampoline hair!

 Yesterday was soooo nice (82* I think) we had to go have a picnic at the park.  Kelsey had to squint to look at me since it was so sunny.  It felt delightful!  The sun on my back and the slightest breeze.  I love Arizona...have I mentioned that?!

 Barefoot, shorts, and T-shirts in January!  Love it!

Kelsey is into making an absolute mess of everything she eats.  Not my favorite stage of eating, but at least she can feed herself!

Lunch at School

 The stay at home kids and I like to go to the school and eat with the girls every once in a while.  The girls get so excited and I love the memories we make.  I remember my Dad coming in to eat lunch with me in Elementary school.  I cherish those memories.  He would always bring in those pink snoballs.  I brought those in once for my girls to carry on the tradition and they didn't go over very well.  What?!

Anyway, Kate taught Nathan that you can drink your applesauce through a straw.  (Does that remind anyone else of Better Off Dead?)

 Kelsey is just waiting for someone to share their food with her.  She is willing to eat anything!

 Not the best picture of either of them, but that was all I could get.  The girls love showing off their little siblings to their friends.  I think this was the first time I ate lunch with just my kids.  They usually invite several other girls to join us (Abby is a regular visitor, we really like her).  I don't mind that, but it was nice this time with just us.