Legends of Hall: 2015

Clearly, life with 4 precious littles is very busy. So busy, in fact, that I have not been taking the time to document everything. I don't want to look back in twenty years and wish I could remember better because I slacked in my record keeping.

Truly, we are so blessed. I thank Heavenly Father multiple times a day for our temple marriage, our incredible angel babies, the wonderful health and safety He provides for us, and our beautiful home. Jacob is such a happy baby. He's also quite the mover and shaker! The sweet boy is still a few days shy of 6 months, yet he already has 2 teeth and can crawl around and pull himself up to stand. The other kids think it is pretty amazing. He is definitely keeping me on my toes. I vacuum once or twice a day to make sure he won't find something tiny in his carpet travels. I even bought a play pen to keep him safe--he is my first real play pen baby.

It's always amazing to me how, when a new baby is born, it quickly becomes as if you cannot imagine or even remember your family without them.

I am so very grateful for Adam, my rock. I call him my "finisher" because he always finishes the things I start, like folding and putting away laundry I have washed and left out, helping the kids pick up their toys after my scattered attempts, etc. Adam is also endlessly patient with me and all my quirks. He loves me unconditionally and helps me be steady and patient. Also, he is doing almost all of the work with our outside re-do, including building a pond on the backyard from scratch--amazing!!! That's on top of his full-time job, being a great dad, doing some work for his dad, and helping people with other projects on the side. I seriously don't know how he does it all. He is the best.

Steven is doing great. I love to see his growth in learning, especially reading, which he loves. We gave him scriptures for Christmas (that was the gift I was most excited about), and I keep saying how glad I am that we did. He pulls out his scriptures every night after dinner and we read a few verses as a family. I think it's the longest reading streak I've ever had. My favorite part is that he insists on helping Rebecca and Daniel with their verses--he will whisper the words to them so they can "read them out loud" to us. What a great example.

Rebecca is my little helper, girlfriend, and drama queen. She loves to help me cook dinner, bake anything, hold Jacob, do makeovers, and put on singing and dancing shows for us--fully decked out in her fabulous princess attire. She is all girl all the time, and I love it. She also loves to help Adam in the yard with all the projects we are doing (completely redoing the front and building a pond in the back). I love when she puts on her "work clothes," which basically means anything that's denim. She is full of energy and boosts us all.

Daniel is LOVING being a big brother. He pulls out books to "read" to Jacob, sings him songs, tells me when he is not happy, and even carries him to me when he feels I need to help. Thankfully, he isn't letting being a big brother make him grow up too fast, though. He still loves to snuggle with me, and he asks us for "squeeze hugs" each night when we tuck him in. Daniel is also super good at puzzles. We have some pretty tricky 48 piece floor puzzles that he has mastered. He will work so hard, then as soon as one is finished, he quickly tosses it all apart so he can have the joy of doing it again.

Jacob is so loved. He is HUGE, which is especially good since he gets lovingly manhandled quite a bit. My mom says she doesn't think she has ever seen a baby who is as constantly happy and outgoing as he. I love that he loves to snuggle up with me. When he is sleeping he will turn his face until it's as close to mine as possible. I love it.

I am so happy with my life. I am ever grateful for the blessing it is to be a stay-at-home mom. I do teach a few music lessons during the week, and I love that each child will run to me while calling out, "Mom, what about hugs and kisses?!" as I am getting ready to leave. I love to see their joy when Adam or I return from being gone and when we get to meet Steven as he walks out of his class at school. I have said it so many times, but my favorite part of being a mom really is seeing how much my children love each other. I love to work in the kitchen to the sound of them laughing and playing together. I try to just enjoy them and not get bogged down by the constant laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc. that there is to do. Sometimes it gets to be too much so we have a massive pick up together, and then I remind myself that a day will come when I miss all of this. A random shoe on the floor, a couple Lego pieces on the table, a half-finished puzzle on the carpet. This is a magical time of life and I am doing my best and praying for help to make the most of it.