Nap

Super Boy is in that place where naps are only once every few days and not everyday anymore.  I miss those everyday naps. So on days like today, when he falls asleep and I am able to keep him asleep I am so excited! Even when it conflicts with plans I have made. If Super Boy will nap...plans can change. And they did!  I am very grateful for a happy boy who napped!

Extended Family

We are lucky to close to husband's family. His parents and both siblings live with in a half an hour drive of us.  We have been blessed to spend at least an evening or two each month with these wonderful people since we moved here over 9 years ago. I think it is not only wonderful for my husband and myself to have the support of his family when we need it, but it also wonderful for my children to really get to know their cousins in a way that I never knew mine due to how far apart from each other we lived. I hope as they grow they will continue to be close. I know that we are blessed to all be here together. And as I look back on how we all ended up living here very close to each other I see the hand of God guiding our lives. I know that my Heavenly Father wants us to live here. I think that part of the reason may be so that we can support and be supported by our extended family. I am also grateful that about 5 years ago my sister moved here to be close to us. I have loved to get to know her better and am glad that she choose to live where we could be together.  It is also wonderful that my parents live 8 hours away. Just close enough to drive in a day. I am so glad that they travel here once or twice a year and that we are able to travel there once a year. I feel so blessed in our family relationships.

Disney songs

We have listened to a lot of Disney songs around our house. Most recently we have heard a lot of songs from the movie Frozen. Our girls love the music and the movie and listen to the music any chance they can get. Lately I have noticed that Super boy has started singing the words of the songs with his sisters. Today,  he was tired and not feeling well, and he kept asking to watch "Let it go". So I turned on youtube and we watched the frozen songs. He was a very happy boy. Yeah for good songs that we could listen to and enjoy together.

Flowers make me feel happy.

I have been feeling a little sick these last few days. I think my cute little Butterfly Fairy shared with me! I have been really tired and not getting much done. My Super Guy has been VERY busy at work and so Super stressed. Last night he came home from work and looked at me sitting miserable on the couch and without a pause asked what he could make for dinner.  What a SUPER GUY!  He is so giving and wonderful. And it got even better! I assured him I had an easy to cook dinner planned all he needed was some fresh french bread from the store. So off he went to get some bread. When he came home he had bread, and flowers. But wait, it gets even BETTER!  He got me my favorite flowers. I love tulips and it was just what I needed to brighten my day. I love my Super Guy and am so very grateful for him.

Warm Fire

Yesterday and today have been bitter cold!  I just got home from taking my kiddos to school and poor little super boy (bundled with winter coat, boots, gloves and hat) started crying about how cold he was. It was sad.  The car said 5 degrees and the wind is blowing a little so I am sure it feels colder than that.  Last night was -10!  The older girls had swim so Super Guy took them (bless you!) and I stayed home with the two little ones and made a wonderfully warm fire.  It was awesome to sit in front of the fire and keep warm while we watched the Kroods together.

Sick Day

Normally I would not list one of my children being home sick as a blessing. However, since Butterfly Fairy is home today, with only a low fever and runny nose as her symptoms, it has been a blessing. I have been sticking close to home, so things that needed to be done that I have been putting off, are finally getting done. And now that Missy Mouse is home from Kindergarten, BF and MM are playing in the bathtub. So I get a brake!  Score!  Life is easier for Missy Mouse when siblings are around and willing to play with her. And this afternoon Butterfly Fairy will get her homework for the week done. Double Score! It has been a nice slow day today.

Goals

Goals are wonderful things. I am so grateful to have them. Like most people I make a list of Goals at the beginning of each year and then by the end of January most of them have already been broken. My awesome Super Guy led the family in making goals tonight. I am so grateful that it was now, after a lot of my personal goals have already been broken, that I can renew some of the more important goals and to share them with my family. I find that when we share our goals we are better able to keep them.  My Super Guy asked us to all try to serve one person in our family each day. I am excited to try to be more service minded and to focus on others instead of myself. I hope that these goals last longer than a month.

Sun

It has been snowing most every day last week.. The great thing about living where we do it that it doesn't usually stick around for long. The sun comes out either later the same day as the snow storm or the next day. And even when the temps are still bitter cold, the sun will at least melt the snow off of the roads. It's wonderful to feel the sun right after the storm and for the snow to melt off the roads.It warms my body and lifts my spirits. I love the sun. These last few storms that we've had the sun has not come out in between and I have missed it!  The few days we have had without it have reminded me how much I have loved it.So I am grateful that the sun came out today.

Date Night

My Super Guy and I were planning a Date Night tonight. But all went wrong from the beginning.We couldn't find a babysitter. Then it snowed all day. So Super Guy went out and got Chinese take-out and a movie from red box. While he was gone, I moved a card table up to our bedroom and set it with a  candle and nice dishes.  When he got home we ate our take out and watched our movie in our bedroom while the kids had dinner and their own movie in the Living Room. I was grateful to spend some time with my hubby, even though we couldn't go far, it was great to "get away".

Sister Missionaries

We had the Missionaries over for dinner tonight.  I try to have them over at least once a month. They bring such a wonderful spirit into our home. Missionaries overall are wonderful. These past few months we have had Sister Missionaries serving in our ward. With a family of three girls I have really enjoyed the Sisters coming into our home. They not only bring a wonderful spirit into our home, but they are also great examples of Valiant Servants for our daughters. The message they shared with us after dinner tonight was about Hope in Christ and how having Hope helps us in our daily life. It was a very nice message and it helped me vocalize something I have been thinking about for some time now. I have just been thinking about why I am a stay at home Mom and why I am active in the church. Why I do what I do and choose the things I do? I think that Hope in Christ is why I do these things. I have hope that one day (maybe not in this life) what I am doing will make a difference, to me, to my children, to others around me.  It really made me think that Hope in Christ is why I get up and serve my family everyday. It was a nice visit...

A Child's Prayer

Yesterday was a hard day. It was just one of those days when I am not happy, the kids are not happy and we are just snapping at each other all day long. My Super Boy was very two yesterday. Kicking, screaming fits, running away, yelling, hitting, not fun at all. I lost it during Missy Mouse's gymnastics. WHY IS IT ALWAYS IN PUBLIC?  While heading home with all three of us in a foul mood, Super Boy fell asleep in the car. I heaved a sigh of relief.  Now I knew I had only to get him from the car to his bed without awaking the beast!  I had him in his bed and realized I had to take his coat off....so I gently took it off, and...he WOKE UP!  ARGGG!!!  But what did Super Boy say upon awakening? "Prays?"  "Yes buddy," I replied, "lets say prayers."  Two years old's in our home are old enough to pray. Once they start repeating what we say we start asking them to say prayers. Since Super Boy just started repeating words a few months ago he is just learning how to pray. Super Boy LOVES to pray.  I can not be angry with a little voice thanking his Heavenly Father for his Daddy, Mommy, Sisters and dog. As soon as he was done saying his prayer, he climbed back into bed and fell asleep. YEAH!!  And so today I am thankful for a sweet little two year old prayer.

Family Search

Today at church we had a lesson from the Stake Presidency on Family Search and our ancestors.   We were asked to go online and see what Family Search.org is all about. I have been on before, but not for a long while. I was online just looking at pictures, and my kids gathered around the computer to see what I was looking at. One of the first people pictured in my photos was my grandfather, Ardon Baird Evans. He was a great story teller. I loved listening to his stories, and he was a little mischievous as a child so there are a lot of them. There was also a life history online and so I scrolled down about a page and told my girls one of the stories that he had shared with me when I was about their ages.  As I was reading I could almost hear his voice and remembered his big smile as he told me the stories of his youth.  I have missed that man!  It was wonderful to stop and think about him even if it was only a minute or two, and to share a story about him with my kids. I am so grateful for forever families.

Holding little hands

There is nothing like holding the hand of a child. When there is a small hand in mine I feel the trust of the child holding my hand and of a Father in Heaven who intrusted one of his choice children into my care. It is very humbling.
 My girls are getting too big to hold my hand and my son thinks holding my hand is a punishment, so I do not hold many little hands these days. Today my Missy Mouse (daughter number 3) earned a date with BOTH Mom and Dad. She was very excited as we walked down the parking lot and she held my hand and jumped up and down in excitement. She was so excited to have BOTH parents all to herself. It warmed my heart and helped me feel blessed to have a few "hand holding" days of childhood left to share with my children.

Music

I love music, but am not a very good singer and gave up playing the piano very early in my piano playing career. I love that as a Mother my life is filled with music. My oldest daughter (Princess) loves to play the piano and sing. She has a great talent of playing piano and I love to sit and listen to her play. My second daughter(Butterfly Fairy) loves to play the piano and is starting to play very well. My youngest daughter (Missy Mouse) loves to  play too, and so with three young pianists on the piano we have a lot of music in the house.  I feel the warmth of the music surround me as all my girls learn to play. I love it and am grateful for the music that feels my home.

Everyday Blessings

In order to better recognize the blessings of God in my life, I thought to open this little blog, just for me, to record His Tender Mercies.