{snippets}

Our life has been pretty low key over the last few weeks. It feels good after such a crazy December, and I've been glad to not have quite as much going on. However, I keep a little list of items I want to document, and all of a sudden it surprised me how many things were on it. 

{Primary}

I am still loving Primary. I really do.  I never expected to love it this much, although it might be because I had no experience with it at all...until now! The kids are so funny--I've had some pretty hilarious moments over the last 6 months, because you can NEVER guess what's going to come out of their mouths.  We now have over 130 kids, and it's not slowing down.  We just split 6 months ago, when they were at 160 kids, and I doubt we will make it another 18 months (they split about every two years) before we reach that number.  It makes for a VERY full Primary, and Sunday in Senior Primary we even ran out of chairs!  I've never been in a ward with this large of a Primary before, but my kids are loving having so many children their own age.  They also mostly go to the same school, since we live in fairly close proximity, and it's been really nice to see familiar faces at school and church.

{Mommy & Kate Date}

I've always felt like having regular date nights/days with individual children is really important, even from the time they're small.  As I have more kids, and my time is split even more, it's become necessary to make sure they're getting individual time with me or with Rick.  We do date nights, and rotate through on a bi-weekly basis, but I also take one child with me on Saturdays, when I go grocery shopping and run errands.  You might think that this wouldn't be a fun experience for kids, but mine LOVE it.  We always go to lunch, and get a special treat, and they think it's pretty exciting to help me pick out things at the grocery store.  I really treasure this time with them, and because it's every week, the kids don't have to wait a super long time in between turns.  Saturday was Kate's turn, and we went to a really fun "girl" lunch place called La Madeleine in Market Street.  The food is delicious (I'm craving their pasta salad right now)--soups, salads, sandwiches, crepes and more.  Kate was so excited, and felt very grown up. We sat outside on the patio, talked, and ate--it was a good day! Emma can't wait for her turn this Saturday...guess where we're going to lunch?  :)

{Cupcakes}

This week I had THE BEST cupcake I've ever had in my entire life.  Hands down. I've eaten a lot of cupcakes in my life, been to a lot of different bakeries, including several that are nationally famous, and no one can even touch these.  I should have taken a picture, but I ate it too fast, lol. For months I've passed this shack way back on the side of the road, painted turquoise and pink.  Next to the road, there is a sign that reads "Cupcake Shack".  I've passed it a million times, and never stopped, and I really should have.  Or not.  I might be 20 pounds heavier, lol.  We're talking bigger than normal, extremely moist and flavorful cake, and the frosting?  I can't even describe it.  Perfection.  I'm usually a frosting girl, and I never eat a whole cupcake, or an entire piece of cake.  I just eat the frosting, and some of the cake to go with it, but it says something that I ate the entire cupcake.  Every single crumb.  I've been controlling myself, and not driving down that road, because I know I'll want to stop!!!

I can't believe I just wrote a whole paragraph on cupcakes, lol.

{Kate, Basketball, and Henry's Shoes}

Some people in the three wards in our area got together and formed a basketball league for kids, ages 5-8.  So perfect--they are able to learn drills and play in scrimmages with their friends, and gain some really important skills.  Last week was the first week, and of course Kate was ready to go!  It had been awhile since she had worn her running shoes, and sure enough, they were too small.  I didn't have time to go get her new ones before she needed to go, so guess whose shoes she did wear?  Yep, Henry's!  They all wear the same size, so she looked pretty darn cute in his black Converse sneakers.  She had a great time playing, and on the way home she told me that she wished she could play a sport every single day. I LOVE it!  A girl after my own heart!  I will also not be surprised when she is playing everyday...

{Haircuts}

Both girls had been wanting to grow their hair out, so we started the process a little before we moved. Their hair does grow pretty fast, and it was getting longer, but then Kate saw herself in her ABC book with short hair, and was ready to get it cut again.  I LOVE short hair on little girls--it's so fun to style, and you can still do pretty much anything you can with longer hair. I was excited that they were both ready to go back to their short a-line cuts.  I think they look cute no matter what (yep, biased mom!), but this style is still my favorite.  It's so funny--every time their hair is cut like this, I get SO many comments on it when we're out and about. I consistently get asked by cashiers and random people in the store if they just got their pictures taken, lol.  I do curl it everyday, and it usually has a bow or flower, but still...it makes me laugh.

{Henry}

This kid cracks me up.  Seriously.  His favorite food is PB & Honey sandwiches, and he eats at least 4 of them a day. He would eat more if I let him, but I draw the line at breakfast AND lunch.  He doesn't want cereal, pancakes, oatmeal, or anything else I offer...just a couple of sandwiches.  Lunch is the same, although I did convince him today to have a cheese quesadilla. He's been my easiest to potty train (along with Ryan), and he says THE funniest things. Whenever he likes something, he always says "me LOVE that", and when he doesn't like something, it's "me no love that".  It kills me.  He's totally and completely obsessed with fire engines, a.k.a. "din-din trucks", and it occupies a lot of our talks during the day.  He wants to be a fireman and an astronaut when he grows up, although I think at this point a fireman would win out. He's also crazy about puzzles, and since he's mastered the 50+ arena (his favorite is of the United States), we're moving on to the 100 piece puzzles. 

We are going to have to have a few more conversations about being honest, and telling lies. I'm not sure he quite understands the concept, especially after today's conversation.  Recently when I've asked if he's done something (and I know he has) he's told me that he didn't do it.  So, I've had several talks about being honest, what a lie means, and telling the truth. Today it happened again, and when I asked him about a mess that he made, he told me he didn't do it. I reminded him about being not telling lies, and he replied "I love lies".  Oh, really. I reminded him that Jesus doesn't like lies either, and once again, he told me that "Jesus loves lies".  Hmmmm.  Yep.  Looks like I need to come up with a better way to explain things, lol.

{Jack & Henry...Growing Up!}

My babies are growing up!!!  They graduated from the church nursery into Junior Primary a couple of weeks ago, and the transition has been...interesting. I was mostly curious to see how it would go with me being in there with them, especially since I'm up front most of the time--teaching or conducting.  It's been an adjustment, and we've had a few moments, but their teachers are awesome.  The girls are in there too, so it's fun to have five of us in there together!!!  

The boys also started preschool last week, and they are loving it.  We moved here late in the summer, and then when I was so sick, I didn't get a chance to get them signed up in time to start in the fall.  I am doing a preschool co-op with several other moms, and it's been a really good experience. I haven't had to teach yet, but I'm looking forward to it.  It will be a stretch for me--I'm not a teacher, and until 6 months ago and I was called into Primary, I had never taught children--ever.  But...the boys love it, and it's been good for me to have a few hours of freedom each week to get things done, and (gasp) go to the grocery store by myself...in the morning!!!  

{Texas Winters}

Well, it's about time.  I'm finally enjoying the weather around here, lol.  It was a long and hot summer, fall, and December--up until the very end.  We've now actually had a few mornings in the 30's (very fleeting), and a few days in the 40's, but mostly we've enjoyed the 50's, 60's, and now the 70's.  I will definitely do the school shopping differently next year, because my kids haven't worn "winter clothes" yet.  They do have long sleeves, but don't need jackets.  It's been wonderful on the weekends and after school, and we spend a lot of time outside.  We can't wait to get our playset up in the backyard, as soon as Rick is home enough hours to put it together.  :)  Rick took them out last weekend to the park and on a bike ride, and you couldn't have asked for better weather.  I'm ready to pull out the BBQ grill!  We definitely pay our dues in the summer, but the winters are the payoff. I still haven't worn socks or a jacket (which I've always avoided, lol), and I LOVE that I can wear flip flops or ballet flats every single day.  It still cracks me up to see people here in puffy ski coats and boots to their knees when it's in the 60's, and they all tell me it will be me one day, but I don't believe them.  

{31 Week Update}

Well, I'm 31--almost 32 weeks!  It's been interesting to note the difference between a singleton pregnancy, and having twins.  I'm definitely not as big, but still uncomfortable.  The swelling started around 20 weeks, unfortunately--legs, feet, fingers, and face--but not even close to what I had with the boys. I'm more mobile this time around--by this time with both sets I was spending most of the time either on the couch or in bed, because I was so swollen, and it was so uncomfortable to walk.  

I really wanted to run my entire pregnancy, but my doctor told me I couldn't do it anymore when I was around 24 weeks. I have a much higher chance of pre-term labor, due to my past two pregnancies resulting in 34 and 35 week deliveries, and that meant no running! Even though they were twin pregnancies (and all babies totally big, healthy, and no NICU time), once your body has experienced pre-term labor, the odds go way up--so with two, they're even higher.  I'm on progesterone shots to hopefully prevent it until the babies are ready. I also have to have a c-section (which I'm totally okay with), and I'm already scheduled for 39 weeks. Less than 8 weeks to go!!!  

I have a huge list that I can hopefully get done in time, and Rick will literally just be finishing up his busy season.  I think we have a name picked out, and I'm excited to get going on the last details.  I can't believe it...still!!!

.....

That's us in a nutshell right now...just regular life, but a good life.