We will make it....

The mom and the dad at the Day house are very tired. We have been renting violins, violas, cellos and basses for two weeks now. Our goal is 300 - we are not even close, but they keep coming, so I cannot complain. We have met great people... We can see the basement floor again...we are still getting phone calls. All things to be grateful for. Yawn! Now if I could just get a good night's sleep...

Thirteen Reasons Why I LOVE You!

Thirteen Reasons Why I love you...

1. Every day for the past thirteen years has been worth it!
2. You send me flowers all the time.
3. You are a hottie!
4. Four Beautiful Children
5. Meditation from Thais
6. You get up with the children in the middle of the night for me
7. Birthday Rollovers are your forte!
8. You love me even when I don't like myself.
9. You like a clean house
10. Back scratches
11. Foot Rubs
12. You always call me Beautiful
13. I know you love me because you show it every day!

Happy Anniversary Jason! I love you!

We will NEVER forget...

I remember the beautiful sunny day and playing outside with Xander and Garrett and the two children I was babysitting. We were enjoying the sunshine. The boys were having the time of their lives playing in the sand box and riding their trikes. It was Jason's first day at The Flint Hill School as their newest music teacher. It was a job we took a chance on and I was sad to see him leave that morning.

He called me around 10am and told me to get the children inside and told me what happened. I remember looking at the beautiful sky and thinking, "You're not making any sense! It is such a nice day!" Then my thoughts turned to my sister, Anna, who worked in DC and Jason's dad who was working at Fort Myer, near the Pentagon...were they ok? What was really happening? I said a silent prayer, still not realizing the impact of Jason's words.

I remember telling Xander when he asked me why I was crying that there were a lot of people that had to go live with Heavenly Father that day. He saw the planes when they hit the building and said, "Why are they flying into the building?"

The candlelight vigil was our 5th wedding anniversary. I lit candles all over the house and we talked about life and perspective and how grateful we are for the plan of Salvation. I cried again that night, as I realized I had my husband and so many didn't.

Four years later, when we were in New York, Jason and I went to Ground Zero. As we approached the site, I remember being overwhelmed with the reality of it. It was hard to breathe and I once again cried.

Today I looked at the flag and my beautiful children and smiled when my husband came home. I will never forget the way I felt that day. I am grateful for another day with my family in this wonderful nation. We can never forget...God Bless America!

Eleanor and Savannah

After seeing how cute little Beckham is on my sister, Emma's blog, I had to get some more pictures of my kids. Time and cooperation are essential and not always in my favor, but this is what we came up with yesterday....

This one of Eleanor is my absolute favorite....

I heart toes!

Getting Savannah to sit still for more than 1.2 seconds was a job and a half! Her dress was not quite white when we were done!

I love these two! I can't believe how blessed I am to be a mom to these two little girls.

Cleaning Secret

When you are so busy that the bathrooms get a tad bit neglected and the sheets haven't been changed in a while, here is a great tip for getting the bathrooms completely disinfected, the sheets changed and washed on the "Sanitary" cycle, the floors mopped and the whole house smelling like Lysol....four children with the stomach flu.
And it can all be done at midnight and you can wake up to a clean house!!!

And after all the parties.....

The last hurrah b-b-que for the neighborhood on Friday night at our house, Savannah's first birthday party on Saturday, the September cousin birthday party at the grandparents house on Sunday, playing all day for Labor Day on Monday and not napping in the afternoon because we were being so "grown up" and playing with the big kids and then this is what happened at dinner..... LIFE IS A PARTY UNTIL YOU FALL ASLEEP AT THE DINNER TABLE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAVANNAH MARIE!

I can't believe that one year ago today I met this little girl! She came into this world and changed our lives forever. She has us wrapped around her little finger and we are all better because of her! Happy Birthday little Savannah Marie!

We had all the neighbor kids over and we made pizza. Each child got to make their own and it was so fun! Savannah loved her pizza! Here were the little treats we gave everyone....
The main birthday cake...love the little lambs! They are so cute and it was perfect, since we call her Savannah lambie and she is one of Grama Annie's grandlambies.....
This one was for Savannah to eat ... The yummy food table... Time to enjoy the cake!
Opening presents....

Eleanor and Gracie playing on the hammock...
Eleanor and her best buddie Andrew Last night we hosted the neighborhood b-b-que (yeah! Two parties in 24 hours!)The kids started a parade with their flashlights and Savannah was the guest of honor on her little car. Tonight they did the same thing and she was in heaven! The kids were singing and clapping and dancing and had a kick line - it was awesome! We have the best neighborhood, especially our pipestem!

Here are all the kids posing for a picture - it will be fun to look back in about 10 years and see how they have grown! Savannah will be Xander's age at that point!!!It was a great party! We are so blessed to have neighbors and friends that love my children like their own. Happy Birthday Sweet Savannah! We love you!