A little behind.

I liked this photo of Parker on the tractor and I didn't get it in the other post.

Christmas came and went. I really enjoyed just being home with my family. I look forward to when we can share it more with others. January was entertained by day to day activities. Generally our week consists of a couple of Joy Schools, maybe a visit to a park (on good weather days), cleaning day and then a day to recuperate. Below are some of those day to day things.

Fun at the park.
Photo shoot with mom. Henry is such a cheeser.

I love having the Love Sac at the foot of their bed. I don't mind them jumping on their bed and into the Love Sac. I try to make sure nothing too dangerous is nearby. Sometimes the boys just like jumping on their bed. For now it's okay. When they get a little bigger I'll have to put my foot down (or get a trampoline).
Willie works. He writes papers. He goes to school. He's applying for jobs. He works.
Joy school.
Parker's group. What a fun group of kids. Many but we love them all. I know Lincoln's not in this picture but it is part of his group and it was my day to teach about what bakers do. I love giving the kids their own joy school day.
Lincoln has been learning many new things. He became very brave and decided to do a new trick in the tub. He laid down and put his head in the water. The water only went to his ears but he loved this new trick and he was so excited to show dad when he got home.

p.s. March. He is cutting with his left hand and going around shapes rather than just cutting up a bazillion little pieces around the edges. He also is twisting his fork to get spaghetti on it. Fun little things. I'm sure there are more but that's all that's coming to mind.

Sunday comes around and our biggest complainer on the Sunday attire is Lincoln. We were lucky to get him to put on his white shirt, let alone one of his cool new bow ties. We have resorted to khaki pants and a striped shirt. We give him some flashy socks and hopefully he will put on Sunday shoes.

Lincoln had a small thing with the pillows. He loves to get three of them and make a house for himself. He gets really upset when Henry comes around to jump on the pillows.

So there it is. Our day to day life of January.

Christmas Time.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we headed to Hunter Tree Farms to pick out our Christmas tree. Parker was excited to see Santa. Lincoln didn't want to have anything to do with him. We took the boys' picture next to the tractor to show that they are growing up. Currently I don't have our first visit photos, Parker was much younger, before Lincoln was born I believe. We decorated ornaments and had hot chocolate and animal crackers. The drive up was beautiful and the day was really nice. We took the tractor ride around and then stopped off to let Parker ride on the horse. Lincoln was very content to watch Parker ride. Wow it really would be fun to have a horse close by so that we could ride him. My dream one day is to have a cabin that my parents can manage and have horses near by. That way I don't have to take care of either of them and my parents can have a nice place to live. :)

We went searching for our perfect Christmas tree. For some reason all the trees seemed to be too tall for what we wanted in our home. As we walked around we also thought it would be nice to have a tree that smelled like a real Christmas tree. We went to the trees that had been shipped in. We picked out a nice one and purchased it. So this year we didn't cut our own. In the end the tree didn't ever make our home smell like Christmas. We were grateful to have some of our friends join us on this adventure, the Bahr family. Unfortunately our camera is on it's death bed and we were lucky to get the few pictures we did (in somewhat good quality). Yeah for the beginning of giving and of service. This may be our last year to visit the farm, it has been a fun tradition when we are home for the holiday.

Christmas.

I was grateful that we had Christmas on the Sabbath this year. We tried to be prepared well in advance in letting our kids know how the day would work out. First of all I am very grateful that we are given this beautiful season to remember our Savior Jesus Christ. I am grateful I have three little boys to help me understand what Jesus may have been like as a child growing up. My boys are so sweet and loving and I know that our Savior was perfect in all things. I am grateful for His birth.

We let the boys know that they could open their stockings and one present but then it was time to prepare to go to church. They were great and obedient. I have come to realize it is important to get Parker on board with what we want to do because if he obeys they others will follow. If Parker disobeys, his brothers will be just as bad or worse. Willie watched the boys during some of our sacrament so that I could sing with the choir. I may not sing well but I enjoy it and I want my boys to enjoy music as well.

I loved seeing so many of my ward family on Christmas. It meant a lot to spend some time with them. With our family so far away it was good to have our ward family. We kept the day simple and we stayed home and did our own thing even though we would have liked to have shared the holidays with others, at least for dinner.

Some of the highlights from Christmas. The boys received a new slide from Santa Clause. The slide plus anything they received was great entertainment for hours and days. Dinosaurs, trains, bears and many other items found their way down the new slide. I made pillow cases for some new pillows I got for the family. Henry loved jumping into the pillows and rolling around. Parker was a good helper at opening presents and he was excited to give a present to Henry (mainly so Parker could play with it). The boys did well sharing their toys. Henry was the best eater that day, granted it may not have all been healthy. Talking to our families on skype was wonderful. We decided to tell our families that we were expecting our fourth baby in July.

Hopefully videos will follow.

I am Thankful For...

Our Thanksgiving this year we kept it simple. We made our own dinner and about 20 minutes before dinner was prepared we invited a man over that Willie home taught. We are grateful that we could have Dale join us. He brought his dog Rusty so the kids could see him for a little while. We really enjoyed our visit with Dale and the little meal that we had. We liked having a dog visit too.

I'm actually writing the things I'm thankful for a little after Thanksgiving but I did want to remember the season. I saw on a friends blog that she had answered the questions in the Ensign for December on 100 things to be grateful for.

What are ten physical abilities you are grateful for?

1. Sight

2. Hearing

3. Touch

4. Taste

5. Smell

6. the ability to walk

7. the ability to hold my children

8. pick things up with my toes

9. good health

10. bear children well

What are 10 material possessions you are grateful for?

1. Shelter

2. Food

3. transportation (my car)

4. clothing

5. soap

6. toothbrush/paste

7. books

8. blanket/pillow

9. toilet paper

10. phone

Name 10 living people you are grateful for.

1. my husband

2. my mom

3. my dad

4. Parker

5. Lincoln

6. Henry

7. Jess

8. Andi

9. Erika

10. Grandma Glenna

Name 10 deceased people you are grateful for.

1. Grandpa Ted

2. Gordon B. Hinckley

3. William Tyndale

4. Grandpa Ernie

5. Diane Pugmire

6. Joseph Smith

7. Emma Smith

8. Jane Austen

9. John Adams

10. Boomer and Tasha (is it okay to put my dogs?)

Name 10 things about nature you are grateful for.

1. SUNSETS

2. Sunrises (if I'm up to see them)

3. Rain

4. Thunderstorms

5. Sunlight

6. Fresh air

7. Leaves (in all seasons)

8. Mountains

9. Rivers and waterfalls

10. Forget-me-not flowers (President Uchtdorfs talk in the General Relief Society Conference Oct. 2011)

11. I really do love snow so I had to add an extra one.

Name 10 things about today I am grateful for.

1. My husband

2. laughter

3. I woke up feeling fairly good

4. I have food to eat

5. my kids

6. nap time

7. working on my blog

8. knowing a few of my blessings

9. Smiles from my children

10. forgiveness from my kids

Name 10 places on earth you are grateful for.

1. My home in Utah

2. My home at the cabin

3. My home in Georgia

4. Boston

5. Versailles

6. Disneyland

7. Nature (where there is no city noise)

8. Swimming pools

9. Holding my children on the couch.

10. Warms sunny places

Name 9 modern inventions you are grateful for.

1. Computers

2. cell phones

3. camera

4. dishwashers

5. washer

6. dryer

7. light bulbs

8. radio

9. skype/ internet

Name 10 foods you are grateful for.

1. strawberries

2. steaks

3. loaded potatoes

4. chicken alfredo

5. pancakes

6. ice cream/smoothies

7. fresh pineapple

8. fresh peaches

9. oreos

10. food that others make for me :)

Name 10 things about the gospel you are grateful for.

1. Jesus Christ

2. Holy Ghost

3. Heavenly Father

4. The Book of Mormon

5. Love

6. Missionary work

7. Service

8. Ward Families

9. Sacrament

10. Learning

Birthday

For my birthday I wanted to have some time with my family. Keep it low key and enjoy the day. I didn't ask for anything but the boys did give me a new charm for a bracelet they gave me a year ago. They are sweeties. Thanks Willie. Willie made me breakfast and delivered it to me in bed. Henry wanted to join in so I took breakfast to the table so I wouldn't have a mess. I love spending time with the boys.

I decided I wanted to go for a little hike, in the end we went to Roswell to a covered walking bridge they have. We took a few family photos. Some turned out well enough. They boys liked the time there. After the fun time at the river we headed to Texas Roadhouse. It was nice to have some gift cards to use up. Thanks mom and dad. The dinner was fabulous. I must say that a steak is nice but the ribs there really are fantastic.




I ran out to get groceries for the week and when I came home this was the surprise I received. Thanks boys for the fun balloons.