True Confessions Tuesday

~I haven't done a Memories Monday for a while. I just haven't been feeling very reminiscent.
~We had a speaker in church a while back who said that most of a child's values and habits are developed in their first five or six years. Umm, is anyone else a little scared at that thought? I know I've heard similar ideas before, but now that May is almost six it makes me wonder if we've done enough.
~I love having a lot of family over for a birthday party, and having a dozen kids running around because when they all go home my three seem so quiet and peaceful!
~Our baby is due in 17 days! I'm excited to meet her. I'm praying that I'll be able to bounce back quickly this time. I feel like I have so many responsibilities that I can't allow myself to crash and burn as I have in the past. I've been given the advice to let the housework and callings go for a while, but I think it's better for me to get back to normal as soon as I can. My dad says the best remedy for depression is work and that has proven true for me.
~This weather makes me want to go to Mexico so badly!
~The smoke would make anyone want to leave! Over 200,000 acres have been burned and it's still hot and windy. Every few days the smoke comes right at us. We're praying for the wind to stop and rain to fall.
~I think they called me to young women's because I have a van. haha!

Happy Birthday Ellen!

Sweet Ellen is four today! We're so blessed to have her as part of our family. Lots of laughter and love have come with her. With each birthday I am more surprised at how much she has grown and learned! It wasn't very long ago that this little angel came to us and the years are flying away so fast! I love these days filled with giggles and twirls and dancing. I wish I could keep her safe from the days of struggle and disappointment and growing pains that are ahead of her. But that would defeat her purpose wouldn't it? She is a daughter of God with the potential for greatness. I love her with all my heart. Happy Birthday Ellen!

Baking up a storm

 We spent the morning is Snowflake today and got home just in time for lunch, but sadly there was no bread in the house so I whipped up some cornbread to tide us over.

Then I moved on to the real bread.

Due to (insert lame excuse) I haven't done my visiting teaching yet. Hence the necessity of making cookies.

And when all is said and done our house is an oven! The swamp cooler is having issues so we're all roasting. On a positive note my kids are eating ice cubes faster than they're eating cookies.

The Prophet said to plant a garden so that's what we'll do!

 Gardening is big in Woodruff. I'm talking 'bout "Better Homes and Gardens" big. Everyone has a garden and some people are absolute pros at it. It can be a tiny bit intimidating when you look at some of the immaculate gardens around here. Needless to say, we are not "those people" yet.

 Seeing as I'm due in June, we're taking the low maintenance, less is more route this year. Mathan built these fabulous planters and we're really hoping for some good results.

 We're planting all of our small plants in the planters and planting the more invasive stuff in the field.

So here are all the newly planted, "clean slate" pictures. And let me warn you, there may not be any more. The weeds are already popping up! It takes either a massive amount of work or a massive amount of chemicals to keep your garden weed free. We never use chemicals, and sadly we aren't that good at the massive amount of work either. ;)

Oh what do you do in the summer time?

 School is out! Hurray! Now what do I do to keep everyone occupied? I feel like I need to make this summer a lot more structured now that May is so used to the school routine.

 Bring on the simple little crafts that will keep the kids busy!

 Plus some wet outdoor fun. This is May at her field day. Fun times

 Thank goodness for imagination! The girls made a bus and filled it with passengers. Ellen is singing Drive, drive, drive, the bus!

Here's Thomas the one man band.  Humm, maybe music lessons?

Tuesday's True Confessions

~ I cannot wait for school to be out so my little girl can stay home with me all day! It's true! Not to mention the fact that I don't have to drag her out of bed and shove her out the door everyday.
~I've been combining all of my calendars and June and July are shaping up to be crazy busy months. Between family, young women's and the library, I am booked. Plus we have a baby coming right in the middle of it all.
~ According to May and Ellen, our baby's name is Sparkle Tenney.
~ Ellen asks everyone she meets if they have a baby in their tummy. Thin or fat, male or female, she asks them and then tells them that her mommy has a baby in her tummy.
~ Thomas has no idea how drastically his little world is going to change. Poor little guy!
~ I'm always shocked at how much dirt is left at the bottom of the tub after the kids have their bath. I try to keep them clean, but they are little dirt magnets.
~ I made blueberry muffins yesterday with applesauce instead of butter, wheat flour instead of white and reduced the sugar.... Then I ate four of them with butter and a glass of whole milk.
~ I've read that a woman is supposed to gain a few pounds the first trimester and 1 pound a week thereafter until the last few weeks when she levels out and stops gaining. In all 25 to 30 pounds. Yeah, whatever.
~ A few months ago I was at my Aunt's house visiting her and my cousin. My cousin in law who had just had a baby passed through really quickly. I commented on how great she looked. Flat tummy, not extra flab anywhere, and then confessed that it takes me six or nine months to get close to normal again. My cousin laughed and said, "look at me! I'm a year out!" Then my Aunt , who is not a small woman, said, "What about me? I'm twenty years out!" It's funny how self absorbed we can be when we talk about weight.
~ When I was newly married it took me while to get used to how quiet my husband is. He's not a talker unless he's really interested in the subject. Now I love how quiet he is, especially after a young women's meeting or a planning/problem solving session with other women. It's crazy how many words a few women can say in a few minutes!

I love Thursday! When Mathan works four tens Thursday is like Friday. It is full of plans for the weekend. It is also great because with a three day weekend we usually have enough time to make everyone happy. Mathan time, Eva time, and family time.

I'm thankful for the rain. Rain in May! In Arizona! Usually it's dry as a bone until July or August.

I'm thankful for hot showers. I love a super hot shower at the end of the day even if I haven't broken a sweat or put a foot outside. It is uninterrupted time to just think about nothing.

I'm thankful for my little family. Actually it's not so little by today's standard is it? I'll have four kids five weeks from now! Four! I always get the feeling that people are looking at me with pity or distaste when I go to the store with all my kids and one obviously on the way. Sometimes people prove it by saying something. Sometimes it's hard not to feel self conscious, but I'm so grateful for each one of my babies. I'm so glad that I'm not trying to build a satisfying life where the only person I'm living for is me. It's seems like that is what everyone wants so they skip marriage and refuse to have kids. They don't want to be tied down. Part of me understands that, but I'd rather live surrounded by people that love me and need me. I think those people in the store would be shocked to know that all our kids are two years apart and all of them were planned. They look closer in age than that because they are all petite little things...umm except for Thomas. He's got a ton of bricks hidden in his diaper or something.

Well, thus ends today's post, but it certainly doesn't end my list of things to be grateful for!