what a beautiful mess

Where the home teachers show up at your house and your little three year old opens the door~ naked. Completely naked .

We are NOT moving . nor are we going to for a very long, long time.

During the last 10 years, we have moved 7 times and lived in 4 differnet cities. If there is one thing I have learned, it's that we can be happy wherever we are as long as we are together (cheesy, I know). Its seems as if we get little itches to change things. And we've been feeling that itch just a wee bit lately. Of course that does not mean a move but something, you know? A look back at all the happiness.. The girls pretending in St. George at our crappy apartment where we were oh so happy~ Our very first home in Pocatello~ I really miss this house~ Me and Trevor goofing around at our rental in Boise~ Halloween in the home we live in now. I have been happy wherever we have been but it only just keeps getting better..... We'll see where we are in a year or two! :)

This sweet spirit came into our lives crying and unhappy for the first 3 months of her life. She threw up on me all the time, ate 2 large bottles of baby food at every feeding and breast fed for about 13 months. BUT ~ She has become one angel of a child. From day one, it has been a joy to be her mother. She has a temper and acts like a princess most of the time, prancing everywhere, never content to just walk. She has a beautiful smile that brightens my day just to see it. I remember once when we were living in Pocatello, the girls were playing outside and Emily was just learning to ride a bike. She, of course, fell off, and if you know my girls, you know that when they get hurt, they scream!!! Annabelle went running over to Emily, picked her up like you would a baby and carried her to me *trying* to comfort her the whole time. I won't ever forget that. That is who Annabelle is, very caring, generous and kind. But man oh man does she have a temper!!!

And even then it was a great night!

Right now, Joshy is laying on the floor crying because the new motorcycle he got for his birthday wont let spiderman get on. But he is such a sweet boy. He makes all of us happy and smile. We are seriously wrapped around his little finger~ And I love it. I can't believe it was three years ago today that he was born. Time goes by way too fast.... Before we know it, he'll be on his mission and getting married.. but i shouldn't I think about it. Happy Birthday Joshy! We love you!

I read on one of my favorite blogs about something she is beginning... to post a picture everyday (or close to everyday) something that makes her happy. So I thought, why not do it myself? I surely will not do it everyday because I could get quite cheesy and just blog about Trevor eveyday. So I will spare you all and do it less frequently.... Today is the starting day for me....

She makes us so happy... She loves to be funny... She has beautiful lips.... She is sweet to her little brother, Joshy.... She plays with Annabelle at recess because she wants to... She is very inquisitive.... She loves The Friend and National Geographic for Kids.... She is very intuitive to my feelings.... She feels things deeply (sometimes it's that mom and dad are so unfair!)... She is wonderful and makes our lives better than they ever could have been!!!! I love you Emily!

of the day, that is. (ignore the booger in Joshys nose.) I like elephants. I want some elephant statues (small ones) but Trevor, for some reason, thinks it's weird..... This picture makes me happy though~ American Idol is coming on soon and so I'm off to do baths, read scriptures, say prayers, and if lucky, teeth will be brushed. All in the next 30 minutes. Wish me luck .

Here is the beginning of our trip.. 5 hours in a small but well loved truck~ All four beautiful girls in very red lipstick....courtesy of mom/Aunt Sarah~ Stephen and Kase had tons of fun together~ Joshy enjoying his first Trax ride.. actually it was all the Haslems from Boise very first time on Trax. Fun but a little over-rated (by us). We made some really cute blankets. Beautiful Salt Lake City Temple. We saw the new Joseph Smith movie and it was amazing! I hope my children were able to feel the Spirit while watching it. I know Trevor and I both did. Stacie and I...... she still looks young while I am beginning to look old.. ha ha. oh well. They're not wrinkles just happy lines~ A picture that needs no words~ Thanks for the fantastic weekend! Oh and how could I forget?? We went to Ikea and got some awesome curtains. Can't wait to put them up (Trevor???)!

Valentines day is coming up. There will be no romantic date or night out for us since we are going to visit family (which we are super stoked about) so I thought I would pay tribute to the wonderful man I call my husband. Some super reasons why I love him: 1. He no longer looks onery in pictures. After a decade of pictures, he will now at least pull a funny face. 2. He comes right home from work, gives me a kiss and asks about my day. 3. Tries his hardest to make me happy, going so far as to change the worst diaper he has ever seen, on many occasions. 4. Will fall asleep in my lap on Sunday nights so I can stay up late and watch Masterpiece Theater. 5. Lets me listen to Taylor Swift over and over. 6. Even when I am mad at him, he still tells me he loves me. He is totally not prideful. I am , by the way. And he of course, never gets mad at me. 7. One time after one of our many moves, I was feeling depressed so he put in The Notebook, a movie that he doesn't like but I lov...

While watching Idol, Joshy just couldn't stay awake.... But that finger was sure yummy! and if you want to do really cool things with your photos like the above one go here~ http://www.picnik.com/app#/home/welcome

I failed at being a mother this morning. The kind of mother that is kind and patient. My darling childen kept fighting and wrestling so I put a stop to it. And I got mad at them. And I was not too kind about it either. Then I went and took a shower and felt really bad about it. Am I the only one who gets so overloaded that I speak "too loudly" to my children? I failed this morning but I still have this aftenoon to do better and well, the rest of my life to do better. On the bright side, last night I made a delicious dinner that everyone ate. Not just me, Trevor and the girls. But the boys also!!! Sure it was different and Trevor said that some people would have to bribed to eat it at first, after which they would love it, it was healthy and delicious. It was homemade pizza with bean sauce, black beans and corn, chicken, tomatoes and avocados. Mmmmm. I think I will have it for lunch today even though I already had it for breakfast~ Here is the pizza crust recipe, w...

1. The winter blues escaped me for about 13 hours. Isn't spring ready to come yet? Im anxiously awaiting the birds chirping and trees blooming.... 2. I felt energetic enough to go running. Unfortunatley, I don't run in the winter. So I did a nice p90x video instead. Push-ups suck. 3. After a week of being grounded from the tv and the computer, my children were finally able to veg in front of their electonic of choice. Maybe that's why my mood was so improved.... 4. We had a great FHE with some friends. And I was off the hook from giving the lesson. Thanks to Trevor. 5. The house was actually clean by the afternoon for once. And is not in too bad a shape right now~which is why im doing a new post. But the beds do have to be made. and dishes have to be done, laundry has to be folded and ironed.... hmmm. (i don't know where this image is from except from the internet. It is pretty though, isn't it?) I sound a little cynical but actually my mood is good today a...

I really should be doing the dishes but instead I'm doing this. Updating that is. Since I never seem to do that as often as I'd like too. It's been a crazy weekend here. Not the kind where you get to relax and enjoy it. But it's been good. The weekend started with Annas gymnastic meet which was "almost" a disaster (because of the disorganization of the hosting gym) but she did get third all around so it ended up good. She didn't get dinner till 10:00 and didn't get to sleep until midnight. Saturday was a bit of an onery day for her. We did , however, get a Costco card again on Saturday. We go off and on as to whether or not we really want one. It seems you can't leave without spending at least a hundred dollars but the bulk and the quality just might be worth it. At least this year it is. Trevors job is going really good. He was up 34% from budget for the month of January. Hallelujah. It just might be a better year than last year for him ~jo...

my external hard drive with all my pictures now on it.... This is just our Christmas card that I was going to send out but never got around to doing.... Im posting it just to make sure I can upload from it. Only problem is it just shows the info of each picture on the computer, not the actual picture... oh well.... ~Merry Christmas all~