Thanks Peter Pan!

You know, I am thinking Jonathan takes things a little too seriously.  He absolutely believes all these fairy tales are real and that people really have the force--including himself.

Jonathan comes down the stairs without his pajama shirt on.  Jon asks him where his shirt is.

"My Shadow took it".

"Your what?"

"My Shadow is teasing me and took my shirt"--he says this with his huge wide open eyes and absolute seriousness--it is so hard not to bust up laughing.

I don't know where his shirt went.  We got a different one out for him to wear.

Thanks Toy Story!

Jonathan was playing with some star trek action figures.

"Mom, where is Data?"

"Jonathan, he was broken and couldn't be fixed so Dad threw him away."  

"I was thinking we could make a new arm for him out of paper."

"I don't think that would work, and it is too late because Dad threw him away a while ago.  He's not in the garbage can, the garbage man already came and got him."

Panicking, "the garbage man already took him?"

"Yes Jonathan, it was several weeks ago."

Sadness and tears welling up, "Mom, can you get the garbage man's phone number?"

"I don't think we can call him.  He doesn't go through the garbage, he just takes it all to the dump."

His absolute horror sticken face tells me what he is thinking--Data standing in a pile of garbage, holding out his one good hand as he gets closer to an incinerator.  He didn't like Toy Story 3--and started crying in that part of the movie.  

"Jonathan, don't worry, there isn't an incinerator where the garbage man took our garbage"

"He's not getting burned?"

"No, he is just fine.  You know Jonathan, he's not real.  Toys don't come alive when you aren't looking."

But I know he thinks they do.

Jonathan's Cute sayings lately

I thought I better just jot these cute little things down before I forget!
Jonathan turned on the music on Amelia's babyswing (details on her birth coming soon).  She randomly moves her arms and hands in the air while she is sitting there.  Jonathan saw her doing this after he turned on the music and exclaimed, "Look Mommy, Amelia is conducting!"  It was adorable--he was completely serious!

I was cleaning the kitchen and Jonathan was talking to me.  He told me that his cousin Taylor had the force. 
I am serious Mom, he really has the force".  I asked him how he knew his cousin had the force.  "When we were at their house, he held his hands out like this (holding his hands in the air like Yoda would) and the trunk on his car went up!  I am serious; he didn't push any buttons and it just went up when he put his hands up!" 

Jonathan was sitting by me while I was nursing.  He was being pretty funny and I said, "you are a funny kid"  He responded with "No I am not funny!"  I said, "Yes you are" he responded, "No I am not!" 
"Yes you are."
"No I am not!"
"Yes you are and you are really cute!"
"No I . . . well, I am cute."

He really is a sweet little boy and I adore him.  He surprises me at how smart and witty he is.  He really is funny in a witty way sometimes.  He has really been enjoying reading and counting more since both girls are in school.  It is fun to see him grow.  I can't believe how much coming home from the hospital with a newborn has made him grow!  He is one big kid now!!  He is actually doing very well with the baby.  I have been surprised.  He really enjoys her and doesn't seem to mind or be bothered that she has come into our home.  I expected a fair amount of jealousy and possible dislike of the baby, but he really loves her and loves being her big brother.  We often all nap together on my bed in the afternoon before the girls get home from school.  He and I usually hold hands when we nap.  A few times he has held Amelia's hand--it is really quite cute!

Picnic & Library

We decided to go for a picnic and then to the library yesterday.  The kids were really good about doing their chores and getting ready.  Aubrey even made the sandwiches while I was getting ready.  Jonathan rode his hotwheel and the girls rode their bikes.  Aubrey wanted to ride slowly next to me while I walked and just hold my hand.  It was really sweet.  We talked the whole way there and then we sat in the grass and talked together while we ate.  They asked some question about baby Amelia (who will be joining our family soon) and discussed having babies (not in detail--no worries).  It was fun to visit with them and see their interest.  We also talked about their favorite things that we have done over the summer--it has really been a fun summer--their highlights were swimming, St. George, Aubrey enjoyed school (she was in school until July 2nd), the Rodeo, doing things with cousins, etc.  Then we went over to the playground and played for a while. After that, off to the library, checked out some books and movies--they were really good there too--they each picked their books and sat and looked at them while I picked out some movies for them.  Then we checked out and walked  home.  It was really nice--just peaceful and enjoyable.  I thought it was tender that Aubrey wanted to hold my hand the whole time--I think she is nervous about me having the baby and about starting school next week.

Our Day

I pretty much always take my kids to the Doctors with me.  My last appointment the nurse commented on how good my kids are.  I was surprised and she said that they aren't super loud and don't run all around and she is way impressed.  She said they can usually tell when kids are there, but with mine, they don't know it until she comes out and sees them.  It made me very proud of my kids.  So last time after the appointment, we stopped at the DI and they each got to pick out a toy (and I was hoping to find some cowboy boots--I really want some so I can fit in here in Riverton--ha ha--not really, but it would be fun to have!)

Yesterday I had another appointment--I am down to the last month!  They were pretty good, not as good as last time, but really, good kids overall.  Then we went to Kohl's--I had to $10 Kohl's cards--YES!!  I got 1 shirt for Jon and 3 for me and spent $5 total!  They do have an awful lot of odd clothes and they are way overpriced.  But if you check out their clearance, it's kind of like DI--you dig and you can find some great deals and pretty cute things.

After the store we went to Grandma's--they are always so excited to go!  We start school next week, so our days are numbered as to what we can just go and do.  We have had such a fun summer, but I am not ready for school to start.  I just can't believe they are going to have Aubrey from 8:30-3:30--that's pretty much ALL day and I just feel like it's too long for the school to have her.  By the time she gets home we will be fixing dinner and then doing homework and the day will be gone--it's just too young to spend that much time away from home.  It's tempting to look into other options, but I know I couldn't homeschool and give all that would be good for her to be prepared to be force for good in this crazy world and environment.  
Well, back to Grandma's.  We were all starving for lunch.  Grandma was out in here garden weeding.  The kids ran back there to say hello and she told them lunch was in the garden--meaning the raspberries and blackberries.  Jonathan and Mariah loved that idea and cheered "hurray!" and started picking berries.  Pretty cute!  I made them some sandwiches though, so they did get some real lunch.
We picked some raspberries, the kids played and I visited with Grandma.  Then we went swimming.  It was just nice to relax in the water.  I made the kids laugh super hard when trying to get on a round inner-tube like floaty.  I climbed up the ladder, centered my bumb over the center hole of the tube.  Sat my behind right into the hole.  This is quite hard to explain--I really need to draw a diagram, but to my surprise my belly was just too big for me to fold my bumb into the center hole enough to balance.  I could not get enough weight distribution with my legs and I completely flipped backwards, headfirst into the water!  I t was hilarious I am sure.  We were all laughing so hard.  I haven't seen all of my kids laugh at me that hard in my entire life!  
After enjoying the pool it was time to get cleaned up and head home.  We were all pretty tired on the drive home.  It was really quiet, so I looked in the rear-view mirror at the kids.  Jonathan was completely asleep.  Aubrey was asleep laying in Mariah's lap and Mariah had her arm wrapped around Aubrey and leaning down asleep.  It was really sweet and cute looking.

Making Zuchinni Bread with Mariah

I often feel like time goes by so quickly and I don't spend the time I want to with my kids.  I debate about doing things that I need to get done or taking some time out with the kids--or finding a way to incorporate them in what I need to get done.

I had some zuchinni I had thawed--trying to use up the last of what I froze last year before I have fresh to use this year.  So after our walk to drop Aubrey off at school and laying Jonathan down for a nap, I invited Mariah to make zuchinni bread with me.  

To my surprise, she didn't really want to--generally my kids LOVE to help me cook.  But I convinced her with finding an apron for her to wear and letting her start with cracking the eggs.  It was adorable as she cracked the eggs with her tiny hands--and she did a perfect job on the first one!  Telling her so resulted in a squeal of delight and great excitement in continuing to help me.  It was like her confidence had boosted 10 times and she was so cute helping me the rest of the time--apologizing for any time some flour puffed out of the bowl or sugar granuales sprinkled on the counter.  I do have a hard time with any mess and quickly clean it, but it was well worth the effort to have her make the bread with me rather than doing it "perfectly" and "neatly" on my own.

Thoughts on My Family

Well, I was thinking about how sweet, thoughtful and cute my dear husband and family is and I thought--why don't I post a blog?! I haven't done that in a long time. This past month has been so busy, but a good one. I have noticed more and more the sweet little moments of my children. I have been praying to be able to cherish and enjoy them more--not to get after them for the silly little mistakes and messes they make so much, but to see how they are trying and the good, innocence they have. I think that may be part of it. I also think my pregnancy softens my mother-heart. I think that is partially because I have a new spirit from Heaven in my body and it has influence on me. She is very sweet and I look forward to being her mother and holding her in my arms (Yes, I am having a little girl this upcoming September).

My little Jonathan is still my baby and such a mama's boy--and I love it. He is very full of energy and very much a boy. He climbs, gets into things, everything is a gun, sword, or light-saber. He is also very tender. He likes to be with me and help me with things. Sometimes it is hard to remember that even if it makes things a little harder, longer, and messier--I will one day regret not letting him help me out. One of his favorite things to do with me is to cook--he just really loves to help me fix meals and treats. He is really good at helping with chores and he is always happy to help Aubrey and Mariah with their chores--"Jonathan will you help me sort the laundry?" "I will Mariah"--very cute and I love to see them work together, even though it often turns into playing and they take a long time to complete the morning chores. He loves his dad--he looks forward to seeing him each evening--all of the kids do and rightfully so.

Jon is the best father anyone could ask for. My kids will have a hard time finding a man as good with children as their father is. He loves to play legos, he-man, star trek/wars, and anything else they want him to play with them. He is very imaginative and makes up silly stories at bedtime for them. He loves to use puppets and their favorite toys in his stories. They will all sit up in the bunkbed while he tells a story to them. He is very patient with them and sincerely enjoys them. He also reads to them--currently reading "Voyage of the Dawn Treader". He loves how Aubrey can read many of the words in scripture study and is excited with her as she tries to read her verse on her own. He is very good at being excited with the kids and enjoying with them what they are enjoying. He really is the best father ever and it makes my job as a mother so much better. I love being a parent with him--besides the fact that he is my best friend in the whole world. He would do anything for me. He is absolutely patient and kind to me in every way. He has never yelled or gotten really mad at me. He cherishes me and I can tell and feel it every day. I am so blessed.

Now I have talked about my Jon's, on to my sweet little girls. Mariah really tries so hard to please me--well all my children do actually, just in different ways. She needs constant encouragement and nourishment. She needs hugs, "I love you's" and a helping hand with responsibilities. She is very delicate and tender. I love holding her tiny hands--so delicate and precious. Yet at the same time, she is very daring and adventurous. She wants to fly--that is her dream. She is full of energy and gets so excited when she accomplishes something--she seems that she is about to burst with excitement! She does not like confrontation and if Aubrey or Jonathan want something in particular--she will usually let them have it to keep things peaceful--a peacemaker. Every morning I let the kids take turns handing out the vitamins. When it is Mariah's turn, she will let Aubrey and Jonathan both have the color they want--even if there is only one and she wanted it. When I have called on her to bless the food--if Aubrey or Jonathan really want to, she will say, "why don't you let Jonathan or Aubrey say it", and I know she wanted to as well. She is very sweet that way.

Aubrey is so responsible. She is an amazing helper and I will very much miss her this fall as she goes to 1st grade (why do they have to be gone ALL day?!?!). She gets up, does her chores (they each have to get dressed, brush their teeth, say their prayers, and make their bed (I am pretty easy-going on that one), and they have an assigned chore (unloading the dishwasher, sorting the dirty clothes, picking up a certain kind of toy in the play-room, etc.)--anyway, she will try to do her things without being asked. She is very quick and thorough with them as well--like I said, very responsible. She is very tender too--she is very good at helping Mariah and Jonathan to be happy when they are sad or upset. She is very aware of others and their feelings. At Mariah's birthday party there were a couple of kids that weren't playing with the group and weren't too happy. Jon asked Aubrey to include them--immediately she did and they were having fun the rest of the time.

All three of my children are generally very good and really are trying to be good. They are kids--they do fight, hit, get upset, and disobey. But overall, they are kind, thoughtful, and trying to be good. Another thing I love about them is that they generally play very well together and are dear friends with each other. I love that. I love that we don't have friends over all of the time because we are just happy as our own little family. We have done a lot of yard work/gardening this month and the kids play very well outside while Jon and I work. They come and help us on and off as well. They all helped plant a few plants and seeds into the garden. They helped stomp down the furrows. They helped water the plants with fertilized water after being planted. We discovered a nest with robin eggs up in one of our trees. The other evening while we were out there working, we noticed the eggs had hatched. Jon held up each of the kids on a ladder to see. Though I was VERY nervous and scared, I climbed the ladder (had to stand on the very top) to see. It was a cute little moment with our family.

Last Saturday (Mariah's birthday), she took a new polly pocket outside--shoes and all. Of course one of the shoes fell off into the grass. Aubrey and her looked and looked and could not find it. I decided to go help them, though I didn't have much time as I was getting ready for her birthday party. We said a prayer together to help us find it. Aubrey was sure it must be in this one section. We were all looking there--I thought I should step over a few steps and continue looking where Aubrey had said. There is was--in the grass. We talked about how Heavenly Father guided us to find the shoe. We said a prayer of thanks. It was a really sweet tender mercy and lesson to the girls that they have a loving Heavenly Father who listens to them and will help them in their concerns. We have had many sweet moments like that and I wish I had written more of them down--some are on paper fortunately.


Like I said, my kids are so sweet and my husband is amazing. I am so blessed and we have many blessings and tender-mercies in our daily lives.

For now, I will close and head to bed before I actually turn 30 years old!

Aubrey in Kindergarten

We had our first child start school this year--yes I was very nervous and even sad to see her go. On her first day of school I even teared-up. She has very much loved it though and is doing quite well. We just had parent-teacher conferences. When I went in to talk to her teacher, she just said how Aubrey was so kind to everyone and such a great person to have in the class--she even got a little teary-eyed and so did I. She said that she is at a 1st grade reading level now and that her math skills are exceptionally good (which we already knew--she could multiply before kindergarten). It was really nice to hear and Aubrey just sat there very shy, but very pleased. I have been telling Aubrey all year to always be nice to everyone no matter what and that she will be liked. She has made many really good friends. Her class is awesome and is full of really nice and good kids--I wish there was a guarantee that they would all stay together through grade-school--it's the cream of the crop in her class. Anyway, I am very pleased with her and I am not looking forward to 1st grade when she is gone for most of the day!! Why do they have to take our kids for SO long!! Since I haven't blogged in forever--here are some pictures from Aubrey's first day of school--she was so excited and ready to go!!

Aubrey getting her backpack--she was excited & ready to go!

Aubrey doing the Star Trek Vulcan "goodbye" to Jon.

Aubrey posing in front of the door before going to her first day of school.

Awesome Shopping Trip!

This was awesome! I got 19 items for $10.16 total!!

There are 8 pouches of tuna (those were FREE after using the coupons!!!), 2 boxes of shredded wheat, 5 packages of pasta, 1 Wesson oil, and 3 packages of Robin Eggs (just in time for Easter)!

Blessings and Miracles

Wow, I haven't blogged in a LONG time! But I have been thinking that I ought to just type a few things while I am remembering them. I am much faster at typing than writing so my journal isn't very full either. My kids are growing up so quickly. I am so proud of them and love them so much. No, they are not perfect, but they are good kids who really try. I have enjoyed our walks home from school (after we drop off Aubrey and her friend--the way there we are usually running late and almost running to get there, but the walk home is more pleasant and relaxed). Jonathan and Mariah just look around and enjoy the earth around us and it really is quite cute to see their enthusiasm. It is good for me to get out as well and go on a walk in the middle of the day--though if I had a car, I know I would drive Aubrey to school--so a perk to not having a car is that we have to take a daily walk that otherwise I would not take the time to do.

The thing I mainly wanted to blog about today is a major blessing and miracle in our life that has been gradually happening and fulfilled just recently. Now this is not something I am pleased to admit, but a part of our life that we have been constantly working on. Since we had our first child, we have acquired debt each year on things we just didn't have the money for, but had to pay--like car problems and mostly on medical things (1st major thing being having a baby--we didn't have the money for it--fortunately we did have insurance, so it wasn't outrageous, but several thousand).
We made the decision that I would stay at home and quit my job when we had children. Financially, that was a terrible decision. I had a degree and a teaching job (so not a lot--but good for starters), Jon was going to school and had a dinky phone job on the side, but we knew it was what Heavenly Father would have us do for our children. We lived in many crappy places and lived off very little. But expenses still come that must be paid. Each year we would get enough tax return to pay off any debt we had acquired from the previous year. When we bought our home, we had debt that we had acquired from Jon losing his job, medical, and whatnot. We assumed that we would be able to pay it all off with tax return. Well, this was the first year in our home and with a decent income (once again, not a lot, but good for where we are at in our lives)-- and we did not get enough taxes back to pay off our debt. We are quite tight in our home and with the regular expenses and rainy days that we all experience--anything after regular bills and needs that was left was just enough to put towards debt--not towards savings. We were very disheartened and knew that we had to do everything we could to try to not acquire more debt and to pay it off--we had one year before interest began on it--one year to pay it off. We started to really focus on our finances--more so than before--and to really pray for help and to be able to get out of debt. I even prayed that we would be able to get completely out of debt before the interest would begin. Blessings came--I learned to shop a new way that cut our grocery bill in half--our parents would slip us some money here and there. We tried to live on a very tight budget.
But the reality is--you still have rainy days. We had many amongst the blessings. We acquired more debt as there wasn't any other option. Our car had many troubles and we had more medical things. Jon's job changed their policies on commission--making it so we were getting a couple to a few hundred dollars less depending on certain things--and of course as with most people over the past couple of years--no raises, no bonuses. We didn't have much to work with, but kept trying. We decided to up our fast offerings (and we felt we were paying generously already--but felt that adding a little more wouldn't break us). We weren't always perfect--we would go out on a date every once in a while--not spending lots--but nonetheless, spending some. We did still buy birthday & Christmas presents and we did still do some fun things as a family--so we could have put a little more money toward our debt. Overall though, we actually were quite tight.
As the year came to an end and the new one commenced, we felt that we really had improved and had worked harder on being better and living tighter. But we still had debt and we knew we would likely not be able to pay it all off with our taxes--but we hoped and prayed that we would. We filled out taxes and came to discover that we were not getting as much back as we thought, and we would still have debt to pay off. I was so frustrated and even angry. I complained to Jon about how hard we had been working and praying at getting on top of our finances and being able to save for a rainy day before one actually came. We had been going without things more and more and felt that we were doing pretty much all that we could do.
The next week I went through all--and I mean all--every penny that we had spent over the last year--no matter how ugly it looked. I categorized it into months and discovered that there were a couple of things we could do better at. I also discovered that we had indeed improved over the year and that we were spending very little and most of our expenses really were to the car, medical, mortgage, and regular bills. It was really good to see and Jon and I sat down and looked at it together. I knew that if we continued to live so tight that we could eventually get out of debt as long as nothing else came up--so pray for no more rainy days until we were out of debt! I got a hold of myself and knew that though it would take a long time--we were improving and we would eventually get on top of things.
Well, we hadn't actually turned in our taxes yet. We decided that it was time and Jon decided to review everything one last time (though we had done so together many times). But this time, he caught something. He realized that we did qualify for something that we had thought we didn't qualify for--it was like the wording had changed--it was a credit that we had qualified for the previous years, but not this year--but now, we did qualify--we had read it wrong!! We were now getting more back--still not enough to get out of debt--but a lot closer--infact we would just have $1000 left in debt now. It seemed that there was some light at the end of the tunnel after all. We turned in our taxes and waited to be able to get the money and pay off everything that we could.
The day finally came--we got back State first. Federal got delayed by a week, but we finally got it. But when we got it, there was $800 more than we thought we would get back. Those of you who know me, I am very skeptical--was this a blessing or a mistake? What do we do? Do we call the IRS and ask why--I don't want to owe the government money--or do we just use it. Jon said it was a blessing--I was nervous and wasn't sure. If this was a blessing, we could use our grocery money and delay payment on a medical bill for the month and pay off the rest of our debt--and FINALLY be debt free! I so wanted it to be a blessing, but I wasn't sure.
Well, a letter came from the IRS--I was scared to open it--I knew it would answer the question as to whether this was a blessing or a mistake. It stated that there was a change made to our tax return because we qualified for this other thing and that the following year if wanted that again we would have to fill out the form, but this year they did it for us. It was then that it hit me hard--this wasn't a blessing--this wasn't a mistake--this was a complete miracle!! Our prayers were truly answered.
We are now out of debt and I know it is a miracle and nothing more. I know Heavenly Father answers our prayers and that he blesses and helps us. I know that he really is mindful of us even at times when we are weak and don't see it. We have learned a lot through this that I am so grateful for that. This year will be a hard year--we already know we will have a lot of medical expenses. Now I pray that we can keep on top of it (and that our car will be good--no more expensive problems!!) and keep living tight and moving forward in doing all that we can do. We have sincerely been blessed and taken care of time and time again!