New Years Resolutions Past and Present

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This is me right now, typing about my non fifty two pictures of myself this year. I am sitting here in my red sweater searching for pictures of myself on this computer, that I didn't post this year. Wish me luck.

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FAILED- FAILURE - Incompetent - PROCRASTINATOR - DISAPPOINTING - LOSER - WEAK SAUCE -
I did not make it to 52 pictures, I didn't even come close. So this was my last ditch effort to get some pictures of me in before the years end. Maybe I'll try it again next year but with a more achievable goal of 24 pictures. Two a month sounds do-able right?

On the other hand, I think that I was quite successful on my effort to "Lift Where You Stand". I made a conscious effort each week to help someone out in some little way. There were weeks that I would be able to help one or three or four mothers. I did a lot of babysitting and tried to help where I could. On that note, I'm a little burned out. I am trying to schedule nothing and do nothing for a while.
I have two new goals for this next year.
First is to stay sane. You might think this is a funny goal but I think it's entirely necessary. I'm slowly going crazy and so I'm going to slow things down a bit and try to sleep more and make sure that my husband sleeps more. (He's losing it too. ) I want to enjoy the moment more. My kids are at the most adorable ages and I plan on loving on them a little more this year.
Second I need to lose 20 more pounds.

Snow Fun

Here are some pictures from different days of our snow excitement. We didn't build a single snowman. It was all about sledding and building forts.

Maggie, Mr. Richard and Bernie

The neighbors built tunnels in their yard. We've been informed by Charlie that this is a must for next snow fall.

Charlie, Ben, Jane & Rachel

Mags, all geared up.

Christmas Catch Up

Mike and I played Mary and Joseph at the Ward Party. I had to sing the Lullaby, Out Loud. It wasn't good. I tried to get out of it by letting them know that I was certain that Mary and Joseph weren't chubby. They didn't care. I call it desperation.
This little orphan girl pretended to be Mary all month long. She always had something on her head and she was often found singing to her baby Jesus, which this day happened to be a pink dragonfly.

We had a great Christmas week. Life has been so busy and fun. We spent Christmas Eve with several families and then had a nice quiet Christmas Day with our little family. We were spoiled by Santa and family. We're still trying to recover from all of the excitement. Here are some pictures of our week.

Lindsey and Josh at the Jensens Christmas Eve party.
The Jensens were great hosts and I don't have a single picture of them but we had fun with all of the families.

Tami and Scott

Jane and Maggie

Richard and Sumer

Christmas Eve when we got home we opened up our pajamas. The girls had matching owl jammies. (35-52)

The boys and huge fluffy fleece polar bear pajamas. The fleece is Mike's worst sweating nightmare but he was a good sport.

Christmas morning after gift opening the boys spent most of the day like this.. new wii game.

Mags, Bernie and Kimber (36 -52)

Mags and her Santa gift. She was very aware that this was hers and she would scream if Charlie or Jane tried to take it for a ride.

Mike with his helicopter that broke later that day. Ha.

Jane got spoiled this Christmas, Grandma sent fluffy skirts, Cousin Amie sent a crazy pattern outfit that she put on that same day and Aunt Debi went hog wild making doll clothes for her new baby doll.

Jane and Moe

I missed a picture of Charlie because he was upstairs spiking his hair. So high maintenance.

Backfire

I totally made a wrong decision here.....

Mom: "Hey Charlie, sometime soon I'm going to take the wallpaper out of your bathroom and then we can paint it. What color would you like?"
Charlie: "Mmmm, I want pink."
Mom: (back pedalling) "Oh, how about blue or green?"
Charlie: "No, I want pink."
Mom: "Yellow? Yellow is a good color. I'll think about it, let's not decide yet. I'll get some color samples and then we can decide."
Charlie: " No, I already did decide, IT'S PINK!"

I was thinking that it would be nice and kind for me to include him and have him be a part of it. Yikes. What do I do now? Paint it pink?

Dumped

What fun and excitement we had when the snow decided to really fall down on us here. Mike and I had a date on Friday night, the forecast said there would be a big snow storm starting at midnight. Our plan was to go to dinner with some friends and then stop by the grocery store just because.
Well the snow started to fall while we were at dinner and by 8:00 p.m. it was sticking. We cruised on over to the store and the place had been cleared out. No milk, no flour, no sugar, no turkey lunch meat, and they were low on cheese, eggs, bread. So of course I just stocked up on chocolate chips. All we really need when we are snowed in is a nice warm batch of cookies. It's all so funny to me. I guess they had been out of milk since noon that day.

-Mike-
The snow came down for a full 24 hours leaving two feet for us to play in. We haven't left the house.

Mike was just going to stay in all day but he gave into peer pressure as he saw all of our neighbors trying to dig out.

Church is cancelled and we are enjoying all of the fun.

Toilet Protection

This is the look Janey gave me when I opened the bathroom door and said, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" That's when I went to get the camera for documentation purposes. I returned and she was still standing there glaring at me for the tone that I had used.

So the second time I smiled and said, " oh how creative, what is it?"

"I put these here so the toilet wouldn't get any drops on it."

Potty Talk

Here's the note that I put on the outside of the garage door that leads into our house.
I figured Mike deserved a warning.

Let's talk about how my day has gone. Bernie was whaling bright and early as I was taking a shower. I could hear her but just kept thinking, she can hold it a few more minutes. That turned out to be a bad decision. When I made it to her crate I was too late. She was covered in all of it. So I carried her outside and tied her up while I cleaned out her crate. Yes, all my fault.
The girls woke up and I gave them breakfast. Charlie happened to sleep in today (which never happens). So he managed to soak himself and his bed. I got him in the shower cleaned off his bed and went downstairs to push the laundry through. Finally I made it to the dog and managed to get her bath going.
Jane's girlfriend came over to play and they were having so much fun that Jane didn't want to take the time to go and use the potty so she wet herself. Two different times through two different outfits. Bernie escaped to the front dining room and I heard Jane say "Mom, Bernie just pooped." As I head that direction I hear Jane..."Eewww, Mom!! Bernie is eating her poop!" Totally gross, all of it, every bit.
Maggie and I have the runs.
This all happened before lunch time.
I love good days.

Bernice

Well the jar didn't fill up before the puppy got here. Frankly I'm surprised that my husband lasted as long as he did. Mike and I had many of debates on the kind of dog we wanted. Every idea he threw out was ten feet tall and hairy. Bernese Mountain dog, Newfoundland, Bull Mastiff. I just kept begging for an already trained mild, small, less hairy dog. Apparently that was asking too much. I think that Bernie will be big, but she is a doodle (my mother would be so proud) so hopefully not too much hair.
So far she is a joy to have around. Very great with the kids, in fact she is really taking to the abuse rather well. She gets carried, mauled, smushed, and doesn't seem to mind. Strange right? House training is still in the works and I've discovered it's much like potty training. I'm really the only one who is being trained here.... watching the clock, going in and out of the back door, you know the drill. But alas, we all love her.

This picture was the first time that the kids were able to get her excited enough to chase them. Charlie and Jane were both so happy. Jane yelled, "she loves us now" and Charlie said, " she knows we are her family". On the first full day Charlie was holding and loving her and I saw him lean down into her face and say "don't die, okay."

So far, I'm still saying that it was a great decision.

Funnies

"Mom, why do mom's and dad's get to stay up later than the kids?"
"Well, we still have a lot of work to do. When you go to bed, we stay up and get our jobs done, then we go to bed."
"Oh, like watch all of your sports shows?" (dad's busted)

"Mom if you find any money than give it to me. I'm starting a collection."

"If a bad guy tries to get me, then I'm going to tell him that he is a child of God and he should start acting like it. Then I'll tell him to tell his tell his bad guy friends that they are children of God too." (that should fix it)

"Charlie, stop talking like that. We don't talk about our privates. You know better."
"I know Mom, (hand touching his head), it's just that my brain keeps tricking me and telling me to say those things." (Should I be looking into a psychiatrist? schizophrenia? His brain gets blamed for a lot of things lately.)

Dead

Jane will know if you die, because she told me that your face will look like this. (Don't forget to stick your tongue out.) Sometimes I will find her on our floor, dead. Thank goodness for the tongue to tip me off as to how dramatic I should be when I find her.

Thankful

Most of my family members have been posting five thankfuls a day on their blog this month. I did not join them. Not because I'm not grateful but mostly because I don't like to set myself up for what I know would have been a miserable failure. Instead I'd like to give you just a few of my thankfuls in no particular order.

1. My husband. Although we never get a quiet moment or the opportunity to have a single conversation, I certainly love and appreciate him.
   
2. Prayer. I am so grateful that my Father in Heaven gave me the opportunity to speak to him and pour out my soul. I need and utilize this tool every single day.
   
3. Mouse traps. I have caught THREE mice in my home within a weeks time. Gross.
   
4. Utilities. A warm home during these cold months. I also love my hotpad at bed time. Mmmm.
5. Good Parents. How or why they managed 12 kids I may never know. Amazing.
6. Jesus Christ. Such a sacrifice makes it possible for me to live with my family forever and gives me the opportunity to correct my mistakes.
   
7. Music. Great music can raise my spirits.
8. Charlie. Big ball of never ending energy. He can be the sweetest thing when I feel like I'm losing my mind.
9. Jane. She says the sweetest things and loves to love all of us.
10. Maggie. Dirty looks, loud yells and moans. A fist to the face. I love it all. She makes me laugh every day.
11. Chocolate. I shouldn't love it as much as I do. No dessert is worth my time without a little chocolate in it.
12. Sisters. I have wonderful, supportive sisters.
    
13. Water. I love to drink it, bathe in it & swim in it.
14. Toilets. I like to sit on them and then flush it away.
15. My minivan. It's comfortable, roomy and it is dependable. I feel safe while driving it.
    
16. Good friends. I have been blessed all throughout my life with good friends.
17. Clorox wipes. Enough said.
    
18. In Laws. I realize that not everyone loves their in laws but I do. All of them.
19. The Pledge of Allegiance and all it stands for.
20. Sight. Nothing is better than watching my kids while they are happy or excited. I'm glad that I am able to see their faces and watch them grow.
    

"Perfect"

"Perfect, perfect, perfect."
That's what Jane said as she looked in the mirror this morning after getting dressed.

Dumb Mom

Today Maggie is 18 months. We dropped the kids off at preschool and then went to the grocery store. Moe was a screaming, yelling mess.
At first of course I just ignored her and said sweet little things to her like, "Oh Mags, you don't need to be sad. I love you." She truly could have cared less. I started receiving some dirty looks from customers so I took her out of the cart to hold her. Certainly that would do the trick. Nope.
I then received several face slaps while the screaming continued. Then came the classic throw the head and arch the back. "Mags, would you like to walk?" Of course I said this sweetly. The tears were flowing (hers, not mine) the yelling continued so I put her down to walk beside me. I'm certain that wasn't what she wanted because she threw herself to the floor for her continued tantrum.
I picked her up and we proceeded to the cereal isle to get a box of granola bars that were not on my list. I hurried to put her in the cart and open up the package. Then I got out a choc chip granola bar and handed it to her. She chucked it on the ground. I picked it up and tried again. Same response. Then I grabbed a box of gushers that were not on my list. I opened up the box while she continued in anger. Opening up the little package she could see what it was. She grabbed them out of my hand and the crying stopped.
"Are you going to be happy now?" I was still able to manage a nice voice here.
"Uh huh" Maggie replied.
That's when I became completely aware that I was just worked over big time.

I should have known. The terrible two's always start at 18 months and then end at age four. Silly me for thinking otherwise.

And Finally.....

Here are a bunch of photo's to prove that we had a great time with friends in Hawaii.

Mike, Ali, Shannon, Matt, Shauni (hiding down low), Paul, Jeremy

Four of us got to drive in a sweet baby blue Grand Marquis.

We love our waves.

Shauni and her fabulous hat.

Shauni and Jer kayaking up Wailua River

Mike and Kimber

Ali and Paul

Ali is six months pregnant and such a trooper. Matt, Ali, Mike and Paul

We were hiking through mud, mud and more mud.

It was awesome.

Mike, Matt, Shauni, Jer

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But we did all of that hiking to get to here. Worth it.

I even went through/behind it with Mike's help.

This is what Mike and Jeremy would do as they waited for their wives to be ready for the day.

Not such an attractive picture of Matt but a really cute pic of Shannon so I had to include it.

Jeremy and Shauni doing another hike to Kipu Falls.The boys all jumped off of the cliff to then climb up a ladder and get to the rope swing. Here's Mikey

Shauni and Shannon

Matt, Paul and Mike climbing up the inside of a tree.

Ali and Paul in his cute little short shorts.

Mike, Jeremy, Paul & Matt
Yes, they are pointing their guns at me. Yes, they are 35 years old. Yes, they spent a long time digging their trenches.

That's Mike in the water holding up his shorts, he said that he was "cleaning the sand out". We all opted to stay on the beach until he was finished.

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On our way to the Nepali Coast. We stopped for snorkeling, turtle watching and we enjoyed dolphins on the way there.Shannon

The beautiful coast line....think Jurassic Park.Kimber and Shauni

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Vacations are the best.