Just when you think...

That you can't possibly handle anymore, that you are, in fact, at your breaking point. That the stress must be at an end, because how could it possibly get any worse?! That it must be time for divine intervention....You will find out that it isn't up to us when He intervenes. He knows better than us exactly what we can handle. And He will show us. He will stand with us, and through the truly unbarable He will be there to carry us, but how do we learn? How do we progress without challenges? We don't. Challenges and trials are what make us greatful. They are what truly tests our faith.
That being said...I am waiting for it to get worse. I am not being pessimsitic, but I know that Woody and I are being tried. Right now, I feel as though it can't get much worse...So, I have a feeling it will. But, I know, after it gets worse, (And it may get much, much worse) It will, eventually, get better. We will look back on this time, and hopefully see God's hand. See the lessons we were supposed to learn, and be that much better for it.
No real point in this post. Just a thought that has been on my mind a lot lately....

10 things I have learned as a parent.

1. That poop can in fact be exciting. (This applies to several different times in parenthood, but specifically when potty training, and they "go" in the potty for the first time.)

2. That I am capable of cleaning up vomit. Seriously, I have always been such a sympathy puker, but for some reason, my kids' vomit don't affect me.

3. That roughly 70% of my conversations would have to deal with something gross. (see #1 and #2!)

4. That toddlers are capable of doing more damage in a shorter time than most natural disasters! (Don't believe me?! Let me send you Blayke for a week. You will see!)

5. To slow down, savor and enjoy things, because in the grand scheme of things, 18 years really isn't that long.

6. To eat fast. I mean, in all honestly, I have always been a fast eater, but I think I could take most fast eating contests. Seriously. And, I would do it one handed. (I don't know how any slow eating mom ever gets a meal.) Funny that this one came after my slow down post...LOL!

7. Fear. All encompassing, overpowering fear. And not just the fear that comes when my daughter says, "guess what Blayke just flushed down the toilet." But real deep fear. It terrifies me that I am responsible for how 3 (And eventually more) people turn out. I feel completely inadequate at times to be a mom. Seriously. It can be very overwhelming!

8. To tune things out. Seriously. I have learned the incredibly awesome skill of making my kids voices invisibe to my ears! (I am pretty sure that at this moment I am "involved" in a conversation about Oliver and Company....)

9. That kids have very selective EVERYTHING. Hearing, memory.....I can tell my daughter to go put her clothes away, and she 'forgets' half way up the stairs. But, do you think she could possibly forget that squirrel I ran over like 3 years ago?! HECK NO!

10. Love. Unconditional, complete and pure love. Not only to give it, but to receive it. How lucky are we as parents?!

This Moment!

Baby Konnor right before his first haircut! Look at that smile! This moment is one I want to savor. To remember. To enjoy. And to share! So here it is!

Not-So-Secret Mom Confession {Part 2}

Ok, so sometimes I have 'days'...Days that I regress. Days that all I want to do is sit on the compurter, eat junk food and drink soda. (Yea, still trying to kick that habit!) I don't want to clean house, I don't want to cook food, I don't want to change diapers. I just want to be a bum. Well...Today is one of those 'days'. Seriously. I got up, got the kids dressed, poured them each a bowl of cereal, and have been messing around on the computer since. My house is trashed. Blayke is no longer wearing socks or pants. We have yet to do school today, and probably wont. It is just a day. I am frustrated about some things in my personal life, I woke up with a pounding headache, and had one heck of a long night. So, it is a 'day'. Tomorrow, I will feel the pain when i am cleaning this messy house. {Maybe I will do it later today...Maybe not...} I sure hope other mom's have days like this, or I have just confessed to being the worst mom EVER!!

{Hey, I just looked, Blayke now has 1 sock on! LOL!}

A little bit of fun

The kids with their friends Jack and Shelby. We think this

girl is supposed to be a "Who" from The Grinch

Where Konnor spent all of HIS time..

If you don't have a wrap, and have or are

expeciting a baby...GET ONE!

Honestly, they are 40 dollars, and they are the

best 40 I have ever spent!!!

Cierra with Santa..Not shy AT ALL!


Blayke with Santa...I was worried he would be shy
but he wasn't!!

Our always CUTE little town hosted a "Wake Up Santa" party today. The kids got to sing to "wake Santa up", they got to do some little crafty things, and they got their picture taken with Santa. It was a cute, fun, simple way to make memories. The kids' friends Jack and Shelby were there, and boy oh boy, Jack and Blayke...They are only about 4 months apart, and are 'personality twins'. Seriously, I have NEVER met a boy more like Blayke than Jack is!! They are so dang cute together, and I am glad Blayke finally had a boy around his age that is his friend! (Which, NANCY, is why you CAN'T move!) Shelby is a couple of years younger than Cierra, but they seem to get along pretty well.

Tonight we are going to rent the Grinch, and make Root Beer floats, (I KNOW! Ice cream when it is cold out?! But, seriously, I am CRAVING them!) Tomorrow for our FHE, we are going to make cinnamon rolls, and eat them ooey, gooey and fresh from the oven while hopefully listening to The First Presidency Christmas Devotional. It should be an awesome weekend....Especially since Woody is home! (He got fired last night, but lets save the details of that for another post..Just know we are ok. He already had another job lined up, and we are thinking he will hopefully just start a week early!)

I hope you are all enjoying this awesome season, your family traditions, and everything else!! (Hopefully nobody is too stressed out!)

Just a little bit more than a little bit frustrated...

So for a few months I have mentioned how we were moving, then we weren't, then we were, then we weren't and so on. MAN OH MAN! This housing situation has me at my wits end!! Our apartments got bought out by a big oil company in town, Power Fuels. Welll...Since they bought it out, they and the old property manager have been giving us quite the run around! So, we decided to start looking. Well, these people that we know (We'll call them J and K) had a house that they were having NO luck selling, so they offered to rent it to us. We agreed. We settled on an amount that worked for both families, and figured that as soon as J and K moved into their new house, we were all set. NOT QUITE!! Rumor has it that all the while that they were telling us that they would rent to us, they had also promised it to another family. GAH! Well, something went on, and that family ended up buying it. (BTW, J and K didn't mention to us that they had a sell pending until probably the day it sold..We were their 'back up plan'!) So, we were biding our time here at the apartment, and still looking when they started renovating the apartment next to us. The day that they started, the guy who was working on it said that he had been told that instead of kicking us all out, they would shuffle us around. Woody decided maybe he would call the property manager about it. He called "Bob" yesterday. "Bob" said that that was in fact their plan for now. WELL..I went to get the mail today, and we had a certified letter. I signed for it, and as soon as I saw 'Power Fuels' as the addresser, my heart sank. I ripped it open, and lo and behold it was an termination of tenancy. We have until December 31, 2010 at midnight to be out. NOW, for those of you in Idaho or Utah, you may be wondering why this is SUCH a huge deal..Just go find another apartment, right? WRONG! Not in Watford City, North Dakota. Not in Williston, North Dakota. Not anywhere within 3 hours of here..Maybe further. You can barely book a hotel room. They have WHOLE families living in hotel rooms and camp trailers. We were so blessed to find this apartment. We are smack dab in the middle of a huge housing shortage!!! And for now, we are homeless come the first day of 2011. Now, if you could, keep us in your prayers. We know that with faith something will work out.....We have an amazing Bishop and Bishopric helping us scour the area for a place to live. (I think I have mentioned before that our Bishop is very adamant that we are meant to be in this area!) I am doing my best not to have hard feelings for any of the parties involved..J and K, the people who bought the house, Power Fuels, (although the weasels won't answer our phone calls, and mailed our termination of tenancy.) Being angry will do nothing more than to add to the stress of it all..Right?! Let me tell you what though, when my Oh so sweet visiting teacher asked if kicking all their bu**s could count for her teaching this month, I only half-heartedly turned her down! (We were JOKING, BTW!)

THIS moment! A picture is worth a thousand words! 12-1-2010

I want to start something that I see on a lot of blogs called, This Moment. A moment in my life that is captured in a picture. Now, I don't fancy myself a photographer, but I love taking quick snapshots of my kids. This weeks This Moment is from our snow day yesterday! No words needed. Just the snap shot!!!