Swingin'!

Benson had his first swing at the park. He was a little afraid at first. It only took him a minute though to change his mind.

Benson took his first steps last week just a couple of days before he turned 10 months. He loves to stick his hands in the toilet and follow his sister and brother around and cuddle with his mommy and daddy.

Feeding the Fish

We went to this beautiful lake a couple of weeks ago. There are so many fish there they call it "where the ducks walk on the fish." We saw a guy throw a whole loaf of bread into the lake at once and it was totally eaten in less than 5 seconds! I found the fish kind of cool and totally disgusting at the same time. It was a fun day.

Nature's Fire Works

We had the coolest lightening storm last night. David and went out in the yard at about 11:3o pm to watch it. It was completely dark other than the lightening, and it was flashing almost every other second. It was so beautiful!

The Girls

Mug Shots

Gracie took these pictures of Sammy the a few days ago. Do you think she has a future career as a mug shot photographer?

Help!

Poor kid, his sister trapped him under the laundry basket and thought it was just hilarious.... well it kind of was. He is so cute peeking out of the holes.

Baby Blues

Just wanted you to see his smile!

"Today I will marry my best friend."

"I love him and that's the beginning of everything."

"Love doesn't make the world go round,

love is what makes the ride worthwhile."-- Elizabeth Browning

" When you are in Love you can't fall asleep

because reality is better than your dreams. "-- Dr Suese

"So dear I love him that with him,

All deaths I could endure.

Without him, live no life."

-- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

"Since love grows within you, so beauty grows.

For love is the beauty of the soul."--St. Augustine

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,

while loving someone deeply gives you courage."--Lao Tzu

"....A simple I love you means more than money...."--Frank Sinatra

"If I had a flower for every time I thought of you,

I could walk in my garden forever."--Alfred Lord Tennyson

"You come to love not by finding the perfect person,
but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly."--Sam Keen

"If I know what love is, it is because of you."--Herman Hesse

It wasn't my ear you whispered into, but my heart.
It wasn't my lips you kissed, but my soul. - Judy Garland

"If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you made me smile,

I would have the whole night sky in the palm of my hand."--Unknown

"I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach..."

--Elizabeth Barrett Browning Thanks for 8 amazing years David. I love you!

Positive Day!

I saw this online and wanted to participate. There really is so much negativity around every turn, in every newspaper, in emails, on the radio, on and T.V. that it is great to take a day to think about the positive things in life. Like (in no particular order):

the pitter-patter of little feet waking me up every morning (even on the days that it is 5:30 in the morning). I love my children and think that being a mom is the best job in the world.

my testimony in the gospel of Jesus Christ restored here on the earth here in these latter days.

the best husband in the world. He supports me and takes care of me even when he is the one who needs supporting and taking care of in medical school.

large amounts of Mexican food (especially fresh salsa!).

bird song in the morning.

nap-time!

books.

modern day medicine. Each time I deliver a baby or one of my kids get sick or hurt I am so thankful for doctors, hospitals and medicine.

school loans. With out the loans that David is getting while in medical school, I would have to have a job outside the home and couldn't spend my days with my awesome kids.

my body that sometimes (ok always) may weigh more than I want it to, the teeth that sometimes get cavities, the finger nails that break, the head and feet that sometimes ache (hey at least I have all these things!!)

living in the United States of America!

my cluttery house and our cars and all of the things we have.

I really have so many positive things in my life! What a lucky girl I am! They day ahead of me looks so much brighter now that I have taken a minute to consider my blessings!

Benson AKA Tub-o-love

Benson went to the doctors today. He had to get 4 shots, poor little fellah, but he was very brave. He only cried a little bit. But here are the statistics I know you are all waiting for.
Benson is 28.5 inches tall (50%). What? One of my kids is in the 50% for anything!!!! This is actually a first. I can't believe how short he is! I would be really surprised if he isn't about to start a growth spurt.
Benson weighs 24 pounds and 4 ounces (89%). That's my big healthy boy!
Benson's head circumference is 19 inches (97%). It takes a big head to hold all those brains.
He is the happiest baby I think I have ever met. He started saying "mama" a couple of days ago and yesterday he was laughing and cooing and smiling to a picture of me. Sure do love this little man!

In other news, we had a great 4th of July. Gracie got a mosquito bite on her arm. If you don't know what mosquito bites do to Gracie check out this post. This one wasn't as bad as some she has had in the past, but she thought it looked like "a boob" and kept on showing me that she had three boobs. I couldn't find my camera for a few days so I didn't get a picture of her third boob. Darn it!

Sammy loves trucks, cars, planes, trains, tractors, you know, all that boy stuff. He can't say truck though. He puts an "f" in front of it and leaves off the "tr." He does the same thing with croc. And he says it, oh about 5000 times a day. If I am not paying 100% attention to him when he tries to tell me about the truck he will say it over and over, louder and louder, until I acknowledge that there is indeed a truck.

David passed his step 1 boards. Yay David!!!! He has just one more year of rotations now until he graduates. He sure does work hard and I am so proud of him!

Brothers- UPDATED!!!!!

Benson above, Sammy below.

Their eyes and smile give it away for me every time!

I found these pictures of my two sons. I was sitting on the floor in both cases just taking random pictures and they both just started climbing up my legs smiling the biggest smile they ever smiled! I just thought it was funny to have two random pictures be so similar! Which boy is which?

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day David! I love you so much! You are an amazing daddy to our 3 beautiful children. Even today, on Father's Day (you know the day you are supposed to relax), you have gone out of your way to help me with the kids. You work so hard to learn everything you can in medical school. You are always finding ways to magnify your priesthood and your calling as a father. And not to mention the fact that you are a great kisser! I love you David. I hope you have a great day! Love you.

Thanks David, for being "a true man."

Just wanted you to know David, how much I appreciate you, and all you sacrifice for our family. I love you!

Finding Opportunities To Give

My sister and brother were sitting in a restaurant about a week ago. They had traveled to a new city to look for a house where my sister would be moving with her husband in a few weeks. Her husband is in the Air Force and couldn't go help find them a place to live. As my brother and sister were waiting for their meal to arrive a man came up to them and gave them twenty dollars. "You reminded us of us when we were young." the man said gesturing to his wife. We had a good laugh about this afterward, because the man must have thought my brother and sister were married (and my brother is only 16). But the more I have thought about this, the more I have wanted to find opportunities to give generously and with out reason... like this man did and like the young men in this story did. If we follow their example it is just a matter of opening our eyes and looking around us for opportunities to give!

Dream Come True

So David says our computer is on its last leg and going to need some replacement parts at least. I can't get Picasa to open and therefore don't know how to get to most of my pictures... I know that makes me pretty dumb. Oh well. So this is just a post with no pictures with a little update about all of us.

David is doing his O.B rotation right now. The hours are horrendous!!!! He has only been home 2 nights in the last week! But if you ask him (besides the missing his family part) he is having an awesome time. He has actually delivered 3 babies this week and LOVES it!

Gracie and Sammy love to fight over toys. It is driving me CRAZY! Sammy woke up really grumpy from his nap yesterday. We spent some time together just Mommy and Sammy trying to get him out of his funk, but he threw tantrum after tantrum anyway. I finally went in and put him to bed early. He cuddled under his "ay-ee" and we sang song after song and then I kissed him goodnight and he said, "More kiss." So I kissed him again... and again... and again, then I told him goodnight again and he curled up and went right to sleep. Gracie stayed up a little later, but she is so used to playing with Sammy as they both fall asleep (they share a room and have bunk beds) that she couldn't fall asleep on her own (I think she was a little scared to be awake by herself). She came in to our room 4 times. We would take her back to her room and tuck her back in, but finally we gave in and let her come fall asleep in our bed. I didn't really mind too much. I love cuddling with my kids and it is nice to know that they love each other in spite of the fighting!

Benson is the happiest kid. He loves his brother and sister and his Daddy and of course he loves his Mommy. He started to crawl a couple of days ago and to say Da-da. There is nothing quite like the way his face lights up when I walk into the room and he has started following me if I leave... hollering at the top of his lungs. He woke up this morning around 5:00 ready for breakfast. I was not however ready to get up so I pulled him into bed with me and we both fell asleep while he was nursing. He woke up again at 7:00 and wanted to nurse again. His crying woke up the other kids. Sammy and Gracie both came into my room and saw me still in bed so they decided they wanted to come cuddle in my bed too. Between the two of them they brought 4 pillows, 5 blankets, 2 purses, 1 stuffed animal, and a Dora and a Diego doll that Gracie calls her "kids" into my bed. When Sammy decided he was going to be a frog and jump all over the bed I decided it was time to get up, but not before he came to me and said, "Froggie kiss?" I said, "Yes, I would love a froggie kiss." and Gracie said in a dreamy voice, "A froggie kiss is a dream come true!"

So that is us in a nutshell. We are living a "dream come true." Not every moment is perfect, but I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Big Bums

Gracie came to me this morning and said, "Mom, when I get older I will have a big bum like you."

Thanks Gracie. Love you too.

The Fairy Princess

Mama's Boys