Perspective

I was at the grocery store this afternoon, three kids in tow.  Colton doesn't like to be in a buckle, Bri has a difficult time staying by my side and Joshua loves to hang off the cart.  It makes for a challenging shopping trip.  So, as I'm standing in line holding Colton, who is continually screaming (not crying, just screaming) and arching back and flopping forward because he wants to get down I notice the lady in front of me.  She has one little baby, in a wrap snuggled up against her.  She's trying to unload her groceries and it isn't too difficult but is taking time.  The cashier starts to ask her

Cashier:  So, any surprises with motherhood?
Customer: Nope, not so far.
Cashier:  Is it harder than you expected it to be?
Customer:  Well, some things are easier, some things are harder.  It is much easier to go shopping without a baby, I have learned"

I'm sitting here thinking "oh just wait, there will be surprises.

The cashier says to her "It will get easier"

I think to myself "oh, when they move out?  Because I have 5 now, and just these three with me are way more difficult than having that one little baby snuggly wrapped in, not old enough to want down, or old enough to be climbing out of the cart"

And then as I'm bagging my groceries next to her I said "I love it, it's a lot of work, but I love it."  She echoed my sentiments.

Finally, I said "yeah, it's hard, but it is so worth it.....most days"

After leaving I thought about that.  "Most days??"  No, It is worth it Every. Single. Day.  Are there days when I want to throw my hands up and hide in my room?  Sure, Are there days when I get tired of cleaning up puke, and keeping clothing and bedding cleaned? Absolutely.  And there are even days when I think "I can not wait till they are older, because taking them to the store is such a pain now.

But you know, truth is....all of that is worth it.  These kids are only this small once.  At first I was embarrassed by Colton's screaming, but now I realize he's just a vocal kid.  Seriously vocal, and likes to let me know when he wants something.  But he will grow out of it and I will miss it.  I know I will.  I will miss the days the younger kids are pushing chairs around and scooting stools over to the counter to get into everything I am trying to bake with.

As I type this Colton is napping and bri is eating half my lunch because I set it down for a minute to type. I know I'll miss this.  I know that every minute of it, no matter how challenging, is so worth it.  That is truth.  And to say outloud to a new mother that it's worth it "most days" probably was not the smartest thing to say.
It is so worth EVERYTHING we go through as parents, to be that special person in your child's life.

And in they walked...

Every day...every school day that is.  I take the two boys to school, come home play with the three younger ones there's a little play a lot of Josh picking on Bri, Colton whining cause I can't hold him all day.  And then it's 12:15.  Time to take Josh to kindergarten.  Sometimes, my favorite part of the day.  I take him in, he's happy as can be because he LOVES school.  Then it's nap time for Colton.  All is so peaceful for the 3 hours all three boys are at school.  Colton naps, Bri and I read books, get housework done that I can't do with Colton awake, sometimes we just chill and watch a movie.  It's a beautiful thing, and I'm sort of glad that Brianna has an October birthday so we can do this for 3 more years before she starts school.  I love our quiet time.

And then 3:40 hits and all the peace and quiet I had....well.  It's gone.  Back to the hollering, bickering over toys, whining about having to do a chore or two, mad that they can't have an afternoon snack till they put their coat up on the coat rack and shoes away.  It's chaos.  Time for Homework, chores, play, figuring out dinner (because let's face it I don't always have dinner figured out ahead of time) and making sure kids are bathed and ready for bed on time.

That 4 hours and 20 minutes from the time the boys get home and the all the kids should be going to bed is often complete chaos.  But it gives us lots of moments of laughter, joy, happiness, and a complete satisfaction realizing that I wouldn't have it any other way.  Do I wish they wouldn't fight so much? Of course.  Do I wish laundry was not NEVER ENDING.  Absolutely.  But you know, I wouldn't trade it for anything.  Because it's a sign of happy healthy kids.  Kids that we, Ryan and I, created together.  It's a gift, truly.  I love that short window of time that we have together as a family every single day.  And yes,some days are
way more challenging than others.  So how do I get through those challenging days?  Chocolate.  And dancing in my living room with the kids.  Those two things (dance and chocolate) can make everything all better sometimes!

And those faces?  Who could resist loving those adorable kids?  

The funny things they say....

My kids often say funny things and I think to myself "man, I need to write that down" and then never remember to.  So today, I remembered, and it probably isn't that funny unless you were there, but twice in the last two days Josh has just made us laugh!  Yesterday they were playing outside in the water and I was inside with Colton.  I kept hollering at him to "tell Brianna to stand up" and he kept asking "Huh??"  Finally I yelled loud enough that I was sure he heard it and he replies "I love you too Mom!!!"  It was pretty darn cute.

Then this morning I was making breakfast and I said something about "oh he doesn't care one bit about raisins" and Josh without hesitation says "or two bits Mom." 

Maybe not that funny to anyone but me, but it just made me smile! 

crazy life

It's 11:30 pm.  I should be in bed already.  But I'm not, nothing new I guess.  I haven't posted on here in forever, because I just don't like to take the time.  I could say it's because I am spending too much time enjoying my kids, getting housework done, reading a great book, etc.  But really, it's just because I hate logging in and taking the time to post.  But we've been doing a lot of teaching about family history (which I have done VERY little of) and I feel that one of the ways my family can learn about our life is through this blog.  I would love to eventually print this off into a book.  So I better get writing huh???

My family is growing...way too fast!  Tanner is 9, he loves science, math, playing outside with friends, running, and helping out with his younger siblings.  He broke his first bone this year, his arm up by his shoulder, crazy!  He is a busy boy for sure but such a great helper too. I'll be homeschooling him this year, our first year and I am excited about it!

Jordan is 7, extremely artistic, loves to draw, dance, sing, etc.  He is going through a ton this year, sleep study, testing to figure out why he isn't growing a lot, getting his tonsils out to  hopefully help with his sleeping.  He's broken 2 bones this year, hopefully no more!  He loves to play outside, ride bikes, jump on the tramp.  Our neighbor has a little dog that he absolutely loves.  He's very good at helping walk her dog and playing with her.  He has such a sweet heart most of the time.  He does have his moments but what kid doesn't?

Joshua is 5, and such a kind gentle little boy.  He starts kindergarten this year and can't wait!  He loves to play by himself and has a great imagination.  Him and his little sister fight often, but they also play so well together at times.  He is very into Toy Story and loves his "Woody" toy.  He loves to ride bikes , play on the trampoline, play with trains and cars, etc.  Such a happy kid almost all of the time.

Brianna is 2, almost 3 and oooh my she gives me a run for my money.  That girl is the sweetest, cutest thing ever but don't get on her bad side because she is a total spitfire!  She has learned that being the only girl often gets her what she wants (we are trying to break this).  She is sassy as can be, and when warned that if she doesn't do what we are asking she will get a time out her new response is "Fine" with a large amount of attitude in that.  Oh I love this girl, but she is busy body at it's finest.  If I pull out any kitchen appliance to bake or cook, she is right there pulling up a chair to help.  She loves to dress up and play princess, and she loves to get dirty with the boys too.  Lots of fun she is (even though I spend most of my days cleaning up her messes).

Colton will be 1 in August, can you believe it??  I can't!!!  He is crawling everywhere, loves to laugh and giggle at his brothers and sister.  He sucks on his pointer finger and has for a LONG time, it is the cutest thing ever, because it's not his thumb and it's always in his mouth.  But I have a feeling that it's going to be a difficult habit to break.  He loves to eat.  He is probably our best eater.  For a while when we first started him on solids it was a challenge, but when we realized he just didn't like baby food and wanted our food it became easy!  He loves to eat anything soft we eat.  His favorites are vegetables and beans, and raisins.  He also loves yogurt.  He has the most adorable laugh and smile because he has a dimple on one cheek.  Such a cute little guy and I can't wait to see what more of his personality is like! 

So there are the kids in a nutshell!  Ryan and I are often busy, his job and our callings keep us quite busy sometimes, but it has been neat to be serving where we are.  I'll post more about other exciting things going on in our lives later.  And updated pictures, but for now that's it!  I can't believe how fast my family is growing, it's crazy.  To think that Tanner is half way to being missionary age is so sad to met at times, I am so happy to be where I'm at in life and I love all the time I get to spend with my kids.  But if the last 9 years are any indication of how quickly the next 9 years will go it is way too fast!  Remember to just enjoy every moment! 

Family of 7...(picture overload)

So, I am horrible at blogging, but figure every once in a while I should update it, even if nobody ever reads it.  Now that it's January, I figured I start the year off by updating a little bit.  Here's what we've been up to:

August 16th, Colton Ryan Hall joined our family (5 weeks early!)  We absolutely love this little guy!  He eats great, sleeps even better, and is such a happy kiddo!!! Yep, bad blogger, he's almost 5 months old now and I'm just NOW getting to posting about it.  I don't have newborn pics on this computer yet, but here's some recent ones of this cute little guy! 

Other things we've been up to:

Brianna turned 2!! Seriously, her favorite thing is to help me in the kitchen All. The. Time!

Jordan broke his thumb, wrestling around with Tanner. 

Brianna and Joshua love to play together, and they love to help me in the kitchen.

Colton keeps growing so fast, but he's just so adorable!

Christmas weekend with my parents

Went out for my birthday!  Woohoo for date night!

Got ALL the kids to smile for a picture!  That is quite an accomplishment!

And we've had a LOT of snow lately!!

 

Sorry for the picture overload, but there you have it!  A little of what we've been up to since I posted last!  We've been quite busy!!! 

sewing fun

 So, this first picture is the ruffle skirt I talked about in my previous post.  I found the idea on pinterest, and then decided to wing it without using a tutorial or patterns.  I like the way it turned out, and I love that Bri loves to wear it!  Every time I finish making something new for her she gets SO excited to put it on!

After finishing the above skirt I really wanted to sew something else.  So, I searched pinterest (something I actually don't do very often) and found skirts similar to the one above.  Again, I hate to print out patterns, or us tutorials if I don't have to, so I took the general idea and tried to make it my own.  I LOVE this skirt.  And I love that pinterest has so many ideas for me to be inspired by.  I love the fabric, the style, etc.  Everything about it.  The above picture is the bow tied in front, it's just barely long enough to wrap around from the back and tie in the front.

 This is the back of the skirt with the bow tied in back.   

Here's the front without the bow tied in front.  It is a high-waisted skirt.  And I think it turned out really cute. I am liking this sewing kick I've been on, now if only I could have unlimited funds to try all kinds of new projects! haha oh well.  My goal is to try to start AND finish one sewing project a month.  We'll see if I can do that!

Don't mind her mis-matched outfit, I just wanted to quickly try it on Bri to see if it fit.  It's a little bit big, and a little long, but that is good because she just keeps growing!!!  She LOVED it too, and that is always a plus! :-)  

A project in the works....

I've had some material for a LONG time that I have also known exactly what I wanted to do with it.  Forever ago I purchased a small pack of fat quarters (small pieces of fabric that are about 18 in x14 in or somewhere around there) that were all color coordinated, 5 different pieces.

Also, a long time ago I found a fabulous skirt on pinterest that would be SO cute made with this fabric.  So, today I actually started it!  I didn't use any tutorials, in fact I don't even know if the skirt found on pinterest has a tutorial, I just know that it was similar to how I wanted this skirt to look for Bri.  I have 3 layers done, and two more to add and then I'll put in the elastic and finish the bottom maybe with some cute tulle that I have!

Sorry, I don't have pics yet, I am not sure where the camera is at the moment, but I'll find it and show pictures once I'm done!  It really has been pretty easy to do, and I've kind of just made it up as I've gone, but if anyone is interested in how I did it I can jot down some simple instructions to make your own.

Stay tuned for pictures, I think it's going to be adorable....... :-)

15 weeks to go

That's it, we only have 15 weeks to go!  Wow, this pregnancy is flying by.  Sometimes I just wish he were here already, and I didn't have to wait another 15 weeks to hold a new little baby again, and meet this little boy.  Other times I realize what I would like to get done before he gets here, and 15 weeks is just NOT enough.  Oh well, it is what it is!

We can't wait to meet this little guy!  I just hope that in the next 15 weeks a name is decided upon.  Because as of right now we still have a very long list...

Vacation and more...

First, Mother's Day was great this year!  Ryan spent the Saturday before building me a picnic table.  I LOVE it.  Big enough for the whole family and then some, and we can all enjoy eating in the backyard when the weather is nice, and Mother's Day was the perfect day to enjoy it for the first time!  

This is my monkey Jordan!  This picture was taken the day of Tanner's baptism on May 5th, but I think it might fit in better with our pictures from the zoo!! lol.  He is a goofy, crazy kid. 

We went down to Utah last weekend because we were itching to get away and didn't want to go over the holiday weekend.  So, while there we spent a day at the Hogle Zoo.  It is WAY better than the Boise one.  I really don't care for the Boise Zoo, so it was fun to take the kids to a zoo that had way more to offer!

Enjoying lunch in the shade.  It was so hot that day.

We missed the bird show, but happened to be right behind where they were pulling the birds out to bring down to the bird show.  And all of the sudden a guy comes running up the stairs by us with this bird because he was late getting to the stage.  I had the perfect chance to get a close up picture of this beautiful bird.  Fun huh!?!

Do we measure up to the gorilla's??

She really enjoyed it too, surprisingly.  She is not one to enjoy being contained or restricted but she was actually pretty good riding in the stroller most of the time!  Which was great, because if she had been grumpy we would have been chasing her ALL over the entire afternoon.  This girl likes to run, no she Loves it.  Running away from Mom and Dad is one of her favorite things.

name for baby

Well, baby number 5 is due to join our family on September 12th and we can't wait!  Tanner just the other day said to me "Mom I can't wait for my baby brother to be out of your tummy!"  Yes, baby number 5 is a BOY!  Bri and I are going to be sorely outnumbered, but we don't mind!  Bri is already terribly spoiled by her brothers that absolutely adore her, and a Daddy that loves having a Daddy's girl, because she really is his girl, she gets so sad if he has to leave for class or runs to the store.  She will sit at the window and watch him go.  And then as soon as she hears a car pull up she runs to the window yelling "daddy, daddy!"  It is the cutest thing!  

Anyway, with this baby things have been pretty normal, sick a lot of the time, very tired, but plugging along just fine!  The only difference this time is how much we are really having a hard time coming up with a name for him!  With all three of the other boys we knew early on what their names would be, or at least had it narrowed down to two names very early on.  Tanner as soon as we learned he was a boy we had the names Tanner and Jacob picked out, and obviously he looked like a Tanner to us. :-)  Jordan was the same way, we went to the hospital with Jordan and Andrew.  He just was not an Andrew. And Joshua for some reason from the very beginning I knew he would be Joshua.  It was crazy because it was never a name I liked or had picked out as a teenager.  You know how you have all these name ideas for when you have kids someday.  Yeah, Josh was NEVER one I would have picked.  But it just felt right, and he is definitely a Joshua.  

This time around I had a girl name ready right from the get go, but if it was a boy we had no idea.  So finding out it's another boy has made finding a name a challenge!  All "J" names are out per Ryan's request.  It is hard enough for him having Jalynne, Jordan and Joshua lol.  Aside from that we just can't come to agree on any others.  I am wondering if we will be taking a list of about 10 names to the hospital with us.  Which very well may happen!  Oh well.  Regardless, we are all very excited to meet this little boy and welcome him into our family.  The kids are very excited about having another brother and I look forward to seeing who he looks like. September 12th can't come soon enough!!  

Five....

Well, our year started out with a surprise! Baby #5 is due in September. The actual due date is September 18th, but because I always have c-sections we will likely be having this baby on the 12th. :-) Crazy! So, if I become forgetful lately, don't respond to phone calls, emails etc, it's because I have been extremely tired, and very forgetful lately. I apologize in advance.

This pregnancy (while only 10 weeks in) has definitely been the most challenging so far. I have been sick morning, noon and night. Nothing has been working. Zofran (which I hear is the medicine of all meds for morning sickness) seems to work well for me in the morning, but not at night. I take the same dose both times, but I just can't kick the nausea and puking up whatever I eat in the evening. It sorta, really stinks. Big time.

This is also the first time I've been pregnant and thought to myself "I'm not sure I can do this again, and really feel like this might possibly, probably is our last." That is big for me. Everytime I've been pregnant even while being sick I've felt like, this is ok I can do this a few more times. Even with Brianna I felt like I could do it a couple of more times. But now, I don't think I can. I really feel like this is it. And I am ok with that, and so is Ryan. At times we have mixed feelings because it is a bit sad realizing this is probably the last time I'll feel a baby kicking inside me, or get to experience have a new newborn. But I also feel like I really look forward to enjoying everything I can about the 5 that we have. And I want to be the best Mom I can be for my kids. Being this sick, and so tired all the time makes me a pretty lousy Mom. My kids have been eating a lot of cereal and pop-tarts lately, watching way too many cartoons, and just not been getting the attention they need. Hopefully after we get through this first trimester things will get better.

So, anyway....sorry to bore you all! Just wanted to share our exciting news, we are looking forward to finding out if the kids are going to have a brother or sister! Right now Tanner and Josh want a baby brother, and Jordan wants a baby sister. It's pretty cute! And I'm pretty certain that Bri will not be happy in the beginning regardless if it's a boy or girl. I've gotten the chance to hold a newborn a few times lately and she is NOT happy about it. She climbs on me, starts crying, even scratching me once or twice....little stinker.

I guess I didn't mean for this to sound like a downer because I've been so sick. We really are excited about the new addition that will be joining our family! Any guesses on whether it's a boy or girl? I think boy....we'll see. :-)

Happy New Year!

Can you believe it is 2012 already? I can't. This year our oldest Tanner, will be 8. EIGHT! He'll be baptized in May, and it is so exciting, he can hardly wait. Jordan will be 6, and he asks me every day if he is 6 yet. It's pretty cute. And Josh and Bri will be 4 and 2. That is so crazy! Also happening this year, Ryan and I are looking into starting up a business, likely a bakery. We meet with someone this afternoon at the bank to discuss it! If things get rolling in that direction it means Ryan not finishing school right now, but I'm ok with that because all he really has left is Student Teaching and he can't do that with his current job anyways. And it's too risky to quit his job to student teach and not know if he'll have a job after he finishes. He would also have to take a significant pay cut to teach, so he may not be teaching for a while. But we're both ok with that, we'll just wait and see what happens and see what the Lord has in store for us!

In the mean time we hope everyone has a wonderful year, and we are excited about all the things to come this year!!

Cakes!!!

I am finally woring on getting a blog up for cakes, and while it's just in the beginning stages you can still check out my progress even though it isn't much! Feedback would be great too if ya have any. I mean it, really. I love feedback, and would love to know what I could do to add to the blog to make it more appealing or more interesting to those looking for a cake for their special events or occasions. So, check it out here, and let me know what you think! Thanks a bunch. :-)

I am losing my mind....

Ha so I just posted yesterday, and made a comment at the bottom that I can't believe Bri is going to be 8 months in just a few days. Wanna know how forgetful I really am?? Ha, yesterday was the day she turned 8 months old. I have no idea why I didn't realize it, and why I didn't realize oh today is the 8th, her birthday is October 8th, so she's 8 months today!

It is starting to become clear that I'm getting older, and my brain isn't quite what it used to be lol. Oh well, Happy 8 months yesterday Brianna!! That was a FAST 8 months!

(And for the record, this is probably a record for posting, I don't know if I've ever posted 2 times in one month! And I think I have 3 this month and we're only 9 days in!....Yay for me!)

So, quick update, three weeks ago we decided to make a trip to Seattle. For two reasons...one, to enjoy time with family and take the boys to see what we love about Seattle. And two: to make lots of freezer meals for the most amazing friend who just welcomed twin girls into the world 2 days ago!

The boys looking out at the water, something we don't see much of here in Idaho. Oh and those flowers in Ryan's hand? Some beautiful flowers we picked up at Pike Place Market for his Mom, it was fun to visit her at her work and let the boys give her the flowers. Such a fun day!

This is something I want to try to make. Marshmallows covered with caramel, and coated with mini M&M's. The boys LOVED these!

Tanner and Candan hanging out at Grandma's and playing a video game. I love when the cousins can get together and play.

Brianna and her cousin Duncan, who is actually a month younger! He's so big! And she really loved trying to hug him and play with his ears, it was adorable!

Tasha!! She's just 3 weeks away from having twin girls in this picture. And since I couldn't be up there to help when they are born...(which I am really bummed about) I wanted to make a trip up to help make her a ton of freezer meals, just to try to make her life a little easier once babies arrive. Because on top of twin girls she also has a toddler and pre-teen and hubby to take care of! Hopefully the 30 meals will help her out for a while! Love that girl, she's an amazing friend. Seriously, I am really lucky to have such a great friend.

And, our new favorite thing this summer so far?? The trampoline! The boys spend hours out there at a time, I am so glad we invested in a trampoline, because the kids absolutely love it, and I love that it wears them out ;-)

STATIC! :-) So cute

Dog pile on Dad!!!


Cheese!! He has lost 5 teeth in the last couple months! It's kind of silly looking, but I love this kid and his goofy smile!!


And Brianna is going to be 8 months, yes EIGHT months in just a few days. Sad :( But at the same time, she is at such a fun age! I love how smiley she is, and she loves to smile at EVERYONE seriously. Unless you try and hold her, or take her from Mommy, then she won't be smiling. She can't crawl but scoots on her bum quite a bit. She hate baby food so we are feeding her lots of crackers, cereal and fruit. I wish she ate baby food though, maybe she wouldn't want to nurse so stinkin' much! Oh well, she is such a joy and her brothers just absolutely adore her! Sometimes a little too much, at least on Joshua's part. I am constantly telling him to get his finger out of her mouth, or get out of her face. But really she loves him just as much because everytime he gets in front of her she just gets giggly, smiley and kicks her legs in excitement. Oh I love my kids, they are so much fun! I am so blessed.