December's sweet and funny moments

Dec. 4--One of the Christmas songs I love and wanted to teach the girls is "Do you hear what I hear?" We were singing it at lunch and when I sang, "Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy..." Elle chimed in with a loud, but totally serious, "BAA!"

Dec. 5--Changing Eden's size 3 diaper, and Elle (who also wears size 3 diapers to bed at night) crouches down, scrunches up her nose and says, "Oh, yook at that cute diaper!"

Dec. 7--I had sung "The Friendly Beasts" with the girls before bedtime and Elle's favorite verse talks about the cow sharing her manger for Christ's bed and her hay for his pillow. As I laid her on her own pillow she said, "Jesus only had hay for a pillow. Maybe I could share a big soft pillow with him."

Later that day, Elle was giving out roles for playtime and she directed me, "You're going to be ridiculous, Mom." Ryn protested loudly, "No! I want her to be beautiful!" Thanks, Ryn :)

Dec. 8--I had promised a Christmas movie and told Ryn it was time to turn off the TV after she had finished. "But Mom, we just watched one. The third one will be the last one."

Elle had to go to the bathroom so I said, "Hurry, Elle!" And she said, "I'm not Elle. I'm a wise man." I said, "OK, Hurry, wise man." She said, "OK, Mom Wise man." And as an afterthought as she raced her tiny chickabooms to the potty, "I'm a yittle wise man."

Dec. 12--Back to "The Friendly Beasts" chime-ins. I was singing it to Eden to help her stop crying. That wasn't working by the time I got to the dove verse: "I coo-ed him to sleep, that he would not cry...." So Ryn must have thought, If it worked for that dove, maybe it would work for me...and she leaned over crying Eden and softly, "Coo, coo, coo....". So cute I almost cried.

We were talking about every one's 'long' names and 'short' names--how Ryn's long name is Kathryn Noel Linkous and Elle's is Elle Nora Linkous. Elle turned to me and said, "Your long name is Mommy Linkous."

Dec. 13--Something broke and Ryn came to show it to me and offered this, "It broke. We need sticky syrup."

Dec. 14--When there's a run on the girls' bathroom (both needing it at the same time), we just put Ryn on the toilet and Elle on the little potty chair. This time the girls ran in together while I was doing the dishes and soon I heard this make-you-laugh-out-loud dialog:
Elle--This is so fun, Ryn!
Ryn--It's a potty party!

Later that day, Ryn saw me leaning over to give Elle a hug at lunch and she put up her little hands like she was holding a camera and said, "I gotta get a picture of that!"

Dec. 16--Ryn has picked up the phrase, "Hey! Check this out!" and it gets us every time.

She tried to explain the rules of who does and doesn't need a pacifier:
"Pacifiers are for babies....(but then she remembered Elle still likes her pacifier when she goes to bed)
...and for sisters...(but then she remembered that she is a sister)
...if they look like that, they do (pointing to Elle)
...and if they look like this, they don't (pointing to herself)." WHEW! That was more complicated than she thought it would be!

Dec. 21--Ryn was being a little grumpy so we were using her birthday party as incentive to be happy. You know, a little "birthday parties are for happy girls, not sad ones, so you'd better be happy." Her response was classic. "When I'm done being sad, I'll be happy."

Earlier that morning, she and Elle (who are sharing a room now) tiptoed in to wake us up and Kev heard Ryn whisper, "Let me show you how to wake up your Daddy. You tap him three times like this...." Then he felt Ryn's 3 taps and Elle's echoed 3. "....and you say, 'Daddy, wake up.'"

Elle needed Kev's help in the bathroom and after calling him once with no result, she added this, "Daddy, get off the stool." (she knew Kev must be perched on our bar stool checking something on the laptop on the counter)

Dec. 24--For our family Nativity, Ryn was going to be Joseph and Elle, Mary. I told Ryn what she needed to say to the Innkeeper and was waiting for her to say it back to me when Elle chimed in, completely in character--sweetly and patiently, "Joseph, we need a place to rest."

Dec. all month--Any time we were reading about bad guys in a story or in the scriptures, Elle would get a very serious look on her face and stop us and point out the worst part of that whole thing, "They're not going to get a present from Santa."

Dec. 28--Ryn was looking at the miniature Salt Lake temple I gave Kevin for his wedding present and said wistfully, "I wish we lived by the temple." I reassured her that it wasn't very far away at all, reminding her that we had just been there to see the lights. But she was firm. "No! We live far away. We live by the dogs." (The family that lives behind us has dogs that are always right by the fence barking :) )


Dec. 29--Elle came into my bathroom while I was getting ready and opened her eyes wide with shock, "Mom! There's make-up all over your face!" I guess I need to put on make-up more often :)

Dec. 31--The Snow White DVD was one of the favorite Christmas presents and has already been watched more times than I can count. So Elle was sweeping with our broom singing "Whistle While You Work" and told me that I was supposed to be the animals. When she finished her song, I praised her with a hearty "Bravo!" "No!" she exclaimed. "Don't say 'bravo'! Animals don't say bravo." Quite right. Quite right.

Sometimes I swear I live with an angel...

Yep, on this 12th anniversary, I really feel like singing a country song :). (sorry, Joy, and anyone else who hates country) There is a song by the Wilkinsons that has always made me think of Kevin, and I sing it to myself almost daily as I watch him anticipate everything I need and do it before I even ask--sometimes even before I think to ask. It's actually a little scary, but mostly completely wonderful.

Sometimes I swear I live with an angel
Sent from above to watch over me
He wears his love just like a halo
If he's not an angel, what else could he be?

He wouldn't say he's anything special
That's how, I'm sure, all those angels are
But when he comes around, miracles happen
I felt the first one when he touched my heart.

Though I've never seen him fly,
On the wings of love he carries me.
Heaven-bound I'm mystified
How with just one look he made me believe
In angels...
Though I've never seen him fly.

I love you, angel.

The definition of SWEET!

I can remember as if it were yesterday every little detail about welcoming our angel, miracle girl into the world!

4 years ago Kathryn Noel Linkous came to our family ending 8 long, very painful years of waiting. The tears still flow freely as I think back to that moment when I first cast my eyes on her sweet face. The nurse carried her over to the scale and then to the warmer and the whole time my body just ached to hold her and kiss her and you know what? Things haven't changed one bit after 4 yrs.

Every time she opens her mouth to say something or flashes her adorable innocent sweet smile complete with Daddy's dimples it makes me just want to gobble her up and freeze that moment in time. Her hugs and kisses are to die for and really when you "try" to sum up what makes Ryn Ryn, the best way is -pure sweetness!!!! Not only is she the perfect daughter, always doing her best to obey and listen but she is also the best big sister. As much as we love and adore Elle and Eden we know without a doubt why Ryn was the first to come! I sometimes will sneak into her room after she is asleep and just kneel down at her bedside and allow myself to soak in every feature of her sweet face and burn that image into my heart and mind. RYN I LOVE YOU!

As wonderful as it is to celebrate and remember the birth of a child, for me it is bittersweet. It is also a reminder of the cold, sometimes cruel fact that they are growing up--which equals less of a need for Mom and Dad and the drawing nearer of them entering the far too often mean, unfair world of life.

Ryn Happy Birthday angel! Thank you for coming to our family and into my heart. You were the first baby to arrive and make me feel whole as a man and allowed me to experience the indescribable joys of being not just a father but your father! You completed our love and to this day you continue to do so, every minute of every day! The true miracle is not just that you came but that God loved and trusted me enough to be your Daddy, the Daddy of an angel!

Mom here :). I have to take my Grandma and Grandpa Ellis' words and, "I say Ditto, all the way!" to what Dad wrote. Christmas is forever changed for me since you came to be my angel. That whole Christmas season when I was pregnant with you was the most powerful I have ever experienced . I hope someday you might be lucky enough to be expecting a baby around Christmas. Everything was magical. Everything held more personal meaning for me. I thought every day about Mary, Jesus' mother. I thought about how she must have felt during the last few weeks before His birth. How humbled she must have been, how anxious, how excited, how happy--completely full of joy. I know she must have felt that way because that's how I felt. I also sang every Christmas hymn with even more joy and rejoicing than ever before. Even though I had only waited for 8 years for you to come--the world had waited since the fall of Adam for its Savior--I knew the praises I wanted to sing (actually I was singing almost every minute) and shout every minute of every day for you were as fervent and sincere as those of the heavens and earth when Christ was born at last. And my praises and thanks to Heavenly Father for this gift of His most precious Son were greater than ever before because I knew that gift would make possible keeping you, my precious angel, forever. I pray and strive every day to be worthy of such priceless gifts. Thank you for coming to me--to us. So very many people prayed and waited and watched with us. Thank you for making my life, and every other life you touch, magical and happy and beautiful.

We had a fun family party this year--bowling :). We had gone this summer in Houston with my parents and Ryn was jumping for joy the whole time, so we knew she'd have fun. The automatic bumpers and a slide for the girls' balls made it tough for Kevin and Ryan to beat their scores.
Ryn wanted to decorate her own cake, complete with an inch-thick layer of sprinkles :)
I didn't even know they made bowling shoes that could fit Elle, but she loved them even more than the actual game.
Eden loved hanging on where the action was.
Happy day :)

Holiday Fun!

As much as we love Europe and especially the Christmas season there. Something magical happens when you step foot on Temple Square and see the millions of lights reflecting in your children's eyes! As their heads swiveled around and then back again with their eyes and mouths wide open, I couldn't help but feel transported back to when I first stepped foot into the same twinkling world.
I love being a Dad and it has been way too long since I last recorded how happy it makes me to see, hear and watch my 3 little angels grow and learn. They truly are too sweet, too adorable and too funny!
Ryn continues to amaze me with her sweetness and angelic big sisterliness :) She also LOVES to learn and really is like a sponge with her ability to hear or see something once and then store it!
Elle has an incredible grasp of the English language for a 2and 1/2 year old and has such a concrete idea of what she wants. For example she is NOT cute, that is just unacceptable, she is beautiful. And Eden, she is such a cutie-pie. I have to admit that she adores me:)And I love that whenever I come into the room she starts bouncing for joy and saying Dada Dada and reaching out to me.
When I leave for work Ryn and Elle both run and wrap themselves around my legs saying, "we won't let you go, we don't want you to go to work." Life is good, life is wonderful and life is whole!

Create

So life with three little girls is crazy, but hey, why not make it a little crazier? :)



Here is my new work-in-progress website
http://www.wix.com/snapsbykit/Snaps
where you can see the fun creations I've made over the past few months. I started before Halloween--I wanted some cute, simple shirts for the girls and couldn't find any I liked at a price I liked :). After the ghosts were made, my mind couldn't stop working until I had sketched over 100 different ideas (only about 50 of which are on the website so far).

I know our blog is only read by family and close friends, so I would appreciate any comments or suggestions you'd care to share--about the product or the website. I already plan on getting better pictures with Kevin and Michelle's help (be ready for my phone call, Michelle :) ), but I did these on my own with my photography-challenged skill set so I could get something up and running before Christmas.

I was talking to Natalie about these shirts, as well as some adorable modge podge wall hangings she has made, and we both agreed that the joy of creation President Uchtdorf talked about is real and necessary. Here is a portion of that great talk that will hopefully inspire you to find happiness as you Create--smiles, harmonious homes, family memories....

More funnies from October and November

Oct 21--Ryn usually is all too happy to send Elle home with me while she has her playgroup. But, for the record, I have to report her exact words on this day: "Is Elle going home? I want Elle to play with me at Anna's house!"

When Elle pulled up her own pants that day, I told her she was a big girl and she replied, "No, I'm a HERO!"

And when Ryn wanted to look again at where we live now in relation to where she was born, she asked me to pull out the "blub". You know, the globe :).

Oct 22--While taking our vitamins at breakfast, Ryn asked why I swallowed mine instead of chewing them up, so I explained that mine didn't taste good like their gummy vitamins. She felt bad for me and insisted, "we have to get you some good ones."

Oct 23--Elle finished her lunch and raised her hands up above her head with a look that said, "I'm waiting for you to acknowledge this achievement, Mom..." So I said, "Ta da!!!" She corrected me with, "No. Say 'raise the roof!' " ?!@?!

Oct 26--I was putting on my make up and Elle came along swinging a sword at me, saying, "Die, witch!" In my defense, Ryn pointed out matter-of-factly, "She can't die. She's putting on her make up." Luckily for me, Elle had found another target by the time I emerged from my bathroom.

Oct 30--I had told Elle 'no' about something and she talked back in some way, so I asked, "Elle, what do we say when Mom says 'no'?", hoping to hear her reply, "we say 'OK, Mom'" like I've been teaching her to say. (We'll look forward to the fruits of these labors sometime during the millennium :) ). Ryn jumped in as my Teacher's Assistant, though, and prompted, "When Moms say no, you say, "AWWWW!"

Nov 7--Elle leaned over to Eden during lunch and said so sweetly, "She's my bwest fwiend." I smiled and Ryn knew right where I was going. "Write that on the calendar, Mom." :) Pretty scary how well they watch us....

Later that day, Elle wanted a snack and started scanning the pantry shelves. "I see the crappers up there!" (crackers :) )

Nov 9--Elle was in the middle of her normal marathon lunch and I had had it. "Elle, I'm not sitting at this table all day long," I warned. "But it's a nice table," she pointed out, hoping to ease my wrath :).

Nov 10--Elle's positive thinking continues...I wouldn't let them have popcorn while they watched a movie because they'd been on Halloween candy overload. So Elle kept proposing every single thing in the pantry until I finally agreed to some plain Cheerios. She got comfortable on the couch with her little bowl and looked up happily, "This is kinda like popcorn!"

Nov 11--one of my favorite vocabulary twists right now is scoop instead of scoot. "Scoop away!" is the one we hear all the time instead of 'scoot back' . "Can you scoop my chair?" is another one that makes me smile.

Nov 13--The Sunday before we had eaten dinner with our good friends, the Lehnardts--Michelle, Erik, Mary, Lucy the Cat and the 5 knights in shining armor who love our girls so much that they hate coming home. Every time we have to leave, Ryn asks, "Can we stay here forever?" Since that is not an option, and since even seeing them more than once a month is difficult with every one's busy schedules, the girls have started playing "Michelle, Erik, and Mary". Depending on how many of us are home, the boys and Lucy are thrown in, too. At lunch on this day, I was supposed to be playing the role of Erik, and I said something to the girls in French. Ryn reminded me that I wasn't staying in character. "No, Dad, you don't know how to speak en francais."

Who knew Halloween could be so fun?

At the beginning of October we were having a video call with some of our friends in France on Skype and they saw some Halloween decorations the girls had made on the door. In case you're wondering, the big 'X' things are spiders :). They were surprised that we were already starting the celebrating, and even I (whose first full sentence as a child was the Halloween mantra, "I want candy!") had no idea just how much fun we were in for. Fundamentally, Americans look for reasons to celebrate and Halloween provides so many opportunities. Weeks before the actual miraculous outpouring of trick-or-treat candy, there are costumes to plan, (Ryn is a clown in the very costume Kevin wore when he was 3, Elle is our little witch-- grace a la famille Gandon, and Eden is our little lamb that Ryn was for her first Halloween)
bat, ghost, and pumpkin cookies to make and share , pumpkins to carve (we had a fantastic Family Home Evening last Monday with Ryan and Grandpa and Grandma Linkous),

parties to attend--one at the Pepperwood Ward and one at Ryn's dance class (where she's wearing the witch costume Elle wore for everything else and is glued to the teacher's side comme d'hab :)),

and songs to sing (I showed Ryn some minor chords on the piano and how we could make spooky owl and ghost songs out of them).

That afternoon we had a blast at the Discovery children's museum with our friends, Ben, Tatum, Bethany, Mary Jane, and Miles Norris. With kids exactly the same ages as ours, they've been a blessing since the day we moved into this ward.

Ryn's favorite part of the actual Halloween night was just being able to knock on every door she saw. On a walk yesterday, she couldn't understand why we couldn't keep such a good thing going and asked at nearly every home, "can we go to that house?" Elle loved telling people at every door what a witch says--"Come here, my pretties..." I'm sure they were all terrified :).

Good-bye to fall already?!

It's snowing.

So before we fill this blog with wintry things, we need to get some fall pics and memories recorded :). Like catching raindrops (before we catch snowflakes) on our tongues...

And walking to the park in short sleeves, with purses and suckers (before we're in coats, with mittens and sleds)...

The good thing is--fall or winter, at least the smiles should stay the same :)

Batten down the hatches! Eden's on the move!

Yes, the much-anticipated crawling
milestone has arrived.

Things on the floor in any room are no longer safe from endless slobber. Even though it means more messes to clean up and more stress to make sure everything off-limits is out of reach, I absolutely LOVE seeing the joy on Eden's face now that she can go wherever she wants, whenever she wants. FREEDOM! In the 2 days since she seriously found her quatre-pattes, she has whined and cried only when she's ready to eat or sleep, instead of the recent, almost constant, I-need-a-change-of-scenery scream.




















This is one of my absolute favorite parts of motherhood. As my mom calls it--"Watching the light come on." Even though Eden learned to crawl on her own (all babies will eventually crawl, walk, talk, etc), I can't help but feel like my encouragements and teaching played a teeny tiny part. And even if they didn't, just being a witness to this miracle of life, as it grows and develops, is its own reward.

The funnies

Even though I haven't been consistent enough here, I have been writing down some funny things the girls are saying on the calendar. So here are a few dating as far back as JULY ?!$@#

Ryn:
"Mom, will you clean up this mess I made?" (July 1)

We had been talking about going to Aspen Grove the next week and I was listening to a Josh Groban song. Ryn asked who was singing. When I told her she must not have heard me well and asked, "Aspen Grovan?" (July 2)

We were trying to get hair brushed (always the most exciting challenge of the morning) before leaving to be in a Youth Days of '47 parade in Salt Lake and Elle was not cooperating. Ryn put on her best mom voice and tried to reason with her: "Elle, you have to have a ponytail or you're going to scare the other kids." (July 18)

An impromptu song she sang at lunch: "I'm beautiful like a flower...come and smell me and think that I'm a flower!" (July 17)

I was encouraging every one's involvement in picking up the crayons the girls had spilled on the floor with, "We need to pick them all up!" Ryn replied, "Actually, you have to." (and a smile... funny girl :) ) (Aug 22)

Elle wanted Ryn or me to sit on her lap. Ryn, seeing the obvious challenge of fitting anything bigger than a baby doll on that tiny excuse for a lap, told me: "When she's a mommy she can have a lap." (Sept 1)

Their latest way of defining roles when they play house cracks us up every time, "OK, I'm the mommy and you're the honey." (first heard on Sept 19)

Ryn is always trying to help Elle choose the right and understand why. I left the kitchen for a minute one day during a lunch Elle was having a hard time finishing. I heard Ryn explain to her: "You have to grow big and be my friend. So eat your food, OK?" (Sept 22)

Anyone who knows Ryn has seen her joyful enthusiasm as she literally bounces her way through each day. The other day I asked her for a hug and she backed away from me, saying as she bounced before take-off, "I just love to give everyone running and jumping hugs!!!" (Oct 6)

And today I was asking what Ryn thought we should have for dinner--fish, salad, chicken....and she answered with this question: "Oh yeah! Mom can we go to Old MacDonald's and eat chicken and go down the slide that's not outside?"

Our favorite vocabulary word of hers right now--lasterday (yesterday)

Elle:
Wearing an Ariel dress-up dress, Elle wanted Kevin to admire her beauty. Kev exclaimed, "Wow! You look like a mermaid!" Elle--"No, I look like a Elle--you know, E-l-l-e." (July 20)

I was wearing my France soccer shirt with its rooster mascot embroidered on it when Elle was pretending that a witch was going to get us. "The witch! She's going to grab your chicken shirt!" (July 22)

Only Dora fans will get a kick out of this one: Elle, standing under an empty diaper box, warned us in her mean voice, "I'm Swiper the Box!" (Aug 10)

I keep all treats on a high shelf in the pantry and usually only bring them out to reward special achievements. The chocolate treats are reserved for the best of the best and, more often, are kept on the shelf until the girls are in bed and I reward myself for surviving the day :). One day at lunch, though, I needed a quick fix and got out a bag of Rollo's. Elle sat up straighter in her seat, immediately more interested in the lunchtime happenings and said, "Where'd that come from, Mom?"(Aug 21)

Then this invitation to me from tiny little Elle sitting on her tiny little potty chair in the kitchen--"Do you wanna sit on my wap?"

This was one of the earlier potty training days and I had been repeating over and over that "we don't poop (or go potty) in our pants"...just on the potty chair. All day she kept picking out random things to add to the list of interesting unacceptable bathroom break spots...."We don't poop on our dinner....Nooo!" "We don't poop on our chairs.....Noooo!" "We don't poop on Mommies....Noooo!" (Aug 29)

Kev was helping Elle eat one night (always a prime spot for funny moments in the midst of ultimate exasperation) and he asked her, "Don't you want to be like Nephi and obey?" Elle simply said, "No, I want to be a bad guy." So Kev sighed and got up to get something from the fridge. Elle asked, "Dad, are you happy?" Kev--"Not when you make me sad." Elle sighed on her end and decided out loud, "Okay, I'll obey like Nephi." (Sept 24)

I've mentioned before how I sing "Mess-maker, mess-maker, make me a mess..." when I'm cleaning up all the messes Elle makes for me--it keeps me smiling instead of wringing her little neck :). One day I was really pushed to my limit after she had about 4 potty training accidents, poured the milk out of the carton, and did a few other things that I can't remember now (one of the miracles of motherhood). As I waked away to get a towel for the last one, I started to sing the song through gritted teeth and Elle laughed, "Mom, I'm right here! I made one for you!" (Sept 26)

After I put Elle's shoes on--"Thank you, Mom! You're a big helper!" (Oct 8)

I was reading a little kids' biography of Abraham Lincoln to the girls which obviously included him being shot by Booth and dying the next morning. Hearing that, Elle looked up at me and said, "I'm going to die in two minutes." ?! She kept saying it all that day with her most serious voice, looking up at me with those huge brown eyes. It killed me every time :) (Oct 13)

Today at the park there was no bathroom, no one else was there, and she really needed to go. I pulled down her pants and tried to help her squat, but she would have no part of it. Squirming and protesting, she cried, "I don't want to go potty on the grass! That would be YUCK-Y!" And she held it until we got to the library's restroom at least an hour later. Like mother like daughter, I guess, since my mom always talks about me holding it all day rather than having to go in a stinky port-a-potty when I was 2.

Tonight we went to see the Halloween fun at Gardner Historic Village and as we walked back to our car, Elle commented that she liked going to the witches' party. I told her that life with her and Ryn and Eden was all the party I needed. "You're my party, Elle." She set me straight with "I'm not a birthday cake, Mom."

Change is good, possible and essential

So I'm here to return and report on the difference in my life since re-acquiring the necessary habits of consistent daily prayer and scripture study. Bottom line: I just can't believe I ever let myself justify getting casual about those 2 essential things. The benefits and blessings have been immediate and obvious-- at least to me. (You'll have to ask Kev about his recent lottery win/loss record). Life is still crazy and hard, I still lose my cool and my patience, Elle's still not 100% potty trained, etc, etc, etc. Nothing about my challenges has changed. But I have. And that is the miracle.

As Ezra Taft Benson explained, "The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature."

Every morning, when I used to get the first wave of being overwhelmed by all I had to get done, now I can more easily prioritize and accomplish things bit by bit. I feel good about what I do get done instead of beating myself up for not getting everything done because I do the things that have the most worth first. I can just hear Dad, "if you put first things first, you get both first and second things. If you put second things first, you lose both first and second things." :) My perspective is more consistently focused on the eternal consequences of my choices, so patience and love dictate more of my reactions. I have greater faith and hope in my ability to make all the continued changes I need because I know I am not working alone.

There were so many talks in conference that reinforced the things I've been feeling and learning for myself these past few weeks. Just one example....Elder Bednar spoke of our need to do more of what we know is right--to be more diligent and concerned in our homes. I felt the Lord telling me personally to "be not weary in well-doing" and rejoiced in the promise that "we will never be left alone in these important concerns."

Life is good. The Lord wants to help each of us in every way. We just have to be willing to ask, listen, and obey.

Kit's magic hands do it again!

I remember back in France when Michelle came to see us. She was pregnant with Miss Mary, wearing a walking boot for her broken foot and she came with cute little Gabriel who was almost 2. Michelle has 5 boys and she was knitting for her little girl who was on the way. As Kit watched her knit and then started flipping through the Dale of Norway knitting book, she was hooked:)

Michelle taught her some basic moves and from that little moment all the way across the world in a small little french town has come some of the cutest things ever! Kit's latest masterpiece...








She is an amazing woman and I am so thankful that she is mine and I am hers and that our little angels get to call her Mommy!
Oh and by the way.....there are two more dresses just like that on the way, so look for the completed project!!

Simplify, simplify, simplify

So... Kevin's loving determination to see me happy was the final push I needed tonight to do what I've been wanting to do for months now. Simplify, simplify, simplify. In other words: snip, snip, snip :)

About 10 inches later.....

I think I lost about 10 lbs in a half hour! Life is good.

Elle's comments: "I want to cut all my hair off!" (before she saw the actual result)

Then, when she saw me: "I don't want Mommy to cut all her hair off!" Too late, little Monkey :)

Walk in the Park

Miss sass-a-frass

Elle's happy-face pose

Somehow we've missed the boat on teaching our girls to smile for pictures. No matter how goofy we are, they are pretty much stone cold during any and all photo shoots. Normally, Eden is the exception and lives every day in a constant blissful smiley state, but she must have needed a day off. Oh well... for us, they're still the most beautiful creatures on earth.

"It's OK, Eden, Mom and Dad stop torturing us all soon." Seriously, I'm in awe watching Ryn magnify her role as biggest sister. Leading Elle to the potty chair with her arm around Elle's back, cheering her every success and encouraging her after near misses ("Good job, Elle! You did it!" or "It's OK Elle, next time you'll do it."), and filling Eden's every minute of every day with smiles and giggles.

We really just wanted them to stand by this lamp post, but it was just too tempting of a climb. :)

Kev-the-photographer was getting frustrated with the lack of cooperation from the older 2 girls, so I told him to take a snuggle break with the "bundle of joy" poster child and snapped a few.

So, yeah, it's all worth it.

Yesterday was one of those days where I seriously wondered. Not if it was worth it, but if I was capable. After 2 hours straight of ear-piercing jungle puma screaming, cleaning up more potty and poop near misses than I could stomach, doing the 2 extra loads of laundry that went with them, and trying to keep Eden happy and fed and Ryn entertained and occupied, I honestly just did not know how women for hundreds of years, all over the world, have survived and excelled at this job of patiently loving and mothering.

But here I am, the very next day, back to loving every single minute. I've been laughing at all the adorable things they say, cleaning up the messes with no self-pity, carrying Eden as much as I can so I can kiss her delicious rolls as much as humanly possible, and seeing how truly blessed I am and how I will do whatever it takes to help them be happy and learn as much as they can.

What a roller coaster it is for me. I wonder if it's like this for all moms? These complete extremes from one day (or one minute) to the next....It's like the lottery for Kevin coming home every night--which wife will greet him at the door? :) Poor guy.

So my goal is to be more consistently happy and grateful. One thing I'm doing that will hopefully help me reach that goal is following Elder Kikuchi's counsel in last month's Ensign. He encouraged daily morning personal devotional time that includes sincere prayer, scripture study and meditation, if only for a few minutes. I have always known these habits were important, especially after having them so blissfully uninterrupted on my mission :). Since becoming a mother, and then a mother of 3 in 3 years, it has become increasingly more difficult to find the time. I'm exhausted in the mornings after getting up all night with 1 or more of the girls, then I'm running all day just keeping them alive, and I'm even more exhausted at night when my mind is a worthless mush. Still, I've been able to squeeze in a few minutes most days when Elle is taking a nap, but there are too many times when someone calls or Ryn needs help or Eden won't sleep and my study is cut short or distracted and I have to go over the same sentence 10 times before I even register what I've read. So after Kev and I read this article for our FHE a few weeks ago, I decided I just need to get up a few minutes earlier, no matter how tired I am, and have faith that I will receive the promised blessings for my efforts (just one of which I have on my kitchen wall to remind me: "those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength").

I know that the Lord is just waiting, standing at the door and knocking, to give me the help, the strength and the blessings I need. How ridiculous when I do not open that door. An example of today's immediate result is this quote from President Uchdorf's message this month that filled me with hope:

"May I invite you to rise to the great potential within you. But don’t reach beyond your capacity. Don’t set goals beyond your capacity to achieve. Don’t feel guilty or dwell on thoughts of failure. Don’t compare yourself with others. Do the best you can, and the Lord will provide the rest. Have faith and confidence in Him, and you will see miracles happen in your life and the lives of your loved ones. The virtue of your own life will be a light to those who sit in darkness, because you are a living witness of the fulness of the gospel (see D&C 45:28). Wherever you have been planted on this beautiful but often troubled earth of ours, you can be the one to “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees” (D&C 81:5).
My dear sisters, as you live your daily life with all its blessings and challenges, let me assure you that the Lord loves you. He knows you. He listens to your prayers, and He answers those prayers, wherever on this world you may be. He wants you to succeed in this life and in eternity."

So it takes 30 days to form (or re-form) a habit, isn't that right all you SW alumni? :) That means in 30 days, Kev, Ryn, Elle and Eden will be winning the lottery every day and being a mom every day will just be a walk in the park. ;)