Time Out for Women moments

I will attempt my best to share with you the incredible weekend I had, at Time Out For Women. I witnessed tender moments, felt the spirit speak to my friends and I through various speakers and music, and laughed so much. I have to share it with you. If you’ve never been to a Time Out for Women event, its fabulous and incredibly worth it!

This was the first time I attended the Friday night session. I usually just go Saturday. I will never make that mistake again. My dear friend Annie and I met up with our other gals. Our friend Kim saved us some seats up close. The musician for that night was this wonderful man:

He got up to the mike, stood there and smiled this radiant and pleasant smile, full of confidence and sweetness, and started to sing. Simply incredible, like a mormon Josh Groban. It was described that when he sang, it was like he was giving a talk. His testimony was so clear to be heard through his singing. Along with church songs, he sang one of the most beautiful and heart wrenching songs ever, “Bring him home” from Les Miserables. As he finished that song, ending on that very high note, a pin drop could be heard, followed by tremendous applause.

Ardeth Kapp was our first speaker. A sweet, older woman who taught us this:

• Our scriptures are our ‘letters from home’.
• ‘Ask’ is the most frequent used word in scriptures.
• ‘You can’t go back and make a brand new start, my friend, but you can begin now and make a brand new end.’ ( SO cool!)

She then left her prepared talk and began following the spirit, sharing thoughts that were sent straight from heaven above for us. It was awesome.

Next, more good music from cutie pie, and then, the great John Bytheway. I grew up listening to his talks on CD, starting from my teen years. I could recognize his voice in a crowd instantly. I fell asleep listening to his talks. The last time I saw him in person was at Education Week in Utah, when I was around 16. This night, I was again reminded that he is my favorite speaker ever. He had us laughing constantly, and I mean big laughter, and then he would deliver powerful, spiritual messages that hit the nail on the head. I love his way of teaching. It felt so good for us to laugh, good medicine.

• He pointed to the two exit signs on each side of the auditorium, described a string coming across the room, attached to those signs. He then pinched the string above his head and said that represents our life here on earth, the string being eternity.
• He shared this thought “Nothing is difficult if you divide it into small jobs.” Henry Ford
• Appreciate, expect, demand. Marriages start out with much appreciation, than turn to demand. Don’t let your marriage leave the appreciation stage.
• There is a space between stimulus and response. Choose to go to God in that space.

After he was done, we had a little VIP backstage party. My sweet friend Kim needed to rest in a room on a couch, due to her back pain. She’s been having some hard physical trials for a long time, and this weekend was a gift for her. The inspired sister Kerri retrieved John to come visit Kim. I think we were all a little star struck. The world has their movie stars, we have John:) I thought he was great before this, but now I know that he is one of the kindest and humblest men ever. He is just as funny in person as he is speaking. He sat by Kim, held her hand, and shared encouraging and loving words with her. He also had been having some similar physical trials, and they had a mutual understanding. I think that was another gift in itself.

Yea for pictures:)

It was just the best night ever for all of us! I came home late and demanded Shaun to let me tell him about it:)

The wondrous outpouring continued the following day. Mercy River sang to us that day, a trio of gorgeous mothers. The music rang out beautifully throughout the building, lifting us, and bringing such a joyful feeling. They sang a song called “Hello, Sunshine”, and its been playing in my head for two days straight now.

The fabulous authors of “The Mother’s Book Of Secrets” spoke to us, Linda Eyre and Shawni Eyre Pothier. Shawni described a rough day with her kids in the car. They were screaming, she was frazzled, so she went to a drive through to order them some food. After making the order, the voice on the intercom said “Maam, do you know you’re at a bank?” Instant flood of laughter from audience:)

• Brad Wilcox was another super speaker, very funny. He spoke of how great it is to come to TOFW and be renewed, saying “church is not always a bucket filling experience”. I laughed so hard, thinking of sacrament meeting, wrangling the boys to be reverent and not hearing a thing. He taught us that the Lord is not content to cleanse us, but that He is trying to change us, and to live on a higher plane.
• Jill Manning gave a great talk about pornography, and how to battle it. She used the metaphor of a pack of mother elephants standing in a circle, with their babies in the middle, to ward off the lions. “Use strength to ward off danger”

We had another VIP moment in the back with Brad and Kris Belcher, super funny lady who is blind. Brad, signing Kim’s bag. Brad gave hugs to us all, Kris gave her encouraging testimony.

Listening to Kris was extremely enriching. So, so very funny. About her last name, she said on her list of things she wanted in a spouse, ‘that was not on my list!’. She told her story about having cancerous tumors behind her right eye, and losing the eye completely. She got a prosthesis eye, and shared many hilarious and inspiring stories from this journey. Imagine the sound of 1500 women, roaring with laughter. That’s what it was when she spoke. Annie and I got a headache from laughing. After finishing one great story, she said she had another one to tell, but we still had not recovered yet. She said “I’ll just sit down here. You let me know when you’re ready”, which only provoked more laughter.

• She was so down to earth, and told us that the Lord is our light, and that he can bring us hope when life is so dark.
• “Let me know thy will, and give me the courage to do it.”
• Our problems are not a result of sin, its evidence that God wants us to grow.
• Of course, God gives us stuff we can’t handle. Why else would we need Jesus?
• Christ is light. God of love, intelligence, grace, hope, and truth.

Our visit with Mercy River. They were so kind and fun to visit with!

It truly was a gift to attend this event. My dear Shaun had a nice weekend with the boys, and I came home with a renewed strength, a hope to do better being a wife and mother. I decided to quit whining, and pray more. I’m so sorry for my whining about life being hard with a toddler. I know there are hard days, but there’s also so much to be thankful for. Listening to the music this weekend reminded me again that I have unfinished work; my music that needs copyrighted, published, and shared. I have a firmer resolve to ‘get it together’ with that. I am forever thankful to my dear friends who let me be apart of the tender, backstage moments, and for sweet Annie making my experience so memorable and fun:)

Peaceful progress

That’s what I call my motherhood quest at the moment:) After a lovely and enriching conference weekend of spiritual counsel, I feel that I can take on anything. True, I did not hear all the talks that weekend, as the kids were up and running around. That’s what the DVR is for. We had some friends over with their kids, and the house was full of happy sounds, mixed in with conference playing on TV. It was nice to just get together, eat pasta, and hear the talks. One of my favorite parts of conference weekend, besides conference, is taping all the church movies that play in between the sessions. Its free Deseret Book movies, and I love it!

After the weekend, I tried to do better with mothering my dear toddler, but of course, the adversary took notice of that. I had a challenging Tuesday, followed by a much better Wednesday. A dear friend and her children spent the night at our home. In those few hours that she stayed with me, I soaked in and learned so much from her mothering example. Don’t you love when you have friends that teach you such amazing, humble lessons without even knowing it?

It was so fun for Ethan to have some kids to play with. Us moms sat in our chairs in the driveway, and let the kids drive cars and bikes all around the cul-de-sac till the sun went down. The house has been full of sounds, of little feet walking everywhere, toys scattered and being played with, kids in the sandbox, and kids jumping on the queen mattress that we pull out and plop in the living room anytime someone stays. Last night was like a slumber party, with the kids watching “Finding Nemo” on the mattress. They went home today, and I miss the business and laughter. Maybe we should start having more kids, ha ha!

I found a great link for toddler busy activities. My first thought was “Sweet! Some good stuff to do at home with Ethan, and maybe some help for sacrament” because if you have little ones, you know how wonderfully challenging that one hour at church can be! Once you go to the link, look down at all the links under the post. That’s where the gold is found. I went to Walmart and got some craft supplies to have some fun. Ethan and I will be making these sensory bottles for start.

I find that it takes just a little planning and a prayer to have the strength to get organized, because I’m finding that I just can’t do it on my own. I have all these great desires to do good, but I need extra help from above to make great things happen. One day at a time. Today, I have extra patience with helping Ethan during quiet time. Such small and simple blessings.

I need to talk about Kevin more:) He is the cutest baby ever. He’s doing sign language all the time, and its SO helpful. He is so tiny, but walks everywhere, wobbling, but walking. His favorite thing to do is bark like a dog, and make other animal sounds.

PS: HERE is a great casserole that I made this week. Couldn’t stop eating it, it was fabulous. Make sure and cook the cornbread mixture longer than what it says on the recipe, so it cooks all the way. I cooked mine about 25 minutes.

Simple blessings

I’m having a heck of a time with a stupid issue; stressing over things that really don’t matter. Its all about choosing your battles with your kids, and I don’t know why I need to keep learning this over and over again:)

As Ethan gets older, new challenging stages arrive. Trying to get him to sit down at the table for mealtimes, and eat. Its up and down, running around, coming back, trying again to have him sit down and take some bites, and then he’s off running again. I’ve heard this is a normal toddler stage, but mealtimes can be pretty exhausting. He usually goofs around for lunch and dinnertime. I tell him no snacks if he doesn’t eat his meals. He’s been going to bed hungry for a couple days, and wakes up starving for breakfast, the only meal he heartily eats. This, and other crazy, little things have been driving me nutso, and its wearing me out. So I said to myself, “Self, this has to stop. Don’t worry”. Sometimes, you need to remind yourself to chill out, take a deep breath, and enjoy the little blessings more.

Such as these; Kevin finally walking and loving it, Ethan pooping everyday in the toilet, begging to go practice walking reverently around the chapel, and finding a wonderful dentist for him. I had many good dentist referrals from friends, and it was hard to pick one, but we got a good one. The office was so kid friendly, full of seashells and lamps with bubbles in them, and toys. Ethan was afraid to lay down on the chair with the dentist, but sat up in my arms, and was very good while his teeth were being checked out. He got a special bag with a token to buy a present from a treasure chest. What a stinking awesome place! Why can’t they have a treasure chest of toys at the grown up dentists, with cool stuff in it like gift cards to Target, lenses, and new kitchen appliances? :D (There was my Christmas list right there! )

Anyways, this week I’ve been going to bed exhausted at 7:30, (felt so much later!) and decided that I had enough of it. I prayed for help to let go of the power struggles, and more importantly, to see the boys as Heavenly Father sees them. To give them His kind of love. These are his boys, and are on special loan to me. If I can just remember that, and see them through His eyes, oh what a wonderful world it will be.

My Mom would play an old Mormon Tabernacle Choir tape when I was younger. I remembered hearing a song with a chorus that said ‘Pick yourself up, brush yourself off, start all over again’. I love it. I’m finding that I need to do that a lot in this mothering business, and its ok:)

Just some thoughts…

Recently, I read a very good post on this wonderful blog. Its the author of that great mother book, “A Mother’s Book of Secrets”. At a motherhood retreat, she learned that the major source of depression for women comes from reading blogs. Reason why, we tend to see all the positive posts that people write, and that’s it, which makes for easy comparison of ourselves to others, and feeling like a total failure.

Which made me think about my blog here. I like to write about the fun stuff, but truthfully, not everyday is fun. A lot of real life is happening here. I sometimes feel bad for opening up and writing about the hard times with the kids, not wanting to be negative. Yet, I like opening up and sharing my thoughts with you dear friends and family, hoping to be of some help to others, and finding strength from your kind words.

Its been a straight week of Ethan hitting, throwing stuff, yelling, and being rough with Kevin. This usually happens when he loses his patience. (patience? What patience!) I’m trying to figure out the best method of discipling with love. Time outs and standing in the corner don’t do jack. Today, I prayed so hard in the morning that maybe this week would be different. Alas, no. I packed the kids up with snacks, drinks, and sun block, and took them to our favorite water park. I try to get Ethan out of the house as much as possible, because after 1pm, there’s no going out. Its 112, its just too hot. Thus, cabin fever ensues.

We had a good time at the park, and played around shopping at Costco. I took the cart over to the TVs, and we watched the surfer dude surfing the waves. It looked so cool on all the big screens, and the boys were loving it. We ate the free samples to our hearts delight, and made it home. Yet, it was another hard day of Ethan’s toddler stages, dropping stuff on Kevin’s head, throwing everything, pooping a bucket load in his underwear. I simply had no more strength to try to teach him to do better. I sat in the hallway with the boys, and cried. I guess I was just so tired that I couldn’t do anything but cry. Lady came over and put her head in my lap. The boys clung all over me, while I was blubbering. Ethan told me to not cry. I mustered the strength to say a prayer with them, always a good thing, right? :)

I’ve heard that Ethan’s behavior is a normal part of being a three year old boy. I felt guilty for being such a baby, because I know of so many dear people out there who have it so much harder than me. Some moms have to work. Some have more kids and I’m sure, more work to do. I am blessed to be home with the boys each day, and figure out how to maintain peace in the home. Some days (weeks) are just hard, that’s all.

I find that when the rain is pouring, its so important to look for the sun bursting through the clouds, or you can easily drown in a pool of negativity. That’s not what we want to do. We came here to earth shouting in anticipation. Each day we have, each breath we take, is a true gift from our loving Heavenly Father. Right now, I am striving to look back on this day so far, and count all the good things. Ethan enjoyed washing dishes, Kevin is always smiling, Sierra didn’t snatch any food off the counter (another huge patience test!), Ethan at least goes tinkle in the toilet, and more.

I’m so sorry for the lack of flowers and cupcakes atmosphere in this post:) but I have another chance to do better at mothering this afternoon, when the boys get up from quiet time. If I can just slow down, and not worry about the little things, the dishes and house, but focus on helping and loving my little men, I think I will be getting somewhere. Thank you for reading my ramblings. I love reading all your blogs, when I get the chance:)

Mothering the wild boy

Well, its been one of those weeks, actually the past few weeks, that knocks you to your knees. I’m finding out that a fresh, new three year old can bring a whole new bucket of challenges. Lately, it just seems that Ethan has gone from ape to gorilla in his behavior and tantrums. He’s been rough with the dogs and Kevin, forever snatching toys away from him, throwing toys, hitting. Its not super violent-bad, but its wearing us out, and needs to stop. I’ve been a referee for a couple of weeks now, and I’m so pooped. Kevin is hanging in there, but usually cries from the antics and needs held.

I read books with Ethan today at quiet time, and just cried, wondering what I could do better to help him improve his behavior. He hugged me, and was a sweetheart. I had him say a prayer with me, and we asked for some help with Ethan. I’ve heard that being three is a tough stage. New developments, testing boundaries, etc. Whew, is it ever!

I think I need to pray more to understand my growing, handsome son. If I can understand what he wants, just possibly have a glimpse into his little brain, it could help with the communication and tantrums. He’s been losing whatever toy he hits with or throws. I simply take it away and calmly explain to him why he lost it. When he’s just plain grumpy, I tell him to go calm down in his room, and to not come out till he can be happy. I put the towel on the door, so he doesn’t slam it. That tactic has seemed to help, twice now.

Yet, I feel like I’m so inadequate and don’t know how to discipline wisely so that he will learn that these things are not acceptable. I need to rent the ‘Love and Logic’ book again from the library.

On the good side, Ethan is doing really awesome in potty training. He sleeps all night long. He is receptive to gospel activites. Last Sunday, we got to church 30 minutes early. Ethan and I practiced walking up to the front of the chapel and back, with our arms folded. He did it again and again, loving it. I correct him when he demands something verbally, and tell him to say ‘ snack, please.. book, please,’ etc, and its been working. Just need to teach him the basic manners.

So, this is our hardship at the moment. Here’s a wonderful quote from “Mother’s Book of Secrets”

“A beautiful piece of fine pottery could easily be chipped and broken were it not for the blazing fire of the kiln that toughens and strengthens and refines it. And though mothers the world over feel chipped and broken on a daily basis, it is their very trials and difficulties that toughen, strengthen, and refine them. Learning to accept the hardships in our paths as stepping stones and ways to improve our skills is a great secret to out success! That fire makes us more patient, less judgemental, more tolerant, less critical, more able to multitask, less worried about details, less structured, more serendipitous, more organized, and-when needed- OK with being less organized.”

SO true. Hope that helps someone out there. Its going to be ok, just need to keep asking our loving, Heavenly Father how to parent, every day.

The most beautiful book

This book, this sweet, gentle, and loving book, is one of the best mother books I've read. Its from Deseret Book, but also available from Amazon cheaper. A dear friend from my mission sent me this gift in the mail, all the way from Florida. Its been six years since I've been on my mission. Can I just say how awesome it is to keep in touch with friends?

Here's a great excerpt to share:

"There is strength to be gained in soaking in the little moments. Strength comes from dropping everything and reading with your nine-year-old because you realize she's more important than any other project you may be working on.  From watching two of your children who are usually at each other's throats on a day when they're getting along. From watching the glow on your child's face when his dad praises him for mowing the lawn well. From letting yourself get caught up in the music your toddlers are dancing to in pure delight. That strength-and how to build it-is all part of the secret of enjoying and loving life as a mother of small children, a lassoer of chaos." p 21

Today has been a crazy day of having food thrown at me from Kevin, at every meal. Ethan snatching toys away from Kevin, resulting in Kevin screaming, and the house not resembling anything like the homes in "Better Homes and Gardens" Reading this book helps me remember that everything's ok, no one is perfect, kids will be crazy at times, and to just keep trying. I hope you have the chance to read this book, its so uplifting:)

Tribute to our Moms

I wanted to do this around Mother's day. Whew, so much has happened in the past month! Here's a quick update:

• Had an amazing experience doing a friend's engagement pictures, a friend's wedding couple pictures, and the great mentoring session.
• Our Ford explorer's transmission exploded. Did research. Not worth fixing. Traded in the Ford for a 2007 Nissan Armada. Dream boat. Out of all the dealerships, Nissan was the only one who REALLY wanted to sell a car. They changed the price, down payment, and interest for our budget. Now, that's good service!
• The garden is growing great! The tomato plants are massive, which will be my next picture post.
• A friend asked me to do a youth musical fireside in her ward. The next 4 Sundays are booked for teaching the kids my songs, great times. Binders, email reminders, writing music down, programs, sound guy, etc..

This is my tribute to the moms of Shaun and I. Emotional. They are both in the spirit world now, looking down on us. Shaun's mom had cancer, and passed away around thanksgiving of 2006. Just a little over a year later, my mom went home too. Quite the marriage bonding experience. So, we live now with their memories and their love held tightly in our hearts. Here's some sweet pictures I dug up from the garage:

This is about the only picture that I have of both moms, taken at my bridal shower back in March 2006. That's Dixie in the white, (Shaun's mom), my Mom Jeanette, in red, and Jeanette's daughter, Jacquie, in blue. (Nice hair, Jacquie:)

Here's the Hatch family at our wedding. It blows me away how Shaun looks exactly like his mom. I love it when Shaun tells me more about her. I had only a short year and a half of getting to know her. She's a wonderful woman, a loving mother, and funny. To wake Shaun up in the morning, she would turn on the vacuum, put it in his room and leave it running. I think that's hilarious.

She loved to be spontaneous. On about the 3rd week of dating Shaun, Dixie had the great idea of taking us and our little nephew down to San Diego to visit Sea World. Shaun was terrified, not knowing how I would react. I was overjoyed. Wonderful memory.

I still remember her hugging me a little after Shaun proposed, (at his home) and saying "Welcome to the family". She was the most loving mothers ever. I wish I could tell her just once more how thankful I am for her son, and how much I love him.

Its hard to understand why good people are taken home early in life. There is a quote that I've been searching for that is comforting. I heard it on a John Bytheway talk. It said something to the effect of "No righteous person is taken before their time" (If anyone knows the quote and the author, please comment! Been searching forever) That thought gives me comfort.

This is me:) This is how my Mom loved to dress me up, with her home-made hair clips.

Here is us at my wedding, Mom wearing more makeup than she normally does, but looking great. To say we were close is an understatement. She was my best friend, and we did everything together. As I went off to college and the mission in Florida, she would mail me twenty dollar bills here and there with sweet letters and cards. She always took great care of me. More recently, I would take her to every North Stake Choir Concert. She loved good music, and was a great dancer.

At the top here is one Christmas spent at my cousins. Wow, we were young, and the boys are tiny :D
She and I loved going to the dog parks here in Vegas, a weekly routine. The park ranger picture is from around 1994. We went to Hoover dam with my friend Kelli and accidentally locked the keys in our car. A ranger came to rescue us. Another great memory.

Mom, me and my cousins

at our wedding 2006

This is around 2005, when Mom and I were both living in Rexburg. I took her on a hike at Jenny Lake, near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Gorgeous! She was such a trooper. The hike ended being longer than I thought, and we took a boat, crossing the lake to get back.

Mom loved the outdoors, a big time camper. She loved John Denver, 'Walker, Texas Ranger', and great old movies. Growing up, we watched many old movies. Sometimes, I see them on the Turner Classic Movies channel, and remember all the times we watched that one. When we lived in Kooskia, ID, we loved anything Indian and made dream catchers to sell at art fairs. "Dances with Wolves" was our favorite movie. There's a line that the old Indian chief would say at the end of a tribe council. He'd finish saying something important, and then say "That's all I have to say". Mom would tell me to do something, always followed with that line and a laugh:) I recently heard the "John Dunbar Theme" from that movie, and bawled like a baby. Yes, we miss our moms.

I show pictures of the grandmas to Ethan a lot. He knows them. Even though our grandmas are not here with us, I want the boys to know that they are special people and love us so much. Sometimes, I feel on my own learning this mothering stuff. I can't pick up the phone and call them, and ask how they did this years back. I am forever thankful to friends and family who keep in touch and tell me I'm being a good mom. Thank you so much for your love and kind words, especially Jacquie, who brings my boys goodies from time to time. My goal is to get more pictures of our moms on the family wall, to see them more, and keep their memories shining brightly in my heart. The things you learn from your mom stays with you forever.

I know that we will see our moms again. I know that they are in a much better place, and are doing just fine, while we are trying to continue our earthly lives without them. I know that somedays, its ok to cry. Whenever I cry missing mom, I feel the Lord's arms around me, trying to help me feel better. We are not alone. We are watched over from above. Isnt' that nice to know? That's all I have to say:)

Mother stuff I've learned so far..

Mother's day is coming up. In honor of that day, I thought I'd write out what I've learned so far in my short 3 years of mothering. I still feel like such a newbie! I thought this would be fun, so here goes:

• Try to nurse every three hours or longer. It helps them to eat a full meal and not just snack, but be mindful of growth spurts. That throws everything out the window for a few days:)


• The 'womb' bear was a great thing to have. (Teddy bear from Walmart that makes the heartbeat sound that the baby hears inside you) I would put it in the crib and turn it on quietly for the babies to fall asleep to, when they were really young. Later, I would play some nice church music for them.


• Put the baby asleep awake. Goodness, this is a huge help. Don't get me wrong, I love snuggling and holding my kids, but I do it mostly when they are awake. When I put them to bed, I would hold them for a few moments, and put them down awake. It made life tremendously easier for the baby to learn to fall asleep on his own.


• Don't let the baby get overtired. Watch for the signs, such as a yawn or rubbing of eyes. I read this from the Baby Whisperer book As soon as I saw rubbing of eyes, time to act! I would put them to bed immediately. An overtired baby is the worst. Last week, I thought Kevin was ready to stay up later. He seemed to be ok, but I guesss not. I put him to bed closer to 7pm. He stayed awake for the next hour and a half talking, crying, moaning. The next night, I put him back to bed at his usual 6pm. Not a peep afterwards. Yes, avoiding overtiredness is a huge blessing.


• Schedule, schedule, schedule. Many friends mentioned the importance of a regular feeding, napping, and bedtime schedule. Huge help. When the baby cried, I knew why. Either he was hungry or tired (until darn teething came later) There's usually no guessing. I did naps at the same time every day. This means, I would work around the naptimes doing shopping, going out, etc. The babies were so much happier if they got their rest. Now, we have quiet time from 1-4pm daily. Bliss. Kevin still takes 2 naps a day. Ethan will play in his room, listen to music, but lately he's been napping on the recliner. (He could nap in his bed, but he prefers to nap face down with legs hanging off the chair. Its so funny find him that way:) Consistent bedtime routine, reading some books, say prayers and good night. I am very, very blessed to have it this easy: The boys go to sleep at 6 and 7 pm, and sleep all night till about 7am. Its incredible. People have asked me "How??!!" I think its the consistent daytime schedule, maybe? We have to sacrifice some evening events, such as church activites, but its worth it.


• Hanging blankets over doors avoids smashed fingers.


• Making Ethan eat snacks at the snack table keeps the home cleaner.


• Having gospel pictures in about every room of the house makes teaching the gospel easier when you're passed out from exhaustion on the floor, playing with the kids. Brings the spirit, too:)


• Teaching sign language sure helped with communication before talking came around for the babies. "Signing time" DVDs are fun.


• Door knob covers reduces the amount of toilet paper dumped in the toilet.


• Pick your battles, and reduce the stress fast.


• Be careful with too much TV. I love the good, educational stuff. We watch Little Einstiens, Seasame Street, Word World, on TV. Ethan's new favorite movie is Bambi. Everytime the deer bolt from the forest because of 'man', I tell Ethan' Their mommas said 'its time to stop playing and come home':)


• Introducing Primary songs early has been wonderful. I play the CD, and Ethan sings along.


• Prayed, prayed, prayed consistently as a family, and sweet, spiritual tender moments happened with boys.


• Don't even think about leaving the house without drinks and snacks. (I guess a diaper would be good to bring too, :D) It really does help avoid a meltdown in the store.


• Lately, giving choices has helped the relationship between a toddler and a parent. Thank goodness for the Love and Logic book for younger years.
• Take time to realize (Ah, Colbie Cailiat:) that its so important to play, hug and cuddle with these sweet kids. Toddlers sure can get emotional. Sometimes, Ethan just wanted to be held, for who knows why. I just stop and we 'have a hug'. Very enriching.

There is so much more I could write, but what are some good things you have learned so far? Share:)

Holding our treasures

Just a little post of goodness for today. All this week, I've been nursing the boys with their colds. Today, they are doing better. Ethan watched more TV than I usually allow, to help him not run around and get so worked up. Poor Kevin was fussier than his usual self. I did my best balancing taking care of both boys. At times, Kevin would just lay on the ground, face down, crying. It broke my heart. I picked him up, sat in the recliner/rocker chair we have, held him and sang to him. I think that was the best medicine I could have given him. I thought about how these children are our treasures, our gifts from Heavenly Father. How blessed I am to be a mom to these handsome, smart, endearing little gods in embryo. They need love, all the time. Guidance, discipline, all with love. They look to us for everything, and praising them makes their sweet, little faces light up so bright. Its so easy to praise them, and it gives so much back in return. I just love being at home, helping them through the day, giving them as much as I can. I know at times I get a little cabin fever and need to get out sometimes, but I'm so thankful to spend my days with these little men. I hope they will have wonderful memories of their early years in this humble home of ours.

PS: Just learned how to do this spiffy signature thing:)