The one with the humble pie

I grumble. A lot. And I yell. Lately more often than I would like to admit to. This week I have been really focusing on not yelling, and being gentle and q-u-i-e-t when my kids are being naughty. Some-days have been better than others, and others I have to lock myself in my bedroom for a few minutes to calm myself down and say a quick prayer.
Today has been quite the humbling day for me. A family in our ward is going through a giant struggle at the moment, and I couldn't help but feel pain for them. Then I was chatting with a new investigator today at church and she was telling me some things that literally sent me to the bathroom so I could have a quiet cry.
I feel such an overwhelming love for my Savior and for the sacrifices He went through for each of us. The pain these people are feeling is only a portion of what he endured. But even knowing that, our struggles are still difficult to get through. However, not impossible.
So today I am grateful for my sweet, crazy, brilliant, energetic kids. To have 3 healthy children is a dream for many, and then to top it off, I have an adoring, loving, caring, selfless husband who takes such good care of us and works hard to make our lives possible. I know Valentines is sometimes considered a silly holiday, but I loved the past couple of weeks I had to reflect upon the love I have for my little family. I couldn't ask for a better husband and kids! Just yesterday we were at Costco and Erik yet again demonstrated one of the main reasons I love him. As I was checking out, he took the two oldest kids out to the car. When I came out, he was in the parking lot helping an elderly/handicapped couple load their groceries into their van. Just that simple act of service wasn't a big deal to Erik, but to that sweet couple, you could tell it meant the world. And Erik just does things like that all the time, without even blinking an eye. He is truly an example of selflessness.
So this week, I am challenging myself again to keep the volume control at a minimum, to laugh and play and love my kids more, and to show my husband how much I love him and how appreciated he is. And by doing these things, hopefully I can give a snippet of how grateful I am to my Savior and loving Heavenly Father for all my many blessings.
Today, I am very, very grateful.

And for fun...what a stud :)

The one with 3 adorable and 1 handsome Valentine

Stayed up way too late the night before Valentine's, making sure everything was prepped and ready. Croissant french toast casserole-check. Dressed up Valentine breakfast table-check. Kids and hubby's Valentine's out and ready-check. Valentine's cookies decorated-check. Preschool lesson prepared and Valentine crafts ready-check. Eating a lemon bar I had been saving for a week at midnight (I don't eat past 8pm anymore, but midnight is technically the next day)-check.

And now today (as in right now), I am running on Diet coke, and adrenaline. How did my Mom do it all those years?! She always made EVERY holiday extra special and never seemed to blink an eye while doing it. She's awesome. So is my dad. END OF STORY. :)

Beautiful flowers Erik surprised me with last Friday (we celebrated V-day early and went out on the town to a Brazilian rodizo. Good stuff)

Oh man, she's my little goof-ball. Crazy hair and all

Troy wanted his picture with his sandwich

Brooklyn wanted her angry face in the picture. Mmm-kay

All ready for breakfast

LOVE.

My attempt at a Valentine's day picture of the kids. Love their funny personalities.

Brooklyn, always the DIVA, working the camera. 

Preschool!! Handing out Valentine's. Fun times. 

The one with the puffy face

Around the middle of December on a Friday night, I noticed Brooklyn's face was a tad swollen and red. The next morning her face had swelled up considerably more and was even redder, so we called our Dr. and got her in that morning. They ended up treating it as Strep and her face cleared up in a few days. But with her face all swollen like that, it reminded me of her chubby little baby face. And fortunately it didn't bother her at all, so it was ok to laugh about and think she looked so stinkin' cute.

The picture honestly doesn't capture how swollen and red her face is. 

For comparison's sake :)

The one with the Hummer limo

Brooklyn sold cookies this year for her school fundraiser, and the prize for selling 10 boxes was a ride in a Hummer limo to the ice-skating rink for a little broom hockey. She had a blast! Makes it worth having to hound our neighbors and friends. :)

The one with the 18 month old +

Savannah turned 18 months in December ! I can hardly believe she will be two in 6 months. Seems like yesterday she was in my belly! Some of her 18 month accomplishments include: Talking! Lots, and lots of talking...her vocabulary exploded around 16 months, and hasn't stopped! Her favorite word (at 18 months) is Hi! And says it to anyone, and everyone who passes by within shouting distance. Another favorite is "Stop!" She says it mainly in correlation to her brother or sister doing something she does not like including, but not limited to: singing, picking her up, taking her toys, touching her hand, touching her foot, touching her arm, just touching her in general, especially while in the car. Savannah is still our little comedian, and is constantly making us laugh with her antics.

Now at 20 months, she has an even BIGGER vocabulary, pretty much repeating everything we say. She has even started saying sentences..."Where's my paci?" "I wanna go nigh-nigh" etc. She also still loves to sing "I Am a Child of God," and has excellent pitch! Seriously, she stays right in tune. I think she may be our little singer. She loves her babies, and hordes them all in her bed at night (just like her big brother does with all his stuffed animals). She loves her millions of blankets as well, and notices when even just one is missing (she literally sleeps with 5 blankets. Two on her sides, two on the top, and one just has to be visible in the crib). She loves to go buh-byes, and loves wearing her hat, gloves, AND scarf. Don't even THINK about letting her out of the house without her scarf! :) Savannah still goes to sleep around 6 or 6:30, and wakes up pretty consistently between 7 and 7:30. This girl loves her sleep! Much like her Mama I suppose. She experienced her first real big, serious illness this past month, pneumonia  Poor little thing! Troy and Brooklyn had double ear infections at the same time. Luckily, they are all such easy-going kids, that I really had no idea they were so sick, but luckily followed a premonition that I needed to take them in to the Dr. Anyway, Savannah is such a dream child, always has been. Oh, she has started throwing little tantrums though, but they are actually quite hilarious. And it's usually because of not getting to sit at the table like the big kids. She wants to grow up too fast!

18 month stats: 23 lbs 13 oz (25-50%) Length: 33 1/4 in (90%), head circum:46cm (25-50%)

She is all girl!

The one with all the presents

Yes, it is the middle of February, and yes, I am finally posting about Christmas. The moment I get behind on this blog, is the moment I dread even more having to catch up. So prepare yourselves for a bit of catch-up! Try to contain your excitement, mmm-kay? Thanks :)

Christmas Eve was spent preparing for the night's festivities. Erik woke up bright and early and took the kids to Costco for a little last-minute shopping, but mainly just to get them out of the house so I could cook and clean. Later that afternoon our very good friends came over (the Rigtrups and the Allens). Of course all the kids could hardly contain their excitement, but they were all surprisingly calm and well-mannered (all 10 of them! It was a full, happy house that day). We ate a delicious dinner consisting of shrimp fettuccine alfredo, pesto chicken pasta, Greek tilapia, salad, and bread. For dessert the adults noshed on chocolaty goodness (I honestly can't remember exactly what it was, but pretty sure it was chocolate lol), while the kids frosted cookies for Santa. We performed the Nativity which is always a special, entertaining, and unpredictable affair. Savannah stole the show in her cow costume (a vintage leather coat that belonged to my Grandma Benson), and Troy had us roaring in laughter with his rendition of a donkey (in a fur stole which was also my Grandma Benson's). Brooklyn was of course the beautiful little angel that she (almost) always is. After the Nativity, the boys did what boys did best... wrestled! All these years I thought Troy was just a crazy boy, but low and behold, he is as normal as they come! It was kind of an eye opener for me to see such well-behaved boys from other families, acting as crazy and rambunctious as Troy does. The kids soon grew tired, and all us adults knew we had a long night ahead of us, helping Santa make his rounds. So off to bed they went! After leaving a note and cookies for Santa, and carrots for his reindeer.

Christmas morning started early this year (as opposed to last year with an 8:30 wake up call! Still pining for those days haha). The kids were up at 6, but we made them wait until 6:30. We grabbed Savannah out of her crib (she was still sleeping, bless her!), so she could join in the present un-wrapping. And what a fun time! The kids are all such fun ages, and still act thankful and happy with everything they get! Savannah had a blast opening all her gifts (and mine, and Erik's, and whoever else's she could get her little hands on).

Later that evening our very good friends, the Burkman's, came over for a Christmas ham dinner. It was nice and casual (paper plates to boot!), so I didn't have to stress that day about preparing.

Anyway, we had a fantastic Christmas and especially loved watching the kids excitement grow as we talked about the story of Jesus and His amazing gift he gave us. We are so thankful for our Savior and for his birth and Atonement. We are very blessed!

Donkey, Mary and Joseph (apparantely Mary was a little bit of a cougar haha)

Our beautiful angel

The adorable cow

The shepard and her sheep having a show-down lol

bearing "gifts" 

The whole gang (minus Troy who was throwing a fit in the other room because we were laughing at his hilarious donkey imitation)

Don't mind my annoying dictation, but watch for the cow, and listen to the donkey. Pure awesomeness.

Christmas morning! In our Christmas jammies

So excited for baby Cinderella!!

Troy taking pictures of his fabulous new Lego creations

And of Dad's banana?! lol