"Life is what happens in-between the pictures"

I heard this quote about six years ago while watching a movie. I don't remember the name of the movie, but I do remember that I thought the quote was quite profound. The reason I bring this up is because we didn't get any Easter pictures this year. We spent Easter at my mom's house in Bancroft, Idaho, and we forgot to bring extra batteries for the camera. If we did take pictures, this is what they would have been:

Picture #1--Making Jello eggs with my mom. This is a tradition that we had while growing up. We have been lucky enough to be with my mom for the past 3 years, so I am not sure if my children remember an Easter without Jello Eggs. She is a die-hard Jello egg maker, no plastic egg molds for her. She uses real egg shells which she painstakingly removes the contents through a little hole cracked out of the top.

Picture #2--Coloring eggs around the kitchen table. Maddie colored half of them because she was so speedy. She also doesn't know what it means to lower an egg gently into the dye, as a result half of them were cracked by the time we were finished.

Picture #3--Cramming all six of us onto her little living room floor and couches to sleep. 5 of us in our sleeping bags and Lucy in her portacrib.

Picture #4--After thinking everybody was sound asleep; sneaking the Easter baskets through the living room across a squeaky floor into a back room to be filled, only to be surprised by Hannah's eyes popping open just at the right second. I froze like a deer in the headlights, and the only thing I could think to say was "I'm just going to move these for a minute, I'll put them right back."

Picture #5--Johnny waking up on Easter morning and spotting the first plastic filled Easter egg. The first words out of his mouth were "I think I'm seeing things." He got a head start in finding them because Hannah took a while to wake up (this is the girl who is convinced she never sleeps, she only rests her eyes.) They had so much fun searching for eggs, my mom had a lot of interesting places to hide them after years and years of acquiring little nick-knacks.

Picture #6--Hannah, Johnny and Madeline with their Easter umbrellas, we did umbrellas this year instead of Sunday clothes because they have been wanting umbrellas forever and they have plenty of Sunday clothes. They have come in very handy so far.

Picture #7--Going to stake conference with my mom and sitting on a dark stage in fold-up chairs. After 5 trips out with wiggly Lucy who was determined to crawl off the stage, three trips to the potty, and a full container of cheerios flung on the people behind us, Hannah decided that Stake Conference was probably about 9 hours long.

This was an Easter to remember, and once the exhaustion wore off, I realized that these are memories I will cherish forever. Thanks mom, for taking us in for the weekend and making it that much sweeter.

Lucy's playdate

Okay, so it wasn't really a playdate. My friend, Heather, asked me to watch her 3 children for a couple of hours, and I had the privilege of watching these two adorable girls play together. They entertained each other so well. Lucy really isn't the bully she looks like in the picture, but she does look like one compared to little, petite Jessica. They were both born in May 2008, Jessica on the 1st and Lucy on the 29th. Heather was such a great Pregnancy buddy for me.

Maybe it's time for a lesson on reverence...

This is what I got a few nights ago when I told everybody to fold their arms for the prayer.

My little mystery man

More than anything right now, I wish that I could put myself inside my children's heads, to see the world through their eyes. This is especially true with Johnny. If I had this experience I am sure that parenting this sweet, strong willed boy wouldn't be nearly as puzzling to me.

Here are the few things that I have figured out about Johnny:

I know that he loves to be silly. If he can make somebody laugh, he is the happiest boy in the world.

I know that he likes to spend time helping me in the kitchen.

grinding and sifting flour...
shaping loaves...
and washing dishes,
but I also know that he will probably never volunteer to peel an onion again.

I know that he likes to clean up messes...

and sometimes he will create a mess, just so he can have the joy of cleaning it up.

(This is a gallon and a half of water from a spilled humidifier.)

I am starting to realize that more than anyone else in our family, this boy needs routine and structure in his life. When it is missing (and it is missing often with me as a mom) he starts to feel down. So good-by unstructured days, and last minute planning, it's time to be the kind of mom I need to be.

Speaking of Johnny:

Because this blog is my substitute for a journal/scrapbook, I want to write this story down, just so I don't forget.

Last night, after telling Johnny a bedtime story, he started to cry. When I asked him what was wrong, he said "Do you remember that time I hit you with a book?" It took a minute but I did remember, it happened almost two years ago when Johnny randomly flung a book across the room and it just happened to hit me right between the eyes, I can't believe he still remembered. I do remember that I had a cut and a bruise between my eyes for about a week. I told him that I had completely forgotten about it until that minute. "But I still feel bad about it." I told him that I had already forgiven him and that he didn't have to feel bad about it anymore. I showed him how I would forget about it again by pretending to take the thought out of my ear, crumple it up and throw it away. Johnny asked "what if that thought were recycled into a bottle, and then you drank water out of it and the thought came back?" I told him, "I would only be thinking about how good it tasted." Only after this did he begin to smile again, I can't believe that he carried this around with him for almost two years--that boy!

Pay it Forward

This is something I got from my sister-in-law, Lori, who introduced me to blogging in the first place. I can't wait to receive my handmade item and make something for the winners!!!

Pay It Forward

The Rules:1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?!

2. Winners must post this challenge on their blog, meaning that they will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on their post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your friends can be from any price range and you have 90 days to make/ship your item. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Counts!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate pictures and comments!

If you are not one of the Top Three Commenter's on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!!So who will the lucky three be?? And hopefully you won't be disappointed in whatever I make for you or someone in your family!

It's late, but how do I break up a party like this?

John, is home from his week long business trip in California. We are so glad he is back, now we are now trying to get our lives back to normal. No matter how often he leaves, I find myself slacking off in so many areas while he is away, Our meals are much simpler, we all go to bed later, and my usual routine goes out the window while I work on a project or read a book. Just before John left, he asked the kids what they would like him to bring home for them. Hannah and Johnny wanted Huricane Tears (a.k.a the marbles he picked up from his last trip to Texas). Maddie just wanted a sandwich, I think that she thought he was just leaving to pick lunch up for all of us. As we dropped him off at the airport and drove away, Maddie started crying. When I asked her what was wrong she said "You forgot my sandwich!"
This is a picture of one of our late nights. It's hard to send them to bed in the middle of a Goosebumps book.

Happy April Fools Day

April Fool's Day was very un-eventful at our house this year, other than an occasional "There's a spider on the ceiling" or "There's a Donkey in the bathroom" trick. Hannah learned a really cute April Fool's day song though.

The music in the green box may need to be paused to hear the video.