JOSH'S 27th BIRTHDAY

My brother Josh turned 27 last week. He is such a great brother ad has been such a help to me and my kids. He is an amazing uncle and all of the kids adore him. Beckham went and played at his house last week and he cried if Josh wasn't holding him or was out of his sight. He freaked out when Josh left to go to the bathroom.

I said to my mom so Josh is turning 25. She said no 27 you are 29. I think I am in denial that I am 29 I was really thinking I was 27. Even 27 sounds old to me. Where does the time go? Anyway happy birthday Josh. Thanks for being such a sweet brother and uncle. We love you!!

HANDS FULL NOW HEARTS FULL LATER

I loved Katie's post the other day about mothers. I agree with Katie that one it is the most important and sacred job that you can do to be a mother. And two it is the most challenging job that you can do and Satan does want to discourage us. The rewards don't come in the form of a pay check but I can't think of anything that has greater blessings. This is important to remember when you have those crazy mommy moments during the day. We had regional conference on Sunday and Boyd K. Packer gave a great talk. He said that his wife always had her hands full at church by herself while he was traveling on church callings and a widow in the ward said to her, "it looks like you have your hands full." Sister Packer said, "yes I do." Then the widow said, "hands full now heart full later." Isn't that a great thought to think about. These sweet kids and their kids (our posterity) will be the source of our greatest joy and blessings. I just want to thank my mom, my grandmas and all of my friends for the women they are and for their sweet examples. I learn from all of you on a daily basis. Isn't it nice to have other women to share you daily triumphs and failures. Like Katie said I know too that I am a work in progress and I have a long way to go. But we are truely blessed to be mothers and learn unconditional love and patience. I just read this poem and I love it. This is good for all of us to remember....

If I had my child to raise all over again,
I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I'dfinger paint more, and point the finger less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off the watch, and watch with my eyes.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging and less tugging.

Dian Lommas, from "If I Had My Child to Raise Over Again."

BECKHAM 13 MONTHS OLD

With babies there are so many things that they are constantly doing that it is hard to get everything down. I took some pictures of Beckham this morning so that I could capture of few of his latest things that he is into. This morning I was getting ready and Becks was yelling at me like a come and help me type talk. So I went to see what the problem was and if you look closely in the first pictue you can see his whole diaper was down in the foot of his pajama. How do things like this happen? It was driving him crazy and he was letting me know it. The next picture shows how he is into everything all of the time. He is such a busy boy. He helps me with the dishes (or helps me pull everything out once I get it in the dishwasher) and he loves to empty out every cupboard in the house. He is a huge helper!! The last picture is hime starting to take steps. He can stand up alone forever but he has been timid to take steps. In the last week he has started taking steps and it is so cute. It will be darling to see him toddling around the house.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELISE

Both of these pictures are the wrong way but I had to post and tell Elise that we wish her a happy sixth birthday. Elise is Brynlee's best friend from Las Vegas. They always have so much fun together and they are so much alike. A few months ago Elise came to our house and had a sleep over and the girls had so much fun. These are pictures from that sleepover. Happy Birthday Elise we love you so much and we miss you!! Elise's family will be moving to Colorado in a few months. When Bryns found this out she said, "Mom I want to move to Colorado with Elise." We miss you Gail, Corbin, Elise, Ella and Easton.

BRYN'S HALLOWEEN PARTY & OTHER RANDOM THOUGHTS

Brynlee had her halloween party at school today. She was so excited to be a witch and spray paint her hair. She said she was so excited to be the most beautiful witch in her class. I love how kids at this age just say what they are thinking and they are so confident. Her best friend in her class Elle was a witch too. Bryns was thrilled about that. Brynlee has been such a great helper lately. She has been so obedient and so sweet. When I ask her to do something she says, "yes ma ma." I should add most of the time. We still struggle with what to wear to school and how to do her hair. I am thankful she is off track so we will have a break from that for a few weeks. I am really proud of her.

I asked Stockton yesterday how he got so handsome. He said, "Mom, Jesus just made me that way." I can tell that he is just thinking about everything all of the time. The wheels are always turning in that cute little head. He has been so funny lately. He is always cracking jokes and making me laugh. He is taking karate now and he loves it. He asks me everyday mom do I have karate today? Yesterday he came to me and said ,"mom I did something terrible. Come and see." I went in the bathroom and he had smeared my mascara all over the bathroom cabinets. I didn't even get upset because he had broken two plates earlier in the day (not on purpose) and I just new that was how that day was going to go. Luckily it came off the baathroom cabinets. Needless to say my mascara is ruined.

Beckham has been so sweet and always wanting to snuggle lately. It is my favorite thing ever. He is so proud of himself because he can say several animal sounds. His favorites are a cat and and a cow. If we are ever laughing he always joins in and laughs with us even though he has no idea what is going on. His smile is contagious and I can't get enough of it.

I have been meaning to write about this for awhile because it is so sweet. There is this sweet older couple at the gym that I see every day. The man brings his wife who is severly handicapped and in a wheel chair everyday. She isn't able to do anything on her own and you can tell he does everything for her. He works out and has her right beside him the entire time. He is so sweet with her and gets her drinks, wipes her face and is always looking at her so lovingly. The first time my mom and I saw them my mom turned to me and said, "That's some kind of love!" It just touches me everytime I see them and it gives me hope that that kind of love exists. It reminds me of Elder Wirthlin's talk on love at conference. Wasn't that an amazing talk?

FAMILY NIGHT FUN

Today for family night we went and got our pumpkins at Maybe's pumpkin patch. The kids were in heaven. They got to take their own wagon out into the pumpkin patch and pick their pumpkins. They just kept filling the wagon with more and more pumpkins. My mom and I were secretly putting them back and then when Stockton found out he was so upset. I am reading the childrens book of mormon with my kids right now and they love it. They are so into the stories and they ask a million questions about the characters. I am so motivated to teach my kids all I can about the gospel. I loved sister Beck's talk on "mothers who knew" at conference. She said something to the effect of how wonderful it would be if mothers had taught their children everything they needed to know at home before they go to the MTC. I hope I will be able to teach my boys all they need to know so that I can make that come to pass.

NEW FAMILY PICTURES

Here are some pictures that I got taken with the kids about a month ago. I just got them today and I have been dying to see how they turned out. It is so hard to get pictures taken. I felt such an accomplishment that day!!