An "Ah- Ha!" moment captured- part II

I've been up for about 4 hours with a really bad migraine. Usually this is not a blessing. But tonight I'm grateful (except for the sensitivity to light and movement, the intense pain and the vomiting) because it has allowed me a lot of time to sit and ponder. It is a rare thing for me to lay still and just think without being interrupted by this chore or someone needing one thing or another. And so I've been thinking and now that my migraine medicine has kicked in I've felt the need to write down some of the things I've had on my mind.

For 6 years I worked for a company in their quality department. Lately I've been looking on that time with rose colored glasses. There were definitely some growing experiences for me during that time but for the most part I remember that time fondly. Lately though I had been looking at my time there and almost regretting (for lack of a better word) my decision to be a full time mom. Working had it's struggles but it also had benefits. One of the biggest was that I was really good at what I did. The company that hired me took a risk at hiring a 20 year old girl who didn't have a lot of real world experience but was willing to learn. There was quite a learning curve but ultimately I was good at my job. And because I was good at my job I got a lot of positive feedback; from my supervisors, from other departments and from customers internal and external. One of the main reasons I was good at my job though was because I put a lot of effort into being good at it. I had my organizational systems, I created "to-do" lists, I made a conscious effort to meet or exceed deadlines.

Lately I have 'fallen prey' to the monotony that can be stay-at-home-motherhood. But as I lay here pondering a piece of advice that I was once given kept coming to mind: "Teach your children the gospel while they are young. Do not wait until they are in their teens for this is far too late." It was such a simple thought but yet so profound and powerful. If I want to be fulfilled in my role of wife and mother I need to put as much effort into this job as I had my other job. I want my children to have an understanding of who they are and where they came from. I want to teach my children the stories in the scriptures. And moreover they want to learn! And so it's my responsibility to teach them these things that I have often taken for granted. And furthermore, it's my responsibility to make it a priority!

As I caught hold of this idea it was like my mind had been opened. Ideas for how to implement these new priorities came flooding. The importance of having family scripture study every morning became clear. Ideas for making these scripture studies continue through our daily routine and applied to today came readily. I know my Heavenly Father is aware of me and my struggles. I know that he loves me and my children more than I can comprehend. And I know that he wants me to be successful in teaching my children about Him and His plan for them. I'm grateful for this "Ah-ha" moment, and for the migraine that triggered it.

Another week, another post.

So I really do try and update every week but lately it seems like things in our lives are so much the same that it really is hard to post. Life is going to get a little more interesting I suppose. Library time started last week so I take the boys there. They enjoy it and are some of the best behaved kids there (see it pays to be a mean mommy, lol). Starting next week Joel will get to go to a church run pre-school. It's only for a couple hours or so but I think he'll enjoy it and it will be good for him. I'm really excited for him and hope that he enjoys it! He has a couple friends from OUR church who will be going (it's not sponsored by our church) and so at least he'll already have a friend or two there. Vance is in the midst of potty training although if it doesn't get better soon (we've been working on it for a week) then I'll throw in the towel and try again in a couple of months. While life is pretty typical- we go to the gym, swim, play with our neighbors, etc.- it's never dull. The boys are always so silly and just crack us up. So in light of all that, here's a video clip of Vance. (And yes we make him eat with his shirt off because it makes for easier clean up. lol) Also, I guess I should mention that Vance is having a bit of an identity crisis- it's normal, we hope he grows out of it. Luckily he will still come if we call him by his name.


So without further ado I present, You wake my BABY up!

Summer Hair Cuts

So as anyone who knows Tj knows that for the last several years (basically since we've been married) he has progressively cut his hair shorter and shorter until he could get it no shorter and now shaves his head bald. Well after many discussions the boys decided to have daddy cut their hair like his.

May I present Summer Hair Cuts in August:


Joel went first. Going.....

Going.....
Gone!
Vance watching the action. I was actually curious to see if Vance would actually follow through.
Vance's turn. Going......
Going......
Gone!
Watch out Pa! You're next. =)

Love these boys!

So these boys crack me up! I love them so much. So they have really been using their imaginations and it makes me so happy and makes me laugh. They are so smart and have memories like a steel trap- unless it conveniently forgets. So their latest imaginary situation is them pretending to be dogs. Joel is Kensie and Vance is Woof Woof. We were over at Tj's parents house and they were loving pretending to be dogs and were even playing with Molly's dog bones and Tj's dad was putting the leash on them. They randomly will decide to play Woof Woof and Kensie and sometimes that's really fun and sometimes it's a challenge. But I love that they have "their" thing.

I love that they are song birds. Music has always been such an important in my life and in so many of my memories that I think it was inevitable that I would try and share that with my boys. Tj thinks we're a little crazy sometimes because we're ALWAYS singing and making up silly songs. But I love hearing them sing to each other or to themselves, singing along with the radio or asking me to sing songs with them.

Life is chugging along. We found a little preschool that we applied for to send Joel one day a week. It's just a little church preschool but one of his friend's from church is going to attend there and I think he would enjoy and benefit from it. If not he'll hang out at home with Vance and I some more, either way I think it will be a good thing. And we got registered for the story time here at the local library with one of Vance's friends. So hopefully we'll get into a routine- although our non-routine life has fit us pretty well for the last year. :)

Happy Second Birthday, Vance!

Okay so the pictures are all messed up as far as the time line is concerned. So I'll try and keep it straight. Of course again, it was a three day extravaganza- starting with playdate on Friday, Chuck E. Cheese with Pa and Nama, and then the actual Birthday on Sunday.

Actual Birthday

Vance and the birthday sign and the decorations.

Vance and his decorations.

The gifts!
He got the "Elefun!" game, doctor kit and boat with blocks.

Vance's birthday muffin.

Saturday Night

Keeping the tradition, this was the first year Vance got to help make his cake.

Decorating the cake with sprinkles. He picked Orange as the frosting color."It's my party and I'll cry if I want to."

Vance with the finished product, although he was done with pictures.

Saturday Morning

Vance being very serious about his driving with Chuck E. Cheese

Happy Birthday, with Pa!

Friday Night

Nama and Pa found this pinata and thought of Vance. We had volleyball with some of the adults at church Friday night and brought it to entertain the kids. It was pretty fun.
One thing I didn't get a picture of was the cookies we took to the swimming playdate Friday morning. But it was a fun start to the birthday extravaganza.

Sunday Night

So one of our new neighbors has one of these mini trampolines.
Knowing how much the boys LOVE jumping I knew what Vance should get for his birthday.

Joel was just as excited for the trampoline as Vance.

Vance opening his gifts from Pa and Nama.

Pa bought him a view finder, he LOVES it.

Vance was a lot more excited about his cake Sunday night.

So we are done with the birthday extravaganzas for this year. Well we still have Pa's birthday in December but it's awhile away still. I have plenty of time to recoup from too much birthday. And next year we're topping out on 2 days worth of birthday, that's it!

Happy Happy Birthday, Vance Dear!

Dear Vance,
I can't believe it's been two years since you came to our family. I will always remember the day that I found out that I was pregnant with you and the powerful assurance I received that it was your time to come to our family. You are our cayenne pepper- you spice up our family, sometimes make me sweat with your antics but can be oh so sweet. Life is never boring with you around, you take after your dad in that you can always lighten the mood with your sense of humor.
It's hard to remember sometimes that you're only turning two, Vance. You are so smart! Your vocabulary and logic really surprises me sometimes. You have been talking in full sentences for such a long time that it's hard to remember when you haven't been able to voice your opinions. People are always so surprised because you're quite petite but you're so vocal and smart. You are also so stubborn. This has provided for several humorous experiences (such as when you insisted that the onion was an apple and refused to say otherwise even after trying it) as well as given us, as your parents, the opportunity to develop patience. You are so brave- and sometimes that's scary for me as your mother- because you will jump, climb and face whatever challenge happens to be in your way with an "act now think later" mentality. I hope that you will always feel confident as you face challenges in your life as you are now. You have such a strong and independent personality and often try testing the boundaries that are set. But you also are such a good helper and really want to be good. You love learning and you love books. I love that you often approach your dad and I with a book in hand and want for us to read to you. Your favorite books lately have been, "The Giving Tree", "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?" and "Where the Wild Things Are." You are also still our little cuddle bug and I love that!
This year has been filled with so many milestones: you have basically all your teeth and love to brush them, you love feeding yourself with your spoon and fork and using a regular cup just like your brother- although after meals we still usually have to hose you down, you love to play with your brother and keeping up with all the big kids. You are still particular about what you like and what you don't like to eat. You love chicken (in any form: nuggets, baked, etc), tomatoes, bread, oatmeal, hot dogs and anything that's sweet. You like to put puzzles together, build with blocks and figure out how to take things apart (and sometimes put them back together).
Vance you are such a blessing to our family and to those around you. You and Joel are best friends. I love that you are always so willing to share with him and think about him often. (Even this morning you couldn't wait to share your special birthday balloons with him!) You are constantly making us laugh- even when you should be getting in trouble!!- and are so loving and tender. If you see someone sad or hurt you always try to help make it better and are concerned until they're okay.
Vance I love you! I can't imagine what our family would be like without you. You make life exciting and humorous. I'm excited to see what life has in store for you and for all the fun we'll have along the way.
Happy Birthday Vance!
Love,
Mom (and Dad)

It's a hard knock life.

So one thing I knew when we had kids was that kids have accidents and get banged up. It's still never fun to see them- or hear them- when they get hurt. With the two boys it seems like someone always is getting hurt or on the mend from an accident. But alas, besides wrapping them in bubble wrap there's nothing you can do to protect them.


Joel and Vance were jumping into their little couch and jumped head first into each other. It was a very sad day. But nothing a little ice couldn't fix.

Later that same week Vance took on the table in Nursery at church. Apparently the table won. Vance is on the mend and intends to re challenge the table soon.

Fort Fun!

I think one of the greatest memories of being a kid is building a fort. The possibilities are endless. Chairs, books, blankets, more chairs, more books, more blankets! The boys were introduced to the joys of forts yesterday. One of the benefits of having Tj home lately is that he is an expert fort builder. He helped the boys make a really great fort in their room. Then he went in and set up their portable DVD player (that usually is reserved for long trips in the car) in there. He then taught the boys a secret knock and hand sign to get into the super cool fort. The boys had a really great time playing- and I got stuff done around the house. I think the most humorous part of the experience was that the boys wanted Tj to watch the movie with them so there he was with his legs hanging outside the fort watching Monster's Inc. with the boys. What a good dad!

The fort. (We couldn't get the boys to pose.)

You've gotta have the right tools.
(I have no idea what Joel is doing goofy child!)

Hanging out in the fort.

For the love of pictures.

When you don't blog for a long time you miss out on the chance to share random everyday pictures. So here are some of my recent favorites of the boys.

Look at my baby. Vance is getting so grown up! Forget the fact that he's practically begging me to let him potty train too and the fact that he's constantly in trouble for back-talking; just look at him! He has lost all traces of baby. Luckily he still loves to cuddle.

This picture cracks me up! You know Tj had to be exhausted to actually fall asleep in the toddler size bed beside Joel.


One of the best pieces of advice that I've ever read is that it is our job as parents to raise kids who are capable and contributing members of society. My other favorite piece of advice is to never do for a child what they are able to do for themselves. Hence the following pictures:

Joel gets dressed by himself everyday now. Sometimes this is a longer process than other because he gets silly.

Joel being silly and putting his shirt on upside down.

Vance is just now starting to dress himself. Sometimes he gets the order of things confused (aka take off your pajamas first!) and he often comes up with original ways to get the clothes on. But as long as he is doing it himself and the clothes are covering the right parts of the body who cares what method he took to get them there.

This was Joel's first outfit that he picked out all by himself and dressed himself too. Classic. By the way I'm so proud of him. He is completely potty trained! So nice.

Summer Catch Up

Have you ever gotten so behind in blogging that you don't even know where to start?! That's how I feel right now. So this summer has been a busy one for us. I know I have lots to catch up on. There was a visit from my sister, swimming, seeing "Thomas Goes to the Circus", hanging out with Pa and Nama, playing with the neighbors and so much more. I'll try and see if I can keep it all straight.


First off I have to share current favorite media of the boys. Pa introduced the boys to "The Wizard of Oz". It was pretty funny because he started with the munchkins and then slowly started added scenes. The boys will now ask for the 'flying monkey' movie. This is hilarious because when they watch it they are fairly frightened and snuggle together and try and be so brave until the scary parts are over. It's like they LOVE to be scared. They also to love watching the short pixar films with Pa. Their favorites are "Bounding" and "For the Birds." I also introduced them to the joys of Carebears much to the chagrin of Tj (according to him Carebears are about rainbows, feelings and hearts and that's girl stuff). lol Vance will ask for it sometimes and Tj just shakes his head. Although, again Dark Heart scared them a little bit. Pa also, bought them "Where The Wild Things Are." Vance loves it!!! I think Vance has a little 'Max' in him and likes the part where Max rules over the wild things. He likes pointing out all the wild things and saying "and that a wil' thing, and that a wil' thing...." I think Joel was a little frightened by the book at first but couldn't be showed up by his little brother so he put on a brave face. So funny!

Joel and Vance snuggling during the scary parts of Wizard of Oz.

We've been really fortunate to have Pa around a lot this summer. The boys have been loving it! Pa is such a fun playmate, teaches them all sorts of fun stuff and spoils them rotten! The boys have been forgetting their 'pleases' and 'thank-yous' so Pa taught Vance to say "Don't boss me around Nama, and don't boss Pa either." Fortunately for Pa and Vance he hasn't said this to mommy or daddy. lol Pa took us all out to dinner last weekend and we pulled up to the restaurant and Joel cried out "It's the cow place!!!"The boys with Molly after eating at "The cow place" with Pa.

So a few months back Pa saw that "Thomas Goes to the Circus" (or something like that) was coming to town so he splurged and got 4 tickets to the show. Tj was busy that day so the boys and I went with Tj's mom. It was actually really fun! I was surprised at how good the show was and the boys of course LOVED it.

We are so excited we finally have neighbors! Well we've always had neighbors but now we have 2 families from church that live across the street from us. It has been SO fun! And we are expecting 2 more families from church to move across the street in the next month! Our neighborhood (and especially that side of the street) has been nicknamed "Little Provo" at church. The kids are all around the same age and so the boys have loved having people to play with and it's fun to have other moms around too.
We had a pizza night on a Monday night with our neighbors and then we attempted to have a family home evening lesson. Here are all the kids trying so hard to sit still for the first picture:

Exhibit A.

Here's how the night really looked! Josh bless his heart just kept trudging along with his lesson.

This summer has been filled with lots of swimming. Swimming at Pa's house, swimming with the neighbors at the community pool and swimming for Friday playdates- and that doesn't even count the few trips (and by few I mean like less than 5) to the beach. Joel is starting to swim a little bit without any help and depending on whether it was his idea or not does fairly well. Vance wants to swim by himself but is also fairly content to use the floaties or his life vest. I was hoping to get Joel swim lessons this summer but I guess we'll wait until next summer- which is fine too.

So my baby sister came out and stayed with us for about a week. It was so fun! The boys had a really great time with Auntie Jay Jay and I really appreciated the help and the company. We went to the beach, hung out at the pool, wandered around the outlet mall, cooked, baked, watched movies, and talked. It was a really fun time! It's hard to imagine your youngest sibling all grown up- especially when you missed most of it (I left home when she was only 10). But we had a really great time and wish she'd visit more often. (And no Jaron I haven't forgotten about your post. It will come!)

Anyhow, that is a generally summary of what's going on here with us. I'm hoping that now that I've gotten this out of the way I will be better about my weekly posts again. Here's hoping.....

We love Joel.

We love Joel. He such a good boy. We are still working on potty training but he is trying. He loves singing. His favorite songs are "Jesus Comes Again", "Daddy's Homecoming" and "I'm Trying to be like Jesus". He enjoys saying the blessing on the food although we still have to correct him as he currently prays to "Heavenly Family".

I took this picture of him from a weird angle but he looks SO grown up here.

Of course when Vance was riding the the train Joel wanted a turn.
My silly boys.

This outfit was my nephew's.
Joel is finally big enough to wear it.
Seeing him wear this made me feel very patriotic.

Here is Joel with his disc-man.
He can now listen to "Man From Snowy River" anytime he wants.
So funny!

We love Vance.

We love our Vance. He continues to surprise us and makes us laugh. His vocabulary and sentences literally keeps us on our toes. He loves reading and constantly wants us to read to him, again and again. He also loves singing and our day is never complete without his rendition of Happy Birthday.

As mentioned previously Vance is our "Little Linus". Nama found this shirt for Vance. Vance kept laughing as he told us "I am the head." He thought that was really funny, he has such a funny sense of humor.

Vance loves riding toys- even if they're not proportionally correct.

Vance loves music. Pa bought him a disc-man- as any 2 year old needs. lol

Vance is our sweet sleeper. He loves sleep and will actually ask for his "blankey and nap". He has also taken to using his Pooh Bear as a pillow. I love watching him sleep and he have to resist picking him up and cuddling him at night.

Vance is hilarious. He will confiscate anything that is Pa's- especially his glasses and phone.
And of course no day is complete without his "Elmo shirt". If I had any idea that this shirt would be so popular with Vance I would have bought half a dozen of them.

Our First Rodeo

So last weekend Pa took us to our first rodeo. It was a bit rainy but ended up being a fun night. We got to the fairground to stormy skies.


Not five minutes after we got there the skies opened and it began pouring rain. So we all ducked for cover. While waiting for the rain to clear the boys got to get close to a horse named "Hollywood".
The skies cleared, and we were set to watch the rodeo. We all stood for the National Anthem.

We watched a few rounds of bull riding. But then it started raining again.
As you can tell the boys were not excited about the rain. Vance kept saying "I got all soaked wet." But they loved their first rodeo. Thanks Pa for the fun night!