3 Reasons Why I Love this Picture...

1.  Even just seconds after losing his way and throwing a tantrum he still offered to say the prayer before bedtime.

2.  He thinks it is appropriate to pray while wearing a mask.

3.  He was the Special Leader at school that day.  The Special Leader gets to have a special sticker.  He transferred that sticker from his shirt to his jammies.

I... love this kid.

Dreamhouse

(Sorry for the poor quality pics.  I only had Charles' phone.)

Ever since my mom was a little girl, she always dreamed of having a dollhouse.  But I guess when your parents grew up in the depression and you have a family of eight, you don't really feel right about asking for something like that.  So... some of your dreams have to be put on hold for a while.

But I'm not sure why, with 4 daughters of her own, this dream had to be put off until she had granddaughters.  Hmmmm, maybe it had to do with the size...

 For my mom's birthday (a few months ago) my dad bought PARTS for a dollhouse.  Hundreds of teeny tiny parts.  He spent the next 8 or 9 weeks sanding, staining, painting, drilling and gluing together all of these teeny tiny parts.  Even the shingles on the roof were stained and glued individually.

Mom got to pick out the paint, the stain color and the drapes for her dream dollhouse.  She must have done a good job choosing the colors because, even without furniture, the boys knew exactly what each room in the house was supposed to be.

Every Sunday when we would come over for dinner these past couple of months, it has been exciting for us to see how much progress Dad had made on the dollhouse.  We cheered him on.  :)

I think my mom likes her birthday present.  Way to go, Dad!

Now for some dolls and furniture...

Stats

3/2/12 

Jaden       (7.11)            51.0 in.         62.8 lbs.
Kaleb      (5.4)               43.5 in.         39.7 lbs.
Bradley   (3.7)               38.5 in.         34.3 lbs.
Brynnlee (0.11)             27.5 in.         19.9 lbs.

Jaden's Junior Jazz

From December to February, Jaden had his first season of Basketball.  He wasn't sure if he wanted to do it or not, but we wanted him to give it a try.

Here is his cheering section.  Caleb Holbrook was on his team, so his dad Ryan is sitting next to Charles.  Grandma and Grandma also came each week to cheer Jaden on.

Brynnlee had lots of opportunities to practice her clapping at these games.

This season was really fun to watch.  I think it was good for me to have a child play something that was not soccer.  Instead of getting frustrated, I was able to enjoy watching Jaden learn and improve each time he played.

Jaden's first game was hilarious.  Because he didn't get a coach until right before the first game, his team didn't get to participate in the instructional clinic held the week before the season began.  Not only that, but at this age, they don't hold practices during the week at all.  It was obvious most of these kids were totally clueless as to what to do once the whistle was blown.

First Game (Green Team)

It was pure comedy to watch the first few games.  A little painful at times, but a good laugh nonetheless.

When we asked Jaden what he liked about playing basketball, he said, "sitting on the bench."  Poor kid.

After a few games Jaden started moving around more with the bunch.  He wasn't really sure about wanting to actually touch the ball, but at least he acted like he was part of the game a little more.

(White Team)

The second half of the the season was when Jaden really started to enjoy basketball.  Charles also started to help coach the team.

Jaden began practicing more with my dad and also with Charles whenever he had the chance.  His skills improved, he started to want to touch the ball during his games.  It was exciting to watch his transformation.

(White Team)

By the last game I would even venture to say he was one of the best on his team.  (I guess that's the only perk of being on a losing team!) He ran up and down the court, he dribbled a lot, he passed a lot, but he didn't shoot much.  He did, however, make 2 baskets this season.  It was so exciting!

Last Game (Green Team)

Jaden was sad for the season to end.  He is looking forward to the next Jr. Jazz season.  He still practices in the backyard whenever there's no snow on the ground.  Way to go Jade!

Knock On Wood!

 I've been a little nervous to write this post because I'm afraid that by admitting this, it will all go away... (I'm weird like that.)

But because I feel so grateful and blessed, I need to take the time to write this.

I had been really worried about how to single-handedly get all 4 kids and myself ready for 9am church on time, and then having to manhandle the bunch by myself during sacrament meeting.

Well, I'm pretty sure I am seeing some of those blessings promised to our family when Charles accepted his new calling.

Not only did we make it on time, but we have been early.  And the kids have been angels.  We arranged specific seating, and got new church bags filled with new activities, and set new rules... and the kids have been phenomenal!

We definitely turned on the bribery too.  We asked each kid what they would like as a reward if they could sit and follow rules the entire time.  Jaden chose money.  So we give him a dollar.  Kaleb chose a sugar cookie... we talked him into a dollar.  Bradley chose pizza.  So far it has worked out because we had Little Ceasar's over the weekend both times.  We made sure to save a piece for Bradley to eat on Sunday.

In the past I could hardly ever listen to the speakers because the kids were always going crazy.  And that was with 2 of us.  Now it is just me, and I have heard almost every word.

Brynnlee has even mellowed out a bit too.  This girl is usually such a spaz!  We got her some new toys, and we also have a family who has been sitting behind us the last 2 weeks, and they have been real entertainment for her.  It's been nice.

We had tried new things with the kids over and over in the past, that had worked for maybe like 15 minutes.  But it is way different this time.   I know it's because we are being blessed.

Try not to go all C.P.S. on us...

Our poor little girl had her first brawl.

No, not with her brothers.

The train tracks piled in the basket--they were mocking her.

They taunted her as she leaned forward off the edge of the couch to give 'em the stink-eye.

But she lost her footing.

She somersaulted off, landing on her back... but not before taking a face-plant into the basket of trains, tracks, bridges and parts.

I think she made her point.

They won't look at her the wrong way again.

"You got somethin' to say, Thomas?"

The Secret of Snow

Bradley: Kaleb, how does it snow?



Kaleb:  I'll tell you.  Jesus gets a bag of snow and dumps it everywhere.



Bradley:  Really?  On the moon too?  That's wicked awesome.