Copycat

Words to live by for sure.

Thanks Melanie, you're a genius for posting this! Oh, Einstein you know I love you too :)

Top dog & little smokie

It's just us 3 today, Bella, Noah & I. The twins slept over at Grandma's & Dad's at work. I came home at 6:30 last night with pizza to a trashed house & lots of chaos, but that's how it gets around here sometimes. I think Daddy had a rough day & it was all he could handle watching everyone. So, I feel like I should clean, clean, clean today...but I am tempted to ignore it & just play, play,play with these cuties! It's rare to have 1x1 or 1x2 time with the kids & it's so precious when we do get the chance.

Bella loves Noah & follows him around like a puppy dog. Noah doesn't seem to mind at all. He'll get on the floor & play with her, carry her around, take her for walks, whatever she wants to do. It's so cute or " so tute," as Bella would say! She also says "O-tay?" after EVERYTHING & it's so adorable. She can be crying & trying to tell you what happened & all you can catch is a sad "O-tay Mom, O-tay?" It breaks your heart! She's the tutest bubba in the world!

I think we'll go play the piano & sing while the laundry is washing. You should hear them sing...

Hunka hunka burnin' love

My sister in law, Amy, my great friend, Jill, & I ran for love this weekend! :) It was a 5k to raise money for a cute young family that has an amazing adoption story. Click here to read it.

As I posted earlier, my family & I have been going through a rough spell. I don't want to be one of those bummer people that complains all the time & isn't any fun to be around. I didn't realize how forgetful I had become about the importance of simple things, like smiling, laughing & consciously choosing to have fun, until a prayer was answered in a curious way several months ago. It was a chance meeting of someone who did all of the above & it made a strong impression on me. I forgot how fun it is to laugh until your face hurts :) There have been many prayers answered lately & most of all of them have been through simple gestures by friends, family & strangers. It was all a good reminder to me that, even through the hard times, it is important to keep doing things that bring you joy & it's a conscious choice. I think I was born with a happy gene, but I wasn't using it! Because of so many wonderful people helping me remember & lifting me up, I have made some lifestyle changes.

I had to ponder about what really brought me joy that I wasn't doing anymore. One of them was sports. I started running, biking & playing again every morning. Being athletic has always been part of me & I really love the feeling I get when I play sports. I also love the feeling of giving to others. With my own family to take care of, plus working full time, I was not able to spend time on service like I had previously. So, I am multi-tasking by doing 1 organized charity/sport event each month (like the 5k above). It's not personal service, but it's what I can do right now & it still feels really good to be helping. My calling is another great way to give service, and I'm trying to work out my schedule to continue with scouts. I am also trying to dive into the scriptures again, which is something very important & helpful to me.

The most important thing I can do to bring myself joy is being with my family. We are so short on time with each other now, that we have to get creative, make it count & let everything else go when it's family time. It has actually been a good thing. I still miss running Bella down the hall every 15 minutes to go potty, leisurely walking the boys to school, and setting up play dates in the middle of the day....but it's ok. We are getting on a schedule & enjoying our new routine.

Teaching school is fun & the little boys get to go to work with me! They love it & are meeting so many new friends. Bella is warming up to her new babysitter & seems very happy when I come home on my lunch break to cuddle her. No more tears :) Noah isn't really affected by our new schedule, since he's in school all day & Len gets home by 4:00. Len's work is still yucky, but he's hanging in there & vigorously looking for a better opportunity.

I thought that John Lennon was just a great singer & a dreamer. I guess he was right though...sometimes all you need is love!

Happy Valentines Day. I love you!