Flashback Friday - last Friday

Today I am excited because Chris comes home from Dubai tonight about midnight. I decided to make this flashback about him. He is such a good daddy to our two little darlings. They love him so much and miss him when he is gone. No one has been sleeping well this week with him gone. We seem to have gotten a little out of whack this week. I am definitely looking forward to him being home. This picture is from Spring 2006. This was the first really nice day, very windy, but so nice that we could use the new wagon that Ben had gotten from his grandma to go for a walk. Enjoy!

"I want to see the temple mommy."

This is what Ben said to me this morning. We were driving to school and discussing all things spriritual...heaven...hell...Jesus...God...and the temple. But the conversation actually began with the temple comment.

My son the king of random uttered the comment...."I want to see the temple mommy." Confused, because I have had no coffee because I overslept due to being a single mommy this week, I say something profound like, "Huh, what temple are you talking about sweetheart?"

"You know, the temple that Jesus went to in the Bible. The one that the curtain was torn in, you KNOW, THE TEMPLE mommy."

And I am sitting in traffic dealing with all the other issues that mommies must deal with in the car, like driving, thinking well, DUH, mommy. So I try to explain to him that I am not even sure that particular temple exists, but some of them do, but that they don't look the same because of their age, and that it is very far away, all the while negotiating Tuesday morning traffic.

Then it totally dawns on me that I am having this conversation with a five-year-old. Wow, I don't think I knew about the temple until I was in my twenties. And even then I don't think I really could have a decent conversation with anyone about it. I certainly didn't know until I was 30 that the curtain was torn from the top to the bottom and the significance of that.

I love that both of my kids seem to have a grasp of the gospel. They know stories from the Bible and they understand principles that took me my whole life to grasp. I take really no credit for this. I give all the credit to my wonderful church, their awesome school, and the amazing people that we have in our life. The kids have had the most wonderful Sunday School teachers, each teacher has taught them principles from the gospel that I thought they might never understand. They have also had amazing chapel instruction at school. The pastor, director at their school and the teachers do a wonderful job of teaching them concepts and making the stories real to them. So real that they actually remember them. And then what can I say about the amazing examples that we have around us. Having good Christian examples around us has helped so much. Now I said Christian, not perfect. No one is perfect and I think that it is important that kids see that you are not perfect and that you have good examples, but not perfect ones.

Their early spiritual lives have been a big priority to me. I truly believe that if we don't get kids when they are young it will be very difficult for them to accept Christ. Not impossible, but difficult. I pray everyday for my children and for the children that I come in contact with through teaching Sunday School, and friends. I pray that the Lord will make me the best example of His teaching and life that I can be. That is about all any of us can do. I am so thankful that He has given us so much and feel truly blessed that my children know who He is.

Disney Follow-Up

Okay so Friday afternoon/evening I spent planning our trip to Disney. We are going to eat breakfast with Cinderella and all those crazy princess, dine with Pooh Bear (my personal favorite), lunch with Chip and Dale, The Little Einsteins, and attend the full on luau at our hotel. I am starting to think this is going to be the busiest week of our lives! I also found out there is a movie theater there on the resort/park property and a dueling piano bar, for a little adult entertainment. Maybe grandma will be sweet enough to let us slip out to the piano bar one night.

I am still taking ideas if anyone has any for the week. Is there anything else that is a must see or do while we are there? I just hope that I get to sleep in at least once!

Guess What?

We are going to Disney World at the end of March for seven days, yes SEVEN whole days! Everyone is so excited. Thanks grandma for the opportunity. We have our room, tickets to the parks, plane ticket, and meal plan. NOW...I just need to plan everything else...where are we going to eat, what characters are we going to try and see.....If anyone has ANY suggestions for me...please feel free to comment and comment and comment.

Here is where we are staying. The Polynesian. The Monorail runs right through this hotel and it has a volcano pool with a water slide. Also they have luaus there. Did I mention that I am excited? Probably more excited than the kids? Okay, so more later, but I wanted to let everyone know...we are off on a Disney adventure in a month!

Flashback Friday

This flashback is devoted to Supergirl. Mainly because she is just so darn cute, but also because she has been a pistol this week. I realize that you can see Chris in the background of all these pictures. I was at a baby shower and he was at home with the kids alone. He had decided to fix the toilet, yes he is fixing the toilet, and Ben was taking pictures of Supergirl.

Her super suit.

Able to leap tall buildings, and break a chain...

Getting ready to turn back into Emily.

Three is the New Two

So you ever hear the saying...Terrible Two's? Of course you have, if you are alive! But here is something they don't tell you, which I found out when my first born turned three, it is Terrible Three's. Yes my friends terrible three's, and three is the new two. If there ever really was a terrible two, which I am suspect of the mere thought. AND I am here to tell you that even if you make it through the first one, the second is still just as bad. Now I know you are thinking, if you did it once how hard can it be the second time around, well...

I remember when my angelic toe headed boy went to sleep the night before his third birthday. He was so sweet. I kissed him goodnight, and little did I know that sometime during that 8 hours of sleep the aliens that make my life h*ll were going to come and get him only to return him on the eve of his fourth birthday. From the morning of his third birthday when he had a meltdown about getting a haircut before his party, until the morning of his fourth birthday when he awoke with a smile on his face and a skip in his step life was awful. He was a completely different child. I swear there were days that I thought I was going to kill him. His sister who turned two during this time on the other hand was so easy to deal with, angelic as a matter of fact.

Well, now I am doing it again. Here I sit hidden in my bedroom to try and get a minutes peace to finish my Bible Study for Thursday night, write a couple of blog entries for my other blog, and hopefully get to bed at a decent hour wondering when the aliens will bring back my beautiful, angelic daughter. Will I really have to wait until she is four. I am not sure I will live that long, and more importantly, will she?

In all seriousness, I love her more than anything. But she is a pistol and she knows how to push EVERY single button I have. And she is strong-willed. Boundaries are a challenge for her. I think that she thinks..."How far can I push it before they actually kill me?" And...she is just the most beautiful girl you have ever seen. And she can be the best little girl you have ever met, kind, gentle, and loving. I am counting the months until her fourth birthday...five months...ten days...two hours...

Make and Takes

Hey...see that button over there on the side of my blog...go check her out. Today is her blog's second birthday and they are having a terrific giveaway!

Enjoy your day!