words to live by

The greener grass on the other side

is probably artificial turf!

(Yes, I stole this from someone.

No, I have no clue as to who coined the phrase.

Yes, I laughed out loud.

AND...

I AGREE!!!-just DEAL with it!)

CoNFuSiOn...

I'm feeling slightly confused.
I think this is my backyard.

But isn't it late February in Arizona?

These are my boys.

(...and my smelly dog)

But what is he holding?

WiErD!

A SeTh FoRt!

There is nothing better than quietly getting ready for my day, alone in my room, listening to happy Sunday morning sounds. Sounds like, "Put that one here." - "No hand me that one." - "That's perfect! ' - "Wait! make sure you leave him a breathing hole" ...and the occasional, "NO! You're going to hurt him!" Then, when I decide to emerge from my bedroom to see what is happening with the brethren I walk out to find this perfect picture as Jackson proudly exclaims,

"It's a SeTh FoRt!"

Then, of course, we needed a "Monte fort"...

...and a "Clyde and Jackson fort."

Happy Sabbath!

Sacramental Bread

Baking Bread

For our Achievement Day activity on Tuesday I taught the girls how to bake bread. The bread they made was not just for any occasion, theirs was the bread to be used as the Sacramental Bread on Sunday. There was the sweetest spirit in my home while these ten girls made this special bread. Of course they were still silly, loud and slightly insane 9 year olds. And yet, there was a special spirit here. I can only call it reverence. They were part of something sacred and important. I am so excited for Sacrament meeting today so they can see their bread blessed and shared throughout the ward as part of a sacred covenant between man and God.

(Because the girl's bread would not be out of the oven in our one hour time period for class I had a loaf prepared for them to taste while theirs was in the oven. I also made each girl an individual loaf they could take home with them. It was the perfect activity!)

TRiP

I went to Utah...alone...for 3 days!! No pictures of me and all I did however because I forgot my camera. But here is what I needed to realise and why I really needed to go alone.

These sweet boys.

I stayed with my sister in law and her 2 children, spent an entire day with my younger sister and her 3 children and had nothing else on my agenda during the day. I thoroughly enjoyed the company I kept. I read 2 books and ate great food. I visited old and dear friends. I remembered who Diane was before she had 4 boys (with one on the way), a mortgage, laundry and dirty dishes. I focused on those 4 boys in their absence and prayed about each one and their needs. Most importantly I had the time to really listen to the spirit and my instincts and try to see how I can improve on being their mother. Most of you are probably better at finding this quiet time without leaving town. Believe me, it was not why I left town but it is a product of my going.

I need to slow down and not care so much.

Detox, if you will.

I took the time to really enjoy my nieces and nephew, my sisters, their homes. What is most important is how we treat one another. Not the laundry or the crusty dishes in the sink. Not being on time for school, church or basketball. Not how you look in this or that outfit. Not if your bed is made and the toys are picked up. Not having everything ready for book club and definitely not about what other people think of you.

What does matter is how you treat the people around you. Your patience and kindness. Your understanding and compassion. Your relationship with yourself and your Father in Heaven. The thing is...either you are or you aren't. It applies to everything. A believing Christian, a good parent, a loving spouse, a happy person... I'm not saying you need to be smiling and go get 'em at all times. But if you're an are person it will show even when you are down. It is inside of you. It becomes who you are. And really...either you are or you aren't...right?

I want to be able to say I am.

girlie time

Each year for my birthday I get some girlies together and we let the kids run wild, eat a fabulous lunch and make a craft. This year it was all about hair clips...and flower bows! Thanks Abby Reidhead, Dawn Judd, Lori Ham, Karen Valle and Brindy Arnett for sharing your fabric, ribbon, bling, buttons, glue sticks and

AweSOmE PerSoNaLiTieS!!

You all rock!

Not too bad for a days work eh?

Abby is a pro at all the different styles and she gave us directions when we felt a little lost. I am overjoyed with the variety of bows that came out of the day today!

BirThDaY

I just had a PeRFeCt BirThDaY!!

We all slept in and lounged the early morning away. Monte and all the boys climbed into bed with me and I opened my gift of a beautiful pearl necklace. Then on to a lovely breakfast with fresh home made lemonade! Choir practice, church, and then...

lounging the late afternoon away...

... after dinner I had plenty of help blowing out the candles on my cake.

Then I went to the church for our Activity Day kick-off (that came off with out a hitch by the way) and Monte cleaned the house and put the kids to bed!! Now Monte and I are now sitting watching our new Sunday evening show 'Downton Abby' on PBS-AwESoMe!
Tomorrow I get to have a few cute girlfriends over to make hair bows and have lunch.
I love turning 37!
My sweet boys gave me all the attention, hugs, kisses and loves I could ever hope for. I felt loved, appreciated and special the whole day through!

Oh yeah...7 dozen

This, my friends, is what 6 dozen SnoWflAke CoOkiES looks like! (For the untrained eye, like mine, I will explain that they are stacked 3 dozen high in each pan.) The other dozen is already in the outdoor fridge awaiting it's Sunday evening consumption.

They are for my calling as an Activity Day Leader of the 9 year old girls at church. We are inviting ALL of the girls (ages 8-11, about 35 total) to bring their parents to the church Sunday evening for a small devotional and explanation of the Faith in God pamphlet that the Activity Day Program is based on. The theme is Divine Nature-esque. We are each unique like a snowflake but we are each here for the same great purpose. (Aside: When looking for snowflake cookie cutters someone actually told me, "By definition I don't believe snowflakes can have cookie cutters." So in deference to my friend I actually did use 4 different cookie cutters to add variety! Oh the sweet spice of life!!)

Just Burps

Jackson came to find me outside the other night to let me know he had "poopies." "Well," I say, "let's get inside and change your diaper OK?" "OK Mommy." We get in the house and I strip him down, with wipies at the ready, only to find his little rump is totally clean. "Jack, you're not poopie!" "WAIT MOM!" and he proceeded to push for all he was worth. I had my concerns, but all he was rewarded with was little toot. Then he told me, "Oh! You're right mom, no poops, just burps."

He's also found the cabinet that I hide left over candy in and I think his fear of falling is officially over.

introspect

Never argue with an idiot.

He will drag you down to his level

and beat you with experience.

My friend posted this on Facebook and it really spoke to me. Not that I think that I'm better than anyone else, rather that I tend to feel like the 'idiot' when I know I am educated and intelligent. I tend to talk too much. Sometimes I feel like I am digging little holes for myself to crawl into when speaking with certain types of personalities. I've been working on listening more and saying less. What I'm learning is that the old adage is too true, "Give them enough rope and they will hang themselves." I don't want to feel like the one hanging from the noose.

should've-would've

long story-short

13 years ago when we were newlyweds Monte built me an entertainment center while we lived in Wymount. It has followed us through countless moves, been added to, fixed and re-varnished more than I can remember. We don't use it anymore. I'm cleaning and un-cluttering the house so we were discussing the entertainment center and wondering who might be in need. (Such a shame to loose such a piece.) Clyde happily suggested, "MOM! Let's get the pick ax out and burn it!" It seemed fitting so we had some good friends over (thanks Stones for the fun company) for grilled pork loin, baked potatoes, salad, brownies and

BON FIRE!!

Those countless layers of varnish made for an awesome fire.

I should've taken pictures-I would've taken pictures

but I forgot.

aside: Monte said it was fun and "therapeutic" to hack it apart...hmm...let's hope that's not a subconscious thought on our 13 years of marriage.

To nap or not to nap that is the question

He still needs the nap and yes, he actually still wants the nap. It's the Mom. She is in a quandry and now she is experimenting. If she cuts the nap short he wakes up grumpy and is a bear for the rest of the day (not worth it.) But if she lets him sleep as long as he would like (2-3 hours) he is up late into the evening. While it creates a nice afternoon for said mom the evening is not so fun.

And yet, like I said, he still needs the nap and...

he still wants the nap.

Maybe not in his bed but on the floor with the TV blaring and mom working in the kitchen he'll take less of a nap and still go to bed tonight.

Yeah, I know, not likely.

Italian Tonight!!

I have discovered the American Discount Store. The miraculous place where you can buy a box of 300 individual packages of fishie crackers for $7. The wonders of huge can of marinara sauce and gigantic container of Ricotta cheese comes out to $4.25. A tasty box of 50 Grandma's cookies (also individually packaged) is $8. Jars of baby food can be found 10 for $1. Need I go on? I have been warned that it is hit and miss. The produce, for the most part, is icky and too ripe. But I do believe that the benefits outweigh the negative. I came home to use up that Ricotta cheese and Marinara sauce...2 large pans of manicotti and 2 huge lasagnas later. It is done. My house smells wonderful and my freezer is happy!

baBy Oh babY

Yes, it'll all there in the post title.

Did you read carefully?

Here let me spell it out for you

baBy Oh babY

We're thinking 3rd times a charm...right?

(Prayers and positive thoughts are always welcome!!)

you know you have boys when...

Christmas songs go something like this,

"Oh Cannon Bomb, Oh Cannon Bomb how lovely are thy branches." - "MOM! I just sang the Christmas Tree song in German!"-Clyde

And kissing under the mistletoe brings up questions like this,

"Mom? I don't get the part about having missiles on your toes."-Monte

...I'm just sayin'...

Polar Bear Swim

It's December, the pool is not heated, and yet he continues asking if he can go swimming. So yesterday I let him. Why not? He'll learn for himself. I've done this before myself when I was crazy and young at a friends annual 'Polar Bear Swim'. Maybe it's time to make some more winter traditions. We could get awards and everything. Sponsor the Gardiner's Annual Polar Bear Swim. Of course they'd have to get their hair wet and swim the length of the pool. What do you think?

His reactions are so great here. I really love this kid.

" Mom! It's like there's ice all over my body!"

I'm doing it!!

We've begun crawling!! It's so exciting and a little bit sad to watch him learn all of these fundamentals all over again. This time around though I get to hear a sweet little voice say, "Mommy!! Look at me! Look at me! I'm doing it!" Every moment brings another new milestone. Yesterday there was quite a bit of crawling etc going on. By the end of the day his legs were shaking horribly and visibly. Today he took it easy. It's a lot of work for those little muscles. The best news of all? He almost slept through the night last night!!!

bye bye BABY bye bye

Can you believe the technicians asked us if we wanted to bring it home? I'm still not sure if they were serious or not!!

BLETCH!!

Dr Udall was finishing up a surgery next door and the PA tried to tell us that we should keep it on for 2 more weeks or so - ummm did you look at the X-rays? because Udall said we'd get it off today if they looked good. - Yes, and they look perfect for 5 weeks in - you mean 5 1/2 - 5 weeks - 5 1/2 - 5 weeks - Um I'm a mom and I've been counting down, it's been 5 weeks and 4 days - Well, I conferred with our other Dr and he agrees that it should stay on for a few more weeks. - Is this based on the x-ray or just your experience? - experience - When will Dr. Udall be here? a few minutes? Oh well...we'll just wait.

hooray for just waiting!!!!

Afterword he held his legs in this position and cried for an hour or so. Once home we took a nice long Epsom salt bath in this basic position while we scrubbed and rubbed and massaged. There weren't as many tears in a bubble bath and after an hour more...

He still makes no movement on his own and is getting used to the stiffness and slight pain. But we're on the right road.

Thanks to ALL that have prayed for us - helped out in our home - brought in meals - gifted things on our doorstep. We appreciate and love you all. Next step? finding another new normal...hopefully one with much less TV.

Tomorrow...

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow, you're only a day away...(knock on wood)...Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow, you're only a DAY......A......WAY!!!! da da da DAAAA!!!

the opening prayer

We've been focusing on prayers of gratitude at our house. I've been working on getting them to pray for specifics and not just the "we're grateful for everything that has been given to us" variety. Clyde has been doing quite well and tonight he topped the charts for Family Home Evening...

"Dear Heavenly Father,

We're really grateful that Jesus was born so we could get lots more toys. And we're really, really grateful Jesus walked the earth so we could have our sins washed away when we get baptized. In the name..."

SaNtA

Almost too cool...but a little reluctant to stop believing.

This one just knew he was with the real Santa

You can see the excitement on this ones face.

It's a little too scary to sit on his lap and yet...

it's totally fine to take his candy and give up a quick "knuckles"

AnNuAL TrEe CutTinG 2010

It seems my blog is getting repetitive...so many yearly traditions!!

The Bill Arnett Jr family Annual Pinetop Lakeside Tree Cutting Party!!
This year twas StUpEnDoUS!! Sunny, warm and bright with plenty of good packing snow!!

The Brethren-A Full SET!!

me and my dad

jonny, shauna, me, cynthia, sara and kathryn

walter, jenet, monte birk, monte sr and rex making hot cocoa and popping corn (the poppers didn't work so well on the bon fire)

jack-et chillin' with grandpa

clyde-ster!!

alison, andrew, jonny, monte birk