Day 88

Today was McKenna's first soccer game of the season. Tyler also had a track meet. Nobody won, but everyone had a good time.

Day 87

Today for FHE we talked about having a living Prophet on the earth and preparing for General Conference. For our activity we played Prophet Pictionary. We had a really good time and the kids said this was one of the best FHE's ever. McKenna did a really good job...this was "Lehi and the Tree of Life". Brooklynn even got to draw...that's the whale eating Jonah. It was a fun night.

Day 86

Today I straightened Lauren's hair for church which took WAAAYYYYY longer than I had planned on. As a result, five minutes before we were to leave, Chris said I'd have to do something really simple on the other girls because we were NOT going to be late because of hair. I told him he could do it if he didn't want to be late because I wasn't going to make it. Well, he did it and it was awful. But, we went to church anyway. And, we all lived. The world kept on turning. Nobody mocked and pointed (at least to my face). Life kept on moving. And, I guess it was ok. NOT that I will make this a habit mind you, but it wasn't as horrible as I'd imagined it would be. Apparently messy hair isn't the end of the world. But, just in case we got lucky, I'll get up earlier next week.

Day 85

One of these days, we'll see Chris again. He has been spending what little free time he does have, building the chicken coop. It's almost finished and hopefully I can post a picture. He has worked really hard on it and it is looking good.

Day 84

Our little brood just keeps getting bigger. We have set up a temporary pen so they can play outside on sunnier days. They look like little mini chickens now.

Day 83

We have had some beautiful weather here and there, teasing us. I can't wait for warmer days when I can have green grass again and can stock up on lots of these!

Day 82

Today's picture is brought to you by my guest blogger, Brooklynn. Who specializes in self portraits. It was a beautiful day and we spent some time outside...taking pictures of ourselves apparently. She caught some of my favorite features though, her freckles!

Day 81

Today Tyler had another choir concert. This was the first one in his new advanced choir which means he had to upgrade to the fancy shirt. I am really glad that he has enjoyed choir. Last year when they had to register for classes, he was pretty upset that he had to take a music class at all since he was already taking piano. He did NOT want to take choir but I told him it was an easy "A" and it was only for one semester. A whole bunch of his friends also had to take it and in the end, they all really liked it. They even signed up for the advanced choir, and, registered again for next year! I catch him every now and again singing around the house. I thought he looked very nice in his outfit.

Day 80

Today was McKenna's first day of soccer practice and, she lost another tooth! She worked on it all day so it would be loose enough to come out. She was very anxious for the tooth fairy to come.

Day 79

Today was my birthday. It was a busy day full of church and meetings, but we managed to squeeze in some cake and ice cream after dinner. Surprisingly, this is the only picture from the whole day. Chris made me two cakes, a guava cake and this strawberry vanilla cake. This is the one we lit candles on. I guess that I'm grateful that I made it another year since Brooklynn told her friends I was turning 78. It was a nice day and thanks to everyone who helped make it special!

Day 78

This reminded me of one of the Cat in the Hat stories where the two kids sit looking out the window, wishing they could go outside. Brooklynn will quite often sit at the window and look outside, keeping an eye on the neighborhood. Just made me smile.

Day 77

Today we got to go to the Make A Wish Foundation Building to celebrate Mason's wish with a big party! What a fun event. This organization is truly amazing. The whole experience was really neat to be a part of. We had lots of family to celebrate with Mason and enjoyed learning more about MAW and touring the facilities. Tuesday they are off to Florida to spend a week full of fun in the sun at Disney World and a whole bunch of other exciting places. Pene blogged about it HERE. Mason is such a miracle and we are so happy that he is doing so well.

Day 76

Today was St. Patrick's Day. More details on the festivities HERE.

Day 75

Today, was a very yummy sort of day. I hate to admit, that 8 boxes of Girl Scout cookies have almost been completely consumed. Did we need 8 boxes? No. But Chris and I both bought four boxes on the same day at separate stores and came home and laughed. Oh, and having Jimmer on the cover on SI doesn't hurt either.

Day 74

So today wasn't such a good day. It has been a busy week or so with the windows and some other household repairs. Chris has been busy building his chicken coop. (Which has been a MUCH bigger project than I imagined.) I've been painting the girls room which has taken a ridiculously long time. I got sick. I dropped a hammer on my toe and sliced a big hunk off the end. The kids have been fighting more than usual and I'm worn out. I may have lost it a time or two and their might have been tears...from everyone. McKenna wrote me a little note that said,

To: Mom
From: The Kids

Dear Mom. We love you. We will make you a deal. If you make us happy by not crying because it makes us cry. We will make you happy by not fighting. So is it a deal? Circle YES or NO

Yes, it was a rough day. So where is the joy in all of that? Because at the end of the day, no matter how stressful it was, how much pain and sadness there was, we are still a family. And I love them no matter what. My heart fills with joy just thinking about how blessed I am to have such a beautiful family. We take the ups and the downs, the sickness, the health, the good, the bad and the very, very bad. But, it's all worth it and nothing else matters. I love them with every fiber of my being, beyond comprehension...even if on more than one occasion I have considered packing them all off to Timbuktu. I am so very grateful for my family.

Day 73

Ok, so confession. This picture is really from last week Thursday. I had forgotten that I took it on my phone and so when I posted all my pictures from last week, I was off. I couldn't figure out why and I had already re-posted them once. I found it this week and realized why I was off but didn't want to change it again so here it is.

The kids had an Art show at the school and this was one of Brooklynn's submissions. I had seen her other one and the rest of the kids but this was one I didn't know about. I thought it was very cute. Little people walking their pets.

Day 72

Today I finally fixed McKenna's hair for church so we could show off her new haircut. I absolutely LOVE it and think she looks so darling. And it is SOOOO much easier to comb out! She loves it too and has been combing it for two days, all day long.

Day 71

I have been prepping the girls room to paint and had removed these hanger things. Brooklynn was my little helper. For some reason she thought they made the greatest toys. She carried these around all day and has played with them for hours. She thought it was so cool that they would stick to this little doll toilet. It is magnetic...so that when you put the doll on it, it pees. Anyway, she managed to carry this around all day and play with it and didn't lose a single screw. She even took this picture. Silly girl.

Day 70

I have had it with brushing out Brooklynn and McKenna's hair! A few weeks ago I told both girls I was having their hair cut. McKenna was totally against it but Brooklynn was excited. I figured if we made a big deal about Brooklynn's, McKenna would change her mind. And, it worked! A day or two after Brooklynn's haircut McKenna decided she wanted hers cut too. Today was the last day she had long hair.

Day 69

Slow day around here for "joyful" things to post. Been a bit crazy the past few days but Chris did put together our water dispenser that we bought a year ago. I had to move a couple things around to make room for it. It is nice that we don't have to take up so much room in our fridge now with a big water dispenser.

Day 68

Today we got new windows. Our old ones were really horrible and most of them were not even functional. Even though it was a long day and much more of a process than I was expecting, and even though we'll probably be finding glass in our yard and inside our house for the next five years, it was worth it. It is SO nice to have clean, functional windows.

Day 67

Tonight I stayed up late with Tyler working on some math. I love math. I love how it just makes so much sense to my little brain. He was working on some review worksheets and wanted me to correct them. The only downside is that they teach the kids completely different today than when I was in school. I hate to confuse him which I think I do too often. He hates math. I just can't comprehend that. It is so organized and neat and the answers always make sense. I {heart} math!

Day 66

It is starting to look like summer around here. Not that you would really know what time of year it was with McKenna. She wears a swimsuit year round. I found these cute suits at Target and bought one for each of the girls. They are actually a coral color, not pink but our camera stinks. I am really looking forward to summer.

Day 65

Today Brooklynn spent some time working on her letters and sounds. She was quite proud of herself for matching all of the letters and sounds together. (Even if the word for "C" was Crocodile...who does that? Hello, Cat?! "A" for "Alligator". Talk about confusing!) She has started reading with her teacher since about Christmas and is progressing well. I love to see her try to sound out words and the magic that occurs when all those letters on a page finally make sense. Her little face lights up when she figures out a word.

Day 64

Today I am grateful for reading. I love to read and wish that I could read more. My problem is that I'm pretty busy and when I do sit down and read, I fall asleep. I have enjoyed this series, "The Great and Terrible", that Chris got me started on. (This one is book #2) I hope that my children will all love reading as much as I do. Right now both Tyler and Lauren are really into the books they are reading. I love to see how much they enjoy it and hope that they will always have such a desire.

Day 63

Today I am remembering what it was like to have a Kitchenaide and wishing I was more grateful for it when I had it. I really want a Bosch but I'd settle for having my Kitchenaide back. It broke about six months ago and I haven't gotten it fixed yet. I had to mix and need this pizza dough by hand. I guess it is good practice for when we don't have any electricity.

Day 62

Today our little chicks were evicted. Aside from starting to have "larger" smells and outgrowing their tank, they were on the verge of being LOVED to death. Chris found them a larger box and got them all settled outside in our shop. I can't believe how fast they grow and change. Literally in one day I saw the tail feathers go from none to a couple. On a side note, the permanent chicken coop has been started!

Day 61

For a while we have been suspicious that our water heater might be ready to die. We have heard so many stories that water heaters have a maximum life span of about 10 years and when they go, flooding can occur. That was just a nightmare we didn't want to deal with. Since we knew it was over 10 years old and we've received our tax refund, we decided to take a preemptive approach and get it replaced. So today we got it installed. Yippeeee!

Day 60

Today I found a treasure while rummaging through some kitchen gadgets at Savers Thrift Store. I had gone looking for some cheap appliances for Tyler's art class (junk art project). While perusing the shelves I came across a FoodSaver!! I have wanted one for a while but can't justify the price because I know I won't use it enough to warrant the cost. But occasionally I have a need and don't have one. I didn't know if it would work or not but I brought it home and it works great! It's the smaller one, but for what I need, it will be perfect! And, it was only $7...less than the cost of the bags. For $15 I am ready to seal!