My New Hero

When I was a little girl I remember my Mom telling me a story about George Washington that fascinated me. Then when I was in middle school I remember reading a couple simple books on our Founding Fathers, and ever since then I have held a lot of respect for them and looked up to them. There is also this beautiful painting of George Washington praying in Valley Forge(this was not an isolated incident) that I have always LOVED and wanted in my living room when I ‘grew up’ that hopefully I will have a large print of in a prominent spot in my house one day.

I never really took the time to learn more about the Founding Fathers though until recently. After a conversation with one of my friends she recommended “The Real George Washington” to me. Her favorite Founding Father is Thomas Jefferson, but I told her that George Washington had always held a special place in my heart. I’m not sure why, maybe because of that story I heard as a little girl, but I was eager to read a book about him.
Briefly I’ll just say that this book is all about following the facts and dates of the events in his life- growing up, the revolutionary war, the constitutional convention, and his two terms of presidency, while constantly inserting quotes by him or people around him that have been taken from their personal letters and diaries. This book is not written in a biased way to try to sway the reader’s opinions in one way or the other. It’s just what was. And it does NOT leave out things like affairs with his slaves(who he didn’t like having, never selling a slave in his life so their families could be kept together, and then set free in his will), because frankly that is not something he would have ever done or even thought of doing and there is absolutely nothing documented anywhere in any letter or diary or anything in history that even hints at such a thing.

But anyways, I digress, and I’m not trying to promote this book. I really just feel compelled to share some thoughts of mine. Learning more about George Washington was an incredible experience for me. Reading what kind of man he was- that’s really all this book is about really. None of these key things in our history would have happened if it weren’t for the man that he was. I seriously respect him now as much as I respect any of the prophets of God, and can say that I believe without a shadow of a doubt that he was called in the preexistence to do what he did during his life. I get so excited just thinking about everything I read and how it all came together. Now if someone asked me “If you could meet one person(besides our Savior), who ever lived on this earth, who would it be?” I would say George Washington! I know that he was a man of God, that he was set apart and preserved for his mission on earth, and that he lived an amazing, AMAZING life that we should all have respect, and in my case, awe, for. I love that man!

Love my macro setting on my digital point and shoot...

The bread winner and maker

First of all I will say that those of you who voted David top and Parker bottom were corrrect!! Sorry it took so long for me to tell you! =)

This blog is supposed to be about our whole family but I don't seem to get much of Scott on here. So I wanted to do a post about him. With his rigorous school and work schedule he doesn't really get to do much for himself, so there aren't any cool adventures or anything for me to post about him. I wanted, though, to brag about my husband just a little bit because he is so amazing with how he juggles his family, work, school and church responsibilities. I don't know how he does it! He gets about 4 to 5 hours of sleep every night! Anyway, I mainly wanted to show off that Scott is not afraid to bake in the kitchen. His favorite thing to make is homemade bread and makes it all the time. Some of his other favorites are German Pancakes, Peach Cobbler, and Scones. He also usually beats me every Sunday in filling the crock pot with yummy goodness for us to eat for dinner later that night. I am so lucky to have such a cool husband who doesn't just sit on the couch watching sports or playing video games expecting me to do everything. I love you honey!

Can You Guess? Comparisons just for fun

Besides my children each having their own distinct look in their eyes, they look extremely similar as babies! Here I have a picture of each of my boys around the same age. Can you guess who is who? Keep in mind that I had the blanket, the chair and the outfits all for David, so Parker could be using them too.

If you chance to meet a frown

A few days ago David started drawing smily faces. I'd ask him where the smile was and he'd point to the line going over the top of the head. I was confused why he'd put it there but you know, he's 3 and enough said. But today I think I figured out why he draws his smily faces like that! There is a primary song that goes: "If you chance to meet a frown do not let it stay, quickly turn it upside down and smile that frown away." And usually there are little visuals the kids get to hold of a face that frowns with a crease in the forehead, but half way through the song you flip in upside down and it's a smily face. So there's a line on the top and the bottom! Anyway, I just think it is really cute how he does it!

Parker at One Month

We have now had this adorable little man for a month as of the 8th!

Here is what he is up to:

-Going to bed around 10pm limiting my free time. That's ok, it's to be expected! We'll just keep working on it.

-Cooing the last few days. SO adorable as always.

-Eating like a champ

-Sleeping well enough I'm not compaining. And he usually takes long naps during the day that help me to still have time for chores and the other kids.

-Holding his head up steady and looking around.

-Peeing on Mommy every once in a while while diaper changing. Gotta love it.

-Making funny noises when Scott tickles him. Poor guy doesn't know what to do or think. =)

We feel so blessed to have this sweet baby and are enjoying every day with him. The kids can't get enough of him either!

(These pictures are not as perfect as I'd like them to be because the editing program I've used in the past is currently unavailable on an older laptop that has a broken power cord)

We love you Parker!

My fun, adorable, and sassy little girl. Love her!

Wearing mommy's shoes after church. She'd just pulled her pig tails out darn it! =)

Having a blast in the sink again. This time getting a little more wet...
Sitting in the baby bath tub reading books...

3 Weeks of Cuteness

(There is a second post below this one)

Parker is a little over 3 weeks old now and he couldn't be any cuter! If you can't tell from the pictures he is extremely alert and observant. He also can already hold his head up and steady.

Creative Fun

Lately we have beein finding new ways to have fun besides going out. Friday morning they played here in the sink for over an hour if not two. I didn't keep track because I was busy getting things done. It was wonderful!

More pictures for family to enjoy...

Parker is such a sweetheart!! I find I can't get enough of his cuddly cheeks. He's a little mover too. Imagine that! I don't think it's possible for Scott and I to have a child that's not. We're loving our little bundle of joy!

I think with each child I've taken less and less pictures. I really need to remedy this! But here are a couple from a couple days ago.

It's been hard being cooped up for so long, but we're surviving. David and Sydney have a lot of fun together, and as you can see they still love the window...

Ready for church. This year David has moved from Nursery to Primary and I still can't believe it. How did my boy get so big? Sydney is getting more comfortable in nursery and I'm hoping she'll get over the need to only sit in my friends lap soon(she's now a leader in nursery and it was lucky for me because Sydney loves her!).

Babies Bedding:Is it creating toxic nerve gasses?

My cousin posted this on her blog and I was so appalled by the info that I had to post it on mine too. It's an article that talks about research done on toxic chemicals put in mattresses and bacteria that grows in them, and together creating toxic nerve gasses. The research shows that it is a very likely explanation of SIDS. I personally am convinced. I know a lot of mom's read my blog and I highly recommend reading this article!
http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/bedding.asp
And then if you want to fix the problem go here!

First Captured Smile

Sure, maybe it's not quite the real thing where he intended to smile, but it's still cute nonetheless!

And a couple more pictures just for fun...
Make sure to check out the two posts below. I did 3 posts in one night!

My New Favorite Dessert

Those of you who know me well know that I am one of those women who can't live with out my chocolate. It's just the way it is. I am also a big fan of having some mint with my chocolate. Well I just found the best of both worlds. Cakies(chocolate cake mix, 2 eggs, 1 cube butter) and peppermint ice cream(crushed candy canes in vanilla ice cream and a little peppermint extract). My mom introduced me to these cakies during her visit, and then later I thought to do this. It was AMAZING. Simply divine. No exaggeration. It's a good thing the rest of our cake mixes are buried some where in the storage because I don't want to even start trying to dig them out, yet it keeps me from buying more. Other wise I wouldn't be able to resist stuffing myself with this amazingness. Try it!

Kids on Display

My kids love to climb up into the window. If you're out in the parking lot at the right time, you'll get to see my kids blowing wet raspberries on it.

More Fun with Family

Shortly after my Mom and little sister left, my older sister Annalise came to visit. Even though she was only here a day and a half we still had a great time! My brother J came over as well and both of them had so much fun playing with our kids!!

Here they are taking distorted pictures of themselves with J's laptop. David found this extremely hilarious and couldn't stop laughing.
Having fun but not sure at the same time.

Glad I thought to take this not too long before my sister left. We had a great time just hanging out and she was a big help too! Thanks Annalise!