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.

Lake Lanier Under the Lights

A little while ago I teamed up with Sarah to start running in the mornings. I'm the kind of person that enjoys the company of someone else if I am going to go and do something fun. I enjoy the company. We ran in the Spring, took a break in the summer, then returned to running in September. Our husbands have been so sweet to let us get up and go running for a little over half an hour three days a week. Sarah has some experience behind her so I like to ask questions about how to improve my running endurance. About a month ago Lindy decided to get into shape as well so she became more motivated by finding a race we could all run in. So we all signed up for the Lake Lanier 5k.

I wore my Boston long sleeved shirt because it was the only one I had. As I was walking around a guy asked if I ran in the Boston Marathon. Well you know I am extremely fit now so the marathon up there would be cake! I laughed inside. Here we have Lisa, Lindy and myself, we couldn't find Sarah.

Henry was gearing up for the race. Free glow in the dark bracelets were being handed out, sweet!

I felt so official in this race, I had a number and I had a tag on my shoe. So cool. (I went running a couple of days later and I still had the tag on my shoe)

We found Sarah just before the race began. So it's me, Sarah, Lindy and Lisa.

During the race the kids were having some fun in the grass. It was a little chilly but it was a lot of fun for the kids.

Henry really loves his back pack that he gets to be in. Notice his little thumb and play with his hair move. He does it all the time. Willie looks pretty good. ;)

I had considered taking the boys on the run but I'm glad that I decided not to. There were a few little hills I wasn't expecting. It was nice to just have a good run.

Here we are at the end. Sarah was first coming in around 33 minutes, Lisa was close behind only a couple of minutes behind her. Lindy and I came in somewhere around 38 or 39 minutes. The light display behind us was Dorthy from the Wizard of Oz. Thanks for a great race ladies.

Sarah and I holding our kids after a nice little race.
I love when Lincoln get cuddly.
I tried taking pictures of some of the lights but I'm not use to the camera just yet. We did a short video on the way out but it is in the car so if you don't watch then I understand. :)

Amicalola Falls Hike

The weather has been extremely nice recently so we decided to go on a hike the first weekend in November. We had a small chilly spell but we noticed the weather was beginning to warm up again. We were lucky to have so many of our close friends with the same thought. I believe there were six families total. All but one of the families had three kids. The morning was chilly and we tried to be brave and dress for cool weather rather than freezing cold. I feel like my body has adjusted too well to the Georgia climate. I miss the snow and eating soup and drinking hot chocolate. Whenever there is a colder day in Georgia I try to make soup but the left overs aren't as good on a warm day which is sure to follow a cold one.

It's been about two years since we traveled to Amicalola Falls. The last time was in the Spring and it seemed to take a really long time to do. This time we must have been distracted by something else or as I like to think, I am much more fit now. Willie and I were looking for a couple photo, but it is a little difficult when you have a growth on your back (a cute one though).
I wanted a picture of just the boys but once again it was difficult to do with me getting in the way with every shot.
Here are a few of the kids, mind you not all but a few. Three boys vs. how many girls. There were more boys there but many of them showed up after we made it to the top.
Don't mind the random guy in this picture. I like the view but I wish had thought to take a picture of the trees and the view without the guy.Our family photo.
Lincoln is throwing leaves into the water that went into the waterfall. I love when he wears his baseball 'cat.'
Even though Henry is not smiling in this photo he was so excited to get into the back pack and go for a hike. He loved it.

All the ladies except for one. When do we ever get a shot like this? Thank you Cynthia for thinking of doing it. We meant to get one of the dudes but forgot by the time we reached the top.

When we made it to the top we gave the kids some snacks and I took Henry up to the lodge with Danielle and her baby to give him some food and to sit down somewhere warm. There were some beautiful wooden rocking chairs on their back lawn and as we were sitting down there was a man playing the bagpipes. He played beautifully. I had wondered how long he had been playing. The day was so pleasant and peaceful. Many of the families joined us up on top. After about half an hour I wondered where Willie was because he had come to the lodge with someone else but Willie disappeared. We ended up calling him and he found us but was a little stressed because the boys were hungry and Lincoln had been riding on his shoulders for much of the morning. I gave him a break and I watched the boys. I don't know if was really much of a break though because he ran back to the car to drive it to the top and to get our lunch.

Parker and Lincoln are getting their snacks and being so cute together on the bench.

Up on top of the mountain we could see oranges, yellows and even brown. Beautiful blue skies.

Lincoln warmed up to the idea of playing where the other kids had played. Lincoln tends to do better in smaller crowds. Like me I guess.
Henry did really well having missed his morning nap and pushing back his afternoon nap. He really does love the camera case.
All of the kids were turning over the rocking chairs and turning them into forts and ships. Parker and Lincoln did their own thing. I worry sometimes about their social interaction but they really do do better in smaller groups. Lincoln really did watch what all the kids were doing and then when about half of them were gone he went on to play just as all the kids had been.

Parker and Lincoln playing on their own little fort.

Wolferts.
Parker.
Henry and me.I'm goin' on a bear hunt... well it was a little walk around a grouping of trees but the kids were entertained.
Jeremy teaching the kids about bugs and leaves.

The end of the day was drawing nigh and we all said our good byes. There was an owl demonstration going on in the lodge. Many of us were heading that way. One of the boys, not ours, decided to go on a hike himself. He was gone. For half an hour many of the adults searched. Luckily many of us did stay and we were able to broaden our search and have a few adults to look after the kids. With the experience of the lost child this day I tried to really be grateful for every moment I get with my kids and try to teach them things that I hope they will always remember. If my kids were gone today what have I taught them to help them remember Jesus Christ? I hope my kids remember the songs I sing to them, our family time, prayer, service, pictures of Jesus and His life. I want my kids to know that I love their dad and that I love them. There may be times where I am not the best mom but I hope that as we get older I hope that I will become the best mom for my kids. Thank you for a beautiful day. Thank you for the warmth of the sun and the wonderful company. Thank you for happiness.