Saturday Soup

The past few weeks have been flying by and filled with our normal daily routine. However, I was able to take a little trip up to Idaho by myself on Tuesday to go to my doctors appointments, and was able to do a lot of thinking in those unusual quiet hours. I had a couple of thoughts that I feel like I should record. First, I can't believe how quickly my boys are growing. Sam will be in school in another year, and Jack will no longer be our baby in a few short months. It made me appreciate being able to be with them everyday, and also to make it a point to be more PATIENT with them. I find myself losing my temper over very small, insignificant things - and especially with Sam I can't afford to not spend every moment I have left with him. Second, I'm so grateful for the little things everyday that they do to make my life happy and full. It is an unimaginable thing prior to having children of your own to think how much joy you can find in a squeal of laughter or a new discovery. I'm a lucky lady to be a mom. Finally, I was thinking about our family's blog and how well it records our life, and I've decided that though I highlight mostly the fun, funny, or encouraging events in our life - that's okay! I'm still "keeping it real" (and we do have many time-outs, spankings, tears, arguments, etc.) but I chose to have my boys look back on their childhood and find good, happy memories rather than me ranting and raving over things they did that drove me crazy. So if I brag or show off my kiddos its because that is what I want to remember for years to come! Okay now I'm done with my soap box/reflection.... Here's some things that both boys have been doing or saying lately that make me smile:

Sam taught his first Family Home Evening lesson and did a great job. If you haven't had your kids do one, I recommend it. He went through our Gospel ABC book and said a lot of big words like 'especially, of course, remember, next" and so on... It was such a sweet FHE and I know that he knows who Heavenly Father is and that Jesus Christ died for him.

Sam also has been such a big helper around the house and with Jack. When Jack is sad, Sam is the first to go and find a toy that he can play with (he's also the first to usually make Jack cry by taking a toy away!) and he loves to help take out the garbage, set the table, and take his dishes to the sink.

Being back in Utah we've had to battle some major traffic. Today we were in a traffic jam, caused by an 8 car wreck for 1 1/2 hours! Yuck. While in a complete stand still Sam yells out - I've got to go to the bathroom! What do you do? No empty bottles, nothing. Shawn takes Sam over to the side of the cement barrier on the highway and lets him go! That's right we are gross, but what else do we do? Then we have both boys running amuck in the car as we have now turned off the engine, and they are scavenging week old Chex cereal and other random crumbs that are tucked in the seat. Gross again! What would you do in these situations?

He asked me today why his dreams come true? I wasn't really sure how to respond to that, any suggestions?

2. Jack is soooo smart - too smart if you ask me. He will through papers and wrappers in the garbage, will go and get his shoes, go to the bathroom to brush his teeth, and "clean" up his plate at dinner time. He has quite the attitude develop lately and will throw a huge tantrum if he doesn't get what he wants. At dinner he insists on feeding himself with some success. If I try to help him get a spoonful, he yells at me, yanks the spoon away and flings food all over! Then he usually laughs. He laughs at everything, which I love about him. He has such a happy demeanor. He loves Sam, and loves to do everything Sam does. Today Sam hurt his toe, so I put a bandaid on it and instantly Jack was pulling off his sock and trying to apply his own bandaid to his toe. It was so cute. He is into everything, toilets, cupboards, drawers, and most recently the dryer! He helps me pull out the clothes and eventually manages to crawl inside.

3. My doctors appointment went really well - the heartbeat was very strong and I'm growing like a weed! We get to find out what the baby is next month and I can't wait.... except I'll to wait since Shawn won't be able to come with me, I'm going to have the tech put the gender in an envelope so that we can open it up and find out together. We are so excited for another baby and hope that everything continues to good. Have a happy week and upcoming Turkey Day! Thanksgiving is my FAVORITE holiday.