37 weeks....

But really, who is counting...oh yeah, that  would be ME!!!

Being Real

One of the things I notice about women, or maybe just everyone, is that sometimes it is hard for us to be "REAL".  I  think the blogging world is great, but it seems that we try to put the picture perfect image into our lives and our blogs, when really, things are NOT  always picture perfect. I certainly don't mean for everyone to be pessimistic, I just want to be REAL.  I love being optimistic.  I also appreciate it when someone can just say, "Sometimes, life is HARD"  or "Today, I wasn't 100% wonderful".  I recently read a blog that I absolutely loved.  I connected to it at some level and was so pleased that the author was honest.  Her post is here.  I wonder sometimes that when we aren't willing to be honest with each other, then somehow we make assumptions that others don't ever feel the same way as us.  Or, that somehow we ourselves are failures.  I try really hard to not be too hard on myself.  So, I didn't get the laundry done today and I really don't like ironing clothes.  I sometimes loose my temper with my kiddos and don't comb their hair everyday.  This doesn't mean I don't want to be better...of course I do, but man, sometimes I'm just getting by.  And that is O.K.

Happy Chinese New Year!

One of the things I love most about my mother-in-law is her enthusiasm for celebration. She called and said, "Let's celebrate the Chinese New Year for Family Home Evening this week!"  I quickly agreed that was a great idea!  

So, I decorated (with some help).  Noah, Gabe and I made everyone their own placemat decorated with their zodiac animal:

Lucynthia ordered the Chinese food and brought hats for us to wear!

The kids had so much fun--they put on a dragon puppet show with puppets they made at Grandma's house and then we all received an envelope with $1.00 in it from our elders after we did the traditional bow to each other (Grandma gave to us, we gave to our kids).  The only disappointing part of the night is that there wasn't the traditional $100 dollars in the envelope.

And of course, no Chinese New Year's celebration is complete without the "traditional" sword fight.  Thanks Derek and Scott for not leaving that part out!

This has all been on my Mind...

I love Christmas morning...especially with young children in the home. This is a picture of my boys looking over what Santa left them.  Priceless.

What is it with apes and monkeys and my boys (including Derek)?  There is some sort of obsession with primates in our home.  This is one of the cards the kids made for Derek on his birthday.  Every single card he received from the kids had flying monkeys and chimpanzees.  What up?

 Yes, this is me two weeks ago.  It's getting closer.  The nursery is pink, the closet has a few girl things in it, and I'm feeling large, but trying to savor every last minute of it.  One huge blessing of having your fifth child is that you realize how important it is to enjoy every minute....because it too shall pass.  I feel so lucky that I've been able to do this 5 times.   

Don't forget to tune in for the inaugural speech this week!  It doesn't really matter what your political affiliations are...it's historic, so just watch.

Why do T.V. shows have cliff hangers at the end of every season!?!  What ever happened to closure!  I'm ready for something different.  I barely watch T.V. anymore.  It's been grand.  

Last night at 12:45am, I opened my eyes and found Soren standing by my bed brushing his teeth...seriously.  What a funny kid.  

After watching the new season of 24 with D this week, I was wondering what your thoughts are about torture...do you think torture really works?  (please don't spend to much time thinking about this one)

Have a great day.