days of the week

Monday my house needed to be cleaned. I mean really, REALLY needed to be cleaned.

So instead we did this...

Little did I know that on Tuesday I would only slightly foil the plans of two lovely ladies who were so generous with their time and energy and surprised me with a clean house. I don't even think they understand the magnitude of my gratitude. It is immense.

Wednesday we wished happy birthday to this darling sister

who is currently living it up in New York!

Happy Birthday, Michelle. Shay is a lucky fellow.

remember

I'm not going to lie. The last week has been rough.

Lots of good happened though. I got a foot rub as you probably remember. The kids got backrubs/scratches most night, which they think is awesome. I also played volleyball with some fun girls and got to go to a special place while my visiting teacher watched my kids. People have never stopped with their goodness and I am so appreciative.

Landon has mastered the crawling. He now thinks he can go faster than he really can and sometimes ends up in a face plant after both arms and legs move really really fast but not quite in sync. He is also quite masterful at giving mommy kisses. We painted flower pots. We made a rainbow...picture to come.

Logan had many time-outs. Logan finally believes that we do put our clothes back on after going potty. Logan said in the middle of lunch, "Mom, I love my brother, Lands. And I really love my buddy...my buddy Shay." We played outside on the good days. We chilled inside on the rainy days. Kids have spent a lot of time with their hexbugs (a marvelous gift). Logan calls it his "ladybug" and it never leaves his hands.

Lincoln went to school, proud to be a student. He is also very proud to be my best helper and continues to follow me around when I am cleaning and do whatever I need him to. He got new tennis shoes, black ones with a spider on them. He doesn't like to take them off. They make him feel big and cool. He IS big and cool (even though he is such a skinny thing...pants still don't stay up). He reads his books like a champ and is proud to read his books to anyone who would listen, including Landon.

Ella is my emotional 6-year-old, understanding too much yet not sure how to cope with her 6-year-old brain. She loves to play with friends and loves to do anything one-on-one with me. We talk and we play. She can always come up with some grand idea for us to do that day...sometimes it is feasible, sometimes it is not. She is the best big sister. Landon will dive for her and she loves that he loves her.

Through it all we remember...

We are good. We are blessed. Things will work out.

what?

What? Your kids don't give you foot rubs. Huh...weird.

wow and thank you

It is amazing what people will do for you. It is hard for me to describe how incredibly grateful I am for the outpouring of love and support for my family and especially Ella over the last couple of days. I can feel the warmth and power of the prayers in our behalf. That may sound cliche, but it is oh so true. Many people have reached out to Ella and showered her with their loving support and I can see a bit of improvement...she will be okay.

Thank you.

I was hoping for prayers and a bit of extra love for my girl but we received so much more.

Thank you to those who prayed, called, emailed, and dropped by. What would I do without you all. I appreciate that my children are loved by so many more people than their little family.

Again, thank you.

cheers

Here's to a brighter future and things to look forward to.

Grandpa Larry and Logan at Bear Lake. One of my favorite pictures ever.

pray for Ella

For the first time I'm seeing my sweet girl's behavior really affected by our situation. She's edgy, distracted, can't focus, brushes things off, says things like "fine. I don't care," and it is not like her. It breaks my heart. Her teacher noticed too and emailed me wondering if something specific happened in the last week to bring about this behavior.

The teacher knows our situation. I told her just for this purpose, so she could let me know if behavior changed.

Something did happen. She was left home while her dad spent a weekend with her brother and she was beyond heartbroken about it. There were reasons and I tried to help her understand, but some things a 6-year-old just doesn't get when it involves being left out and all she feels is unwanted and unloved.

My poor girl. I want to fix it. She will be okay. It will take normalcy, stability, and love on my end, but I know she will be okay. Pray for my kids. They really need it sometimes. I love them more than anything and my heart is hurting for them.

WAC/fancy nancy schmancy dinner

Lincoln in full recovery mode from a long weekend at the WAC tournament.

Who doesn't love Fancy Nancy? We love the books in this house and decided we needed to throw our own Fancy Nancy Schmancy Dinner. First step, get fancified. Ella chose a tutu, tiara, purse, lots of jewelry, and striped leg warmers. Pretty fancy!

Lincoln chose his spiderman costume, black cap, and sword as his fancy duds.

Logan followed Lincoln's lead with the spiderman costume.

Who taught this kid to pose?

I was seriously belly laughing during this shoot.

Fancy Landon.

Michelle and Shay were kind enough to join us and really got into the mood of the evening. Michelle brought over a fancy sequined mini dress for me to wear

and Ella taught me how to pose.

Ella came up with our menu: pink lemonade, hard-boiled eggs, lil smokies, grapes, ants on a log (celery with cream cheese and raisins), and biscuits with jam. Delicious!

We drank and ate with pinkies up and called each other dahling and

threw in whatever French phrases we could come up with...not many.

adore

I adore my 3-year-old boy.

(look forward to more pictures like this with explanation hopefully in the next couple of days)

Phrases we hear quite frequently from him:

"Mom, my haircut looks really awesome."

"I want to go back home." (even when he is home)

"Hold me."

"Member when I threw up in your bed..."

"Not fair."

"Lincs! Lincs! Lincs!" (he LOVES his brother)

Other things about him:

He loves "lollihopters" (helicopters) and airplanes.

No one can get Landon giggling better than Logan.

He can be found most mornings in my bed.

He is a serious crackup and makes me laugh every day. I wish everyone could hang out with him.

He hates counting and practicing his ABCs.

He tilts his head just so when telling you something very important.

Happy Birthday LoLo.

once there was

A week or so ago, after an especially awesome snow storm, we all headed outside while Landon was napping to create a family of snowmen.

We started with the mommy. She only looks slightly frazzled...

pretty good representation.

Then came the sister. Ella was so happy when she remembered

she had this fake hair she could use.

Next came brother #1. He's a cowboy. Some of you might notice

the head is almost exactly the right shape for the kid we were going for.

Then came brother #2. He's a pirate. I forgot to get a picture from the back,

but Logan was very proud of the fact that he has a carrot on his bum.

We call it a tail.

Finally, the baby. Easiest snowman I ever made and probably the cutest.

The rest of us had normal carrot noses, but the kids picked a baby carrot

out of the fridge special for Landon.

Logan was a trooper, but when you have a hard time keeping

your boots, coat, and mittens on for extended periods of time,

sometimes you end up watching from the inside.

Valentine's

We had big plans for a lovely Valentine's breakfast. Unfortunately the only ones feeling up for it that day were me and the beautiful girl below.

Ella looked lovely as always and was even willing to pose for a few pictures before heading off to the annual Manner's Tea at school where she got to hold hands with a real life boy. She was just sad it wasn't Ezra.

The boys, on the other hand, spent a long and painful night sick as dogs. FYI...do not sleep in the same room as Logan when he is sick. He moans when he is not feeling good and I mean loud and long and pretty much all night. Check out the poor little dudes below.

Hence the postponed Valentine's breakfast. We moved it to dinner instead, but still only Ella and I were really able to enjoy it.

Thank you to those who helped make my Valentine's Day special. I received some yummy and beautiful things.