Happy

Its amazing the small things that bring me joy. Here are a few recent ones.

• Katie giving me and Carl a kiss goodnight every single night and before she goes to school. She initiates this
• Jordan reading to me while I cook dinner
• Alex spending all his free time writing
• all the kids sitting around the coffee table drawing or doing puzzles while humming the theme song to Little House on the Prairie (still makes me laugh thinking about it.)
• Alex: "I'm Mr. Spacely. Grant, you're George." (name that 80s cartoon)
• Hearing the kids practice the piano
• Seeing the kids sing in Sacrament Meeting at church
• Watching Katie and Carl read Fablehaven together
• Grant letting me hold him in my lap (doesn't happen much anymore)
• Alex, getting up at 6am to get all his work done. Some days he's so motivated

I wonder if there anything in the world that brings more happiness than family...and more misery, but that's a topic for another day.

A pretty lucky girl

I don't know how I got so lucky. Not only is Carl handsome and fun to be around, he also finds coaching baseball a stress reliever. I wonder if going from bedroom to bedroom reading to the kids at night (even using different voices) also relieves his stress. Right now he's reading Hank the Cowdog to Grant and Alex, Harry Potter to Jordan and Fablehaven with Katie. I usually fall asleep before he's done. Besides reading, Carl also does the dishes, makes the bed, corrals Grant to bed etc. He works crazy hours, usually no less than 12 a day plus a lot of Saturdays but he never seems to lose all his energy. He's amazingly positive and inspires me to work harder.

LOOK

I was reading a childrens book to Grant a few months ago called How Big is the World. I didn't really find the book interesting until I read "the more you look, the more you will see." For some reason that one line really got my wheels turning. I thought of how sometimes my thought process is pretty negative. When I look for the bad I always find it. There is always something to be anxious about, mad about or annoyed about if I'm looking for it. I think I naturally look for the negative. The other option and the higher brain path would be to look for the good. Its really not hard to see the beauty around me, the good that goes on in this home, the good qualities of others if I just LOOK for them. "Seek and ye shall find" comes to mind.

21 days #2

My list making 21 days was pretty successful. I've been a lot more productive, especially with my time with the kids. I've also been able to put my reading in check for the most part (or is it because I'm not reading a book I totally love right now).

21 days #2 is peacemaking. This includes not gossiping which is really tricky. There are so many excuses for talking about people and I find myself saying too often, "I love Cindy but..." I actually don't know anyone named Cindy but you get the idea.

I was thinking the other day how peacekeeping and peacemaking are two different things. Peacekeeping connotes that there was peace to begin with. Peacekeeping really isn't very hard its peacemaking, making peace out of chaos, that is the challenge. I think of how sometimes my reaction to a crying child actually escalates the emotions of the house. Here are some scriptures my kids and I are trying to commit to memory in order to help us practice making peace.

Proverbs 15:1 "A soft answer turneth away wrath; but grievous words stir up anger."

Romans 12:21 "Be not overcome of evil but overcome evil with good."

Matthew 5:44 "But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, go good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."

Romans 12:14 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another."

My Cute Little Rascal is 4

Cannon, Andrew, Easton, Grant and Leah

playing Bingo

presents

I was really hoping Grant would go for the paw print cupcakes but he was dead set on the dragon. The wings were supposed to be made of square fruit rollups but since they weren't on sale we had to make due with fruit by the foot.

RASCAL:

• "mom, you bummy head"
• throwing himself on the floor in the middle any given store because I won't buy him a candy. How could this be so hard to figure out? I never buy him a candy.
• getting out of bed at nine o'clock, finding his way to the sewing room and cutting himself while disassembling my rotary cutter
• cutting his lip with scissors despite my warning, "don't do it Grant."
• screaming when everyone leaves the basement without waiting for him
• "Awex, shut yours mouf!" (Alex, shut your mouth) It was actually pretty funny
• "Mom, what is this?" he asks 25 times in a row no matter what my answer is
• WHOOOOOing in people's ears (more on this later)
• "I'm not going to chuch ANYMOY!" (I'm not going to church anymore)

CUTE LITTLE GUY:

• Me: "Katie, could you tell me what time it is?" Grant: "I'll check mom...its 8 0 40."
• "She hit me two twices." or "I'll do it two twices."
• saying "oy" instead of "ore" such as: stoy (store) moy (more)
• "That boy talks wiwy weeid" (that boy talks really wierd)
• drawing pictures for all our neighbors
• "what's my job mom?" (music to my ears)
• "I'm sorry I broke that mom." He says sorry really quickly even when he didn't do a thing.
• cleaning under the oven for fun
  
  I LOVE THAT LITTLE GUY!