tidbits of love

Our February scripture study theme was on charity: the pure love of Christ. Every evening we studied a different scripture with the focus being love and charity. And then we would take turns picking somebody that we loved and everybody in the family would say one thing that they loved about that person. It was such a fun thing to hear not only who the kids picked, but also to hear why they loved them. I want to do it again because February just doesn't have enough days in it to say something about everybody we love, but this is our February 2014 start:

Dad

Jace: He keeps me safe.

Brynlee: He gives me hugs.

Mom: He loves to spend time with his family and makes sure we know that we are the most important thing to him.

Jesus

Jace: That he love us and made the whole earth for us.

Brynlee: He died for us.

Mom: He loves endlessly and entirely.

Dad: That he’s our big brother.

Marlee

Jace: Marlee helps me find stuff and plays with me.

Brynlee: That after school she gives me hugs.

Mom: That she’s independent, feisty, spicy and silly.

Dad: That she mimics everything the big kids do.

Jace

Brynlee: That he is very kind and funny.

Mom: That he always takes care of his sisters. He’s always a very good example to me on how to treat others.

Dad: He is good at sharing and playing the Wii.

Mom

Jace: She helps me do lots of stuff and she likes to snuggle me and gives me kisses and hugs at the morning time and nighttime.

Brynlee: She drives me to school and she’s superlicious.

Dad: I love all the good stuff mommy does for our family.

President Monson

Jace: He’s a good guy.

Brynlee: He believes in Jesus.

Mom: He always tells the best stories and teaches us through his life's experiences.

Dad: That he’s not always serious and that he tells jokes.

Brynlee

Jace: She’s super nice. She’s a very nice person to take care of everyone.

Mom: She’s very responsible and a good example for Marlee and Jace. I always know she will choose the right.

Dad: She is an awesome reader.

The Whole Wide World

Jace: All the planets are super cool.

Brynlee: That there are good people and that it was made by Jesus.

Mom: How beautiful it is.

Dad: That there are so many different things: forests, deserts, clouds, mountains.

Primary Teachers

Jace: That I get to learn about Jesus and they give me love.

Brynlee: They help us learn about good stuff.

Mom: That they love and care for my kids.

Dad: That they are nice.

Katie

Jace: That she comes to our house and watches us so we don’t have to go shopping.

Brynlee: That she is fun to be with.

Mom: That she’s endured hard things but keeps her head held high and has become stronger because of it.

Dad: That she takes good care of our kids.

Our Ward Family

Jace: They sing songs with us.

Brynlee: They are all super kind.

Mom: That they care about our family and our wellbeing.

Dad: Everyone helps each other.

Grandma Branch

Jace: She comes to our house.

Brynlee: She always gives us presents.

Mom: I love her dedication as a mother. She was a great mom when I was a little, and still is now.

Dad: She’s very kind and considerate.

Grandpa Branch

Jace: He takes us for rides so he is super nice.

Brynlee: He rides on the 4 wheeler with us.

Mom: He taught me through example.

Dad: He’s a hard worker and takes good care of his family.

Jake

Jace: That he is so nice.

Brynlee: That he is funny and cares for us.

Mom: He makes the kids feel special by playing with them.

Dad: That he’s from Arco.

Aunt Marie

Jace: She’s super nice and plays with us.

Brynlee: That she’s funny.

Mom: That she writes the sweetest, most thoughtful cards that I love and cherish.

Dad: That she’s very thoughtful and considerate and gives everyone homemade gifts at Christmas.

Zayne

Jace: That he always shares toys.

Brynlee: That he’s funny.

Mom: That he has a quirky little personality that always makes me laugh.

Dad: That he’s a good mechanic at age 4.

Brooke

Jace: That she is nice to Zayne and me.

Brynlee: That she wants to be my friend.

Mom: That she is free spirited and I love her independence.

Dad: That she’s a daredevil on a bike.

School Teachers

Jace: That they teach us about stuff and they are super, super nice.

Brynlee: That they are helpful and very kind to kids.

Mom: They give their time and dedication to helping my children learn.

Dad: I love that they love kids.

Grandma Showell

Jace: That she gives us birthday cards on our birthday.

Brynlee: That she always remembers to send us a birthday card.

Mom: All of the memories that I have from when I was a kid. She was the best grandma ever.

Dad: That she includes everybody in her birthday card list: kids, grandkids, great grandkids, in-laws … that’s impressive!

The Francis Family

Jace: I love Alec, he helps me play superheroes and stuff.

Brynlee: That they are kind to me.

Mom: They always go out of their way to make our little family feel special and important.

Dad: That I have someone that I can talk to about childhood memories.

Grandma & Grandpa M

Jace: That they love us and will forever.

Brynlee: That they care for us.

Mom: That they raised 12 kids and lived to tell about it.

Dad: They are hands down the best parents I have ever had.

Kyle

Jace: I love when Kyle comes over to our house to play.

Brynlee: That he’s funny.

Mom: That he is such a good friend to Jace.

Dad: That he jumps up and down while he plays Nintendo.

Mary & Everett

Jace: That they say hi to me.

Brynlee: They are generous to us.

Mom: That Mary gives me flower starts out of her own flower garden every spring and fall.

Dad: That Everett knows how to fix everything and is willing to share his knowledge.

Our cousins

Jace: That they play with us.

Brynlee: That they play with us.

Mom: That everyone gets along with each other.

Dad: That they come over to our house for Holidays.

This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

John 15:12

this feburary

Just as I expected the stomach bug continues to make its round, taking us down one at a time. Right now it’s Spence’s turn. It came on quick and knocked him flat. Jace started crying when Spence started throwing up because he didn't want him to get sick. That boy makes me smile. He has the biggest heart. His latest is that he says, "whatever you say boss" or "aye, aye captain" whenever I ask him to do anything.  He's Spence's little mini-me, following him around everywhere and trying to do everything just like dad does. Those two are inseparable; I hope it always stays that way.

Tomorrow Brynlee gets to go to Achievement Days (is it called activity days now?) for her first time ever. She is so excited. I can’t believe she’s eight. Holy Moly. She got her ears pierced for her birthday. Grandma Showell took all of us girls to get our ears pierced for our 8^th birthday. It was a much anticipated and prized birthday present. So when Brynlee started asking to get her ears pierced I told her that she had to wait for her 8^th birthday, just like I had to. Of course, come birthday time, that was the first thing on her birthday wish list. She doesn't do pain real well so I made double extra sure she wanted to go through with it. She insisted. The first few day were kinda rough for her – we were visiting with friends out of town and I don’t think that helped. But now she really likes them and is glad she did it.

Marlee wants to be outdoors at all times. The trampoline is her favorite. I can’t wait for the weather to warm up so I don’t have to bundle her six billion times a day and drag her in when I fear that her extremities might be suffering from mild frost bite.  When Brynlee and Jace were about Marlee’s age they both turned into major daddies kids. I sorta became dead to them and daddy could do no wrong. But Marlee? Not so much. She is a mommy’s girl through and through. Sometimes I joke that I wish she would hit that stage because mom just needs a five minute break. But really I love it. She’s my sidekick. I love her so much. 

Anyway, a few pictures from February, just ‘cause I never posted any.

Big room, little girl.

Big sisters are the best.

Jace and the snow covered golf course.

Rosy cheeks.

Exhausted.

Building Turtle Mania castles.

She fits in a bowl. Also, we don't comb her hair.

A valentines day box in process.

Brynlee was determined to make her valentines box all by herself this year. I helped her prime a box and google an idea (its pinterest for the lame) and then she ran with it. She was so proud of her end product, mainly because it was entirely her product. 

Building snow stuff.

He was a little top heavy and didn't stand for long, but it was fun while it lasted.

Jace has been writing his entire name lately. Middle name included.

The cutest mailman ever.

#careerdayatpreschool, #jacesidea, #weloveourmailman

And here's her Valentine's Box all done. She did such a good job.

Hi again. Still rambling.

Jace lost a tooth. And then another. And then another. Three teeth in one month. Which made him extremely happy. Mainly because he and his dad are in process of saving all of their extra money to go halfsies on a WiiU. The {three time} tooth fairy payout saved him a lot of taking out the trash, doing dishes and cleaning the toy room to earn chore chart money. Spence listed a few old textbooks on Amazon the other night to help supplement Jace’s piggy bank savings and so the WiiU fund is growing. I’ve made Spence promise that there will be no WiiU until fall time though because #novideogamesallowedduringthesummermonths and also, #meanestmomever! Plus, it will give Jace reason and motivation to keep up on his chores this summer.

The kids had their first soccer games of the season yesterday. Jace scored four goals! Go Green Monsters. And Brynlee is on an all-girl team this year which she is way excited about. All the big, rough and rowdy boys intimidated her a little last season; most of them were double her size. I think Brynlee lucked out as far as coaches this go around, and I think this group of girls will be so fun for her. Spence and I love watching the kids play. I asked Brynlee after her game yesterday if mom and dad cheering so loud embarrassed her. She said no, so I guess she gave us permission to continue to be those parents on the sidelines.

The other day Jace told me that his first favoritest person in the whole entire world was Jesus. And his second most favoritest person in the whole entire world was a tie: cops and Santa. Which cracked me up.

Marlee sings all the songs to Frozen. Let it go being her favorite, of course. She sings them so sincerely and intently that it makes me smile until I laugh. Kids are so rad. Absolutely exhausting at times, but rad.

Wasn’t general conference awesome!? I’ve been needing a little spiritual boast. I haven’t quite felt myself lately. Not entirely bleh, but certainly not on top of the world either. General conference was a good pick-me-up, like always.

Per Brynlee’s birthday request we’re now fish owners. Three goldfish: Dog Fish, named by Jace, and Ruby and Holly. So far the kids have been really good about feeding them and cleaning their bowl. I’m taking bets on how long that will last though.

Spencer and I have been taking a little parenting class on Tuesday evenings. Love and Logic. We decided to sign up for the class on a whim. It was being held at Jace’s preschool building which was our initial motivator. Marlee practically falls over dead every time we drop Jace off at preschool. …because it’s so not fair that Jace gets to stay and play with the preschool toys, and she does not. They were offering childcare during the class so we figured win, win. Free parenting class + Marlee would get to hang out at Jace’s preschool. We have really enjoyed the class. I think it offers great insight and ideas and has gotten Spence and I on the same page as far as this parenting gig goes. Not that we were on entirely different pages before, but the class has spurred many great parenting conversations between the two of us. I told Spencer that I wish we would have taken this class before we even had kids. Most of the theories and ideas that we've talked about in class are things that we already had in our parenting skill set, but most of them we had to learn through trial and error. And sometimes the trial and error method is exhausting – especially with a two year old.

I love these kids of ours though. Every time we leave the class Spence and I can’t stop gushing about what great kids we have. And also, my kids have a pretty awesome dad! Which I guess makes me a pretty lucky momma.

Also for the record, I think I would really enjoy teaching parenting classes. You know, someday.

Anyway, time to get the kids bundled up for some outside time before bed. General conference weekend makes for a lot of time sitting in front of the TV and I’m feeling antsy.

Hi. I'm rambling.

My mom used to say that I talked a mile a minute. And she’s right, I did. I mean, I do! It’s a really bad habit. But sometimes it comes in handy. Like when I have a whole lot to say and not a lot of time to say it in.

Like right now, for instance.

If I were talking instead of typing you would only be able to catch about every third word, at best. So for dramatic effect I suggest you read this really, really fast and feel free to skip words - or complete sentences even - whenever you see fit.

M’kay.

Ready.

Go.

It’s the forth of April, and we’re sick at my house. Jace was up puking all night. Poor kid. I had it the night before that, and Marlee the night before me. I suppose it will hit Brynlee or Spencer tonight. My money is on Brynlee though. Bleh.

Spence has been overwhelmingly busy at work. Which means that he works a normal day, comes home at 5:30ish to help with soccer practices and all the other evening activities, eats dinner with the family and helps tuck the kids into bed, then he heads back into work until all hours of the night. Which means that I toss and turn and check the clock every 72 seconds wondering when he’s going to get home. I can’t sleep when he’s not around.

But on the bright side – kudos to the stomach bug - every piece of bedding in my house is freshly laundered and smells of bounce!

And I cleaned the carpet in the family room today. Out of stomach bug necessity, of course, but nonetheless, it’s clean.

Oh, and speaking of the family room, Spence bought me new couches for Valentine’s Day: brown, leather, rocking, recliners, sort of a sectional, sort of not. Theater seating, I guess. At least that’s what the people in the furniture store referred to it as. I love them. Although they aren’t exactly what I had envisioned they fit perfectly in the space that we needed to fill {nothing else would} and I feel so legit when I recline in front of the Man TV to watch Parenthood after the kids are in bed. Do you watch Parenthood? You should.

Oh, and speaking of Valentine’s Day. Spence and I took a mini Valentine’s Day get-a-way. Just for a night, but I was super excited for a get-a-way still the same. Kate so kindly stayed with the kids since Jake was in Ohio. And then Marlee got sick. And I spent the night away worried about Marlee and feeling terrible about the babysitting arrangements that we left poor pregnant Katie in.

{I’m sorry Kate, I still feel bad. But apparently not that bad since I did it to you a second time today. My goodness. I guess you have two “babysit my sick kid’s” cards to be redeemed whenever you see fit.}

We had our traditional family Valentine’s Day dinner too. We had so much food left over so I packed some up and Spence and the kids delivered it to Mary and Everett {our sweet backyard neighbors}. A day or two later Mary delivered a beautiful handwritten card thanking me for the gesture. It made my day. It was such a kind thing for her to do for such a small act on my part. I vowed to do the same and write more thank you notes for the little things that I appreciate.

The kids took a couple sessions of swimming lessons in February too. Brynlee only has one more session until she is done with swimming lessons entirely, and Jace did awesome this go around too. Both of them love to swim which makes their non-swimming mother happy. I asked Spencer what was going to happen when the kids were all better swimmers than me. He joked about adult sized arm floaties. And then I realized at that point I would no longer have to pretend to like swimming (oh how I hate it) and I could just lounge on the side of the pool in sunglasses and one of those huge wide brimmed, floppy, sun hats. But until then I will carry on and pretend that swimming is so.much.fun so my kids won’t have the same fear of water that I do. Someday though I’m investing in one of those big ole’ floppy hats.

I’ve really been bad at pulling my camera out and taking pictures lately. Bummer. And with it being Brynlee’s birthday and baptism it was such a dumb time for me to not be taking pictures.

And I just spelled not, like naught. And then I stared at it for a bit trying to remember how to spell the word not.

And now I can’t think when you would properly use naught in a sentence.

Which means its bedtime.

Good night.