Proof

I have proof that angels do indeed exist.

My husband has traveled for the last two weeks and the combination of a traveling husband + 4 kids + being 35 weeks pregnant has proven to be difficult. When he left again this last week I found myself in tears kneeling in my bed pleading with the Lord that he would give me the strength to make it through.

I am overcome with emotion right now at the literal angels who have helped me through the last two weeks and the answer to prayer that has been poured out upon our little family.


In the last two weeks we have been the recipients of 3 dinner invites, 2 lunch invites as well as some beautiful flowers dropped on my front step and today I came home to some AMAZING cinnamon rolls.

I can't begin to explain the joy and thankfulness that has filled my heart. Sometimes being far from family is lonely and hard but for the first time in years I feel like part of a family. I am so grateful for the amazing people that fill my life here and I am thankful that they were all close enough to the Spirit to follow quiet promptings that led them my way these last few weeks.

I also had a testimony building experience at McDonald' s of all places the other night. I had taken the kids there for dinner to meet up with a friend. Little did we know that two other families that we knew would show up as well. When it was time to go Morgan could only find one of her shoes. I searched and searched but could not find it anywhere. I was not about to go get my pregnant belly stuck in the tubes looking for it so I had just decided to give up and put the kids in the car. Abby came up to me and said, "Mom, we should say a prayer." I told her that it was ok and we just should go but she went and knelt down on the ground behind the shoe case and said her own little quiet prayer. She stood up and came over and said, "Mom, I said a prayer I know we will find it." Just then one of the wonderful husbands of one of the families that was there popped his head out of the tube with Morgan's shoe in his hand. Abby's face lit up as she knew her prayer had been answered.

It was such a special reminder to me that even in the most minor of circumstances even in McDonald's if we just show a little faith and ask for help our Heavenly Father is anxiously waiting to help. And even in your darkest moments when you find yourself in tears and are not sure how you are going to make it through, he is there as well. And even though he can't literally be here by my side he will send his angels that come in the form of everyday amazing friends to do as he would if he were here to do it himself.

So thank you to all you wonderful people who have been an answer to my pleading. Thank you to my friends who I consider family. Thank you my Heavenly Father who I know hears and answers my prayers. Thank you to my daughter who was an amazing example to me. My prayer is that I will always strive to be on the Lord's errand and follow the promptings that may seem so little but most likely are a much bigger deal to the one you end up helping.

Conversation

Tonight I had a conversation with my little ones that put a much needed smile on my face.

We began talking about the baby and I told them that he would be coming in a few weeks. I asked if they had any ideas for names and then told them they should guess when he would be born and how much he would weigh.

Morgan started by telling me we should name him John Shianko (shy-ain-co). This made me laugh out loud. Where in the world does she come up with a name such as John Shianko?

She then told me he would weigh 68 pounds! I don't know about you but a 68 pound baby with no epidural does not sound like much of a party.

The other kids made their suggestions and all were fairly on track. Ethan however wants to name the baby Moses and call him Mose.

I then started to explain to them that they may have to go to a friends house in the middle of the night depending on when the baby decides to come.

Abby made me laugh so hard when she started describing how the night would go. She said we would all be in the car in our pajamas and dad would go and pound on someones door and say, "Hurry, Hurry Brook is having concussions!". I said, "Do you mean contractions?" She paused and thought and finally said, "Oh yeah, contractions, not concussions, that would not be funny being hit in the head over and over again."

What a great way to end my night!

Scripture Study

We have tried and failed many times to have consistent scripture reading with our children. We have tried to read at dinner we have tried to read after they are ready for school we have tried to read at night. They all work for some time but none have ever really stuck. We have also struggled with reading the actual scriptures or trying to read the children's picture version. Knock on wood I think we have actually found something that is working for our family.

A little while ago my mother in law asked if we wanted an old set of illustrated Book of Mormon books they purchased when their kids were growing up. I told her yes and then they sat in our basement. There are 16 books in the series and I am so glad I finally pulled them out. We had a FHE about why it is important to read the scriptures and really involved the kids in getting their input on how long we should read for and where we should read and how we should handle bad behavior during scripture time. Making them a part of the decision making process really helped them want to join in.

Now we wake each morning to Ethan saying, "C'mon, it's time to read scriptures." Really...could there be a better way to start your day than to hear that come out of your child's mouth?

We finally made the decision to wake each morning at 7 and we read for 20 minutes and finish with a prayer. These books have been amazing for my kids. They are way more in depth than the regular picture scripture book from the church. They use much of the same scripture phrasing that helps them get used to different wording. The pictures are big and colorful and really help them stay engaged in listening to the stories. In the back of each book is the full text from the actual Book of Mormon if you ever want to read right from the actual scripture.

I'm not sure where you could find these anymore but I am so glad we have them. They seem to be the perfect mix for my kids ages right now. I have also been amazed that we have seemed to be even less rushed in the morning. I actually have had time almost each day after the kids are finished getting ready to sit down and get a few minutes in of my own scripture study each day.

So....if you have young kids and have struggled to find a pleasant and effective way to incorporate scripture study in your home I suggest maybe trying to track a set of these down. Thanks Diane for passing them on to us...they were just what we needed!

Pants on the ground

Last night Charlie and I watched American Idol and I have had the last audition in my head all day.

Here is the original and below that are some amazingly good and funny remixes of the song.

It just made me smile and laugh so I thought I would share. I will give one warning: If you listen to these they WILL be stuck in your head for the rest of the day!

Christmas and New Years Eve

My favorite time of year has come and gone. It was filled with lots of memories and great family time. The best part was having Charlie home for two weeks and just enjoying being together as a family.

We started with our annual trip to Bronner's to let the kids pick out a new ornament. Each year they get a new one and they have their own tree that they decorate. Abby now has quite a collection of birds, Morgan has Dora, butterflies, and her latest was a ballerina, and Ethan has lots of trains and this year picked a turtle. They love this tradition and so do I.

After shopping we always go to our favorite chicken dinner restaurant. We got our very own room this year and the kids thought that was great.

We also made a stop at our local Santa house. This place is magical even for adults! I love seeing the kids down peeking in every nook and cranny discovering magical Christmas wonder. Santa was great with the kids and got us all excited for the upcoming days.

Sam wanted nothing to do with Santa as you can tell from the picture below but the rest of the kids got their wishes in and had a blast.

We decorated cookies, had lots of late night sleepovers, made and received many yummy neighbor gifts, and watched lots of Christmas movies, and listed to many hours of Christmas music.

The kids left notes for Santa and their usual plate of treats for the big guy and his reindeer, and were pleased to find their note back from Santa the next morning.

This was the before.

And the after!

After the festivities were over we headed to Chicago to visit family. We spent plenty of relaxing days in p.j.'s and played with cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandma and grandpa...and the new puppy Chewy!

The best part of the trip was New Years Eve. I think we have created a new tradition. We went to a church building and played games all night. We played reverse hide and go seek and kick ball and just let the kids go wild and get all their wiggles out.

Reverse hide and go seek or sardines is where one person hides and when you find them you hide with them until the last person finds the entire group squished and trying to be quite and laughing hysterically.

It was a blast. Here are a few shots of us all squished together!

The night ended with a great game of kickball and then it was back to the house for food and games. I think this is the most fun we have ever had on new years eve.

It has been a great few weeks. I was sad to send Charlie and the kids off this morning. I am sad that the tree is down and the decorations are put away. I just love the family time and memories that this time of year bring and I am now looking forward to this summer. Now I just need something to get me through the next 5-6 months!

Mommy Daughter Date

Today I had a special day with my two favorite girls and just a few of my closest girlfriends and their cute girls.

We had a mommy daughter date that started with a great lunch and then we were off to see the Nutcracker!

The show was great. My favorite part was watching the girls faces. They were on the edge of their seats with huge smiles on their faces.

Here are a few of our future ballerinas.

My girls have spent the rest of the night spinning and twirling. This is a tradition I would love to keep up. I just love this time of year!

Thanksgiving Break

We just got back from our great Thanksgiving break. We ate amazing homemade food as well as visited our two favorite places...Portillo's and Oberweis! Let me tell you how thrilled I am to see the look on the nurses face when I step on the scale at my next appointment. We also spent time with extended family and had a great time. Lots of late nights, good laughs, and tons of memories were had by all.

The weekend started at our local Santa parade where Abby got to march with her school. She was so excited and loved to hear our group of friends cheering her on as she walked by.

We packed our bags and headed for Chicago. We had planned in advance for each one of the kids to have some special one on one time with Grandma and Grandpa. They each had so much fun and I know they will remember their special time that they had for a long time.

Abby and Grandma made an apron together. They picked out the fabric and sewed it all together. It turned out great and Abby will have many chances to use it over the years and think of her grandma each time she does.

Ethan was in heaven working with Grandpa in his workshop. They fixed a power cord, hung a fire extinguisher, and fixed up the old bird house. Ethan was so sad when it was time to leave he just burst into tears. All he wanted to do was find Grandpa and give him a big hug.

Morgan made pies with Grandma. She stuck right by her side until each pie was finished. She was so proud of her work that night when we ate them all up and told her what a good job she had done.

Our next favorite part was going to work at the storehouse where Charlie's parents are serving their mission.

We got to see what they do each day and fill some orders. The kids LOVED it. Abby got to go and spend an entire day there with her cousin and they had a blast. I wish we lived closer so we could go more often, it was a great experience for all of us and we appreciate what they do there each day.

Lots of time was spent just playing and hanging out with all the family. It is always a little loud and crazy but well worth it for the memories that are made.

We also visited the local children's museum. My kids love it there and this trip did not disappoint. Samuel was in all his glory...can you tell?

We are glad to be back but sure enjoyed time with family. We have learned over the years that nothing means more than family. We don't get to enjoy time with any of them very often and when we do it just reminds us of how wonderful they all are and how much we love and miss them.

Thanks Ross and Diane for always being so welcoming and opening your home up to a million crazy kids. We appreciate it more than you could ever know!

And the verdict is.....

It's a boy!

For the first time I was wrong. I am having a hard time taking in the news, but it looked like all his fingers and toes and parts were in the right spot. He has broken our family trend of girl, boy, girl, boy so I can tell he is a little rule breaker already!

Losing My Mind!

If this were my real hand I would have at least 25 ribbons tied to it and then they would have to be numbered and I would have to carry around a post-it to help me remember what each one was for.

This baby has apparently sucked every last brain cell that I once had out of me. I have had periods of forgetfulness in previous pregnancies but nothing like this.

This is what I have managed to screw up in the last week or so. I called my niece 10 days before her birthday and sang happy birthday to her. Let me tell you how it feels to have a 4 year old explain to you that it is not their birthday yet!

Yesterday I dropped Morgan off at a play date that was not supposed to be until today.

And the last two days in a row the school has had to call to tell me the bus was waiting for me at the driveway to let Morgan off! They will not let the kindergarten kids off until they see their parents and after 3 children in kindergarten that had NEVER happened to me until this week. I even looked at the clock at 11:58 and thought to myself to make sure I was out there plenty early. Then I went on cleaning until the phone started to ring and my heart sank.

So...if I call you and sing you happy birthday or it is your birthday and I don't call or we are supposed to meet and I don't show...please don't be surprised. My only hope can be that this fog clears after this little baby arrives!

Fall top 10

We have been so busy having fun that I have not had much time to blog about any of it so here I go. The following is a list of my top 10 things we have done this fall and have loved every second of it!

We went to our local balloon festival. This is one of our most favorite things to do as a family. We meet a bunch of friends bring food to snack on and then sit back and enjoy the beautiful balloons. I love that we have FINALLY lived somewhere long enough that we have traditions that the kids look forward to each year. We celebrated Morgan's birthday. She wanted a Halloween themed party so we all dressed up and decorated and made slime and all sorts of fun things. She had a blast and has worn her beautiful church dress she asked for to church every week since then!We visited our local cider mill. This day was filled with corn mazes, bouncy houses,hay rides, yummy food, and great friends. Not to mention the smell of fresh cider being made. YUMMY!!!!Charlie has started a Sunday tradition where he makes crepes for breakfast. They are so good and they make us look forward to each Sunday morning.

Fall is such a beautiful time of the year here we always try to snap a few pictures out in the leaves. We got a few good ones but they will most likely end up being our Christmas card so you will just have to wait until that comes.

We went to our ward trunk-r-treat. We worked on our trunk for awhile and we won an award for one of the best trunks. We used lots of dry ice and made bubbly blood and monster drool. The picture did not turn out that great but we had fun working on it with the kids.

Some of our good friends hosted and adult only Halloween party and it was a BLAST. Charlie and I went as Deb and Pedro if you could not tell from the picture. I was a bit sad that we only got one picture because the shoes finished off both of our outfits and you can't see them in the shot we got. Charlie had on black moon boots and I found a pair of silver LA Gear shoes. We were quite the couple. It was so fun to get away for a night with amazing friends and just be goofy. I hope it becomes a tradition!

Miss Morgan lost her 1st tooth. It had been loose for awhile and she finally got up the courage to let me yank it out. She was so excited for the tooth fairy to come and visit.Carving pumpkins is always a treat in our house. We let the kids draw out designs and then we get busy carving. Halloween was a favorite holiday growing up in my house an I have for sure passed it on in my own family.

Last but not least was the big night. We bundled up and headed out to a few houses to collect some loot. Sam was a frog, Ethan a BMX bike rider, Abby was Dorothy, and Morgan was a witch. My favorite part of the night was seeing little Sam toddle around holding his pumpkin bucket with a green glow stick around his neck. He was in his glory just wandering the streets and having people give him candy. It is one of those moments that make mothering worth it and a memory I am sure to keep forever!

Wow, it has been a great month or two. I love this time of year and my goal is to enjoy as many of these days while I can before dreaded January hits!