Operation: Be Healthier

Have you seen or heard of this book?

 

I just read most of it, and it really motivated to give up the hard stuff: sugar. I do have a problem. I am quite possibly addicted to sugar. All of it. Honey, cake, Twix, Starbursts, candy corn (my biggest weakness.) You name it, I love it. Except Twizzlers. Ew. I can't do Twizzlers. (sorry Dad.)

In her book, Sarah Wilson breaks down quitting sugar down into an 8-week detox period, after which sugar can slowly be introduced back into the diet. The purpose of quitting is to get sugar out of the system and no longer have the cravings. The stuff is just bad for us and, really, makes the highs higher and the lows lower. The first 2 of the 8 weeks are really "gearing up" for quitting, but I've found I just need to do it cold turkey. So, tomorrow is day 1! I'll report my progress and where I may have messed up (I hope I don't though!) This blog will help keep me accountable! So hold me to it! :) Wanna join me on the sugar-detox journey? Buy the book at a store (I found it at Target) or on Amazon! And ... wish me luck on the journey!

So grateful for Ninas and Papas!

Here are some pics, in chronological order. We love grandparents!!

 

 Making Christmas cookies with Grandma. What's not to love?! 

The boys loving on Papa. 

A few generations.

 

The kids having fun reading a good book -- "Fly Guy"! -- with Nina during her visit in April. 

Going hiking with Papa! Love the matching hats!

Three generations.

We feel so blessed!

Aaron graduated from kindergarten!

Sweet Aaron graduated from kindergarten in May. We are so proud of him! He is reading like a champ -- improving all the time -- and playing the piano. He loves to play with Grant and loves his little sister Sami so much. Aaron is very creative and imaginative (see post down below) and loves to learn. He asks a ton a questions (thank goodness for Google) and is curious about the world around him. He loves dressing up as different characters and has fun riding his bike and going swimming. He is truly embracing his childhood! We love having him in our home and in our family!

Grant turned 5!

I can hardly believe that Grant is 5 years old. He is such a fun, lovable addition to the family. We love this adorable, smart, athletic boy. I want him to stop growing up though!! We celebrated at home as a family (we have friend parties every other year.) We asked Grant where he wanted to go eat, and he said the Thai restaurant (our family's favorite.) But then he requested that we get the food and eat it at home. So Mike picked up some Thai on the way home from work, and we enjoyed a delicious meal at home. He requested German chocolate cake for dessert! Fun night! Grant starts kindergarten in three weeks. He's going to rock! :)

18-month-old sweetie

I cannot get enough of this sweet, adorable little girl. She turns 18 months this weekend, so Sunday will be her first official day of nursery. So bittersweet! Sami is our last child, so it is sad to think that this is it! No more managing kids for three hours at church (maybe I shouldn't speak so soon.) We just love her to pieces. She really does complete our family. She is playful, fun, so loving, and just the sweetest thing I could have ever asked for! We love Sami so much!

Sami's 15-month stats

Height ~ 31.1 inches, 66th percentile Weight ~ 21 lb 4 oz, 23rd percentile Head circumference ~ 46 cm, 50th percentile

Our serious future Scouter!

Aaron came into the living room dressed like this. He said, "I'm a Scout. Where's the coldest place in the world?" I busted up laughing, but I don't think he thought it was funny. :) He was seriously ready to go -- clearly! In case you didn't know, the answer is Antarctica, where temps have dropped to -136°F (-93°C). Let's all go visit! ;)

I love this little girl!

.

I love this little girl oh so much! She's growing up too fast! Her hair is getting long; we can pull it back in pigtails. She is at such a darling age -- I can honestly say that I don't want her to grow up. I want her to be this little forever. She gives great, long hugs; is so fun; and keeps us all on our toes. She snorted today when she laughed, and I thought it was adorable. I don't want her to change. I want her to love me like this forever. I want her to be this sweet, this fun, this cuddly and cute forever. I want her to be as loyal to me in 15 years as she is today. But alas, I know she will grow up and change, so I am trying to savor these precious days, each sweet hug. Mike commented today that time is going so fast -- that the months are going by like weeks. It is so, so true. The months feel like weeks. I honestly don't like it. It's going too fast. All we can do is enjoy this time -- it is such a gift. It seems as soon as Aaron started kindergarten, time started zooming by (Kathryn was right about how fast time would start going once he started school.) I am so glad Sami has two amazing big brothers who love her and are (generally) so sweet with her. Sami wants to be wherever they are and doing whatever they're doing. I hope they make good choices so she will follow suit. She has captured all of our hearts, and we'll never be the same because of her. She is everything I wanted and more. What a sweet and kind gift from Heavenly Father. So glad I got my girl! (Photo taken by my dear friend Margot)

Gilbert Temple Open House - a joy!

My beautiful friend Nicole and me at the temple.
I invited a special friend to attend the Gilbert Temple Open House, and she graciously accepted the invitation! (An "open house" is an opportunity for the public to tour the temple before it is dedicated.) We had a marvelous time! The temple was absolutely stunning. Then Mike drove up to the temple with her husband (they are friends too) and Aaron the following weekend. The three of them had a great time, as well. The Gilbert Temple is breathtaking!!

I asked Aaron if he could tell me a little about his experience at the temple. He said: I felt warm inside when I was watching the video. (They showed a beautiful video, giving some background on temples and the church, before the temple tour.) Then Aaron and I talked about how those feelings help us to know that what we are hearing is true. He said his favorite part of the temple was the baptismal font surrounded by oxen.

We are so grateful that our friends could experience the temple with us, a place so meaningful and special to us. It was truly a wonderful experience. It is true how we are promised great joy as we share the Gospel. I am so grateful we have such good friends with such good hearts. We love them!

Aaron looking snazzy before heading up to the temple.

Like father, like son

Aaron has a keen interest in all things Scouts. He is especially fond of the shirt he is donning, which was Mike's shirt when he was a boy! Mike is wearing his father's shirt, so I guess we've come full circle.

A girl and her mommy

I love having a daughter! So fun. I told Mike this morning that I wish Sami could stay this age forever. She is at such an adorable age and size. She handed me her shoe the other morning, wanting me to put it on her. She loooves being outside; it completely transforms her mood. She is super fun and sweet. It's so fun to see how excited she gets to see her brothers and daddy (who called Sami his "sweetheart.")

Next time we will try to get a pic without her closing her eyes :)

Storytime?

Mike and Grant were supposed to be reading a book together. When I walked back into the living room, this is how I found them. Can't blame them! ;)

Quirks

We all have them. One of Sami's funny habits is that she likes to have the same food item in each hand. We have seen it most often with graham crackers, although she likes an apple in each hand too, apparently!

Live Nativity (backtracking a little!)

My parents came for Christmas, which was a lot of fun! While they were here, two families from church came over so all of our kids could do a live nativity. It was a friend's idea, and we had it at our house. It was so fun! My parents were very good sports about it and very helpful! What made it even more special is that my siblings and I grew up doing a live nativity each year with another family. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of Christmas Eve and acting out the birth of Jesus. So it was fun for my parents to see the tradition continue :) Afterward we served cookies and hot chocolate. The kids had a great time, and it really brought home the true meaning of Christmas.

Here are a few pics from the fun night:

Grant was a shepard.

 

Aaron was Joseph, and his friend Lydia was Mary. Aaron even had a headpiece and band from Egypt (given by a friend.)

Cute girls.

A stuffed animal was baby Jesus.

The stuff that love is made of

It's hard to put into words just how much moms love their children. My time with my children is more precious than anything else, and I'm just so thankful for each of them. Some days are fully chaotic, but I always go to bed happy. I feel so blessed. Our kids are all so different, but we all seem to mesh together well (most days) ;) What a blessing it is to be a mother! I couldn't ask for anything more. I love them so much!

 

I love how Grant crawled into bed with us last night because he was scared. I love how Sami is so happy to see daddy when he gets home from work (mostly because I get a break for a minute.) :) I love how Aaron is so curious about life and wants to be a good missionary at 6 years of age. I even love his obsession with costumes, badges, and maps. I love their sweet, sincere prayers and how they love learning about Jesus and Heavenly Father. I love their simple faith and how they want me to sing to them each night before bed (Mike thinks it's just a stalling tactic; I like to think they really like it.) :) I love their snuggles and cuddling up to read books together. I love our family dance parties--Grant's obsession. I love family bike rides. I love how Aaron wants me to volunteer at his school (I know that won't last forever.) I love how the boys recognize that they feel good inside when they are kind and good to others. We are far from perfect, but I am grateful we have this learning ground to grow and progress together. I'm grateful we have each other to help through the trials of life. I am grateful for the joy we share on a daily basis, how we can laugh together. Hopefully we are all better because of each other (I know I am better because of Mike.) The beauty of a family is that we can learn and grow together in love and offer unconditional support, despite our weaknesses and many imperfections. I love the quote "We may not have it all together, but together we have it all." So true! Now if we could just get through a day without any sibling disputes! ;-)

Recent photos of the kiddos

Here they are .... my pride and joy, the ones that keep me busy all day long. This photo shoot was mostly for Sami (since she recently turned 1,) but we wanted a few of the boys too. Sami is our sweet princess, and her brothers adore her! I love my kids so much and am so thankful for them!

 

Answers to Prayer

I love how much Heavenly Father loves us! I love how He is so quick to answer my prayers about our children; it helps me know how important this calling is and how much He loves them, too. One such prayer was when I was praying to know what activity or sport we could put Aaron in to help him to excel and gain self-esteem. The thought "piano" instantly came into my mind. We found a wonderful teacher, and Aaron seems to have found his niche. I can't believe how well Heavenly Father knows every single one of us.

Another such experience was when Sami had a clogged tear duct. She was well past six months old, and we were close to making an appointment for her to go under general anesthesia and have a procedure done on her eye that was quite risky. Anyway, before the return appointment I said a prayer and pled with Heavenly Father that her eye would please heal. I instantly had a calm feeling that her eye would clear by the time she turned one ... and it did! At her nine-month well-baby appointment, I told the pediatrician that I wanted to wait until she was one before I took her in for the surgery (knowing and hoping that it would clear up before then.) The pediatrician said something like, "Okay, but as soon as she's one you need to take her in." It totally cleared up before we needed to do that. What a blessing.

I have received other answers through prayer that have helped me know how to most effectively teach our children the Gospel. I love that we can have a personal relationship with God. I know that He knows us each individually. He knows our names, our likes and our dislikes, our thoughts. He knows how to bless us in ways that make it so obvious that He is 100 % aware of us and our thoughts and our circumstances. I am blown away by how merciful, kind, patient, and loving Heavenly Father is. He knows everything! What a blessing and comfort to know that we can communicate anytime with someone so powerful and wise and all-knowing, just through a simple prayer. I know that He is always there.

Oh, another experience! Sami had outgrown almost all of her 12-month size clothes. I basically needed to buy an entire 18-month wardrobe for her (a big expense.) I never said a prayer about it, but I learned that Heavenly Father often blesses us through other people. Several days after realizing I needed to buy her a whole new wardrobe, there was a knock at the door. A kind woman from our church dropped off a huge bag of 18-month clothes for Sami. There is no way that she could have known that Sami needed those clothes other than just having the feeling that she needed to give them to us. Blessings! :)

I am so very thankful for my role as a mother. It is so hard and exhausting at times (okay most of the time,) but there is nothing better or more important that I could be doing right now ... or ever! I am enjoying it immensely! I am so thankful that, because of prayer, I can best know how to raise these sweet children and help them to succeed and be happy. I would know no greater joy.

A Dreamy Afternoon

These sweet kids are my world. They bring me so much joy, and I am trying to enjoy their sweet childhoods and to help them to enjoy life. For awhile I had an idea in my head that I wanted to "kidnap" the kids after school one day and surprise them with a picnic in the park. Finally one Thursday I decided that "there's no time like the present," so the next day was going to be the day!

I was actually inspired by this quote that I read on my friend Mindy's blog awhile ago. (And it's funny, because the kids' ages in the quote are the exact same ages as our kids right now -- 6, 4, and 1.)

“But the biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is the one picture of the three of them 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 done a little less.” -Anna Quindlen

So we went to the park, and I really tried to make it fun. I packed a big lunch and a soccer ball. That's all you need, really. The kids ate it up -- literally and figuratively! I spread out a blanket, and we enjoyed our lunches of heart-shaped egg-salad sandwiches, strawberries, carrots, and chocolate-chip cookies for dessert. The weather was lovely -- as you can see by what the kids are wearing! It was a dreamy afternoon. Grant had to use the bathroom partway through the picnic, so we went to a friends' house next to the park and ended up inviting them to return to the park with us. We played duck, duck, goose,; freeze tag, etc. They left, and then awhile later a couple of older boys came to the park with a football. I asked them if Aaron and Grant could play with them, and they were so sweet to work with Aaron and Grant on throwing and catching a football. They were so nice and patient with them. It was adorable. We ended up being at the park for almost three hours! It was a lovely way to spend a Friday afternoon. Now I want to do it again! I love these kids! Oh, the simple things ...

Birthday Girl Sami~

Mike's parents come for a wonderful few days in November, and then my parents came to visit for Christmas. We had a lot of fun with them! While they were here we celebrated Sami's first birthday. We served strawberry cake with funfetti frosting. She took a bite, but then didn't seem much interested after that. She might not be my daughter :-)

Here are few pics of the birthday girl, followed by a cute picture of her brothers (just for fun.) It was pirate day :) They love her sooo much! Mike and I do too :) Can't get enough of her!

In keeping with tradition, here's Sami's first birthday letter:

Dear Sami,

You are perfect in every way (you even slept 10-1/2 hours last night. Hallelujah! May this be the beginning of many nights of beautiful slumber!)

You are such a delightful girl! I love you so much. I can't express the joy I felt when I was pregnant and we found out that you were a girl! I was literally jumping up and down with excitement. :) My sister was visiting, and I remember giving her a big hug. You are absolutely everything I would want in a daughter and more. Heavenly Father really, really blessed our family when He sent you to us. You have such a sweet, fun personality. You love to "talk" and are saying a few words: mama, dada, and nana (banana, a fruit you love!) I have also heard you say "okay" and "yeah," in the correct context. You pull herself up, can stand independently, cruise, and may have taken your first step two days ago, but you haven't taken a step since then. No rush :)

You love your brothers and get so excited when you see them, especially first thing in the morning when everyone wakes up. They love you; oh how they love you! They both delight in you, especially Aaron. You two seem to have a very special bond. You are starting to develop a fondness for your Daddy -- often now going to him all on your own (yay!) You are very funny and make all of us laugh. You love to "growl" -- apparently that is your communication method right now. :)

You have started eating all kinds of solids. Some of your favorite foods (besides bananas) are sweet potatoes, green beans, corn, chicken, beans, Triscuits, graham crackers, corn, and chocolate :o) (that's my girl!) Now to get you to guzzle down cow's milk (but that's another story for another day.) :)

You pretty much run the show at home. :) You are feisty (and I mean that in the nicest way possible) and will fight for what you want -- whether it's a toy or a book. You have an interest in books and love to hug little stuffed animals. You love to cuddle and hug. You understand the meaning of "hug" and when I ask you for one, you will cuddle up and give me one.

You are so beautiful! You have a darling smile that can melt anyone's heart. You have six teeth. You have beautiful, bouncy curls to match your bubbly, fun personality. I am jealous of your long, gorgeous eyelashes  (where did they come from??) You seem to understand most of what I say to you (for example, if I ask you to help me start cleaning up, you immediately start helping (mostly just mimicking my behavior.)) You are into pointing, so I've started identifying whatever object you are pointing to. You are extremely active and like to do whatever your big brothers are doing. It's so cute, you will laugh whenever everyone else is laughing. I love that you are so quick to laugh. I hope you never take life or yourself too seriously!

I love you Sami! It is so fun having you in our home. Happy birthday to my sweet girl!

Mom