Aiden's FIVE!!!

Well, the big day finally came, and my Angel Aiden turned FIVE!!! He is our little superhero--actually introduced his big brother to superheros! It is innate for him to cuddle and love each and every one of us daily! He has the ability to express a great deal of humility and unselfishness at such a young age!

When Daddy came home from the store on Friday, bearing gifts, it was decided that Aiden could open one that morning. Shortly after Mommy and Connor played with it--it broke. Daddy offered to take it back or get a new toy all together, and with the grin you see above, he gently said, "No Daddy, you already got me a lot of toys!" He hadn't even seen a single present, wrapped or not, from anyone yet.

It took 5 good blows to take out the 5 burning candles!

Can you tell who his best friend is?

Of course, had to get a few shots of the rest of the family.

Even the big old Mama! Connor adores my baby belly! Only 2 weeks to go--I hope!

Some Chuck E. Cheeses action!

Happy Birthday Aiden--We love you soooo much.

Sugar Babies

Check out the sugar granules on Miss Lydia's face and read on!

We had a fabulous day. It started a little lonely with saying goodbye to Steve yet again--knowing that the only thing that lay ahead was me saying goodbye to him all weekend long. Then I got a phone call:

Me: "Hello"

Jane (fake name): "Hi, may I speak to your mother or father?"

Me: "Who's calling?"

Jane: "This is Jane from Premier Electronics"

Me: (chuckle) "You're speaking to the mother of the home!"

We both proceeded to laugh for several minutes talking about how I could get away with a lot!

That turned my day around, and I decided to make a picnic dinner with homemade french bread,peanut butter, cupcakes, and grapes for the kids. Connor was delightfully surprised when he came home!

Aiden and Lydia helped get our dinner ready by using the measuring cups to eat teaspoons full of sugar--Aiden even rolled our bread! AND...because of his awesome cooking skills, I happily helped him clean his room spotless. I am certain Daddy will appreciate that since he is home with them all weekend while I work!

I placed a flower in my hair today to feel pretty....I need it at a plump 35 weeks here! Lydia stared in awe at me, so I said, "Baby, do you want one in your hair?" She nodded her head and followed me to the stash of flowers saying, "Wa wa" for "want one!" She looked so pretty all day, and insisted that I place it back in her hair every time it fell out!

On the way home, Connor told me "This is the funnest day of my life!" I could hear the smile on his face! The best thing about Connor is that I hear that very often from him...and it comes only from quality time--nothing expensive or fancy!

Aiden followed that up by, "I'm keeping this life in my brain!"

Connor: (laughing) "That doesn't make sense Aiden."

Aiden: "Connor, I meant I am keeping this day in my brain forever!"

I love my children!!!

Even with good old peanut butter, homemade bread, and chocolate cupcakes, Miss Lydia decided that the hot weather only required lots and lots of juice. She went to bed a happy girl tonight!

Stress Relief = Service

I have a good husband,who through his desire to serve others in times of need, has instilled a little seed in my heart as well. So...I did what I do best, and I made a quilt! Only pieces of this one are hand quilted, most of it I machine quilted. It is beautiful in it's pure innocence, as it serves it's intended purpose that way! It is lap size--about 43 by 68 inches. I hope it is appreciated.

A Day In Our Life...

I wish there were more opportunities to get ALL of us in pictures, but there's always one or two of us missing lately. Regardless, these are a few shots from the park a few weeks ago. Just thought the images would cheer family far away....I'll get images of everyone soon!

Today was an interesting day...much like one I am certain many mother's across the nation experienced.

Woke early to my boy kissing me goodbye...that was a nice way to wake! :)

Quickly showered before the kids woke--never fails, they woke while I was showering.

Started some chores, made breakfast for the kids, ate, dressed the kids, and thought of everyhting that needed to be accomplished; the list was long.

Balanced the checkbook, budgeted, attempted to pay the bills...internet down--AGAIN!

Tried troubleshooting, simply got frustrated and decided to haul the kids to the hospital to meet Daddy for lunch.

Stoped at the park--the water toys were blasting water--offered the kids an opportunity to run in the water with their clothes on (didn't bring swimsuits!).

Amidst screams and cries from Aiden that he didn't want to get wet, told the kids we would not go to the park today.

Ate lunch with Daddy...what a treat!

Grocery shopping with the kids and a baby in womb smashing my tiny bladder--talk about endurance!

Home with the kids--Lydia in the bath.

Aiden sits on the side of the bathtub and falls in...with his clothes on...laughing hysterically.

I chuckle and wonder why he would not play at the water park with his clothes on, look at the WET floor and decide the bathroom needs to be cleaned anyhow.

Kids bathed and happy.

Back to the chores...and dinner.

More laundry in...groceries unloaded...kitchen organized, and unorganized by Miss Lydia who is only trying to help.

Lydia in bed after many breakdowns. Either she is becoming a Daddy's girl (highly likely) or she is feeling miserable (highly likely as well).

Boys playing the Wii.

Floors cleaned.

Boys spill popcorn all over the living room floor.

Mommy talks about how hard it is to clean up all of the messes in the middle of even more messes being made.

Mommy cleans the mess.

Mommy gives the boys dinner while they play the Wii.

Folding laundry...dusting...opening carmel syrup for Connor who is more than capable of making milk for him and Aiden while Mommy folds even more laundry.

Connor, in shock, states, "Mom there's carmel all over the floor!" while holding the bottle of carmel syrup upside down.... "and it's on me too!"

Aiden states, "Hey it's on me too!"

Mommy starts laughing hysterically...just for a moment...then demands that it gets cleaned off the floors and the kids get changed.

Floors are sticky...washed again.

Fold MORE laundry and walk through the kitchen to put it away.

Floors STILL sticky....washed again.

More dusting.

Bathroom will have to wait for another day.

Put kids to bed.

Husband walks in the door....walks on the kitchen floor, and states, "My feet are sticky!"

I give up!

I should have gone to the park!

In Reverse Order....Easter

I know we are a little late for Easter and I am doing this post in reverse order of the previous one, but I just wanted to quickly leave you all with my testimony and express my gratitude for this sacred occasion we celebrate. The first and last pictures are of paintings done by Liz Lemon Swindle. I love her artwork! She truly has a gift. As I look upon these pictures, I feel like I am there. What it must have been like to witness these events. I'm sure we saw from Heaven and wept along with those on Earth. At the same time our hearts likely lifted with joy, for we knew that our Savior had fulfilled His mission in paying for our sins. The first part of this great gift was complete as our Lord, and Savior was left hanging on the cross. Then, having been buried in a tomb, he rose again on the third day. Our Savior had overcome the chains of death. The second part of the Atonement was now finished as well. Not only can we repent of our sins, but we will all be resurrected and have the gift of these bodies throughout eternity. When Mary came looking for Him, the angels asked, "Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here. He is risen!" Those words speak so much peace to my soul! I am so grateful for my Savior and His infinite Atonement! It is all about love!
These wonderful children that God has blessed us with to care for, demonstrate an amazing ability to love. They help us to learn the kind of love that our God offers us. I could have posted a lot more Easter pictures, but I felt that this one and the two paintings summed it all up. I am so grateful for my family. Having one in Heaven, has helped us to better understand the great gifts that have been given us. We can all be forgiven and live together with our family and our God throughout time and all eternity. It takes a lot of faith, but I am confident it will all be worth it.
All that is asked of us is that we REMEMBER Him and keep His commandments! I hope you all had a peaceful and uplifting Easter, and that we can all go forward filled with faith, hope, and love!

The Following Morning Follow Up!

Miss Lydia cuddling with mama after her morning nap!

Adrenaline Junkies?

So, this picture above shows how the day started out for our little Miss Lydia. She was so excited to be walking around in Connor's car's crocs while he was away at school! She went down peacefully for her morning nap a couple hours later. The day went seemingly without a hitch until I went to the store with Aiden. You see, a couple of days ago Crystal asked me about a little red dot (hemangioma) that had appeared next to Lydia's nose. I quickly blurted out, "just pop it". Well, she didn't take me up on that advice, so I thought. But now I am at the store with Aiden, and she decided to do just that while I was gone; pop it! I came home, arms full of grocery bags, to a little girl who looked like this picture below.
Her mouth is dirty from all of the blood and the chocolate we let her have to keep her happy while I was pressing on her face to try and get the bleeding to stop. Forty-five minutes had passed and still no luck. I had tried everything. I even tried making a "tamale" (like one used for pool plastering to stop water leaks) out of a sock and some flour, and held that on her face. Nothing worked. We started to wonder if our little angel had a bleeding disorder or a deficiency of some kind. With no success at home, I ripped open a diaper, tore out a piece of filler, and taped it too her face. Can you just imagine this scene? Anyway, by the time I got to the ER, which took me just 20 minutes, she had bled enough to saturate the diaper material and ooze down her face more. They got me back right away (working there has its privileges) and after 3 rounds of Epinephrine and Lidocaine soaked gauze and pressure, the bleeding had slowed. Still, it had not stopped. The nurse attempted to Derma Bond it with no success. The doctor came back in and decided to have the nurse fetch some old school bonding agent from the OR that is like ether and plastic. The fumes were horrible. I'm pretty sure that's what they used to put people out with (an ether soaked mask held over your face). Again, no luck! So I held pressure with dry gauze this time while they had the pharmacy send up some Afrin nose spray. You learn something new every day. Apparently that is a good vasoconstrictor for situations like this or nose bleeds. By the time that got there, the bleeding had finally stopped. This was 3.5 hours into the initial incident. The doctor came back in and with a few more dabs of "plastic", while everyone took some huffs of ether, we were in business and more than ready to go home. Lydia was spent, and thanks to the Epi, she head butted me and squirmed like crazy towards the end (she has never acted so hyper and never head butted me before). I drove home faster than I left it. Crystal was late for her shift tonight, and again our lives were filled with excitement! So are we adrenaline junkies, you may ask. We both work in departments that can insane at times. But, the first step to get better is acknowledging you have a problem. God, can you hear me? We have an adrenaline problem, and we are ready to quit! Please facilitate any lack of excitement possible. Perhaps, we could even have this next baby in the hospital for starters. No, seriously! So I guess this is all my fault. "Just pop it." Never, ever, ever pop anything on your or your child's face again, especially if it's red! Lesson learned!!!