Life as we know it

Hey everyone, if there is anyone still out there. A year is a long time to wait on someone...even as awesome as us, :). We have been moving along at a regular pace, not too busy, but definitely not lazily. 4 kids now, 5 chickens, no dog yet(to stay at least. we have had a few come and go). Life is great. Mom is happy, which means for the most part so is everyone else. meet william:

of course he does look a little bigger now at 9 months:

okay okay, that was two months ago, but give me a break. I am blogging! lets be real - it takes a whole 5 minutes to unload my phone pictures to the computer, so that probably wont happen for another 6 months. I have great desires to go back to school and i am just waiting for the time when it is right. so for now we are just going day to day, going where we are most needed and wanted. Here are a couple (semi)recent pictures:

love you guys. Over and out.

Hi.

Hello to all. We are blowing through life...now i understand when my mother says that years just fly by. i never believed her until now! here's a little picture until i have some more time to really post. maybe in another 6 months or so :0)

Mabel and cousin Saron having a blast at the neighborhood park. I'm about to tear up right now...miss you sar bear...they are spending the summer in New York! I will miss you guys so much. big life update: pregnant with #4 (a boy!!!)

check out my cute kids :0)

I'm not bragging or anything...ok maybe I am :)

January Joys :)

Usually about this time of year I am really hating the cold, moving a bit slower than usual, and just itching to be somewhere else....but i am not! Still hanging onto that Christmas Joy! Maybe because of our family's new years resolution to be outside more. We just discovered the Utah Museum of Natural History...who knew Utah had such cool history? Dinosaur bones and native Americans? sweet! I am all about learning these days. Since we have transformed our lives into learning all day every day(A.K.A. home school), i have come to believe that you are never too old to get excited about DINOSAUR BONES or reading about mummies in Ancient Egypt. i love learning!!

Here are a few pictures of us lately: We spent Christmas in Hawaii with the Crosby Clan!

Luke can swim now!!!










We wish you all a happy new year! We hope you are having a great winter too!

Joy

We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.
-Buddha

Service which is rendered without joy helps neither the servant nor the served. But all other pleasures and possessions pale into nothingness before service which is rendered in a spirit of joy.
-Mohandas Gandhi


Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.
-Mother Teresa


Things won are done, joy's soul lies in the doing.
-William Shakespeare

I sometimes wonder whether all pleasures are not substitutes for joy.
-C. S. Lewis


We were created in the image of God, or father. We are amazing, beautiful creations. We have the potential, among other very plentiful gifts from heaven that we receive, to feel greatest JOY. We are surrounded by so many witnesses of God's love for us. If we could just focus each day on at least one thing we are grateful for, and treat those things with the reverence and love they deserve, then we cannot help but have an over spilling amount of joy in our lives.

And when moments like this happen...




It's ok, because we have so many other things in our life that bring us joy, that make it possible for us trudge through our trials.





This Christmas may you remember your Savior, Jesus Christ. May your season be over-filled with Joy, that you may have joy to last you through 2012. I hope we can all be an example of JOY to those who cannot start their own spark. I love you all :0) MERRY CHRISTMAS!

:0)

I watched my sisters kids a few weeks ago...

i ran downstairs to switch a load of laundry and one of the kids knocked the baby gate down while i was gone. i came back JUST in time to stop them from rolling down the stairs!


Mabel gave Bronwyn a lesson in holding your own bottle...or was she trying to steal it from her?


my baby is getting too big!


Lincoln had his first shaving lesson:

have to share this

We are studying Pablo Picasso right now in school, and I just had to post these for posterity's sake. These are the kids' impressions of two of his paintings:

food for followers

yes, im here, we are all alive and well...we are attempting to homeschool, fix our flooded basement, and keep up with 3 active kids, but not really keeping up on things like mowing the lawn (thanks to Chad who mowed it last week!), putting laundry away, and combing our hair :P but here is a cute video of annie singing her new favorite tune to belt whilst on the toilet (yes, they really do that...every time!)