When I say he's a busy boy..I mean it.

Lately I have found Crate in various places. Some of these places include (and I'm not kidding on any of these)...

the top of the refrigerator.

the top of the printer which is large and sits on top of the office desk. (I just found him there for the second time today and he had a cup full of water in his hands...not a good combo.)

on top of the kitchen chairs which are sitting on top of the counter-height table.

standing on top of his highchair.

and literally sitting on top of the cinder-block six foot fence in the backyard.

I've had enough experience with 18 month old kids that I know they can be into things. Typically things like cupboards, or toilets, or stairs, or make-up or maybe they don't sit still for an extended period of time. But seriously...the back fence? When I say I can't turn my head for 20 seconds I mean I can NOT turn my head, unless he's asleep...which amazingly he has not learned to climb out of his crib yet...go figure. I'm seeing it as a total and complete blessing from the Lord.

I can defiantly tell this kid watches his older brothers and never wants to be a step behind them.

If only I had time to grab my camera each time I found him in odd places...but I figure his life is more important than a quick picture.

I am

Recently I read a post on one of my friends blogs, I think it was this one or maybe it was her personal one, but either way it was a great post and it got me thinking. So here I go with my thoughts...

On her blog she had written that she once read the two most powerful words in our language were the words "I AM" I found it interesting because just that day I was doing my children's yoga program with the boys and one of the songs we listened to at the end of the session uses the words "I am..." several times throughout the song. The song goes something like this...

I am bountiful,
I am blissful,
I am beautiful in every way...

the tune is great and very catchy it goes on with the ending part being "I am fearless today." It's a great song that I like to play for my boys hoping they'll have the tune playing over and over again in their head. I think it can even be more powerful for a female.

Anyhow as I was thinking I thought, "if our thoughts are powerful enough to create our surroundings, than what am I thinking?" So I thought of a lot of positive and negative "I AM" statements. And I noticed I start a lot of sentences with the words "I am..."

For all two of my blog readers out there :) let's explore those "I am" statements.

First off, do we use these statements without evening thinking of the impact they are having on our lives...statements like...
I am fat, I am ugly, I am tired, I am broke, I am horrible, I am an idiot, I am sick, I am poor, I am not going to ever be able to do "x", I am not ever going to be as good as "her", I am a horrible wife, I am a bad mother, I am depressed, I am a bad person, I'm so dumb, you get the point. At one point or time in my life I've either heard all these statements, even if the person says it jokingly or I've used some of these statements myself.

Now what if all those "I am" statements turned into these:
I am beautiful, I am full of energy, I am happy, I am loving my life, I am loving the opportunities I have to grow in my life, I am providing for my family, I am smart, I am kind, I am loved, I am a great mother, I am a wonderful wife, I am worthy, I am worthy or happiness, I am worthy a income, I am worthy of "X"...again, you get the point.

So the question I have for myself is; "How do my sentences end when they start with the words "I AM"?

I think our words can be more powerful than we might ever comprehend. I won't let my outcome be controlled by my words.

My very old computer has been on the brink for the last several months. Pops tried a whole bunch of things to try and fix it but it still wasn't up to par so he took it in and thus I was left without a connection to the outside world. But alas it's back.

I'm considering having a private blog for the family but I can't decide if it should be for my eyes only or if close friends and family members should be invited to it. Any thoughts?

I think the boys and I have spring fever around here...that's not good.

I could use a vacation soon.

I'm now 21 weeks preggers, more than half way. The time is flying by.

My house needs a good spring cleaning.

I love, love, love the Internet. Thanks to it the YW Easter lesson is completed and ready to go. I think the girls will enjoy it and it's something different. I really have the best counselors who found the idea and spouse made it work with his technical skills.

My clothing supply is limited right now...not quite ready for maternity but the regular clothes are getting tighter.

Our kitchen table chairs have found a new spot which is now on top of the table...Crate has figured out how to climb on them and then climb on to the high table. Not good.

You know it's been a long day when I ask the 18th month old to pick up the knife off the floor and hand it to me so I can cut his banana. That really took place today and for all I know the knife could have been laying on the floor for multiple hours. Luckily it wasn't a steak knife, only a butter knife.

Speaking of kitchen floors lately all I hear from them is "crunch, crunch" every time I walk around. I swear they do not stay clean with two one year olds and the two older boys. It's a never ending battle.

The five o'clock hour comes early each day. So I must head to bed. I'm grateful though my body and been good to me and that I can still exercise each morning. It's the best therapy session ever. 90 minutes of uninterrupted freedom before reality kicks in for the day.

Good reminder.

This past week we attended a funeral of some old friends from our Mesa days. They suddenly lost their little seven year old boy. I was thankful to be able to attend because it was a needed reminder how fragile and precious life is and how short time can be. I've made a renewed effort to document the days I have with these three (almost four) boys as much as I can. Also, to be a bit more kind and patient and grateful even for the messes because it means my children are still here with me and if that means cleaning up after them or loosing sleep for them I'll do it.

I'm not anywhere near being perfect and despite some really long days or really tough circumstances a positive attitude can make things more bearable. I firmly believe also that if I, as the mother, can be positive and find blessings amongst trials it will teach my boys to do the same. They can learn that happiness is a choice no matter what is going around you. I could say more but enough about that.

On another note: Our number one rule in the family used to be: "No yelling in the home." I have now made that the number two rule. Our new number one rule is: "No touching moms hair." They love to mess up my hair...but it's an official rule now and if broken they will see consequences. (It's great being the parent in this case. :))

Some days these pregnancy hormones take effect and make me very vocal about my opinion. Sometimes that's not so good. I've learned I can't talk about politics, marriages, schools, work or kids for another five months. I can only talk to Pops about such things. He listens...well, I think he's listening. I guess the jury is still out on that one. Now that I think about it, it's probably a good thing no one is listening.

Boss-man

Boss got a hold of my camera the other day and amongst many other photos taken I found this one.



While were on the subject of Boss, the kid never ceases to crack me up or amaze me.

I found out a few weeks ago in his preschool class he told his teacher: "Miss Becky, your my hot mama!" Nice one Boss

Also, he was complaining he was bored while we were driving home from errands so to keep him occupied I told him to count backwards from 300...not thinking this would actually happen. To my amazement he started at 300 and made it all the way to 1 without one single mistake or any help from me. I was floored. This also taught me that this kids brain is always going and he must always be entertained. I think he'll defiantly keep me on my toes over the years.

Brotherly love

Buster is a great big brother...these are pics I snapped of them while they were outside playing the other day.

Killer deal

I was on the search for some church pants for Boss. The kid has worn the same pair every Sunday for about four months now and I found rips in the bottom of them this past Sunday so I decided I couldn't hold off any longer and I must find him a new pair.
SO I hit Kid-to-Kid and found a few good pairs at a great price. I also found this sweet coat...still not sure if it's for a boy or girl...I'm hoping it'll work on a boy, I just couldn't pass it up.

It's probably a little on the girly side but the color screams "sweet little boy inside."


I think with this separate hat I can pull it off for a boy


And the best part was this:


$2.99...you can't beat that.

It should fit this next little guy perfectly. And yes, it's been confirmed 100% it's a boy!