Let's Go Fly A Kite!

....Evan sang this all morning, so we indulged him. This was his first time flying a kite, and his face says it all.

Despite the wind, we had a blast!

Had to add a picture of Madilyn. These are her post-bath curls that we are hoping become permanent.

Hmmm...

We wanted something to do outside today because it is so darn nice outside. Let me tell you, we came up with a really great landscape plan for our property. Out came the measuring tape and soon everything was marked out, including where the grass would be (as marked by a hose). We got all excited and came inside to grab a quick lunch before heading to the landscape store to price everything out. Then reality set in....

Last night one kid or the other was up all night! We are exhausted. You would think that after 4 months of being in the same room, that the kids would be used to eachother by now. The conclusion: the kids cannot sleep in the same room. The problem: our house has only two rooms. Madilyn already spent 6 months in the dining room.

We are also spending a ton of money on getting our food storage together, and now we have run out of room and need to build shelves. So, after all the dreaming and excitement over the yard, we decided the following:

1. We have to get our food storage done first
2. We HAVE to make our carport into a third bedroom because that is the only way we can afford to add on (we have to have sleep!)
3. Then maybe, just maybe, we can have a yard for the kids to play in.

It's so irritating to never have enough to go around. I guess I shouldn't have burst the bubble because we were having so much fun. However, I don't want to get so far into the landscaping that we lose sight of the things we need to do first.

I guess EAC's grass will have to handle our constant footsteps for another year.

Sad.

Ahhh.... Arizona!

Today we layed in the green grass and soaked up the warm sun, kicked a soccer ball, and played dogpile on Daddy. This time of year has THE most PERFECT weather! In a few weeks I am sure it will be HOT, but nothing can beat the feeling of warmth and light on my skin. And the best part? BARE FEET!

What Can I Say?

I guess things haven't necessarily been very easy around here. Todd is at home and feels he should be at work, while I am at work feeling like I should be at home. It is not comforting to be working against natural instincts. I have been able to get some extra hours this week. This lessens the financial worry, but I am so drained. I do my best to keep Todd really busy on my days off so he doesn't get insanely bored. I think instead that I overwork him, poor guy! I think we will get used to this. Todd is finishing his very last class to get his associates and is doing it through indenpendent study since it wasn't offered this semester. It's good for him to get that completed without worrying about getting up early for work in the morning.

Evan and Madilyn have days where they sort of like eachother, and days when they definately do not. Having them in the same room has created less sleep for all of us, but that seems to be getting better. I think being away from them makes me a little more patient with it because I feel like they are so much bigger every time I come home from a long shift. I put them to bed at night, and go to work when they are asleep, then I come home, have about an hour and half with them and start the whole routine over. Somehow seeing how quickly they grow up makes me glad that they are still little enough to keep me up at night. I have the job that I do because I love babies, and mine are getting so big.

Complaining doesn't do any good, because we are incredibly lucky, but this is a hard transition. This time will pass, and probably too quickly, so we are finding ways to enjoy it. The time we have together has been so wonderful. My kids have their Daddy home with them, and that, for him, is I think is the best part of all of this. These kids have missed their Daddy, and so have I.

The first day of winter...

...just kidding. But seriously, this is the coldest day so far I think. We went to bed expecting thunderstorms today and woke up to this:

The last time he really got to spend any time in soft snow was about two years ago and he hated it... cried the whole time when he kept falling down. He is so totally into the snowball thing and has a pretty good arm!

This is Evan's very first snowman! Not to shabby. Notice the stubby arms he chose!

It is the best way to get out of mopping ever! As you can tell, Evan's not too sad about it either. We had so much fun!

I had all sorts of things planned for today, but instead we are making sugar cookies and canning butter.

We LOVE these days!

Things to be grateful for

This has been a very productive day. We have been working on painting our living room for weeks and finally finished it up today. We are also trying to lose some weight together and I have actually worked out for the past 4 out of 5 days. Which makes me feel great. I don't know what it is about working out. Even though I haven't lost anything yet, just doing it makes me feel like I look better. Maybe I'm mental, but it is a mental thing.

My sink is empty and clean, my counter are clean, and the best part: both kids are quiet... so they must be sleeping. Yay!

The best part about the past few days is having my husband home with me even if it is because he got laid off. I have really missed him. We were prepared for this and we have prepared for it well I think, which makes me feel okay about it. I also have an excitement for the future. The Lord prepare us ahead of time so that I was able to get a full-time position, and I know that he has better plans for Todd. I am incredibly grateful that we are going to be able to keep our home and pay our bills. It won't be easy, but we'll make it. We have a loving father in heaven who gave instruction through prophets for women to get their educations for this very reason, and I am glad I heeded that, and am able to provide enough for our family.

I am grateful for big sales on meat at Safeway. Tomorrow I get to jar 20 pounds of hamburger and chicken with my mother-in-law while the kids get to play with their grandparents... who said food storage was torture? It is something to look forward to, and we get to enjoy spending time with family.

Mostly I am grateful to know that I can pray each night and that those prayers are heard and answered. It is amazing how the Lord forever is aware of our needs and that things always end up right in the end when we do our part.

Yesterday we finally had the time to go play in the snow on Mt. Graham. Evan loved it! He loved sliding down the hills and was very brave about it. Madilyn did everything in her power to touch the snow and then ended up doing a face plan which she did not enjoy at all.

Here are a few cute pictures: