Happy 4th Birthday!

Luke and Noah turn 4 today. In some ways I can't believe how quickly the years have flown past. It doesn't seem that long ago that we were in the hospital holding these 2 tiny boys, full of wonder at their arrival and scared to death. Happy birthday my sweet boys!

Merry Christmas 2010

We are enjoying a magical white Christmas here in NC!

Merry Christmas from the Hardys

She wants to be a cowgirl

We were driving in the car this weekend and Grace pipes up with " I wish we lived in Texas. Then we'd HAVE to have a horse. Plus I like the music and their croutons."

I sometimes buy Texas Toast flavored croutons. The kids eat them by the handful and call them "the other kind of chips". 

Also - totally unrelated - I just had to share Luke's sugar cookie. The picture doesn't quite capture just how much frosting, chips and sugar sprinkles were loaded on it.

 

There is something so sweet about little girls at ballet class. 

Grace and Sophie's teacher Ms. Elizabeth is wonderful. She also teaches ballet for UNCG (University of NC Greensboro). She lets Grace break the "official" rule of having to wear tights with your leotard and Sophie loves that she teaches all of the French terms for the ballet steps they learn.

My Sweet Girl (Warning: This post is not for children)

This is Grace's Christmas list. She is hedging her bets that Santa is real and has asked for every pet she can think of. In her actual letter to Santa she asked for a puppy, a kitten or a real tame deer. This is a list she made at school. I think the illustrated animals are adorable. She is my first child to ask for a book as a gift, makes my heart sing! No part of me would be singing if we had a burrow or a lizard as a member of our household.

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

Ok...so the weather really wasn't frightful, but the snow was delightful! We had an unexpected snow storm (of sorts) this weekend. The green grass poking through makes me laugh.So fun! I love that we can sled in our front yard.

Thanksgiving 2010

 My favorite part of Thanksgiving this year was our impromptu football game. We played boys against girls and had a blast. This picture of Luke makes me laugh! He has watched a total of one football game on TV and never played before. He carried the ball like a pro and seemed to know just what to do.

 I was actually happy that on Thanksgiving it was cold and overcast. It just seems weird to be warm and sunny during the winter holidays. I am hoping that we can make a tradition of playing football together. It is hard to capture the magic again though, and it may not work out to be as fun as this was. We laughed and ran around and had a great time.

Thanksgiving morning I got out some Legos that were Jason's as a boy. His mom has kept them all these years. My kids loved building with them. Yes, I know...my kids are a little late to Legos. There is only so much in life I can keep track of. The things lurking in the backs of my closets are not high on the priority list.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from North Carolina!

Sunlight

Afternoon sunlight in the fall...bare feet in November... my kids laughing together...makes me happy.

 "May the sunlight of faith enter into your hearts." 

Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley

Sophie REALLY wants me to share her song with all of you. It is a snappy little tune that goes like this:

Get me chocolate now! All your candy too! Get me chocolate now, or I will kick you!

Fabulous right?

Ramblings

I needed some soul comfort this week (no big reason, just needed it) and revisited a beloved book. I picked up The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley and was in bliss. McKinley's early writing is wonderful.  I felt like I had visited an old friend for some needed fun and relaxation. When I was done reading I jumped online to McKinley's website and was excited to see that she has a blog. I promptly added her to my blog list and felt like I had made a connection to a valued friend. Then I started to read the blog. I hated it! Her blog voice is not at all my idea of who my beloved author should be. Unfair of me, and a little naive, yes. Robin McKinley can be, and write, whatever she chooses. I am disappointed though.

Also this week I also happened to listen to part of radio interview with Salman Rushdie. I have never been remotely interested in his writing. He was being interviewed about new young adult book he had written. Rushdie was full of humor, down to earth, a little self deprecating and just interesting in a very appealing way. I am going to read his book. I hope I like it. The joy of reading an excellent, new book is one of the great pleasures of life. Regardless, I was reminded once again to be open to new ideas and possibilities. You just never know what you will find...

Gratitude

I love Thanksgiving. It has always been one of my favorite holidays. I am trying the whole month of November this year to focus on gratitude. I have been gathering quotes on gratitude for another project and just had to share my favorites. 


“Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend... when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present --love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and personal pursuits that bring us pleasure -- the wasteland of illusion fallsaway and we experience Heaven on earth."
~ Sarah Ban Breathnach—Author of ”Simple Abundance"

"Mercies and blessings come in different forms--sometimes as hard things. Yet the Lord said, 'Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things' (D&C 59:7). All things means just that: good things, difficult things--not just some things. He has commanded us to be grateful because He knows being grateful will make us happy. This is another evidence of His love...
 Gratitude is a Spirit filled principle. It opens our minds to a universe permeated with the richness of a living God. Through it, we become spiritually aware of the wonder of the smallest things, which gladden our hearts with their messages of God's love. This grateful awareness heightens our sensitivity to divine direction. When we communicate gratitude, we can be filled with the Spirit and connected to those around us and the Lord. Gratitude inspires happiness and carries divine influence."
Bonnie D. Parkin, "Gratitude: A Path to Happiness," Ensign, May 2007

I am determined to cultivate my garden of gratitude, to see more of the abundance in my life. Today I am especially grateful to all who have served, and are serving, in our armed forces. How grateful I am for their sacrifices and those of their family. To my family members who are serving now - Thank you. I love you!

Da DA dadada da DA!

We watched Star Wars and the Return of the Jedi together this weekend as a family. It was a blast. We had tried before but the boys were too young to be interested and the girls were just scared. Of course Noah and Luke played "Star Burst" all day with their "Lifesavers" trying to get away from "Dark Mader". By bedtime we had finally convinced them that it was Dark Vader...progress?

I have to admit I was sad we hadn't watched the movies a month ago. I may have convinced my sweet kids to let me dress them all for Halloween as Star Wars characters. I have this fantasy of theme dressing our family for Halloween. Crazy I know, but wouldn't to be so fun? So far I can't get my 4 children to agree on anything as simple as a tv show, let alone a costume. I guess my answer is to just get 3 little dogs who can walk on their hind legs.

May the force be with you!

Happy Halloween

 What's Halloween without a few tears?

Luke was determined to be a green snake. This was my best attempt at a snake costume.

I love Halloween! I also love trick or treating. I am rethinking this though. Last night we went to 2 trunk or treats and in just about an hour had plenty o' candy and loads of fun. No one was tired, cold or grouchy. Besides Luke falling twice (he wore one of his shoes and one of Noah's which are a size larger) there were no tears. That is a great time in my book!

Earlier in the day I ran a 5K with wonderful friends. It was to raise money and awareness for gynecological cancers and especially to celebrate the recovery of a good friend. It was cold and the course was really hilly, but beautiful, and all in all a great time.

Am I the only one?

Am I the only one watches Masterpiece Theater on Sunday nights? Masterpiece mystery introduced an new  series last night. It was by far the best thing I have seen on TV in years. Some amazing writer has recreated Sherlock Holmes in modern London. Fabulous actors, witty, funny dialogue, new ideas about such an iconic literary figure =fun, fun, fun!  I am such a devoted fan of PBS shows. I just had to give a heads up to the 3 people who read my blog.

PS - If you have a DVR MT is usually replayed the same week really late at night or in the early morning. You can probably record it.

I forgot to share an amazing development in our family camping adventures. Jason discovered he is super interested in dutch oven cooking. I discovered I am super interested in eating food camping that doesn't involve hot dogs or spaghettios. I am a bare bones minimalist when it comes to camp food. Quick and as easy as possible is how I feed my family in the great outdoors. I don't even worry about nutrition (too much.) Jason made an super yummy chicken and potato dish and this....

 Chocolate fudge cake!!!!! It was so DELICIOUS. Plus the kids had a ball with whipped cream out of a can. Like I said, nutrition takes a back burner while camping. We had so much left over we shared with 2 other couples. I was hoping it helped with the noise and delight of being around my children for a few days.

I could not be more thrilled with Jason's latest hobby. He has even cooked in the Dutch oven twice since we've been home in the oven. Husbands that cook...bliss.

Virginia is for Lovers?

 We went camping this weekend in Virginia at Fairy Stone State Park. It is up in the Blue Ridge Hills. It was colder then we expected but still fun. Every time we go I am amazed at how much work it is to take our family camping. But it is a lot of fun for the kids and nice to be outside for Mom and Dad, even if it is in a crowed campground.

Most of these pictures are from geocaching. Everyone had a blast except Noah. He got an enormous sliver  and literally cried for an hour. Poor kid. The leaves were not as pretty as they have been other years, there was a lot of brown. But who can complain about being in beautiful woods in the fall?

 These next pictures are from hunting fairy stones. The park is full of all kinds of minerals. Grace found many interesting things including a piece of mica. That girl loves to dig in the dirt!  Fairy stones are a kind of crystal that forms in the shape of a cross. We found a few misshapen ones. Luke decided any stone he found that had sparkles in it was a fairy stone.

Sophie was a ham all weekend. She kept us entertained and exasperated.

All in all it was a success. I do feel a little bad for our camping neighbors. I think they had envisioned a weekend of enjoying Virgina with the state motto in mind. Instead they got to camp next to wild, crazy, loud,delightful children loving the outdoors.

Boys vs. Girls

I don't know if I should laugh or cry at this. I have these dreams of my children loving each other, sharing and being best friends all the time. I know that is unrealistic. At least Noah and Luke are smiling in their sister's rendering, even if they are banned. Sophie's phonetic spelling is great too.

Whatever works...

Sophie and Grace went to the dentist yesterday for  fillings and sealants. (I feel like such a lousy parent when my kids have cavities!) Our dentist uses sedation, which I am grateful for, because it took about an hour each in the chair. All told, we did not have a spectacular experience. Grace threw up and when they brought her out to me she was crying. Her medication wore off pretty quickly though and then she was just a little grouchy.  Sophie was a different story. She was still so loopy when they were finished that she could not stand or walk. Getting her into her car seat was a little comical.

Because we live out in the boon docks and going to town is like hitching up the buckboard for the day, I had to go to Costco before we picked the boys up from preschool. Grace did fine. Poor Sophie did not. She was whimpering and crying the entire time. I was trying to shop in a hurry and comfort her at the same time. Nothing seemed to be working. Finally as I was putting the big ol' bag of chocolate chips into the cart she reached for it. I handed them to her and she snuggled them like they were her blankie, and calmed down. Definitely a new definition of comfort food.

What comes around goes around

I went running this morning with Luke and Noah in the stroller. A super-runner-lady passing by gave me a thumbs up and said "Awesome!" It made my day! Is that silly? Wouldn't our world be a better place if we encouraged each other more? This week I am going to focus on being encouraging, especially to my children.

I just couldn't walk by

I was seduced today by the dollar aisle at Target. Who gets by that thing without stopping? Genius marketing.

What I was thinking buying foam gladiator toys, I just don't know. Maybe that playing at fighting would stop the actual fighting for a while?  Big sigh...   Sophie's sword fighting stance cracks me up and freaks me out a little. It is weird when your kids start learning things and you have no idea where they came from.

I also just have to ask myself...if I don't want my kids to have play guns, why am I fine with swords, shields and swinging maces? Hmmm....

First Day of Preschool

Luke and Noah were SOOOOO excited about starting preschool today! Noah had his clothes laid out on the floor of his bedroom for the past 4 days...really. No tears at all, but Luke did pack his blanket in his backpack "just in case!". When I picked them up and asked what they did at school today Luke replied all blase, "Just school stuff Mom." Made me laugh.

I had to send in a picture of each boy for the class bulletin board. Last night I searched through our last few months of pictures and I couldn't find a single one of Noah by himself where he wasn't doing, or wearing, something crazy! The 2 I did find that would work were not ideal for a school setting.  I found a cute picture with Noah holding a burning stick from camping and another riding his bike with no helmet. So I took a picture this morning. He kept moving so it was a little blurry. At least there was no evidence of questionable parenting in it.

If you are wondering what I did this morning? I swam laps all by myself, ran an errand all by myself and got a much needed pedicure as a splurge. Yeah for preschool!

What a surprise

We went to the zoo today. The weather was gorgeous! Sunny but not hot, and no humidity to speak of.  For the first time in months we were outside for several hours comfortably without being in a swimming pool. The zoo was packed of course, but we were brave and went without a stroller.  Maneuvering through crowds with just my own two feet was a revelation! Even with keeping track of 4 excited kids, not lugging a stroller around was wonderful. The whole day was pleasant and even relaxing. This is new for us. I think I could get very used to it.

PS - does anyone know why my background is not showing up? I have looked at blogspot help and got no where.

We are so ready for Fall

When we got up for church this morning it was 53 degrees outside. Grace and Sophie were positively giddy about the prospect of wearing tights to church. (This is a huge surprise coming from Grace. For the past few years she has abhorred tights or leggings of any sort. She says that she hates the way they feel. So she has bare legs all winter long here for church. Today she had found a pair of zebra printed tights that are her one exception. They totally did not match her outfit, but I didn't care. Last week to church she wore her pioneer dress and sunbonnet from the dress up box. )

The girls had a whole discussion about if it rained today that there would be snow. I thought it was hilarious! I explained to them that it has been hot here for quite a few months, that 50 + degrees is not cold enough to snow and that they were just used to it being incredibly hot each time they went outside. All said, It was wonderful to have to wear a sweater to church. We were glad we did because the air conditioning was still on in the chapel...surprise, surprise. I have to admit, I just sat there and enjoyed being cold. Once my toes were blocks of ice I did wish I hadn't worn sandals though.

First Day

First Grade started today for Grace and Sophie. I think it is cute that they chose to wear matching outfits. For the first time in their 6 years they will not be together during the day. The time to put them in separate classes came a little earlier then I expected, but both girls are ready. The only problem so far is that Grace's class has a pet rabbit and Sophie's has no pets at all.

Love

As any self respecting, Jane Austen reading young girl, I always imagined that at some point in my future I would receive  poems of love written just for me.  I had no idea that the author of these poems would be my 6 year old daughter. I found this on my bedside table last night.

Translation:

Oh my love,
Oh my love it shines like a bird
it shines like a dove
My love is so bright
it could just light up the night

Love, Sophie

Seriously...how sweet is that?!

1940's Color Photos

If any of  you are interested, my friend Cyndie posted a really interesting link on her blog of color photos from the Great Depression. I think they are amazing! You can check out her blog at SwindleFun on my links or click here.


http://extras.denverpost.com/archive/captured.html

Under the Weather

Sophie has been sick the past few days. When I noticed that she was laying down on the couch instead of playing one afternoon I asked if she felt ok. Her answer was, "Well, I don't feel like eating any candy." I had to laugh! The girl is a sugar fiend!

Brave Girls

"Being brave might be just getting out of bed and putting one foot in front of the other. Brave might be learning a new skill or starting a new business or starting over later in life when you thought the struggling would be over. Brave is caring for elderly parents with love and patience and self-sacrifice. Brave is doing HARD things with grace and dignity and growth and joy and yes, even with humor. Brave is figuring out what is most important to you, and then being fiercely protective of that in your life. Brave is turning your back on what the world tells you is most important and turning your heart toward what you know is really important. Brave is doing the right thing. Brave is having the courage to be your 100% authentic self."        Kathy Wilkins




My SIL was lucky enough to go to Brave Girls Camp recently in Idaho. If you are interested you can check out their website. I love the idea of labeling myself as a Brave Girl. I also love this definition of what it means to be brave. I feel uplifted and inspired after spending some time looking at the Brave Girls Club info. So inspired that after I write this I am going to go be brave and tackle organizing the closet where I have been storing my kids outgrown and out of season clothing. 


PS - Mom, I think you are incredibly brave to become a missionary!

Boy Crazy

Potty training for Luke and Noah...accomplished! (Mostly) Even nighttime. Is there anything cuter then a little boy in underroos?

My favorite moment this week: finding Luke outside riding his bike buck naked. He said it was cold in our house?!

The earth laughs in flowers - RW Emerson

Fragpani

Bougainvillea

I don't know, but it is beautiful!

Feather Duster

This is actually a marine worm. It looks like coral and waves gently in the current. When you touch it, the feathery appendages retract instantly into a tube beneath the body. Not a flower, but I had to include it.

I am a nature geek. Whenever I travel I always try to learn as much as I can about the native plants and animals. I especially fell in love with the flowers on St. John. The diversity and beauty of our world is just astounding. I said prayers of gratitude over and over while on St. John for the beauty and fascination of the earth. I am getting better using my little point and shoot also!