30 Years YOUNG!!

A couple of weeks ago I had a birthday.  The big 3-0.  Scary!

It was a quiet day.  The highlights of the day included:

* sunny weather - we spent the afternoon at the park

* no cleaning - Monday's usually the laundry day but I refused to do it!

* cheesecake that I didn't have to make

Here are the kiddos anxiously waiting to eat dessert.

James printed out my birthday card.  I had to decipher the bottom half telling me what my gift was.....it took me a few minutes to be able to read it.

Let's just ignore the fact that I'm not looking....and that my glasses are totally crooked (kids+glasses=major problems)...and focus on the fact that I got to eat a treat I liked and didn't have to make!!!! Wahoo!

How did I get so old?!

Snug

We recently moved TJ into a forward facing car seat (at 20 months his infant car seat was a little tight!).  James had to take off the arms of the 'new' car seat to do it, but somehow we managed to fit all 3 of them in the back seat of our Corolla.

It's a little tight.  And I'm now back to buckling all 3 of them up most of the time....but they fit.  I wonder how long it will last?

A Little Sewing

I'm not a seamstress.  It has been a LONG time since I've really sewn.  Like....my sewing machine was packed up for over a year...yeah a LONG time.  BUT, my goal has always been to make the girls Easter dresses.  Not because I want to show off beautifully matching dresses on Easter Sunday (haha....not with my sewing skills), but so that I am capable of doing it.  When the day comes that we can't find anything modest that fits...I'll be able to make it.  That's the theory behind it.  

Anyway...for my first 'real' sewing project in well over a year I started with Easter dresses.  What was I thinking?  It has been so long since I've followed a real pattern.  And to start off with slippery, satiny fabric.  Add that to a very difficult pattern to follow.  Yeah, bad idea.  

After finishing Sofias I got smarter with Hannah.  We went to cotton material.  I'm happy to report that hers is a much better sewing job.

I let them pick out fabric....so they definitely don't match.  Hah!

And I made headbands....hello 70's!!

Easter Sunday

This year we tried to focus more on Christ during Easter (you know to emphasize that above all the fun pre-k activities involving bunnies and easter eggs).  

The goal was to read the scriptures/act out what it was Christ did on each day that last week of his life.  I had a simple plan and very good intentions.  We started out pretty good, but kind of missed a few days.  We didn't do a great job, but I'm still amazed at what kids can pick up.  I feel like our kids have suddenly reached an age where they are old enough to understand so much more than ever before....they're actually people.

Sunday morning we watched an awesome video,  He Is Risen.  It did a good job portraying the events up to the resurrection to re-cap what we supposedly discussed with the kiddos.  

After breakfast they got their Easter outfits along with a little toy (gotta love the $1 bins!!).  They were pretty excited.  I've been working on their Easter dresses for several weeks (I'm a little on the slow side) and they've tried them on lots of times.  But today they actually got to wear them - so they were pretty happy about that.  So happy we were dressed and ready for the day with almost 3 hours before 'church' started.

Unfortunately it started raining right as we went out to take some pictures.  TJ didn't have shoes on so he didn't make it into any.  Whoops!

General Conference

I love General Conference.  As a kid I dreaded it.  We always went to the church to watch and I remember 'sneaking' in books to read to keep myself entertained.

Our kids did pretty well.  Let's be honest, 8 hours is a LONG time for 5,4, and 1 year olds.  We had enough activities to keep them entertained and James and I were able to catch most of it (you know...as best as you can with little ones).

But, can I just say.....a temple in Bangkok? YAY!!!!  We knew it would come some day, and we are excited.  I have no idea how many years before it will actually be finished...but I've already told James that I'm saving to try and be able to be there when they dedicate it.

The girls knew a few of the apostles right away.  But, the rest were a lot trickier for them to find. They decided most of them are bald and have glasses!  :D

I'm amazed at what they can pick up on without seeming to pay any attention.  Saturday afternoon Hannah's comment was, "They sure said marriage and family a LOT!" Hah!!

Easter Egg Hunting!

The girls were very excited about doing an egg hunt.  They knew what to do and were very excited to start looking for eggs.

TJ was a little slow to start.  It took him a few minutes to grasp the concept of finding eggs and putting them into his bag.  (Yeah...I said bag.  As in dollar store bag.....not a homemade Easter basket his sisters have...poor 3rd child.  He doesn't seem to care!!)

Once he discovered they made noise when he shook them he was a lot more interested.   And when he realized there were things inside him he was excited....then he got the hang of it.

I'm not sure if they had more fun finding eggs or sorting through their goods....either way they had fun.

Holidays (well everything for that matter) is much more fun with kids, but also a lot more work!

Our Spring Break

Our Spring Break involved:

fevers, pink eye, ear infections, the flu, colds, coughs, runny noses, sore throats, chills.....etc.

Needless to say we had a blast! :D  We were all affected (to one degree or another) except Hannah. Somehow she escaped it all.  Unfortunately she had to deal with the rest of us.

We had fun plans (like staying in a hotel while visiting the temple) and doing extra special things around town (like the gymnastics place, swimming, and actually eating out)!!!  

Instead we spent lots of money at Dr's appointments and basically tried to survive a week at home.

This is how lots of our time was spent:

I'm glad to have the week over.  And I'm VERY happy to report that we are all healthy again!!!! 

A Little Frustration

The past few months have been challenging.  Don't get me wrong, life isn't terrible by any means...there have been a lot of good experiences and we have LOTS to be grateful for and I feel like we've been able to handle it with fairly good attitudes, but it's still been hard.  

Yet the past few weeks have been so much harder.  Nothing has really happened, it's mostly discouragement.  Oh there's frustration (2013 taxes, dealing with insurance, kids not sleeping, major life changes, etc...) but that's life.  

And I know it. 

But sometimes it's hard not to get discouraged when things don't seem to be working out like you think they should.  Or really really want them to.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say that life has been kinda crummy the last few weeks.  And it doesn't really look like anything's going to change any time soon....BUT the sun is shining.  It's a new week. That means it's a fresh start.Spring is in the air.  Life feels a little brighter. And so can my attitude.

While trying to enjoy that sunshine we took a little walk this morning.  Here's TJ at the end.  Apparently 10:30 is nap time when you're waking up at 4 am!

Snow Days

We had a few more snow days...I'm pretty sure they are the last.  Hopefully!!

There was enough to go play outside for a little while.  TJ is lacking in the snow clothes department so we don't last too long.  We come in for a few hours (enough time for everything to dry) then head out for a few more minutes.  We repeat that pattern at least 3 times a day!!

TJ did have fun playing in it and eating it...until his hands got cold.

Hannah and Sofia are pros at snow angels

They have become experts at building snowmen out of very small amounts of snow.

2 days straight without leaving the house.....makes me a little crazy.  I have no idea how we survived 6 months of very cold winter in Turkey!!  Thankfully the snow melted about 2 days later and we are now onto warm weather forecasts!!!!!!!

Birthday Girl

I can't believe Sofia is 4.  For some reason it comes as a surprise to me that she is getting so big.  I feel like she's always been so little, but now when I look at her I realize she's growing up!!

Her birthday was the crazy day where Hannah was sick and the battery in our car died.  Luckily it was sunny enough to spend a little time outside.

She had lots of fun making and decorating her rainbow cake.  Can I just say that I love how easy it is to please the kiddos right now.  I know that will change as they get older...but for now a simple cake with lots of bright blobs thrilled her!!

She was pretty thrilled to have 4 candles on the cake.

There are always willing helpers for opening presents.

Our girls have officially learned that the boxes are deceiving.....no she did not get cheerios, but her very own package of gum and a doll house I bought from a friend!!